What inspires your doll purchases

For me, it's usuallly a combination of being drawn to the doll's aesthetic and being able to invision a character I want to build in the doll.

 

I buy dolls based on joints invisibility thats why I like volks dollfie dream
But also by the price
I try to avoid 1/4 sizes because of clothes avilability

 

I would love to be able to shell so.e online characters. But there are some that I just like for themselves.

 

I bought my first partially due to a beautiful face-up and good price, and partially because... he seemed lonely, somehow? His previous owner had left him shut in a cupboard for years and it seemed sad to me, I wanted to give him a chance to be loved lots. It's probably a bad habit carrying over from my plushie collecting, I tend to buy secondhand toys that could use some love, and I have a feeling I'll be like that with dolls too.

 

Well I already have all of the characters I want for my story - so what inspires me now is finding a doll that is different from everything else in my collection.

 

Characters, basically. For some dolls on my wishlist, they are there because they suit characters I have in a world I'm building. Others, like my Dollzone Gray, upon seeing them, their sculpt spoke to me and I could already envision a character for them, which made me want them.

 

I can be a bit picky about face sculpts so when I find a sculpt that fits my aesthetics its pretty much a sealed deal

 

Either they remind me of a videogame character I adore or I simply see a mold and immediately make up stories in my head with how and who they could be and then end up buying them xD

 

What inspires me to purchase a doll is their overall look. I tend to like dolls with a "magical" or fantasy animetic look to them. I like dolls that look like a character from a book manga or comic. Usually the first thing that will catch my eye is the face/skulpt. That will most likely make or break whether ill buy a doll or want it or not. After that ill look at the body n look up on its range of articulation n how the joints look when posed. But mostly the head is what makes me want a doll the most.

 

Usually it's based on if I get an idea of how to design the doll or if I just fall in love with the sculpt or creature it is. I'm a sucker for anthro/fantasy/pet dolls I just find them too cute or pretty XD

 

Really it's just about whether I like the sculpt, and then it just has to "speak" to me. Not literally, but I just get a feeling of I want that doll! xD I tend to like more childish looking dolls, mostly because I work on children's illustration, so they will be great inspirations!

I used to get different kinds when I got my first dolls. I may have different ideas now, but it was always about them just striking me.

 

I try to stick with only purchasing dolls to represent the characters from my stories but I always end up creating more stories around dolls I end up getting simply because they are wonderful and beautiful.

 

I'm primarily a collector rather than an artist or a story-teller, so I tend to approach purchases from a slightly different point of view. In most cases, it's not so much that I'm going for a particular mood or theme, or that I'm always trying to shell a particular character (Though I definitely *have* done that-), so much as just liking the sculpt and wanting to have one in the crew.

The majority of the older dolls that I've added to my collection over the last few years are perfect examples of that... I'll be browsing and come across Old Sculpt A. I'll remember how much I liked Old Sculpt A when it was new, and how I didn't buy one for whatever-reason at the time. I'll note the reasonable price it's now going for, because the sculpts I love tend to be old-school and way out-of-fashion, and so often much less expensive than they were back-in-the-day... And if the affection for Old Sculpt A is still there, I'll buy it. Or at least I would until I ran out of room in my cabinets for anyone else! These days, it's limited space that stops me more than anything. XD

 

For me it's really about the sculpt and that I can have a constant modification of characters design only using one body. My plan from the beginning is to create multiple characters using the same doll. Though I have to admit, the main original plan to get a bjd (other than because they look super pretty) is using her as a cosplay doll. I love sewing and making cosplay but after a while making costume for myself cost more than making for a doll. So I want to continue to sew and make cosplay, just not for me...

 

i wanted to see some book character's in the 3D world... Lucky for me they didn't have to have specific faces. They just had to emulate character types and 'general' images. Most of them were pirate/regency hero/heroine's types... Then Iplehouse happened... ahahahaaha A two year theme run of just the right kind of dolls to suit my original plan!
But a 'blurb' for an outfit set was what set me on course for my 'first' doll... I swear it could have fit half the guys in the books i'd been reading lol, Found the doll wearing the outfit and I was officially sunk... Marauder WAS a pirate who had been a peer of the realm *died and went to heaven lol*. But at the core... book character's inspired what has become a mix of oc's and ones made by the company even but all fit the book/story genre I started from.

 

I just pick a sculpt I like that's within my price range. The character's personality comes later, after I've dressed them and given them a decent faceup - which can sometimes be a long and frustrating process. My Mystic Kids Tremmel has gone through about 7 different faceups, and maybe more in the future. But his personality has only changed once - he went from being a mischievous, trickster-type early on to being more of a shy and innocent and feminine type as of lately.

 

It's about whether or not I can envision a character, whether it's a new one, or shelling an existing one, for me. No character inspiration, no doll.

 

Sometimes it's because a doll fits a certain character I have in mind, sometimes the doll inspires a character to fit them. And other times it's more like "Pretty dolly! Must have!"

 

Aside from my first doll (now sold) I have only purchased dolls to shell pre existing characters.
I'm mostly inspired by the overall look of a doll,after seeing a doll blank and in the resin color I want,I'm able to decide if it will suit a character fairly quickly.
I suppose that is why I am so drawn to Minifee,there are many lovely sculpts that I can easily see my characters in.

 

Definitely a beautiful face. If I see examples of the doll with beautiful faces I will buy it knowing that it can be beautiful too. I have bought several horrible looking dolls knowing that they could be transformed.