What is this hobby for you?

Just another art medium, and I enjoy having pretty stuff
Having physical forms of your characters is also nice, like custom merchandise/action figures.

 

Even though I don't have a BJD yet but other dolls instead it is the fact that I can physically have my characters come to life.

 

Seconding Ara, this is a creative outlet for me. I love painting, styling and 'creating' concepts for dolls. I've always enjoyed collecting as well, so as a collector's hobby with the ability to customize/be creative; BJD's are right up my alley.

 

I really like this question because lately I've been really thinking about what the BJD 'hobby' actually does mean for me because it's really changed since I got my first doll.

When I first came into the scene, I noticed a very heavy emphasis on 'shelling characters' which worked for me because I do happen to role play so that was kind of fun but, then I found I just kind of liked naming my dolls after my RP characters but not exactly assigning them personalities or much of a backstory or anything like that.

I also noticed there was a lot of encouragement to get into the crafting side of things and making things for your dolls was a big draw. I still think it should be encouraged if you're the type of person to want to dive head first into heavy customisation such as doing your own face-ups, wigs, clothes, etc but, I have very much discovered I am not that person. I've come to a place where I can say I have no interest in creating anything for my dolls and am quite happy with commissioning face-ups and buying readily available wigs/eyes/clothes/shoes.

As of now I feel the BJD hobby is more of something I look at from a collector's point of view. I do suppose I use it as a sort of creative outlet as I do like to take time to think of what items I need to make my doll feel complete to me but for the most part, I just enjoy having very nice dolls to look at and display (and comb their hair, LOL). It's just something that makes me happy, I guess!

 

As an Art teacher, this is definitely a creative outlet for me, as others have said. It’s also a way for me to bridge the gap between my students thinking certain forms of crafting and art-making are only for one gender or type of person. I also use my dolls as drawing models and examples in class because why not, it’s my classroom.

I love customizing and combining the things I like into a humanoid form. Everything else is just a bonus.

 

I see it as a creative outlet with shelling characters but also a collection that is fun to curate!

 

For me it's a creative outlet, artistic and crafting, escapist and emotionally soothing, a research opportunity and collecting of items that feel "rare and special" to me.

 

Similar to what others have stated, it has evolved to become a gateway to other hobbies/creative outlets.

I don’t know if I would have developed interests and deep appreciation in photography, videography, video editing, sound design, sewing, crafting, diorama building, or 3D printing without collecting BJDs. There’s so much richness to explore with it as a catalyst.

 

Dolls, dolls, and more dolls to play with.

I've loved and played with dolls all my life and BJD's are just and addition to the house full of other types of dolls I have on hand to play with.

Teddy

 

Me? I'm just building an army of minions in order to take over the world...

Kidding! It's mostly giving form to my characters as well as a bit of self therapy.

 

Collecting dolls is my way of healing my inner child. I didn’t have much growing up and what I did have occasionally was left behind or taken away from me so now that I have a stable and secure life I’m making up for it.

 

I was definitely drawn in by the beauty of the doll sculpts and the face-ups! They're just so nice to look at. I love collecting things, and I'm a very artistic and visually-oriented person, so I love having nice things to look at lol. Despite being artistic I've never been particularly crafty so the idea of making things for my dolls is pretty overwhelming, although it's nice to know it's an option if I ever wanted to give it a try - same with trying out face-ups!
But even better than posters/artwork/pvc figures is the fact that BJDs are more of a hands-on object that you can pose, dress, etc. I'm not actually that interested in taking photos of my dolls, but I do enjoy dressing them up and trying to find the perfect wigs/eyes/etc for them.
I do like creating OCs and such so coming up with names and some characterization is also a draw, as well as the possibility of rping with others!
However probably the most surprising thing I've come to love about my dolls is actually probably linked somewhat with my neurospicy brain shenanigans lol - I really like the weight of them when you hold them! There's something extremely satisfying to me about it, the heft and the sort of floppy-limbs thing. Can't fully explain it, it just makes me happy! XD

 

It's a mix of things for me. A creative outlet, physical representations of my role play characters, a way to make friends and socialize, and an escape from the rough parts of reality.

 

It’s multi-purpose for me. Creative, coping with mental health, and my companions in life are the main things i can think of right now.

It’s a blank canvas hobby in my opinion. It lends itself well to whatever a person wants to do with them.

 

Loved your question! "Is it an escape or a creative outlet?" It's both for me, and more! I have a framed picture of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland on my wall
with a Cheshire Cat quote, "Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality" I've always loved fantasy, and I think part of the appeal is the "escape" from reality. I'm also an a artistic person who sculpts, draws, sews and dabbles in ceramics. I've incorporated all of those talents into my dolls, doll houses, and doll dioramas. I taught children how to read for decades as a teacher and I loved children's fantasy books such as Wind in the Willows, Alice in Wonderland, and Beatrice Potter stories! I now use Blurb to make picture story books featuring my dolls for my grandchildren with similar fantasy themes and they love the books!

 

That is such a sweet idea! Being able to share stories through your dolls with your family is amazing. My grandmother also loves dolls and I am glad I can share this hobby with her. We used to recreate historical events with barbie dolls when I was little, we could spend entire days doing just that!

For me, BJDs are primarily a way to shell my OCs. The BJD community is also a fantastic source of inspiration from a writer and an artist's point of view. Through it, I discover different artistic aesthetics, and having so much freedom to customize the dolls pushes me to improve my characters' design.

 

I have been a doll/toy collector since I was born (my parents started collecting dolls for me before I could talk!), and I am a traditionally trained artist since I could barely speak. I always wanted a doll I would feel comfortable customizing, but I was too much of an old-soul trapped inside a small child to even play with my dolls as young girl to be comfortable enough to repaint a Barbie. I only got the courage to attempt to paint/customize my own toys when I purchased my first hybrid of this type of dolls. That's when I finally got a chance to see how much I enjoyed painting/customizing my own toys. I see this as yet another toy-hobby for me; these are not collector dolls to me because I customize most of mine and I don't purchase full sets. These are also not kept MISB due to the nature of the dolls by itself. So, I see them as any other toys/dolls I don't mind customizing myself, but also a bit like what most people do with fashion dolls -- I don't treat my other dolls or action figures as fashion dolls, so these are my perfect victims for customizing. DX

The fear of customization for me at the beginning (eons ago), was not about the cost of the toys, it's about how the toys are delivered to me -- most of the other toys I hoard collect, come to me sealed in their boxes. So, I have a hard time removing them from their boxes, unless I purchase doubles (because I grew up surrounded by hard-core collectors of toys "mature-scale-toys" such as action figures, models, etc.). Not when it comes to most of these dolls, that come in an unsealed box, blank and nude (ready or practically begging to be customized!). (: