What keeps you going in this hobby?

Just patience keeps me going, I think. Reminding myself that this is a hobby, and there are no deadlines or standards to meet except my own. When my levels of energy, inspiration and free time are high enough I have active creative periods and get a lot done with my dolls, and that's a terrific feeling. But when my energy is lower and my creativity has to lie fallow for a while, just gazing at my collection and basking in their prettiness gives me a lot of enjoyment too. I've really never wanted to quit either way.

 

I haven't had this thought yet since I just joined this hobby mid of last year. But I think for me to keep going with it, I have to either build some skills like face up or photography skill, or project, e.g. cosplay some anime characters and etc.

Dress doll up and playing with the doll is one thing, but being creative is the main point I guess?

 

This is it for me. I've been in the hobby since 2005 and in that time there have been months I was really active, and months where I didn't do anything. Still, I'll never get rid of them. I like looking at them, taking pictures of them occasionally and tinkering when I have the time/money. This laid-back pressure-free approach is what keeps me coming back.

 

I have been in the hobby almost three years and have not once regretted this hobby or needed a break from it. I think it's because I have so many mental disorders, many of them obsessive/compulsive related issues. So the doll hobby is perfect for me cuz it gives me something healthy and fun to obsess over and think about and talk about and annoy other people with. Lol it's better then obsessing over my severe depression and anxiety and irritating everyone with that. Haha

 

When I get too frustrated working on doll stuff, I just take a step back and either go to the root of what I love about bjd, which is honestly just admiring my dolls and holding them, or ignoring it all and working on a different hobby.

 

well... since my hobby (drawing) has become my job, i needed something else as a hobby. plus, i liked dolls since i was a little girl.

 

I'm sorry for those of you who aren't able to enjoy your BJDs at this moment. Please just remember that the hobby is meant to be something fun, and that there's zero obligation on your part to engage in something that is making you feel sad or frustrated. Your dolls can't and won't judge you if you need to walk away for a while.

Several people earlier in the thread really hit the nail on the head about the self-pressure in the BJD hobby. There are some really awesome and talented people both on and off this forum who do amazing things with their dolls! But it doesn't invalidate your time you spend with your dolls, or your creativity with your dolls, etc. It's really easy to compare yourself to someone else out there and think, "Man, they are doing it RIGHT and I'm just a mess over here! Why do I even have this thing?!" The thing is, if you are constantly holding yourself or your dolls up to someone else's standards, it's pretty hard to be happy with your own.

Inspiration can be a fickle muse, and budgets absolutely limiting. There are also months where I personally just don't have the energy to sink into working on BJDs. You're not alone in feeling this way, and there's nothing wrong with it.

What keeps me going in this hobby? The warm feeling I get when I look at my dolls. Many are old and damaged, some have poor or no faceups, a few don't even have bodies, and virtually none have apparently ever heard of undergarments. They're not perfect; far from it! They are a huge, never-ending work-in-in progress for me, but rather than feel upset by their flaws and imperfect states, I instead am excited by the possibilities. Just because I don't have a solution to something right now - whether it's because I have bills to pay, missed opportunities, or zero motivation - doesn't mean I won't find a solution or make my own. I just put the dolls back on the shelf, occupy myself with something else, and come back to them at a better time. They're always waiting.

 

You've gotten lots of awesome advice from the commentators already. It's really, really easy to be hard on yourself and put on the pressure, but at the end of the day, it's a hobby. You don't have to feel bad for putting it down or to the side for a while when you're busy with other things.

But in keeping with your question about what keeps me going, I'm at heart a collector and like looking at pretty things. I've also got a small local community where we can get together from time to time for meetups and re-inspire myself.

 

I feel like interacting and sharing with others in the hobby, veterans and newbies alike, is a really good motivator XD but of course it'll take some initiative.

 

Purely my interest in the dolls I own. I don't make clothes or write up stories and scenarios for them or make this one related to that one, nothing like that. They literally just sit on a shelf and I stare at them all "kya kya! I love how this one looks" *buys it an outfit/wig/eyes*. When I buy a new doll I have a tendency to go show it to my sister, boyfriend, boyfriend's sister... That's about all I ever do with them. Except now I have a few blanks and some floating heads that I'm working toward getting painted and get bodies for.
I don't really have any friends in the hobby and nobody to properly geek out with about what I'm looking at getting or am interested in. I mean, yeah I bought my bf's sister her a doll for Christmas one year but that's about the extent of that. She forgets what size hers even is lol (no regrets, I cry, no regrets T^T).

 

Creativity and customization keep me going, I hate how long it takes to get 1 or 2 things for my dolls though I don't think it should take a million years to get one pair of pants. =/ its so annoying.

 

For me it's the crafting! I keep making new concepts (literally inspired by anything), and then I spent most of my time sewing for that particular project or planning. Then photographing. Then I get bored of the concept and make a new one!

 

I love buying clothes, wigs, props, ect, for my dolls! Taking pictures and creating a character are all the things that keep me in this hobby. Lately, I haven't been bonding with my first doll because her body is so difficult to pose. I decided to sell the body, but looking for a new one is kind of hard and can make me a little stressed sometimes. When I do get stressed or not feeling inspirational, I put my doll hobby to the side and try to focus on my other hobbies. I've seen some people change their dolls face up and or character if they feel like they are bored with their doll.

 

I've never been fed up with my dolls themselves, but I have already become so irritated with the community that I've been tempted to just enjoy my dolls privately.

I share the same sentiment some others have expressed- I have other hobbies, so if I'm feeling overwhelmed by doll stuff I'll just play video games or draw. Plus, I have the "Carrot" of one day sculpting my own bjd so I can always get started on that if I start to feel aimless.

 

It is easy for me when I shell ocs in them and makes it harder for me to break the bond. And even then often times I will have them all over my desk because it is that large and just hang out with me when I do tasks. I think there will always be that guilt of, "maybe I should sell them all and get something else instead." But I also have a partner who reasons with me that if I love them I will keep them unless I do not like the doll anymore.

 

I really can see myself in this question.
Sometime I think I should sell everything but instead I buy new dolls.
I can't explain.

 

Patience, a variety of crafts that are doll-adjacent, and the want to see my OC's properly and fully shelled.

 

I really love handling some of my dolls, so sometimes I pick one up just to play with them. That reminds me how much I love having them. And anything that makes them feel more themselves, more finished, is really gratifying. Even if it's just finding the right eyes or wig. And they don't mind sitting around blank however long it takes me to get around to giving them face-ups.

And I have other non-doll hobbies, so I can do something else for a while until I want to work on making them clothes or props or whatever.

 

since i'm kinda just getting back into it since a 8 year leave (and losing some dolls in the process), I'm still enjoying it but I know burnout will strike eventually as it always does for me and my hobbies. It'll probably be to do with the price of things since I don't have a great paying job and almost always I feel guilt about buying doll stuff, OR i feel guilty for NOT buying doll stuff for my dolls. But I feel as though this time around, customizing things is keeping my interest in it which i am thankful for.

 

I’ve been in this hobby since 2006, and the two things that keep me going is the sheer creativity of it and, frankly, DoA. For all this time I’ve constantly opened my Ipad every morning as a routine, checked email and weather, and then gone straight to DoA for a bit of morning relaxation with my coffee. It’s a habit...a good one...and I can always find something interesting or motivating on there. Just looking at unique or beautiful dolls inspires me...people’s comments inspire me...second-hand sales inspires me (I learn a lot there even if I have no money to spend!) It’s all “grist for the mill” as they say, and I just like “absorbing it all”. And that being said, I’m also a die-hard create-a-holic...I need to be thinking or planning or doing creative things as much as I need to breath. So this hobby is absolutely perfect for me because there’s always so much to do with the dolls. But even I can suffer the occasional burn-out. And when that happens, I just relax and enjoy the calm while simply admiring my dolls in their displays, knowing my daily morning forays on DoA will eventually trigger a call to creativity in the future.