When do you prefer to think of a character?

My first boy, Dominick, didn't even relinquish a name until after he got here. Then the personality came later...little by little...andonce we got past the general stuff I was overwhelmed with information about him...
My second was similar except his name was much easier and his personality hit me like a ton of brick....much sooner then I ever expected
x____X
but now every time I even look at a doll for sale I can list abot 15 names and start on the personality.....
and the doll I plan on getting is already named with a very detailed personality...so I guess what I've been trying to say is that it varies by doll ^____________^

 

For me it's always before, but that is because I buy the dolls for characters that I have had for years. Buying cause a doll is cute is just something I can't bring myself to as I'm techincally new to the hobby.

 

No, not weird at all. In fact, I usually create the character before choosing a sculpt I like

 

So far i've had an idea of who they are going to be before theyg ot here, then its been all character building from there. I only got my first 2 months ago, so while i dont have much experience yet, i find it very interesting how this is going ^^

When i was saving for Piper, i wanted to let her develop on her own, but she ened up picking a character from my head....then ditched it a few weeks later-after i ordered her. When i orderd Ryn's head (somewhere during the Piper character fiasco XD) i wasnt goingto give him a character for a while. but that changed because i quickly found a setting/plot/characters for both of them.

Both of them have changed significantly since i've gotten them (Piper and Ryn's head 2 months ago, Ryn's body 2 weeks ago) and i'm happy with where they're going.

i started out thinking i'd only buy a doll if it called to me and i had a character in mind for it. Now i find myself looking at dolls i love and thinking "Hmm, how could i fit THIS doll into my world/village/story?"

 

I don't vote at the poll, but I create the character outlines before I buy the doll (so I can search for a mold that could fit my character) and I leave the details for the doll itself to fill in.
So roughly I only decide hair and clothes before they arrive.

 

For me, it's always after since I find that any preconceived ideas I might have about the doll disappear once I meet it in person. I just let them evolve & tell me about themselves instead of trying to fit them into a mold.

 

As an *experienced* bjd-er (I've been here since '05 and have owned over 100 different dolls) I voted AFTER, because most often, the doll ends up becoming something different once I see it in person, no matter what I might have had in store for it beforehand.

Raven

 

I personally prefer to think up my character and then find a doll that screams "Oh!! Pick me!! I am that character" That's how I pick my babies out. I feel kinda bad saying hat though...

 

I prefer coming up with the character before the doll arrives, even if it's just a vague character sketch.

 

Being a veteran RPG-fanatic I'm used to creating characters. Actually in seven years time I've accumulated quite many of them, all of them gaining more details even now. So, I don't actually need to think of any new characters for my dolls, since I'm basing them in characters that have existed for me quite a time, most of them years.
I actually had a little trouble bonding with my first doll because of the fact that his character was so new to me, I hadn't got to know him properly like the rest of my crew.
My other dolls (their characters/personalities etc.) I've known for years so it's easy to grow fond of them.

 

I'd rather make a character basis first (appearance, basic personality), and then after getting the doll, let the character evolve from there.

 

I usually think it up before-hand... Usually I take a pre-existing character's name and just start from scratch there, sometimes keeping a portion of the character's looks. Then, after receiving the doll I usually change it quite a bit.

 

With Ciaran I didn't really have too much of his character thought out before I got him. All I knew was what I wanted to name him. but after I got him, his character kind of just grew. And now all the other dolls I'm planning are characters that are involved with his character (confused? XD). Ex: My newest boy Finch is Ciaran's best friend from college. I also have dolls planned out for people like his brother and such as well.
So....I guess both answers pertain to me? I'm not sure.

 

BEFORE i buy the doll. I previously bought a doll that i hadn't come up with an idea for and i just couldn't bond at all. So i sold him off.

Now i make characters first and dolls later. Gives me something to do while i'm saving aswell!

 

I've done both, but I think I prefer to have some kind of idea of character before I buy the doll--I tend to bond better and more quickly if I do. Now two of the ones I bought without characters did develope very strong characters and a story after I bought them, but it took awhile for the story to come. I also really love to come up with characters and stories (it's my favorite part of bjds)

 

'Six of one, half-a-dozen of the other over here... I've done both. It just depends on rather I'm picking the doll simply because I really want and like the sculpt for its own sake, or rather I'm picking it because I like it best as an avatar for one of the pre-existing characters I want to have in resin form.

 

I have plenty of characters I'd like to have as dolls, but so far the only dolls I've gotten I've gotten to know later. Go figure.

But, no, it doesn't make you weird.

 

Actually, only one of my future dolls (not the incoming head) has a well-realized character; the Kid Delf Hodoo, actually. This is because he has been on my mind for so long lately, so it only makes sense that he was able to develop his personality so thoroughly in my head. Of course, I'll probably learn even more about him once I buy and receive him, but... So far he has a very fleshed out personality, and very pronounced likes and dislikes.

The second dolly I hope to get, which I had already named has a somewhat "there" personality, although she isn't nearly as fleshed out as my future boy. Also, her mold has changed a couple times, so she's probably not going to remain a Dollmore Paran. Actually, if circumstances remain as they are, she might become a Narsha! However, her personality developed without a doll in mind, which explains why she's note quite "there" in my mind yet. Aleksandr's personality was totally based on the doll, and evolved out of that.

And the incoming head? Erm... I have basic ideas for her. I actually have a character developing for her, but without a body to go with her head, there isn't much I can do at the moment! XD

 

I buy dolls based on how they look and I have never had any clue about what sort of character to create for them. I just bought my fourth doll and have only the vaguest idea of his name, let alone what he will be like once he gets here.

I only have two specific characters I want dolls for and I doubt I will ever find exactly what I want unless I do the custom thing from Volks.