When do you prefer to think of a character?

Normally it goes that way:
1) I think about a character I want (my first one is a priest, the second one will be a Mafia/Yakuza guy)
2) I search for a doll who fits (in my eyes) to this character

 

I usually think of a character/personality before hand, but my dolls usually make their own personality when they get here, which is different from what I've planned. xD

 

Well I made the mistake with my first two dolls of spur of the moment, thus I don't think I bond with them as well, my first one I don't especially, but my second one I sort of do.
I have a feeling with my next dolls I'll be closer with them, because they're actually developed characters of mine.

 

After...but i'm into the hobby more for the dolls...then for creating characters..X3

 

Typically, when I'm not supposed to be- I don't yet have my boy, but his character came to me after I pretty much decided he was an author. Once that happened a long, confusing storyline that's hilarious in how normal yet abnormal it is formed, and the mold to fit that backstory is waiting to be purchased.

I'm willing to bet my left foot that he'll change once he's here, though.

 

Well, I don't have a doll yet so I don't have experience with personality forming after the doll's arrival, but the I think I will only have general idea of their personality until they get here. Seeing the doll in person will probably be a lot different than in pictures and I'm sure that if I tried to set a personality now, it's just end up changing. I'm not really in favor of making huge complicated backgrounds for dolls anyway, I like them being more flexible with what I want to do with them at the moment if that makes any sense.

 

I'm still BJD-less at the moment, but I know that eventually I'll own the Cullen family from the Twilight saga. Edward will be coming first, Bella coming second. Course, there are some dolls that I see and know that their current personality would be better than anything I forced on them! So, I guess when it comes down to it, I will do whatever feels right at the moment/for that doll.

 

I actually have a list of characters to be born... it's long... Mamoru is up first! (B&G Sky)

 

It's always, always before for me. Being a financially unstable soon-to-be college student, purchasing these dolls is definitely a very long wait for me. If I don't go searching for a doll to represent a character, I'll see a doll and start creating a character for it.

I feel that these dolls, like my art, like my cosplaying, are extensions of myself - something I put a lot of money, time, and love into. Because the dolls are human-shaped, I feel a need to create a character for them - usually based on my interests. Only days after first discovering BJDs and DoD's Camine, I was putting together a personality, and even as I wait for my boys I've been figuring out the smaller details of how they act.

I can't just buy a doll and wait for it to explain itself to me. Any doll I want has to have a specific place set out for it, otherwise I just won't be interested. A lot of times I'll see a gorgeous doll and be all OMGWANT, but then a week or so later, I won't have come up with a character or a name, and I'll have lost interest. I figure I have enough dolls on my wishlist anyway. XD

 

For me, I already have a fairly elaborate story in mind that I want all my dolls to be a part of. I know the characters well, and pick the dolls based on what would fit what character. It also help to guide my slections, otherwise I just get so cuaght up in all the beautiful dolls that it would be way to hard to pick!

@Barbee- Thats such a great idea, good luck with the dolls and I can't wait to see those! I'm dolless too at the moment xD

 

That's pretty interesting - I've encountered fewer people here who are into the hobby because of this reason.
I expected this kind of thinking when I first got to DoA, - doll-collectors, period.
But I was surprised to know people created whole stories and characters for their dolls.
(though it seems a more fulfilling aspect)

 

i dont have a doll yet but a have a few characters already planned out for dolls. i'd want to have it all sorted before i bought the doll just because it would make me feel better about the price. as in it wont just be another peice of crap that gets lost on the shelf, its got a 'soul'.

 

I normally plan out my dolls character before getting them, from their personality right down to wig, eyes and clothing. Although sometimes it depends, and some cases my doll starts to take on it's own characteristics, something that I hadn't planned for it, just by having a change of faceup.

 

Terribly sorry if there is a thread already like this. -bows-
The mods can move/delete it if they want. ^^

I was just curious as to how some people create their doll's character? Do they exist before you get the doll, or vice versa?

I'm having a bit of a dilemma right now. I just ordered an Elfdoll Sooah Polaris LE50, and I absolutely love her model to bits, but I just can't think of her character. And it's really bothering me because I can't decide on what style of clothes to get her yet. And the WIG. My gosh. I can't decide between a wavy black one and a straight blond one. D:
Ah well. Maybe things like this just happen in time, sometimes.

-Sorry if this seems more like a rant-

 

Sometimes it's best to let the doll tell you - experiment with different combinations of wigs and clothing and when the look is right, you'll know. Once she has her "look" you'll get a better idea as to who she is. I intended for Orion to have a long white wig, for example - but when I put it on, it wasn't him - and the spare Monique wig in black I had lying around suits him perfectly. And Jake, I wanted him to be in suits all the time - but he's a jeans and wifebeater guy.

When your girl arrives, just play with it and see where she takes you. Sometimes they surprise you.

 

i agree with whats already been said. =] good luck!

(also you could look into gallarys and databases for the mold you want, to see what colors and styles you like on the doll, and check out the "yet to be born dolly profiles" thread for an idea on doll personalities)

 

It happens both ways for me,
Quinn was already ordered before he told me his name and he still doesn't have a surname or an entire character. I had an idea of what he was going to be like but when I got his head out of the box he was totally different to how I expected, he told me gently to calm down and that he was fine where as I'd thought he was going to be a narky character he was actually very sweet.

Then I have another character whos backstory, name and everything I already know and I was going to get a DoD E-an to be her but today we saw B&G Aurora and she informed me that that was the doll she would become and if I got anything else she'd be kicky and annoying.


And as to your problem my advice would be to get a cute wig if she doesn't come with one and maybe a pair of jeans/shorts and a vest that are cheap enough if she doesn't suit them but enough so that she isn't naked.

 

There is a really interesting discussion of this topic here: http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=178437

 

I usually have a character beforehand. My friend and I write a lot together, and that's where all the dolls I'm planning on are coming from. Only one of them was actually inspired by a doll. XD

 

Hmm Well, with my first doll, he didn't even have a name until a year later.... (He does now, of course, but I still have absolutely no story behind the little guy. He lives with me to live with me, and helps me draw. I enjoy him in the moment. )
But there's another doll I want to have, and I do have a very distinct character, history, and look in mind for this one, so I guess it's both things for me?