Which Came First, Character or Doll?

The character was the first. Everytime.

 

Lumina came first, and I got a feel for her and the character kind of just grew itself? My partner finds a doll and then creates this whole back story to them etc which is really impressive, but my imagination doesn't work that way

 

My doll came first. However, my dolls' characters and storyline are simple: only seme and uke , and they fall in love.

 

For 3 out of 4 of mine, the doll came first. The 1 was a happy little accident where it just fit.

 

For me it was the character! I’ve always like drawing, mostly sketching. So yeah I sketch them I already had in mind what I wanted their outer appearance to be. Then I kept thinking for their personalities. I actually commissioned artist to draw them for me to have a clear view and to have a better visual. After that I searched for faceup artist and then bought my dolls!

 

Usually the character. I write books so I shell characters who are both important to the story and not dead at the end. I have occasionally fallen in love with a sculpt or won a doll or gotten a free doll with an order, and then I wind up making a character for them - usually during the wait time for the shipping notice.

 

For me it depends! For my first 2 BJDs it was the character first, and I still have characters that I'm trying to shell. But for my other dolls, a character has sprung into my mind nearly the first time I've seen the sculpts on a website!

This is a very interesting topic, and I love reading all those answers~

 

I didn't have a character for Murmur when I bought her, and I don't have one yet for my two dolls on order. For me, I usually get a sense of character when I see the doll in person, so if I come up with one in advance and it doesn't fit, that kind of sucks.

A big part of deciding on character is picking the wardrobe. I'm very excited to own dolls in a more common size, so that I might have more options I don't have to make myself; finding anything for Murmur has been an absolute pain. But I found stuff I like for her eventually - and made what I couldn't - so it's all good.

But, I am working on a BJD of my own, Amara, and she's based off an existing character.

 

This is a great question!
For my first (and only) bjd it was doll first. I had already been planning who it would be, based on existing characters I had, for years, but never took the plunge. Then one lovely day when I had saved up some money I decided to just look at some dolls casually and saw someone selling theirs, and I just went WOW she happens to be PERFECT. I knew she was the right one. But I'm to this day 6 years later still working on her character. I suck at making backstories for my ocs so they're mostly designs with some personality.
For my next dolls I have 2 characters in mind that I have drawn a lot already, and I'm trying to decide on a sculpt for them, but sometimes I see one I love and have no fitting character. I think when/if I go so far as ordering them, I'll already be feeling attached by the photos and deciding name and some vague things about them. I start getting a bit creative and attached just from imagining a certain wig on a certain sculpt. We'll see how it goes though.

 

For me it's purchasing the doll, then the character during the wait time (if any. My first doll is vinyl so I can't put her up on here but I got her head from ebay and her body from the friend who got me into the hobby)

 

I agree this is a great question.

For me, I normally start out with a character in mind or purchase a doll to fill an existing character void. But rarely does the character I originally had in mind become the doll's character. I've learned the hard way not to dictate the character to them but rather allow it to organically unfold as time progresses. When I've tried to force characters on them, we've just both ended up unhappy.

Attrition, my first on-topic BJD was supposed to be sweet, quiet, and sad. She is anything but. She's feisty, spirited, and head-strong. Gehenna, my second, I thought would be rebellious because of her head-to-toe tattoos but she is the fastidious, sweet, older sister type.

So I've learned let their personalities form as time progresses. And it's an enjoyable process to observe.

 

My boy is an anime character, but I loved his sculpt before I saw that anime. In that case I wanted him before I knew what will I do with him. The DC girl I just start a layaway for is different. She comes to shell my own character.

 

For me it had to be the doll first.
Right now he's on his way and I'm waiting to see the feel of him.
Don't get me wrong, ever since I saw him it was love at first sight, but I'm still waiting to have him physically to see what feel he has.
Right now the only thing I have for him is his name, and that's tentative.
What I do know is that he does fit for a dark/(maybe) supernatural story.

 

I'm still waiting on my first two dolls, but it's sort of both.

For my Impldoll, I was actively looking for a shell for a character I have costume projects for, and I came across Azalea and thought her sculpt would be perfect. But Impldoll was having a promotion with a gift head with the purchase of a doll, so I also wanted Sicily, not for any particular character, but just because I liked her face. I still don't know who she'll be yet. So I ordered one doll body, but two heads. For one head it was character first, and for the other, doll first.

For my Dollshe Amanda, the story was that I had another costume idea, but I thought one of my porcelain dolls would be good enough. (I wasn't so much trying to shell a whole character as I was just wanting to design a dress.) But while looking for a doll to fit the shell I purchased the Impldoll for, I came across Dollshe Amanda in the special package, with the three face-plates with wide open eyes, half open eyes, and sleeping eyes. I realized that one of the face-plates would be perfect for the costume and a character to go with, but at the same time I had brand new ideas for each of the other face-plates, rather than shelling one character with different expressions. So that one was sort of neither, I guess. Because I was neither looking for a doll to shell those characters, nor was I trying to find a character to use the doll for. It was all instantaneous.

 

Definitely both.
For my first doll, I found the mold I wanted and named her. But her personality was developed over time.
For other dolls, I had the concept for their characters, and then the doll happened, always with the -intent- of them being a doll. My paladin Wolfram, for example; and then my ice-demon Caesium.

 

For the most part, it's character first because before getting into bjds I was writing and creating stories. However, I do have some exceptions. If I really like a sculpt and they don't fit a character I have in the storyline I'm shelling, I'll just create a new character.
It's a little different for my msds. My lumedoll only has a name and personality, not really a character. For my dollzone girl, I actually created a story after I saw her company photos.
So I guess I'm a little mixed, but definitely lean more towards character first

 

Dolls are first always, to be honest i'm still having trouble with coming up with stories or characters, how do you all do it??

 

Thus far, character for sure. I’m interested by those who have made a character around a doll, I feel like I wouldn’t know where to begin! Though I’m still new to the hobby, so maybe one day!

 

I'm new to the BJD scene, so maybe I just don't fit the intent or spirit of the community. But personally, I'm keeping the story simple; like, one picture tells the whole story simple. But the characters my dolls represent also aren't my OCs, just a fun reinterpretation of established characters. I do have original stories and original characters, but for some reason I don't feel compelled to embody or "shell" them in a doll. I feel the written version is enough, and that trying to embody them in a doll may make them feel less alive. I've collected porcelain dolls for years and never felt any need to flesh out who they are. It's like when you see a stranger in real life; you know they have character and personality and a life full of personal experiences and joys and sorrows, but you may never get to know that story, and that's okay. I kind of like to have porcelain dolls for the same reason 18th century French fashion designers did: to make miniature fashion designs for them. (Although I actually have done a photo-story with them too.) With BJDs, I suppose they lend themselves more to story-telling because of their articulation, which allows them to express action and emotion. But I think it's okay if you can't or don't want to have a complete story for your dolls. It's okay to enjoy them as artwork.

 

I really like the part about strangers you see in real life cuz it got me thinking, it's something that fascinates me, sometimes I see people that look interesting to me and I do wonder what they do and how they feel, what their personality is like, and I feel that not knowing is exactly what makes it so fascinating, I guess I like dolls that make me feel that way! But I know it's not the same for everyone and we all have different ways to enjoy the hobby, they're all valid as long as we have fun, I guess i just never had the urge to make stories for them and that's why it's new to me how important it is for many, I will try to make one for my next doll though. He's special! Thanks for sharing!