Which Came First, Character or Doll?

This thread was interesting reading for me. I got my first doll coming up on two years ago now, but I still feel like a newbie because I haven't had time to really get into doing anything with my dolls. But I bought them because I thought they were cute or beautiful or cool, and I'm excited to learn how to make clothes and wigs for them. I like the idea of coming up with styling that works for a particular photograph. But I'd never even considered developing a character for them. Now I'm wondering if it's unusual to have BJDs and not fit them into fiction I'm writing? But then, most people on the forum seem to have adult dolls. I like child dolls and little creatures/animals.

 

For me, mostly the characters came first. I don’t seem to connect as well with dolls I bought with no character in Ming, they seem to just be pretty ornaments & I'm less sure what clothes and props to make for them. When I buy dolls with no character in mind, they don’t seem to develop a character, they just stay as blank dolls.

The ones I buy with characters in mind are much better for me, I think and I much prefer doing it that way round!

 

For me, the doll comes first, and while they're busy being made and stuff, I come up with their character and story based on the sculpt!

 

Chaeri started her existence as a kisekae doll, Cherry Flame. Then she became an RPG character that I trotted through a few games. Somehow she evolved from a Japanese idol singer to a Korean-American would-be stand-up comic named Mun Chaeri (I don't even remember what spurred the change). I embodied her in several different dolls until at last, she ended up in her current 1/4 body. As her character evolved, so did her imagined personality. In her current incarnation she's a smart, stylish, sassy independent girl who doesn't take crap from anybody but she's still sweet and cheerful. It's odd; really...as if being in a larger body gives her more room to be herself.

 

As I buy a doll to inspire my writing, usually the character is the first thing to come out in my head.
But it also has some exceptions, for example, Volks SD17 André. Although I just only heard about and still didn't read "Rose of Versaille", the beauty of André really captured my heart so I decided to adopt him without a pre-determined story or character. But now, as he's a character himself, I really confuse whether or not to keep him into his original world and storyline or make him a seperate character on my own.
In fact, I has some character I borrowed from other works, but André is not the case. May be a change of face up a great help?!

 

For me it really is a mix. I have very defined worlds that my dolls live in but the stories are more fluid. Some characters i have in my head and am looking for a doll to fit, other times i see a doll and think " oh that could be an interesting new character for the story"

 

Rave, the character I just bought a doll to match, has been with me for many many years, so he definitely came first.

 

For the most part it's doll first for me although I did have some idea before getting my FCS F-01 and DearSD Una as I ended up wanting my first doll to have sisters. Their personalities/character is generally something that comes afterwards as they spend more time in my house.

 

My answer is always the character. I wouldn't get a doll unless I already knew, at least on some level, what they're like as a character. More often than not, the OC is already fully built and I also know what their physical features are like. Then once I find the perfect sculpt I have yet another doll on my wishlist. XD

 

For me, the doll definitely comes first. I view each doll as having a unique character that I discover, but I do not define, if that makes sense. I try to approach each one with an open mind, so that they can show me who they are.

 

I really like the way you approach your dolls/characters! although I'm doing this in a different way, I can see how yours is a fun and interesting way to let the doll grow and develop.

 

100% the character for me. I end up having overall more creative ideas and I'm happier with the final outcome!

Of course, there are a few dolls that spark instant inspiration for me, so sometimes I have a doll in mind for a character.

 

Definitely the doll, I like to get to know them when they come home.

 

For me personally all my dolls come first and through spending time with them does their personality or characters develops.

 

That's a good question ! It's interesting to see construction of your dolls and characters
Actually, I only have two dolls and finally the doll came first. For the first one, my IH Harin, I really wanted her just because I found her so beautiful on the company presentation. And now, she doesn't look like these presentation anymore. I don't know why, when I get her, I wanted her to be Irish with beautiful red hair, with a natural look. And today, her character is still in construction...

For my second doll, I found her by chance on second hand market. I don't know how, but it was heart-stopper I really wanted her, she looked so cool. And her character comes immediately, as an evidence. She's more developed than my first, even if Harin is always my favorite.
Now I build a story around these dolls and there are obviously other characters. So in this case it's the opposite, I try to find dolls who can match with my ideas. It's horrible because now I have a wishlist as long as your arm ><"

 

Dolls first. I create the characters around the dolls I fall in love with. When I first was in the hobby I tried to shell characters, but they never worked out.
When I got back in I bought dolls I already loved and built them into characters. Sometimes it works with the first idea, sometimes it takes a few tries. But I loved the sculpt, so I'm already happy enough that I don't mind playing around with ideas until something fits.

 

I was sure I had posted in this thread. Maybe I'm thinking of another one?

For a long time, all my dolls were bought to shell specific characters, so it's generally character first for me. But sometimes they don't quite work out or they get replaced by a new sculpt that fits the character better, but I enjoy having them around too much to give them up, so those have become their own group. And in the past few years I've added a handful of dolls that didn't have specific characters, so things are more complicated now.

 

It is different. But mostly dolls were first but one. I bought Claude as a character of Romeo and Juliett by Franco Zeffirelli. He looks like Leonard Whiting.

 

Definately the character, the character my dolls name (Ryuu) is based off was intially created waaay back in 2009 (maybe 2010) and my doll only arrived this week!

 

most of my dolls the character idea came first some of my more recent ones I have I just fallen in love with sculpts and name and character came after