Which Came First, Character or Doll?

Always the doll first. There might be a vague concept of character as it relates to my other dolls, but the name is always something that the doll has to tell me itself.

 

I think character comes first and then the doll. But recently I chose the sculpt first and the character will be a work in progress.

 

Characters came first technically, but doll was not specifically bought for the character either so I guess both LoL. I also have a characterless doll.

The only doll I have that was 100% bought for a specific character is my incoming April Story Diana. I think I’d like any future dolls to be for specific characters as well.

 

Definitely doll 90% of the time. Even if I get a doll for a specific character, once it arrives, I often change my mind and I have to make a new concept... For that reason, I normally do not get their clothes or props until I have the doll in my hands already.

 

For me it's the character first. I'm thinking of a specific face, hairstyle, body, outfit, etc when I am looking to buy a doll, so anything I find has to fit the idea and plan first. And when I'm designing the physical appearance I am usually thinking of at least vague concepts for who the character is. My plan right now is for a doll that is a sort of angel fairy who was sent to earth for some reason and entrusted to my care, something like the story of Princess Maker 2 :P I've got a lot of "must buy" items bookmarked already and am looking for more!

 

I'm a character first type of person, at least starting out in the hobby. I have a few characters kicking around in my head that want to be dolls. However, I did see Impldoll's Sicily and immediately started making a character based off the doll, however I don't own her yet so I suppose that still falls under the character first category.

 

In most cases, character first. Fondness of a character is how I even develop the sense to think, "Yeah, I'd love to physically have some form of their company."

And then there's the ones like my Volks Kiriko, whose beauty was a siren call for my bank account. And my Cocoriangs too--they're just cute animals, like alright sure I'm going to resist that chunky little hamster. Nah!

 

It really depends for me. I do have a story going for all of my dolls, but that wasn’t the case when I got my first few tinies. Now anyone who comes home has a character in mind before they arrive, but the original few were somewhat random until I was able to find a storyline. While I do prefer it that I can come up with who they are before they arrive so that I know how they’re going to fit in, sometimes a doll just doesn’t want to be that character. I’ve only really had this happen once, but it was a little saddening.

 

It’s definitely a mix for me.. I have a character in mind & then I see a sculpt that would fit & somehow, that helps me flesh out more details when I can envision how a character would look in doll form.

And then, once the doll arrives, during the process of sending it out for faceup, choosing a wig & shopping for clothes, the character gradually manifests in a tangible form.

 

Doll, definitely. I've never really gotten into character making or anything of the sort, I mostly have my dolls for their beauty.

 

I've never given my dolls a character, beyond assigning them a name other than their sculpt. I'm an aesthetic collector through and through.

 

Character! While im thinking about the personality, i tend to think about their faces, (more cute, kidish or bad-looking) and then I look through every doll i can! lol

 

Doll! I didn't know what my girl was going to be like until she arrived

 

In my case its 99% the Character then the Doll.
All my Dolls are based on one of my OC's.
When i first get in contact with BJDs i did a lot of research and found two Tinys i fell in love with.
I looked at them and i knew immidately that they would perfectly fit for the Child Version of my Twins.
After that i listed all my OCs and try to find the perfect Doll for them.
Thats how i decide witch Doll i take home C:
Next one will be my Rei, a Loong Soul Jiao Mu Jiao - Spring ♥

 

Doll for me. My OCs are for the most part a bit to distinct looking and a bit to precisely defined by now to be "shelled" - my avatar is an example - unless some company starts casting their dolls in "glitter resin" I won't be able to even find the same skin tone
On the other hand, thinking up characters for the sculpts I like is fun. So I go with that