Which Came First, Character or Doll?

My dolls personalizes come though in time as I own the doll. Just sort of get to know them like I do a real person. None of them have a back story though, because the characters are the dolls. Their back story is that they where made, stuffed in a box, and shipped to me!xD

I keep all my wigs, outfits, and anything the dolls I currently own can wear, because even if they don't use it often, I can see using them for some different photo shoots.

 

I usually get an rough idea first, when i'm designing the doll in my head and then in the time between ordering and arrival more will start to develop... and the rest falls into place once they're here. Sometimes they arrive and throw away all the previous ideas I had about them and end up someone else entirely lol.

I own a lot of dolls in similar scales, so they can share clothing. Which means if something doesn't work for one, it might work for another. I'll usually hang onto bits just in case, unless it's something I KNOW I just won't use. I have dolls here who despite being the same doll as another, you put them in a dress and they just look terrible. You put them in the "wrong" clothing for their personality and they just don't look right. It's bizarre, like their personality shines so strongly in their face that you just can't dress them in a way they don't wanna dress without them looking off.

 

I usually have a general idea, but for some, I've just waited and let their character reveal itself after they arrive. Most of them have changed to some degree from my plans for them - I think Lavinia is the only one whose character hasn't altered to at least some degree from the plans I had for her.

 

This. I have a problem. So many people have characters already and want to shell. So they are looking at a specific type. For me.. If I see a doll a story starts playing in my head. Its bad enough I am not looking any more right now since I just bought 2 more bodies to fill out the ONE doll I bought knowing her story first lol(SD). Because she needs her side characters right!? The first doll I bought just to try things out showed up and instantly had a whole story and the need for 5 more dolls (MSD).
So.. Yeah I am trying REALLY hard not to look too hard until I get at least a couple of them finished. But. of course one of the new bodies needs a more fitting head so..

 

Hey all!

I'm curious- how do you folks approach your doll's character design? Do you have a character in mind before even picking the sculpt? Do you buy the sculpt you like and then build a character around it while you wait? Do you not make your doll into a character at all?

 

I always make my dolls into characters because otherwise I'll probably end up selling them (this already have happened many times).
I buy the sculpt after a long period of picking, comparing, searching for the perfect one. And I also love to make Pinterest boards just so I know what colors to pick for makeup, what clothes and shoes I should look for and all that stuff. It takes a lot of time, honestly, but in the end I'm happy with the result and that's all that matters I think)

 

So far I've found sculpts I like and am building characters around them. I've never had original characters before so didn't have any to shell into dolls. There's a few where I have a sculpt in mind for someone (for example a lover for one of my boys and a best friend for another). I draw mine quite a lot to figure out their styles and also recently to figure out what I want it elves armour to look like. I really need to get some of those character questions and write stuff down for my dolls so I can start to develop them more.

 

I usually always build characters based around the sculpt. If I can't create character for the sculpt I likely won't end up buying them.

There have been cases when I've developed characters as my other dolls family members or love interests without choosing the sculpt first. When I do this I still generally have a rough idea of what sculpt I want though.

If a doll has no character I just don't feel connected to them enough. I'm a prolific character creator and story teller so characters are very important to me and my over active imagination

 

I develop characters based off the sculpt. The way I go, it made sense the first time I bought a doll, but after that, I just bought sculpts I liked and found ways to jam them into my first doll’s existing concept. I guess it was a way to justify the purchase to myself, haha.

 

A little of both.

Usually, since all of my dolls represent my role play characters, I build the character first, then look for a doll to match. But occasionally, I buy a doll I really love, buy some clothes, eyes or wigs I really love, then let the doll ‘tell’ me who they are. I let them sit around with me at home and I think about what kind of person they might be or what things they like, or where they would fit into my story. Sometimes it’s as basic as ‘I want a girlfriend for X character, what personality would match best?’ Other times it’s more abstract, like ‘I want a new character in my young adult crew, lets see who they would befriend fastest.’ Sometimes the best thing is just giving them a name and starting RP with them as a blank slate—it’s like improv and forces me to build the character on the spot!

 

I have lots of original characters in mind, which I like to create on various platforms (drawings, video games etc). Some sculpts give me an idea which fits into my world, and I find them a character while customizing them

 

I look at a sculpt and a character usually just comes to me, with their own body type, look, and personality. Usually face sculpt, but now I have one where the body sculpt is calling to me. Then i just have to find the parts and put them together. If a character doesn't come to me, I won't get it. That why I just look at Saints and don't buy one. Despite my best efforts, I can't get a character to stick that will fit in with my crew. I do have one exception to the sculpt first rule. I have a fantasy story with goblins and I thought it would be fun to get a doll loosely based on one of the characters. But no such doll existed... until moths later when the perfect sculpt popped up on the news post. What luck!

 

I usually have a character in mind to turn into a doll. If I don't, I just want to buy every pretty face lol.

 

I have a ton if OCs, so I'm always thinking about which faces and bodies would be the best fit for one of my characters before buying. I even incorporate scale into it - I have a character who is 7 feet tall, so I decided to shell her as a 1/3 instead of my usual 1/4.

 

I am somewhat cautious and indecisive. I see a doll, I fall in love... it's face sticks in my head, I go back to look at it repeatedly, for weeks, months, even years until I finally decide I can't live without it. I save up the monies for it, I try to think of a character and a name for it. I am good with names, but not so much personalities. I am usually dead wrong as to what kind of personality the doll will have. So I don't rush it, I don't worry about it any more. They let me know who they are over time.

 

^ This right here for me! Pretty much @CloakedSchemer's whole post is kind of summed up my own feelings.

I tend to have a character in mind because I have TONS of characters from various forum and 1x1 role plays I've been a part of or maintained or whatever. I do really enjoy making my dolls into 'characters' so to speak. I might not tell everyone like 'oh hey this doll represents this character for this role play' because I'm not as open about RPing in real life as I am about dolls but, to me, they're my very special characters that in some cases I've been playing for years!

 

Well my first doll was selected based off an existing video game character. I spent hours combing bjd sites and etsy for the perfect sculpt! I ended up creating a hybrid of a 60cm mirodoll body and a Black cherry Aishat head. I knew I wanted her to be one of the main characters in my story, but now I have a merry doll round Zuri on layaway that will be her companion. I've already written the prologue and chapter 1 of their story. I'm currently working on props and clothing for my first doll. It's taking a while due to work schedule, but It gives me something to work on in my spare time!

 

A little of both. Sometimes I fall in love with a sculpt first, like the one in my avatar. Other times, I have a character in mind and I search for a matching doll.

 

I fell in love with the sculpt first. I feel like he tells me his own story/personality/style. I never really understood that when DoA people talked about that before, as I never felt that with previous dolls. He's extremely particular though. There are things I'd love to do but I feel like he tells me no. Like I wouldn't mind having a men's kimono or modern clothes necessarily, but he isn't having that. He only wants to wear older style (as in hundreds of years ago) western clothes.