Which Came First, Character or Doll?

My first bjd came as doll first, I can worry about his character later. I wanted to build up his aesthetics first before anything. And I wanted to start a fresh character in my new hobby. My plan for my succeeding dolls will be a bjd version of an existing character that I have.

 

I bet lots of people do, you're not alone.

I'm not particularly shelling anyone (hah, I like the word "shelling" btw) mostly because I have no stories written or thought out right now. I like creating characters and stories, I'm just having a kind of an artistic block. Of years. Depressing. *sigh* When I'm going through my doll wishlist or contemplating getting a spesific doll they somehow actually do develop a nature or character of some sort. They're really vague, though. They're formed through a face up idea or the clothing style I'm going for. Even though the characters are really imprecise and might not even have names they have a general backstory kind of to explain their look or why I photograph one doll in a suburban area enjoying a sunset and another lurking in the forest.

tl;dr The spesific doll comes first, then I create a vague backstory through accessories and photos I guess. :'D

 

The dolls themselves are the most important to me. I'm very, very picky about which dolls I like, even what type! BJDs are by far my favorite, so I have 16 of them now. Not everyone has a developed character. Only one or two are still on the 'undecided' list of being part of my permanent collection. Unless it would just be love at first sight when the doll was for sale in person, and I have the money in hand, I don't impulse buy. Nearly all of my BJDs are second hand and that means they have been on the market so long I've had time to decide I wanted them bad enough to buy them, so second hand saves me some money and gives funds to another collector to be able to get something they want as well.

The character is secondary and I'm very careful to develop those. For example, my Dollshe Saint used to be James but James was a vulgar, temperamental, dumb a-hole and I became bored with that. I figured his roommate, Jeremy, would be tired of him a bit as well. So, James moved away with a woman after falling in love. I still had my Saint because I love the doll, so I wiped him and gave him a new character, Jasper. Jasper is into the furry hobby and works at a comic shop. He became friends with Jeremy since he still needed a friend. They met while playing MtG at the comic shop on Fridays.

I feel if I wasn't careful to be picky about the dolls themselves, I would have a house full of dolls. I don't want to be a hoarder, so I just make myself be patient and take my time deciding which to bring in. I've also had a few come home from trades that I wasn't sure about, because they are dolls I have never seen before, or ones I would have never thought I would like. Some of those find new homes later if I don't bond to them, but it's good to have that variety as well. I hate selling things, so that's another reason I am more interested in the doll themselves.

Funny thing, my bestie in the doll hobby is the exact opposite of me because she is more into the characters than most of her dolls, so I also get to see plenty of dolls come and go as some of the characters get reshelled. There is no 'wrong' way to enjoy the dolls or the hobby!

 

For my first boy Johnny I had the character roughly carved out a decade before I found the doll. The character I'd created largely determined what the doll would look like, and while that made the search for the perfect doll trickier it also helped me create a list of options. I eventually found a doll to be my childhood "friend," and I couldn't be happier. The story is the same with Johnny's little friend Chloe and his girlfriend Johanna; the character came before the doll.

Johnny's other friend Alistair and Johanna's half-sister Guinevere are the opposite. They were impulse buys and thus I had to throw together a character while waiting for the doll to come. Since both Alistair and Guinevere are second-hand I didn't have much time to put characters together, and as result Guin's character is pretty half-baked. Alistair's personality fell together with surprising ease, and I'm hoping eventually I can make Guin into a stronger character as well. In answer to the question, I prefer to have a character hashed out ahead of time, but I don't always do it.

 

For me it was always the character. Not that I looked for a doll that fits the character. No. I caught a glimpse of the mold, and it gave birth to the character, but the character (with its place in my doll family and with a detailed backstory) was almost fully developed in my head when I placed the order. I never had to think hardly about the names either. When people ask me how the names popped up, I say, 'it was very simple, the doll told me what his name was'. LOL Somehow the name seemed to come with the character.

What about you guys? How does the character in your mind and the name your doll will be given relate to each other?

 

I ordered a doll and began to build his character and appearance. It will be a dark-haired boy with black eyes.... Aha! Certainly! The dark-haired boy came and said that he is blond with violet eyes.

 

Doll, since none of them ever seem to fit the character I intend. They just take a life of their own.

 

Doll always comes first for me. The sculpts I'm attracted to already have so much character themselves I just take one look and already know exactly who they are It's really fun. I suck at coming up with completely new characters on my own (idk why) but I have no problem whipping a character out of nowhere to suit a pretty doll

 

Character first, then I get the doll. But usually I see a doll I like and try to build a character for him/her

 

For my first doll, Mei, the doll definitely came first. I wasn't entirely sure whether or not I believed in the "bonding" aspect until she arrived. She immediately seemed to give off a life all her own even though she was naked and bald, and I became attached to her right out of the box. For my Mystic Kids Francis, the character came first, but then changed. I bought him initially to be based on an OC of mine named Morty and even bought him a specific eye color, wig, and two outfits to fit that character. When he arrived, however, it didn't fit him at all. It might have been his lack of face-up(which i'm still trying to remedy), but if anything the OC I forced him to be kept me from bonding with him. It was only when I took off his wig and changed his eyes back to the blue he arrived with that I started to connect with him.

 

I have oodles and oodles of characters to base my dolls around. That's why it takes me so long to decide on a sculpt. If it doesn't feel like them, it just wouldn't feel right. Of course, that wouldn't stop me from buying a doll who I could start from scratch on. The times you create something wonderful by accident are some of the best, but seeing someone who already exists in your head come together is just so very satisfying. I guess I'm flexible. If at first they don't fit, toss a new wig and eyes at 'em.

 

Doll first for me. I've tried doing it the other way around but ultimately was unsatisfied.

 

I usually have a character and look at doll sculpts as close as to what I envision them as after I've set down the character a bit. After that, I'll probably get more of a feel for the character and add on.

 

Doll came first and probably will for every purchase. I would try character first but as of now I lack creativity and I don't really buy dolls to become a character, I just like them the way they are. Of course later on though they develop a character.

 

I have the characters first but I do change them to fit a certain sculpt if I really love it.

 

Doll, always the doll. I don't collect dolls for OC/character-creation purposes, though I have to admit the idea of a doll fashioned after my own personal OC does intrigue me, I doubt I'd ever find her though as she has a very specific look to her that wouldn't be commonly found among BJDs.

 

I had the character concept first, and I initially wanted to get into the hobby to have physical representations of my favorite OCs. I actually never intended to shell my guy as a doll, because he's sort of a joke character, and I wanted my dolls to have more "serious" stories, but then I found the perfect doll for him, at an absolute steal. I couldn't resist, but I'm pretty happy I got him!

I have other OCs I want to shell, though, so he's gonna have to share his body quite a bit.

 

All of my characters I've had for YEARS (10+ in some cases), and I only just got into the hobby. I honestly can't imagine getting a doll without it being for a specific character of mine.

 

Character first, for me. I have a lot of oc's from writing and rping with friends that I'm trying to shell. The furthest I might get from that is to develop a character for a doll before I buy it/waiting for it to ship. That's likely what'll happen if I get my hands on either of my two grail dolls.

 

Definitely an attempt at "character first," planning stuff out while I wait for it to arrive, only to eventually change my mind once my hands are on the doll :")