Would you find it less personal if...

This is how I feel as well. I did wind up with Momiji, but more because he was absolutely adorable and a friend of mine was selling him. His resemblance to Momiji was an excuse for my impulse buying. But now I've not really bonded with him and so I don't think he will stay with me. I should know better than to impulse buy dolls, but tinies are so cute, they always get to me.

 

It's YOUR doll, why ask other people what to do with it? Having watched several anime based dolls being put to gether I know, you invest a good deal of time, effort and your own judgment into the doll. So I'd call that getting pretty personal.

Mine are all original characters simply because there's this "Green room" in the back of my head and some days the chatter in there is so loud I can't think.

 

Most of my dolls are original characters of mine, but one doll is going to be a character doll (Maito Gai from Naruto, to be precise) and he's just as personal to me as my original boys and girls, because heck, I'm just as bonded with that character as I am to my own characters, and he's pretty significant to me because that particular character is one I'm very fond of, and hey, he's a great reminder not to take everything so SRS. XD So yeah, I think character dolls can be just as personalised, in their own way, because while you don't own the copyright, you own that particular little bit of them.

 

I own four Minimee heads based on fictional characters and personally I find myself
equally attached to them, just as much as I'm attached to my dolls based on OCs.
I've worked on them just as much, if not more than I've worked on my other dolls.
I think I've spent a heck of a whole lot more time customizing my fictional-character-
based "dolls," than my regular dolls - so to me they are just as personal as my other dolls,
because I've given them my a lot of my time, and thought. All of them have been painted,
modified and customized by me.


Even if they are based on "relatively-popular-characters," they are still my dolls and look
like they belong to me. Sure there are a few Sephiroth out there, but I doubt any look like mine.
Even when they are based on the same character (or even the same head), we all have individual
opinions of what makes that character especial to us - I think that's what makes them individual and personal.
That, and also the amount of time/love a person puts to customize a character doll. Some people
just slap a long silver wig on their "Sephy" and that's it - they are Sephiroth! to me it takes a heck
of a whole lot more, but that's me - what I go through to make my character-dolls "look" like
the character is different than what the neighbor does.


- Enzyme

 

i really prefet when the person CREATE his caracter. i really dont see the point of putting so much money and effort on an already existing caracter... just buy a little figure instead! or stay with the motion picture that is aniiiiime.
its just... i dont know... unpersonal?
for many persons, their dolls are like their children. its really not the same if ur doll is ex: Sora (from kingdom heart i believe).

 

Figurines are totally different from BJDs though--and while movies, books and the like are great, some fans like to augment them with activities that are a little bit more participatory. The point of creating a character doll is that it's fun for the owner, they love the character, and it's worth it to them. I have both OCs and a few fan dolls, and I love both, am bonded to both, enjoy both. My fan dolls give me the chance to be a little more involved as a fan rather than only doing passive things like watching the series--it's a difficult but fun process putting them together, and I get the fun of being able to tweak the story here and there to suit myself. There's plenty of creative things people can do with fan dolls, after all. Most of all while you might personally prefer OCs, you can't speak for other people and say that it's not the same if the doll is a character doll, because for many people it's just as personal. Just because it's not what you choose to do does not mean that character dolls are any less valid than any other type of doll.

 

Though none of my dolls are from anything but my own head, one will -- eventually -- end up with a costume from an existing fictional source. (Novels, anime, and artwork.) I decided to tackle this project -- eventually -- because I think it will be utterly fascinating to try to translate the images I have for reference into an actual -costume- while retaining the appropriate sense of the paintings (specifically) that inspired me to do it in the first place.

I have dozens of my own designs that will get the same treatment -- all of them 'in time'. Which basically means, "whichever has the supplies and time on hand to do it first will get done first."

I don't think it's really a statement on creativity, or lack thereof in any way. If someone is inspired by something, someone is inspired by something. It depends on where they find the more interesting challenge -- in reinterpreting it as something new, or in trying to reproduce it in such a way that it keeps its original feel. Both are worthy efforts in my estimation. Having studied costume design in college, I have to say, it's often actually -easier- to come up with something on the fly to create yourself that doesn't have to adhere to a strict visual definition of an existing design to look "right" -- you can change and reinterpret and allow for 'happy accidents' as you go. Not so much the case when working with something others will, if you do it properly, recognize to be able to say, "That looks just like... " rather than, "what a poor copy of... "

 

My favourite doll, the only doll I wouldn't sell, the one that would probably actually make me cry should something ever happen to him....is a character doll. He means more to me than any character I've ever created myself because he's required more work to make him right. Keigo is a many layered mystery as over the years I have analyzed and written him. He's much more interesting to me creatively because I don't know everything and have to work with what I do know. My own characters don't involve me quite as much because in the end, they're mine and that mystery is missing.

I think it is infinitely harder to make an accurate, impressive character doll than it is one based off your own characters simply because the only person who knows if you are right or wrong on your own is yourself. No one else does and thus there is no standard for your dolls to be held against beyond those of your own making. And you're fully free to change the standards whenever you want.

The source material is irrelevant in regards to how personal an owner views their doll.

 

I have two Minimee heads....both are existing characters.... I don't find it less personal at all to have made them into existing characters. My first "existing" character was Gerard Way from My Chemical Romance, he was a total challenge! but is a fun member of my dollie crew.http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=214289


I had a floating Johnny Depp head lying around and when I found out he was going to be The Mad Hatter in the new Alice in Wonderland movie ( I'm a huge AiW fan) I just had to turn my MnM head into The Mad Hatter....I love him and he's an awesome fun doll to have around!
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=322645

I have many other BJD's that I have turned into my own personally created characters...I love them just as much too..... So, no, I don't find it less personal at all

xen

 

If I make the doll exactly like the character/person I'm copying without any give then I probably would find it less personal. But I think that as long as I feel close to the person/character, I'll feel close to the doll!

I plan on having a minimee made of a person whose personality I don't know that well (Bi/Rain). In order to "make him my own," his personality will probably just be similar to Rain, but the rest of the details will be made up by me. :P In that case, he'll be similar to the character but also my own, which will make him personal. ^^

I think that for you, it really depends on how much like the character you want the doll to be.
Are you looking for a close relationship with him? If so, do you want him to be an exact copy or are you okay with giving him little personality quirks (which may or may not be just like the character) as you progress in bonding with him?
If I were in your shoes I'd just have to sit and think about it for awhile.

 

I know this sounds completely ridiculous, but I feel deeply emotional concerning a few specific fictional characters. When I get my doll, she will definitely have some cosplay outfits.

 

I actually do sort of feel that way. But at the same time I am not going to judge anyone for making a character doll, and I am not going to think it is less beautiful if it IS in fact a beautiful doll. it's just definitely not my thing. It's a pretty extreme form of fan art, considering the money it takes, but heck... I have a Sailor Moon barbie type doll I bought once. XD For a lot cheaper, but still, I can't judge! And wouldn't dream of it.

 

Agreed, and I don't see this as being much of a "debate". As far as a pre-existing character doll being "less personal", I don't see how that fits either. Being a fan and expessing your fanly feelings towards some character or celebrity is an intensely personal experience for a lot of people.

 

Do the less personal feelings come from a bad experience? I had an absolutely wonderful experience with one of my 'minime' dolls. He's an off topic 1/6 but the same thing would have happened no matter what size he was.

The doll, Rian, and I got to meet the real thing, Brian Henson, and his friends and it couldn't have been better. Maybe it helped they work for the Muppets and get the whole playing with toys thing but it was like people knew who the doll was meant to be 20 yards away and had to play with him and his finger puppets. There are times when a shared experience over something or someone people have feelings towards is a wonderful thing.

 

No, I don't think it's less personal. Why? Because, in order to want to spend 500$+ on making a doll of that character, said character has to mean a lot to you. I don't think anyone would spend all that money and effort to make a doll of a character they "sort of like" -- no, most people would only do it for a character they had a deep connection with.

For example, the only character I would consider making a doll of (if and after I've exhausted my ideas for originals), would be Naoko Takeuchi's Sailor Venus. I feel a really deep connection with Minako, because we're a lot alike. And she's the only character I'd be willing to spend that kind of money on to have a BJD of. If I ever did do that, the doll would still have a deep meaning for me. She'd be a representation of this character I feel very strongly about. I wouldn't love the doll any less just because the character was a creation of Takeuchi-sama's and not "mine"!

It's the same as an adopted child. Would you love the kid any less, just because you're not related by blood? Of course not. It's the same as an adoptive parents. Would you admire your father any less, just because he's not "really" your father? Why would you not admire/love/whatever someone just because you're not related by blood? Why would you not feel a deep connection to a character just because you didn't create him/her?

It is totally possible, and acceptable, to feel connected to a character you didn't create. And wanting a doll of him/her is just as important as wanting a doll of a character you created.

I think that what makes the doll "personal" is your love for it -- the so-called "bond" we always speak of. So long as there's there, it doesn't matter who created the character it was based on.

 

Actually I was thinking about doing this with Ciel too! XD but I do feel the same way about how it would be less personal for me; like the BJD would be restricted by what I know about the character. So I'm thinking instead of getting a BJD and giving him an earl like personality and style similar to Ciel's, but not necessarily him.

 

Yeah, I don't like it. I think of dolls as children to some extent and having a character as a child would just be weird, lol! Maybe from a collector's standpoint and if they're kept as display.. but not to be played with as a normal BJD. . In my humble opinion... D:

 

im actually planning on doing this with fai from tsubasa. i only have one mold in mind (halp...) but it is something that ive thought hard about doing for a while now. it is and isnt less personal in my opinion. i dont mind that other people either have a doll like it or plan to make say the outfit or whatever for their doll. he'll be mine and will therefore be my "version" of him. if that makes any sense ^^;;

i think character dolls are fun and great to see~

 

If the character has a significant meaning for you, having a doll of the character would certainly be personal. Regardless if you created the character, you are creating your interpretation on that character, and that is where the personal aspect comes in.

In a D&D campaign of mine where I was DMing, I had an opportunity to bring an NPC that I hadn't created into the gaming group - he had bonded to the group and it made sense for him to become a more perminant character. I felt a bit weird about it, as he wasn't my character. I didn't create him. But after a while, after I started to play him more, he became my character. I created him in my image of what I believed he was supposed to be. I now consider him my character, even if I didn't create him.

So even if someone didn't create the character their doll is based on, that doesn't make their doll any less personal to them than someone else's doll based on an original character of their own. It means something to them and that's what matters.