Would you find it less personal if...

There are a few existing video game characters I feel enough of an attachment to that I wouldn't mind having a doll based off of them; in fact, I do plan my next doll to be based off of Lightning from FF13. But I can see where it would feel "less personal" for some people, especially considering my dolls so far are my original characters.

 

I was playing FF7 last night and thought about making a Shiva character doll. The reason I wouldn't make one is because I wouldn't know what to do with the character after customizing the doll. The fun part would be finding the perfect sculpt and resin color,and making the costume. After that I would lose interest. With your own original characters it's easy to keep coming up with stories and photoshoot ideas.

 

My characters are based upon book characters, though most people don't realize it because most people haven't read the books. (Georgette Heyer is the author)

The author is no longer living and I'm sort of doing my own thing with the characters. They aren't exact representations of the book characters, so I sort of feel like I've made them my own. I've also made Original characters to go along with the canon characters.

To sum this up, I think to each their own.

 

Most of my dolls don't have a fully developed character anyway, so it doesn't change much for me. I have a doll based on a character from my favorite musical. I love her just as much as my others.

 

I'm not one for making a doll into a character that already exists, just like I'm not into drawing fanart or creating characters that take part in a story or anime or cartoon world that already exists. However it's the doll owners choice and no one has the right to tell them not to. We all have our own opinions. ^^

 

I can think of one Final Fantasy character that I'd love to have a doll of.. just because I really like his character. I wouldn't think it would be any less personal to own a doll of him, but more of a tribute, I guess?

Only one of my current dolls is based on an actual OC of mine anyway. The rest are just showed up one day in doll form.

 

I wouldn't want a fan doll myself, but to each their own. I personally just want to customize every aspect of the doll and make him/her something unique to me and my mind... Then it's far more personal to me, yes. However, I respect the time and effort that people put into character dolls. Some of them are really impressive.

One thing I might do is have my doll cosplay. XD But at the end of the day, he's his own unique character, and I would put his normal outfit back on.

 

Agreed. The doll would not feel like mine. I bought a Dollzone Petdoll Fox that I absolutely love and she came with clothes. I love her and think she's gorgeous, but it bothers me a little that she is wearing exactly what her previous owner wanted her to wear. Having a doll based off of a real person or existing character would also bother me. I would never buy a BJD, a type of doll that can be customized to be anyone I want it to be, and make it be a pre-existing character.

 

I don't think it would be less personal because although it is a pre-existing character that you didn't create it is YOUR interpretation of that character

 

I agree, I would find it less personal as well and if I purchased a character-based doll, I'd do everything in my power to re-create its identity so it feels more like my character and not that of a game or anime.

 

No, I don't think it would be less personal if already based on a character if anything it would make it more personal, as basing it on a character you love would be really special! For example I love Byakuya Kuchiki and really want to base a character on him, go ahead and base a character on Ciel then make it your own, what have you got to loose!

 

=V= I... never thought I would do that but ehehe... while he's not going to be an exact replica, there's one character I'm making that might or might not be based on a real person. That being said, I don't think it's any less personal or creative, I believe it's even harder and needs more creativity to differentiate your character from the template you're given while still incorporating the things you love about that person/character in them.

 

It's up to the individual, I'm sure.

If someone really is into a character, that's totally personal! If you aren't, you don't do that... You do whatever you wish. That's the great thing about these dolls; you can do exactly what you wish to do with them, and the choices are almost limitless!

I don't have any character dolls. But I know that if I had a favorite character that I loved-loved-loved, I would probably make a doll of him/her! I just am in-between favorite characters these days...

 

I agree completely with Kim.

And I actually prefer it to be less personal. I guess it feels more weird or awkward if I have doll/character from my own figment of imagination. I guess if I told someone about it, or if someone told me of a doll of a character that they just made up, I would think it's like a...invisible friend? xD Or maybe because you can just change up the character's personality as you wish, I feel like maybe it's a bit like...nothing in real life is like that and it becomes a bit farfetched or might give unrealistic expectations of real people which could turn to delusion. Not to be totally against having an OC doll or anything and nothing stopping anyone from doing what they want with their doll, but really, those doll owner stereotypes don't come from nothing. If I like a character enough to have something like a BJD of it, I would figure out as much detail of their personalities and quirks as I could to have them be as accurate as possible for photoshoots/photo stories (not that I really do these either). I also wouldn't consider the personality as "my own interpretation" because actually, there can be quite a lot of information on well written character's personalities if you look for it without your own biases as to what you want or what you like. There are also a lot of fan OOC quirks that you would want to be careful to not get mixed up in because they usually stem from the fan's own wants. They become a *different* character.

If someone sees pictures of my bjds, I don't want people to think "Hey! That's Miu's Deidara!" or "Is that...Deidara? Oh I guess so, it says in the text...", I want them to think "Hey! That's Deidara!". Like, if do a photoshoot, I don't want personal touches in there. I also prefer to see in-character photo stories as well because I mean, if I'm a fan of a character, I really don't want to see a story of them not being themselves. In the end, I feel like it is less personal if you stick exactly to the character, but it is more personal if the character ends up being OOC.

 

I love looking at characters, created by other people! But yes, it would feel less personal to me. I feel that my own doll should be my own.

 

Yes, it is less personal, because when you come down to it, the character was created by someone else, and the concept is not your own. For me, it simply wouldn't work. But that is because my enjoyment of the hobby comes from imagining and conceptualizing, and I feel that would be very limited by a pre-existing character.

Other people get just as much enjoyment shelling someone else's character and seeing that come to life before them, however, and eventually their doll may develop a personality all its own. Starting with a pre-existing character doesn't mean you can't fill in all the blanks yourself, such as how they came to be in this world. You still have a bit of design work involved, down to choosing the sculpt, face-up, wig, eyes... so the doll IS yours! But the character is not. If that is personal enough to you and gives you enjoyment, then great!

 

I don't find it less personal. Your doll shows off your personality as much as their own. It is what you put into it. So if you are a hard core gamer or you love anime and your doll reflects that I think that it shows more of your personality than say a random character in your own fantasy world that you made but no one else has a clue about (unless of course you are a famous author already). I am going to dress one of mine ina replica outfit from assassin's creed. I love the game and I want one of my dolls to look like ezio. That is my personality showing though in my love of games and dolls.

 

I don't mind when other people do it! In fact, I think it's pretty cool. However, I don't think that I could own a fan doll. I would love to have a doll that cosplays though! Like, a doll with their own character, but a cosplay of the character you want. But I don't think I could personally own a doll that's exactly another person's character.

 

I think for me it would definitely feel less personal. A character that you have created yourself and grown with and bonded with is a deeply personal thing, and for me, I would much prefer to work with that, than a character of someone else's.

Having said that, people do have strong connections to other peoples' characters, and I really do believe in 'each to their own'. Who is to say what is personal for someone else? I can only really say how it feels for me. There is actually one character I'd love to have a doll of, but my boy will cosplay him sometimes, so I've got it covered!