Your doll's "Fingerprint"?

This happens to me just about every time, and I think it's because a face just will not look the same in 2D as it does in 3D. To my everlasting chagrin! XD

The latest culprit is this little doll that I had planned to be an Elizabethan but ultimately just doesn't have the Elizabethan 'look'. Her bone structure is not quite right. She's certainly English, but zip forward a few centuries and you'll find her facial type glorified more in the 1940s or 50s. *sigh*

So yeah. I made her a tabbed corset, but she's begging for a liberty print smocked dress, a cardigan, knee socks and loafers. :-/ I'm not sure I can deal with that.

So this fingerprint for me, I would say, is found in their bone structure!

Raven

 

When I first started looking into BJDs I thought for sure I would buy a doll to represent my oldest character, but the more I looked through pictures, the more I was sure I'd never find HIM, so I decided to just look with an open mind.
fast forward 3 years later and I'm looking at CH ange ai Gaby, dreaming of bringing her home, drooling over lovely owner pics, going to see her promo pics all the time and then... I randomly searched google for custom house or something and a bisou ai pepe fullset came up. I had never seen another picture of her, but I knew I had to have her then. I could see how shy she was and yet how excited she was to get out of her fancy clothes and play. xD When I took her out of her box for the first time, I knew I had been right all along and she would be perfect. I swear she looks different from day to day, too. Sometimes I wake up and she looks so sad, but (rarely) she seems to be smiling a bit. I think it's like someone said previously, things from her 'past life' rubbed off on her. I kind of get the impression that she was well loved, but somewhat ignored and that's why she's so quiet, but clingy.

okay... now I'm really starting to sound crazy. xDD time to sleep.

 

I was just looking through doll sites when I got to luts kid delfs. Every doll was just a hollow shell of resin. I go to the Ani white skin boy and in a calm, gentle whisper I hear. "I'm Seijun. You're my Aunt Nikie. I'll tell you more about me later. When I get home. Take me home?" And I saw the little white haired brown eyed kid. I opened up my notebook and three hours later I knew Sei better than I knew myslef. It just kept up like that. For a long time. And now I have nine and a quarter characters all with their little doll pictures asking if it's time to come yet every time I look at them. Minus Talin, who's my 'and a quarter.' That tan Harang girl doesn't want to tell me about herself until she gets home.

 

So what is it about your doll that you think defines its "fingerprint"?
Deeper than faceup, clothes or wig? That smile in sculpt. It was godly--beautiful--Akira

I'm talking about something deeper than faceups, clothes, or wigs. I'm talking about that first impression, that first smile, smirk, or frown. How did your doll identify itself? Well, every Gena I see either have dark dark brown hair or black hair. Well from what I see--gotta be a little out there--different. Yes, ok, I AM buy Akira Brown hair but it wont be default. It either be silver or white--just not brown.

For those of you who bought your doll with the idea of it personifying a character of yours, what drew you to it? If you brought it home with every intention of it being your character and it clearly had other plans, how did the new character develop? I not know yet. Never got a chance to talk to Akira yet, his head just came to faceup artist yesterday and all I know is that he IS Bi--but who knows. People change ;

If a doll you thought would be perfect "rejected" the identity you tried to give it, how did this hinder/help/change the bonding process?
Im sure it wont affect it badly. If my Akira is a slutbag, so be it. If he NOT an aristocrat and is poor as muffins, so be it. My love wont change. ever.

 

The fingerprint, for me, is usually the whole day and each day after that box is opened XD I remember them how I opened them, but I don't usually click right away. I'm slow to like a doll, I've rarely got that "You're so perfect/not perfect". Eiji took a faceup and he was perfect, as well as sanding off the boobs. I already had characters for my dolls and the dolls I have now are perfect for the most part. But never that amazing box opening people talk about.

Mystic came as something different though. I won him in the Crobidoll photo contest, and they had me thinking it was one of their dolls released in December - a Ys, Mikhail or Nia. My roommate was planning to buy a Nia, and so I asked if that was what they were planning to send me... and they said no, but they wanted to keep it a surprise. So I assumed Ys or Mikhail. Safe enough, right?

Fast forward to the box, which said 'Lance, Normal Skin'

I never would have bought a Lance, had no plans. But I went from thinking (and saying/panicking) "aaah, what am I going to do with a Lance? I don't even like Lance!" to "OMG. I love Lance! You're so beautiful, OMG WOW." in about four seconds. One look at his face in that four seconds, and his name was Mystic. He was wise but naive. He wore muted colours and was probably something to do with trees.

Man, that wasn't a fingerprint. That was a doll kick int the guts XD

 

Dude. I really like this topic. Just the thing to get me back in the groove of DoA

Hmmm, I think my doll's "fingerprint" is different for each of my dolls...sometimes it's the way they photograph, or a certain pose. And yeah, sometimes it just happens to be the right combination of wig, eye, and faceup at the right time.

But sometimes none of that matters: Denny, one of my Sprites is probably the one doll I have that I saw him and everything just clicked. I'd looked at god knows how many Sprites, and then I saw him in the MP...the thing was, he wasn't even a he then, he was a (mostly I think) default face-upped female, normal skin, Sprite. Not in any special pose, or with any 'special' wig or anything. Fact was, I was convinced I didn't even like the normal skin in any of Bobobie's molds, and I'd seen ridiculous amounts of them, in all states of undress in the Gallery, box opening posts, and in the MP before then - and I had looked over them and thought 'Those are okay/nice/whatever.'

Except I looked at the picture of this particular Sprite and BAM! I knew that somehow this little one was just the one I'd been looking for. Don't know really how to explain it, but Denny definitely had his own 'fingerprint,' right from the beginning.

 

Oi, this is gonna sound crazy. xD But... my dolls have so much backstory and personality, that they're completely unique to me. I don't know about how other people view them, but then again, I don't view any two dolls to be alike, same mold or not. Every doll has that particular smirk, that eye-positioning that makes them gaze at you, there are so many different things.

With my boy Elliot, I don't even really view him as a Shiwoo. He's like no other Shiwoo I've ever seen, and the majority of his loveliness is thanks to my dear rykaan. He just smirks at every given opportunity, and his amount of personality really separates him from other shiwoos - but I'm biased.

 

Mine have told me before they arrived who they were, and how they'd be. And it's true!Most have done just that! Some took to themselves after faceups, or wigs and stuff. I have one I still dunno who he is. Heaven knows I am trying though.

But my El and Shiwoo, and other El, have told me straight out who they were, what they liked, and all. Kyo, my "dreaming" el, was a stuck up japanese rocker. Mike, my first El, picked out his mold. King, my Shiwoo, did the same.

 

My hanako went through a HUGE change after I got her. Although the face up stayed the same. She came from dollmore (she's a kid dollmore miro) as a sweet girl in pink underwear, short brown hair, brown eyes and nothing too special about her.

Now she has the same face, red eyes, long black curly hair that you cant really tame with bits of blonde on the end, she has a commissioned piece of jewelery on her neck and one in her hair, she wears a white long turtle neck and some lace stockings for now. Still a work in progess but now you can almost see her grin in photos she looks rather... evil for a small child when before she didn't. It made a HUGE difference. I think she looks like her own, I havent seen a miro girl who has come close to mine yet.

 

What a fun topic!

With me, it actually began with her promo pictures. Soom Beryl, marketed as this seductive succubus, waiting to drain your lifeforce away upon feathered wings... There's a single picture where her head is tipped upwards, and I couldn't get my brain off of that photo. The whole idea of a succubus just fell out of my head, and the words, "I'm not a badass." replaced them. Jay Say is anything but badass. She's incredibly sweet to a fault, wise beyond her years, and so very solitary.

My second girl, Lirael, my LittleFee Ante... I wanted her to be closer to her book counterpart, shy, slightly gangly, never felt like she fit in... What I got instead? A firey, hot-tempered pegasus who has no problem thumbing her nose at athority, tells even the biggest of foes to shove off, and has a heart like a bear trap, i.e. if she cares about you, you're never getting rid of her. It's amazing.

I couldn't have asked for more, really. I'm so happy to have them here.

 

My dolls are all supposed to fit a quote "Such an innocent face, but if you only knew the secrets those eyes hold" from a poem/ soon to be song I wrote a while back. So I was looking for an innocent looking character. I think it was the combination eye lips shape that sttraced me to the KDF Ani.

 

When I first decided that I wanted a Shushu, I immediately started seeing a certain character in my head. Miss Nora Archer, a proper (steampunk!) Victorian lady pilot. Then my girl got home.

Not only was she emphatically not Nora, she wasn't even steampunk! Mina's quiet, an artsy dreamer, and not very ladylike at all.

 

actually, not one of my dolls looked like I imagined or wanted them to look like. I tried really hard to make them wear something that I myself liked, but they just kept saying no! It was rather annoying but I finally gave in, and just let them wear whatever they want to. I think every doll, is 'born' with his/her own fingerprint that is unique.

 

Physically, my doll came with a very tiny "scratch" on her head just above her right eye where an eyebrow would be. Adelheid came without a face-up so that's how I noticed it. Now, it can barely be called a scratch because after a single coating of MSC spray, it can't be seen. But, every time I see it when I do a new face-up, it reminds me of when I first got her, and I really like that little unique thing about her. ^_^

That's her physical fingerprint.

When I got Adelheid, I'd intended her to be a character doll of The Childlike Empress/Moon Child from The Neverending Story. However, as soon as I saw her in person, she just didn't fit that idea. But, after waiting three months for my doll to arrive in sheer undying excitement, my feelings for the doll weren't going to change. At first I was really unsure of what her personality would be like, so I sort of let it develop on it's own. The reason why this changed was because I didn't realize how mature her body looked in person! She had lovely curves and boobs...too old to be The Childlike Empress.

I'll admit, the bonding process was a little tough at first. I was really busy with school and didn't really have the time I would have liked to have had to learn to do face-ups, re-string her, make clothes, etc. and that frustrated me a lot. However, once I had her re-strung and had an okay face-up (my first wasn't terrible but not as good as the one she has now) it was much easier to bond with her.

The first night I had her, I'd tried to re-string her, but it took much longer than I'd expected and so at 4 AM, I ended up going to bed feeling really really sad. I don't cry often, but if I were the type who could, I probably would have. >.< The next day I promised that I would never go to bed with a doll in pieces!

The first few weeks, bonding was still a little rough because of school. I wanted to bring her with me everywhere but was still very shy about it and would only bring her with my when I went to see friends. Eventually, after a few nice days and wishing I had her with me at school to take pictures, I decided to take her to school with me. After the second time I brought her with me, I started to take her everyday. ^_^ Now she comes with me everywhere.

 

Well when i first saw Lestat, and held him, i thought: "this little boy thinks he's better then everyone." and i went though 2 weeks of waiting for him thinking that. The he came and i looked at my brother and went "he lied to me! He's not a brat at all" And he isn't. He is still kinda stuck up, but he's quiet and rather sweet for a spoiled aristocrat.

I'm curious how Antebellum will turn out then XD I've got him all planned as a kinda loud, sweet little water elf. But we'll see. I hope he doesn't turn out to be like Lestat. One of them has to have some kind of engergy!

But just looking at Lestat and he's not like any other AoD Chi i've seen. I kept looking at pictures of them here on DoA and thinking to myself "oh how pretty, but Lestat is much more handsome." and "well thats nothing like him, are they sure thats a AoD Chi?" XD yeah, he just looks totally diffrent to me.

 

Truely I believe that it is something deep within us that we project into the doll, a sort of inner part that comes to the surface and in our conscious mind we register that as the personality of the doll. In many televison shows and books there are times when under great stress a character "Projects" a hallucination of someone they know which ends up leaning them to safety or helping them out somehow. This I believe is a simular phenomenon to what some of us doll collectors evperience. But does that mean there is not truth in our dolls being in a fasion "Alive" if but only in our minds?

In the Anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, in the final episode, it speaks of the you that You are or percieve that you are and the Yous (plural) that everyone around you percieves you are. And that both are truth. If this can be so, and that our perceptions and inner desires forms part of the truth that is the universe than who is to say they are not alive after a fasion?

*Sits back to count the head explosions*

 

My first girl, Mina, came out of the box a bit snobby and demanding. She was upset because she didn't have the right hair or eye color, and while she posed okay for me, I knew that the Kid Delf body just wasn't working for us. I think that added to her sulkiness, so I sold it. She's been a floating head for a while now, but she's not too upset by it. She plays with my Puki, Sophie, and even jokes around about her.. condition.
The character I had originally planned for Mina was softspoken, sweet, with an underlying assassin nature. All that the doll kept of this original characterization was the name; she's rather fond of it. I've since found out that THIS Mina character comes from a different time, and is only stuck here because her daughter and her fae [like Sophie, but different sculpt] are lost somewhere. Her and I have already found out which dolls are her fae and her daughter, as well as a suitable body for Mina. Her fae, Coraline, is on her way home soon, and Mina is SO excited ^^
Sophie is too, as her and Cora are best friends. :]

When I decided to get Sophie, I wanted her because she was so darn cute. I was going to name her something that I don't even remember now, but it really felt like this doll was shouting her name 'SOPHIE!' from Korea, hehe. I thought at first that her colour scheme would be purple, because her purple eyes suited her so well... A few weeks ago, I found out that Sophie is a fire fae, and is the companion of Mina's daughter, Ember. I also found out that she hates the color purple, and much prefers red. Go figure. So, i got to work and painted Sophie's fire-markings, and she is so happy. :] (although, she's not exactly hard to please XD!)

It's so awesome to hear of other owner-experiences, where the dolls kind of jump out of the box and scream their personalities at you.

 

Rook, my Kill_U_2nd, was not intended to be my first doll, but when the final sale of the mold was announced, I had to get him because my chances would decrease drastically after they stopped making him.

Originally, Rook (who is a character in a story I'm writing) was going to be a CP Yder, but he just looked too gentle. Rook is not necessarily a bad guy, but he's snarky and has a bad attitude. He's not very tolerant of most people and is often in a bad mood.

So, when I saw the Kill_U_2nd and its perpetually disgruntled face...that frown/pout, it really felt like Rook to me. Even before he had his faceup or body, it felt right for him. While I still want a Yder for another character, I don't think Rook would be the same in that mold because the face doesn't express his personality in the same way. :3

 

geez i don't know really. well i think for my girl kashi, it really helped that she had a camine head and shall body from DOD. so that set her apart immediatley from the other camines out there. but i think that it has to do with her eyes, and her look as well. everything she has, besides her shoes, are made by me/ done by me. so i think that that adds to her.

but i am honestly not sure. i have noticed the same thing though.

 

There was no choice involved for me with Moswen. I was browsing doll sites and saw his picture and it was like a punch to the head. I remember gasping and possibly even a little squeak of surprise/excitement escaped me. All I could think of was that it was Moswen from my novel Balancing Karma and I wanted him. Every time I went to the site, he just shouted louder and louder to take him home. There was no problems in fitting the personality of my character to the doll. He just was... Moswen.

The free head I got with him was supposed to be Kijika (Moswen's lover) but there was something always a little... off about the sculpt for Kijika. Eventually, I gave up the idea of it becoming Kijika and that was when their son, Jaiseki piped up that since I'd finally come to my senses, he'd take over the sculpt. And it suits him to a T.

Finding Kijika's sculpt was a slow, gentle nudge process. I wasn't sure of the sculpt at first and hemmed and hawed for literally months about whether or not it would be right for him. I eventually bought the doll and as soon as I opened the box and stood him up next to Moswen and Jaiseki, I knew I'd gotten the right doll for Kijika.

My next doll purchase is for Jolen (another original character of mine). I hadn't been thinking of this character for a doll AT ALL but as soon as I saw the sculpt, it was the same thing as when I saw Moswen's sculpt for the first time. Hard punch to the head and a fair bit of shouting and demands to take him home immediately.

I do find it interesting that while I may see other dolls that are the same sculpt as Moswen and Jaiseki (Kijika is an LE and I've yet to see another one like him), those other sculpts might as well be completely different sculpts as they look nothing like my dolls (facial feature wise) to my eyes.