Your Doll's Identity - Physical or Mental?

My dolls aren't just dolls, I give them their "personalities" based on concepts and ideas that are eternal and don't really change. That's kind of why I like to make these concepts into dolls so much, because dolls don't have to get old and their appearances don't have to change like ours do (with the exception of yellowing I suppose). So if an alien came along and vaporized my doll into oblivion, no doubt I would be mad as hell, but I do think I would try to replace the doll. If it was something I could never afford to replace (like my Sard for example), then I would probably try to find another doll to fit the character.

Even with all that said, with certain dolls it would be hard for me emotionally to get over the fact that they were destroyed. But at the end of the day, I would probably try to replace them at some point.

 

If your doll got badly damaged to the point where it can't be fixed, would you replace it with another one that is the same, or consider it... "dead"?
a good exemple would be my first doll, Aiden. recently I messed up his body and had to buy a new one but I kept his original head to still have something of the original doll and so his "birthday" would still count ^_^ (because if I got the first him on july 7, spend 4 months without him and got his new him on... lets say may 21... I couldn't really say he is 2 years old anymore )

Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics?
it really depends on the doll! ^_^ it depends if the caracter came after of before the doll. in most case I could probably change the doll and give the caracter to a new mold (I considered making Aiden a seorin once)

 

If your doll got badly damaged to the point where it can't be fixed, would you replace it with another one that is the same, or consider it... "dead"?

I'd not get rid of the old doll. As weird as that seems, I'd put the pieces away in their original box, but I wouldn't completely abandon my doll. The only doll I own at the moment is, well, my only (and first) doll. I couldn't simply temporarily leave the hobby, because I've already made so many friends and had so much fun here. But, the doll I have represents one of the 4 main characters of my novel that existed "B.D." or Before Dolls. I'd want to get her replaced, but I wouldn't want to get the same mold. It seems like dolls are a bit of a journal in some ways, you can look at them and remember different stories and different things that have happened while you owned them, and having a duplicate would take away from that a little.

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story?

Yes, same character, same backstory. I wouldn't change my novel (already in progress) just because I lost the doll, the metaphysical (I'm pretty sure I used that word wrong) manifestation of that character.

What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?

As I said, I don't want the same mold. I'd pick a different mold, one that was the same size and maybe the same company, but I'm thinking that my backup Ani is probably a Salgoo or Jadoo.

Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics?

Mental, definitely mental. I only own Mirabelle/Dulcet because I have the character and felt the need to express the character in a form that I could see every day before my eyes.

 

Interesting topic

If your doll got badly damaged to the point where it can't be fixed, would you replace it with another one that is the same, or consider it... "dead"?
If it couldn't be fixed, I would not consider it dead...Just horribly damaged. If the character wasn't working out, maybe I'd give that character a rest and not replace the character. I might feel like that doll isn't the same though and it would probably bother me.

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story?
I would maybe try something new, or if I did replace it I would add on to the characters background story.

What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?
I would probably give up on that character and replacing it, or I might try to find a similar mold...It truly depends on how I feel if I was in that situation,

 

If your doll got badly damaged to the point where it can't be fixed, would you replace it with another one that is the same, or consider it... "dead"?
I would replace it. Like some of the other posters these dolls are shells for characters who existed long before the dolls. The characters themselves will go on existing long after the dolls. They are entirely separate and do not rely on the dolls in any way. In fact, the dolls exist in my home and in my life simply because I love my characters as much as I do. I am not a doll fancier by nature. I hated dolls as a child. I was never drawn to playing with or collecting dolls. Perhaps it is the fact that they represent humans and I find a certain disconnect with other people, or perhaps it was my shunning of everything feminine when I was a child. I don't know. Even now my primary interest in these dolls is my obsession with my characters. I become deeply attached to them so I would be saddened by their destruction. I might even mourn for a time, but eventually I would move on and replace that representation with a new one.

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story?
Because of the nature of my collecting it would be the exact same character as before though the doll might look a little different. Sometimes my dolls change over time in my pursuit of perfecting my characters. It is hard for me to get my dolls to look exactly like the characters in my head. That is a constantly evolving process.



What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?
If that mold had been "the perfect mold" I would hunt for it and continue hunting as long as I had to to get it again. If I could find another mold I liked as well then that is the mold I would get. Right now very few of my dolls are truly super hard to get limiteds. I guess my event head boys and they were really really hard to get because they weren't popular. Because my characters are more important than the shell they are attached to eventually I could find a new shell to work for the character I am sure. It would just take time. I have sold plenty of dolls in the past to reshell a character.



Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics
The characters always exist first, the doll is just secondary. Though I love my dolls they are just shells for my characters. I love them for what they are.

 

If your doll got badly damaged to the point where it can't be fixed, would you replace it with another one that is the same, or consider it... "dead"?

I'd probably replace it... After a while... I'm terribly attached to my dolls. But I couldn't imagine spending so much to bring a character of mine to life, as it were, to give up on them.

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story?

They would be the same character... probably undergo some sort of story lining or something... I dunno...

What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?

Ohjeez! >.< I really don't know... I'd prolly just haunt the MP until I could get that same mold again. I'm pretty stubborn that way.

Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics?

Mostly mental, but there are some things that transfer from doll to character...

 

If your doll got badly damaged to the point where it can't be fixed, would you replace it with another one that is the same, or consider it... "dead"?
I would probably still keep it in some form, don't think I'd get a new one as it wouldn't feel the same.
If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story? Probably not, although I never think of my dolls as anything living I would aim for something a lil different and I guess in a form honor the past doll.
What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?
I don't think this would be a problem to me.
Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics?
Mine are based on their appearance and I do not have a 'background story' for them. Although when I was younger I enjoyed writing lil scripts for them, but that seems to have passed now.

 

I actually had characters before the dolls, I actually choose my dolls to fit my characters, rather than make up a character to fit my doll, but...

If your doll got badly damaged to the point where it can't be fixed, would you replace it with another one that is the same, or consider it... "dead"?

First of all, thinking about this makes me want to cry XD but, because my dolls are more of a representation of a character that I created long before the doll existed, I would probably replace it.

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story?

Yes, however, I don't know if I'd treasure it the same way. Not saying I wouldn't love it as much, just I think it would be different. For instance, I lease my cars. I don't buy them. I've loved every car I've ever had, and had to say goodbye to each one. I had memories of those cars, and even though my next car would be similar, it's not the same because we don't have the history or memories that I had with my old one. So I still love my new car, just in a different way

What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?

For me, that's a matter of patience. If I couldn't find one to match the character immediately, I would wait until I found one. I don't think it'd be impossible, I just think it would take a while.

And that leads to my final question:

Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics?

I think it's a little bit of both for me

 

If your doll got badly damaged to the point where it can't be fixed, would you replace it with another one that is the same, or consider it... "dead"?
I'd replace it with the same mold, unless I found one I thought fit even better.

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story? Yes. The character for me is in my mind. It isn't going anywhere regardless of what happens to the body.

What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?
I'm sure I could eventually find a suitable substitute.

Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics?
Mental all the way.

 

If your doll got badly damaged to the point where it can't be fixed, would you replace it with another one that is the same, or consider it... "dead"?

If I loved the doll enough, then of course I would replace her

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story?

It would depend on wether I had grown tired of that doll representing that character or not, I might use it as an opportunity to create a new character, who knows?

What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?

I wouldn't be replacing it then would I? I'd just be buying another doll. I don't see characters as essential "must have's", they are just the personality that my doll suggests once it's here... ie: I have 3 pre-existing characters, The Sisters Plum that I have written into short stories, illustrated and made Art Dolls of for years. My PW Skiya is the youngest sister but I sold the other two "sisters" as I had grown tired of those sculpts. I have recently acquired other Peakswoods dolls who may become those missing sisters, or may not... I just have to wait and see if they fit the personalities of the sisters once their face-ups are done. I like letting these things evolve rather than trying to impose my will on creativity.

 

Hmm, difficult, difficult.

If your doll got badly damaged to the point where it can't be fixed, would you replace it with another one that is the same, or consider it... "dead"?

A lot of my dolls can't be replaced, because they are limited or discontinued, but if I could hypothetically replace them with the exact mould, I would.

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story? Exactly the same. The stories and characters were around a lot longer than the dolls were.

What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?

All bar one of my dolls are no longer obtainable, whether they were limited or because the company has been taken over by another. I think if a mould was similar enough (Like how an Angelheim Ryan looks very similar to my Buddydoll Raphael) I think I'd be able to re-shell quite easily. (It'd be a pain to make my Raph's wig again, though. It took DAYS to thread those beads!)

Some of the other dolls though, not so much especially as the centaurs have such unique bodies.

If it were possible to re-shell, I would, as the character is more important than the physical vessel.

Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics?

I think I've answered above - but my dolls are characters which I've had for a long time, have been writing about for just as long, so their physical traits were defined before I bought the dolls. The dolls were sought after -for- their physical traits, so that they would match the characters in my head. So this question is hard to answer, as my dolls match the character, not the character matching the doll.

 

If my doll got damaged to that extent, my first emotions and thoughts would be: heartbroken!

I think that I would try to replace it with a doll that is the same, if it were possible... If not then I guess I would have to consider it "dead." It would hurt me terribly, but that'd be my only option. My doll's identity is a bit of both. I might pass the personality down to the replacement doll's physical form... But I would not give it the same name. My doll is a unique character, I would try to replace her body if I could... But I would not be able to replace her entirely. I would have to accept what happened to her and the solutions that were available to me.

 

If your doll got badly damaged to the point where it can't be fixed, would you replace it with another one that is the same, or consider it... "dead"?
I would replace it.

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story?
It would be the same one as before.

What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?
I would probably just not get the doll again, or I would just keep my eye out for one that I could get second-hand(or 3rd hand, or 4th, 5th, ect.)

Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics?
Oh gosh, I only purchase dolls to be characters that have been floating around in my head or that I've written about or that I've already made. I don't get a doll and THEN create a character for the doll. I've done that once before and I didn't bond with the doll at all (and what made it worse is that I KNEW I should've had a character before I purchased the doll because I know that it's the pre-doll character that makes me like having dolls)

 

If your doll got badly damaged to the point where it can't be fixed, would you replace it with another one that is the same, or consider it... "dead"?

I would replace it... I couldn't just let that doll 'soul' die..

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story?

It would be the same~!!!

What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?

Then I would try to fit that persona into a new doll, and if it didn't fit, I would keep trying..


Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics?

It's mental~ I don't really base much off of it's physical characteristics~

 

As most of the answers, I would just replace it.
The character existed long before the doll.
It would only take a while to make her appear physically due money constrains, but that would't make a difference in her story or concept. Just unless if I get tired of her and decide to create a new character. It would depend on my level of attachement to the doll.

 

If your doll got badly damaged to the point where it can't be fixed, would you replace it with another one that is the same, or consider it... "dead"?
For me, that would be a yes. I do have literary characters, but my dolls don't represent them. My dolls' characters develop alongside me buying the doll and choosing the eyes/wig/clothing style. I have only ever had one doll who preexisted as a character before I put her into resin form and I found that while I enjoyed having her, I found it awkward having her alongside characters that have only ever existed as dolls - there were no character dolls from her continuity in my collection and at the time I wasn't interested in the expense and modifications that would go along with putting more characters into doll form - so I eventually sold her.

The dolls I have now have only ever existed as dolls; all of my dolls, aside from my boy, are from the same continuity - they're Japanese dolls who have come to live in Wales My dolls exist as dolls within a human world, I've always loved things like Toy Story and Enid Blyton tales about toys coming to life whenever their owners' backs are turned, so my dolls are very much like that. They have their own adventures when I'm not around

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story?
No. Because my dolls are dolls, if one of them was irreparably broken a replacement doll would be a different doll with a different character, not the same character. My Dollfie Dream is a little bit different, being made of vinyl; if her internal skeleton broke, I would simply buy another Dollfie Dream body for her, her head is virtually indistructable; I suppose you could melt it or stamp on it if you wanted to break it, but I don't, and Dollfie Dreams don't tend to break if they faceplant or get dropped accidentally, so the most important part, her head, is pretty safe.

What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?
I probably wouldn't chase after a replacement doll if the sculpt was discontinued. I'd feel too sad about my broken doll and deceased character to do that. I might focus on finding a different doll to fill a similar role in the group though; my SD and DD are the biggest dolls and take the roles of looking after the smaller 'younger' dolls, if my SD was broken completely, I might find a similarly sized doll to fill her role and help Momoko the Dollfie Dream take care of the others (Momoko is a vinyl doll, so she mainly looks after my off-topic Dal, Momoko and Unoa Light dolls, whereas Mafonwen, my SD Megu, looks after the resin ones )

Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics?
It's a bit of both for me. Changing my doll's eyes or wig isn't really going to alter their personality or identity all that much for me, but once they have arrived in that form, I would find it difficult to re-resincarnate them into another doll if they got broken.

 

If your doll got badly damaged to the point where it can't be fixed, would you replace it with another one that is the same, or consider it... "dead"?

I wouldn't replace it. I would either fix it as best as I can (and have my doll have a accident which may leave him crippled or badly scarred), or build him a coffin and bury him in the ground, maybe with a tombstone and all. . . Have a funeral and everything.

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story?

I won't replace it. They will have died and I may purchase more dolls, but they won't replace other dolls that have passed away.

Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics?

I would like to say its all mental, but in all reality it has to be a combination. Our physical attributes and past experience as well as any personality traits shape who we are.

 

Interesting question! I think it really depends on how the character developed initially. If the character pre-existed the doll, I'd say its identity is more Mental: it has some "autonomy" of existence and is less attached to its resin shell, so the shell wouldn't be hard to replace if it got damaged. But characters that were inspired by the doll probably have more Physical identity since they're more "embodied" in their shells, so whatever happens to the shell actually happens to the character.

That's what it is for me. I started off the hobby trying to shell an existing, very old imaginary character into a doll-form. And when the shell no longer worked for the character, it was very easy to distance my mind (and my char) from the doll and consider other sculpts that would better embody him. (I've since abandoned my plans for shelling that character: his autonomous existence is so powerful that no physical shell can contain him.)

In contrast, I saw one particular doll, loved it and bought it, and then dreamt up a character that would fit with that sculpt. My plans fell through and I ended up selling that doll; now that character is as good as dead. He was only created because the doll inspired me, and ultimately had no reason (in my mind at least!) to exist without that doll.

The characters for my current dolls were all inspired by their sculpts, and at this stage have no existence beyond their shells. (I've also noticed that their personalities are also less well-formed than my original non-doll chars.) If one was damaged, I'll have to get the exact same sculpt, with the same face-up (as is possible), to ensure the character persists. If I can't do that, the character is pretty much dead and I'll move on without it.

On a similar note, I've realized, through my failed attempts the shell the pre-existing character mentioned above, that existing characters have so much of their own "life" and autonomy in my mind, that they will never stoop to take on a physical form. Indeed, no sculpt can ever come close to being the most accurate representation of those characters -- so I'm just not going to bother trying to shell them!

 

If your doll got badly damaged to the point where it can't be fixed, would you replace it with another one that is the same, or consider it... "dead"?
I'd cry so much... I really don't know. I don't think I could stand just letting the character die, but it would be difficult to stand getting a new, similar one. For some characters, I'd probably just have them dead (consider the prices of dolls!), but that'd be only if it had actually been a fail-buy and not so important to me. Also, if there were any parts that could still be used, I would move that to the new doll and it would probably help. :<

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story?
If it failed to be the same, (except some trauma-feelings, because I might write the accident into the story in some form), I would sell it and have to admit the character died ´;___; Or create a new character for the sculpt if I loved it much.

What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?
That would be the end of the character. I would keep looking, though. I don't have any really limited/out-of-stock rare doll-characters. If they stopped selling Lily.C, though, I would have a hard time getting her back seeing how rare she is despite being just a basic mold.

Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics?
I would say it's the same way as with humans. ...Hm. I don't get shells for my written story characters; the dolls-characters are different from them, more visual. The characters aren't really based on the impression you get from the doll, though, but rather a nice idea of how to contradict the appearance. Like humans, they don't feel their mind is bound to their looks. But like humans, they might randomly get broken, and I don't know how I would react to that... ^^;

 

If your doll got badly damaged to the point where it can't be fixed, would you replace it with another one that is the same, or consider it... "dead"?
Depends on the doll. If it was one based off of my old as dirt OC's, I'd replace it. Possibly with the same mold, possibly not. If it was I created around the doll once it was "finished" (face up, wig, eyes), then no, it'd be "dead" as I'd never be able to get everything exact again (at least, not the faceup, aha) and that'd be sad.

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story? Again, depends on the doll. Old as dirt OC, then yes.

What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?

It'd be ok, even in the case of my OC's. They have molds which are pretty good for their characters, but I've seen some since that would most likely fit better, especially Zero.

Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics?

On my OC's, it's a 100% mental thing. On my characters based off the dolly, it's a 100% physical thing.