Your Doll's Identity - Physical or Mental?

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"?
Two years ago, I would have said "dead". But since then, I HAVE changed the sculpt on a few or upgraded them. Now...it would really depend on the character and how easily replaceable it is. If it's a minor character and is going to cost a fortune to replace...I'd find a way to write them out of the story, either by death or moving away or whatever was fitting. If it was one of my favorites (especially Amir or Loki) I'd do whatever it took to get him back

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story? Yes. My characters do not change. They may grow or develop, but they don't just change


What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?
Unless I had issues with the mold before...I wouldn't want to change it. I choose specific molds for characters, and I'd rather just not have a character at all than have him in the wrong shell. I've learned from experience that forcing a character in the wrong shell can make me hate both the doll and the character.

Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics? It's mostly mental, as most of my dolls were characters before dolls. But the personality of the character mostly defines him. Though the correct physical representation is important too.

 

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've grown really fond of them and I could not just consider them "dead". I could actually not picture one of them not being there anymore. So I'd look for a replacement.

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story?
Yes for the same sculpt and personality. Not so much for the background story since they do not really have one except for Van.

What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?
Then I'd look for something that was really close to the old mold. But there might be a chance of getting upgraded to an SD But the face up had to be pretty much the same, or else it would not be that doll again. Already experienced that when a redo of a face up was not really much the same.

Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics?
Both. Two of them are OC's of mine that were dollified. One had a rough character scetch before I bought him, but he totally changed along the way. The other ones just happened I guess. Personalities came forth from face-ups and "interaction" with eachother.

 

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"?
Yes, I will replace him/her.
I will consider them... hmm... they have a very wonderful spa time.. XD

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story?
Maybe there's a little change in personality and background.
But overall will be the same. =D

What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?
In this case, the old personality will go with the previous mold.
Different mold will get their own personality in my doll family. ^^;

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

 

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"?
To me, my dolls are the physical shells for their characters. So, unless I chose to somehow write that character out of my stories in some way, then no, they wouldn't be "dead" and I would reshell them.

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story? My characters do not change. Growth and development are one thing, since people are always in flux, but at the core they don't change. Therefore, they'd be the same. And I would find the exact same sculpt to reshell them in if at all possible.

What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?
If I was truly unable to get the exact same sculpt (and with a couple of mine, that's a distinct possibility), then I would find whatever I could that was as close as possible and that still felt right for them. I refuse to get just anything and try to shove the "soul" into it. That wouldn't work... I've tried that and failed miserably.

Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics?
Mental. For sure. My dolls were all characters before dolls. The dolls they are were chosen specifically for the character, and I let the character guide me to 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"?


"Dead" and "not a doll anymore" are two completely separate issues when it comes to my characters. I would get a new body for my poor baby.

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

Of course. Although I can't guarantee that another character wouldn't hijack the body before the old one had a chance to move in...

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

I've re-bodied dolls in bodies that weren't completely similar to their original body before, and haven't had problems with personality changes...

And that leads to my final question:

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

It's all in my head.

 

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 and do my own face-up again.

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story? More than likely yes but I have a hard time settling on a story for mine.

What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?
This actually makes me very sad to think about since it is the my dream female sculpt that I have been referring to. I would not get another mold for this doll.
And that leads to my final question:

Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics? A little bit of both I guess, cause she is bound to the way she looks. She has changed a lot since I have got her changing wigs, eyes, clothing styles, personality, name, all trying to find something that fit her. I had someone once tell me she thought the sculpt look to innocent and sweet for her taste but I knew there was something dark & sultry that I wanted to make the sculpt look like. I think it all depends on how you put the character together.

 

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"?

No I wouldn't. Dolls are meltal caracters for me, and 'cause of that, I would not even consider them to be ''dead'' after a damage in their physical shells.


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

Of course, but I'd replace the ''shell'' of the caracter with a similar doll, 'cause I always have the vision of the caracter.


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

Well I kinda already answerd for this one, but yes, indeed. I'd get a similar mold for the doll, and if thet not an option, there is always an option of modding.

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

It's totally a mental thing for me, but the caracters physical essence is also an important thing, so I don't just by ''any doll''.

 

That actually varies. If it's a character doll, or a doll I made based on one of my OC's, then it's mental...
But it's a very physical thing with Florian, and some of my OT dolls (my obitsus).
I've built up personalities for these dolls after buying the doll.

If something happened to them, it would be hard to replace them, because so much of it IS in the doll.
It's a mental thing, yes, and I probably COULD reshell them, if I got the same sculpt... But I couldn't reshell them in a different sculpt. Luckily, all my dolls that are like this are rather cheap dolls, but still.

 

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 think considering the character "dead" would only increase my trauma at having a doll completely destroyed! D;
I would probably replace the doll, but it would be hard. It's true that my dolls' characters existed before the resin, but so many of their nuances were developed after they were able to take on poses and so forth---the attitude in the sculpt and posing of the body has, over time, had an effect on the immortal character itself, and fleshed them out on a level I could never seem to achieve in my head. For this reason the characters are very attached to the bodies...

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

Yes, definitely.

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

I would try very hard to get them back into the same shell, (the body, at least! For me, the attitude of the posing has just as much to do with the personality as the facial sculpt!) but if it was truly impossible... there are likely a few other sculpts that could work for my guys' characters. I would write the change of appearance into their background; for example, Gailan has spent his youth searching for the 'faeries' who supposedly kidnapped his sister. I might say he himself was spirited away and returned in a different form.

To be honest, once I got over the loss of the doll and mustered up the money to replace him, it might serve to advance the story.

 

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 find another sculpt for them. Their characters are alive in me, not their resin bodies!

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, but I might change their backstory to include a reason for their physical change.

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

I'd be ok with that, if I could find one I liked.

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

Both, really! I had characters in mind already, then made their features like the dolls.

 

What a fascinating series of questions!

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"?
It would honestly depend. The idea of just 'replacing' a beloved doll you lost seems...odd. Like you're replacing a friend who drifted away. That's my personal feeling. But, my dolls tend to be of characters of mine, so I would want to reshell them. Chances are good I would re-purchase the doll new, but if it was just a pretty thing that I loved for being pretty...I'd feel bad about just trying to replace him/her.

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story?
As the previous question was answered, yes. The doll would have its own personality and background by myself already summed up, and thus would be kept.

What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?
It is what it is. I'd search on the marketplace for the sculpt, or if it just wasn't available/was out of my price range, I'd look for a new one that was similar, or perhaps matched my character even better. Sometimes, a renewal is necessary!

Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics?
Now that's a fun subject. I've pondered this myself, as I'm a very visual person as well as an artist. Appearances and knowing what a character looks like means a lot to me, and I am ashamed to admit that yes, sometimes all a character is to me is their appearance. I'm trying to correct this, but the answer varies from character to character. Some have fully fleshed personalities and tendencies, others are sort of...shells, I suppose. I try and make it both, physical characteristics and personality.

 

I haven't broken a doll beyond repair yet but I believe I can replace a doll with same personality and traits with the same or different sculpt. Let's say I have an awesome idea for a character, but the doll just isn't it for this particular character, so I will get a different sculpt. I don't see any issue with doing so. It's actually sound much more appealing than trying to force myself to like a doll that deserve someone better.

My doll's identity is base off both mentally and physically.
Of course I will have a mental idea of how they're like but they'll have to physically have the look for it too. A few other members on doa did this too, where they continues to search for the right doll that would suit a character of their dream.

 

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 buy a new one
If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story? It would have the same personality and back story
What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?
I would try getting one that had some of the same facial features
Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics?
My dolls consist of both

 

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"?

My dolls shell characters that I created, but I created them w/dolls mind (ie, I knew I was going to start collecting dolls so I wrote a framing story about cosplayers that would then allow many different characters to be played by each doll). So I probably would just reshell the character w/the same or similiar mold (my boy Renji's Bichun body LOL gets destroyed he's getting another one for sure). If I thought it interesting, I might have a character die & do a photo story about it.

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

Sure, although I might add in the 'accident' to the whole character story

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

There's a possible problem - again might be interesting from a creative viewpoint to have the character die & replace him (in the cosplay group) - because the roles that certain character/sculpt cosplayed need to be recast

And that leads to my final question:

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

I view the dolls as a physical embodiment of my mental characters (like an illustration if you will). While I do believe a certain energy can be imparted to the resin figures, once destroyed that would be released so to speak (in a metaphorical sense especially).
Now a unique faceup ~sigh~ Of course I'd look on that as makeup. Or, said character had an accident & never looked quite the same again...

But you know, I'd definitely dispose of the body in some ritualistic manner (I'm big on rituals) - if only to assuage the sadmess I'd feel at the loss of a doll.

 

The doll itself would house the personality, to me, so if some horrible accident happened, the doll's person would be "dead" as well. I'm sure I'd still keep their character in my arsenal of original characters to be used in places, but as a doll, they'd be finished.

I would probably buy another doll to replace it, but that would be its own person.

 

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"?

-Yes, I think I would consider them "dead" in a way. I think it would be pretty cruel to the original doll just to get someone as a replacement for him/her like nothing ever happened. I'd probably still try to get the same sculpt, because I like how my dolls look, but change the character.
Or then get totally different sculpts that have similar aesthetics. Maybe it would be too saddening to own a "clone" of my late doll. ;___;

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

-I quess I would come up with new personalities and characters, but link them to my previous dolls, as in their relatives or friends.
However, since I'm planning to make a comic starring these characters I've created for my dolls, the characters of the departed dolls might live on in the comic.

What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?
- That would be sad, but I think I'd try to get another sculpt that looked a bit like my previous dolls. Even if the sculpt is identical, it wouldn't still be the *same* doll I've carried with me all this time. The physical contact is also something that makes me bond with my dolls and characters.

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

-Both. I've created the characters for my dolls basing them on their sculpt and on my personal preferences. Although I'm going to use the same characters in my comic, the dolls do have identities that are theirs alone - meaning that those *exact* dolls are the physical representations of these characters, and are irreplaceable... I know it's silly in a way, because I don't think dolls are *really* alive or anything like that, but I still think it would be wrong for me to just dismiss the possible departure of my "original"dolls and move the characters to different embodyments... ^^;;

To think that these dolls are *the ones* that host these characters, and no other doll can be the same makes these dolls and the characters even more important to me. I think I wouldn't "bond" with my dolls and the characters as well as I do if I could just change their physical representations that easily.

This is an interesting topic and a bit frightening, really. ^^;; I would be devastated if anything happened to my 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 be able to replace it.


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

I think so but as I never had to do this I'm not 100% sure, it might work out a little differently then I expected (as my dolls usually do).


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

For some characters this would work I think. These are the characters that existed long before I had dolls. But I also have characters that developed with the doll, in that case I think it might be a problem.


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

Both. But for the pre-existing characters I would say it is more a mental thing as they were fully developed long before I found this hobby. For the characters that developed with the doll... I think it is still more mental then physical actually. But the doll is ofcourse very important as well, so I would still go with 'both'.

 

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 Dolls. If it was my "droid", I might replace it. Otherwise I'd consider them dead.

If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story?
No, it would have a similar story but still different. It would still be a "droid" but it would be "the upgrade". (Oh sadface, this is depressing to think about)

What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?
It would be added into the characters background story. Pretty much as is in the question. "This unit preforms with facial structure '<name>' As opposed to previous model; '<###>', Due to unavailability."

Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics?
A mix of both? I try to take into account how the Doll looks and go from there. For the longest time I've been trying to make a fantasy/elf like character... My Droid was going to be in a similar fashion until I notice their mismatching head, hands and body reminded me more of a machine, scavenged and put together. So the character is a Droid. Not hard to imagine since I like Sci-fi too. Their visual parameters are my doing, That becomes a part of the 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 think I would at least try to get a replacement, since my dolls are all more or less tightly connected to each other and the 'death' of one would result in huge holes between them.
If you did replace it, would it be the "same" one as before with the same personality and background story?
I would try to get the same doll again. But those little things like little faults or scratches or thing like clothes I made or wigs that I cut myself would be gone, too. And that all together would make it harder to let it be the same doll again.
What if you weren't able to get the exact mold anymore and had to get another kind?
Then I think that would be the end of me trying to achieve a whole 'reincarnation' of the doll and I would try to get a whole new doll and change the character accordingly.
Is your doll's identity a mental thing, or based off of its physical characteristics?
It's both. I also let certain things in the doll itself have influence on the doll's whole being and identity, rather than it only being a shell for its character.

 

It's hard to really think if I'd replace it or not or change the character. I'm not big on change, but I don't really replace anything so I'd probably be stubborn and continue trying to fix it regardless.

For that reason, I can't really say what I would do if I'd replace it because I really don't replace things. If I did actually get to that point, chances are I wouldn't be told it was a replacement so it'd be kept the same. Similarly, any differences wouldn't work in that case.

I usually base personality on looks originally so that helps shape it a bit. Though, sometimes a few other factors add to it as well. However, once I decide on a character's personality, it stays regardless of how I may change their look in the future.