Most important aspect

[Magickat]

What's the most important aspect about your BJD? Why did you choose he/she, or why did he/she choose you? Tell a little story if you will, to alot of people, these are more than just "dolls"...And you'll find out why.

Yesturday, even through work I was depressed. I'm usually not like that. I tend to be bubbly, smiling, happy, when at work anyhow. I love my job, love to work with people and have fun doing so. But no smiles came to me, even a friend noted that the only movement my lips made was forced reactions to assure people it was alright. She talked with me, Stacy is a good person, and very good at cheering people up. I had smiled a couple of times and laughed maybe once or twice, and told her I'd feel better the next day, as I always mask it better the second.

The ride to my grandparent's felt much longer and more depressing. I hate old memories. Anyhow, I'm living at my grandparent's because of my lack for a car prevents me going to and from work, and my mother works dayshift so she cannot take me. When I get home, I notice a pink box, oh! Mom had dropped Kuro off at my grandparents. I brightened a little and planned to take a few pictures of his uniform...But..

I stopped. I just dressed him, fixed his hair, and started to hold him. I was in the guestroom by now so nobody could hear me crying at all. It almost felt as if he had warmed up, and I felt so much calmer and soothed, as if someone had said the best thing to me in my life. Kuro had made me feel tons better, and I don't care how corny some people think that is. Anytime I've been depressed or lonely or moody, I just fiddle with his hair, talk with him, or just hold him.

Unfortunately this now makes me rethink getting him repainted, I like him too much the way he is now...Ah...Guess no vampire kuro ne? heh.

What makes your BJD special to you?

[Shulamite]

Good question, Magicat.
For me to be drawn to a doll there has to be something besides obvious beauty there. I like subtle quirks and outrageous absurdities in my dolls (like elf ears and centaur bodies) as well as strong humor and whimsey.
I think our dolls express things we would most like to be and that is why they comfort us. They "be" what we need at the time. I think by dressing, hugging and touching the dolls we are sort of ministering to ourselves, as they are little extensions of ourselves in a way.
I hope your day gets better and things look brighter soon :)

[Malice Librarian]

For me, a doll has to have a certain look about them that's really appealing and is memorable to me. When I was searching numerous websites for my first doll, there was one that really stuck in my mind, though there were other dolls that had caught my eye. I ended up buying him and I don't regret it. The same thing happened with my second doll - I just couldn't get him out of my head, and I figure if a doll sticks to my brain for that long, I might as well get him!

My boys are my eye soothers and keep me motivated through hard times; I can't even imagine life without them now.

[Metalkatt]

For me, the specialness comes with the character they represent. I don't see dolls, I see bodies for the people in my head. (Part of being a writer is carrying several characters in one's mind, with their own voices and opinions.) The Hound I have isn't just "the hound I got from Pinkbear (or Tinybear; I can't remember which now)," but Konnaru Kaidoh. There are several others up in there who point to a doll and say "That's me. I just need this, this, and this," but I don't yet have the money to get them. Someday, though, all my folk will be bodied... when I am a very rich person. ^_^

[Phoenix]

First of all, I have to love their sculpt. It doesn't matter that they don't photograph too well, as long as I like it in real life. Second of all, their bodies shouldn't frustrate me or I just won't do anything with them.

But then again, the most important aspect for me is the characters they represent. These characters have been with me for a long time and seeing them in doll form is kind of seeing an old friend, if that makes sense at all. They do comfort me and make me feel better for no reason, and I think that's special.

[Magickat]

I'm thrilled that others believe that they are more than just dolls. Thank you all for the comments and additions to the thread. Perhaps one day, people who see someone with any form of friend, be it a teddy, a doll, even a rock, will realise that no matter what, its special to them.

[celestia]

What's the most important aspect about your BJD?
Like many others, a creative outlet. A hobby i can fully customise, sew for, photograph, create, design, modify face- body- extras.
Also to satiate my thirst for a material form of characters in my fatarse saga of a story and to act as muses to forever motivate me in these endeavors.

3D, material, forms have always been something i've habitually wanted around- along with planning. It's a few steps further from living inside my imagination and on paper. It makes it that much more special and realistic to know it is something that came from my mind, exists as a 3d appropriation. There's so much more that opens when you have this type of form in addition to the concepts and plans already formed on paper.
I know someone can explain that better for me > >;

Why did you choose he/she, or why did he/she choose you?
Because they fit closely to their character and my own idea of aestheticism and unity/visual harmony among all my doll choices.

What makes your BJD special to you?
Personification and personalisation. Each sculpt i own specifically meets each and every criteria, from fulfilling character portrayals to my own idea of aesthetics. If a character suited a sculpt perfectly, but that sculpt was not something i would think twice- i would not consider the sculpt anymore. Similarly, there are sculpts i lust after that do not comply with several characters I'm after or act as the reason to bring a doll to form. As an example- K-doll Karon. I love this delicate sculpt, but i can't justify a purchase for it because there's nothing other than the "aesthetic" connection and it does not give a strong enough presence with the character i would like to associate it with. The F-17 or Cecile for that matter also suffers the same fate. I do not have a character that would cater its sculpt properly. Put simply, I don't purchase sculpts i can't see me purchasing. :p


I think humans tend to attach themselves onto anything that can empathise or somewhat relate to how they feel.
Talking to another human being might give answers they aren't after- whilst a stationary object like a doll bares no inner personality but the ones owners bestow them with.
Psychologically speaking, the comfort doesn't come from the doll itself, but from the mental portrayals and or connections the person attributes them with. (I can't be stuffed pulling out my psych book for the scientific explanation for it and i'm drawing blanks atm. X3 )

Dolls themselves have always had quite a powerful appeal to me. A character, a soul, but not alive as a doll. Maybe what we like to call a "presence". I'd be able to imagine^how a character feels or their current thoughts- but would not extend so far as to suggest they were actually real.
__________________
^ Imagine- It came from your mind. Whether you thought it suited him/her/it best or how you wanted him/her/it portrayed- it came from your head. Predominately, you're the one attributing their characteristics and associating them with how they respond to you.

[hotelobby]

What's the most important aspect about your BJD?

I have a thing for crafts. I'm really artistically inclined and I feel happy looking at something beautiful and tinkerable. Before I was into BJDs, I was into model kits and Gundams. I still try to save up and look for nice models but have a difficulty figuring out where the heck I'll place them once I'm done setting them up though. But get what I mean?
I want to be able to put things in my hands and be able to do something when sth goes wrong or right. I want something to show and be proud of. Mostly to myself. It's a sense of achievement after that I like.

Why did you choose he/she, or why did he/she choose you? Tell a little story if you will, to alot of people, these are more than just "dolls"...And you'll find out why.

Frankly I'm still baffled why I chose him considering my background.

When I first saw his promo pics I made fun of him constantly and belittled his design calling him a flop to anyone and everyone I could tell to. Seriously I hated him. He was...I don't know I just couldn't put my finger on it.
Then one day I got to see a different side to the boy on the promo pics and swallowed EVERYTHING I said then started to direct my attention and funds towards him.

I think I still don't like his default state up to now and I am happier with a slightly changed look of his. Not to mention I don't seem to care so much about his default items now >_>;

So yes. It's possibly to buy and love the doll you hated. LOOK AT ME.

What makes your BJD special to you?

Because he's mine. :D

His nose is chipped, his eyebrows have been scraped and what other else accidents he's been through but he's still him!

Not to mention even if I put him with another Michael I'd know the diff. The make up is slightly different as they've been hand made and somehow, he always looks like he's SMIRKING instead of pouting.

So yeah. He's special. He has battle scars and is alive to tell the tale!

But of course I know you mean... special to me. Well it's because he's not JUST a doll for me. He's a gift from the Lady to protect me and keep me safe. A guardian so to speak.
Cliche as it may be, but yes I living out the guardian angels jig Volks speaks of so much.

Cheers for me XD

[Raouken]

Normally, I would've said the doll has to give me that spark, the 'take me home now!' feeling, but that wouln't be correct anymore since I'm going to buy an F16(halfway with saving! Woohoo!) just because the mold fits the character absolutely perfectly, but the doll F16, the mold,doesn't give me any sparkles. Still I know I'll adore him, because of his character. So I'd say..the most important thing to me is to be able to give them a character, to give them life so to say, to make them completly yours.

But I don't know that for sure until he gets here-maybe I'm wrong and I do need that spark.

My current bjd's are special to me because I loooove their molds and their characters,because they cheer me up and because I just love having them around ^_^ Even when I'm not activly doing something with them, everything just seems more fun with a doll on your lap.

[aichaku]

i'm drawn to a certain type of look -- my dolls are those that express a certain aching sad beauty that i prefer. a friend observed it is very mono no aware (a japanese phrase that refers to some sort of sense of transcient sad beauty ... i can't summarise it properly here), and since then, i'm grow to think it certainly is this sort of expression that makes me love the dolls who have remained with me and stood the test of time.

[Coleva]

So yes. It's possibly to buy and love the doll you hated. LOOK AT ME.

Very true! When I first saw the Saint mold, I hated it. Hated. With a passion. Now, my Saint is probably my favorite doll, and certainly the one that makes me want to grab the camera the most.

[InkyBear]

Personally, the most important aspect to me is that that when I look at the mold, I automatically know that sculpt was meant to be whichever character I am looking to home in resin form. It doesn't have to be the prettiest sculpt, most popular, whatever; it just has to tell me-Hello, I am yours.

This is one particular reason I'm so fond of Fakia. When I first saw DoD's Homme Ivan, you could have heard me gushing for ages about how I thought the company had read my mind in just knowing exactly what Fakia looked like. I'd searched countless other companies to try to find someone just as suitable ( right after I'd had a less than pleasant experience adopting a beautiful Homme Kirill from them and vowed never to buy from them again ), and while I did see many a beautiful sculpt, none of them fit just right. That's what's important to me. I look at him, and I just know it. It's right. It's peaceful.

This is one reason I'm having SO much trouble housing Prince in resin form. >.> I honestly thought of all my boys he'd be the easiest to find a sculpt for since in my mind he has the most doll-like features, yet even now my decision on AE Su is still a little up in the air. :damnit Once again, I find the sculpt gorgeous, but I'm not 100% sure he has that most important aspect. I'm not sure he's meant to be Prince. :|

[Celebare]

I'm still not sure what the most important aspect of any of my dolls is. I've gone through so many, be that a good or bad thing, and it's really the characters that stick, rather than the physical dolls themselves. My crew will end up being primarily characters that've been re-shelled a number of times.

After nearly two years in the hobby I suppose I'm deciding what I like and what I'll keep. I used to be a huge fan of CP dolls, but now there are only one or two I want, and I'll probably never actually end up with either. I used to want exclusively boys, and now I'm considering two female characters.

With the two specific dolls I have now, it's really characteristics of the mold that make them permanent members of my family. I don't think I could ever give up my F-09, Roo, because not only is he my first doll, but F-09 is by far my favorite MSD mold ever. I don't think I've ever seen an F-09 I didn't like.
My K-doll Karon, Kyu, has an elegant face with characteristics specific to K-dolls that I absolutely love. The mold fits him perfectly. His lips and eye-shape kill me. I love the Karon mold so much that I can even deal with him being on a gimpy, unposable old DIM body.
I haven't had my YoSD long enough to know for sure, but I'm pretty positive he's a keeper. I love almost every single Volks SwD doll, and SwD Piccolo is no exception. He's adorable and posable and portable, and incredibly fun. Whereas taking Kyu out is a huge hassle and taking Roo out only slightly less so, I can take Tan along in my purse with no hassle at all. Even if I re-shelled him - which is unlikely - I'd probably just trade his head for another YoSD head. YoSDs are truly magical.

So I suppose it's a combination of getting my hands on dolls that I love in person as well as in photos, and of those molds fitting their characters :B

[Lotte Rotten]

I guess this sounds rather sad and pathetic- but to me the most important aspect, is the fact that my dolls are always here with me. I don't have many friends left these days- and I live in an apartment where there's a 'no pets allowed' rule- so my dolls simply make me feel less...lonely. Yes, i know they are just little resin figures, but seeing their cute little faces every day and having them around always makes me feel less lonely.
Sad maybe- but true.

I also love making them clothes- and last night i did a drawing of Zimster, my IZ boy... so they are my little muses as well as keeping me company.

I only have 2 dolls living with me at the moment- and like many other BJD lovers I'm drawn to a certain type of look. In my case it would be dolls with larger eyes, big pointy noses and cute little overbites^^

Magickat ~~ Your story was very cute btw. I can very much relate to it <3

[derilan85]

The way the face mold is shaped and how the eyes look at certain angles. I tend to like Normal color instead of Beauty white, then I have to see how the body looks without clothes and how it poses.

[hoshinokachi264]

my girl is so speacial to me. i got her because i want to pay homage to a personal character of mine that i have been working on since i was in third grade. as i have grown so has she.

is sounds so silly, because she has a dark sad past, but for me it makes sense because i had a pretty dark and sad past until recently. and the same is for her. anything that happens to me i try and work into her story as well.

she is important to me because even before i had her as a doll, just thinking about her and immersing myself in her life helped me get through every day of mine.

wooo~ it's all so crazy when i try to tell this kind of stuff to other people.

[Stella Maris]

Very interesting thread Magicat!
I have to say that I have had the most wonderful/most stressful two years of my life recently, and when I am the most stressed out, like when thoughts are circling in my head like an incoming tornado I just say "Stop it! Think about dollies!" and all the gremlins pop like soap bubbles. They have been my favorite form of meditation and nothing else does that for me. I've also made some incredible friends through this hobby for which I am grateful, because who else would put up with "what would be better for this character, this one or this one" or listen to "I bought her this great wig but she won't wear it" comments without thinking I'm nuts?
What draws me to a particular doll? I too am drawn to fantasy creatures, elves, vampires, faeries, ghosts. All my dolls have a specific "type". And now I have a vampire elf, my life is complete;)
For the same reason I love different skin colors, mostly blues. I am getting a bright red doll though, that is going to be fun!
I like to do my own faceups, so the face has to be interesting to me. I like fuller lips the most.
Right now I am trying to "round out" my family with some boys. I only have one and he's pretty pissed about it!

[Raouken]

Haha funny to read my own comment now-I gave up on buying F16 because he just didn't do it for me and bought an (art delf)Anhel Dion instead because he gave me that spark while being the character. Guess I do need that 'take me home! It's me, not any of those others!' spark xD Intresting to read everyone's comments :D

[Honooko]

Secrectly? The way the bodies naturally arrange when I plop them in my lap matters HUGELY to me. My MSD boy's head tilts up when he gets jostled, so it always looks like he's looking up at me. Nino, being DIM, either flops or slouches, and he just gets perfectly comfortable when I hold him. Elfdoll boys have these really great hip joints that SOMEHOW always make it look like he's crossing his ankles, and Honami's hands naturally settle neatly in her lap.

I love how my dolls sit as differently as real people. <3

[ArcaneMuse]

The expression on the doll's face has to say something to me. The doll cannot have a blank vacant "could be thinking of anything" look. I want the face to have emotion. That would be one reason I love sad looking dolls.

[MieAga]

Kind eyes and full lips. I adore mysterious vibes too :P

[tiggywinkletoo]

I've had a distressful three years and directing my thoughts to the dolls is so much better than reliving nastiness over and over. Just like so many others, the dolls are a beautiful, creative outlet and they aren't the least bit annoyed if you can't play with them for weeks at a time due to real life.
I collect many dolls, but ABJDs are the best of all.

[MoonKitty]

I guess this sounds rather sad and pathetic- but to me the most important aspect, is the fact that my dolls are always here with me. I don't have many friends left these days- and I live in an apartment where there's a 'no pets allowed' rule- so my dolls simply make me feel less...lonely. Yes, i know they are just little resin figures, but seeing their cute little faces every day and having them around always makes me feel less lonely.
Sad maybe- but true.

I also love making them clothes- and last night i did a drawing of Zimster, my IZ boy... so they are my little muses as well as keeping me company.

I only have 2 dolls living with me at the moment- and like many other BJD lovers I'm drawn to a certain type of look. In my case it would be dolls with larger eyes, big pointy noses and cute little overbites^^

Magickat ~~ Your story was very cute btw. I can very much relate to it <3

Wow, I was going to pretty much say the same thing as you have but I couldn't have said it better though I will say I know other people may find it sad but I don't really. I don't have very many friends either and my dolls to me are the most special because they fill the void I had when I didn't have them around. I can't explain how good and happy I feel when I hold them close. :D And love doing stuff for them also like sewing and I try drawing them which doesn't always work out but it still makes me feel great. =^-^=

I agree with Lotte Rotten, Magickats story was so sweet.. it makes me want to give her a hug. :heart

[Lotte Rotten]

MoonKitty~~ Awww that's awesome! I guess it seems odd to a lot of people EXACTLY how much joy it gives to have these little resin babies around! It's so nice that you feel the same way~~ :D

[MoonKitty]

Lotte Rotten: :) Yes, I'm glad you feel the same way too! It's nice to know I wasn't the only one also.

[kodamansan]

I really don't know what its is, I just kinda feel a conection

[lemonsky]

Awwrr what a nice thread. :]

Like most people here, he's a creative outlet as well as a sort of 'little companion'. Just having him near me is enough to brighten my mood and comfort me when I'm feeling down. I'm attached to him like how a small child gets really attached to a certain teddy bear or blanket. C:

[Evil Kimba]

My dolls are an extension of my creative outlets. I love making and designing clothes for them and dressing them up. They also make excellent photography models to help improve skills and everything. Just seeing Haikiri and picking up tends to make me feel better...I grew attached like I used to be to my stuffed animals when I was a kid.