Has your doll "aged" since you first got them?

My dolls are all new, so I don't know this feeling yet. However I do feel as though since I have gotten them, they have changed. They went quickly from nameless strangers to close companions of mine, with a life of their own and a story to tell that is always surprising me. They have intense personalities that I am still learning about!

 

Yes, definitely
Rens age has changed in the9 years I've gotten him, and his look reflects it. He was 19 when he came to me, fresh, proper, clean.

Now he's about 24 and has come to his own, not worrying so much on appearance. He wears much less fancy clothes, hair not as smooth. I love it.

 

I think so! When my MSD first came I bought hoodies and easy to find wigs. Now I found ooak wigs and they grew into more vintage looking clothing which has made them seem older. Especially my YOSD, at first he had things like ducky overalls and pastel accessories, now he wears a tattered up night dress to look ghost-like. As their characters grow I find out more and more so I believe they are also maturing in that aspect as well.

 

Yeah I kind of get that feeling. Their old arrival pics are like "baby pictures" and their character development and style has come a long way- Especially the oldest dolls I got first, who've had the full experience of my skills as I learned, working on them.

 

Some of my dolls look older than the teens I wanted after owning them for a few years. I ended up reshelling all of them. I guess the opposite as seeing old photos thinking they look younger in old photos. Lol

 

Since I haven't been too long into the hobby, my oldest doll has been with me for only a year. She's a typical youthful sculpt, and I was very happy with how she looked for a long time. However, it was the arrival of my second doll, who has a more mature and realistic sculpt (plus faceup) than her, that made me realize she has outgrown her current look.

I am still in the process of reshelling her as a result, into something more angular and realistic to match my other doll. You can call this a weird instance of one doll influencing the other, in the most unexpected of ways.

 

Definitely. When I first got Avalon he was more of a goofy character, I was always taking pictures of him in goofy poses or doing silly stuff. Then when I got him his girlfriend he mellowed out a little. He looks more like a young adult versus a teen. I'm not as asking a ton of questions as I used to or really worrying about things. I'm less protective of him too. And I'm not as afraid of posing him in fear of him toppling over. Even finding his wig aged him up more. He's still my favorite of my MSD's and to date the only boy. (For now)

He's really come into himself. His own style, his own look. He's still goofy at times but he wears a more 'calm' look versus sneaky now. Especially now that I got his little sister that I had planned out from the minute I got him.

 

All of this, yes! It hasn't happened to all of my dolls (uet anywyay) but some if them definitely feel more mature and at ease with themselves than they did when I first got them.

 

Y'know, originally I didn't think this applied to me, but thinking it through it did happen? Otakar got bumped up from ~25 to ~30, Dagny from about 13 to 16, and Fuyu from a childlike anthro to a much more mature creature... (and from like, 3 to 100+. But that doesn't count!) I even feel like Otakar's look matured, though that might just be because I... actually worked on his clothing properly...

 

Yes!

All of my dolls' characters age in real time (except Derby, who was a gift from my husband and I never want her to grow out of her YoSD form, even though her character will in her stories.) Several have been reshelled to reflect the change in age. Parker was a YoSD when I got him, but he's SD now.

Though I think what you're really asking is if the same doll has "grown up" and that answer is also yes. Faceup and wig makes a lot of difference. Here are three of my boys I've had the longest, Dhani, Kier and Parker. The first pix are from 2013 when my sister and I created a boyband. At the time, their ages were 13 (Dhani), 14 (Kier) and 12 (Parker). Now, they are 17 (Dhani), 18 (Kier) and 16 (Parker), and I've repainted them and got new wigs to age them up. Dhani and Kier have also gotten taller, more mature bodies since then. Clothing has changed as well, from more kiddie/teen styles to more adult. They've also all gotten new eyes with smaller irises.

 

I don't know if any of my dolls have aged, but my characters definitely did before I shelled them. My Orpheus' character used to be a high schooler named Kaye when I was in middle school. Now (Orpheus--her name is Anu) she's a younger adult (barely under 30 maybe).

My Dollshe Arsene (Secernere) actually shrunk in age before I shelled her (from 20s to 17).

I think (perhaps this is why others do this too) is because a lot of these dolls are shelled characters of those we made as kids or teenagers. I know a big reason why my characters were younger when I was younger was because I wasn't sure I could write or tell stories about an adult convincingly.

There's a huge developmental and experience gap between childhood and adult, so it was sometimes hard for me to understand why adults thought or behaved in a particular way, or valued something over another.

 

Hmmm... generally my dolls haven't gotten much "older". I figured that my first BJD, Hiro (SD13 Link), was about fifteen years old when he arrived, and I think of him as 17 now. Similarly, his brother and his best friend were nineteen, but they are both 21 now. My first two SD girls have gone from 14 to 16. I don't think Hiro will get any older, since I don't want him to ever become a jaded twenty-one year old! I want him to keep some of his earnest, innocent and youthful qualities for always. I feel like he matured into his proper age.

My characters who are older in age haven't been here as long, they haven't had a chance to change or evolve yet.

@CloakedSchemer, I really like your before and after pics! They illustrate the characters' aging perfectly. I put smaller irises in my dolls too, it adds to the illusion very well.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

Yes! And when you move and then see the old pictures in other cities or housed, it feels like you have been together for a really long time.

 

Yes actually, a few of mine have, my two 1/4 boys (Eien and Tori) have aged even though I kept them the same size. They both started-out as teens (Eien being 13 and Tori being 17) and are now in their mid to late twenties (Eien is 24 and Tori is 28).

I also recently 'aged' my little Rosa, she was a Pipos PI Baha (kind of her kitten age) but now's she's a Pipos RPi Charlotte (more like a 'teen' I guess?), still kept her from the same company but she looks just a bit older.

I've contemplated doing the opposite with one of my other dolls, not really making the doll younger but having a younger ver of the doll for photo stories, but I'm still not sure. It's certainly fun to have your dolls change along with you (or along with the characters you've created for them), and besides, with all the new dolls that come-out it's a good way of getting a new doll with-out really getting a 'new doll'

 

Hmm... Maybe I don't quite get the spirit of the question, but how exactly are my dolls supposed to have "aged"? They're inanimate. Not getting any older is one of the big advantages they have over us humans.

Inevitable resin aging aside, by and large my crew have remained unchanged over the years. They wear the same clothing types and have the same face-up styles (If not the original face-ups themselves-) they've always had. My Shiwoo twins don't look like 35 year olds now just because I've had them for almost twelve years. They still look like the young guys they were sculpted to be.

If I wanted older versions of them, I'd have to find a pair of more mature sculpts, I'm afraid.

 

Ah, so you want to know if people have refined their dolls' look somehow... That makes more sense.

 

The dolls themselves of course don't age like we do. But I think i get where you are coming from with this question? The characters my dolls represent have changed and in a few cases, got bumped up in age. I think that people "write what they know" and will set their doll ages to be close to their own, and age them as they age. Of course, this isn't true for everyone, myself included! Some of my dolls have gotten younger. Pepper started out 15, now she's 12. Kaz was 37, now he's 34.

There's various reasons for making these changes, older and younger. As I develop the characters more, they start to become more mature in that way, I suppose, a way that they "grow up." I can see where a picture of a new doll can be like a baby picture if thought of in that light. When you get a doll, even if they embody a well-established character, they still have room to develop their character. Even take it in a totally different direction!

I might find that I originally liked them as a redhead, but the black wig I put on for a whim really looks good. Or my fashionista looks so cute as a tomboy. At this point, I start either editing my story, or creating a new character. That's part of the fun for me.

 

It's only been a few years so I can't say with certainty that anyone has really grown up that much. I'll give it a bit more time and maybe indeed there will be a difference. I know that when I meet a doll I've bought, sometimes they easily tell me their age and preference. Other times, you have to eek it out of them before hand.

 

For me, a lot of it is how their characters have grown, looking at them now! The faceups have made a huge difference too! One of my friends has recently painted virtually every doll I own, and they’ve all become so beautiful, and so different from how they looked when I got them. Seeing Ness, for example, blank in old photos is such a strange experience, because they look so distinct now. Vidania’s head has been through 3 different characters, so her “baby” photos are of all the other people I guess she’s tried to be (ironically all in some capacity self-inserts)

 

Lol oh yeah. My first girl changed style and so many faces over the years. But she also aged as in yellowing to the point she had to have an oxibath real bad. I had no clue about how to take care of her at first and she sat near a window in the Texas heat.

 

I perceive their age as changing. Faceup is changing, their style is becoming more advanced, their interests have crystallized.

 

With Vince, I feel that way a little bit-- though of course how 'young' he looks depends a lot on what wig I have him in and all. I'm sure some of it is just that I'm used to his face now so it doesn't seem quite as childlike, and he's been through a couple face-ups... but some of it is definitely coming out of my hyperempathy for objects, and how long I've had him. It's interesting, because his character is a bit Peter Pan-ish, he's never going to 'grow up', but... I think he's settled into himself.

 

Yes, story wise, and faceup wise. The main cast started as sophomores in high school. They will be going on their senior year soon. In between I find myself changing the faceup, or the wig styles of some of them, they have changed their dress style as well. As they move on with college and careers in the future, they just have that older feel to me.

Even in the story their speech has become more mature and calm, less the excitable teens that they started off as. While they will never in reality be as tall as the uncle/senior dolls that I have, I feel fine with them going into their future as young adults of soon to be indefinite age.

 

I got Caius Levi 9 years ago, and he still pretty much looks the same but there is a sense of maturity into him now. The sculpt, the make-up, and physical attributes still look the same (the resin yellowing of course comes with time, but so far he hasn't gotten much that makes it obvious), but this air to him just feels mature if that makes sense!

 

They are older now, so I would not be surprised if the elastic might need to be replaced but I also keep mine in their boxes, so they are protected

 

Maryse is the newer of my two resin ladies, but she survived a house fire two years ago, and despite being very kindly and thoroughly restored by an incredibly generous person, I feel like it's given her an air of maturity somehow (her new faceup is also much, much nicer than the one she came to me with). Whereas Celandine is probably almost 20 years old and feels like she has stories to tell that I'll never know about- but she probably hasn't "been through" as much as her sister. It's a really interesting feeling, as you say!

 

Totally! Their sculpt may be the same, but as I've grown myself and my tastes have shifted, their characters also got older in age (from their 20s to their 30-40s)and that reflects on their face-ups, wigs, clothes, stories... It's amazing how those things can change think the way the same sculpt looks, and I believe that being able to have them grow old the same as me is a fun part of this hobby too!

 

I joined the hobby in late 00s and was active for a few years, then went on a hiatus for about 10 years, then came back to the hobby in late 2022. I still have two dolls from my "newbie days" - Syr and Justinian have been home for 15 and 14 years now. (They're the pair in my profile pic.) They definitely feel more mature now than when I first got them.

I think it mostly has to do with their characters (I shell OCs). Before my hiatus, I struggled to establish these two OCs. I loved these dolls a lot, but I had less means and ability to realize my visions for them, and I also couldn't quite define what their characters were and what story/world they inhabited. So they had a sense of being not quite "fully formed" -- undefined, a bit blurry around the edges, not really whole. That was their state when I went on hiatus from the BJD hobby.

After I came back from hiatus, I had a much stronger idea of their characters and what they were meant to be, and also had the means and ability to realize this. When I look at Syr and Justinian now (in person and at my photos), they no longer feel vaguely formed - I feel that their personalities are a lot stronger and definitive, their characters have come into themselves and feel settled like fully-formed personalities. Whereas in 2011-2013 their characters weren't fully formed, so when I look at those old photos now, they have a kind of vague, blank slate appearance to me, which I guess makes them seem "young".

This is how these two dolls have "aged". Maybe it's perception? Nowadays I'm a lot more settled as a person than I was as a BJD newbie, and I also know better what I want from the hobby, and what I want my doll collection to be (I struggled a lot with this as a newbie). So that's probably why Syr and Justinian feel like they've "matured" since I first got them.

They're the "old couple" in my crew There are times when they feel very settled (even settled in their ways) that's different from the newer (younger) dolls. All my other dolls were bought in the last 3 years, after I came back from hiatus. I'm curious to know whether they too will also "age", how my perception of them is going to change over time.

 

My oldest doll, Darby, has always aged with me. She was in her early 20s in my early 20s, now mid-30s in my mid-30s! Her style has also changed; she used to have a much more alternative/punk look, but now is pretty lowkey and mainstream. She's just a lot softer overall, in way that definitely feels like aging!

 

Definitely! For example, you can absolutely tell Ravi has aged from when he was with his first owner (I've known him since his original box opening!), to when I first got him, to now, all these years later. There is more 'presence' to him, more 'weight' if you will. It's not just about resin age, or anything like that (to me). The way I see it, a doll arrives to you 'blank', almost 'empty' from the company, and then, as you pour your creativity and love into them, they begin to become 'full'. It's not just attachment either, as I've had numerous people not in the doll hobby recognise the difference between the 'feeling' of a brand new doll versus an 'aged' one...