Shelling OCs vs Dolls You Like

I have a mix of both, because while I love all my OCs, there are some things that just don't exist in the world they live in, and wouldn't make sense to make for them, such as clothing with faux fur trimmings or long sleeves. My non OC dolls allow me to express my creativity through designing clothes for them, and my OCs allow me to bring my characters to life.

 

I always feel so boring compared to the people whose dolls are shells of their OCs and have these amazing backstories and beautiful names. I'm simple. I see pretty doll, I buy pretty doll. I'll just stick to drawing my OCs. I feel like I would be limited in terms of clothing options, hairstyles, eyes, etc. if my dolls had characters attached to them. My OCs all have specific styles and it would feel weird seeing character a in style b, you know? Don't even get me started on the hair! With a doll that has no character, I feel like I have way more creative freedom.

 

I always buy sculpts I like and make the character around them.

I'm a character designer and illustrator, and one thing I've had to come to terms with is that I just literally can't shell most of my OCs into dolls because there is just not enough variety in dolls yet. I design my characters with the kinds of features and body types that just don't seem to exist in dolls- a lot of my characters are "Joe Shmoe" types so they have a little flab, or they have buck teeth, or they have a big hooked nose, etc. I also have a more cartoony style that just doesn't translate well into BJD. With the amount of mods I'd have to to I might as well just sculpt my own dolls.

I've ended up just buying dolls that appeal to me and then working with them! I notice I do still migrate towards sculpts that can be made sort of charmingly awkward, like the lanky doll chateau bodies. But that's as far as I can go.

 

Except for my anthros/pets/weirdies, all of my dolls shell my OCs. I’ve learned the hard way over time that I just can’t keep an interest in ‘oooh pretty doll!’ They have to mean more to me than that. My solution is to keep OCs somewhat vague until I’m ready to shell them. I have a hard time picturing faces in my head (even those of close friends or celebrities I like), so no OC is ever set in stone for me. If I find a doll I really love, I can usually make it work for an existing OC...and if not, there’s always room for new OCs in my stories! I’m also kind of not committed to my stories long term, as they tend to run their course within a few years, I get bored and start a new story. This makes it easy to just keep a list of dolls I like, then when I’m ready to start a new story, use those dolls as a basis for the new characters. I also tend to like sculpts somewhere in the middle between ultra realistic or stylized, so many of them can easily fit various characters depending on wig, eyes and faceup.

 

I think it's wonderful to have OCs to shell, but since I really don't have any I just buy a doll based on its mold and let their character develop as I work on them.

 

I also have a mixture of both. Some sculpts I just loved and needed to create a new character. Some characters I had in mind, I searched for their sculpt that I thought best fit the character I already had, even if they weren't the prettiest, just by looks.

 

A pretty face isn’t enough. For me, half the hobby takes place in my unseen thoughts on OCs’ clashing personalities and lived stories. Everything I do and make for my dolls is fuelled by the desire to bring their characters to life. I just... wouldn’t know what to do with a doll who was just a doll, no matter how pretty.

 

I just create new OCs around the dolls I like.

 

I can honestly say 98% of the time I focus mainly on shelling OCs (or existing characters from series I love). I feel like an oddball for not really being interested enough in any fullsets/company faceupped dolls to ever go out of my way to obtain them (with only one exception: Doll-Family-H Bei-Lie; I would easily pick him up no questions asked if I had the opportunity).

I think a lot of it for me stems from some past obsessive habits I used to have in other hobbies (I collected G1/G3 MLPs for a while because I liked their look/aesthetic, for example), which I have since I've grown out of. I used to collect for collecting's sake back in those days, and I guess eventually I not only lost motivation to keep it up, I felt like I was over-accumulating a lot of non-personal hunks of (insert material/object of choice here) instead of something with actual meaning or personal connection to me.

When I first stepped into the hobby with my B&G MSD girl I was still stuck in that mentality, having picked her out because she was cute to me at the time. I think she might have also been my turning point, as I started growing more interested in doll customization and creating OCs/existing characters in doll shells instead of just collecting ones I thought looked nice. A majority of my Pullip/Taeyang collection ended up customized, and I realized I developed a longer lasting attachment to them when I instilled something deeply personal into them.

Which brings me to where I currently stand with my BJD crew. For me, I have to have some personal investment in a bjd's shelled character for me to even care about having them around. So while there are so many nice looking sculpts out there I find captivating, if there's no personal, deep connection of some sort---I don't get them.

Collecting for me isn't about amassing a bunch of pretty things to look at (I don't have the room for that, and past experiences keep me from treading in that territory...), but a personal collection of characters I have a connection with somehow: ones that are part of some elaborate tale currently in the works, ones inspired by something/someone personal ( e.g.: a catgirl that will take after my cat in name and personality, for example), or exist in some other capacity (TV/movie/game/book/etc) that I've grown a deep connection to. I collect what I find personal meaning in.

Not to say I don't admire those who do collect BJDs for the sake of something pretty to look at. It's all about what makes somebody happy to me, and everyone should approach the hobby the way that connects best with them. Don't feel intimidated into collecting masses of dolls to be like everyone else, and don't pass up fullsets and dolls that catch your eye because it's not quite the same as doing it all yourself. Taking enjoyment in what you love is what collecting bjds should be all about.

I probably said more in this then I needed to, but I think these words have been waiting to break free from me for sometime. So...apologies for rambling so much, but thank you for putting up with reading through it all if you have

 

*raises hand* I like buying dolls that fit OCs but then Volks happened and they’re just dolls that I like — that I can make a story for if I pleased for the sake of building something more solid, but I find I struggle with keeping the OCs and dolls I like for the sake of liking them.

And this is mostly because I like aesthetic similarity. So the dolls that fit my OC will end up being more on the realistic side and my love for Volks makes it so they’ll fit with other similarly stylized dolls breaking the chance for me to ever put them in the same picture together and thus feeling like I have two very separate collections.

I did take the plunge to get my Volks grail and she has nothing in common with the others, but I love her and plan to get her some friends. She’s just going to be part of an entirely different world and my OCs will remain in their AU and never cross paths with the others in pictures or shelf. I’m that picky where even seeing them together rubs me wrong if they’re not aesthetically similar.

So, if you can manage to juggle both, I’d say it’s cool to be able to buy dolls you just like for liking.

 

I bought a fullset once without much thought about the character but when she arrived I created a new character for her to fit in. I also bought a nude doll because it would be a perfect shell for my existing OC.
It goes both way so I guess their identities came after first impression for me.

 

I like having a mix of both! I do the same thing with action figures - sometimes I buy because I like the character, other times I buy because I like the look of it (it’s usually a spin-off of a character I like though, ie. Wild West Batman). My MSDs are dolls that appealed to me, what I enjoy most about them is the amount of freedom I get with a blank (or semi blank) slate. No limits since there’s no character (yet), so I can create whatever I want! And if I’m really inspired by them, then I’ll make them a character.

My SD17s are shelled characters...they’re a lot harder to work with so sometimes I don’t have the time for them. They cost more than most MSDs and a lot of their accessories cost more too, and I spend a ridiculous amount of time searching for the perfect sculpt in the right skintone that stays in scale with the others. It is super tedious. The fact that I have to be extremely picky about what I buy does make working with these guys rather hard too, there’s not as much freedom...but I love my characters, and I know that at the very end of it, it’ll feel incredibly rewarding to have them completed and in the flesh.

...I now have the dangerous thought of starting a SD13 collection. I do like a lot of the sculpts...

 

I got my first two dolls as fullsets, but I don't think I would have liked them as much if the company hadn't given them a fairly intricate story. I sort of view them as being equivalent to fan character dolls, haha.

After them, I decided all my dolls would shell my OCs, and for the most part I've made good on that. It's a lot of fun looking for sculpts and gathering all their clothes/accessories/etc, it really does feel rewarding when everything comes together and the character inside my head comes to life (especially since I can't draw). But I haven't really been able to stick hard and fast to this rule...I still find myself falling in love with fullsets every now and then. Got my DF-H Anye just because I couldn't stop staring at his pictures, and I feel the same thing's going to happen for Ringdoll Ashford EVO, and Luts French Knight Abadon is now my grail. -_-

I can't really connect to a doll if it's just there being pretty, though. They need to have a character, even if I don't immediately know everything about them when I first get them. I've challenged myself to try to fit all the "ooh pretty" dolls I have/want into a single cohesive world of their own, so at least they'll all have meaning for me (and I can theoretically do photoshoots of them together). It's interesting and kind of fun to build a world like this based on the dolls themselves, rather than just having the dolls represent pre-existing characters.

 

When I started out in the hobby I had dolls I tried to give a backstory because I had bought them for their sculpts. After a while I started to lose my connection to them because they had no story, Then i decided to shell one of my OCs and that was the best decision I could of made when it came to the hobby. I was already so connected to the character that once I shelled the doll the connection was already very strong and now he's my baby, my favorite doll. I plan to shell more of my OCs but really take care in the sculpts I choose for them.

 

I don't really have any OCs (and the few that I've had for novels and such over the years are so flat and cardboard anymore that I would never shell them with a BJD!), so I think I tend to simply collect sculpts that I like. I guess they're more like art pieces? Except they're art pieces with their own personalities and I can interact with them and create for them ^^ They'll probably end up being their own characters, but pretty self-contained and not as part of something larger. I'm not very creative lol.

 

I guess for me it's a mixture of both. I have ideas for the types of characters I want to shell, and when a doll comes along that fits that concept, I get them if I can afford them...though sometimes they end up becoming a completely different character once I get to know the doll's personality a bit better (and once I see what clothes/wigs/eyes/etc. suit them). I'm still working on a concrete setting/story for my dolls. Only one of them is potentially not part of this story (my tiny might just end up being my travel buddy, but I'm still quite fond of him). ^_^

 

I've decided not to buy any dolls I just like the look of before I actually shell my main 5-6 OCs, since they were the reason I joined this hobby! I also feel like if I bought a doll just because I like the way they look, I wouldn't really have much of a connection with them and would probably get rid of them at some point.

 

If I'm being honest, I have to resist the urge to buy every single doll that catches my fancy. I *love* looking for and admiring dolls with strong aesthetics (pretty dolls, gory modded dolls, dolls with unique faceups, unique molds) but I can't justify owning most of them. To indulge in that fancy, I got an MSD that I figured I could have as an aesthetic "freebie" and sent her for a faceup just for something cute to look at. She's not enough to meet my magpie nature, but because she's so different from my other MSDs, it's easier for me to admire from afar when I remember that I have her. I also have two tinies purely for the joy of bringing them around improptu-style whenever I want. But the rest of my MSDs are shelling specific OCs. I bought two MSDs with vague intentions but I gave them backstories and/or shells of OCs to justify keeping them. I've got SDs for a few characters planned but my goal, to keep myself realistic and frugal, is to only shell my OCs (eleventy bajillion!!!!) they can be from RPGs I play in or from art and stories I work on, but I don't have the funds or space to buy every doll I've ever admired. It feels limiting, because there are so many fantasy sculpts I want (Dragons! Nagas! Chimeras! Spiders) but they're also some of the most expensive dolls...so for now it's best to stick to my manageable goals.

 

i have .... a terrible amount of ocs, like bordering 200 on last count. but, for whatever reason, i havent been able to spark interest in making any of them into dolls--which seems wild, because i totally expected myself to!? but the dolls i have i just have because Doll Pretty... they have loose personalities in my head which steers my choice of clothing and aesthetic for them, but they don't have nearly the depth of any of the characters i draw or write about. i love them all dearly (esp my MSD boy, my first doll and light of my bjd life) but no oc action here ....

 

My first doll was named after a character of mine and I picked a wig and eye color to match said character. She definitely wasn’t exactly like the character she was named after just because I would have had to make some very ambitious modifications to make her match the oc’s looks. I decided to just let her diverge naturally and have a loose character that helped me decide what clothes to dress her up in.

Since then all my dolls have been their own characters with a similar loose personality so I can be flexible with what they wear. I might consider shelling an oc in the future but till then I let my dolls be their own thing

 

For me, shelling OCs typically takes priority over buying the dolls I just like the sculpt of. I think I have a love for the hunt for The Perfect Sculpt (or maybe it's love/hate considering the difficulty sometimes). Of course I also think the sculpts I end up shelling for OCs fall under the same umbrella as "dolls I like". Focusing on shelling OCs also helps me, personally to keep my spending in check.

Lol, that being said, if I found a sculpt that I felt I just couldn't live without, and I had the extra money to buy it, I definitely wouldn't say no. I actually do have one doll that I bought just because I love the sculpt. He's a wildcard though because he goes against everything that is my typical "type" when it comes to what I like in bjd sculpts.

 

For me, what more often happens is I find a doll that I fall in love with, and then I make a new character based on how that doll looks! That's what I'm doing with the doll head I just bought recently, and I did that with the 2 full dolls I already have as well ^_^ It just depends on what you prefer, although I generally need to really, really want the doll to spend so much money on it if that makes sense. I wouldn't want to end up with a doll I'm not 100% happy with.

 

I have too many existing oc’s that I’m super attached to to shell into dolls. And if ever want to shell one of them, I’d be way too picky about the details. Either I’d shell them right or not at all.

So I don’t shell characters. I just pick dolls I like and and make new characters to fit them.

 

I'm somewhere in the middle, I guess. I bought my current and only doll based off an idea I had for a visual concept and the sculpt suited that idea, but the longer I thought it over, the more concrete that idea became and gradually a character developed from it. I think I'm more likely to shell a character than to get a doll simply because I like them - I wouldn't know what to do with them, since I use my dolls for photography concepts and build wardrobes based on their personality or the situation I see them in. I don't see myself doing detailed photostories so there's no character-based inspiration coming from that direction, but generally I find it more useful and sustainable if my dolls were based tangentially off characters or ideas I gravitate strongly towards, because it makes more sense personally to keep them around for long.

 

I'm more inclined to buy dolls to shell OCs, because a) it helps me tailor my collection - there are so many sculpts I love and I prefer a smaller collection, b) I'm not really into frequent customisation/dressing up of dolls, so limited options for clothing/face-ups (whilst remaining true to a character) doesn't bother me too much, c) I really enjoy having another representation of some of my favourite OCs!

This is not to say I've never bought a doll just because I liked it though -eyes her Pathos Tale Misheng-

 

I've never purchased a doll with the intentions of turning them into an existing OC. I prefer my art and writing OCs to be separate entities to my dolls. I've never even considered drawing or writing anything involving my dolls either. While my OCs have set personalities, appearances and mannerisms my dolls are more of a "feeling".

 

I primarily look for dolls with the intent to shell OCs. There are plenty of sculpts that I find aesthetically pleasing, but without the connection I have with my OCs to tether them, I know I'll likely have a harder time bonding if I buy just for the sculpt and not because it embodies a character. I'm also a person that enjoys the thrill of the hunt, so searching for the perfect eye color or the perfect wig is a lot of fun, and it makes clothing shopping easier since each OC has a particular style concept.

 

I've bought all my dolls simply because I liked the sculpt a lot, then I build a personality around that. When I see a sculpt I really like, I imagine what kind of character I could build it into and what kind of aesthetic I want. I haven't shelled an old OC into any doll, they always end up being new ones!

 

I've never purchased a doll to shell an OC, probably because I have so few of them & I seldom come across dolls that fit the look I picture in my head. My dolls were all bought simply because I loved the doll itself & then a character would come to me. My dolls are also part of a story that arose from the dolls themselves. The 1:3 ones have their own universe which is different from the JIDs' & slim minis' one. Then there's the little world of my Little Fees & Peak;s Wood 1:6 dolls who are all sprites.

I've always approached dolls this way. They "talk" to me & a little story arises. I don't know, guess I'm just weird that way.

 

Shelling core OC/fave char.
It helps to shortlist the sculpts I like. The one was that right for the characters got me to explore the hobby further.

And since this hobby is so highly customisable, the two OCs that followed the starter doll were versatile enough for changing looks to suit themes.

The existing crew covers a. range of personalites that makes it challenging for the any hopeful applicants to stand out. Especially so when it comes to wanting more male sculpts. Both my male and female dolls( as a bishie young man and cute boy type) go all out to counter them in the name of more clothes.

 

Shelling my OCs is a priority when I go looking for a new sculpt. The hunt for the perfect sculpt is really what drives me and keeps me looking, and planning + doing mods to make them match the character is a lot of fun. I like a lot of different sculpts, but I won't even consider a purchase of it doesn't fit a character... unless it really resonates with me. There's only one doll that I want that doesn't fit any of my OCs.

 

What is OCs?

 

Than you so much ^^

 

Finding the perfect doll to be my OC has been a 10 year ordeal... but I finally think I've found the perfect one. It's been a huge part of my hobby to be honest!

 

My first doll was chosen to be the perfect shell for one of my most used OCs. All the other dolls I own also have characters but mostly they were created specifically for the doll. So I'm in the middle of both worlds, I'm not interested anymore in shelling my OCs from stories and so in dolls but all the doll I buy must have their own style, personality and background before I even think of purchasing a new doll.

 

The first doll I ordered as an OC's shell. However the second doll I purchased, I got because I absolutely fell in love with her sculpt. From there, a new OC just arrived and in buying a doll I just really liked, I wound up shelling an OC anyway because of the story she inspired.
So really, I think doing both things winds up being inspiring on one way or another.

 

I think I have to agree with a majority of the people who have already commented; it depends on the doll. Granted, I'm still figuring things out, so I don't have a lot of practical experience, but I already can tell that I am going to want to do both. At the moment, I'm torn between a face that I just like and one that reminds me of a favorite character.... So, I guess, both?

 

During the first 3 years in this hobby, I just go with a sculpt first and then name. Their characteristics came after I have played with them. But after taking a long break and come back, I have changed. Recently, I shelling a Dollfie Dream into my OC and super happy about the result. I wish I could get another DD girl, but it stops me when I cannot think of which OC I want to make. Even I have so many sculpt that I love to have. My past self would just go and buy the head without any hesitation. haha

 

I've gone in just about every direction, but my main focus is shelling OC's. However, since that can be extremely difficult, I do allow myself to give less perfect options a chance if I really like the sculpt. Sometimes the OC is underdeveloped enough that they will allow themselves to be turned into that doll. I've also written characters for particular dolls and I have a few of the Oooh Pretty variety. Mostly, they eventually start telling a story. It's more a matter of how impatient I am with them to start talking and this depends on how amazing I think they are as a doll, their price tag, body/posing frustrations etc etc. Doom Bomi was my most expensive Oooh Pretty and she's now my current writing muse, so she was absolutely worth it

 

Oh gosh this is such an issue for me lol. I have my set characters and I intend to just get them, but any time I see a really pretty sculpt I try to come up with a character that fits just so i can get them lol

 

I have never had OC's until a week ago when I started writing again. For now I still have dolls that I just thought were pretty, but now I'm looking to shell my OC. I am currently thinking of having one doll go in between being said OC and what I designed her to be (character from a manga) because I more or less inspired the sculpt after her. However I am stuck between making my layaway (Ringdoll Alice01) or getting a Kana by A-Studio.

If anyone has any suggestions for sculpts I'd appreciate it too! My OC is a young Victorian woman. She's 22 but baby faced ^^

 

How it went was "I want to do bjds to shell my favorite OCs. I'll only have dolls that are characters" then almost immediately i was like "oh I really like this doll on the second hand market... let's just make an OC for him real quick"

And it's just a slippery slope from there. I spend my time looking for sculpts to shell characters, that is still what I really want. But that doesn't stop me from buying a limited sculpt I just like at the same time as I buy an OC shell. And then proceeding to make her a character where I sign myself up to need to shell her parent too.

Predominantly all of my dolls will be OCs and have a place in my stories. But some won't have characters right away.
Even the pet bjds will have to find a way to fit in.

 

I do both, my first doll I picked because I liked him, and built the chacarter around him, then I worked on shelling two OC's from a RPG I was commited to..as I worked on that other dolls came to me as other chacarters that I had role played previously, and some dolls jumped out as related to the dolls I currently have. Whats funny is that the OC I build around my original first doll, has now had three different doll forms. And some of my OC's I sold the doll forms of, though I do intend to re-buy.

My main reasons for buying a doll are that I cant stop thinkning about that sculpt and then a name and personality will come to me and it will usually have some relation to the current story I have in my head. Right now I have two related storyline where dolls fit, and as I see things I like...I work them in.

 

I've turned out to be kinda both. My favorite sculpt (Evangeline) went through roughly 3 characters that just didn't fit before I settled on one - a very new one that blossomed up around the doll itself. And 3-4 of my crew are connected to him. I've been joking about how any doll I want for reasons I can't pinpoint is probably a Billy story character.

I can't do flat full sets, though. I love some from a distance, but I don't see the point in spending $400+ on something I don't have a lot of work to do on. The work is the hobby for me.

 

I’m still waiting on my first doll, but I bought him with the intention of shelling an oc. Because of space and resources, I do think that for now, at least, I’ll be sticking to the oc route, though it is veeeery tempting to throw all my money at Ring Doll. Their men are so gorgeous that I just might have to break my own rule should the opportunity present itself.

 

I am honestly inexperienced with the whole making OCs thing. The last time I created original characters of my own that wasn't part of a pen and paper roleplay campaign was back in middle school. I actually do plan to shell these three characters of mine, but at the same time I'm probably going to rewrite them while still keeping to the core personalities as best as I remember. they've stuck with me throughout the years and I'd love to envision them as dolls.

As for dolls outside this project, I probably will buy a doll I like initially for how they look and then create a character around them. The hope is that by doing skill inspire me to be more creative and to feel compelled to write characters, and give me something to work on. I would still consider myself very new to the hobby so saying this now probably doesn't mean much, but at this current moment I have a hard time believing if I liked a doll when I purchased them, that I wouldn't like them once they arrived. But we will see as time will tell and as an obtain more dolls of my choosing.

 

Except for the few that are fan character based, none of my dolls are based on pre-existing characters. Most of my previous writing is set in vaguely Renaissance era, but my dolls story is set in the present day. I don't have much interest in making BJD versions of my pre-existing OCs, though some of my dolls' characters might be influenced by them.

I enjoy creating new characters based on my dolls, and writing about my mixed group of humans, elves. fairies, and sprites. I never would have had come up with some of the characters if it wasn't for the fantasy dolls they are based on.

 

Used to be more strict about sticking to an OC list to keep myself from buying every pretty face and now like.... I have 5 "because pretty" heads to 7 "this is a character I am gonna smush this doll into" heads. (A few body sharing for space and expenses).

I think it is because my drawing style is including more and more face types that are atypical to the BJD world or things that do not translate to 3-D. Drove myself crazy on the wig for a new OC doll because I draw the curls in a way that legit makes no sense as a 3-D object....

 

I have a bunch of OCs I draw and love, but ultimately the dolls I like are usually not very well suited to shelling anyone. qvq I would love to shell some sometime, but I wouldn't want to pass up on a sculpt I love more for that sake.

 

@Epicari are you actually me? Your evolving relationship with BJDs mirrors mine closely.

I, too, started out very excited about the possibility of making my own characters as dolls, and that's how I purchased my first few BJDs. But as beautiful as these dolls are, they could never be a 100% match to my imaginings...perhaps because they tend to be too beautiful? So my choices would be: a) do I spend $$$ buying a doll I am not completely feeling due to its resemblance to Character X, or b) do I tear apart my doll plans entirely and buy the dolls I really love but have no place in my narrative?

I went with Plan B.

Initially, I was so distraught over this "choice" I felt I had to make that I went into the extreme opposite direction and renamed all my original BJDs! Though it felt like a drastic move to me, I found I enjoyed them much more as dolls in their own right rather than as pre-established characters. I continued to add to my doll collection based on my fondness for certain sculpts, but the storyteller in me kept thinking, "what if?"

Finally, I reached a compromise. If I brought a doll home and it sparked a story idea, then I pursued that line of thinking. If I brought a doll home and just enjoyed it as a doll, then that was perfectly fine too. Now, some of my dolls are part of a larger narrative and I do write about them, and some of them are just dolls who inspire me in other ways. For me, the difference is that the characters I have now are suggested by the dolls themselves rather than the other way around. I have found that this approach works well for me; it allows me to enjoy the best of both worlds while keeping the hobby stress-free.

 

I have a list of OC's that I want to shell as dolls, but it has happened on occasion that I fell in love with a sculpt without knowing who they were ahead of time. In this case, I usually go ahead and get it and develop the OC for the sculpt during the wait time. There is one doll I received for winning a drawing and that doll does not have a character associated with it. It is the only one.

 

I did try to impose the rule of OCs only, but it's not worked. I've got two in my collection who were just complete impulse buys, but one can maybe work as an OC. I'm just waiting on a few bits to verify that. And, out of the 5 heads I've got on order, only two of them can potentially shell characters. I need to verify their potential when they arrive.

However, I have found that my two OC dolls are my most cherished.

 

I have a mixture, but started with dolls I loved and then added in a few of my favorite characters that I wanted to make dolls of. Overall I have more dolls I bought just because I loved the sculpt and for no other reason. This is why I've ended up with tons of Soom dolls, their sculpts slay me (and my wallet)

 

I have a mix. Most of my dolls I got because I liked the doll and the character followed. All but one of my dolls I have has my own face-up work, which allows me to work out a lot about the character I want the doll to embody. The one oddball there I just love the pipos face-ups, so she just is what she is.
One of my dolls was a head bought as a bit of an impulse. When it arrived I realized it easily fit an RP character whom I hadn't drawn (and therefore wasn't set on the design). Only one I really sought out a doll with my character in mind, but this time I had kind of wanted a doll from creating the character so I intentionally avoided finalizing her design to allow the doll I chose to heavily influence the design of the character. Those two are probably my favorite dolls I have and are the usual ones I am making things for.

 

I definitely have OC's but I've never really had any desire to shell them. I think I'd be too nitpicky to ever find sculpts I'd be happy with and I know I'd immediately into that pit of 'well I shelled so-and-so so now I need to shell whats-his-butt the romantic interest, and whose-her-face the sister'. So I'm a 'buy it cause you like it' person and they'll slowly become all new OC's of their own

 

I actually have a personal rule against shelling OCs. As a lifetime writer, I simply have too many. And if I started, I'd want to get them all. So, no OCs for me. That said, I have yet to find one that looks especially like an OC of mine, aside from once or twice, and only kind of.

So all of my dolls are just ones I liked, and then I created "characters" (not as fully fleshed as those I write with) for them over time.

 

I usually have characters in mind for my dolls beforehand, sometimes OCs and sometimes characters from books/shows/other media. If I've got a very clear idea of the character's appearance then I'll specifically go looking for sculpts that have a likeness. And for me a likeness doesn't always have to be completely exact, I've often found sculpts that have minor details awry (maybe for this character I'd pictured eyes a bit wider-set, for another one a slightly more upturned nose) but the face overall just felt like them.
Other characters that I have a more vague mental image of tend to "adopt" my favourite random sculpts out there. If a new doll is released that makes me go I WANT! then the first thing I do is revisit my wish list and see if it will fit one of my planned characters that I don't have my heart fully set on a sculpt for.