Why are you making your own BJD?

I think im making my doll for the same reasons as you stated Setsuna :grin:

Most of the characters i wanted to create were all adult Men, and there just wasnt a grown up masculine looking male doll available when i started on mine.. (Bermann was the closest thing to what i wanted and by the time i found out he existed he was sold out)... so i just decided to make what i wanted.

Besides that hes been one heck of an artistic "workout" :wink:

 

Same as you.. I want to make my own because what I want wasn't readily available or made. I'm interested moreso in making heads and spare parts than a whole doll though XD Once I actually have like.. time >_>

::colors more for otakon table::

 

I'm also making my bjd because I want a thing that certainly is not made ^__^
AND least but not last, I want to prove myself i'm able to do that thing.
i realy HOPE I can prove this ops:

 

I wante dto learn how to do it! I also lack major funds: its easier to buy suppiles for each stage then a doll all at once. Plus I would have a hard time choosing a doll. Plus I really want a doll that is larger than what is currently avaiable (although my current project is small dolls)

I also really enjoy sculpting, and want to make heads that resemble people I know.

 

Artistic exercise for PherretLord and myself...more for him than myself. Making a doll crosses over into several of our hobbies (including the whole process of resin casting) so it was the next logical step in the hobby for us.

The fact we can get more of what we want doll-wise is also appealing. Much more athletic men and women are on our list.

 

Making a BJD using the Noah's Doll method costs about $130.....

Way less than $1000

 

i whant to make 1 just to try it out, i'm an art student and i'm sick of drawing/painting and making clay models so i whant to try something new
i got a question though where can i get polymer clay (if thats what you use if it isn't what is it called) in london?

 

I'm making one for the challenge of it as an art project, and to satisfy my pathological DIY compulsion (if I see something I think I can learn to make, I HAVE to try it)

I do plan on getting a luts doll when I get a place of my own, though. I can afford it now, but don't want to have my mum yelling at me about the price

 

Because I can.

That really is basically it. I already know how to make 3-d character molds (I've made basically garage kits of some of my original comic characters before), and I know how to work in resin.

I can't afford an actual doll, so why not? That way, I can also make my doll a dead-ringer for Legato Bluesummers.

 

My reason is sort of selfish. I'm making mine because I sort of have a problem with buying artistic or crafty stuff if I can make it just as well or even better, since painting and sculpting and stuff is what I do. I'd never get a tattoo of a picture I didn't draw myself, and so on. It would feel strange. I just want it to be completely mine.

The only bjd I would want would be an u-noa, but I'd never want it enough to pay the price of one, and I'd rather have my own anyway. I love bjds as inspiration but not enough to buy one.

 

1) Because I'm a nut.
2) because I could.
3) because MSD bodies were not available.
4) because I had more time than money.
5) having also done a SD and SD13 type since, see item #1

Ken

 

Johanna ~ Your work is simply breathtaking!!! You have an amazing talent! I'm a huge fan...I keep browsing your site freequently...

*I swear I'm not a freak...heheh...not much, anyway**


Sorry guys..

/hijack

 

Thank you, totalele!

 

I want to see if I can... I find creating stuff to be very satisfying.

 

I'm doing it because I would love to see something of my own creation be customized! (that is if any one gets one ops: ) It would be so cool to see what other people do with a base idea that you made its all very tickling to me to think about XD

Also I love dolls so much that it would be awesome to be able to say yes if someone asks you if you made it :wink:

 

At first I only wanted to make heads for my DDII body (I got for the no elastic to worry about / poseability / durability of the plastic body, sexy body sculpt , and also lower price tag). I wanted to make my own heads for the reason of:

1) The DD heads are a little too anime for me
2) The resin heads are $$$
3) I can sculpt a head myself so why buy a $$$ resin one?
4) I can then make it look however I want

Well of course I didn’t just stop at making an elf head for my DDII body…the lure of making a whole BJD was just too great! I am pretty handy with Sculpey, especially Super Sculpey, so the thought of making a BJD was not beyond me in terms of skill level. (Not to mention all the priming, sanding, and airbrushing ahead of me too ) It was just a question of motivation and research into the mechanics of how the elastic strung dolls worked.

I am not only making one myself for the reasons of $$$, but for the fact I wanted an anthropomorphic, female fox doll…which doesn’t exist… ops: so I am setting off to make my own. Besides, I treasure things made by my own hands a lot more than things I buy. It’s just more personal! And that’s why I’m making my own BJD.

I think she and Arwen will make good sisters when she (The fox doll) is done !

 

1, because I'm bored
2, learning experience
3, more time than money
4, 'just another art challenge'
5, '...to boldly do things that few have ever done...' (partly self discovery; partly elitism)
6, be an 'elitist'...not that an interest in "$1,000.00" japanese dolls isn't 'elite' enough



I'm at the research phase. Sorry, no photos of anything. ops: :grin: :cry: :cow

thanks was neat!

 

I am just too cheap to buy one.... ops:

 

It's waaaay much cheaper!!!!!!! ops: Seeing that a Lust doll cost about 400$, and my homemade cost me 35$ (without any painting, thou...) ^____^ ;

 

to see if I coudl do it *nods*

 

lol all of the above ^^, there is a story that I'm writing and I thought wouldn't be cool to do scene art with BJD's but .... yeah... I don't want to get summoned by the courts so yeah O_O, plus it would be better to make them myself ^^ I would be fun to have an ass load of custome dolls that no one else has XD OMG just thinking about having somthing that original is making me flip about ^^ eeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

 

I just really like sculpting little guys, so I decided to try sculpting a companion for Cara Mia.

 

I want to make one to resemble my missing younger cousin...We all miss her very much... and if that goes well then i'm just going to start making my own dolls so i don't ever have to declare bankruptcy! ops:

 

I'm making one because I want to start mass producing them for money! Lots of money. And if I can't start my own business selling them, I hope someone will hire me to do it for them! The other reason is that I'm poor and can't afford an official luts or volks doll...*sob*

 

I want to see if I can make one, and also because it´s fun to design and create your own doll.

 

I thought this was a fun thread to revive...

I'm making my own because..

A) It's an interesting exercise, and wanted to try something new.

B) I like to make my own original things, although I love some of the dolls out there, just painting over someone else's artistic vision wasn't enough for me.

C) I want her to be the perfect embodiment of my clothing labels, and only a doll I sculpt myself can be that.

D) I'm interested in what other people would do with the work, I'm going to send at least one to an artist friend of mine to interpret, and I have a few other people I think might be interested?

E) I love the feeling of accomplishment I get out of making something different for the 1st time.

F) Because I can!

I can't say it's about being cheaper, even as a mini I can't see the saving adding up when I think about the fact I've already gone through 4 blocks of Super Sculpy, will probably need 3 tubs of silicone, plus resin, time and f**k ups.

 

great idea of a thread

I'm making one cause currently I don't have a job, and lots of free time. like a lot of people, I have more time than money.

another reason is that I NEEDED a project to keep my brain working, and the doll, wich I have to sculpt, bake, paint, makes clothes too, take pictures of, are slowly giving me a reason to get trough my depression/anxiety cause when I think I'm worthless, I can look at that and tell myself I can do nice things. ok maybe they aren't really that nice, but anyway. I'm making a doll to keep myself from being crazy.

buying one already made would take a lots less time, and would not be as gratifying.

 

I started making a doll because I couldn't afford one of my own next to at all. And of course, it was a horrible attempt, but it got better the next few times I tried it. I did get an Angel Region though :3. Then I got very interested in aesthetic and I want to eventually sculpt a doll of which I can produce and sell several . There are certain characters I want to make into dolls, but I can't afford it, and I figure, since I /can/ sculpt, the amount of work that it takes to save up for a doll is roughly equal to if not more tedious than actually making one, and takes just about as long D: So why not have something you can be proud of because it is yours and yours only?

 

To Quote FanFeather ... to satisfy my pathological DIY compulsion (if I see something I think I can learn to make, I HAVE to try it)

and Quote Cryogenesis ... I'm making one because I want to start mass producing them for money! Lots of money. And if I can't start my own business selling them, I hope someone will hire me to do it for them! The other reason is that I'm poor and can't afford an official luts or volks doll...*sob*

Yep me too on all counts!! and Cryogenesis .. if I get rich and you don't (very unlikely senario cause your work is fabulous) I'll hire you

I also wanted a doll that was going to be a younger sister for the more mature SD size and I couldn't find one for sale so I decided to make her.


Kaye

 

I'd love to get into making my own for reasons that others have stated before, I'd love to make my doll look the way I want them too.
Also I LOVE drawing and anything crafty, so this really co-insides with my passion.

 

Because to me, buying things is boring. Boredom is my greatest fear. I suppose I technically have the money to buy all the commerical dolls I could possibly want if that's what I felt like doing. And although I want to learn to resin cast, I don't want to go into the doll business. I don't really have characters or aesthetic ideals in mind, and I think it's kind of weird to talk about artist's dolls when the last thing I would consider myself is an artist... ^^; More like a mad scientist with a lab full of sculpted body parts. Yeah, I like that idea... when I get tired of making dolls I'll do something else.

 

I just love to create, and I hope to someday be one of those lucky people who love what they do for a living.
Glory

 

I make my own because I always have. :3 It beats how messy my kit bashes are. X3

I also can't stand some of the things that I see on the dolls I've bought... places where a joint isn't made as well as it could be, or where a joint doesn't work at ALL. After a while it drives me bonkers and I have to fix it.

 

Because there is no doll out there that is what I really want/has everything I want in one doll, I like certain parts of some dolls, but not enough to want to buy them. There are characteristics that are currently not available in any dolls I know of which I am looking for, and rather than wait for someone to randomly and spontaneously release the right doll, I'll just make it myself.

 

Because I wasn't able to come up with a good reason not too .

 

I loooove anthro, so I'm making anthro dollies right now....catsy sucks

 

I'm making my own dolls for two reasons:

1) I have specific characters that I am trying to create and I'd like the dolls to truly look like these characters. More so than I could do with face-ups and other modifications.
2) I have absolutely no source for funds at the moment and even if I did have the funds to buy my own doll I'd have to get my mother to actually buy the doll. My mother does not believe this is a good way to spend my money and therefore it is likely that she wouldn't buy the doll for me.

I am afraid it is quite likely I will never own a BJD made by anyone but myself.
(It is actually fun making them though, so I really don't have a problem with that)

 

Since i am in the hobby,i think that ball jointed doll are a very artistic thing. I learned a lot of things with them, photography,sewing,painting 3D models. The last thing i always wanted to do since i know ball jointed dolls is to make one by myself =D And i´m working on it¡

I think that everybody has though this some time XD

 

I just want something I can ruin once I build up the confidence to attempt a faceup ...

Wake: "FXXX YOU, man!"

*Cough*

 

Because I'm a compulsive tinkerer.

 

I'm making my own because no company makes a doll with the size and proportions I'm looking for. It seems like a nice challenge and somehow it feels good to have something that is truly unique

So, could someone explain to me how the heck you can make dolls for so little money?? I'm still collecting materials (have to get everything off the internet, so half of the grand total will be shipping and Y!Japan fees, blarh) and the Super Sculpey+ a pair of decent eyes+ some MSC alone has cost me almost €150...

 

I don't know either, I'm looking at mine costing over $220 if the first molds go ok, if they don't add an extra $90 till they do!

 

because there isn't any face sculpt that looks like what I wanted for Alizee, because I wanted to try it and see if I could do it, because I want to learn how to resin cast..many reasons, really ^_^

 

Because I'm ambitious and think that if I dedicate enough time too it then I'll be able to leave a lasting mark in the BJD community!
That...and I'm very artistically inclined so I've always wanted to, just never did. I'm an artist right now, but that just isn't enough anymore. I need to do more and making a doll is a perfect opportunity to broaden my horizons with something that could potentially be profitable. ^_^
I have a lifetime to look forward too after all, I may aswell spend it doing something I like.

 

I guess it depend what you want your final doll to looks like... If you make it in resin in the end, I don't even want to think what it would cost me. but I am just planning on keeping my doll in sculpey and paint her. so far, It cost me 30$ (canadian) for the sculpey and some cheap eyes (but im probably making them in sculpey too in the end) and I guess its going to cost me around 20-25 more for a wig. so I do it the cheap way. If I had the money to do my own casting, I'd buy a real BJD, cause I already know there are dolls that looks the way I like.

 

Because I'd like a catsy but I don't want her to be tiny and I don't want another big doll. So I am going to try my hand at an MSD size. I want to use Apoxie and I am currently looking around for how to make her.

 

acexkeikai:
Wait a minute! I know those dolls! You were one of the people who got my butt off Livejournal and over here and making stuff! I can't remember if it was blondpile of somewhere else I saw you...

About two months ago, one of my friends on Livejournal posted pictures of her new Envy doll and I looked at it for a while and then said 'I could do that.' And then I started looking around at the BJD sites more and realizing that not only could I do it, I could potentially make money at it, or at least get someone else to pay for my hobbies (which is the ultimate goal in life, isn't it?). At first I was thinking along the lines of making custom clothing and costumes, but then I found the Noah's Dolls tutorial and got excited and started making my own doll, starting off of his method and then experimenting and refining from there. About halfway through I decided that I would mold and cast my doll because the paperclay I was making it out of wasn't strong enough, also, the potential to make back what I've spent on this project... Also, part of the customizing interest is in making new parts that aren't on the market, like feet posed in a toe position for a ballet dancer (i realize the doll would not be able to stand on it's own with toe feet, yes...) and my most exciting feats of engineering (still in blue-prints, not production... yet) figruing out how to make a centaur body work.
Also, further irritation as I've gone searching the internet for an adult male doll, the discovery that Hounds (but they're so gangly...) and SD16 are the only ones that come even close has fuled my desire to create not pedophilia-like dolls... And, of course, Robin, the doll I'm currently making, is androgenous and I wanted a properly androgenous, adult doll. Not the sort of thing you find all that often... So, all many reasons leading to me discovering my new purpose in life...

 

I have these .... creatures... running around in my head. They clamor for attention and I need to get them out of there before they drive me MAD!!! Dolls have always been the solution, but until I saw BJDs I would show them the 'other' dolls and they would just stamp their feet, make rude gestures, and say VERY inappropriate things about my mother. They had a problem with the lack of range of movement. There was one who said she wanted to be a Barbie doll, but her voice was drowned out by catcalls and insults. I haven't heard from her again. Then they saw BJDs!! LORD! Now they won't shut UP! So that's why I have to make my own. My brain has become a tenement building for faerie folk and I have some eviction notices I am dying to hand out

 

I don't think it's healthy to let your inner-voices bully you... but inspiration is a wonderful thing! Turn them to your advantage! Show them who's boss! Set up a table at a craft fair and make fabulous monies off your crazy inner-voices! Or at least Christmas presents for your friends...

 

Aren't we all bullied and at the mercy of our inner voices to some extent

 

You just gotta be tougher than them. Tell them off and -- hey! New smilies! They are now angel themed... -- oh, and show them who's boss! Turn them into your harem! They must bend to your will.

 

I think probably the reason I want to make a doll is because I'm a very hands on person (and I'm poor- to casting for me... *sigh* just firing clays's all.) I want to make all the characters I love from my shows ( *serious, serious drool over Donn's Sephy* ) and the idea that I can make something that to other people is worth hundreds is just a neat idea to me.

(Ok, ok, maybe not worth hundreds, but goshdarnit, appreciated for being hand made! )

 

FOR FUN!

plus I really wanted to see a dememted little tiny take down an El. . . and Zwei is the only one who can do that.

 

Interest and research into making my own started as a means of attempting to avoid cost. This was delayed due to taking new job in Iraq and a related lack of time.

New job in Iraq eliminated the element of cost. Five dolls of interest were bought. It then became a matter of wanting to put said research to use.

Similar to many, nothing out there exactly matches what I wanted to begin with. Then, as the sculpting commenced, I learned I liked it about as much as drawing.

Currently, it's come a challenge to see if I can finish it. I have desires to try to make dolls unlike anything else I've seen out there. I want to see if I can't make a fuller figured female figure... I even have an outfit I wish to place her in. This project will proably be put off for the next year as I work on developing my skill.

As with most of my artistic hobbies, it just became enjoyable. There's something rewarding about seeing a face slowly come to life out of what was a compressed white lump vaugely reminiscent of tofu.

<G> Speaking of which, a new shipment of tools and supplies just came in an hour ago. *Woot!*

 

I did it because.. Umm.. Good question XDD Let's see...
Well, I'm a glutton for punishment. I like to try to do different things artisticly, and had never tried to sculpt a human head before. Also, I wanted a doll to keep me company while I waited for the one I've bought to come home, and I wanted that doll to have a companion.
I guess I also wanted to see if I could.
I may make other critters as well, now that I've gotten some experiance (I'm thinking of making a skelleton person, or maybe some sort of pet).
It's so frusterating having to wait to finish my dear Pwi, but I need some sort of air tank before I can paint her.

 

because i;m an art student, and want to express.

 

Because I want a doll of my crazy character Fiacha, and modding a BJD to have posable bunny ears, a rabbit-like face, a cat-tail and wings would just be too tough.

(:

 

i only love my self making things or only model things -__ dont like industrualized things -_

 

I like it to create dolls and sculptures and I started with clothdolls, then ooak fairies, elfs, merfolk, goblins...
And then I was looking for a new adventure and I want to learn how to do a bjd.