Why are you making your own BJD?

Great thread!
I want to try and make a head or body because I do like to be artsy, and I'm quite happy doing face ups,( although I've never had any training), and sculpting a head would be a real challenge for me, as to me it looks very hard to do.But I would like to work up the courage to have a go at some point.To me it's another aspect of the hobby I like.

 

I want to try sculpting a BJD, because I've already done the easier kinds of dolls. And years ago, when I was making dolls constantly, I tried to figure out how to build what were basically ball-jointed dolls. It should be easier now that there are all sorts of tutorials out there.

 

I have a few reasons.

1. They are too expensive.
2. I don't like the body shapes or facial features, or they do not suit my characters.
3. I'd like to have a doll who is one of a kind and is not just a modification of a brand doll.

 

I want a certain look, a certain size, and I like to go a step beyond
average if possible and do it myself. (still working on it though, current
goal is complete tiny and a MSD head)

 

I love asian faces, but it's really hard to find in bjd. So I decided to make my own asian girl...
I also enjoy having my own little creation, it's really *mine*.

 

I want to start a company! XD; A far-fetched silly dream, but a dream none the less... :3 I want to make pretty dolls that other people will save up for as their "dream doll".

 

...Because there ARE no dolls out there with the physical anatomy of what I'm planning.

 

I want a hans bellmer kind of surrealist thing, but good luck with me trying to get a real one. Then I realized that most things I wanted (even more normal things) just didn't match up with most things on the market well enough. And since I'm going for OOAK rather than casting at present, it's cheaper than buying one.

 

Because a) I don't have that kind of spending money. n.n b) I need a doll to make jewelry for! o.o c) I'd like to make clothes too... d) I may even try face-ups and it'd be nice to have my own heads to practice on. n.n

And.. I saw this docu on a German glass eye artist. He used hollow glass rods and a lamp to make them. ---One of these days, I want to try making doll eyes, too. Cause I'm just crazy when it comes to art techniques. Gotta try it all, you know?

 

I decided to try to to make my own BJD first and foremost because I can't afford any of the ones I want. I realize that in the end the price ends up beinng about the same if I cast in resin, but its a minimal cost over time, rather than an upfront lump sum. XD

There are also aspects of the dolls I like that I would like to change, and rather than messing with (and probably screwing up) the doll, making my own in a way that I am happy with seemed like a better choice.

Finally, its an enjoyable project for me to do, and is a cool thing to add to my portfolio. I've done sculpting before, but nothing I would ever consider good, so it gives me an opportunity to really make something pretty, that not only gives me something nice to have, but is something I can show off too. XD

 

I am trying to make a doll from a series I have come to love. The doll would be original and only mines too, which would connect me to the bjd worl even more. Plus I don't like some body types and if I create something I love I'm sure I can create other things I love too.

Plus, a RYuk doll....awesome!! xD

 

I'm an artist and like to sculpt things! And when I made Nixie there were no other fox-anthro-human-animal like dolls (with claws and extended ankles), and I really wanted one. X3 I also had dreams of four-legged animal BJD (which are not allowed on here anymore saddly) designs after making Nixie. So I made Jaquel and LOVES him and all his cat-doggy glory. I have some improved joint-design quadruped dragon-things in the works too. I like seeing if I can make up new design idea that have not been done before or could be improved. Designing is fun!

That, and BJD are really expensive, and I really don't have the funds for buying them...so since I have the skill to make one exactly how you want why not do that instead? Then you have a unique doll too! All works out okay. Maybe even you could cast it someday and share it with others!

 

I actually have three dolls now-- but those were rapid fire succession dolls that I never expected ^_^;;

I started making my own to show myself I was capapble of doing so, as well as not having enough money to purchase any at the time. (Now that I look back, for all the supplies I spent money on, I could have have a Lati Red by now >>; )

There was so much involved in the doll making process, so much detail work, and it looked so overwhelming at first... I just had to try it. 6 failures later, I'm still giving it a go.

 

You know you should get one anyway don't you! I had a lot of dolly disagreements when I first got into the hobby...but now my Mum buys expensive dollies too (albeit not BJD's but Blythes). I used to have a ton of blythes but sold all of them off to accomodate my new interest.

Back onto subject though. I would really like to create my own BJD and would do so to make a character I have had in mind for a long long time. She is a turquoise skinned zombie girl. I do have a lot of ideas though but never have the extra time to do anything with them.

Its on my to do list...

 

I'm making my own because I can't yet decide on which doll I want first (and I can't afford to buy all of the ones which have caught my eye).

It's a place to channel my energy while I'm being indecisive.

 

Hmm, im making it bcause i havent got the money to buy it. And i very like playing with clay, creating sculptures, and i thought it may be fun. It is ^^

 

Cause I wanted to see if I could. I can. Makes me all warm and fuzzy to have another artistic conquest on my repetoire.

 

I think because I always had love dolls and I always dreamed to make one myself. I never imagined how I could make one until now.... Maybe I will try it but I'm not so sure yet. I would like to be able to make them for sale so people would be as happy as me with my doll. Of course i will not make a doll that cost $800. I think that I would like to make one that everybody can afford.

 

I began my doll project for the same reason a lot of others did - that I couldn't find one that looks a thing like what I had in mind. That and I just wanted to try my hand at making one since I've sculpted since I was a kid. Clay modeling is just so satisfying. If my current doll turns out alright, I might make another later on. Too bad I don't yet know how to cast.

 

That's kinda how I felt too. Now I feel so good since people like my little girl and wnat to give her a home with the rest of their resin lovelies. And she is not expensive (because she is so veeeery small), so I can give people something new and unique.

 

At frist I make my dolls because my parents NEVER support me to buy any doll cuz of the price is very high. I argue with them many many many times and we didn't talk about it any more...

I begin to make the doll myself many times in my room until my first doll completed..
after that I think I can make it!!
then I try to make my second and third.... and now I have 4 dolls that I'd made.
that's it. XDDD

I love doll, I want it, I can afford it, but my family stay opposite side of me and try every thing to stop me buying it.
so it drive me to try and learn so many things with making BJD myself.

 

I started making my own doll coz i wanted a head that was too hard to find. So i thought i could give it a try making it myself.
The final result doesn't really look like the one i wanted but i like my version anyways=)

 

Well I'm going to start making my own doll (or rather dolls) because I have twins that I want to bring home and apart from the fact that they need to be here at the same time (or else it just won't feel right, I'm sure you all can understand that ^_^) and to buy two dolls is expensive, but also the fact that there simply is no mold already out there which I feel is just right for my boys (at least not without some heavy modding) so I figured why not give it a go and make my own.

 

Im considering making a centaur one because the only centaurs that I've seen are minis... I want mine to be the size of a 1/3 doll, but still be well porportioned/annanomitely correct while still being made with ball joints ((the horse half as well as the person half =/;;; ))

 

Well I have no job, so it makes it hard for me to save up for a new doll. The only two dolls I own are 60cm obitsu and a puki both relatively cheap since both cost me no more than £230 ($460) together plus my dad actually bought my obitsu and I really want a new SD or larger doll.
So using my art studies and my desire of wanting a new doll. I'm going to start making one but right now I'm trying to gather as much of the tools I need. I won't make a mold or anything for a while, until I get a job and have the money to spare. So I'm going to be pretty happy with a clay doll.

 

Have you started this yet? I'd love to see it -- what a challenge it will be!

 

It's actually Resin, and I'm sure if you typed it in on the internet somehwere, you'd find it ♥
A friend sent me a link to buy some once, but I lost it. x______x

 

Try ebay, you can find almost anything there. Just search for super sculpey.
Hope this helps ya.

 

Largely, I made my first BJD because there is no way in the seven levels of hell that I can justify affording a thousand-dollar toy. Cause really... they are art, and make our hearts flutter inexplicably, but are still dolls.

But I began my second one, and have already planned a third and fourth, because making one doll ignited a real indefinable passion for sculpting them. Its very strange to me... never thought I was the kind of person to want to play with dolls for the rest of my life. *LOL*

I also have a dream to do something I am truly passionate about and get a little money for it... perhaps live off my art. BJDs offer a glimpse of that possibility... no telling what could happen, yes?

Not to mention the creative and technical challenge. For someone like me, a sculptor before all else, there is nothing like moldmaking to make you feel like a right and proper ARTIST.

Theres so many good reasons to make them.

 

Is "I'm crazy" a valid reason?



(is joking - is having fun...)

Seriously, I love doing lifedrawing, and sculpting is an extension of that. I've sculpted figures, but have always been disappointed by the staticness of them (I work in animation) and was impressed by how alive the dolls seemed.
I'd just bought a $600 vinyl doll (a Jan Mclean) so the price wasn't a put off really.
I like to figure out how things work too - making the joints work properly is prolly the thing that has stopped me from wandering off to look at the first sparkley thing I see!

 

Although my first doll is still WIP I'd rather put all my focus on making a tiny doll.Seeing bambicrony's was the inspiration for me wanting to try my hand at tinies!

plus I'd rather have home made models for making tiny sized clothes!

 

hmm... Interesting question!
I'd probably say that the first thing that drew me to BJDs is the fact you can make them I have a *very* specific set of characters in my mind - the only way for me to develop their characters is to sculpt and cast them myself. I could tell you all about their dreams, hopes and personalities... but I'd bore you I fear

 

i want things that are way out there and either don't exisist, wouldn't exsist, or just to far of a fan base for. but hey i'm a crazy fangirl with a pipe dreams.

 

i am constantly considering taking the route of making my own doll because i am one of those people who just has such a specific idea of what i want the doll to look like.. and anytime i find something that comes close it's either sold out, a super rare limited or has some trait that bothers me.

i am an extreme amateur as far as sculting goes, it will require time, persistence and patience if i decide to do it afterall... but at the very least, i think i would like to be able to do mods. as others have said, i adore the thought of having something completely unique, and i really believe in taking a doll and making it your own, as much as you are able.

 

Mostly, just to see if I can. So far, I can't :P

 

because I wanted to make one...it looked like fun! And I wasn't quite ready to fork over 400+ dollars for the real deal.

 

I'm an artist so I dig this kind of thing. Really. I'm having great fun with it, too.

 

I tried for a while, but since I moved i've not picked her up again. I wanted a character who's face doesn't yet exist. and it's very special to me, so it will be nice to try. I will never be as good as enaibi or batchix though.

 

I love to sulpt and to test many creative things . I saw all the beautifull BJ Dolls and fell in love with them, therefore I wanted to create my own doll . It is a new challenge for me. I love it !

 

Because I love to creat stuff and to test new things, I want to creat my own vampire (and I have no money to buy one )

 

I started to making bjds when I was a student. At that time, even a 1/6 dollfie is luxurious to me, so I tried to DIY one for myself. However, after I tried first one, I fell in love with sulpting and can't stop. Dolls changed my life.^^

 

Because i can!
And I feel like that you really cant understand a hobby until you have done it yourself, well if that makes ANY sense what so ever~

 

One of the reasons I love dolls to begin with is that they can be posed in different ways, and you can play with body language to get different moods and personalities.

I make BJDs because I enjoy the challenge of engineering the joints... and as you sculpt, the character gradually comes to life in your hands - which I love! I love almost all other aspects of dollmaking, including painting, making clothing, shoes, furniture, the whole nine yards, though I'm better at some things than others. (I guess wigs are the thing I hate making!)

I just attended the bjdartists sculpting/moldmaking/resin casting workshop earlier this month, and I absolutely can't wait to have multiples of my sculpts to play with!! (Up to now, it's been one-of-a-kinds made with La Doll and Premier only.)