Creative way to wait for new doll?

Oh boy…
I waited… I think two months short (?) of a calendar year for my first doll that I preordered. And by the end I was getting really antsy…

so I built a table.

Just a whole table.
Spalted bigleaf maple.
It’s still the doll table to this day.

 

While waiting for a new doll I usually do some research, like a reference photo for the faceup, fashion style, haircut, etc. I also write the new character's backstory and collect photos for aesthetics moodboard. Sometimes I make jewellery or some props.

 

I like to make Pinterest boards for my dolls. Sometimes they're specific references for hairstyle/faceup/clothes, but more often it's more of a mood board to help me explore or develop their overall vibe.

 

I also use pinterest for doll mood boards, I find it's absolutely invaluable for me. I love that you can add sub sections onto a board too and I'll frequently have stuff like faceup ideas, manicures, room vibe, outfits, etc to help me get a feel for their personality and how I'll style and display them when they arrive. I like to make drawings of them sometimes too, it just depends.

 

This is a whole new experience for me. I ordered my first two dolls from Raccoon Doll last month, and my guess is that I will get them in late May or June. I first worked on learning as much as I could about BJD dolls, though I know I still have so much to learn. I've also decided on names & backstories for my dolls, what historical era they will live in and who their friends will be. I keep notes on a Google doc. Since I have pretty much nothing for them I've been buying a few things here and there; eyes, wigs, sewing patterns, fabric & shoes. All are things that have been shared in the forum as items that work with this size.

 

I build my character! Sometimes, I already have a character built before I even start looking for the perfect doll to shell them, but other times, I find a doll I can't resist and start building around the doll. I roleplay my dolls, so a few questions I need answered:

Where will they fit in with the current crew?

Name, age, birthdate, birthplace, family, background?

What style are they? Figure it out and make collages to plan, or buy or make clothes and accessories.

Where would they live? With who? I like to find floorplans and pictures of what their house/apartment would be like, and what items they might use to decorate.

Do they have pets? What would they look like?

Where do they work or go to school? What do they study? What hobbies or interests would they have? What skills do they have? What do they really suck at?

How would they look if they were real? Height? Weight? Body type? Hair style? Any unique markings like freckles, birthmark, scar, tattoo, piercings? What would their voice sound like?

What are their favorites? Food, drink, movie, tv show, game, music, belongings, collectibles, etc! Is there anything they really hate? Do they have bad habits?

There are character sheets online you can use to fill out for your characters, or you can pick and choose which questions apply. It can take a lot of time to think about and answer, and can keep you busy til they arrive! It also helps build a stronger bond with the doll, since I feel like I "know" them when they arrive.

 

I used to go all out to create a back story for my dolls, find their clothes and think about the face up I want them to have. Now its just seeing a doll I know someone else besides me will love especially my granddaughter as she will be their guardian in time. But I really got to stop buying more dolls. Lol

 

Just to set your expectatations, the wait for SartoriaJ seems to be around 6 months! It's definitely worth it in the end but the wait is painful.

 

What a legend.

 

I won’t buy a doll unless I have a pre-determined character to shell (it’s a hard and fast rule to keep my numbers under control.) So I’ll take advantage of any wait times to further finesse their character and style. Because I have been collecting for two decades now, I have a fairly large number of dolls in all sizes…so I will take advantage of that by starting on the new doll’s wardrobe once their style is firmly determined. That means hunting down special fabrics and notions, as well as any other things they might need like eyes and wigs. And I make sure they have a display space waiting for them once they arrive. That can be anything from moving them in with another doll in a predesigned space with adjustments, to building a brand new space from scratch and then decorating it. Wait times for me are kept busy with creativity and planning, and I love it!

 

I draw mockups to figure out the styling I want!

 

I basically just try to prepare for them as best I can. For example, for my next doll, I've already got his eyes coming in, and a couple of patterns picked out to make his clothes (waiting for him to actually come in though, so I can adjust measurements). I'm working on picking out a hair color so I can make his wig, and fabric for his clothing. I don't know if he'll wear shoes, but if I find some I like for him, I'll get those too.

Sometimes I do little sketches to figure out how I want them styled.

 

A lot of great ideas said here by others that I practice as well, so I'd like to offer something a little off-beat. I work from character first then their shell, and almost everything is dreamed up in my head beforehand. But of course, this doesn't guarantee they will "look good" if I don't see them with my own eyes in some form or other.

So when I want to test a design visually, I sometimes use character creation platforms. I primarily use Sims 4 because that is a game I have and sometimes play, but you can design characters on the web through digital dress-up games like DollDivine, Picrew, and Meiker—just to name a few. These dress-up games are made by passionate artists of a wide variety of styles. You can go on to build your DnD character, your pastel girly, your emo boy...whatever your heart desires!

 

Seconding that! You can make really basic mockups for your doll by cutting out the head of the doll and pasting it onto a full body picture of the body. Since most times, you don't see that combo even when you're buying a full doll. You can even do this physically by printing it out. When I was younger I used to collect toy magazines and cut out and saved everything I really liked in a small binder (horribly inconvenient with all those tiny scraps lol). So this it kind of similar to that. I find that it makes the process of waiting more "real" as I don't have to look at it on a screen or keep it in my head but have it in my hands, if that makes sense.

You can also either duplicate your mockup doll digitally or print it out many times and then draw on it to test out hair and eye colour, various outfits etc. If the doll is a different skin colour, you can also add subtle layerings of paint to mimick the color. Personally this process already gives a lot of joy and diminishes the empty waiting. You get to do something for your doll and you can pre-start the crafting process in a way

 

Crafting is my main outlet.
Since I am now many dolls into the hobby, these days I usually distract myself from the waiting by crafting for the dolls I already own. Especially those that are in the same group as the doll I am waiting for. This way, I don't feel bad for putting my full focus on the new arrival once it's here.

When I waited for my first doll it was trickier. I did try to make a few things for her to wear and I did collect some nice props. Over all this worked out ok and was not a bad idea, but not having the doll in your hands does make it tricky to make things that truly fit.
If I were to give my old self some advice it would be to focus on things that either don't need to fit (like things intended to be oversized or loose) or on things that are adjustable (drawstrings, wrap styles, etc.). Never rely on elastic or stretch, as it doesn't really adjust to the doll, it will interact with it. Sure it may stretch so you can get the garment on, but it will also contract and slip into it's preferred position and you can do nothing about it. In my specific case I learned that elastic waistbands don't work on a pear shaped body, unless you actually have the doll in hand and can adjust the tension perfectly and even then it will mostly just slip around and do it's own thing.
A fixed waistband with a lot of overlap and a snap or button that can simply be sewn on in the right position once the doll arrived would have been a much smarter choice.

With that said, though, I am one of those who do enjoy having something ready for a doll to wear when it arrives and preferably a wig and some eyes as well. I just make sure not to have too high expectations. It's ok if the fit isn't perfect. It's ok if it turns out it's not the dolls style. It's a stepping stone and will help inform my future plans for the doll and lets me get to the fun part of the crafting faster.

 

I sew! If it turns out not to work for them, oh well, but it gives me things to do and that way when they arrive I have something for them to wear.

 

omg.............. music for a doll............ I need to start making some playlists omg this is such a good idea

 

I have to disengage from incoming dolls apart from checking on production timelines. My dolls have a way of shirking the plans I make for them, and the more detailed the character plan, the more likely the doll is to reject it. With BJDs, 9 times out of 10 you're buying a doll without being able to see and handle it in person, which means that there might be angles to the face or ways the body poses that can go against what you intend for the doll character: the head sculpt might look more youthful in person than what you intended for the character, or the body might be a tense, kicky poser when the character is meant to be slouchy and relaxed. The doll might also not "fit in" with other dolls who are meant to be the doll character's friends/family etc.
To avoid setting myself up for expensive new doll disappointment, I don't do any character development planning and don't buy anything for the doll until after it arrives. I have enough eyes, wigs, outfits, etc. to try on so I can see what colours and styles suit it before I buy it its own things.

I buy dolls with the intention of filling particular niches in my "story silo" groups. If I want to put myself in the mindset of preparing for a doll before it arrives, particularly towards the end of the estimated production time period, I won't plan anything for the new doll, but will do things with the other dolls in the group I intend to put it in, e.g. sew them new outfits, take photos of them, pose them together. Often I watch, read or play things in the same genre to put me in the mood for it – if I'm working on the ocean horror group, I might take my dolls to the ocean for a photoshoot, read books about shipwrecks, or play a video game like 'Bioshock'. The new doll might not end up working with the ocean horror group at all, and that's okay – this means I can let the head sculpt and how the body handles inform the character. For me, working out "who are you?" is more interesting than trying (and often failing) to shoehorn a character idea into a sculpt.

 

I second this.
Sitting down with a new doll and letting them "tell me" who they are is always fun.