Completely New To This Hobby :D

Hello! I go by Artemis. I'll be getting my first Dollfie Dream in a couple of weeks! I'm going to get the new Mirai Standard Model and I'm going to make her into one of my original characters, whose name is Circe DonRosen. She'll my very first BJD-esque doll, actually, so I'm completely new to this sort of thing except for maybe some OT things such as American Girl dolls!

 

I'm really, really into writing and roleplaying and just about anything that involves character development. I have made 192 original characters so far, yes, I've counted and made a master list of them all to figure that out. I've always been into making original characters for dolls, and that's actually how I created several of my characters; through playing with dolls and creating backstories for them, and eventually writing entire books for them. (Mostly with old Barbie dolls and such, though. XD)

 

Do any of you guys have any tips for such a newcomer like me? Perhaps something important you've learned from the hobby? Maybe what you think the most important thing regarding taking care of Dollfie Dreams is?

1. Beware of stains.

 

2. 7-8 wig will not fit 8-9 will.

 

3. Don't put them in the sunlight they will turn out yellow.

1. Beware of stains.

 

2. 7-8 wig will not fit 8-9 will.

 

3. Don't put them in the sunlight they will turn out yellow.

 

I knew most of this already, but thank you! ^v^ I'd expect that these are just about the most important things, the basics of caring for a doll. Although I must admit, I thought it was only resin that yellowed so badly in the sunlight? Doesn't sunlight actually help remove stains on a DD with the help of acne cream?

You're right, Artemis. The yellowing in the sun thing is mostly relevant to resin dolls--although some people have hybridized vinyl bodies with resin heads, so in that case you'd want to be a bit paranoid so the head would keep matching. XD

 

As for zit cream in the sun, it's apparently the heat more than the UV that helps in the stain treatment, so you could hypothetically just put them under a lamp, or even just in a particularly warm room.

 

Anyway, welcome and congrats on getting your first girl! Nice to hear from a fellow writing hobbyist; would you happen to be into NaNoWriMo? I have several OCs of my own, but have never doll-ified/"shelled" them because I am far, FAR too picky about getting the faces exactly right.

 

As for advice, I'd really say number one is: be patient, there's no rush for anything. With all your writing (and apparently research) you've probably got a better handle on this than most newbies, but it bears reiterating: this is not an instant-gratification hobby, so you may as well take a deep breath and savor the process.

You're right, Artemis. The yellowing in the sun thing is mostly relevant to resin dolls--although some people have hybridized vinyl bodies with resin heads, so in that case you'd want to be a bit paranoid so the head would keep matching. XD

 

As for zit cream in the sun, it's apparently the heat more than the UV that helps in the stain treatment, so you could hypothetically just put them under a lamp, or even just in a particularly warm room.

 

Anyway, welcome and congrats on getting your first girl! Nice to hear from a fellow writing hobbyist; would you happen to be into NaNoWriMo? I have several OCs of my own, but have never doll-ified/"shelled" them because I am far, FAR too picky about getting the faces exactly right.

 

As for advice, I'd really say number one is: be patient, there's no rush for anything. With all your writing (and apparently research) you've probably got a better handle on this than most newbies, but it bears reiterating: this is not an instant-gratification hobby, so you may as well take a deep breath and savor the process.

 

Ah, I see! Nice, then, seeing as I live in a forest and it'd be a little hard to treat stains by using sunlight. XD Well, at least I'll be lucky if I get a resin doll someday, since it's pretty dark where I live and they wouldn't yellow very fast.

 

I've vaguely heard of NaNoWriMo, the name rings a bell, but can you remind me what it is? ^_^

Yeah, I can be pretty picky about things like that, too. XD I'm just lucky right now because the Mirai standard edition looks surprisingly like my OC. o: She's got that moe smile. :3 Very excited about getting her! I've heard some people are overwhelmed by their size, but I think I'm a bit prepared since I've handled things like American Girl dolls, which I believe are about the size of an MDD, which is only a little smaller than a DD.

 

Great advice, thank you so much!! I've been reading as much as possible on this website, DoA, and all sorts of other things since I'm a bit paranoid of whether or not I'll regret this decision, and I have read a lot of things about people regretting impulse buys, so as a result I've put a lot of thought into making sure I found the perfect doll instead of just rushing into it. At first I wanted a resin MSD since it was a lot cheaper than a DD, but then I realized it just wasn't a very good sculpt and I should just be patient and save up for the one I wanted the most. I've always loved the beautiful anime-esque faces of Dollfie Dreams, and after about eight months of saving, I'm finally gonna get one. I'm so excited!

Ooh, a forest? Sounds like you're going to have some real nice photo opportunities once she's home! Well, so long as you remember your tripod. (Tripods are like *magic* for doll photography, since dolls don't move, and using things like long exposures and the camera's self-timer does wonders for lighting and clarity.)

 

NaNoWriMo is short for "National Novel Writing Month." The main event is going on right now, but there's two Camp NaNoWriMo events in April and June. In the main event, your goal is to write 50 thousand words worth of first novel draft in 30 days. In the Camp events, you set your own word count goal, but still try to do it in those 30 days.

 

You're lucky indeed! I STILL haven't found any doll, resin or vinyl, that truly looks like one of my OCs. (For perspective, I started looking at dolls in 2009, always keeping an eye out for potential "shell" bait.) Though Sheryl might be a "close enough" candidate for the main character of my current NaNo project that a new faceup might make her work. Gonna be keeping an eye on the forums to see what people manage to do with her.

 

Oh, it sounds like you're doing the "patience" part right! I hope other new people see your approach, because too often I see people get themselves all worked up trying to make everything happen at once, and just wind up making themselves miserable. ^^; Actually, sounds like your process is relatively similar to mine: I saved and researched for a year before I found a listing for a certain 03 on a DDDy body, and the rest is history.

I'm so sorry that I haven't replied in like forever, but my doll arrived about a month ago, and I'm still getting used to the fact that I finally have her. I'm still just reeling over how adorable she is. She came pretty quickly (it took about a week and a half after I ordered her), but her clothes took about six weeks, so she was just hanging out in her little slip dress for a long time. My brother kept staring at her. XD

Welcome, Artemis! Glad to hear that you got your doll. Have you started turning her into your original character yet? What did you buy for her to make her unique?

 

The most important thing I've learned from the hobby is... change! It took me a long time to get happy with some of my dolls, and there are still some things I might change such as names and other things. However, with your original characters, you probably have yours all fleshed out!

 

The most important thing for me is protection from stains and things like that, but I am kind of OCD about cleanliness.

Hey there, would love to see some photos of your new girl! There is a serious lack of photography when it comes to the standard Mirai which is sad, because I just love and adore her standard version. I wish more people had her. Anyway can't wait to see what you do with her and becoming your OC! Congrats , take your time and will wait to see more posts from you soon~~

Welcome, Artemis! Glad to hear that you got your doll. Have you started turning her into your original character yet? What did you buy for her to make her unique?

 

The most important thing I've learned from the hobby is... change! It took me a long time to get happy with some of my dolls, and there are still some things I might change such as names and other things. However, with your original characters, you probably have yours all fleshed out!

 

The most important thing for me is protection from stains and things like that, but I am kind of OCD about cleanliness.

 

Thank you. Yep, I bought her a new wig (Miku-esque long bright peacock blue pigtails ) and got her some clothes and shoes from Alice's Collections. My OC, Circe, is actually supposed to dye her hair a lot, so I have an excuse to get lots of super colorful wigs. XD

 

And yeah, for all sorts of original characters, dolls or not, it's a good thing to constantly change stuff around for them, develop their personalities, get 'em as good as you want 'em. ^_^ I think I have Circe's personality and stuff fleshed out, yup, but there's always room for improvement.

 

Yeah, so far so good, no staining - I'm happy I don't live in a humid area. xD I had my doll's default black wig on her for a few weeks and somehow it didn't stain at all. I have a wig cap for her now, of course, but I was pretty surprised. I noticed her wig was a little bit loose on her head, maybe it wasn't rubbing against her head enough to shed color? I dunno, but I'm happy she didn't get stained.

Hey there, would love to see some photos of your new girl! There is a serious lack of photography when it comes to the standard Mirai which is sad, because I just love and adore her standard version. I wish more people had her. Anyway can't wait to see what you do with her and becoming your OC! Congrats , take your time and will wait to see more posts from you soon~~

 

Yeah, when I first decided on her and wanted to see more pictures, finding owner pictures was a bit of a pain. I'll definitely upload some photos of her on here later on (not sure I have permission to yet). I really love my doll - her head sculpt is reeeaaallyyy adorable and pretty for just a standard version.

 

Thanks so much :'D

You gotta do seven more posts before you get the okay for pictures. :/

 

. . .which I guess means you can take TONS of pictures and do an epic best-of post when you hit the 20-post mark.