Wednesday 19 August 2015

Non-Resin BJD + Stories

On the previously posted Sisterhood of the World tag there was a question that asked about our current doll collection. In there, I said that I also have two non-resin BJDs and offered to take some pics of them in case anyone was interested.

Since several people did ask about them (thank you so much for being so awesome!), I decided to take some pics, and talk about how this two dolls came to be. I have also decided to make this a some-sort of a tag/meme, to ask people the following: how did you found the BJD hobby and how long took you to get your first BJD? I won't tag any people, but if you want to do it, I will add you to a list at the bottom of the post!

My story is long, and will tell from how I met BJDs, going through me sculpting my first doll, and finally getting my first resin BJD. Hope you don't mind reading it!


At the left is Kitty, made by me in uncolored cold porcelain, and at the right is Leo, made in aepoxie by a friend of mine. She is 14cm tall and he is 12.5cm tall. Wall of text after the cut!


Let's get to the story...

I first met BJDs in 2010, when I was at the middle of college, being a broken student. I met them by accident -as it always seems to happen- when Googling something I cannot longer remember. I saw a very beautiful picture of a doll? a human? with black hair and purple eyes. Curiosity got me and when I clicked the image, it sent me to the blog of a Spanish girl, who collected BJDs. The doll in question was a Fairyland Dark Elf Soo, and I instantly got picked by curiosity. I read that blog FAQ and found out about the dolls.

Since this person had mostly FL dolls, what I originally met was FL and I remember browsing by the time that MNF Chloe was just released. She had this amazing promo pics with that golden flute (does anyone remember this?) that got me immediately stunned. Then watched the FL Chicline Lise and that one impressed me by its realism!

As I said, I was a broken college student so I couldn't get one. All my money went to college-related expenses. Still in 2010, I found a Spanish-speaking forum that not longer exist, and introduced myself to it. I found this amazing girl that is now my dolly best friend, Morla. We have been talking since then. By 2011 I got my nose out of the books for a couple days and remembered these dolls... but I was still a penniless student (also really afraid of customs), so i decided to make my own.

By that time, I had found Pipos and anthro dolls and really liked them, so I decided to go for a kitty doll, which would also solve the issue of the wig. I got cold porcelain (what cost me $2 back on that time) a regular pencil-requiring sealant, and some pastels, what cost me like $3 total. I had zero sculpting knowledge... I also have paws when trying to draw something that is not a technical diagram, but I managed to make a sketch of what I wanted. I still have it!


But the thing was... I also had no time to do the sculpting. I took lots of courses and all my free time went to studying, getting with my team-mates to do group works, programming, sleeping and repeat. So which time would I use? Night time! So I slowly started sculpting from... 21:00 to 23:00 (yup, PM).

I left the head for the last, I remember. The eyes are not symmetric, of course (I can barely draw!), and the headcap gets into place by fitting into a tiny wire that holds it in place. I was so dang newbie that I didn't colored the cold porcelain, so now it is slightly translucent on some parts. My dad made the S hooks from me, from an extremely thin and resistant alpaca wire, and I strung the doll with elastic nylon thread (I don't know if the translation is correct, to be honest), because I couldn't find any local store that would sell me such a thin elastic!

I also made the eyes myself, using cold porcelain and painting the irises. The eyes are all yellowish now, due to the bad gloss I used.

I finished the doll on the 15th of December of 2011. At night, of course. I painted her paws and face (in a very poor way -she doesn't have eyebrows, for example) but I couldn't be happier. I made her a first dress that was oh-so-pathetic (by that time I didn't knew how to sew either) and attempted a gathered skirt... without gathering it xD I used the same waist length to make the skirt and it looked hideous! I took pictures of kitty and that dress on my parent's house and I was so dang happy!! I kept sewing for her, when I had time between exams.

I must say that her pose-ability is very limited, since I sculpted her without knowing how-to, without ever seeing one in person either. I used all tricks to get her to stand, but... she was so perfect, she still is.

I was already dating the now-hubby-then-boyfriend, and he later helped me make a fence for Kitty (yup, named her Kitty), a Puss-In-Boots cosplay, and even a small diorama! (the one on the back of the first photo). Time passed by, and by early 2012 I left that spanish-speaking forum when they started allowing recasts and I found out what bootlegs were. I have always been strongly anti-recast.

Time kept passing, and I got hired as a freelancer translator to translate a fanfic, so I slowly started working on that. By the time I finished the translation, it was the end of 2012 and I was nearing graduation... going crazy with the last exams while finishing my thesis.

I bet you can guess what I asked as present from everyone that offered a graduation gift to me: money!. I used it  -and the earnings of the translation- to order Coco, her first batch of wigs and eyes. When I was looking for my first doll, I searched among what was within my budget and what I liked... always legit, of course. Also, in all that time I never stopped reading and researching about the hobby, the dolls and how to care for them.

I already had a DoA account and one day there was an announcement of Withdoll Cythia plus a discount event. I went to their site and the prices were OK, the heads were mature (my tastes changed a lot in all those years) and when I saw the photos from the body, specifically from the back of the doll, I was smitten by all those details! Priscilla was too popular, and Rachel had that badass look on the photos that I fell for her. I graduated shortly after ordering Coco.

And do you know what? After all that journey (those were 3 long years before getting Coco) I learned that with time, effort and patience everything is possible. I was broken but I still decided to get a legit doll. I had barely no time to do my own doll, but I still got myself to do it. And I still have her! I get all emotional when I have her :3

But, what about Leo? He is a present from my dear friend Morla, and she sent him to me on 2013, if I recall correctly, "so Kitty won't be alone anymore" as she said. I love his outfit and all the details he has! He is more properly sculpted that Kitty, since Morla has a lot of background and is made of epoxi, as far as I know.

Morla is also the artist who made Calina. She also traded with me the ears/tail of Cookie and Merry, and gifted me the antlers/horns I have for Coco. That time, I didn't knew she was sending my a doll in that birthday, to be honest. We have been sending us mutual birthday presents since 2012, though, so I did knew a package was coming but didn't had a clue about its contents. 

Anyways, One of the most important things that I learned in all this time, is to never give up. And I'm grateful for having learned that. I'm also grateful for all the amazing people I've met through this hobby and through my blog. You all mean so much to me!


DO THE TAG?

So, I'm sure I bored you all with this long story, but oh well... I wanted to share this anyways. How did you met BJDs? How much time passed until you got your first doll? Feel free to do this as a meme/tag, as I said at the beginning, and let me know! I really want to know :3

19 comments :

  1. Loved reading the story of your non-resin BJDs and how you got into the hobby! :) I think it's awesome how your first doll was self-made and you seem to designed her so carefully. Kitty looks pretty, I'm always amazed how people can sculpt things since that's something I have absolutely zero talent for X''D

    The tag is a great idea too! Hopefully people will write about it, since it'd be fun to read people's stories~ I don't have much to say about my start in the hobby (at least not enough for a blog post), so I'll just say shortly that I first found out about BJDs in 2007 (after seeing some images on Google XD) and got my first doll 2 years later in September 2009. I turned 18 then and moved from home, so I was able to spend my money however I wanted without my parents stopping me. Nowadays they're quite supportive of the hobby after seeing that it really means a lot to me :)

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    1. Thanks for reading the wall of text! I'm also lucky to have parents that supported me, and a hubby that is always helping and everything!

      You too found it on Google! I can't remember what I was searching about, to be honest! Your story may be simple but interesting! Which dolls did you got first, if I may ask?

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    2. It's so much more fun when you have your dearest people supporting the hobby ^^

      Hahah yeah, I can't remember either what I searched for... Dream of Doll was the first company that I found and I fell in love with their dolls, my first doll was Dream of Doll Tender Zed, a MSD boy :) I've sold many of the dolls that I got during the first few years in the hobby (actually, my oldest doll is from 2011), my doll taste has changed quite a bit since then! Like, I'm no longer a big fan of Dream of Doll and even though I started with MSDs, I'm now more into SDs and tinies :3

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    3. True! My tastes have changed a lot, too, and I think that is what happens with all of us.
      To be honest, I never imagined you with a DoD! Tinies are addictive, though xD

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  2. I remember most of this ahahaha since I was in that forum as well :) We didn't talk back then, but we shared opinions about the recast issue and sutff.
    I also remember when you opened this blog and how we started to talk.
    I'm glad to see kitty is doing okay, loved to see the sketches!

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    1. I remember!!! :D I still have most of the process pics, I don't know why I didn't add them to this post. Maybe I should find them and edit this.

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  3. Hi, I was looking forward to see these two. I think Kitty looks adorable, and you did a great job! Her little friend is so cute too :-). It was a pleasure reading your story! I don't have BJDs at the moment, I sold my Iplehouse Asa and Souldoll Lester a while ago, and want to replace them with 70 cm dolls in the future. I discovered BJDs by accident on Google 3 or 4 years ago and was hooked immediately :-). Asa and Lester were beautiful, but I'm obsessed with larger dolls now LOL! I'll have to be very patient and save up but I don't mind that. Anyway, thank you very much for sharing the picture and your story!

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    1. Thank you!! Happy you liked the story, and I really hope you can get the SD sized dolls soon!!
      Are you getting an SID/EID Asa? Or a different sculpt?
      Thank you for reading :3

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    2. For the male doll I have Dollshe David Kuncci, Granado Mads or Mars in mind, and for the girl I would love to get the large Asa, but I'm not entirely sure yet. There's so much choice, and I'm a bad decision maker :-).

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    3. Ohhh those are amazing male dolls! But yes, big dolls have so much variety than the smaller ones, to be honest!
      Hope you can get them, they all seem amazing choices, to be honest!

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  4. I'm happy you decided to post this. You passion for the hobby is so beautiful! I would never have come as far as creating an actual doll back when I was about to join the hobby (I don't even think I would be able to do it now!). I think it's amazing!
    Kitty and Leo is incredibly cute.

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    1. You are really kind, thank you! I will always remember you were one of the first to start reading me! :3
      Would you do the tag, then? :D

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    2. I was? :3
      Definitely! :)

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  5. Aawww amiga!! como pasa el tiempo!! me vas a hacer llorar! Me acuerdo cuando estabas haciendo a Kitty, es muy dulce! :3
    Recuerdo que conocí las BJD también de casualidad, en el 2010, estaba buscando tutoriales para hacer amigurumis que quería regalar en mi cumpleaños, faltaban cerca de 3 meses para mi cumple. Encontre un blog de una española que los hacía y me puse a mirarlo, cuando vi una de las entradas antiguas, era la llegada de una BJD, recuerdo que era una Iplehouse de 45cm. Siempre me gustaron las muñecas, y yo hago modelado, así que cuando la vi me quedé loca! quería hacer una propia!!! Encontré el mismo foro español aquel, donde nos conocimos. Yo tenia dinero ahorrado, y desde antes de conocer las BJD, sabía que quería gastarlo en algo para mi, algo que me gustara, no algo que necesitara, y cuando las vi, supe que lo iba a gastar en una muñeca XD Y así fue, en un mes de conocerlas, hice mi primera compra, y llegó a casa exactamente 10 dias antes de mi cumpleaños :3

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    1. Te acuerdas de eso!! :D
      Me has contado de la historia, igual tus muñecas me encantan todas tienen historias y fondos muy buenos!!
      Gracias por todo el apoyo durante estos años!! :D

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  6. I loved getting to see these two dolls - it's brilliant how your first attempt turned out such an adorable (and functional) anthro. You have a real talent there!

    I discovered BJDs on Flickr about 10 years ago - I was experimenting with action figure photography and had joined some general toy photography groups to get ideas. Even though I wasn't particularly a doll fan at the time, the detail and posing of the ball-jointed dolls caught my eye. For several years then I had a single doll, but eventually a co-worker (and fellow doll person) introduced me to DoA, and suddenly the dolls just multiplied. ;)

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    1. You are very kind, thanks!!
      I think your story is really interesting, too, and really nice that you got to know somebody IRL that introduced you to DoA!
      Dolls tend to multiply mysteriously, though xD

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  7. This is really wonderful, and I agree with the others, your passion for this hobby is wonderful! I don't know what I do without support. It's a great thing to have truly. They are totally darling!! :D

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    1. Thank you!!! :3 You are really kind!
      And yes, having support for something one loves is one of the best things that can happen!

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