bjd_wtf (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} bjd_wtf) wrote,@ 2006-10-31 22:44:00 |
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Chapter Eight: Common Practices
Forum Behavior, BJD unwritten rules, Limiteds, Group Orders & Preorders *&* Commissionables
There are two types of practices that are very common in the BJD fandom that you may not have come across before; creative and financial. The creative practices include: creating a character for your doll, giving them a backstory or creating a website for them. The financially based practices include: the issuing of Limited dolls, Preorders, Commissions and Group Orders.
First we will cover some of the creative practices. It is very easy to assign a character or personality to a BJD because they are so lifelike and can be almost as different as humans are. Some people create characters and then buy dolls to fit those characters, but some people fall in love with a doll and then create the character to fit the doll. This can be done before or after the doll arrives, depending on which you prefer. The first thing that a character needs is a name, just like a pet needs a name. Then an age, race and ethnicity need to be determined. After that, it's pretty much wide open. Some people don't do any more than that and some people write pages upon pages exploring the character they have created including likes and dislikes as well as important events in their character's life or things that make them special. Some people even give them families and lovers, which may or may not be represented by other BJDs.
"Profile, Backstory, & Photostory"
There are several common things that BJD owners do to share their dolls with others, or to enjoy the more creative aspects of the hobby. One of the most common has to do with writing a backstory, profile and photostories about your doll's life. A profile usually lists the character's name, what kind of doll they are (and perhaps wig and eye specs), and some interesting details about their personality, age and backstory. A backstory is what happened before your doll came to you. It can be as realistic as a Mom and her kids or as fantastic as a Demon Mage battling against Unicorns and Dragons. Back stories can be as simple or as complicated as you'd like, and can contain as many (or as few) characters as you want.
Many people take these stories another step by writing photostories. A photostory is told by taking pictures and describing what is happening in them or by writing what each character says. Many good photostories include essential elements like good character development, interesting storyline, well lit photos, realistic dialog and interesting props, poses or backgrounds.
The first thing that you should do when writing a photostory is to decide what is going to happen, how it affects the characters and how you are going to show it with your photos. Hopefully your pictures can tell a story alone and your writing is interesting enough to read without pictures so that when you combine the photos with the story, you have something really fun. The two most important things are the photos and the story. So we will tackle them separately. First the story part...
-Are your characters well developed? Do you have a good sense of how they would react to other characters or situations?
-Is there a plot or story you are trying to tell?
-Are there elements of a good story such as humor or suspense? Do your characters learn a lesson or succeed at something?
-Is there anything fun, sad or interesting happening?
-Are your characters reacting true to their personality in both action and speech?
-Is the story too long or too short?
-If your story is in chapters, can each chapter stand alone and be interesting by itself?
-Is everything spelled properly and does the story make sense?
-Is there a beginning, a middle and an end (or cliffhanger end)?
-If your story is fanfiction or written by/strongly inspired by someone else's work, is there due credit given?
The other part of a photostory is the pictures that you take. There are a lot of things you need to take into consideration when creating a photostory; like your lighting and set when taking photos. The best photos are well lit, focused and in an appropriate background. You don't want to have the perfect story illustrated with photos that are grainy or very pretty except for silly background things like your cat's bum or your dirty laundry. You can draw up a storyboard beforehand to help you lay out how you want your photos to look or to plan the physical actions that happen in the story. If the story is set in a doll-scale environment, make sure everything is in scale; that means if almost everything is in doll size, then don't take photos of them with your people size stuff, either using it or in the background. It's fine to take photos of dolls with people things, but they can really ruin a story set in a doll world. Whether you choose to use doll size or people size for your story, stick to it.
It's important that the characters in the story emote, or show their feelings. Twenty pictures of your doll in the same pose from different angles is not a good photostory. Change their pose and position to other items in the picture such as other dolls or furniture. Think about it...when you talk to your friends, do you stand stock sill and never move the entire time? Consider the composition as well; a character that is going through a bad time probably won't be smiling and centered in a photo. Likewise, a character who is experiencing something good isn't likely to be off to the side with their head down or facing away from the light. Your doll does not always have to be the exact center of the photo, and this is another element that you can use to inject some emotion into your photostory. You want your readers to be able to feel what you are expressing instead of you just telling them. Posing is also important so that it can eliminate the need for boring text such as "She touched his face" or "He turned his back". 'Show, don't tell' is a good maxim to live by when shooting a photostory.
A few last tips: Use as much dialog as you need for each photo so that you don't have to post a very similar photo just to finish the writing part. Funny goes a long way. Make sure that what's happening in the story is what's happening in the photos as well. Plan on taking a lot of pictures that you won't use and only use the best ones. Don't be afraid to try something different, because the whole point of BJDs is to be creative. Set up shots you like and then shot them from a variety of angles and distances, you may be surprised how interesting some photos can turn out when you try new things. Make sure that your doll stays in character throughout the whole story and is the same character in all following stories except for character development.
Just keep in mind that none of these are hard and fast rules, but guidelines to writing a good photostory. The only real rule is that you have fun with your doll. After all, if you aren't having fun, what's the point?
"Doll Sites & Journals"
Once you have your doll, you can choose one of several ways to share it with the world or keep it to yourself. Many doll owners choose to share, so the question then becomes how to share. This is usually decided based on two or three factors: what you want to share, cost and upkeep.
The cheapest and easiest option is just to host your photos on a service. There are many sites where you can do this for free and you can upgrade to a paid account for extra features. You can share your photos or keep them private. Some services allow you to build albums or sets to keep groups of photos separate from each other. You can also choose to post these photos on forums or blogs if you choose. There is little to no maintenance required to host photos other than uploading them.
The next option is a doll journal. Again, there are many sites that offer this service for free. You can pay for extra features or photo hosting on many of these sites although some do host photos for free as well. Since keeping a journal is less intensive, and can be cheaper, many owners go this route. A doll journal is often written from the viewpoint of the doll, but some are not. A journal (or blog) often contains stories, photos and tidbits about the doll. A journal does not have to be updated regularly, but it's more common than not.
The other option is to create a website. You can find some free hosts, but in my experience, they can be difficult to find. A better choice if you want to build a website would be a paid service. A doll site does not need to be extensive or complicated, but some are. Websites can be from either perspective as well, but are more commonly designed to be the owner's. Websites require the most in terms of upkeep.
Free Journal
http://www.livejournal.com
http://www.deadjournal.com
http://www.greatestjournal.com
http://www.blogspot.com
Free Photo Hosting
http://www.flickr.com
Free Site Hosting
http://www.bravenet.com
http://www.freewebsites.com
http://www.freewebs.com
http://www.geocities.com
http://www.tripod.lycos.com
http://www.angelfire.lycos.com
http://www.myfamily.com
http://www.virtualave.net
http://www.free-webhosts.com/
http://www.freewebspace.net/
http://atspace.com
Paid Site Hosting
http://westhost.com/
http://dreamhost.com/
Site Building Resources
http://www.good-tutorials.com/ -Photoshop Tutorials
http://www.crysania.com/angels/dollicon
Help with Writing & Photography
If you are having trouble with your writing or photography, here are a few links to get you started. There are many good tutorials and such out there. Explore, have fun and don't forget to try new things!
Writing
Name Generators
Come up with just about any kind of name you can think of, including totally random ones
Mary Sue Litmus Test
Is your doll too dramatic even for pretend? Find out here!
Photography
Exposure
Crash course in Photography
Photography Tips
About.com
Photography for Beginners
Commission
Tasha Neko of Illness Illusion
faceup
Dark Cradle
faceup
Pepstar
faceup
Melacholy Kitties
faceup & more
Vitta Vera
faceup
Claudine
beautiful elaborate dresses; high-end
PayPal
A lot of people and companies use Paypal for buying and selling.
PayPal Fee Calculator
Use this special calculator to figure out PayPal fees.
Currency Converter
Use this to get a general idea of how much foreign currency is worth.
Forum Behavior, BJD unwritten rules, Limiteds, Group Orders & Preorders *&* Commissionables
There are two types of practices that are very common in the BJD fandom that you may not have come across before; creative and financial. The creative practices include: creating a character for your doll, giving them a backstory or creating a website for them. The financially based practices include: the issuing of Limited dolls, Preorders, Commissions and Group Orders.
First we will cover some of the creative practices. It is very easy to assign a character or personality to a BJD because they are so lifelike and can be almost as different as humans are. Some people create characters and then buy dolls to fit those characters, but some people fall in love with a doll and then create the character to fit the doll. This can be done before or after the doll arrives, depending on which you prefer. The first thing that a character needs is a name, just like a pet needs a name. Then an age, race and ethnicity need to be determined. After that, it's pretty much wide open. Some people don't do any more than that and some people write pages upon pages exploring the character they have created including likes and dislikes as well as important events in their character's life or things that make them special. Some people even give them families and lovers, which may or may not be represented by other BJDs.
There are several common things that BJD owners do to share their dolls with others, or to enjoy the more creative aspects of the hobby. One of the most common has to do with writing a backstory, profile and photostories about your doll's life. A profile usually lists the character's name, what kind of doll they are (and perhaps wig and eye specs), and some interesting details about their personality, age and backstory. A backstory is what happened before your doll came to you. It can be as realistic as a Mom and her kids or as fantastic as a Demon Mage battling against Unicorns and Dragons. Back stories can be as simple or as complicated as you'd like, and can contain as many (or as few) characters as you want.
Many people take these stories another step by writing photostories. A photostory is told by taking pictures and describing what is happening in them or by writing what each character says. Many good photostories include essential elements like good character development, interesting storyline, well lit photos, realistic dialog and interesting props, poses or backgrounds.
The first thing that you should do when writing a photostory is to decide what is going to happen, how it affects the characters and how you are going to show it with your photos. Hopefully your pictures can tell a story alone and your writing is interesting enough to read without pictures so that when you combine the photos with the story, you have something really fun. The two most important things are the photos and the story. So we will tackle them separately. First the story part...
-Are your characters well developed? Do you have a good sense of how they would react to other characters or situations?
-Is there a plot or story you are trying to tell?
-Are there elements of a good story such as humor or suspense? Do your characters learn a lesson or succeed at something?
-Is there anything fun, sad or interesting happening?
-Are your characters reacting true to their personality in both action and speech?
-Is the story too long or too short?
-If your story is in chapters, can each chapter stand alone and be interesting by itself?
-Is everything spelled properly and does the story make sense?
-Is there a beginning, a middle and an end (or cliffhanger end)?
-If your story is fanfiction or written by/strongly inspired by someone else's work, is there due credit given?
The other part of a photostory is the pictures that you take. There are a lot of things you need to take into consideration when creating a photostory; like your lighting and set when taking photos. The best photos are well lit, focused and in an appropriate background. You don't want to have the perfect story illustrated with photos that are grainy or very pretty except for silly background things like your cat's bum or your dirty laundry. You can draw up a storyboard beforehand to help you lay out how you want your photos to look or to plan the physical actions that happen in the story. If the story is set in a doll-scale environment, make sure everything is in scale; that means if almost everything is in doll size, then don't take photos of them with your people size stuff, either using it or in the background. It's fine to take photos of dolls with people things, but they can really ruin a story set in a doll world. Whether you choose to use doll size or people size for your story, stick to it.
It's important that the characters in the story emote, or show their feelings. Twenty pictures of your doll in the same pose from different angles is not a good photostory. Change their pose and position to other items in the picture such as other dolls or furniture. Think about it...when you talk to your friends, do you stand stock sill and never move the entire time? Consider the composition as well; a character that is going through a bad time probably won't be smiling and centered in a photo. Likewise, a character who is experiencing something good isn't likely to be off to the side with their head down or facing away from the light. Your doll does not always have to be the exact center of the photo, and this is another element that you can use to inject some emotion into your photostory. You want your readers to be able to feel what you are expressing instead of you just telling them. Posing is also important so that it can eliminate the need for boring text such as "She touched his face" or "He turned his back". 'Show, don't tell' is a good maxim to live by when shooting a photostory.
A few last tips: Use as much dialog as you need for each photo so that you don't have to post a very similar photo just to finish the writing part. Funny goes a long way. Make sure that what's happening in the story is what's happening in the photos as well. Plan on taking a lot of pictures that you won't use and only use the best ones. Don't be afraid to try something different, because the whole point of BJDs is to be creative. Set up shots you like and then shot them from a variety of angles and distances, you may be surprised how interesting some photos can turn out when you try new things. Make sure that your doll stays in character throughout the whole story and is the same character in all following stories except for character development.
Just keep in mind that none of these are hard and fast rules, but guidelines to writing a good photostory. The only real rule is that you have fun with your doll. After all, if you aren't having fun, what's the point?
Once you have your doll, you can choose one of several ways to share it with the world or keep it to yourself. Many doll owners choose to share, so the question then becomes how to share. This is usually decided based on two or three factors: what you want to share, cost and upkeep.
The cheapest and easiest option is just to host your photos on a service. There are many sites where you can do this for free and you can upgrade to a paid account for extra features. You can share your photos or keep them private. Some services allow you to build albums or sets to keep groups of photos separate from each other. You can also choose to post these photos on forums or blogs if you choose. There is little to no maintenance required to host photos other than uploading them.
The next option is a doll journal. Again, there are many sites that offer this service for free. You can pay for extra features or photo hosting on many of these sites although some do host photos for free as well. Since keeping a journal is less intensive, and can be cheaper, many owners go this route. A doll journal is often written from the viewpoint of the doll, but some are not. A journal (or blog) often contains stories, photos and tidbits about the doll. A journal does not have to be updated regularly, but it's more common than not.
The other option is to create a website. You can find some free hosts, but in my experience, they can be difficult to find. A better choice if you want to build a website would be a paid service. A doll site does not need to be extensive or complicated, but some are. Websites can be from either perspective as well, but are more commonly designed to be the owner's. Websites require the most in terms of upkeep.
http://www.livejournal.com
http://www.deadjournal.com
http://www.greatestjournal.com
http://www.blogspot.com
Free Photo Hosting
http://www.flickr.com
Free Site Hosting
http://www.bravenet.com
http://www.freewebsites.com
http://www.freewebs.com
http://www.geocities.com
http://www.tripod.lycos.com
http://www.angelfire.lycos.com
http://www.myfamily.com
http://www.virtualave.net
http://www.free-webhosts.com/
http://www.freewebspace.net/
http://atspace.com
Paid Site Hosting
http://westhost.com/
http://dreamhost.com/
Site Building Resources
http://www.good-tutorials.com/ -Photoshop Tutorials
http://www.crysania.com/angels/dollicon
Help with Writing & Photography
If you are having trouble with your writing or photography, here are a few links to get you started. There are many good tutorials and such out there. Explore, have fun and don't forget to try new things!
Writing
Name Generators
Come up with just about any kind of name you can think of, including totally random ones
Mary Sue Litmus Test
Is your doll too dramatic even for pretend? Find out here!
Photography
Exposure
Crash course in Photography
Photography Tips
About.com
Photography for Beginners
Commission
Tasha Neko of Illness Illusion
faceup
Dark Cradle
faceup
Pepstar
faceup
Melacholy Kitties
faceup & more
Vitta Vera
faceup
Claudine
beautiful elaborate dresses; high-end
PayPal
A lot of people and companies use Paypal for buying and selling.
PayPal Fee Calculator
Use this special calculator to figure out PayPal fees.
Currency Converter
Use this to get a general idea of how much foreign currency is worth.
