Character

"Boil down your discipline into one character"

"History"

Without an intelligence recording time, there is no history, right?

BJDs 101

What are BJDs/ABJDs?

BJD stands for Ball Jointed Dolls and ABJD is specifically Asian Ball Jointed Dolls.

Hard to say where exactly and when they originated, but I think it's safe to assume that the modern BJDs are strongly inspired by antique Bisque dolls:

 

The japanese company Volks came up with the "Super Dollfie" line in 1999 and the popularity of BJDs has spread worldwide ever since. The biggest companies are from Japan, Korea and China, but smaller companies with more limited doll numbers from France and Russia are also very popular among collectors.


BJD sizes go from a few centimeters up to human size, but the most common sizes are ~25, ~40, ~60, and ~70cm.

BJDs are made out of polyurethane resin and strung together with a system of elastics and hooks. All the pieces of a BJD are hollow for that reason. The stringing can vary from company to company but they usually all follow the same logic: One string goes from the necks to both feet and a second string from one hand to the other, through the arms and torso.

I am currently looking into BJD stringing system and tension to make my experimental animation.

Jo's happy childhood memory

Brief from Jo:

"It's in a competition setting; judges, audience and rivals within a confined space.

It's in a high ceiling hall with a stage full of trophies, medals and certificates.

There was the smell of food (hard boiled eggs, mayonnaise, tea, coffee) and the feeling of flour and butter between my fingers.

Excitement and nerves bubbling up in my tummy. Hands shaking and constantly checking the time, anxious.

Relief at the time up but nervous at the judging, then joy at winning prize.

HUZZAH!"

LETS USE MAH DOLLS YO

After I talked to Dane about my ideas, something major came out of the discussion.

What are you trying to say through this animation. 

Indeed, the prospect of using my passion for this project somehow clouded the purpose of the brief and the potential message that could be behind it. What eventually became clear is that customization says something about people, and says something about me. So my view shifted from "LETS USE MAH DOLLZ YO" to what customization and dressing up reveals about people. I found a few good writings on the subject, which I need to take time to read through, but I think I'm going somewhere with this "quest of identity" themed project.

Something to read:

Stranger than fiction: Fan identity in cosplay

The Social Psychology of Dress

Clothes of play: The psychology of fancy dress

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*No animals were harmed in the making of this picture.

Exercise 3 - Strange creature drowning?

Toot-Toot!