Have you ever "finished" or "completed" a doll, and what does that mean to you?

Oh I hate that too D: I will often get their clothing while I wait for them to try and prevent that

 

I don't know if it's necessarily 'completed', but I do have points where I stop looking for things for them (mostly). Each of my dolls, in my mind, should have two complete outfits. Once they have that, I tend to stop searching. If I happen across something that will look good, I consider getting it, but I'm not longer actively looking for things for them. Unfortunately, I'm breaking that rule already with my two newest boys as I keep hunting for hair ornaments for them. The culture their characters come from is huge into hair styles and ornamentation as signs of status and wealth so they need many different ones.

 

I'm like Maykoh, most of my dolls are "complete" if they have a complete outfit or two and faceup that suits them. Most of my girls are flexible enough that they were easily completed just by having clothes that fit and wigs that suited. They mostly don't embody specific characters though. My boys OTOH are all specific characters so they needed more time to "complete" since most needed specific clothes, wigs and eye colours. My two oldest dolls took a long time to complete since their character specific clothes were period-accurate and it is always tricky to find the right look off the rack.
I've got in the habit of stocking spare wigs and eyes, as well as some basic clothes, because I like to refresh my dolls and see if they need new lewks.

 

To me, what "complete" means is that the doll has the right faceup, eyes, and hair to look like the character I've designed for them, and at least one full outfit that also fits their character. It just means that the initial customization of the blank doll into the character I want them to be is completed-- not by any means that there's nothing left to do with the doll. To me there's more to do with my dolls after they're completed-- I can photograph them, work on adding to their character wardrobes, make props for them, and so on. And to answer the first half of the question-- yes, about half of my dolls are currently completed, and I'm working steadily on finishing up the last bits of the other half!

 

I see it as a whole journey of discovery with my dolls, to me there's no such thing as a "complete doll". Especially if your stories of them are constantly evolving. Maybe when my doll starts to have a fixed wadrobe style? That's when I'd feel that their character's pretty much fixed!

 

The only doll I have that I'd considered finished rn is my Doll Leaves Louis. He has a faceup, wig, an outfit, and shoes that I'm all content with and I think that that's what finished is for me.

 

I think all my children are more or less complete, there are very few that lack small details, I feel that as long as they make me happy I am happy with them, I love to see them at least with a makeup, wig and decent clothes.

 

There's this floating head that I have (beautiful face-up by a well known artist from back in the day, LE sculpt, etc) that I still have to buy everything for. I had intended to get it a specific body for it, a certain shade of green for its eyes, and all that to get the look in my head that I want (ranges from Steampunk to Regency gent), but time and money were always an issue. One day, the original LE fullset doll (not mint, but otherwise nearly mint and in complete condition) was made available and I bought it at a discount price so I don't have the same "need" to finish the floating head. But, even though I like the fullset LE doll, it's not the look I want for the floating head (the fullset is traditional, ancient Japanese, the face-up's default, etc). But it does feel less urgent than before even though certain things like the body is getting harder to find as time goes by. So yes, I feel less urgent as I have a completed doll but no, not done yet as the floating head is still a floating head and not yet in the form I want it to be. It's confusing. Haha.

 

I have! For me, certain conditions must be met for the doll to be considered complete:
- They need to have a definitive wig, eyes and face-up.
- They need to have at least 2 complete outfits (inlcuding shoes and accessories) that match their characters (one for winter and one for the summer because I love to change them as different seasons come and go).

 

For me a completed doll is a doll for whom I have done all that I had in mind for it. This include usually : faceup, blush, manicure, wig, tattoos, and sometimes some outfits.
I have already completed or finished dolls, but I tend to sell them once they are finished. Maybe because I no longer have something to do on them? And it can take many years to complete a doll. I have old dolls (13 years, 10 years) that are still not completed and that are thus still with me.
Once they have faceup and wig, (and one outfit, made or bought), I'm happy. The rest can wait.

 

For me a finished doll would have no need for any more of anything (clothes, props,etc) so I think it will be hard for me to ever complete a doll.
I'm not sure if I would even want to finish a doll, maybe at some point, but I'm afraid how much I will like the doll anymore if theres nothing "to do".

 

Uhh, my characters love their wardrobes, and, like people, would love to receive new clothes, so I don't count buying outfits as being 'against' a doll's completion. For me it's a matter of: right head, on right body, with right modifications, right eyes and the right wig. Sometimes, depending on the doll/character completion might also hinge on a prop or unique accessory as well.

To give an example: Durga, my Iplehouse Leonard, has the right wig, facial hair, right eyes, right faceup, and correct piercings. He is my hardest doll to clothe and still doesn't have a perfect outfit (or even close, by any means, and is altogether lacking shoes), but I consider him complete.

my MSD Venti, has his wig, eyes, and faceup, several outfits, even a pair of the rare and elusive minifee archery gloves, but I still need to put the final touches to his lyre that I handmade, and also get him a pair of fairyline wings just so I can have a representation of his archon form as well (excessive perhaps given how I consider my genshin crew to be a modern au reinterpretation, but that's besides the point), thus he is not complete.

 

I have two stages of completion - "presentable" and "actually complete".

Presentable is like the bare minimum - faceup, eyes that fit, a wig that fits and is the right colour for the character, and one set of clothes to wear. All of the above must suit the doll's character more-or-less.
Presentable is very important for me, I want to play with the doll and enjoy them right when they arrive. But I also shell OCs and have fairly strong vision of them, so it's hard for me to enjoy a doll if it isn't wearing anything suitable for its character. So I try to buy/make as much of this bare minimum before the doll arrives. It doesn't have to be perfect yet, but I have to be able to think "I'm starting to see Character so-and-so, not just some pretty but empty doll I'm dressing up."

Then comes the refining process - hand/foot blushing, their forever eyes which is the right colour for the character, correct wig (preferably two wigs in different styles) that are the also right colour/style if I didn't get them beforehand, at least one kimono set and at least one set of casual clothes with shoes. I also play and pose my dolls a lot, so I do any amount of maintenance/restring/sueding that gets them posing to my satisfaction. When I have all of these sorted out, the doll is actually complete.

They'll never be complete in the "never touch them again" way - because I'll keep adding to their wardrobes, repaint their faces (I'm learning how to paint faceups and am still improving), buy them a new wig in a nice style, etc. But when the switch flips in my head and I stop seeing the original doll sculpt and start seeing my OC in doll form... when I start feeling "yes, THIS is the character I envisioned!"... that's when I know my doll is "complete".

My crew at home are all complete. I'm still adding to their wardrobes, and thinking about buying option hands for a couple of them. I'm also waiting for a few dolls on preorder, and have been spending that time getting wigs, eyes and clothes ready. At the rate I'm going (and how long the preorders are taking...) I'll have literally all the 'bare minimum' home and waiting for the final thing - the doll - to arrive!

 

I haven't completed any of my dolls so far, mostly because I enjoy doing a lot of customization on most of them, far from just a "face up," or wig and eyes. I enjoy sewing my own crappily made clothes (because I don't know how to sew to save my life). I enjoy making my own wigs, which I also suck at. There's also the thing about most of my doll's needing custom eyes, and most of those not being a thing back in the ancient times of this hobby, and now most (if not all) being resin. Which is not a material I love, nor want to pay for (I was more lenient when I was younger, most of my dolls are ancient now, so I don't really purchase any more of that material anymore, but never owned nor will own resin eyes). I feel that when I am happy with my dolls' overall appearance, then I'll be done with them. However, finding eyes for most will always be a challenge, I don't feel I'll ever be able to make my own eyes, so that's never going to happen. Wigs, I can kind of live with crappy wigs, so that's not too much of a deal breaker. However, clothes and shoes are something I'll probably also will never find suitable ones for all my dolls. I would be willing to pay for readily made or commissioned clothes, but I'm a tiny bit picky about to-scale closures and proportionate collars, cuffs, trimmings, ect. and I've never seen anything like that for BJD. It's easily available for (actual to scale )1:6 action figures, so I might get some for my mature tiny someday, but I've never seen anything realistic that I have to do a double take, when it comes to BJD clothes (probably because there's few closures that are on the appropriate sizes, but too large or small to not/look disproportionate but also BJD are far from being realistically proportionate, so everything made for most looks off, IMHO).

I don't mind my dolls never looking done to me, as long as I have something to work with, I'll always enjoy being able to "fix" things on my own dolls/toys and keep aiming for my version of "accurate" to the character, even if it takes me a million years (or kick the bucket while trying). I procrastinate, and switch which projects I work on too often as well, so it doesn't bother me at all. That's probably why I don't get bored of my dolls even when most are no longer "modern" looking. I also enjoy learning new things when it comes to customizing toys, so I am always itching to redo some of my older works, be it repainting or modifying -- I'm a nut job when it comes to painting and carving/sanding, I can't get enough of either! (:

 

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I think I've tried. Maybe one?
I'm never fully done only because I have characters who wear different things. I try to find what I can to be a better piece.

 

A complete doll is a doll that has his or her permanent clothes, wig, eyes, and faceup. I dedicate one of each to my dolls, and they rarely change into anything else other than their one look, although they may be given other things on special occasion. They may gain slight adjustments to their look, but the first completion is when they finally settle into permanent stuff.

 

I think I have levels of completeness. As a lot of yall have already said, once they're "photo-ready" (faceup, eyes, wig, and clothing), I tend to feel a certain satisfaction, especially if I've accomplished what I wanted to. I might leave them in that getup for six months or a year before I get bored and want something new. I think I've only had one doll that I completed and then have never made another thing for, yet I still love him to bits and never want to part with him. Most of the time, my dolls are always evolving.

 

Welp, My goal last year was for each doll to have a name, eyes, wig, style and 1 complete outfit. Checked that goal off but now I want to give everyone a full character. I don’t think they’re ever “complete”

 

I try to complete my dolls pretty quickly, haha! For me, complete means they have a faceup/any other painting they need, any mods done, an appropriate wig and eyes, and a character-appropriate outfit. Things can change after they're complete; I've bought new wigs and eyes to find something that fits better beyond just "it works," everyone gets more clothes over time of course, that kind of thing. I'm not one of those folks who can hang out with a bunch of blank dolls; I start getting itchy! It's still driving me nuts that my poor Goblin Tales Cassie doesn't have pants! Her shirt's long enough to cover everything, but she needs pants, darn it!