How long does it take you to complete a doll?

Oh god.
It depends, I guess?
For me its on timing. I bought soren fullset. So I'm pretty content with who he is except I havent found the RIGHT wig. I still deem him complete. Now It's just me being picky Lol

Othertimes, i'm still chipping away at dolls for a year or so to get the right outfit, shoes, eyes, faceup.. x.x;

 

I'd say on average three years... some more, some less. Most of my projects are drawn out and I like it that way.

 

Totally depends on how much money I have at this time. I usually have a character in mind and then I buy the doll which makes it a lot easier to complete one because I already know what I want. My second Minifee is only unfinished because I didn't had the money for her body for half a year xD But it usually takes me 1-2 months to complete one doll.

 

LOL, I have 8 bjds, soon to be 10, and none of them is even nearly at the half of being completed. I still need to do half of the face-ups, almost all of the clothes, and getting 4 wigs, and since I started collecting in 2010, well you can say it's been a slow process for me, but I'm like that with almost everything I do :P It also as been slow because I kinda focused more on the collecting part (searching and getting the dolls that I liked the most) than on the crafting (have made some clothes and a few face-ups). I'm feeling now for me it will be more meaningful the day I consider all my bunch as relatively done (relatively because I will always make more clothes for them and improve their face-ups) than focusing on finishing a doll before I begin other, I'm kinda working on all of them at the same time, some clothes for this, a face-up for that, shoes for that other one, :P

 

It really depends on how much I work on them, I learn more as I go. I didn't do my first doll's faceup, & I really like it so I don't plan on redoing it, but that's part of the character building process for me. She's been with me for about a year now and I still know next to nothing about her. On the other hand I have 2 character ideas for my 2nd doll that I picked up at a workshop in june. So it varies.

 

I'm definitely one of those people who have everything set for my doll before they arrive. This is everything from their story/personality to their clothing and accsssories. I like that feeling of completion and not having to worry about something being incomplete...I think having an incomplete doll would definitely be an anxiety trigger for me.
That being said, dolls styles do change! You find different eyes/wigs that suit them better, expand their wardrobe, etc.

 

I can also say that it varies greatly. I had a wig and clothes ready for my first doll by the time it arrived, and it was dyed and given a faceup within a month. Since then, I've tried to maintain a standard of completing a doll before buying another one... which is completely impossible as discontinuations and good sales pop up. Still, I usually have them completed within a few months, save for one guy who's been bald for almost a year.

 

Years. I have bjds who I've had for a couple years, still blank. I think most of my dolls have their outfits complete, but I'm still working on the rest. Sometimes I know what I want, but no one has made it yet, so I have to make it, and that sometimes works out. They are just an on going life long process. It used to frustrate me so much I wanted to quit, but I'm ok with the process now.

 

Well I have a rule, no new doll till you finish the previous one lol. It helps.
Of course I don't always stick to that rule strictly but I need the doll to have a wig, eyes, and an outfit that's at least 90% finished before I feel okay.
I can't stand having bald faceless dolls around, just.. nope.

On average, I tend to get all the bits together while I wait so I should at least have wig/eyes and faceup concept done and dusted before the doll arrives. I do the faceup the day the doll arrives because I can't wait omg and it takes me a whole day solid work.

Clothing is the big that takes longest because I SUUUUCK at sewing, so I tend to get it commissioned. So that wait depends entirely on the wait time for the person making the clothing. I've waited upwards of 2 or 3 months just for a fairly straightforward outfit before now.

Right now I have two incomplete dolls in my shelf. one i'm waiting on the wig because there's been a delay with the supplier and arghh it's been like 2 months and i'm getting cranky about it.
The other i'm waiting for a response from a seamstress about his final outfit.
He was an impulse buy though, he was a secondhand doll that was on my wishlist but wasn't exactly "planned".
But even then, I had him mostly put together within a few days.

So generally speaking? If suppliers don't leave me hanging and i've had time to plan, I aim to have a doll finished within a month of their arrival.
This is a whole lot easier to achieve if it's a scale or a body type you already own examples of.
I couldn't put together Cree and Lidara's outfits till they arrived for that reason, I had no reference for their body types so needed them in hand to figure stuff out.

As it stands, I would like a better tunic for Lidara and a better wig but she's "finished" in that she's complete and disaplayable and I could take her to a meet or something and not feel like she was incomplete.
But I don't much care for her wig and want something better quality.

My biggest problem is that all my dolls currently are medieval fantasy, and getting together props, accessories and indeed clothing for medieval fantasy is SUPER difficult. I could have them "complete" within a few days if they were generic modern human, I could stockpile tees and shorts and pants and stuff like I do with Barbie stuff.
But because they're fantasy it means each outfit is specific to the character's class and background and it's not so easy to just stockpile armor. I can stockpile scale weapons if I could find them, but it's hard to find scale weapons that aren't sword letter openers.

The list of things I need right now to be "finished" with my current lot is quite short.
I need to order a musical instrument for my bard.
I need a full outfit for my giant.
I need a wig for Cree.

then they'll be finished.

waiting on this wig is driving me INSANE.

I couldn't have unfinished dolls laying about, it's make me grumpy. Heck, husband puts his unfinished dolls on my desk and I feel my fingers itching, wanting to finish them but I restrain myself, because they aren't mine to mess with.
But arghhh blank faces make me crazy.

 

Umm I'll have to get back to you on that... o.o;;

I have not completed a single doll since I joined the hobby so many years ago, or since coming back from a verrry long hiatus. My dolls have been sitting around waiting on me. Funds definitely play a factor. And my other hobby has sapped up just about any free funds I did/could have.

I think to have a doll feel "complete", I would need to have the face up done, wig, eyes, a few changes of clothes, accessories, a little backstory, and some furniture/backdrops (room box).

The closest doll I have to being complete is Ava (in my profile picture). She has her permanent wig and clothes thanks to my awesome dolly mentor. I'm working on her backstory, and I have furniture that is scaled well with her. All I have to do is make her accessories, backdrops, and finish out her little backstory... oh and fix her neck piece so she can stay on her Obitsu body properly.

 

I never 'complete' my dolls LOL I just make sure they get the proper faceups. I'm continually making clothes & getting props for them, so it's more like, completing photo projects (as in, making all the Gintama cosplays I want to make - halfway there now)

 

Well so far, my oldest dolls are 5 years old and still incomplete, so... Let's hope five years?

That being said the fullsets I'm saving for won't take very long. I consider a doll complete when it has one full outfit, so my next doll will be done when he gets in... and it'll probably take me five years to make his gown, let's be honest.

 

It varies a lot with my crew... Some come together very quickly, while others take years depending on what I'm looking for.

That said, I do approach my dolls a little differently than the majority of DoA users seem to, though. I'm more of a collector than a would-be artist or writer trying to shell the perfect OC, so the level of tinkering many of mine require isn't overwhelming. I tend to work around the doll rather than demanding that the doll fit an external "vision".

 

Oooooh that depends! My longest project took me about 4 years. If you count the ongoing refining work, I'm STILL not done with Kevya, and I got him in 2009.
Doing just full blushing and a faceup usually takes me a couple of days.

 

I'll let you know when I get one done.

Seriously, though; I started this hobby in 2008, and I don't know that I'd really count any of my dolls "done," because I always find something I can do to improve them. Even my little Puki, who doesn't wear any clothes, could use some new eyes and a new blushing job (and her sleeping faceplate was never blushed, so I can roll that into that project). My LTF who was "done" for ages now has a new wig that needs some special styling done to it. The LTF I'd call most "done" needs some repair work on the piece that holds her large fairy wings in place. Everyone needs blushing, or refreshing, or mod work, or specific clothes, or wig work, or new eyes... and I enjoy always having a variety of "projects" to choose from based on my mood.

 

There is no exact number. It depends on you and the doll. Some of mine get completed right away, some doesn't get completed at all and takes few years until I find the right concept I want for the doll. Sometime in middle of the process, the doll change plan and I have to start over from scratch. So, no exact number on how long it takes.

 

Two of my dolls were 'finished' around the three-year mark but now (year seven) I find myself revamping even their looks, meaning not a single doll of mine is complete. Some need eyes, some need more clothes, some need special props, and I'm even considering replacing someone's head. (!)

In the end I think there is always something to be added or tweaked. That's a good thing, because if they were easy to complete I would constantly need to be buying more.

 

My dolls aren't ever done. I mean, never ever.

My first doll took years to get to a point where I looked at him and was like, he's nearly perfect! I think 6 years. I just redid him several months ago. At this point, when I get a doll to where I think I want it, some time goes by and I want to redo them, because I'm better at...well, everything than I was a couple years ago.

My current obsession doll has occult symbols all over him. I just redid one of his three heads, and I like the hair so much I think I want to redo the rest of them too. While he sits here drying, I've been looking at all his symbols thinking I should finish him someday...
By the time he's "done" I'll probably have to redo him.

Also, I like my dolls body blushed, and I have a lot of dolls. Most of them are not blushed. So most of my dolls aren't finished. And won't be unless I'm bored one day (every day for the next 6 months) and go crazy blushing them all. then they'll all need new faceups. It never ends!!

So, never.

 

It really depends on...everything. If I have enough money at the time, if I can find everything I'm looking for, how long it takes to arrive, if everything works on the first try or if it requires further research. Also depends on the definition of "complete".

If you mean that the eyes, wig, body blushing, faceup, mods, and at least one full outfit are done, I try to have it all together the DAY the doll arrives. If that's not possible, at least within a week. I've found if it takes me more than maybe three months to complete a doll, then I'm probably never going to complete it, and I'll sell/trade it.

If you mean "complete" as in I'm 100% satisfied and will never spend another penny on it...then never. I'm constantly buying new clothes and accessories for my dolls, and I often redo faceups/blushing as it chips or I improve my skills, and I buy new wigs as the old ones no longer fit the character's style or start to look ragged.