How long does it take you to complete a doll?

I think this is a grey area of an answer for me. My first doll, Moswen, was technically complete within a few months of my getting him. However, that was coming on to 9 years ago and his full-body tiger striping needs to be redone and I'd like to get him a new Monique wig although his current one is perfectly serviceable. So he's done but needs to be... refreshed? Most of my dolls are also done for the most part but I have some that require face-ups and that is both a money/time issue as I can't do my own face-ups so need to get in with an artist and have the cash to pay said artist.

I have some that are frustratingly not finished but it's usually due to trouble finding the right wig or finding the right shoes. Generally the little things are what ends up driving me bonkers in trying to finish my guys. Finding the right eyes for Khale has taken me something like... 5 years. So very irritating.

 

This has been interesting to read, since I just got my first doll and am waiting on some extras that I ordered in the hopes of getting him closer to completion. I'd also like to make him some clothes, though who knows when that might get done. I have a feeling it will take me a while to settle on his look and character, but I'm looking forward to the process, however long it takes me.

 

That's right how long did it take you to get the perfect look or finish shelling and outfit your resin child? that your satisfied and done with them?

Are you still looking for that perfect outfit? props? tools? armer? eyes? wig? face/body up? or have you're finished doll already? (no more tweaking) if so please share them below!

 

Honestly? It's never finished. I'm never done with them.

When I first get a doll, I work hard to make sure they have the right wig, eyes, faceup, clothes, props, etc, but the characters tend to grow and change over time, they need new hairstyles or to get repainted, or they need new clothes and accessories as their fashion changes. Even once I'm happy that the doll is "right", it still isn't "done." They can always use a new shirt or prop!

 

I agree with @CloakedSchemer. I feel like I'm never done. The only doll I'm satisfied with is my boy Hiro, who is in my avatar picture. But is her perfect? No. His wig drives me crazy but I can't find one I like more, his body is meh. I need to sew him a new shirt and fix the snaps on his vest.... LOL. A dolls work, I swear, is never done.

 

Both of mine had outfits and wigs ready and waiting when they arrived! They're OCs of mine, and have had set looks and styles for years now. It took maybe a week or so to paint and tailor the outfits so they fit better, but almost everything was ready when they got to me I'm still not satisfied with Mordred's wig and might get him a curlier one, but I consider him done!

 

Never finished. I've had everyone's general looks planned out for a year or so now, and everyone is still not looking quite as they should. Two don't even have their bodies yet. And frankly, I don't think I ever will finish. I always think I'm satisfied until something better comes along.

 

It’s never finished. Something always needs to be repaired or optimized. My first doll is now almost seven years old and I’m still working on him.

 

I always am up to improving. My favorite characters often take the longest to shell some are nowhere near shelling and they've been my OC's a decade! And everyone knows the woes of plans being changed from DOLL RELEASES or life happening.

 

It’s a process that never ends, just like you and I are a never ending work in progress. It’s beautiful. I hope to never finish helping my doll to be more themselves

 

I get the sense that I'll never be done. Maybe the base doll will be set and done + faceup, but I'll probably never be satisfied with a single outfit for a doll. Eyes are definitely up for debate too...wigs may be another thing that might be set in stone, depending on how specific a hairstyle is for my characters. And then there's the process of getting a new doll that better suits the character altogether...

 

I have yet to ever really 'settle' a look with any of my dolls yet. I do believe there will come a day when I find the perfect combination of wig, faceup, eyes, and character for them, but I'm sure it'll take a few years to reach that point. I think it's the joy of trying new looks and things that keep it interesting, even though it is a very expensive and time consuming process.

 

OMG what is the little cutie in your profile photo?? i must know she is super cute!

 

I don’t have stories or characters, so each of my doll’s “look” is mainly styled around their faceup colors and expression. I guess that doesn’t qualify as “shelling”? But I understand what you mean about getting to that point where you stop tweaking all these little things about your doll! It’s relaxing when you experience that moment.

I think all my dolls except one were put in their permanent form soon after they got a faceup, and most arrived already painted but one was sent out for a faceup and came back. It’s pretty quick for me to determine what they need from my hoard of wigs and eyes so I’d say they’re “done” within a few days of playing around, trying on everything out that’s the right size.

I think it’s relatively straightforward for me because I don’t experiment with colors a lot - I stick to a very particular palette, and separately, none of my dolls are fantasy types that I’d have to commission custom clothing for or do extreme body mods. However, my dolls, like myself, can never have enough clothes so I feel like their outfits will always be changing but that doesn’t really count to me as them not being completed.

There are exceptions though. I do have one doll that has been in essentially the same outfit since the day I got her. Only her blouse has changed (while every other piece of the detailed outfit stayed the same). Meanwhile I have another doll whose head arrived with her that same day and is still a work in progress two years later. Just because I wasn’t 100% satisfied with her previous faceup

 

In the past my doll's would be finished soon after they'd arrive! I'd always buy them new with company faceup, so during the wait time I would buy all their accessories. Nowadays it's been a several month to year process... I've been buying the heads first, taking time to figure out what to do to them, then getting the faceup, THEN getting a body, etc. I just completed a Volks Shizu which took me 10 months and I've been working on a Migidoll Ryu boy for 13 months now!

 

Thank you so much!! She is a DollnDoll Bubble She is my world

 

I’m not sure my dolls could ever properly be ‘complete’ they are Always getting different hair and clothes and I love to make new things and change them... but I guess they could be considered complete in the sense that I’ve found their style and general look? In that case it varies for each doll! Sometimes fast within a few weeks and others it takes much longer

 

To me It feels like it takes me a long time to complete a doll, but it's really not that long. Two out of three of my dolls are hybrids! For my first doll, I bought her head first then it took me about two or three months to buy a body for her and I had to wait a month before I could get it. During that time of waiting I started buying clothes and wigs for her. After that she felt complete. My second doll was just a tiny and she wasn't a hybrid and she wears Mattel Kelly clothes and a fur wig so completing her only took about maybe a month. I bought a brand new head a couple of months ago and I can tell he's going to be the longest to complete so far. I'm still deciding on a body, which is what takes me the longest. I have one in mind, but I keep looking at the more expensive ones. When it comes to the characters and backstories even my oldest doll, none of my dolls are complete.

 

It takes as long as it takes! Could be out of the box, or it could be a process of years! I have a number of dolls that I keep as full-sets, but also as many that I take out of their full-set outfits and change around a lot.

I'm not shelling characters, so it really depends on the doll and what I want for them. Some things are harder to find and put together than others.

 

Usually, I'm not too picky with things they need to be 'complete'. Ethan (profile picture subject) is pretty much 'done', everything he gets now is just extra to spoil him. Sam, Ethan's lover and my only girl, needs the 'perfect' pink wig before I deem her complete. Ben, my meetup pal, is... he's complicated. Because he's destined solely for meet-up partnerships, he's got no character. His name is just his sculpt (MYOU Ben). So, I don't think he'll ever be 'complete' as it were. He's just around, getting spoiled with Ethan.

The only times I'm going to be picky are for two project dolls I've got planned. My 'Capcom Boys', Leon and Dante. Since starting in the hobby, I've wanted dolls of them. So, they've got to have all the right items before I can deem them 100%. And, I intend to use these projects to kickstart my intentions of sewing doll clothes (and also making wigs, if I can't find something absolutely spot-on).