How long on average do you take to complete a Doll Project?

I'm not a reference, but personally it takes me around 5 years to complete a doll. Sometimes more (yes I'm looking at you, my Dollstown Elysia that is in progress since 2012 ), sometimes less. It depends of both the complexity of what I want to do on the doll, and my motivation.
In general, faceup, wig and eyes are quite quickly done/bought. But the right outfit, the accessories and the tattoos (nearly all my dolls need tattoos) take much longer to get or to paint.

 

Depends on wait times, but I prefer to have my dolls "complete" within two days of getting them home! I just can't stand having unfinished projects, and if a doll sits unfinished too long, I lose interest. The ones that take longest are the hybrids whose parts come in months apart.

 

Never, for most of them

Oh, the basics of wig (their default hair colour and style(s)), eye colour, and potentially an outfit that nails down their personal style and colour preference to wear are ysually fairly fast, but then they need a wardrobe of clothing, not just one outfit, and suitable shoes and or accessories are often hard to find for one, outfit, let alone for several... and some of them i need ot make myself as they just aren't availabel to buy, and that takes forever to get aroound to, and to finish... and then there are newer dolls coming in who need the basics. and some get an outfit cobbled together from clothes as-yet-unclaimed by other dolls, just so they're clothed while waiting for a more suitable outfit/wardrobe, and it takes a while to get aroudn to working-on or buying theirs... etc.

I guess a lot will depend on how you enjoy your dolls - mine are played with and changed for different occasions (seasons/acticivities/themed photos/themed events etc) so need tyhe wardrobe for that. Some of them have favourite outfits they always seem to circulate back into and wear more often, but nnot all of them and even those who do are subject to beign changed again on a whim...

Very few have just one or two outfits, and don't get changed often, but they're in the minority/not the "norm" in my doll family, and most of the dolls that have fallen into that group over the years have been move on to new homes where they might get more attention.

Teddy

Teddy

 

I'm in the same boat as @Follow-the-Wind pretty much.
On average it takes a couple years to get remotely close to something that can be called finished. Reason for that was in the past often that I had no time/capacity to customize my own dolls, since I was always busy doing commissions for others I often had dolls here that already had custom clothes, eyes, wigs bought but still remained blank for years.

But also, to me they are never really fully finished. I always find something to upgrade, tastes change with time, a fresh faceup is needed, more outfits and so on. And sometimes it simply can take years for THAT thing or artists to pop up that can finally provide what I've been looking for for so long. Like my cowboy took 8 years to finally end up with the outfit I always dreamt of, and only because I finally had found a seamstress that could do it.

However, never would have expected that when starting the hobby. But it's good to accept things take time and, if one wants that, to be in it for a long time

 

Years.
But really, are they every truly complete? Do you really want them to be complete?

Sometimes it's more fun to just enjoy waiting for things or taking time to work on things bit by bit and watch how the dolls change. Personally I consider my dolls to be at a certain level of "complete" where they are more or less at the basic vision I have for them but not completely perfect to the point where I don't want to change/upgrade things about them from time to time and honestly I don't think I ever want to reach the point where I no longer want to change things about them.

 

I am a weirdo, I feel like I have yet to complete any custom doll. I am always trying to get little details just right, then I realize that I don't like it, and start all over again. That is not only with face ups, but I also enjoy making my own wigs and clothes (and now even shoes!), despite me not being even remotely good at any of those. I still continue to try and fail!

I feel like I'll never be truly satisfied with a fully customized doll of mine, to call it complete. I have partially customized OT toys/dolls and few of those I can safely say are done but none of my BJD feel anywhere near done for me (some of them I've owned for over seventeen years now!). DX

 

I have always had a tendency to purchase my dolls on longish layaways, not to mention the extended wait times built in even if I didn’t. There always seems to be quite a bit of waiting built into this hobby. Because I will only buy if I have a preconceived character for that doll, I will spend the months pre-arrival on researching, ordering, sewing, and getting everything ready for them ahead of time. This is part of the anticipatory fun for me, and it makes the long months of waiting bearable. So once they arrive, I usually have them pretty much complete within the first week. Their extended wardrobes may continue on for quite some time of course, but basically they’re done.

 

I don't view my dolls as something that is finished or unfinished. I usually get them "functioning" within a few days of being home: faceup on and dressed etc, but this is a priveledge of being in the hobby many years already. I have wigs, eyes, shoes, clothes (though many times I do make a new welcoming outfit right away) so when I bring home a new doll I can just dress them for a while as I continue deciding what I'm going to do with them.
But after that, most of my dolls have been well customized, character idea developed, and they have some clothes of their own and such to express it within the first year. So my dolls tend to be feeling like their character within that time, and from there it's just a matter of continued customization and changes here and there hopefully until the end of time. I would feel sad if I found them all finished. But that's me.

 

Mmmm I would never call any of my dolls complete. More like content.

 

There is no average. It depends what my plans are, how difficult/complex. I have a couple that came together pretty easy, others it took a couple years, and still others that I've been tweaking and working on for a long time and don't feel "finished" with (1 particularly heavily modded Automaton/robot doll I've been working on since 2010 thats really not even close to done, though i don't mind that much as it kinda suits her character to be a "broken robot").

 

For me it's anytime between few months and a decade - and I used to be very nervous about this, even feeling guilty over owing rare dolls that are still in the "concept" stage even after many years of being with me. However, I've been noticing more and more I'm not the only one haha and I actually enjoy the time when the doll has no faceup or clothes, being more like a sculpture before becoming a character.

 

"Complete" is a rough term

All of my dolls have some clothes they could wear, eyes, wigs if they need them, and all faceups done. They have characters and a spot in the cabinet.

I'm not quite satisfied with my first doll's wig (how is it so hard to find a short, curly/wavy wig with purple hair???), and I have a doll whose explicit purpose is "one who gets any wigs or eyes that don't fit the others." Another has good eyes and a couple wigs that work but if another, even better wig comes up or I decide I'm willing to redo her faceup, I'll do it. Another has a good wig, eyes, and faceup, but I'm still working on her sense of style.

And, of course, I always somehow need more shoes.

Each of them are presentable, I would say, but I don't know if they'll be complete some day. It's fun that way, though. I've always got something to look out for.

 

I don’t feel like my dolls will ever be complete. I’m always changing my dolls styles and what not. I’m happy about it tho and don’t feel like I need to be a rushed on it

 

At least a year, but more like five. Or even longer. Getting everything right is difficult, stuff I envision for a doll might not be made by any doll companies, and it can be hard finding someone who is able to make said item. My dolls usually reach a stage of nearly finished or lacking just that one perfect thing. And sometimes I think it is all done and then I figure out something else that doll needs. So, I guess a doll is never really finished, but rather a work in progress. And I am completely fine with that, it is, after all, a part of it as these dolls are made for change and customisation.

 

Finished dolls are boring, to me. They are always changing and evolving over here.

 

Like a decade. For a while my finances were such, that I focused on buying heads I liked. I'm now in a better place to work on actually completing them.

 

This tends to follow things like budget and also the pandemic threw a wrench into my plans, my current 3 dolls are just now getting faceup after 2 almost 3 years of waiting naked in their boxes. That's the longest I've ever waited and I'm so excited to be moving again. Generally a year for me normally. But I also never feel like they are DONE. I get them small stuff and make changes forever xD

 

Not including wait times from purchasing, a couple of years or so usually. Part of it is being nervous to start a new project, part of it is trying to find the "right" materials and getting the weather conditions right for MSC, and the biggest part is just having the energy to work on things. I've got some health issues that mean I don't have a lot of energy to work on projects, not matter how much i want to, which is frustrating.