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

I haven't completed any dolls yet by my own metric...which is less based on their character per se, and more on having a full outfit complete with shoes.

Only one of my dolls fits that definition currently, and she's a full set Myoudoll!

 

My dolls will never be complete because I am constantly adding clothes and accessories for them. I guess technically the doll itself is "complete" when I have the faceup, blushing, eyes, wig and at least an outfit done, but I think I might enjoy collecting clothes and accessories more than the dolls themselves, and will always be adding to their wardrobes. I also tend to change the faceups over time, either because the character grows and changes and needs the face to match, or because my skills improve and I redo them.

 

This is a very interesting topic, and I had never thought about it before.
To me, finishing a doll means the doll is fully dressed, has a face-up and other accessories most of the time. However, some of my dolls have their own plots and characters, which redefines completion. For example, I recently came up with a theme, "the vampire pope," and needed to find the right outfit and doll to make my story come true. This is perhaps another way to think about finished or completed.

 

This is an interesting question! For me - nope. Not yet. But that has more to do with the fact that I'm not satisfied with the quality of my face-ups and body blushing - and I haven't even really started to learn about photography, posing, making wigs... I'm still too new to the hobby. I guess I'll have to come back to this in about ten years and see if I have an answer for you then.

 

I consider a doll finished when their character has outfits and necessary props for every occasion in their story (this is generally how I play with them: through story, outfit, and prop creation). I have about a fourth of my current collection completed this way. I keep telling myself that one day I'll compile a photo-story about my dolls and their adventures.

 

Such a cool question! To me, while they're ever growing and evolving, a doll is "complete" when they have a faceup I'm satisfied with, their tattoos done (if they have them), a wig, eyes, shoes, and at least one complete outfit. At this point they get a photoshoot (sometimes their first, but not always) to celebrate.
However, I dont stop working on or playing with a doll even if it is complete by my standards. I redo faceups semi regularly, due to damage or skill improvements, and I'm always buying and making my dolls more clothes, and buying more shoes (I love doll shoes a lot, definitely one of my favorite aspects of the hobby), and working on new photoshoot ideas.
Sometimes a completed doll will go longer between being worked on than the unfinished ones, but they still bring me tons of enjoyment and there is always another project, outfit, or photoshoot that I can do.

 

If the doll has:
-a head
-a body
-a faceup
It's finished. I'm never going satisfied with with clothing, accessories, or wigs so I wouldn't count that towards completeness unless I want completeness to be unobtainable. It's not something I think about though.

 

Good question!
Had to think about it for a moment. Yes and no. I am working on my dolls in stages and this year's goal is to get every doll eyes, a wig, a faceup, and at least one outfit with or without shoes. Of my current crew most everyone has at least three of those and about half-ish have all of them. I have ideas for specific character/outfit plans for individual dolls and three have an outfit that goes with their character. The rest are various stages. Everyone has eyes and a wig and some clothes but some are 40% while others are 90%. Part of why done is hard to reach is because as my skills/experience in the hobby grow my plans shift and "complete" moves. Nobody is really done, but almost all my dolls are in a place where seeing them makes me happy and I can choose which one to work on next.

 

I feel like a doll is complete when I find a look I’m happy with, they might change over time but I still consider them complete. I consider 5 of my current 9 complete, the other 4 are dressed, have shoes, wigs and eyes but I’m still not satisfied with their styling.

 

Complete to me is like, photo ready. For that I want a doll to have faceup, eyes, wig, and some clothes that suit them. It doesn’t mean they never get new stuff or change their looks, but they’re complete enough that they don’t feel lacking.

If they’re complete as in done and I can’t think of anything I want to do with them anymore, they’re probably on their way out.

 

I’ve been enjoying this hobby thoroughly since 2006, which is a lot of time, folks! So I’ve certainly had the time to get things completed, especially considering the fact that I’m a completest by nature, so I won’t stop until I do. It becomes a mission! I‘m the sort of collector who always makes my to-do list every year in the yearly goals thread here on DoA, and keeps checking back on it every month until all those goals are finally accomplished. I’m very focused on curating my collection and completing every character to thoroughly match my vision for them. So of my nearly 50 dolls, all are complete with faceups, tattoos, eyes, wigs, displays, and wardrobes of at least 3 complete outfits or more each. That being said, however, I’m always tweaking things in my little fantasy world…making or buying a new outfit, rearranging a display or creating a new one, rearranging characters to create a new dynamic, enhancing a faceup, finding a better wig, experimenting with new eyes, or creating a new tattoo to further expand their character. Whatever it takes to enhance my vision even more!

 

A doll is finished to me when they have eyes, face-up, wig, clothing, and shoes. With that criteria, I have 6/8 dolls in my collection completed.

 

I consider a member of the gang "done" when they look like I want them too... 'Right eyes, hair, faceup, outfits, props and what-have-you.

By those standards, the majority of my dolls are finished.

 

It depends on the doll.
My OC, that I've shelled, has had... I think she's on the sixth sculpt now.
I consider her done.
Buuuut... should I find another sculpt, again, that fits her better, she'll likely be upgraded. I have a high standard for her, I guess...

My other dolls - much like other have said - once they have the intended faceup, wig, eyes, clothes, and shoes, they are pretty much done.

 

My dolls are all characters so to me "complete" is they've got a face, eyes and head full of high-quality character-accurate hair, as well as an entire outfit that matches (or is as close as possible) to what I imagine to be their "signature" look. Doesn't mean they can't have other outfits and updates but they get moved to the back of the queue as far as those are concerned.

Anka is complete, whereas Leonie is still waiting on... just about everything, haha. She's been a patient girl.

 

I like shopping for clothing so I don't base them being finished on that. I consider them "done" as more like are they an established character. So if my doll has a name, a wig, eyes, face up, and one basic complete outfit, then they are "done". They will ove fourse get more clothing since I'm just like that ahahah

 

If my dolls have a faceup, eyes, wig, and clothes, they are “complete” to me. I complete most of my dolls within a few days-weeks of them arriving, typically. I hate having unfinished dolls sitting around for extended periods of time. It makes me anxious, for whatever reason.

 

Only about 1/4 of my dolls have definite characters with backstories. The rest are in limbo, character-wise. But I count a doll as finished when they have all their physical components - faceup, wig, eyes, clothes and shoes. Eleven of my dolls are physically finished, though a couple of them will need new faceups eventually. Six of my dolls need various bits and bobs before they will be done.

I have two dolls who were finished as soon as I got them. Bobobie Rui (aka Willow) and Doll Leaves Steven. I had bought everything they needed before they arrived. This is not the norm for me. Usually it takes me a while to hunt for all the right components to put a doll together.

Currently I have 2 projects. My Resinsoul Mi only has her wig and her shoes. I have part of her outfit, but it is a male suit I need to alter to fit her. Her shirt and undergarments are waiting for shipment from Alice Collections and her weapon is on the way from Aliexpress. She will be the Turk Elena character from Final Fantasy VII. I found her weapon - an automatic pistol in the correct scale, as a keychain.
My other project is the doll who arrived yesterday. An Iplehouse KID Irene. She will be the child of one of my SD couples, but so far all she has is her faceup. Not even a name yet.

I thoroughly enjoy the "hunt" for everything to complete a doll. It's most of the fun for me. If a doll were to come totally complete, I would be bored with it very quickly and probably decide to completely re-so it.

 

I have! But its pretty basic for me. I look for the "perfect" outfit, wig, hair accessory, eyes and face-up. Sometimes it takes years to find what I have in mind. Other times, I know exactly where to look.

 

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!

 

For me I'd say two are complete. My realpuki obi has one outfit and he doesn't need any more. After I gave him a new faceup, he was done! And now he's my little purse buddy. I also a have a pukifee boy who has three outfits and a homemade wig. I don't have much desire to sew him more clothes cuz I just love the ones I already made him.

My girl dolls are always getting something new and are constant wips. I guess my boy dolls are simple. I have an idea for a boy minifee and he'd also probably have one outfit My girl dolls are lot more complex both in looks and character and I doubt most will ever be truly finished lol

 

To me, a "finished" doll means they have a face-up, eyes, a wig, and an outfit.

I am less fussy about a face-up and outfit not being "perfect" but I do very much care that the eyes and wig are just right for the doll. Especially the eyes. Even if a doll has a perfect everything else, they really don't feel done to me without "perfect" eyes.

 

For me a "finished" doll means it has
- body/face/hands combo I find perfect
- a faceup I want to keep
- a pair of glass eyes in the colour I want for them
- a wig I like on them
- clothes they can wear and/or that have been made for them specifically
- some shoes
- have had their picture taken/I've done a photoshoot with them to document them

I guess "finished" is more like "play ready" for me as I keep adding accessories and changing outfits a lot, but I'm also not happy with *any* eyes or wig to count them done. I also can't accept a doll that has to run around in socks to be finished, how are they going to survive in the world shoeless

 

For me a finished doll means it has a faceup I like, eyes and a wig, and at least one outfit and pair of shoes that match the character's preference. Lately I've also been finding that if the doll doesn't have an outfit for at least summer and winter, it doesn't feel complete, so that's at least two outfits...

Like cobaltconduct said, my dolls need to be "play-ready" to feel complete. They might go through multiple faceups and outfits whenever I feel like they need to be refreshed, so the first outfit is mainly to make sure they're not sitting around the room naked.

 

Complete, seems so final to me. To me it means getting everything picture perfect and setting the doll on the shelf forever just to look at and admire. Like a work of art. I do have plenty of other dolls that are complete in the manner, but I can't ever see doing this with my BJD's.

I see BJD's more as dolls instead of works of art. I move them around, change their clothes, and even the wigs and faceups. The characters are set, and the dolls do have their own identity. They are all fully dressed, faceups, body blush, piercing's and tattoos for some, but even those things can change, just like they do on real people. In some way they are more 'alive' then the dolls I have around my room on display.

I supposed setting the character of the doll into place and having the doll fully dressed and picture/play perfect could be a form of completion. In that case all of my BJD's are usually ready for pictures/play within a month of getting home to me. Sometimes the right hair and eyes takes a bit more time.

I like that my BJD's are always evolving and growing into their own characters rather then just being stagnant dolls on my shelves. I think when they stop changing I would probably feel it would be time to break from the hobby. I would feel like I wasn't enjoying them as much, if I am not constantly doing things with them.

 

this made me laugh for real

Shoes are the one thing I can give a pass for them not being finished. I’m so picky with doll shoes and would rather they be shoeless than have shoes I am not happy with

Granted I almost always order shoes for a doll when I add a new doll to a collection anymore, preferably from the company they came from so they’re guaranteed to fit. I have a very old Volks MSD that I bought in 2010 that still has never had shoes because I have never managed to find any that fit her. Her feet are really wide.

The second hand doll I have on the way came with everything she had before (stuff I all love and plan to keep for her) but I didn’t see any mention of shoes. I’m actually okay with her character being barefoot.

Maybe it’s because I personally hate wearing shoes, but I can definitely enjoy a shoeless doll

 

Face up, all their body parts, eyes and wig that looks ok, something to wear that looks ok
I always have styling ideas in mind when I adopt a new doll but as I've collected clothes I've come to enjoy changing their looks more often, so I don't have specific aesthetic goals for them anymore, as long as they look happy on the shelf they feel whole.
Everything else will come when the time is right. Except maybe shoes doll shoe shopping sucks and anyway my dolls stay in house

 

I agree that 'complete' is very subjective. For me it's mostly about the character, and having enough finishing touches to feel done. Where I look at them and go, yeah, that's correct. Having the right faceup, wig, eyes, and something (anything) to wear are finishing touches, but if the character isn't speaking to me, or the story or name isn't flushed out and chosen then the rest doesn't matter. I've had dolls who looked fully finished but they had no name, no character, or voice for me, and therefore felt the most unfinished. I've also had dolls who sat with no faceup and nothing but a borrowed wig and incorrect eyes feel so alive and complete.

I suppose to have a doll be complete is to look at them and not feel the need to change anything about them. It's always fine to add new outfits or accessories, but when a doll is perfect as is? *chef's kiss*

 

My definition of "complete" is fairly loose, as my characters frequently grow and evolve as I play with them and think about them, resulting in periods where their appearance feels final and others where they feel in flux. That said, I do have a tentative checklist for completion status: faceup, eyes, wig, outfit, and shoes I am happy to keep for the foreseeable future. If a character has something special about them, like a second "canon" appearance (Eden) or a modification or a tattoo (Marcie, Ingrid), then those things also count toward whether or not a doll is complete. I'm a little looser on whether or not shoes are a necessity for completion, but I strongly prefer shoes whenever possible.

Ongoing maintenance tasks, such as restringing or sueding a doll, does not count toward completion since these must be periodically redone regardless of character evolution.

 

Complete means having ALL the hands.