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Date: Apr 22, 2008

How can I color an orangish vinyl doll to look lifelike

zona · Veteran Member

I have read that you can put a neutral color on the doll. I think it is a yellow tone. My teacher was talking about it in class the other day.

Maybe someone else on here can give further info. If not do a search on Google. I also think I saw something on ebay about what to use to tone skin down. I was looking under reborn paint and supplies and came across it.

Buffington · Guru

There are a lot of kits or dolls out there that have a slight orange or a very distince orange color to them.

To neutralize this orange color, take a very small amount of pthalo green (http://www.secristdolls.com/inc/sdetail/18621) and add it to your flesh 07 or 08 (depending on which one you are using for your base). Mix well then apply as usual. This will definately neutralize the orange so that you can get a normal coloring on your doll. biggrin

You may want to invest in a color wheel (http://www.secristdolls.com/inc/sdetail/34863) so that you will know what color to add if you have an off-color vinyl doll that you are starting with. idea

matygrl · Member

If you're trying to neutralize an orange doll a light blue-green will help you.
Blue is orange's opposite (on the color wheel) and will help tone it down. I've found a touch of green helps.

If your doll is too pink do a light mint green wash.

If your doll is too purplish pink try a yellow green (keep it light and pastel).

If your doll is too yellow you can add a pale lilac wash. But I prefer a yellowish starting color to my babies. It's a natural color on which to start your skin. aww

precious_lullabies · Guru

personally i take a very different approach to my babies. I never leave any of the vinyl to show through my paint work - it just leave the baby looking "plastic" in my personal opinion (but this is just my own personal view, i'm saying that my way is best, i think we all come up with our own approach over time). So it doesn't matter to me what colour the vinyl of my base sculpt. I always start with a pinky mix of flesh 08 and paolie red 08 - have this mix very think, the consistancy of yogurt. I pounce this all over my vinyl pieces and cook. This mix looks like a baby pink in my eggcup (i used ceramic eggcups instead of a pallet to mix and store my colours) but once cooked the pieces come out looking a pale whitish-pinky skin tone.

Then i'll start making veining marks
yellow'y skin tones - sea sponged on
red blushing - sea sponged on
a few altra thin wash layers of differeing skin tones colours
paint in some very fine capilarie markings
and generally just keep playing till i'm happy.

all the best to you
if you wish to view some of my babies - i have 2 listed on ebay just now
http://search.ebay.com.au/_W0QQsassZprecious_lullabies

love n hugs
Naomi (aka precious lullabies)

karen · Senior Member

Hi Naomi,
I was reading your post and your idea to cover strange colour vinyl sounds very interesting.
I have had two Ember sculpts by Tasha Edenholm. You will probably already know this but they are manufactured by bountiful baby and the vinyl is a very purple/pink colour. I have had a terrible time trying to cover the vinyl. I had quite a few posts about it on the old forum and all the advice was the same, to use the mint wash which did make a difference but I wasn't 100% happy with the result so I got another kit (the same one) and I am ready to strip it back again as I am still not completely happy with the result.
I also do not like my babies to look plasticy so I was thinking about giving your way a try but I just wanted to ask you first, as you make your foundation layer (flesh 08/red) thick, does it cause a chalkey appearance at all and if so what do you do next confused

Thanks

Karen. X

precious_lullabies · Guru

Regarding the Chalk issue - i've found this not to be so dependent on the thinkness of paints (which is what all the post tend to assume) but rather the result of the thinner solvent used. I use Archival Oils artist oderless solvent and i never have a problem with the chalky look - no matter how thick i mix my paints. I tried a different brand - Art Spectrum oderless solvent and found i had the probelm of the chalkiness when using light coulours. I switched back to the Archival brand and have never had a problem.

I've done a Ember sculpt myself, she's sold but her listing is still accessable -

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&item=110251332721

I've entered her in the BB Tasha sculpts comp that is open for submissions right now.

hope i've helped
Naomi x

karen · Senior Member

Hi Naomi,
Just had a look at your Ember on the ebay page, She is lovely and her skin tone is beautiful.
I will have a try the way you desribed and see what happens. If I do get the chalky look I will change to a different thinner and see how I go.
Thanks for the information, I really appreciate all help given to me.
Karen. X

karen · Senior Member

One thing I did forget to ask you was as you make the paint thicker how many coats do you advise?
THANKS Naomi.
Karen. X

Buffington · Guru

Buffington wrote:

There are a lot of kits or dolls out there that have a slight orange or a very distince orange color to them.

To neutralize this orange color, take a very small amount of pthalo green (http://www.secristdolls.com/inc/sdetail/18621) and add it to your flesh 07 or 08 (depending on which one you are using for your base). Mix well then apply as usual. This will definately neutralize the orange so that you can get a normal coloring on your doll.

You may want to invest in a color wheel (http://www.secristdolls.com/inc/sdetail/34863) so that you will know what color to add if you have an off-color vinyl doll that you are starting with.

Ok I'm sorry, MY BAD... I did mean a little pthalo blue for the orange correction. Then mix as stated with your flesh base layer. So many people have asked about "pink" vinyl that I got complacent about my answer. Sorry.

precious_lullabies · Guru

Karen, in general I'll do 1 or 2 layers in my thick (yogurt consistancy) base mix and then i'll lay down my blue'ish veining. After this I'll use a much thinner consistancy (like milk) of paints and using a piece of a kitchen sponge like this one

http://media.komotv.com/images/070124_sponge.jpg

I'll pounce on different layers (cooking in between each one) of yellow'y skin tones, peach'y tones, purple'y blotchy tones (depending on the baby's age that i'm working on), some light blushing, some flesh 07 and flesh 08 tones/ pailer colouring. This gives the skin such a vibrent living appearence. Look at your own hand for a moment and try and identify how many colours are there overlapping each other building on top and blending together to makeup your complexion.

I'll then add tiny capilarie detail and spider veining. and deeper blushing colours to cheeks, lips, folds and creases.

Then i'll focus on the teny-tiny detailing of my babies nail beds. Seal nails and lips with non-yellowing sealer.

Hair comes next and lastly i add eyelashes and eyes (if awake), or just the eye lashes. place the magnets, and seal the hair inside the head.

karen · Senior Member

Hi Naomi,
I never would have thought of using a kitchen sponge.
Thanks for all that information.
Karen. X

precious_lullabies · Guru

The kitchen sponge is fantastic with its uneven and random patterned surface it makes for a really natural mottling look.

i actually went looking for a sea-sponge and couldn't be bothered going any further than the supermarket at the end of my street. I thought they might have something in the beauty section but had no luck, i thought i'd just have a look at the kitchen sponge area to see if there was anything with an interesting surface and as soon as i saw the standard sponge i thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a try - if it didn't work i'd go to the proper shops and search out a sea sponge.

i loved the way the old kitchen sponge worked so much that i never have ended up trying the sea sponge.

i use the makeup sponge for my thicker base coat(s), bits of kitchen sponge for the rest, and just one or 2 tiny brushes to get into creases and for fine detailing of veins, spots and for the intricate detailing of the nails.

Date: Jun 4, 2008

precious_lullabies wrote:

personally i take a very different approach to my babies. I never leave any of the vinyl to show through my paint work - it just leave the baby looking "plastic" in my personal opinion (but this is just my own personal view, i'm saying that my way is best, i think we all come up with our own approach over time). So it doesn't matter to me what colour the vinyl of my base sculpt. I always start with a pinky mix of flesh 08 and paolie red 08 - have this mix very think, the consistancy of yogurt. I pounce this all over my vinyl pieces and cook. This mix looks like a baby pink in my eggcup (i used ceramic eggcups instead of a pallet to mix and store my colours) but once cooked the pieces come out looking a pale whitish-pinky skin tone.

Then i'll start making veining marks
yellow'y skin tones - sea sponged on
red blushing - sea sponged on
a few altra thin wash layers of differeing skin tones colours
paint in some very fine capilarie markings
and generally just keep playing till i'm happy.

all the best to you
if you wish to view some of my babies - i have 2 listed on ebay just now
http://search.ebay.com.au/_W0QQsassZprecious_lullabies

love n hugs
Naomi (aka precious lullabies)

Which sponge do you use to pounce the flesh 08 and pyrrole red 08 with?
do you use a triangle shaped cosmetic sponge ?
If so, how do you avoid the dreadful line this sponge leaves when the paint is too thick?
Thank you in advance. :)

Date: Jun 4, 2008

Never mind I just re-read your most recent point and you do use a cosmetic sponge, but I must still ask... how do you avoid the dreadful lines the cosmetic sponge leaves when the paint is too thick?

TIA

LovesDolls · Guru

precious_lullabies wrote:

i loved the way the old kitchen sponge worked so much that i never have ended up trying the sea sponge.

.

I'm going to have to try that! I can't get anywhere with a sea sponge!

Buffington · Guru

Yes, and be sure to completely cover all your vinyl, every inch of it with your base color! You may not realize it for a while, but if you don't it can look like bare spots on your baby!

precious_lullabies · Guru

regarding the lines from the cosmetic/makeup sponge... I use my paints mixed to a thick yogurt consistancy and i cover my entire sculpt with this base colour. Because i'm covering all of the vinyl and continue pouncing out the coverage until it is quite consistant the lines you speak of just blend into each other. I don't really know how to explain this ....

basically i just keep pouncing and working it till it all blends.

Georgiaga · Senior Member

Do you need to: paint on the green wash smooth and thin or do you need to make texture in the green wash? Then do you start your base coat of Flesh tone ? Thanks. G smile

Buffington · Guru

Mix just a toothpick tip of the green with your fleshtone you are using. Just do it like you do all the other layers with pouncing.

Otherwise if you are using the green wash that Secrist has, you use that just like the fleshtone, pouncing, no texture. Either way, you have to cover your peice. Then you can start your regular fleshtone.

Georgiaga · Senior Member

Thanks

, Pat!
I have Secrist's AR paints in green, and so I used the mushroom sponge and pounced it out thin on the pallet and pounced it on but thin! Worked great one coat! I got too much purple interior wash inside the head and the areas that needed shading got so bluish I didn't dare add veins ans it already looks like they are natural there! I am still on the fence with that as I like what it does on one hand, but no matter how I swirl the limbs around and up and down, they always have one spot that is darker looking. I need to keep it up, but figure it out. Trial and error! confuse

I mixed a tiny bit of the skin texture to my Flesh 08 and pounced it on with a mushroom sponge for s. tex. and it was fine tonight. I didn't overdo and make the baby a ghostly white like before! :LOL:

I also added the AR gel thinner to it as well to be sure, and it was perfect!
I am trying the Vintage Blossom colors from Secrist AR paints! So far I love it! More orangey red, but still a red rose color, and not a coral , and not the purple base red like the strawberry...Really in between. I recommend people trying this colorway as it's lovely! I think it looks more like older infant skin as the strawberry looks more like newborn skin. Just my opinion, all. aww

I will take some pics soon of the WIP. I also got the blue heat gun and it's FAB!

PS) Do you even really need to use "Skin Texture" paint from AR as it just looks like Flesh 08?

-- Edited by Georgiaga on Sunday 30th of January 2011 06:09:07 AM

-- Edited by Georgiaga on Sunday 30th of January 2011 06:09:35 AM

Buffington · Guru

I am going to ask the office what the difference is between the flesh and the texture paint. Looks the same on the website but maybe there is some information I am lacking at the moment.

Good that things are working out for you. Have you tried your internal wash with just a fan brush instead of sloshing it in the parts? I tried sloshing and didn't care for it much. It left too much in the areas I didn't want much. I put a few drops in at a time and then just use the fan brush to spread it thinly around.

Georgiaga · Senior Member

Yes. I used the fan brush this time instead of the wet method with this new Diana head and it's just better, but darker. I think I will do dry fan again on the next head but less paint. Trial and error.
The limbs you really need to do wet, but I went back and stuck the fan in as much as I could and tried to even it out...

Georgiaga · Senior Member

Buffington wrote:

I am going to ask the office what the difference is between the flesh and the texture paint. Looks the same on the website but maybe there is some information I am lacking at the moment.

Good that things are working out for you. Have you tried your internal wash with just a fan brush instead of sloshing it in the parts? I tried sloshing and didn't care for it much. It left too much in the areas I didn't want much. I put a few drops in at a time and then just use the fan brush to spread it thinly around.

Do you use something else ofr skin texture? Someone wrote on another forum that they used the glazing gel, but I have no experience with that stuff at all...what do you think about that?

Buffington · Guru

I personally don't use (or teach) to use anything for a 3 dimentional texture on my babies. I find that I can get the realism and depth that I need for them to look real just from the layers of paint and veining/mottling I do on them.
I saw that same post about the glazing gel, but again, personally I don't use it for that nor do I care for that look on mine. Others might though. Like you said, it's just trial and error and see what YOU like the best.
I have test parts that I bought to try new stuff and techniques on so I don't ruin my kits. And they're really pretty cheap.

I only use the glazing gel on the lips, eyelids, and nails. Unless I'm doing a drooly baby then I use the baby tears/paper glaze.

I hope this helps you some hun :D

Georgiaga · Senior Member

So is the Galzing Gel the same product as the Moist Glaze only an updated name, perhaps? confuse

Buffington · Guru

It's the only one I see listed. It's under the AR paints not regular Genesis so it must be the AR version that you don't need any thinner with.