I need help my reborn gumdrop face and skin looks pasty, It looks real but I think I put too many layers on or something.. This is my first time. I put thin layers on, I tried different shade of thinned flesh and white. Then when I blush with the premix blush genesis paints thinned it looks blochy. My son said it looked like it had makeup on. Any clues to help me> what did I do wrong?
Angel, Pictures would help, but I'll toss out a few suggestions for you to think about.
1. You may just need to do a few additional layers of paint. If you are using really thin layers you may find it necessary to do more of them. 2. Your shift from skin color to blush was too abrupt. You may need an inbetween coat. Don't panic, just add it over the blush. That will even out the complexion. 3. Don't rush. Take you time and build up your baby's complexion a little at a time going from your lightest color to your final blush. You can alternate between them if you don't like the result of your last color addition. You may need an additional skin color if you are not comfortable mixing your own... what did you start with? How many additional layers/colors did you use?
I'm not sure this answers your question, and I'm sure someone else will sing on in here at any moment, just hope this helps a little.
Pat C.
__________________
Current Avatar Teme, the Black Dragon.
Does not play well with others and run with sissors!
I tried to do it once and layered a few layers, didnt like and took it off, the doll had an orange tint. I thought it might have been a reation to remover... So when I tried again I started out with Flesh 08 and made it thin. Then after 2 layers then I lightened it with titanium white. Then went to a lighter. THen tried a light light blush then flesh. I dont know if the different whiter colors didnt help. Also I tried the premixed crease and wrinkle coloring and hated the results, it looked dark.. THe paint seem to get in between the toes and fingers and made dark places. I have reborn with stencil paints before and color wash on the inside. What happened?
Sounds like you worked backwards... lightest color first, a little darker with following coats until you are ready for your blush. If the doll was orange-looking then maybe your internal wash was off a little... purple usually balances out an orange baby.... Like I said before, pictures would help... I have not seen the baby so I don't know exactly what you are talking about. Sorry.
Pat C.
__________________
Current Avatar Teme, the Black Dragon.
Does not play well with others and run with sissors!
Well I got her together and hopefully this after noon I will have pics of her. They just havent accepted my login account yesterday so I hope I can post pictures. She looks like she is just newborn with some whitish skin, anyone got clue how to do the eye brows if you dont have the eyebrow paint? All I have ever done is the eye liner eyebrow pencils, Is this good enough?
Ok I had to reenroll cause I messed up my email! My avatar is the new baby, my camera is not that good! Please give me your pointers! I havent thought of a real good name. So any ideas would be great!
(your pics have been removed per rules for using form. Please post links in this topic, pics are only allowed in the Artist Showcase). Thank you, Moderator :)
I tried to do it once and layered a few layers, didnt like and took it off, the doll had an orange tint. I thought it might have been a reation to remover... So when I tried again I started out with Flesh 08 and made it thin. Then after 2 layers then I lightened it with titanium white. Then went to a lighter. THen tried a light light blush then flesh. I dont know if the different whiter colors didnt help. Also I tried the premixed crease and wrinkle coloring and hated the results, it looked dark.. THe paint seem to get in between the toes and fingers and made dark places. I have reborn with stencil paints before and color wash on the inside. What happened?
OK, here we go...
Sounds like you probably should watch the Art of Newborning I or the Beginner Classroom Training. I thought I read somewhere that you had, but I went back and coudn't find anything. Oh well.
First, I can tell you that if you used white on the baby or in anything other than the internal wash, that is part of your problem right there. Unless you are doing an AA and using Michelle's method, you don't need white. If your vinyl had an orange tint you could have used flesh 08 with just a touch of pthalo blue and that would neutralize that for you (sorry to correct you Pat C.). If you look on a colorwheel you will see that blue is the opposite of orange so to neutralize the orange use the combo I suggested. If you are going to use any type of paint remover, always wash your parts in hot sudsy water and rinse/dry well. Removers will leave a residue.
2 layers of flesh 08 is good. Sounds like you took flesh 08 and made it even lighter? Hmmmm. We usually don't go lighter than 08 so it should have gone the other way like Pat C said. But you never mentioned any veining so I'll presume there is none. Your "light light blush"... was that a very light coat or did you lighten it up in color? And which "flesh" did you use on that (08 or the lighter one you made)?
Because you went so very light in color, that is why your crease color in the pre-mixed paints look so dark, which you didn't like. That needs to made very thin and when applied it should then be feathered with your large mop brush. The wrinkle and crease color is supposed to go between the fingers and toes for shading, but should not be used thickly. Or do you mean that the other colors went between them and made them dark? Please clarify.
OK, does this help you any? I presumed that by "pasty" that you meant ghostly white, not chalky from too much paint (since you specified you put on thin layers).
Ok the blushing was thinned. Not any flesh added in that. She looks like a chalky like to many layers of paint. I only did 6 to 8 but as you said I lightened it which was a mistake. The crease and wrinkle paint thing makes sense now with the light color...... So does she look that bad in the pictures?
Don,t take to much to heart, Angel Baby, With our first of any craft, we are very critical of ourselves, where other people are looking at it as something different.The only way to learn is to make mistakes, and to improve more each time you do another baby. I,m sure you think your baby is the most beautiful and that is all that counts, as real babies that we have ourselves are sometimes ugly to others, but would you give yours away, assuming you have one. June M from Oz
I'm glad the crease paint thing made sense. It's hard with anything if the under color is very light. I get reborners all the time who have a light baby and use dark hair too! It just makes other things stand out more.
It's hard to tell how she really looks as the entire picture is very pinkish, kind of like an old fashioned picture (kinda cool effect) so it makes it hard. Can you take a few more in natural daylight with no flash and post links here or post her in the Artist Showcase with actual pics (we only allow pics in Artist Showcase)? That would give us a better look at her.
You mentioned "chalky" like too many layers of paint this time. Did you bake each of your layers for 8 minutes at 265F (or 130C if you use centegrade)? This is also very important.
i've never used the white in the painting of any of my babies... i imagine that this would contribute greatly to a "pasty" look.
from what i can see of the baby in your avatar though she looks great, not pasty at all, but its so difficult to tell from this one pic esp with it being so small.
if you post her in the artist showcase i'll be sure to have a look-see and give you honest feedback with as many tips i can give you on where to go from here.
I will take some when I can. I am learning about my new camera. I did bake her at 265 for 10 minutes. But my oven is an electric maybe that made a difference. I will be making another baby here soon. I cant really afford the heAt gun. I am a homeschool mom on a tight budget. I love doing these babies. I just got used to the other ways of painting them it was easy and I sold alot of them on ebay.... Thanks for the critiquing....