I must confess: I used to be pretty ambivalent about paint sealant and skin texturing. I once went to a doll show where almost every baby I handled felt a little like fine grit sandpaper. I appreciated the need to seal, but I was not feeling the texture. A few months later, I finally found a solution! After much research and experimentation, I found a way to dilute and pigment the matte varnish that removes both the gritty texture and the white flakiness that makes many of us avoid sealing altogether. Disclaimer: This isn't the "Best" or "Correct" way to seal and texture your doll. But I've been able to successfully achieve beautiful and soft results. So try it, modify it and let me know what you come up with! Follow-up: Since this post I have discovered new tools and a new recipe to create flawless skin texturing even faster. Be sure to check out Skin Texturing and Sealing Part 2 as soon as you finish here! Why and How to SealAs outlined in the Baby Doll Care Guide, vinyl is easily stained by common objects like newspaper, dark fabrics, nail polish and you name it. Anything pigmented can stain the doll. Sealant gives the vinyl some protection against that as well a providing another barrier between your painting and things that might scratch it. At the same time, the stuff you use to seal the paint can also be used to give the doll a "skin texture." If you can stay awake (I can't), the video below shows in detail how I seal and texture my dolls. Or use the links below to skip to the chapter most relevant to you: Summary and Video Clips:
Creating the "Secret Sauce"Here's how I make the stuff I used in the previous video. Experiment with the recipe, add or subtract ingredients, keep playing with it until you love it! Then come back and share how you did it. :) I love learning new techniques! In Summary: Be sure to check out Skin Texturing and Sealing Part 2 as soon as you finish here! Quick Q&AWhat about Dewey Medium?
Does your "Secret Sauce" work with the PLBD Skin Texture Tool?
I used the GHSP Matte Varnish to seal the paint and it left a rough white film on the doll. How do you get rid of it?
What's in Your "Secret Sauce?"
25 Comments
Shannon
9/10/2015 06:13:14 pm
Just wanted to say thank you for this! These videos and demonstrations are so very helpful! I've been struggling with my "secret sauce" recipe and trying to find something that works. Also with applying it, I'm going to try this tomorrow on a test limb and hopefully it will work out so I can use this method on my current kit. I had just came to the conclusion that sealing wasn't something for me bc I could never get it right but now im excited to try this out and hopeful that I won't have any more sandpaper babies or shiny unsealed babies! Thank you thank you! 😆💋
Reply
Thanks Shannon!
Reply
Shannon
12/3/2015 03:15:46 pm
Hi Kim, just wanted to say that I did try the mix in the first video and the technique you use with it and I LOVE it! Again, thank you so much! And I just started on a new kit and I'm following along with your "reborn with me" series as I paint. So excited to see how this one turns out!
Reply
12/4/2015 05:46:53 am
AWESOOOME! Thanks for letting me know!
Mary Jackson
11/1/2020 06:22:42 pm
Hey I just started reborning and you have been great in help me move to the next level Thank you so much for being kind
Reply
Y
1/14/2016 09:23:03 am
good article
Reply
Rachel
3/17/2016 02:11:22 pm
thanks so much Kim for sharing your techniques and formulae. i started reborning just because i saw how much detail you put into your tutorials - it made me want to try too!!
Reply
3/27/2016 05:50:58 pm
Awesome! I'm glad the tutorials inspired you into the art! Let me know if you have any questions along the way. Please keep in touch!
Reply
Janet smith
3/26/2016 04:22:06 pm
I purchased a doll and the skin so shinny. The artist put a texture finish on limbs after I sent her back, but said she could not do the same for face. Is there anything I can do?
Reply
3/27/2016 05:57:13 pm
Hi Janet. Sorry to hear about your experience. I'm guessing she did not want to matte the face because the doll has rooted hair and the artist is using a heat-set matte varnish. So heating the head to cure the varnish would dry out the hair. If it's really bothering you, you might try an acrylic matte sealer on the face. Mod Podge has a matte version that you can find in a craft store. Reborn arts who work with acrylic paints also have a spray matte sealer that they use with varying degrees of success. Maybe test a small area to see how it looks? I haven't tried it personally, but I know that Folk Art Acrylic Matte sealer tends to add sheen. Good luck!
Reply
Vera Conner
6/19/2016 01:07:37 pm
Where is your website Kim? I'd like to buy the covered palette. I absolutely love your videos, your voice is so pleasant to listen to. My doll I used working along with you has turned out so nice. Thank you for all the time you put into the videos.
Reply
9/26/2016 12:43:21 pm
Hi Vera,
Reply
Julie Moore
8/7/2016 07:01:18 pm
Hi there Kim, I hope your move was successful and Congrads on your New Home. I would like to thank you so much for all of your tutorials. Kim your voice is so relaxing and mellow it just keeps me possitive and calm. I received cutie pies last October and am just now finishing my Thomas awake which appears to have been in someones storage for quite sometime. lol
Reply
9/26/2016 12:44:31 pm
Hi Julie!
Reply
Thankyou for your information about how to seal the doll skin, that information is so useful. The secret sauce is so nice yeah. How if that problem happen on the people ? here i will give you the best treatment for your skin. Not only your skin, body and also face. There are you can doing an aesthetic treatment, that can make your skin healthy and also beauty. You can doing aesthetic treatment at cocoonmedicalspa.com/treatments/cosmetic-treatments/mesotherapy-needle-high-frequency/
Reply
Jessica
12/10/2017 07:34:27 am
I want to make a doll that has thin transparent skin. How would you suggest doing that? Thanks for all of your help!
Reply
Susan blower
1/29/2018 01:53:52 am
Can I paint over dewy skin sealer after its been heat set,I use genisis paints,and need to add more colour
Reply
6/21/2018 07:20:09 pm
I think so, but you will need to seal it again when you're done. You'll also have to work with the texture added by the sealer, which can sometimes make the paint harder to blend.
Reply
Carla
6/15/2018 05:31:21 pm
If my doll is a bit red (especially bottom of hands) what colour could I add to the matte varnish to even out the skins tone? Would adding the warm blush make it worse?
Reply
6/21/2018 07:27:27 pm
I would recommend correcting the color before adding the varnish. Areas that are too red can be neutralized with translucent washes of green. Green is the opposite of red on the color wheel and mixing opposite colors creates a neutral. Any of the greens below would work:
Reply
Linda Haney
9/19/2018 04:51:01 pm
I am trying air dry paints , and I'm wondering about folk art and glass matte sealer ? I've heard it's a good choice before you paint
Reply
Theresa
12/2/2020 05:01:55 pm
Hi there, I'm painting with air dry paints with that hodgepodge matte usable on my doll? Do I need to heat the hodgepodge Matte or can I let it air dry?
Reply
Bridget Smith
11/28/2021 01:27:34 pm
Hi Kim. Thank you so much for posting your videos. I love watching them. I'm new at reborning. I just started my first kit Felicity and did the GHSP matte varnish and it made it turn flaky crusty white. I was so upset I was going to throw the kit and all my paints away! Until I found your video to repair it and was happy. I'm going to try your secret sauce today but had a question ❓ since GHSP is low in stock what do you recommend buying local for the matte varnish? I can't find any of it or the thinning or thick medium. Please help!! Thank you again for your very informative videos.
Reply
Brenda Pankow
2/28/2023 11:14:49 am
I have been looking for information about after painting the hair so I seal that also? I finally just added the varnish to the painted hair and it made it chalky looking, with the glossy smooth shiny texture I did like on the head gone. I haven't baked yet but the doll has dried overnight. I'm thinking of buffing the head some before baking. I may hair to repaint the head some after to give a better color at least. I don't know this is my first reborn and I've spent along time on him following instructions. Thanks Brenda.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
AuthorHi! I am Kim. I've been creating dolls all my life. I started stuffing cotton balls into my mom's pantyhose when I was a little girl. Now I hand-craft dolls that look and feel like real babies. Archives
December 2021
|