Painting skin undertones with ReBornFX paint

Today I was able to complete some undertone colors before applying more skin color layers.
The first was a blue shade tone added to a few areas. Keeping this very light and well blended as not a lot of this color is to show through the skin. It just shades the area where the Toddlers skin may be still thin. If the Toddler had a darker skin tone, I would probably not add in this color.
I used the Rebornfx blue wash and a small damp mop brush. I dotted these areas and then blended them into the skin; temple, around nose, a bit in ear, around ankles, bottom of feet, palms and around collar bone. I then added on some blushing with Rebornfx Pyrole Red 3 with a touch of Flesh 07 mixed in and about 20% water , diluent and open time. I added in the open time to give me a bit more time to blend this color in on larger areas. You can see the shaded and blushed areas in the pictures below;

 

 

With the Rebornfx Blue wash I also added in a very faint vein on both arms and enhanced some of the hand creases with the blush color.

   Next I added a thin layer of the blush color onto the lips. Let that layer dry then added in a bit more shading with a mixture of the blush and blue wash to equal a dark red/purple color. Notice the shaded areas in the next pictures using the blush and blush/blue mixtures.

ReBornFX Painting First Mottle step.

Toddlers do not usually have a lot of mottled skin coloring. Keeping this in mind I will only do one very transparent mottle color just to give some pink undertone and skin dimension. The color I chose was Rebornfx  Magenta 06. I added in 50% diluent, 20% distilled water and 30% paint emulsion to get a very transparent paint color. This is a nice purple pink color that worked well with the warm wash tone on my doll so far.  I also used a damp small hole plucked sponge to give the mottle effect I wanted.

I lightly and sparingly pounced this onto all the doll parts. I blended this color in on the face, palms, and on finger nails. I wanted the magenta color to enhance those areas but not in a mottled form.

I have tried to photograph the skin to show how subtle the mottling/ paint is.

 

Mottled Skin with Rebornfx Magenta 06 paint

 

Face features are not mottled. Magenta is blended in to create

a nice glow to the cheeks, ear lobes,

around eyes,nose and between lips.

Mottling was done on forehead and scalp 

 

The next step I applied my first crease color. This color is not the main crease color but more like a crease shading color to compliment the main crease color applied later on.  This first crease color is subtle but does make a difference. I used my Rebornfx Flesh 04 paint and added in about 20% of the Magenta 06 that I had used previously.

 







For applying I used a combination of brushes ; filbert, damp mini mop and liner (depending on the size of the crease being painted). To the paint color I added in 50% Diluent and a few drops of Open Time to allow more time to blend. Apply crease paint mixture to all crease areas, blending with the damp mop as you go. Don't forget to do around the fingernail edges, nostrils, and middle lip line.

Hand Creases blended and shaded.

 

In the next post I will do some small areas with a subtle blue undertones. Not to much of this in done on a Toddler.  Then I will start into my skin tones and finishing with enhancing details on the doll.

Begin with neutralizing and fixing blemishes using ReBornFX paints.

Today I was able to neutralize and fix a few vinyl blemishes. You can see the faults in the pictures below . These had to be fixed before I could begin to paint skin layers on my vinyl doll with the Rebornfx air dry paints.

                          

                         One of the vinyl legs was a little pinker than the other leg.

 

                          

          The finger had a very black spot embedded in the vinyl which I could not remove.

 

Here is how they got fixed:

 

I made a very thin neutralizing wash with the Rebornfx paints Burnt Sienna , Sap Green ,Diluent and water. Applied this wash with a dense cosmetic sponge, pouncing lightly so no line marks are left. The pinker leg got 2 layers of the wash to bring it to the same tone as the other leg.

 

 



The next picture shows you how the wash changed the base color by putting the unpainted arm beside the legs.

After I fix the black spot on the finger I will proceed with applying this same Rebornfx paint mixture as a thin wash over the arms, torso and head. This mixture gives me a nice warm glow that will help add depth to the skin colors I use in the next steps.

Now for fixing up the black spot on the finger. This takes a bit of patience and thin layers of paint.

First I chose an off white paint (opposite to the color black) and put a dot of this on top of the black spot. I then put some Rebornfx Open Time into my damp brush and with a very light touch , blended the outside lines of the white paint dot. The white should look likes it is fading into the pink vinyl with no sharp lines or ridges. See pictures below.

Once the paint was dry, I applied a skin tone mixture similar to the vinyl color. In this case the Rebornfx air dry paint mixture contained Baby Flesh with a touch of Burnt Sienna and Diluent. Again this is applied on with a damp brush and Rebornfx Open Time medium, blending and blending the edges outwards.

As you can see there is a slight difference but that will disappear as I apply the previous neutralizing wash and other layers of skin colors. This is a lot better than seeing a black spot on the finger! If I did not do this process the black dot would have been seen through the proceeding skin layers of paint. For me it is a lot easier to cover/correct a light spot verses a dark spot on vinyl.

 

Delay in painting project

Well , I had one of those weekends that everything you planned to do did not get done. But I had a wonderful visit with family members and a bit of recoop time.  So needless to say the large doll painting project is on hold until my next day off work. In the mean time there are a few things I did update on this blog site = I finally got the Rebornfx 3D air dry Medium information sheet wrote up. That is the stuff I used on the hair painting post. The information and product is now on https://www.macphersoncrafts.com/en/online-store/rebornfx/rebornfx-air-dry-mediums for purchase. The 3D medium comes in a one once jar and does go a long way, so use small amounts when starting off. I do recommend practicing a bit with it before adding it onto your finished project. It is permanent once dried!
I also added in a new baby picture in the photo gallery tab. This one I had finished up using the Rebornfx air dry paint tutorial Lil Dumplings had done up. The baby still needs some hair and a better stuffed body, but couldn't wait to show him off for now.
We got in a new shipment of paint in this week. These Rebornfx air dry paints will be more matte than our original Rebornfx air dry paints. No difference in quality. The only difference will be in the dry look. The original paints will need  matting fluid applied to get rid of unwanted sheen and the new paints will have less sheen requiring no or little matting fluid. Every thing else is the same and all the Rebornfx paints/mediums are interchangeable and compatible.

First steps before painting with ReBornFX Air Paints.

Started in on preparing my large vinyl doll today. Found an old dowel and wood stand that will hold the large pieces for drying (I hope) without tipping over.  The doll is Gabriella by Reva Schick and she is actually a 42 inch doll and not the 38inches I had previously thought. You can see the size comparison with my own hand in the picture below.

 

Will be interesting to see how much time and paint this will take.  I applied one layer of the RebornFx Primer with a damp, dense cosmetic sponge onto all the doll pieces.  I then put the pieces onto the drying rack as they were completed. After about 30 min I then applied a second layer of primer.. That took up about 1/3 or the one oz. bottle of Rebornfx Primer for this 42 inch 5 piece vinyl doll. A second coat  of primer is not necessary for a regular reborn doll but this doll is going to be put into a very sunny window when finished. I felt it needed the best protection against those elements.

I will now let the pieces dry overnight to ensure they are fully cured before starting in on painting. As you can see in my picture below, the drying rack/doll is now taking up all my work area, so I will have to find another small table to put them on before I begin to paint on her this weekend.  

 



Next ReBornFX air dry paint project

Thought I'd let you know what my next project will be using the Rebornfx air dry paint system.
I was given a 38 inch vinyl doll to reborn for the MacPherson Crafts Store window. I have been reborning dolls for many years but nothing bigger than 23 inches. This size restriction was mostly because I was painting with heat set paints and the vinyl parts would not fit into my nu-wave oven to set them. Now with air dry paints, I can paint any size of vinyl doll with no limits! I originally wasn't planning on such a large 38" doll to start with but we came into a situation where a lady walked into the store a few days ago and wanted  to buy the large display doll we had used in our windows for years. Yes, the doll was sold to that lady who fell in love with her.  Now we truly miss that doll  in the window and realized we needed to replace her - after all we had all these child size # 6 cloths left over from the sold doll.
Today I finished washing up the large vinyl limbs, torso and head with warm soapy water then rinsed and dried them. Now I'm just pondering  on what to use for a drying rack. I believe the rack I have is way to small and will more than likely tip over with the weight of the limb(s). Will have to think about what other type of rack I can substitute. On the other hand (pun) perhaps I don't need a drying rack as the paint might be dry by the time I get to the end of that long arm any ways! Definitely will be painting this one in sections.

ReBornFX final finish great for durability and sealing

I just wanted to tell you a bit about the new product that was just released today for sale at www.macphersoncrafts.com. It is called  the Rebornfx 2 n 1 Final Coat. 
We already had a sealer product and a varnish product for finishing the reborn dolls, but we had a request for a final coat that would not come off with routine cleaning done in institutions. Well we listened to our customers and brought in this product for those requesting this feature.  The Rebornfx 2n1 Final Coat is a  liquid air dry plastic coat made to adhere and flex with vinyls and plastics.  It is a permanent coat once dried.  Basic cleaning products and disinfectants will not remove or effect it. It is great to apply on reborns used for playdolls, in hospital programs or institutions where cleaning and disinfecting is a routine.  I have been testing this product out for a while and love it's  matte finish! It can be used on air dry acrylics and on top of heat set paints. Enjoy!

RebornFX 3D Medium Uses

Well I have to say this RebornFX air dry 3D medium sure is versatile. Other than using it for 3D painted hair as shown in my previous posts, it can also be used for applying milia bumps, nail tips , eyebrows and tear ducts. It adheres well onto vinyl, Genesis paints and Acrylics. It should be available for sale at www.macphersoncrafts.com next week. I now need to work on writing out the instructions for this product before it can be sent out!
 Here are a few pics;  It would be interesting to know what else this product can be used for.



Rebornfx 3D medium used for milia bumps



RebornFX 3D Medium Hair

So I finally got the opportunity to finish up the testing project using the RebornFx 3D medium with the heat set/Genesis paints. See the previous posts for test beginning.

First I finished blending in the hair colors set in with Genesis paints, heat set for 8 minutes and cooled to room temperature.
I decided I really didn't like the top part of the hair , so I applied another layer of the RebornFX 3D medium on top. This time I kept the raised hair a bit back to achieve that 3D hair layer look. I then let the 3D medium dry for about 1/2 hour.  My studio was in a dry environment so I had fast dry results.

After drying I finished applying the Genesis paint hair colors onto the newly raised hair. I then heat set the paint for another 8 minutes then let cool.

The picture below was taken with a flash to show the 3D hair dimensions more. The highlighted white hair from the flash is actually a light ash brown as shown in the next picture below.

 I am quite pleased with the results. The medium is still flexible and soft even after all the heat set baking I did. It actually feels like part of the vinyl mold!  I won't be adding in any more detail to the hair as this head was a test piece only. I am now confident that the air dry RebornFX 3D medium can be used with the heat set paints as well as with the RebornFX air dry paints.

ReBornFX More new colors released

It has been a busy two days at work for me. Two new paint colors for the Rebornfx air dry paint line was released today and I am busy testing out a new final finish coating product that I will introduce later on.
The Light Ash Brown available in the 1 oz premixed bottles and in the 4ml pigment line is a great color for painting hair on the newborn dolls. It's a nice light brown with no red tones in it. I think you will be delighted with the other hair paint colors coming in soon as well.
The other new color is a Violet Wash. This wash is very transparent making it an excellent paint for neutralizing orange based vinyl. It also makes a nice mottling color under the skin tones on your newborn life like doll.
To view these new colors, check out their color swatches on the new product tab.
Tomorrow is my day at home so I am hoping to get back to my 3D hair painting project test and report my end results.
Good Night.

RebornFX 3D Medium is Heat set compatible

Got a bit of time today to play with the RebornFX 3D medium and Heat Set Paints. Although the RebornFX 3D medium is air dry, I found it can be used with the Heat Set Paints!!!  Here are my results from todays testing;

• RebornFX 3D medium  spreads easily on top of the Heat Set Paints and I could not removed after it was dry. It is easily removed before it is dry allowing me to correct any mistakes or alter the patten if needed. Still had a good 20 min. of play time before it started to stiffen up. To smooth out any unwanted bumbs in the lines, I gently patted and moved the bump out with a damp brush (use water to dampen with this product not solvent)
• Genesis or Heat Set paints can be painted on top of the dried 3D medium. The solvent does not affect the dried 3D product.
• RebornFX 3D medium can with stand the heat set oven temperature of 265 degrees F. for the 8 min. duration that is required for the heat set paints.

This is what the medium looked like once applied onto of my Genesis painted vinyl baby. I wanted certain hair areas raised and others left flat to enhance the 3D effect.

 

So far I have heat set the product 3 times and no change in color or flexibility has occurred.

As you can see in this picture, the Genesis Heat Set Paints adhere to the Rebornfx 3D medium.

I am of coarse not finished yet as this stage of painting was just laying out the shadows and highlights I wanted. I still need to finish the other side , blend more and add in hair details. The Rebornfx 3D medium was very smooth to paint on allowing me to add on details easily. With different hair areas raised a bit it certainly does add that real look to the hair!

 

RebornFX 3D medium for painted hair

Well I am off to a great start in testing out the RebornFX 3D medium for painted hair. The medium is very light (kinda like whipped cream) and soft to use. This enabled my fan brush to leave hair like marks in the medium when moved around. The very first application I was hesitant to apply to much so I applied a very thin layer with the fan brush and moved it around to resemble hair strokes. I then allowed it to dry. I could just see the brush hair marks in the thin layer once dried but I wanted it more raised so I applied a second coat. This time I used a round brush and moved the medium around to resemble raised large hair tendrils in various areas.  I found I got about 15 min of play time before it started to stiffen up a bit. I found using a bit of water in my brush also helped slide the medium around on the head for positioning of the hair lines and increased by time for play.
I must mention one should be knowledgeable on natural growth lines of babies hair and have a hair style in mind before attempting this. It is easy to wash off when in it's wet stage, but it is very permanent once dry within an hour or two.
Here is a picture of my first 3D medium applications. You will note the larger hair tendril patterns as well as the fine hair grooves underneath from the first application.

The Reborn 3D medium dries to a semi transparent light ivory flesh color. It adhered to the Rebornfx air dry paints and to a Genesis/ Heat set painted head as well. The Rebornfx  3D medium can be painted on top with the Rebornfx air dry paints.
I have not yet tried to paint Heat set paints on it. I will post about those results when completed next.
The next picture is the first air dry paint glaze I applied on top of the 3D medium. I only applied to middle part so you can see the differences.

 

Next I started to apply a darker brown to create some shadow areas in the hair, keeping them close to the raised lighter hair tendrils  for enhancement.

 

 

Now getting more towards the end, adding more shadows and hair details. You will note I am keeping most (but not all)raised areas a light color to resemble the highlights in the baby's hair, and painting in a few areas with a darker shadow giving it that natural 3D look.

 

I am pleasantly amazed with this product for using with painted hair on the reborns.  As I mentioned before  the 3D Rebornfx medium is very durable and as you can see from the picture below it is very flexible once dry and will not crack or craze when bent! In it's dry state the medium has a soft feel, similar to the vinyl. It is not hard like cement. I found it very nice to work with.







 

Various methods can be used for applying the medium on to the head. The first layer I used a stiff Fan Brush but also found other methods pictured  below also worked

RebornFX new paint color release

Great news. A new color Dark Ash Brown has now been added to the RebornFX paint line.
It is available in the 1oz premixed paint bottles. You will find this color a great color for painting baby hair. It doesn't have that red hue that Burnt Umber has nor has it that green hue that Raw Umber has. It is a very nice cool brown. You can view a color swatch in the new product updates tab on this blog site.  Happy Painting !!

Update on Rebornfx Paints

It is with great excitement to announce our Rebornfx paints are selling extremely well. Although there is a learning curve to every new paint product, many are enjoying the diversity and adaptability these paints have to offer.   Experienced air dry Reborn painters have been testing out the RebornFx paints and have given us some great ideas for expanding , using and recommendations to improve them even more. We are listening and acting on those idea's with a big thank you for their help and support with this Rebornfx paint line.
 I am currently testing a 3D air dry medium and will be posting what it can be used for in the next few days so stay tuned! 
Oh and I do want to mention, the RebornFx air dry paints and mediums can be used with the Heat Set paints! Go to the tips and tricks section of this blog for more details on that.
I'm off to paint now, will blog soon.
Shelley Marie