Return of the Repaint! (aka a bunch of WIPs)

It must be spring, because I suddenly found the energy to work on my repaints again. One of my two Bratz practice heads now has a finished face that I'm planning to keep at least for the time being. I sealed it with two coats of Liquitex Matte Varnish (brush-on, but I'm getting a bit better at avoiding leaving brushmarks) and then Gloss Varnish on the eyes and lips. I think I overdid it a bit - maybe the entire eye doesn't need to be completely shiny? Next time I'll either try to lay it on a bit thinner, or buy a bottle of semi-matte (semi-gloss?) varnish instead.

Guess who's got painted AND real highlights??

Sugar scrub for greasy hair, repaint finally finished!

Today I gave the Headless Headmistress' sticky hair another go with the sugar scrub (as suggested by BlackKitty) and it does seem to have helped a bit. I tried it once last week or so and didn't feel much difference, but persistance pays off: after a couple more rounds the hair feels a lot less sticky. The bangs need a bit more work since they were a bit tricky to get at. I'll do them again tomorrow - or I guess I could just wait until the glue inevitably starts seeping out again and I have to do the whole thing over again anyway...

Anyway, while the last word hasn't been said on Mattel's glue problem at least this particular doll seems relatively ok for now. I'm a bit relieved, actually - I liked her and her hair, and having a doll sitting around without her head isn't much fun. Yeah, I know she's a headless horse(wo)man, I guess I'm just used to it being the other way around: heads everywhere but no bodies to put them on. 

While she came with a strict, gelled down bun, I much prefer her hair like this. 

Braz tops = crop tops, Bratz Boyz pants = highwaters with a dangerously low waist. If they still look ok, Bloodgood (and Nefera) can wear them, with varying degrees of success.  

...aaaaand I actually finished my first proper repaint! Woohoo!

There's a bunch of little mistakes and the lips in particular are overworked, but if I had continued I would just have messed it up even worse. Art is knowing when to quit, you know? I feel like I learned a lot on this one - for example, working on a head with molded eyes and eyelids is SO much easier than the Bratz sculpt. As a beginner I think I'll stick to more detailed sculpts for now 

I always intended to wipe it and start over, particularly since I messed up the base layer of sealer by putting it on while the vinyl was damp, but it's nice to have a physical reminder of what I've learned so far, so for now she gets to stay. The sealer has cracked a bit at the edges in places, but... we'll see how long it lasts, I guess? An experiment!! *evil cackle* *thundercrack*

Speaking of experiments, it's also a chance to see how the brush-on sealer (Liquitex matte varnish) works as a top coat. I know it smudges watercolor pencils (and dry pastels obviously), but the blushing I did with almost-dry acrylic paint seems ok, so that's good news. 

It's not quite as matte as I would have liked, so the face looks slightly shiny, and it's impossible to avoid leaving brush strokes, but neither of those things bothers me as much as it did at first. It's also not completely transparent - I think that's why it makes the eyes look a bit dull, so I'll get some gloss varnish and put a final layer on just the eyes (most repainters seem to do that).

more repaint practice

Once every few months I remember I need to actually practice if I'm going to get better at repainting dolls. I've dug up a MyScene head to use as a practice head - it's amazing how much easier it gets when you actually like the sculpt you're painting! The Bratz head had the advantage of being big, but that was it. I never actually wanted to repaint a Bratz doll, but it didn't really occur to me that working on a face mold you hate would make it harder to find motivation for practicing... 

Still only got brush-on sealer, still no idea what I'm doing. I'm trying to get the hang of blushing using paint on a practically dry brush. I keep underestimating exactly how dry the brush has to be (answer: VERY dry) but I'm getting better at it. This time tried using cold greens and blues under eyes, but particularly around and below the mouth, to create more lifelike color variations in the skin. 

There's also about 10 other unrelated things I've tried to do at the same time on that face. It's still not so much a coherent face-up as it is a sketchbook, but I think that's how I need to work at this point. (I accidentally put on sealer when the head was still wet and it craked along the left cheek, so I don't feel bad making mistakes since I know  I'll have to wipe this either way.) 

I took a few other pics, they're on my flickr. Be warned: it's just the same face at the same stage of painting but from different angles).

Tutorial tip of the day: Retrograde's Elissabat repaint

I just found this video. Not a step-by-step tutorial, more of a short documentation of her MH Elissabat repaint. Still, there's lots of information in there, and I found it really useful to see how she works (mostly pastels and watercolor pencils).


ETA: She has a blog too! Retrogradeworks.blogspot.com, go visit!



(Tutorial tip of the day will not be a recurring feature, I just wanted an alliterative headline.)

Repainter's Progress

There's still a long way to go, but I've looked at a few tutorials and figured out a few things that made a significant improvement compared to my last attempt. I'm glad I decided to give it another go, because this stuff really gets easier with practice. All I need to do now is wipe and repaint a few hundred times and I'll be an expert! 

A few closeups, warts and all (actually it's mainly dust) as inspiration/warning to fellow aspiring faceuppers: 

Yesterday:

That's not dirt, that's poorly applied blush.

Today: 

I'm pretty happy with the size and general placement of the Bratz' eyes, and the pupils are at least looking in almost the same direction. Steffi Love's eyes are way too small and really different in size, but I like the shape and I'll try to make something similar next time. 

More dust and fibres from the q-tip. 

Steffi looks okay from a distance, but up close... not so much. I never bothered with the eyebrows.

At some point I lost concentration and began trying every technique at once, which is never a good idea. If it's not too cold to work by the open window tomorrow, I'll wipe this and start over with a clean slate. I'd like to practice both the "many tiny lines method" and the "big dry blush brush" a bit, but I'll try to do one at a time this go. I should get another head too, so I can cut down on the wait between coats a bit.

Lumpy paint with wiggly lines on top. Also more dust. 

The main problem is I'm still laying on the paint too heavy, which results in a lumpy, uneven surface that it's impossible to paint straight, even lines and brush strokes on top of. 

I'm not sure about the best way to dilute the paint: the liquid acrylic medium I bought earlier is actually thicker than the Liquitex Ink!; the flow enhancer says to mix it in the water, but I'm not sure you can just substitute it; and several tutorials warn against using too much water since apparently that can make the paint flake later. Mostly I'm worried about getting comfortable with a method, then finding out about some hidden pitfall and having to relearn everything from the bottom up... And as usual, I end up overthinking it instead of just getting in there and trying stuff out! :)

I do need a smaller brush, or at least another 15/0 (the smallest they had) and cut it down some more. The tip on this one looks bent and frayed already, though, so either I'm being too rough or the quality is crap. Also a proper lamp, and I think a magnifier would be REALLY useful - I keep taking off my glasses to paint a few strokes, then putting them back on so I can see to dip and wipe the brush properly... X-/ (That's me, squinting.) Time for another trip to IKEA... 

Blurry pic of brush tip in bad condition. 

Less surfing more painting

My modem died suddenly and unexpectedly last week, and even though the phone company sent out the replacement right away I still ended up spending the weekend without Internet access - or Walking Through The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death, as I assume kids today call it. Actually it turned out to be a good thing: I got to spend some time acquainting myself with the drawing app on my phone without the constant temptation of quicker and easier entertainment, and I actually made another attempt at a face-up. Still not there, but looking better. I've been looking at some good tutorials too, and that along with getting into digital painting for a few days was really good for finding a better approach. Lots of small, transparent lines seems to do the trick. 

(Sorry about the pupil-less WIP of horror.)

There's still a long way to go, but I'm beginning to get a feel for it. Up close it's still pretty messy, so I'm thinking maybe I should get a loupe - a cheap, weak-ish one should do it. (Don't tell me it's time for bifocals already - I'm not that old!) 

I'm not sure about this Liquitex brush-on varnish either. The paint (mainly Liquitex Ink!) seems to be staining through it, at least faintly. It's ok for practice, but I'll have to find a better solution before I start on the real projects. That most likely means MSC and a respirator, and I'd like to keep it simple and non-intimidating for now.