2014-06-22

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).

8 comments:

  1. Wow, I really like your repaint. She looks very... breathable, you know?

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    1. Thanks! Although looking at her now I kind of wish I'd tried for a more cartoony look. After all, dolls aren't supposed to be breathing...! :D

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  2. Wow, if this is your first proper repaint, I can't wait to see what you are doing after a few more. She looks very good. And I'm glad to hear you have solved your gluey hair problem - at least for now.

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    1. Thanks, although calling it the first might be cheating a bit - I made a few attempts before to try out the techniques, but they were pretty awful and quickly erased. This is just the first one I've wanted to keep.

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  3. Your first attempt is wonderful! Too realistic for my taste but technically great. I'm doing sealant tests myself, so it was useful information too. On the other matter, I'm glad the sugar scrub had results. All the credit for the idea goes to a lady named Olya who attacked the glue issue with a very scientific approach. It took her almost 10 rounds of scrubbing to get it all off - AFTER washing the head clean on the inside with nasty chemicals. I know cleaning just the hair is a temporary solution, but my heads don't seem to leak more glue unless heated. Hopefully yours won't either. I'll go tell Olya about your success with her method :)

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    1. Haha, she's a bit too realistic for my tastes too, but it's good practice at least. :)

      The hair seems fine for now, but the boil perm she so desperately needs is probably out of the question... (I guess boiling water only makes the glue softer, not actually dissolves it?). Anyway, tell her thanks for the sugar tip from me! (I actually found her on Flickr but haven't contacted her yet.)

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  4. I like how you did her eyes ... very soft and dreamy-looking. I see what you mean about the lips, but the coloring there is well done. Both thumbs up for this one.

    Hearing about the glue-head problems makes me almost glad that I haven't gotten many of the newer dolls. That sounds like a lot of crap to put up with. (Could I have added a few more prepositions to that sentence?)

    Sending a thanks to BlackKitty for the sugar solution tip.

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    1. Thanks! I see a whole bunch of stuff to improve on, but at least it's a first step. Yeah, the glue is a nuisance. :/ I'm not about to boycot mattel, but certainly takes some of the fun out of getting a new doll...

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