Dyeing a Doll

This one: http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36686

 

I'm looking to make a Nightcrawler BJD (Nightcrawler is from X-men, and is a cute, deep cobalt blue, fuzzy demon/elf boy.) Now, to do this, I'd have to dye the whole body a dark blue, THEN do a face-up... any reccomendations on how to do this, or possibly a place that sells a product specifically for this? (I saw something simmilar in "Heavy Mods, Crazy Makeup", but it wasn't really mentioned if it was paint or if the body was dyed)

 

The pics are gone, but this is a tutorial on dyeing:

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39703

 

Not just the wigs, but the dolls themselves~

I have future plans to modify a couple of Mini-Fee Shiwoo by tanning them myself. What I think that I'm suposed to do is to is to coat each part a couple of times before trying to dye them (in just regular fabric dye?) And then spraying a couple more times before even attempting the face-ups...

Also, would it affect the colour if I sanded the resin down? Or maybe put on a couple apoxy mods? I'd really like to know what I'm doing before I ever sit down to do this...

So I know I've probably exposed that I don't really have any real idea about what I would do... But I'd love to hear how anyone else would undertake, or any tips that you could offer!! I would love you forever and give you cookies~ ^^;

 

Let's just say that I bought a snow white skinned body, and I was interested on dying the doll's body a purple color. I'm thinking about possibly making my character Banshee. Please excuse the old drawing. Is there a method on doing this? Thanks in advance!

 

I think there's a way to do it with Rite dye or something. Did you search the work shop thingy and look for "tanning" ??

 

I think if you coat the body first, it wouldn't work O_o;; The dye wouldn't soak through evenly, some parts would be permanently coloured, others wouldn't be, you know.

I know that sanded resin is more porous than when it's not sanded, so that would definitely have an effect on the dying. You can always do a light coat of sanding over the whole doll to make it less obvious.

Apoxy, from my experience, is very dense, so it will DEFINITELY trake the dye differently than the resin. It probably wouldn't take to it as much as the resin, because it's not as porous. But if it's scars, then they would probably look good that way, looking naturally lighter than the 'skin'.

I'm looking into trying this myself, so I hope I can offer more advice later ^_^

 

I saw an older thread about dying dolls to be darker skin tone, but how about to a red color?? could it be done with Rit dye, maybe ink?? Manic Panic hair dye?? anyone have any ideas??
I have a little OD Ye vamp in, and just thought she would look really cute as a little devil.

 

I've never dyed a doll with Rit, but my line of work deals with different dyes and the Rit dye may look more pink then red. It tends to turn things more pinky red then a true red. The best dyes I can think of are Procion Dyes, but I don't know how well the resin would take.

 

probably the best is painting the doll with V color. first priming with white then going over with red. Overall, that will look the best and will have less inconsistancy in the color.

 

what is V color??

 

A good explanation here:
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10844

 

I know a gal who painted hers and it turned out great. Why not just paint it?? At least there's no risk of streaking. ^w^ Good luck

 

Paint will eventually chip off the resin, since it's only a surface treatment.
Painting works better with vinyl dolls.

 

I dyed a tiny Elfdoll with tan Rit and she turned out fine. Here are two things I learned from the process: 1) sand the seams and any rough places in the resin before you dye because the color will be darker there and 2) have a good idea of what you want for the face-up, go slowly and try not to make mistakes because the dye may come off a little if you wipe off too often. I have a nari-pon I've considered dyeing red; just haven't gotten around to it. Here's my Elfdoll:

 

kewl, I want to get another OD SO doll and make it a little devil...and have been thinking about the rit dye.., I was wondering if I heated up the resin a little in my convection oven if the dye would absorb into the resin better..like a sponge...
I will just have to get some dye and try it on a hand I have....

 

Yikes! I wouldn't if I were you; it might melt. Resin is a sort of plastic.

 

boiling the dye would probably be an easier way to get it to absorb the dye

 

actually it won't melt it unless you leave it on for like an hour...I have tried hands in my convection oven and after 20 minutes they will soften..I was trying to repose fingers...took too long for me, so I just use steam from a kettle to do it now...

but I might boil the dye and try it with a hand first....if it works...then I will get another little OD So and make me a devil boy!!

 

I dyed a hand red!! it works!! gotta make an order!!

Before:



after:



it is the same hand, I had steamed it recently to practice repositioning the fingers..
it doesn't rub off, and is even.

 

the longer I left in the darker it got, so I could do even a lighter red...weee..I am a happy camper

 

so you used RIT dye in the end...? How'd you do it?

 

I basically put a piece of wire on the end and dipped it in boiling rit dye till it was the color I wanted....I am planning to buy a couple of OD SO dolls and trying the whole doll....and this is going to work for my siamese cat I am doing, I have been airbrushing the parts but wasn't happy with it because they still chip...now they won't...hehehehee!!!

 

Okay, so I've looked around and saw that RIT dye and V color was used on dolls to color them, but whenever I saw the finished product...the color outcome seemed really thick to me...I want to dye my future Yder doll a nice jadish green color (lol, the reason why I'm asking this is so that maybe when I get my doll, the process of zombifying him will almost be immediate once I get the knowledge of doing this)


on the left
This is a photomanip I did for what I pretty much wanted. So...can I make that transculent green color? Is it possible?

If I do so, should I order the doll w/o a faceup or can I have a faceup and cover it with the dye or paint and still be okay?

Do line stitches look okay? or should I actually 3-dimensionalize his stitches???

 

I´ve been looking into this because I´m planning to dye a doll too and as far as I remember the intensity of the color depends on how long you keep the resin in the dye. So if you don´t immerse the resin parts in the dye as long, you might be able to get that lighter green color you want.

Maybe you can also work with a thinner solution (more water) for the dye. I´d experiment using the headcap - so the worst you can end up with is a dyed headcap that will go under a wig anyway.

I´m not sure about dyeing over the face-up since paint and coat might cause the dye to take differently to the head than to the other parts, also it might change the colors of the face-up in a way you might not want.
Unless you don´t mind that (after all, a zombie´s decaying skin does not necessarily need to have an all-even tone), I´d order the doll without face-up and dye it first, then apply the face-up.

 

Actually Urethane Resin is a thermoset plastic not thermoplastic. Only Thermplastics can melt. Thermosets only burn after their initial molding process. It can't burn in Water, so I say try it and if it works. I may just make my little demon drow. I am sick of waiting for Wishel to come out with their black skin dolls.

 

my cat is a DZ body and Mau head..I modified the Mau a little and gave it more of a realistic nose bridge...and using apoxie sculpt I am not sure if it will take the dye, so i will have to airbrush that part...

 

when i dyed the hand it did make the fingers pliable..so I will have to watch the small fingers and feet and ears on such a small doll..they may mush a little. so will have to dip quickly until its the color i want..oohh can't wait...

 

lol i am in the process of doing a red doll tooz but i use acrylic paint :P

 

What Saiko said is correct.

I saw a post about someone dying her doll and they accidently left one part in the dye a little bit longer (s/he waited until it was the color s/he wanted) and since it kept dying her doll that part came out darker.

So you also want to look into how long should you leave the parts in the solution.

 

I'd suggest airbrushing too, with a dual-action airbrush, because it will allow you to control the coverage and intensity of the color. Also, if you make a mistake you can wipe it off real quick with water as long as it's not entirely dry yet.

As far as the faceup, I would do that after you color the doll green. I think it would look really strange underneath the paint, and who knows how the colors might react.

The stitches... a matter of taste I'd say! You could try painting them first, maybe with a little shading to them to make them look more 3-d. If you are not happy with it, use Milliput or Super Sculpey to model them on.

Hope my two cents helped!

 

Hm, I don't see why it wouldn't be possible to do several dips of your doll, each only a few minutes until you get the colour you want. It works with eggs, and while I realize that there is a big difference between them and resin, the principal should be the same.
Also, If you aren't already thinking of it, I would recogmend getting a BW doll to begin with, because the pink of a normal skin would doom that lovely green before you even started.

 

I dyed a hand to experiment, and on the first dipping it was very light pale red..I just kept dipping until it was the color I wanted..

I think if only dipped once or twice it would be more transluecent...and of course more water would make it paler IMHO

 

well got my new OD So-Ji body today and tried dying it...and it worked out pretty well..except what I thought would happen did...the hands are tied on with fish line and one of them loosened up and the hand came off....and because I had to get it out of the pot I was using to dip, I had to pour most of my dye down the drain to get it.. ..so now I have to get more dye and redip..
the legs and feet are the right color but the body is a fraction lighter, and where the joints are have little spots of white...
so I will get some more tomorrow and continue..
I should only have to dip the head and body a little bit to get it to match and the arms I going to do in pieces as thats how they are right now, the I will restring them...not sure I will use fishline or wire for the hands, might use tinier elastic for the hands....

on with the experiment..but so far so good...must get to working on my cat...

 

what might be easier in the end ( how i dye my 27cm dolls ) is using a large metal strainer...and a huge soup pot... you can bend the handle of the strainer to a 45 degree angle so as to leave the parts in the dye and not worry about loosing them while you are dyeing... ( it works kind of like a deep frier... the whole handle sticking out of the solution thing... )

i cant wait to see the final results!

 

Ooh, you could do scars like Arkady did. They look 3-D
http://denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40225
Susan

 

I finally dyed my doll and it came out quite well..I need to take a pic of him with his new eyes, the color is alot darker red than the pic shows, my lighting made him a little orange.

 

Hi. I haven't gotten a doll yet (or even ordered one for that matter) but I'm interested in the orient doll's joong types. I wanted to make a viera, like from Final Fantasy 12, and I was wondering about dyeing these dolls. Would it be better to get the snow skin or the plain skin, and with or without the face make up? Thanks, sorry if this is a n00b question.

 

A white base is always the easiest to dye for anything, so I guess I'd go for the palest I could if I wanted to dye my doll.

 

I dyed a doll red...I used RIT dye.. it can be tricky..if you have sanded the seams they will dye a bit darker than the rest of the body. Don't seal before, and don't sand too roughly after as the dye doesn't seep far into the resin..so it will turn the natural color again..do seal after when you are done with faceup etc.
It is not an exact science..I am thinking of doing another doll with a body I bought and can't use..but anyway...you have to boil the dye, and dip until it is the desired color.any drippings have to be wiped away quickly..its a very messy thing to do too...hope you don't mind cleaning up your stove after..lol..
I ended up with red hands for a couple of days..luckily I was on my vacation.
when I did Horny I didn't unstring him as he is a tiny..but for larger dolls like my dollzone mod Siam the siamese i did unstring..and did piece by piece.
buy at least two boxes of dye in case you need more...
here are mine:

 

any craft store with have dye around their fabric section, or if you live near a hobby lobby or michael's they are with the aisle for customizing tshirts

 

Also you can get Rit at Mart of Walls or other stores like it, you find it usually living in the section where the laundry detergent and fabric softener are.

 

Oh, I dyed two dolls with RIT (varying success) & bought mine on Ebay for 99C a box.

Check Ebay!

They don't sell the stuff in my country, so that made me happy.

However, I've had good & bad results with dyeing.

I've dyed two resin heads (both CP) successfully, but had trouble with bodies.

My DD1 body would not all dye the same colour, as it is made of different materials.

My DollZone resin body would not dye evenly, or go the same colour as my CP head, but became a pastel shade, with areas between the finger *& toe bones where no dye would stick, as well as other odd points like the hollow of the throat & around the breasts.

I do not know quite why this is. A friend suggested that the stuff used to release the doll-parts from their mold when casting might have been oil-based, & seeped into the resin, blocking the dye. I washed the doll before dyeing, but that has not helped.

I now have to airbrush a big resin body, which is not something I wanted to do!

Search for posts by me in this forum for lots of pics of my dyeing experiments.

Lucy

 

Dyeing anything is hit & miss, & not that easy.

It depends what colour you want to dye it.

If it goes too dark, will it be a disaster?

Are you trying for an exact shade?

You'll need a big spoon with holes in, like the kind you use to drain spaghetti, in my experience, & a big pyrex dish, deep enough to fit a nice layer of doll-parts.

It's vital to get the mixture good & hot before you start, & you'll need a bit of resin that doesn't show much to start off with. I use a pyrex dish, because you can warm the mixture (just the mixture: no doll-parts in it!) in the microwave if it gets too cool.

I have it so hot that I can just comfortably stir it with a thickly-gloved hand. I mix boiling water in to get this kind of temperature, & keep a jug of cold water, & a freshly-boiled kettle nearby.

Mix the dye in carefully, as grainy, undissolved dye will leave spots on the doll.

First, put in your test-piece, on the slotted spoon, & keep fishing it out to check the colour. Rinse it off now & then to see what the colour is like more clearly. Try to remember how long it took to get it to the colour you want. I do this with a neck-piece, as you'll never see that. If you have no choice but to use a visible part, I'd suggest a foot.

Now, after making sure the mixture is hot again, put in all your pieces. You'll need to turn & stir & check, or they may get darker stains from where they touch the bottom of the container.

Wear dark clothing & put down newspaper!

Be prepared to blush extensively or airbrush if it goes wrong! Do not fly into a rage, sulk, then impulse-buy another body, like I did a few weeks ago!

Good luck!

Lucy

 

Your going to laugh but actually go look up my little pony customizers. they dye the ponys all the time with rit dye. I wish I had a link but check out a place called mlp arena lots of helpful folk there.

 

Yup, the colour you probably need is just called 'Tan'.

Like the colour in this auction:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-RIT-FABRIC-...ryZ28129QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Lucy (dunno if it's cheaper for you to buy in the shops)

 

You could add a little coca brown: that's a very red-brown colour (did you see my brown-dyed girl?) for a richer colour...

Lucy

 

Would dying work on dolls made out of air dry clay as well?

 

Most air dry clays are water soluble, so you'd run the risk of your doll dissolving. :S Better to use an air brush to paint it all one color in that case.

 

I have a photo tutorial on BJD_WTF on how I dyed my girl green.

 

From me experimenting with black RIT dye(on stovetop) with kid delf beauty white hands.

One step closer to my drow doll.