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Dyeing epoxy or dye first?

Nov 24, 2022

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    1. i have a grand project in mind but im being held up with concern over what order to take steps in! (all this keeping in mind that while i am fairly proficient artistically, i fall very short with color mixing physical pigments :'0 )

      i'd like to add horns and elven-style ears directly to the doll's head, but i also intend to dye him a light blue color. i -assume- i should be dyeing first and doing my additive modifications with epoxy clay afterwards as the clay will absorb way more of the color faster? am i right or should i go for the horns first?

      i also have white epoxy clay (milliput's white color) and could possibly tint it to match with pastel dust. is that worth it or should i just expect to blush or paint them to match? or are there better options for dyeing the clay?

      any advice about this or ancillary ideas is appreciated <3
       
      #1 Crimson-Catalyst, Nov 24, 2022
      Last edited: Nov 24, 2022
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    2. I'm in a similar boat and I decided to do the additive mods after since I know the dye will take differently. For a really light color, it seems like it'd be easier to blush or paint the mods to match, but I find it easier to match things when I'm trying to make them darker not lighter. If you wanted the horns to be darker, it could work in your favor to mod them first and then dye and gradually paint/ blush the parts you wanted lighter for a gradient effect too.
      I haven't tried coloring the clay with pastels, but i know with some clays you can also mix acrylic paint in to tint them. I think you'd probably still need to do some blushing to get a perfect match, but that could be a way to start!
       
      #2 quilleth, Nov 24, 2022
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    3. ChilmarkGryphon has a project journals for her sweet bobobie/resinsoul doll where she added epoxy horns & then spray painted everything for an even under color.
      That inspired my epoxy project where I used colored epoxy & discovered I could blend two colors plus add pearlx pigments to get the color I was going for. I mixed up all of the color, so it would be consistent then used small batches of it with the setting agent when I was ready to work.
      If you dye the doll & then add pigment to your epoxy to resemble the resulting color then blushing to match the finished parts should be simpler. But remember you may need to sand a bit to smooth out the attachment points & that may sand away your dye work... maybe save the dye bath in case you need to brush a bit over those spots towards the end? Just start out with a light touch, both with the dye baths & with mixing pigments as it's easier to add more than to undo too much. ;}
       
      #3 cthulhu, Nov 24, 2022
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    4. Mods first, dye after. The reason for that is that mods require A LOT of sanding, both to clean up the area around the mod and to properly smooth out the mod itself. Otherwise it will look lumpy and crusty :lol:
      If you dye first and then mod/sand later, you will sand off the dye with it. While dyeing does seep into the material to a certain degree, more than airbrushing and co. does, it still does not penetrate it fully.

      The clay will take the dye differently though, it tends to end up being darker/more saturated than resin. You can then buff it out with another light sanding, and by airbrushing/brushing it lighter.
       
      #4 Ara, Nov 24, 2022
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    5. i KNEW i was forgetting something!! ive been grinding my brain over this constantly wondering why i dont just jump in on the dye job and forgetting this is exactly why i was originally gonna do the additions first. thank you for jogging my memory!!

      how -much- darker do you figure it gets? i suppose the answer is "it depends" but it's worth asking anyway. i had a hard time finding any photo examples; if its not egregious i can just suck it up and blush/airbrush it later... the hunt did turn up the idea of using masking fluid and the like (and impeccable timing) to dye the modifications a passably similar color; perhaps i'll test that - though honestly id be more afraid of creating seam lines if i miss slightly with the mask.

      thankfully he's intended to be a fairly light color, at least, but im not certain that'll save me enough color leeway haha.


      my biggest trouble is that this little guy is the same blue all over, horns included. (old art but here he is) practically speaking im sure there'd be benefit to blushing his horns darker at the tips for visual depth, but at least where they meet his forehead id like them to be the same color - and therein lies the problem haha, since like you said going darker with pigment is Wayyyy easier than lighter.

      per Ara's point above though, since the horns are going Directly onto his forehead and are meant to have a very smooth transition, sanding removing the color may be my limiting factor more than my personal desire for ease of blushing....


      ngl im the most hesitant about having to blush things to match for two reasons - one, i dont have the supplies (and id rather not buy an air compressor and kit for one single airbrush job), and the maintenance aspect of something like spraypaint specifically since it chips and whatnot. i'm going to have to do it regardless but i dont LIKE it lmaoo so the more durable and permanent the better!

      i 100% forgot about sanding lol :') like i said above i might stick to mods first, dye second if only to prevent removing the dye (since the whole point is for it to be very permanent!) but is what you mention viable? :0 adding dyebath to only certain portions of the resin/etc?? if im not mistaken, it needs to be in hot water, in contact for a decent amount of time, and it acts additively, so would it run the risk of drip marks or waterstain-like overlap if it was spot-applied? it'd be a game-changer if it does work this way without complications ngl



      also thank you all for your feedback!!!! this gave me a lot of thoughts to chew on <3
       
      #5 Crimson-Catalyst, Nov 24, 2022
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    6. No problem, glad to help:lol:
      Also it depends how much the color changes, based on the color of the putty. If it's gray it's darker of course, but overall the color should be a bit more saturated even with white putty.

      You should check out Mis Mantis Instagram, she did a lot of mods and dye jobs. This here was made with gray apoxie dyed red: Mis on Instagram: "Quickly dropping off this low-light picture of a fresh dye job. The apoxie took the dye way better than expected, I was worried the contrast would be huge but it's quite good! He will get gradients tomorrow. . #bjd #balljointeddoll #doll #abjd #dollstagram #dolls #bjdphotography #legitbjd #lillycat #cerisedolls #lyse #dyedbjd"

      I think doing the mod with white putty, dyeing and then lightly sanding the horns should get you to a "as close as possible" match between modded vs unmodded. You can also carefully wipe with alcohol, but that has the risk of getting it onto other parts of the head.

      And yeah you usually need boiling to really make it work. Of course some stainage (tbh that's all it is, we stain the dolls all over) is possible even when it's cold but it's not as stable/deep.
       
      #6 Ara, Nov 25, 2022
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