Aesthetics Face up and Body Blushing for Dream Valley Bora

I'm sorry about your sealant issues I haven't done body blush myself but I have heard the sticking paint in the joints is why some artists prefer to blush unstrung. Maybe sealing in thinner layers and giving each one lots of time to dry would help?
But I adore your design, your Bora looks so cute and precious. I especially love the face, so adorable with lots of personality. You did a lovely work

 

Your Bora turned out very cute despite the sealant difficulties! The shiny layer looks very appropriate for the creature

A few tips as I also use Liquitex matte varnish - it can get quite thick and it takes a while to fully dry so for a body paint with lots of joints you'll indeed want to unstring and do the pieces separately next time. It takes ca 24h to fully dry but will be quite durable after that. I normally use a brush to get into smaller crevices and dab over with a makeup sponge to make the layer thinner - using a makeup sponge is quite crucial as it makes the texture much finer than a normal sponge is able to. If you're painting with acrylics anyway, you don't really need to seal between the layers as long as the paint is dry before you paint the next layer, this will also lessen the sealant buildup and create less problems of pieces possibly sticking together.

 

You know what those colours may be bold and, as you said, cartoonish but it really works with this sculpt. He’s a cutie!
You did incredibly well for a first time especially as you used acrylics which dry faster than you would like and tend to be bomb proof once they do. I loathe acrylics personally, never could use them and always feel like I’m fighting a battle with them on the odd occasion I try so I have a lot of admiration for anyone who paints with acrylics!

Every new type of surface you paint or draw on is going to throw up challenges, yes there will be skills you already have that translate well but there will also be some that don’t, mistakes will be made and learned from, it’s part of the process.


Have you any idea what to call this little smiling jewel?

 

I LOVE the colors!! The face is absolutely adorable and has so much character to it, I'm obsessed!

Seconding cobaltconduct, if you sponge it on with a triangular white makeup sponge, it goes on super well, and on human dolls, can even mimic a bit of a natural human facial texture! I usually let mine dry 15 min per coat, and you definitely get more used to it the more you use it! Roughly, if you use pastels, you will notice using a liquitex sponged on coat, it will build up slower color wise (with just paint, you will not run into that problem really! Be careful with watercolor though, it WILL smear if you are not super careful), which can be really beneficial if you're trying to do a more subtle human face/build up colors in a more subtle manner. Usually, one coat of MSC = 2-3 coats of liquitex sponged on in terms of consistency/pigment build up! As for with the joints, you CAN sponge the liquitex on when the doll is assembled, I have done full body blushing using it, but the layers were MUCH thinner and I flexed the joints after each coat dried. It is much easier to do it disassembled, but I would definitely aim for thinner coats of sealant and you will run into way less issues!

 

To give the best tips I have learned w a year or two of using this sealant method:

• Pour a small amount out on a plastic palette, make SURE to shake the bottle well (if you don't shake enough when you've had the bottle a bit, it will dry shiny and it will be better to wipe the faceup than keep going (although, if you get a couple good matte layers on, it will be passable, just more of a sheen to the resin than usual) If you get a bigger bottle, it will last super long and is super worth it. If you don't use it all, you can just peel it off of the palette and reuse that area next time.
• Using makeup sponges is the way to go, if the sealant dries and makes the edge of the sponge hard, you'll want to cut off the tip that is hardened. I usually cut the sponges in half vertically where the seam is, so you get a larger shape and a smaller wedge shape. This helps them last longer
• If your sponge gets a bit of pastel on it, avoid using that area. It will spread the pastel all over the face. In general, with using this, you have to be more careful with the pigments than MSC (fair tradeoff for the low fumes and easy of use in any weather). What I heavily recommend is getting a large clean makeup brush (like the kind you would use to apply blush, in general you can get a lot of mileage out of dollar tree makeup brushes for pastels) and sweep it over the face after applying pastels to make sure it gets any excess powder off. Always ALWAYS check your sponge for pastel (or watercolor paint, which I'll get to tips in a minute on that) before sponging the face
• Do not put too much on the sponge, but if you do, dabbing quick with the sponge around the area you're working on will spread it out
• If you get dust, debris, hair, etc in there, keep tweezers nearby and pick it out. If you don't catch it in time, you can totally work it into the faceup by way of moles, scars, or anything else that could cover it up. I would heavily recommend dusting off the area you are pouring the sealant in and checking the sponge once you have dipped it in the sealant to remove any dust, lint, hair, cat fur or whatever could be on there before dabbing the face
• As for paint, it plays very nicely with acrylic, just make sure it is fully dried (obviously) or it could reactivate. With watercolor, tread carefully. If you're using pencils (for things like brows, eyelashes, lip lines), it more than likely will smudge a bit. If you are using the pans or regular watercolor, you need to be much more careful. I had an entire faceup go awry because I used purple watercolor on the lipstick and it smeared over the face due to the sealant reactivating it. The best way I have found to work around this is by using a makeup mindset with it, and use some white pastel to cover the area VERY thoroughly, and the sealant will usually only pick up on the pastel and not the color underneath. Use acrylic whenever you can, but the powder does work a decent amount of the time.
• Use the fact that it builds up color slower to your advantage, you can get some really nice work done on paler resin this way
• You can really work in areas a lot better with this sealant method as well, due to how the layers work. Usually, I struggle with getting the brows right, so I try to get that done first, seal the entire face (which goes by much faster due to the fact that it's less drying time) and move onto the next thing, but with how quick the layers work, you can kind of work in small sections which is really helpful when you're getting used to it
• It isn't sensitive to temperature or humidity at all, which is VERY very helpful. It works really very similarly to MSC in terms of texture, other than with using the makeup sponge, you have more texture on your dolls face. I know I've heard of some people on here using an airbrush with it, but the sponge is what I have experience with.
• It works on vinyl dolls as well! I've had great results on my Dollfie Dream and obitsu heads with this sealant. It just feels odd to sponge on with the head being more squishy.
• It comes off completely ok with using Windsor and Newton brush cleaner (at least the older formula, they did change it somewhat recently) and I have had no issues with staining (and that is coming from someone who does very vivid faceups and dark colors).

I really hope this helps for the future! It's a method I feel should definitely be used more, as it really is a bit safer for your lungs and easier to use! These two videos are also really good if you are more of a visual learner with it, and you're free to ask me any questions if you have any! I'm super excited to see where you go next faceup wise, I love how vivid and bright your style is

 

I have been using Mungyo for a while because they are inexpensive (I think mine were about 10 dollars for a big set ordered online) and work well, but I know many people do more expensive brands that are more pigmented! It just has a very wide range of colors that personally works better for me, and I have had the same set for years and am nowhere near being done with it! I would definitely check online and look at other doll customizers to see what they use!

The watercolor pencils definitely last a bit better with the sealant than the paint from my experience, but I usually try to save the lip lines with the pencils till the end, so if the lines blur, it isn't getting everywhere! Keeping them sharp is the key to getting them to play nicely with the sealant and getting nice clean lines! Moving quick with applying the sealant on areas with the watercolor pencil details also helps a bit, as it smudges the lines slightly less (although definitely, with something like lip lines or eyelashes, be prepared to have to do touchups on a few layers of sealant, as I have never had it not remove or smudge at least some. If you catch it quick enough though, you can go in with a bit of water if it smudges outside of the area. I usually keep a small piece of tissue nearby and a water dish so I can catch it quicker. This is MUCH easier with tiny detail areas, I've never really had issues with lip lines smudging all over the face, but big watercolor areas can be a bit stressful with that). I am so so excited to see what you do next! And how trying other materials helps give you new and interesting results! I'll also note, as this might be a fun thing to do next time with pastels, but you can use pastels on top of the acrylic paint on other layers to add slight color variation (with makeup brushes, you'll want to use one that is more for eyeshadow and is a looser/fluffy brush for this, as it won't pack color down as much as a eye crease brush), and same with watercolor paints! I've been working on a doll that has nearly the entire body painted different colors, and adding little skin details and slight color shifts with pastels really brings the painted areas to life

 

I had to learn this the hard way - the new formula of W&N brush cleaner will not remove Liquitex matte varnish. It comes off very well with acetone free nail polish remover for me, I'm sure isopropyl alcohol and other alternatives also work, but the new W&N is useless for removing faceups unfortunately


Also re: sponges picking up pigment and staining - the dirty bits can always be cut off with darker pastels, the sponge will pick up some pigment no matter what you do so I always remove the dirty bit after sealing such work to avoid transfers (and to avoid tossing the whole sponge). Watercolour transfers or stains can be avoided when mixing paint with acrylic thinner, so it dries waterproof, but the paint can't be removed with water after that of course.

 

Seconding the cutting off the parts of the sponge! You can even use the clean sections of the part you cut off to clean up any mistakes if there are any! I had NO idea you could use acrylic thinner to avoid that, that is super super helpful to know!

 

oh, how cute cute cute. there is a very david hockney esque joy in colour to your work.