Faceups Paints for Face-ups

I'm ordering my doll in two weeks ((DZ Shoyo *squee*)), when I'll have enough money saved combined with my little sister's for us each to get a doll, wig, eyes, exct. We decided that we wanna do our own faceups.

I know we need to get some form of something-or-another that I forget the name of that she knows the name of to put on before the face-up so that the paint is removable later. She said we can get it at the craftstore.

So we still need to buy paint for the face-up. I know Volks sells paint, but will any paint work or does it have to be special paint?

 

Well, let me lend you my limited knowledge
You can paint you doll's face with water-based paints, like acrylics, watercolor, aquarel pencils. For blushing you can use pastels. Any kind would do, but remember, the better quality, the better result. So you might want to attack an art store.
And be sure to coat the face with 'something-or-another' (MSC, Testors or Citadel) before and after, too. and maybe between layers of painting, so you won't damage your previous work...
Oh, and if you are already at an art store - get the smallest, finest brush you can! It makes eyelash- and eyebrow-painting much easier!

There are some very useful threads about paints, coatings, techniques, but I'm too tired to search them up. Look through "Painting, Customizing and Esthetics" and you will surely find many great tips

 

Yeah, I've already got some really good brushes that one of my aunts got me ^^ Plus my dead grandma had a bunch of pastels so I'm gonna just run off with those for now XD

I'm probably gonna go for MSC. I've been reading around and heard that that's better than Testors (which is what my little sister said we were planning on going with before).

Thanks a bunch! ^^ I'll have to go beg my cousin to let me borrow his acrylics now hehe :3

 

It seems that people are split over MSC and Testors. Depends which is more available to you, and which is worth your while.

One important thing you MUST remember is NO OILS.

I don't know much either, but I can say: No oil anything.

It can be your mantra.

Oh, and be careful with acetone too. ^.^

 

....This is a Great Tutorial! Thanks to all who have Contributed.

I am Making a List of Supplies to Look for.
I wonder if Anyone has a List of Good Basic Colors To Start With For Acrylics, Water Color Pencils & Pastel Chalks (didnt see it mentioned)

TIA!....

 

Acrylics: Liqiudtex, any decent craft paint over two dollars.

Basic colors for lips, a pale portrait pink, a warm red like cadmium red and titanium white, a lavender or lemon yellow. (try and mix colors see what you get.) Purples will darken the red and pink. Yellow or white can lighten the red and pink. Depends on the colors you want for your lovely BJD. Even a light brown if you want something in natural tones.

For around the eye (eyeliner, painted lashes) area, sepia, brunt umber and a ivory or lamp black.

Chalk pastels: Nupastels by prismacolor or Da Vinci? I use Nupastels they work fine and aren't terribly expensive. I think I have the 24 set? It is a decent set it has all primary colors as well as some flesh toned pastels.

I use Prismacolor Watercolor pencils, they have a cheap starter set that has the usual colors you could also get a brown for nice easy lashes.

I hope I helped. Mixing with acrylics is important, if you use colors straight from the bottle/tube they tend to be flat. And water it down till you get something you can handle.

I'll stop babbling now GOOD LUCK! ^_________^

 

dont water down with water its ruins the quality of the paint, use a retarder instead, keeps the nice colour and is fine and easy to work with.

 

You can use the pencils for lashes and also for eyebrows if you want. I did that with my Kohaku for his last faceup but today I redid his brows with the paint instead. Not sure which I like better yet.

 

Okay, so I've done a little digging in my art supplies to see if I would need to actually buy acrylic paint, because it would be pretty pointless if I already had some...
Are there any no-no's in acrylics? Or can I just use any acrylic paints?
I have, DecoArt Crafter's Acrylic "Acrylic Paint"
And the back says, "Fast drying. Waterbased. Permanent."
"Use in general arts and crafts, stenciling, ceramics, school projects, home decorating and for decoraive painting. All craft surfaces. Shake well. Intermixable, water cleanup. Conforms to ASTM-D4236."
Help please?
I don't want to stain or ruin my beauty's resin.

 

They won't stain your doll. They're safe.

 

go liquitex! i loves that stuff!

 

I second alexiell - Liquitex is the best! Very fluid, not like some acrylics from a tube which can be quite stiff and hard to work with and need all kinds of thinners and mediums. You can easily find Liquitex acrylics on Ebay.

 

I also want to learn to paint with acrylics. I want to learn on an Obitsu head, though. It won't stain the resin, but what about Vinyl?

 

What you have is fine, Just get some Liquitex Slo-Dri Fluid Retarder. It will make your paint flow smoother and slow the drying time.

acrylics are fine on vinyl too. Just be sure to seal your heads after you paint. Acrylics will rub off if you don't seal.

 

I highly recommend against using the craft acrylics in the bottles. Those paints are not intended for fine art use, and are generally poorly mixed (chemically) and granular (read: chunky). Invest in artist quality acrylics- like Liquitex Medium Viscosity- and they will go on smoother, thin easier, and last a lot longer. You really only need 4-5 colours: titanium white, cadmium red, yellow, blue and maybe a brown. The blue + brown will make an almost black colour that is far more natural than actual black paint. You can also buy the Liquitex-brand thinners, lengtheners and sealers- it's always safer to stick with the same brand materials to avoid interactions. Any colour can stain the polyresin or vinyl, it just depends on the concentration and quality. Deep reds are the worst culprits. If you coat your BJD head with MSC first you should be fine. With the vinyl heads, try to wipe it off in the first half-hour if you change your mind so you won't have to use acetone or paint-stripper; with continued use the acetone breaks down the surface of the vinyl and it won't "take" the paint as well.

And get a tiny brush! I don't recommend anything larger than 10/0 for BJD heads: 15/0, 18/0 or 30/0 are ideal for fine details like eyebrows and lashes.

 

I came to this thread to ask the exact same questions that were just asked. I read this thread a few days ago. I wanted to know what basic colors to buy and what to use the watercolor pencils for. You guys are great. I'm going this weekend to pick up my watercolor pencils. I tried using acrylics, but I'm just not getting the color and effect I wanted.

sewaddictd - My Michael's carries the Liquitex, a very good selection of it, actually, but my Joann's doesn't carry it. Go figure.

I haven't been able to find the acrylic retarder though, but there are a few more places for me to check.

 

This is 30% question 90% helpful. ^_~

List of things you'll need/might want for a face up.
1. Mr. Super clean(UV cut flat)/Testors
2. Thin brushes (20/0 and 10/0)
3. Brush cleaner
4. Thinner
5. Colored pencils, water colored pencils.
6. Acrylic paints
7. Non
8. pastels
9. acrylic retarder
10. 100% pure acetone.​

Anything I'm missing here?

 

Oh Okay I want know why knind of panit or eles do you use to do lips and cheeks?

 

I got the paint sets from Volks but I also use Rembrant (spelling) pastels.

 

I want to open help sleeping eyes so how can I do that? What do I need? This will also be my first face up and body blushing so what else do I need besides chalk pastels, make-up brushes, and a sealant? What can I put on the lips and nails to make them glossy? I wanted to use maybe acrylic paint sealer and paints for the nails. I want to make my own wig. Oh yea, chalk pastels are the right ones to use right?

 

Ok, I'm almost there with things I need. I just need a little more help
I've got the right kinda pastels (non oil based) and brushes to use them with, I've got Magic Sponge stuff to clean off mistakes, I'm waiting for the group order of MSC to go through so I can get that and I've got gloss. So the only thing I need to know about is Acrylics.
I've heard of these Soft Body Liquitex/Liquitix Acrylics but I'm not sure if you can get them in the UK, so does anyone out there know any Acrylic paints I can use that I can buy from HobbyCraft or other shops like that.
Your time and help is much appreciated

 

in all honestly you could really use any kind of acrylics as long as you thin them out with either water or thinner, till their loose and creamy. I think most acrylic companies make a soft body. So look around! Good luck everyone!

 

I've heard of people using this:
- Schmincke acrylics
- Lascaux water based acrylic transparent varnish

I took it from somebody's supply list for reference xD
I don't know f you can get it in Europe, though.

 

most axrylics are fine just mack shure the head is properlly sealed with MSC .Thin them down witht water or a flow enhancer,
Im in the uk as well and i just use the daler~Rowney system 3 acrylics and i think you can fined them pritey much evrrey where

 

Many people use Liquitex, you can also use Winsor and Newton. I think you will find these brands on many hobby shops, so dont worry! I bought W&N because they were avalible in smaller tubes.

 

Please do not use cheap acrylics ='( I know you CAN use them and lots of people do end up using them because they're CHEAP. But also keep in mind that the quality is cheap as well...and if you want your face-ups looking top notch I suggest investing in some good acrylics ^_^. Personally, I use Winsor and Newton, they have awesome quality! You could also use thinner to make the paint flow smoothly(yay! no clumps) and not dry as fast when you're painting. I hope you got some good brushes my first face-up was a disaster...the paint brushes kept shedding fibers all over the face-up I was working so hard on.
Well, that's pretty much it =D good luck to you!
P.S. Liquitex has great quality too! I reccommend those as well.

 

i swear to everything winsor and newton XD ive used them in actual art projects and i find theyre good quality. so im applying the same to my dolls ^^

 

Well I'll be on the lookout for Liquitex and Winsor & Newton
And how should I look for thinner? Has it got a proper name? Or is water ok to use... how thin should the paint be?

 

Please don't use water . I did this in way back when I customised Barbies and trust me, it just flakes off. All acrylic brands make a thinner that's suitable use just need to look around.
As for acrylics I like Mr color and Tamiya. They don't need a lot of thinning out like tube ones do. You can get them on ebay very cheaply

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TAMIYA-Mr-COL...oryZ1189QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

I hope this helps

 

I tried Liquitex Basics and loathed it. The pigment load wasn't heavy enough for the kinds of things I wanted to do, resulting in very streaky, faint lines even when thinned with acrylic medium.

- Mel

 

Medium? There are different types of medium
This is so much more complicated than I thought...

 

I only use Tamiya, maybe a few others that don't require much thinning.

 

Yeah, I'm a little confused about thinning

 

am i right in thinking retarder can act as a thinner?

 

Lets see if I can clear things up a little Acrylic retarder and mediums slow down the rate that acrylic dries up, allowing more time for colour mixing and correcting mistakes. Thinners are used to...well.....thin out the paint. The ideal consistency is quite inky. Not water thin, not gloopy thick.
Hope this helps

 

Thankyou I guess I'll just have to experiment with the viscosity on something before i try it on resin (I don't know if viscosity is the right word)

 

I found when using acrylics definitely don't thin with only plain water either use a bit of thinner specifically sold for acrylics or medium. Adding retarder helps keep it from drying too quickly.

I find the good consistency to paint with looks a bit like fountain pen ink it's homogenous in color but nearly water like. I practice strokes on a paper palette to see that the brush paints cleanly not gloppy. As suggested before definitely invest in good brushes.

on the question of medium yes there's different types there's glossy and matte.

 

glossy and matte? I mean I know what each word means but... do you add it to acrylics to get a different finish?

 

If you use it to thin your acrylics it does affect the finish. I sometimes mix a bit of ground chalk pastel with acrylic medium and use it like paint. But you haveto make sure the chalk isground finely enough or you get spotty color

 

AreeElf: Thanks for the tip So is the acrylic paint labelled thick, medium, thin? Or something like that?

 

No, the paints themselves come in matte. Glossy or matte are the terms used for the finish, i.e. the sealers you use over the actual faceup when you're finished. For example, you might want to use a tiny bit of glossy or supergloss on the eyes (if you're not using glass/acrylic eyes, that is), and matte on the rest of the body, so like natural skin it doesn't shine.

Another coloring tip: get yourself some good ol' colored chalks, and use them as well. When you're finished w/the acrylic, grind or scrape up some chalk real fine, and then use a brush to put it on. It adds delicate color tints, depending on how heavily you apply it.

Also - you can use watercolors, like Prismacolor watercolor pencils - did you know that? And they produce a really nice, delicate wash of color that is easily blended at the edges w/your finger or a brush or thinned w/a sparse wash of water. Of course, you have to seal it afterwards, but it gives a nice result as well.

You might want to hie yourself to the local Goodwill or charity store outlet & get hold of an old vinyl doll, & use that to experiment before taking your paints to the actual object of your artistic aims. That way you get a feel for what does what, how it handles, and whether you prefer the look of, say, pure acrylics to watercolor or pastel/chalks.

 

Also keep in mind acrylics come in three levels of transparency. If you use any kind of thinner on something translucent or transparent, you'll get streaks. If you look on the back of the bottle/tube, it will tell you if the paint is opaque or not.

You can use most kinds of acrylics found in art stores meant for actual painting. Avoid $2 craft store paint.

 

I agree, I use Liquitex and it's pretty good. Some people recomend Golden because it is a professional brand but it's expensive and difficult to find. If you live in US you can buy it in some Michaels but not all of the carry the brand. Windsor and Newton is everywhere so it would be easier for you to find it. Good luck!

 

Aggity: So if I'm using thinner (is that a necessity?) I have to make sure I buy opaque acrylic to avoid streaks
Sharonpixie: Thanks I'm gunna need it

 

Has anyone tried Jo Sonja's acrylics on doll people? I used to do hand painted furniture and suchlike so I have tons of them. Some of the colours are tremendous and the irridescent ones are lovely. I have no doll person of my own , but my daughter has a disembodied head person with no face up yet and my painter's fingers are beginning to itch......

 

Naughtyfaerie: Scratch that itch and tell us how it goes

 

I shall have to render the daughter unconscious first, a bit like the A-Team trying to get Mr.T on a plane. And wait for the arrival of my MSC. She thought it was cute when I first started showing an interest, ha ha ha (Evil cackle).

The more I think about it the more I think these acrylics could work. They're quite a flowy consistency but you get good coverage with the colours, the idea being you don't want big ugly ridges in the middle of your table. Likewise with your head persons. And they do groovy mediums (flow medium for thinning, fabric medium, crackle medium and so on) so you can paint on all kinds of things if you mix them with the right stuff.

 

Golden is another artist quality brand, but I can't remember if I saw it when I lived in England. You can keep your eye open for Lukas, they are good too. Hope those help.

 

Cheers for that. I do hope these work as if I have to buy any more acrylics I shall have to build an extension on the house to fit them in
Jo Sonja's used to do wee 20ml tubes of some colours, much cheaper than buying big ones if you're just doing faces and using small quantities.

 

I think my brain just imploded

Things Ill need:
Cloth (for brain matter)
Watercolour pencils
MSC (on the way home in Jan)
Liquitex acrylics
Brushes
Thinner of somesort
Gloss

I assume Ive missed something somewhere?

 

I think it's just a case of finding what works for you personally. When I first started painting I bought a set of cheap brushes just in case I was crap at it. Turned out I was better than I expected, so I bought some expensive ones and couldn't do anything with them because I'd become accustomed to my cheap ones!
Liquitex do the most beautiful bronze colour, don't know how it would work on a doll but it turned out grand in my bathroom!
I am also hoping that being young in the 80's and spending a large part of my Friday/Saturday nights putting make up on young men who came out looking prettier than me will be helpful. I thought I'd finally escaped liquid eyeliner and the the daughter discovered these little fellows.

 

Gloss! Btw our hobbycraft don't sell liquitex but we do need to find some acrylics... make a list and go to hobbycraft
What's the Cloth for exactly?

 

Get it online! Hobbycraft costs a fortune anyway

The cloth is for brain matter...as stated...because my head imploded...joke didnt just bomb out

 

Speaking as someone who has spent money on things on someone else's reccomendation then been disappointed, some arty places sell little squirty bottles or pots with clip on lids. Maybe it would be an idea to chip in for tubes of colour and big bottles of medium and split them into little pots so you don't wind up with hods of something that doesn't work out if you don't like it?

Acrylic paint dries slower in the cold, if you need to put more than one coat on be sure the first is dry otherwise the new wet paint pulls up the damp layer underneath, which is really annoying because you have to start again. I always found it easier to cheat. Hairdryers are handy for this I have found, having said that I've never tried it on resin. You don't need to blast it for long when it's just a thin coat on a small area though. And don't dip anything that has been in water into a pot of acrylic paint. The bacteria in the water will eventually cause your pot of paint to go mouldy, even if you keep it in the fridge.

Hope that's of some help dudes.

 

Thanks a lot Naugthyfaerie I like the idea of using a hairdryer, are you sure it won't damage the resin? Should I put it on low heat?

 

As I said, never tried it on resin, but a low heat would be your best bet. It doesn't take much to dry a thin coat. Aside from making things quicker, it reduces the chances of foreign bodies sticking to your paint, in my house usually cat hair, occasionally a whole cat.
One more thing, something you may find useful. Get a piece of paper laminated and try making the strokes you need to do eyelashes, then you find out where to put pressure on and take it off before you touch your head person. I know it's different on the flat to on a 3d surface but at least it gives some idea of what's required AND you can wipe the laminated paper clean when you're done and do some more whenever you need to.

 

I recently signed up for a Chinese Brush Calligraphy art class and according to my professor the paints we're using in class are made from minerals and not chemicals. Does anyone know if they're safe to use on resin for face ups?

 

I always thought even though they are minerals, they are pretty much inks.
When ever I get the paint on my hands it ends up staining them.

I wouldn't really advise it for looks wise anyways, they're just too thin for really getting any details.

If you really want to use them you could try putting some sealer inside the head cap and painting a small dot and see if it stains.

 

Thing is, we don't know how it would react to resin.. Safest way is to just stick with acrylic. You can really get the same effect if you would use water to thin it out =) Just a thought.

 

Even minerals can stain. Badly. I've wrecked a ton of shirts with just Sumi ink (charcoal) and Iron oxide (basically liquid rust) as well as other mineral colorants like the copper oxides and cobalt.
I would second extensive testing on an unseen area like the headcap. Even if it doesn't stain, there's no telling if the colours would be stable over time, or if they would react somehow with the sealers you use. Safest just to go with the tried and tested acrylics and chalk pastels.