Baby Magic Nursery

Tutorial

Welcome to my tutorial, where my aim is to be able to help and guide you and share my knowledge of this wonderful art form.

Disclaimer

Please remember that each artists technique will differ and there are many methods.  The following method is my method, which may or may not be better or worse than any other artist's technique.  Please be aware that some of the products used may have toxic effects on some people and you are advised to proceed at your own risk.   Baby magic Nursery will not take responsibility for any adverse effects.

Once you have your desired doll sculpt, it needs to be thoroughly washed to remove any factory residues and then left to dry.  I have used an Ariella sculpt.  Please remember that different doll sculpts may achieve differing results, due to the type and colour of the vinyl.  If you are opening the nostrils, now would be a good time to do this.

You will need the genesis heat set paints as shown above. a ceramic or glass dish, and some sponges.

You will also need a selection of good quality paint brushes and some odourless thinners.  Please remember that that you will be using a solvent based product and as such you should ensure you work in a well ventilated area, and use extreme caution with hazardous materials.  People with sensitive skin may wish to use gloves to protect their hands.

Other Items you will need will be, an oven timer and temperature gauge. It is extremely important to use the correct temperature. If the oven is not the right temp.  If your temperature is too low your paint won't cure and it will come off.  To high and you will melt the vinyl.

Oven Temp's

Oven temps vary  as so as a guide this is an approximation of what you need to set your oven to.

Please check to see if you are using Fahrenheit or Celsius.... It will make a difference.

Veining

I use a mix of my ultramarine blue and pthalo green and a small amount of the thinner to mix a teal blue.

I take my finest liner brush and paint the veins on.  The blue colours sink in so you will need to work quickly

I then take a sponge and blend it in, slightly feathering away at the ends.

The above photo, shows it blended.  It looks feint but it is there.

Undertones

At the same time as I do veins, I like to do undertones. For this mix a little bit of blue and white with the thinners.

Paint it across the bridge of the nose and in all the places where the babies skin tends to be a bit thinner.

A little above the eyes, around the nose, behind the ears, back of knees and inside the wrists.

The next photo shows it once it is really blended in.

The next step is to cure the paints by baking.  I lay my pieces on a clean tray lined with a clean tea cloth and kitchen paper. and ensure the pieces are not touching.  Each time you paint a layer you should cure the paint.  Failure to do so may result in causing your earlier layers to mess up. Set your timer and  Bake/cure for 8 minutes, the test the paint with a dampened cotton bud.  If the paint comes off, return to the oven for another minute or two and test again.  

You must allow each layer to cool naturally before you try to add the next layer.

The photo below shows the head after it has been cured with and with the veins and undertones

Now for the base coat.  You can give as many coats as you like, there is no hard or fast rules to this as it will all depend on the sculpt. all I would say is that your paint must remain as watery and translucent as possible,  Here I have used a little flesh 08 and Titanium white with the odourless thinner.  Ensure your paint is very watery and translucent, or you will end up with a chalky mess.

Take your sponge and pounce all over, keep pouncing and blending until you are sure you have everything covered.  If you have any paint collecting in the creases, blend this in with one of your mop or fan brushes.  Allow the paint to flash of, by that I mean until the sheen of the paint has gone and then you can Bake/cure 

When I am happy with my base coat, I like to add some yellow to the mixture.  You can see i still have some flesh and white in the dish, just add a dash more of the thinners and blend to a watery mix.

I like to apply my paint to the sponge with a brush and then dab off the excess on kitchen paper.

Pounce it well in, all over but do not apply it to the palms of hands or soles of feet.

Here she is below, all painted with the yellow mixture ready to bake/cure

The next colour I add to my mixture is a touch of burnt umber shown below and a little more thinners and blend it well together.

This picture shows the pouncing on of the umber mixture.

Below is the arm after curing...you can still see the vein through the paint.

I am still using my original base here, which has the flesh, white, yellow and brown in it.  Now it is time to start blushing,  I like to add a little pyrrole red to the mixture.   You can see my mixture is still extremely watery.

Once again I paint the blush mixture onto the sponge and blot off on kitchen paper.

Here you can see it pounced randomly onto the leg. I like to be more random from now on with my pouncing.  

For my next blush I like to make the traditional blood red, which I make with the pyrrole red, a touch of blue and a touch of umber. It should resemble the colour of blood when you paint it onto kitchen paper and needs to be very watery. This is then dabbed randomly with my sea sponge (or similar) to achieve the mottled effect. 

Below is a leg that has been randomly blushed and mottled then cured. This colour is also what I use to do nail beds on hands and feet.

You can also now blush the palms of hands and soles of feet.  Remember to leave a little bit without blush on the insole of the foot.

Finer Details

Here I have tried to show fine capillaries on the eyes.  For this I tend to use a little of the red blush from the edge of the dish on a brush that only has a couple of bristles.  With the lightest of strokes, randomly paint the finest of lines as shown in the photo below. These are then baked/cured.

Baby Creases

One all your blushing is complete, you can now complete your baby creases.  I add a touch of brown to the red thinned mixture and then using a liner brush paint all of the creases, blending them as I go with a mop brush.  You need to had the effect of shading to add depth, not dark lines that look like cuts.

Below you can see the colour I have used for shading.  This is just some of the red from the centre with a touch of brown added.  It is still very watery with thinners being used.

Below is showing the creases after they have been blended in and cured.

Lips & Manicure

For the lips on this particular sculpt I made my own mix with a little red and dioxazine purple thinned with thinner, I have applied this with my filbert brush pulling the paint from the inside of the mouth to the outside. Don't be afraid to try things out and experiment with your mix.

Once painted and cured, the lips are allowed to cool and then given one or two coats of Genesis glazing gel.

A final coat of air dry gloss or satin varnish is a personal choice to achieve a wetter look.

Eyebrows are notoriously difficult to do, I just like to mix a little burnt umber with some of my flesh colour and a touch of the blue until I get the colour I am looking for, then with small light strokes, paint in line from the corner of the inner eye and feather outwards.

Baby Manicure

I like to use a mixture of  titanium white and flesh 08 and pain in a line with a liner brush across the tips of the nails.  I have recently found out that babies are not born with moons, so if you are after realism, it is worth remembering this point. Below shows the nails before any shine is added to them.

Your baby is now ready to begin rooting and assembly

Please note, this is just one of my ways in which I reborn, you will all find your own style.  I have written this tutorial as a basic guide to help new reborners  and to take some of the mystique out of reborning. 

If I have helped you, please write a message in my guestbook and let me know. 

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