Step 1: Choose your colors
A good reborn doll artist likes to play around with colors. You have to find out what you like, which color you like.
You should know when and how to give a warmer undertone to your reborn doll. I like to use “Beautiful Baby Flesh 04 Genesis Paint” and the “Beautiful Baby Flesh 02 Genesis Paint” to give a warmer look to a biracial reborn doll.
Both Flesh 04 and flesh 02 are non-toxic paints. Flesh 04 and Flesh 02 are not enough to develop a biracial look alone. I suggest that you use a “Beautiful Baby Color #6 Brow Brown Genesis paint” to deepen the skin tone of your biracial reborn doll.
I think that you should also add a small amount of Yellow Color, Color #3 Warm Blush, and a Navy Blue Color.
Step 2: Choose your sponges
I like to use two sponges to paint a biracial reborn doll.
Step 3: Choose your mason jar
I use a mason jar to prepare and mix colors. If you want to prepare a biracial reborn doll, choose your own mason jar. It really helps as you will not have to look for new jars every time you decide to paint a reborn doll.
Step 4: Choose your brushes
I use three different brushes to prepare a biracial reborn doll. Many reborn doll artists use more than one brush to paint their reborn dolls. I just like to use these distinct brushes to paint a biracial reborn doll.
Step 5: Choose your thinner
Using a high-quality thinner to paint a biracial reborn doll is always a good idea. I always use branded thinners for the biracial reborn doll painting.
Step 6: Add thinner to your mason jar
Start off with thinner. I always add a decent amount of thinner to the mason jar.
Step 7: Add color to your mason jar
Flesh 04 is an excellent color to start off painting your biracial reborn doll. I prepare my base color by using the Flesh 04.
Mix the Flesh 04 with the paint thinner by using your paintbrush. You can again add a little amount of paint thinner to increase the consistency of your base color and make it more dilute.
When you notice that your base color is now consistent, dilute, and ready to use, you should add a little Flesh 02 to your mason jar. Keep stirring the mixture using your paintbrush.
Add a little yellow color to the mixture inside the mason jar. Keep on stirring the mixture using your paintbrush. I add yellow color to the mixture because it warms up the skin undertone of your biracial reborn doll.
I also like to add a little warm blush to the mixture because I know that this will give red undertones to my biracial reborn doll skin. I think that warm blush also emits yellow undertones and orange undertones. It is handy. All I am interested in is a lovely warm skin tone.
Some reborn doll artists like to add purple and blue colors to the mixture. They think that it looks cool, but I think that our color shade is pleasing. Check out the color shade. See if it meets your requirements.
Mix up your paint and ensure it is ready to use.
Step 8: Start at the back of the head
I like to work in small sections. It is good to start off at the back of the head. It takes a few brush strokes to paint the back of the head. See how nicely it is done. I have two sponges, so I use my first sponge to remove the excess paint and blend it.
I use my second sponge as a cleaner sponge. I like to blend out the edges. It gives a neat look, and the paint looks more natural.
While painting your reborn doll, try to notice the streak marks or sponge marks. The streak marks or sponge marks can ruin your biracial reborn doll’s skin.
Keep on painting your biracial reborn doll. Cover all the surfaces of your biracial reborn doll, especially the area behind her ears. I paint the area behind her ears through my paintbrushes. It helps remove creases from her skin.
As you can see, there is a big difference between the first layer of the paint and the second layer. Clogging creases are a problem for the reborn doll artists. You must cover all the clogging creases.
Try to work with thin layers, and take your time. I always have good lighting in my room. Good lighting allows you to see all the clogging creases. It all comes with practice. Try painting your reborn doll head, and you will know for sure.
There is a reason why I like to work in small sections: “Clogging Creases.” Paints dry fast and leave clogging creases, scratches, or marks. If you work in small sections, you can remove all those clogging creases from your reborn doll’s skin.
Streak marks mean that your paint has not managed to blend thoroughly. It is annoying. I do not like to see streak marks over my reborn doll. Working in small sections is a good idea because, in this way, you can cover many more areas with a small amount of paint. It is cool, right?
Painting her hands and feet require care and attention. I avoid the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet. I try to imagine a line and do not go over the line.
I like to go over the fingers, right up to her nails. I imagine as if I am cutting her hand in half. It helps when I try to blend out the paint using my cleaner sponge.
You can already notice a wide difference between the paintbrushes I am using to paint my biracial reborn doll. I use different brushes because I need small brushes to reach tricky areas.
After completing her hands, I move on to her arms. I do not work over her hands and feet together. I take my time and paint them separately. I paint her hands first because, in this way, I can grip her arms to paint her hands.
The same goes for her feet. I paint her feet first because I can grip her legs while painting her feet. Color difference from a single layer of paint is going to create a huge difference in your reborn doll’s skin tone.
I paint two to three layers before baking my reborn doll head. You can see the difference between the paint layers, and you must deepen the color according to your needs.
How do you heat set paint reborn doll?
I use a convection oven to heat set paint reborn doll. I use a cotton sheet in my oven. I carefully place vinyl places next to each other in the oven. Y
ou do not want the vinyl pieces to touch each other in the oven, so you need to be careful. You are not likely to face problems with the oven, but you will face problems if the vinyl pieces touch each other in the oven.
Gently push the tray carrying all vinyl pieces into the oven. Close the oven lid. Press the bake button, and adjust the oven temperature to 250 degrees. Set the timer to twelve minutes and let it run.
Can you paint reborn dolls with oil paints?
Using oil paints to paint your reborn babies is not a good idea. Most reborn doll artists prefer acrylic paints to paint their reborn babies rather than oil paints. This is because even though oil paints last longer, they take a long time to dry.
Oil is expensive, and it becomes difficult for an artist to wash a brush after using oil paints. Acrylic paints require only water, and they dry up quickly. Biracial reborn doll artists do not tend to rely on oil paints as the paint is affected by exposure to sunlight.
How to paint an ethnic reborn doll?
It is simple to paint an ethnic reborn doll. Please follow the following steps to paint your ethnic reborn doll:
Step 1: Choose neutralized vinyl parts
It is important that choose a suitable vinyl kit for painting your ethnic reborn doll. Evangeline vinyl kits do not need to be neutralized to exhibit an ethnic skin tone.
You can compare your skin tone to the Evangeline skin tone, and you will know for sure that there is a considerable difference between the skin tone of Evangeline vinyl body parts and other vinyl parts, such as Olga vinyl parts and the Carolina vinyl kits.
The Olga vinyl parts and the Carolina vinyl kits must be neutralized to exhibit an ethnic skin tone. Dark peachy vinyl always needs to be neutralized for an ethnic skin tone.
Step 2: Prepare your neutralizing mix
It is always best that you prepare a neutralizing mix before trying to paint your ethnic reborn doll. You need your reborn doll to exhibit vibrant colors. You need white colors with vibrant ethnic colors.
Step 3: Choose your sponges
You need to wash and erase extra paint many times while trying to paint an ethnic reborn doll. So, you need two different sponges for your reborn doll.
Step 4: Apply the first paint layer
The first paint layer will reveal the effect of your paint mixture on the vinyl parts of your ethnic reborn doll. The first layer will reveal whether you need to dilute your paint mixture further or not.
Step 5: Paint your reborn doll by painting small sections first
There is a process to start painting your ethnic reborn doll. For instance, you should start at the back of your reborn doll’s head. Paint small sections like the area behind your doll’s ears.
It is best to start painting the hands of your reborn doll while gripping the arms of your reborn doll. You can paint the feet first while gripping the legs of your reborn doll.
It is advised that you do not paint the palms of your reborn doll’s hands, the lips of your reborn doll, and the soles of your reborn doll’s feet first.
If you paint your reborn doll while following the step-wise procedure, it will enable you to dry the vinyl parts of your ethnic reborn dolls.
Step 6: Bake your ethnic reborn doll
You have to set up your oven at 275 degrees for seven minutes. Then, bake your ethnic reborn doll parts in the oven. Be careful, do not let your vinyl parts touch each other in the baking oven.
Step 7: Let your ethnic reborn baby cool
You should let the baked ethnic reborn doll parts cool for about 10 to 15 minutes. Go ahead, and apply the third layer of your ethnic paint mixture. Now, you can bake the third layer of your ethnic reborn baby.
The difference between my baking procedure and the procedure used by the other reborn doll artists is the fact that I like to bake each layer separately. It will improve the paint quality of your reborn doll.
Step 8: Creasing
I use all of my ethnic colors for the reborn doll creasing. The colors I used for my ethnic creasing mix include Burnt Umber, Crimson 01, Purple, Black, Dark Flesh Color, Magenta 04, and Purple 05.
Let your ethnic reborn doll dry, and it is ready!
How to paint a reborn doll head?
Expert reborn doll artists divide the reborn head into different sections for painting. I always start at the backside of her head. Then, I gradually move upwards.
I try to cover the creases behind the ears of my reborn doll using my paintbrush. I remove extra paint through my cleaning sponges. I apply sponges to blend the skin tone of my reborn baby.
Some reborn doll artists like to paint the creases first, but it is entirely your choice. It depends on you, how you want to do it. Painting creases first softens the skin tone of your reborn baby. Your reborn baby will look beautiful, and it takes time. So, you don’t have to hurry.
I have noticed that some reborn doll artists use bright colors while painting the creases. I do not recommend using bright red colors to paint creases in a reborn doll head. Again, it depends on you. You have to apply whatever feels more real and natural.
How to paint a reborn doll with genesis paints?
You have to prepare a genesis paint mix to paint your reborn doll. Mixing genesis paints for your reborn baby is easy. I always keep my thinner dish near me so that I can wash my paintbrushes after a single use.
I use pink color for blushing. I wipe off the paintbrush using a cloth. Painting your reborn doll with genesis paints is easy but expensive. After painting your reborn doll, you have to bake the vinyl parts in an oven. Some reborn doll artists really love to bake the vinyl parts after applying every single layer.
Baking your reborn vinyl parts at 275 degrees for seven minutes after application of a paint layer yields excellent results.
How to paint African American reborn doll nails?
You need a paint pellet to paint the fingernails of your African American reborn doll. To create paint pellets, you need Dioxazine Purple, Heat Blush, Flesh 08, and Ultramarine Blue. You will also need a genesis thinning medium to prepare the reborn doll’s paint mix.
Take out the thinning medium and mix it with the Dioxazine Purple. I prefer a translucent Dioxazine mixture. I add the Dioxazine Purple in small amounts to keep the consistency of the paint mixture for my reborn doll.
Use a fine-liner brush to apply a thin layer of the paint onto the nails of your African-American reborn doll. I use a shader paintbrush to blend the first layer of the paint mixture for my African American reborn baby nails.
Let the paint layer reach halfway across the nail. Apply the first layer using the same technique to every other fingernail of your African American reborn doll. Some reborn doll artists like setting the paint problem by heating the nails with a heat gun after applying the first layer.
Again, take out your thinning medium and mix it with the Flesh 08 color. Try mixing it properly this time. I think that it will be sufficient for the nail tips of my African American reborn doll. Remember, the Flesh 08 color is going to look very bright. Try to make it nice, smooth, and creamy.
Adding a small amount of ultramarine blue to the mixture is also acceptable. You just have to get the right color shade for your reborn doll fingernails.
Neutralize your paint mixture. I apply to the nail tips of my reborn doll with a liner brush or a trimmed liner brush. I always try to keep this second layer away from the first purple layer on my reborn doll’s fingernails.
You can now bake the fingernails by using an oven or by using a heat gun.
How to paint eyebrows on a reborn doll?
Start by using a custom-cut brush. I use a cut brush to paint fine details. Use thinning medium to prepare the paint pellet. I like using black and ethnic brown colors to paint my reborn doll’s eyebrows.
You should note that both the black and ethnic brown colors are too dark. As you are painting eyebrows, it will be fine. I maintain the consistency of my paint pellets, and you should not make a dripping paint mixture.
Roll the brush in the paint because you do not want an excessive amount of paint dripping from your brush.
Look at your doll’s face from several angles to identify the brow line. The brow line of your reborn doll will cast a shadow over the temple of your reborn doll. A brow line falls under the nose of your reborn doll.
There is a simple trick behind painting the eyebrows of your reborn doll. The eyebrows become shorter as they get away from the nose of your reborn doll.
Another way to draw the eyebrows is to make a dotted line along the brows of your reborn doll. You will draw the eyebrows over this dotted line.
While drawing the eyebrows of your reborn doll, do not worry about the thickness and length of the eyebrows. Built a foundation for your eyebrows. You just have to follow the foundation along the brow line. The eyebrows will become flat with the brow line. If you feel that the eyebrows have become too thick, you can use a toothpick to paint the eyebrows on your reborn doll. I use heat set paints to paint the eyebrows of my reborn doll. So, I bake it for nine minutes, and my reborn doll is ready.
How to paint lips on a reborn doll?
Painting the lips of your reborn doll may seem like a daunting task, but you can easily paint lips by following these super tips:
Tip #1: Know your reborn kit
I like to know about my reborn kit before trying to paint the lips of my reborn doll. I feel that you have to know about the kit because it gives you some idea about the vinyl quality.
Tip #2: Wash the kit
It is unnecessary to wash the face before painting the lips. As you can see, I have not painted it before, so I will wash the kit first. Do not worry.
I am not going to completely submerge her in the water. I am just going to wash her head. I have a toothbrush, my reborn kit, towel, dishwashing liquid soap, and sink.
Mix a lit amount of liquid dishwashing soap in the water. Slightly dip her head in the water. Mix the toothbrush in the water too. Do not let the water enter the inner side of her head. Let’s wash her head. You can dry her head using a hair dryer.
Tip #3: Work with a cool color
I like to work on some of the features of the lips and her tongue with the red color. A small scoop of the genesis red paint will be enough. Add a small amount of odorless solvent to the red paint.
I use a reasonably fine paintbrush. Dip your paintbrush in the red paint, and then you can brush off any excess.
Tip #4: Draw little creases with your fine liner paintbrush
Squish her cheeks with your left hand and then try to paint the creases inside her upper lips. I squish her cheeks because it helps me in moving my paintbrush inside her mouth.
Remember that you have to clean the excess paint using your cleaner sponges. Work over her lower lip now. Draw the creases. Do not try to draw all the creases. Just do it enough.
Tip #5: Heat set the first paint layer
If you do not heat set the first paint layer, there are chances that the paint will come off. So, you have to heat set the first paint layer before you start painting another paint layer.
Ensure the first paint layer is not very liney before heat setting your kit. Use a makeup brush to pounce off the liney creases before heat setting your first paint layer.
Tip #6: Get pointed in cotton earbuds
Prepare a small pellet of blue paint with an odorless solvent. You do not need a complete pellet of blue paint or a large amount of odorless solvent; a little blue pellet will help.
I like to use blue color because it gives a translucent look to her lips. I use the blue color to paint the features beneath her tongue. Do not apply the blue paint over the lips.
You can use the pointed-in cotton earbuds to paint the lips of your reborn doll.
Tip #7: Pounce off the excess paint using sponges
You will notice excess paint over the lips of your reborn doll while using the fine liner paintbrush. I always pounce off the excess paint using my cleaner sponges. You should also clean the excess paint.
How to paint veins on reborn dolls?
I use a vein blue color to paint the veins on my reborn doll. You can use a small thin liner brush to paint the veins on your reborn baby doll. You can use a cosmetic wedge to blend out the paint.
I know that blue is a prominent color that can stay on the vinyl. So, I quickly remove the excess paint while painting the veins on my reborn doll. You do not have to draw thick blue lines to represent veins. I draw thin, squiggly lines on the backside of my reborn doll head.
I do not like to prepare a runny paint mixture for my reborn doll, and I do not want to paint veins using a thick paint mixture.
It becomes difficult to blend the excess paint when using a thick paint mixture. A runny paint mixture can create a lot of mess, and you do not want to see runny paint over your reborn doll head.
I understand that placement of the veins is not an easy thing to learn. Know that you can place veins in a Y shape over the temple. Use your imagination to place veins across her head. It depends on you whether you want a bald reborn baby or a reborn baby with rooted hair.
How to pose a reborn doll it before painting?
You have to use different poses for painting different parts of your reborn doll. It is a common practice to set the vinyl reborn doll head on a white surface facing you before starting to paint a reborn doll.
Reborn doll artists insert the fingers of their left hand inside the doll head before trying to paint it. Other reborn artists like to grip the neck with their left hand to paint the reborn doll with their right hand. It really depends on you.
Your reborn doll pose becomes important when you try to paint the areas behind the ears of your reborn doll, the mouth, and the lips of your reborn doll. Reborn doll artists squish the cheeks of their reborn baby before trying to paint the gums.
Some reborn doll artists squish out the cheeks so much that the reborn tongue comes outside the mouth, and then they try to paint the gums and the areas beneath the tongue of their reborn baby doll.
It is a common practice among expert reborn doll artists they turn the head upside down to paint the backside of the reborn head. Reborn doll artists keep on moving the reborn doll head around to paint veins across the reborn doll head.
Painting veins around the reborn doll’s head and face are tricky because you need to imagine the positioning of the reborn doll’s veins.
How to remove paint from reborn dolls?
Generally, reborn doll artists use sponges to clean the paint over reborn dolls before it dries. It becomes not difficult to remove paint off a reborn doll after it dries completely. Reborn doll artists know that cleaning creases off a reborn doll is not a challenging task.
You must use a pair of plastic gloves while stripping a reborn baby. I do not like chemicals touching my skin, so I wear gloves.
I use cotton pads and cotton earbuds for the stripping process. Cotton earbuds can get in areas where your cotton pads cannot reach easily. Cotton earbuds (Q-tips) can easily reach little crevices.
I like cotton earbuds because I can reach a reborn baby’s nose, mouth, and ears using cotton swabs. Some reborn doll artists use brush cleaner to strip reborn dolls.
I think it is fine because many brush cleaners are available on the market. I am not going to recommend any specific company or brand. You should choose whatever works for you.
Pour some nail polish remover (brush remover) over the cotton rounds (cotton pads), and then use these cotton rounds to rub your reborn doll skin. Make sure that you put the top on your nail polish remover bottle (brush remover bottle).
In case you forget to put on the top of a nail polish remover bottle, you can spill the nail polish remover.
I use a nail polish remover to remove paint off a reborn doll. The nail polish remover I use contains 100% pure Acetone. If you have flu or something like that, you should use a mask while painting a reborn doll.
I use cotton pads to rub nail remover over the reborn doll kit. If a spot seems sticky, then you have to go over that spot twice.
You will notice the paint coming off your reborn doll. It feels different when you try to strip your reborn doll because you put so much effort into adding layers to your reborn doll.
Remember, you are not wasting your time trying to strip a reborn doll. It is because you will learn something new every time you try to strip your reborn doll.
You should use new cotton round when the old one gets dirty. This method is highly effective for a reborn painted with air-dry paints.
You will notice the original vinyl color while stripping a reborn. Do not shy away from using your brush cleaner (nail polish remover) every time you use a new cotton round. I know that some colors might just become stubborn, especially the red color.
Do not worry because a strong color will just take more than one cleaning round. I face problems while trying to remove the red color, and you can face similar problems too. I always give my reborn doll a bath after stripping her.
If you make mistakes while painting the reborn kit, you will have to strip a reborn doll. Stripping reborn dolls is easy, and I like the smell of a nail remover. A brush remover also smells like a nail remover. I start at the back of her head, and then I move forward.
It is essential that you get most of the paint off first and then go for the sticky parts. Like I try to clean my reborn doll kit as much as possible but still feel that some parts seem stickier than others.
So, I go over those parts too again. I like to clean the crease part after I get over the reborn doll head.
How to remove paint on reborn doll eyes?
Is better acrylics or genesis paint for reborn dolls?
I prefer acrylic paints over the genesis heat set paints. Genesis heat set paints take time to dry, and blending the genesis heat set paints using a sponge is difficult. It almost feels like you are using your sponges like a paintbrush.
I am so used to acrylic paints that genesis heat set paints are a bit of a learning curve for me. But trust me, if you get used to them, you will probably enjoy painting reborn dolls using genesis heat set paints.
Genesis heat set paints may seem expensive at first because some people do not own the right oven for baking the reborn kit. Genesis heat set paints are more common in the reborn doll world than acrylic air dry paints.
Some reborn doll artists say that you face several health risks while using the genesis heat set paints. You know, they are actually right about it.
It feels terrible to get toxic fumes in your room due to genesis paints. Some reborn doll artists got cancer or similar health issues due to these toxic fumes, and the doctors stopped them from reborning.
I think that I will stick to my acrylic paints because I do not want to face health risks while painting a reborn kit.
People say that learning to reborn using genesis paints was easy because they got many video tutorials. But I feel that it is not worth it. I prefer my health over occupational expertise.
What do you seal pencil painted hair on reborn dolls?
You need the following things to seal pencil-painted hair on reborn dolls:
Reborn doll artists often use pencils to map hair on reborn dolls. Mapping hair on reborn dolls requires imagination because an artist has to decide the placement of hair over the reborn doll’s head.
Pencil painting hair on reborn dolls is a time-consuming task. Pencil painting hair on reborn dolls is also affected by reborn quality. The techniques used to seal pencil-painted hair on reborn dolls make it special.
What order to paint reborn doll?
A reborn doll artist has to choose quality reborn kits for reborn doll painting. Some reborn kits do not hold the potential to be categorized as quality reborn kits.
After choosing and buying all the things needed for reborn doll painting, reborn doll artists decide the order to paint reborn dolls.
Being a reborn doll artist, I choose to paint heads first. To start painting the head of my reborn doll, I always start at the back of her head. It seems easy. I then move forward to areas behind her ears. In this way, I move forward and upward painting my reborn doll.
I like to paint the temple and cheeks first. I always paint areas within her mouth in the end as it is time-consuming and requires patience. While painting the lips of my reborn doll, I start with her upper lip and then move on to her lower lip.
I paint her gums after painting creases on her lips. I paint the area beneath her tongue after painting her gums. Your reborn doll is beautiful, and you have to add to her beauty!
Reborn doll artists paint the hands of their reborns after painting their heads. It becomes easy to grip her arms while painting her hands.
I move on to her arms only after painting her hands. Similarly, reborn doll artists paint the legs of their reborns only after painting their feet. It becomes easy to paint a reborn doll’s foot after gripping her legs.
So, as a reborn doll artist, I use the following order to paint my reborns:
