2 posts tagged “k-doll”
I got my unoa sist faceplate back from Gen today. Normally I'd be spamming you all with photos but I unfortunately don't have the wig I ordered for her over a month ago in a LeeKe group order and nothing here suites her at all. I'll post the preview pictures I got before she was shipped back to me however. I might try to take photos anyway depending on when I get the mermaid skirt and black and white one piece I ordered from Tanya Style (since I think the black dress would look perfect on her.
I should be sending Jomi (aeon flux of dive's seimei head) off to her shortly but I need to take pics of his old faceup since I want the same type of look for him. His current faceup is done by Sairin, and while ideally it should've never been touched.. the glue that held his eyelashes on ruined the underlashes, and the paint used on his lips were staining the resin (not to mention in a hideous color). Tried to remedy the lips myself but I just couldn't get the color I wanted right. I can use an airbrush, and it would've been easy if I got the color I wanted right the first time. The more I had to wipe it off the worse the original faceup got since the blushing, especially on the face was everywhere. Now he's lipless and everything else is still in tact for the most part but I rather not mess with him anymore. I can't find Mr. Super Clear anywhere and while I do have Mr. top coat around, it doesn't have the tooth MSC has and I really need that to work with.
I can imagine how upset some people (with the collectors mindset) could possibly be since I altered a Sairin faceup, but I'm this particular Seimei's 4th owner (that I know of), and he's not going anywhere. I probably killed his value but his head alone cost more than I paid second-hand fees for my complete L-bi and I figure I should be happy with him.
I probably won't post him in all his lipless glory until I get the after pics and do a whole comparison thing and all. I really need to get him some good permanent eyes before long. His eyewells will not hold eyes in for anything. The eyes are always constantly falling into the back of his head no matter how much putty you use. When I get some good ones they're getting hot-glued in.
Also I decided to do NaNoWriMo this year, I wanted to do it last year but it was half-way through November when I got the urge so I deceided not to. I'll be writing about the characters/story behind my SD sized dolls (Ivoine my kill-u sp and Jomi), it'll be norse mythology inspired, just like most of my dolls' names and hopefully writing 1,667 words a day for the whole of next month won't kill me. This month I'm going to try to get an outline done to make things easier on myself.
Ivoine is way overdue for a new faceup, he was me and my sister's first doll and our first venture into tanning, face ups, etc. During our trial and error we've given him 4-5 various skin tones and two face ups, and normally we'd just airbrush over the old and start fresh but since we had so many layers of paint, gloss and sealer on him we decided to start fresh and since I know a lot more now than I did in the beginning the subsequent tutorial is being presented just for anyone who may want to tan or change the skin color of a doll and know what their options are and how to do it.
One of the few ways to change the color of a resin ball jointed doll, airbrushing. The other ways would be blushing with pastels, and using rit dye and dipping your doll in dye. Airbrushing is the only way to guarantee a even color match and to prevent spotting. If well coated it can be permanent, With light coating and a magic eraser it can be a cinch to remove.
This is how I airbrushed a beauty white k-doll kill-u sp to a "tan" skin tone. This color was custom paint mixed from the colors black, white, yellow, red and light brown. You can buy preset skin tone colors such as light brown, dark brown, peach and sand under the createx brand, but I was unhappy with these colors for this particular doll as they were either too light or too dark. You can use any paint that is the consistency of milk or thinner in an airbrush, but if you are a beginner at airbrushing I'd suggest just using paints specially formulated for an airbrush. Paint too watery will splatter/run easier, paint too thick will require higher air pressure to flow through your gun and will create clogs easier.
Other than paint and a head, the other materials needed are an airbrush, air hose compatible with your airbrush and an air compressor. I'm using an Iwata Eclipse HP-BSC, which retails around 130 USD, but any airbrush will do for tanning. If you don't want to get paint all over your hands then use gloves as you will have to hold the head while you airbrush. If you sit the head on a table to spray it not only will the air from the airbrush potentially blow the head off the table but paint will collect in pools in any small crevice of the face, nostrils, eyes, lips, etc. To get an even coat you're going to want to turn the head while you airbrush. The airbrush should be at least 4-6 inches away from the head for a SD sized head and a bit closer for a MSD sized head. For bodies 4-6 inches would work well for both. When tanning the body you will need to un-string the doll completely, wash it as you did the head and then place dowels with tape wrapped on the ends into each piece so that you can spray the whole thing and not leave a blank spot where you're holding it. I usually stick these dowels into a long piece of styrofoam while drying. For hands/feet I attach them to strings by the s-hooks. They are then hung on a coat hanger and then airbrushed so I don't have to touch them.
This video shows the head going through two coats. The first coat is the base color, the trigger is slightly pulled back and in a sweeping motion I rotate the head as I spray paint on it, followed by pulling the brush a few inches farther away and blowing it with air to speed the drying process and the putting a second layer of paint on top to cover any bare or un-even spots from the first coat. You could also let the head air dry between coats, which may be faster if you are also airbrushing a body at the same time, but you or someone else will have to hold it upright while it is drying to prevent the wet paint from pooling into any inset areas on the dolls face.
After this point you will have to seal the doll with a matte sealer, such as Mr. Super Clear as the paint will still be shiny even when dry. The air brushed on paint should be completely dry when you seal it. The more layers of sealant you put on the doll the more permanent the airbrushing will be. Joints and body parts that constantly rub together should be paid strict attention to, to prevent paint chipping.
After you seal the doll you can continue on and give the doll a face up or airbrush on blushing as well. Since its too humid for me to seal the color in today the rest of this tutorial will have to wait...
The color comes out different in different lighting, but all pictures above are the same paint color.
