face-up practice: resin vs vinyl

[quidam]

At some point in the future I need to tweak my girl's looks. While the freckles she desperately needs should be an easy add over her default face-up, I would also like to eventually make what she has stand out just a bit more. The obvious scare for a newbie, such as myself, is I don't want to ruin her pretty little face with over-exuberance if I end up with zero talent in that area.

That's where the question comes in. I've been eying the smaller Obitsu dolls and thinking that maybe one would be appropriate for practice. (plus it would be a grand excuse to buy something else that I really don't need.....)

So to the question: are vinyl and resin similar enough that the techniques would be the same? Or would I be better off trying to find a floating resin head somewhere? Or is there yet another option for practice?

[Resu]

Resin might be better for practicing because vinyl tends to stain, even with layers of sealant prior to the face-up.

[MiQ69]

I think, If You will be using art quality materials, there isn't really any big difference between resin and vinyl.
Basically, in both cases You have to seal the surface using MSC and then You're then painting on the dried MSC.
Dry pastels (for blushing) or watercolors shouldn't stain the vinyl, quality acrylics neither.
Otoh, low quality acrylics could stain even the resin heads.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPeRsGsxSJg

[quidam]

Otoh, low quality acrylics could stain even the resin heads.

What would be low quality? I have a bunch from a brand called "Model Color" that are used for painting things like lead miniatures. Can they be used for dolls without fear of staining?

[DollyKim]

I have found some colors will stain no matter who makes them. Are your "Model Color" paints enamel? Can you post a picture of a bottle or link to their maker's web site? That would help.

Paint wise I've used Delta, Folk Art, Americana, and other acrylics that come in little bottles at the craft store. Other people may disagree. I've also used Liquitex products. The bare minimum colors I recommend no matter what brand are- back, white, eye color, a skin color that matches your doll exactly for touch ups, blending, and hiding boo boos, and a lip color. The way I paint I have a highlight flesh and a shade flesh color as well. When I did freckles on Eloise I used a very tiny brush to dot a light brown on her.

As for practice hit a junk store or yard sale for some ratty old Barbies, not collector ones just cheap ones, and practice painting on them. Similar size and stuff to Obitsu heads.

[Zainin]

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[quidam]

I have found some colors will stain no matter who makes them. Are your "Model Color" paints enamel? Can you post a picture of a bottle or link to their maker's web site? That would help.

They are an acrylic/vinyl based paint. They are made by the company Vallejo. Here's a picture of the bottles.
http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy86 ... m/file.jpg

I'm hoping that they are usable, as it would save me a bit of money.

[Greyhaunt]

Resin and vinyl are different. Vinyl, besides staining like there is no tomorrow, has more tooth (texture) than resin does and grabs color faster. Resin, particularly if its been well sanded, is much smoother a surface and pastels tend to glide over it more than sit in place. I recommend finding a cheap head - perhaps a damaged one - and using that to practice.

When painting vinyl or resin you can use any water based acrylic paint. The only difference between "artists grade" and other levels of acrylic is the amount of pigment in the paint and the lightfastness. Unless you are planning to sell your products on the market it really doesn't matter what brand you use. If you are planning on selling your faceup skills then you need to use artists grade paints - the buyer expects it.

In terms of pastels technically any CHALK pastels will work, but like all things there are a variety of types and qualities. Like paint pastels vary in the amount of pigment in them. The cheaper harder pastels contain less pigment, more binder. Being as I do fine art with pastels as well as dolls I only work with high grade pastels: Windsor & Newton, Sennelier, that level stuff. You have to go to art stores for them, you can't get'm at Walmart. For hobbiests Rembrandt is a decent enough brand - not the softest in the world, but quite serviceable and affordably priced in sets. Again though, if you are planning on selling your product use the best you can afford - your buyer expects quality for their money.

And finally - you can refer to this valuable list started by Itsaiya and stickied at the top of the Tips and Tricks forum: http://www.dolliehsanctuary.com/sanctuary/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=25 It's all about recommended matierals.

[quidam]

Thanks!
I doubt I'll ever get into selling, so I should be safe using the paints I have for now. I tend to be too lazy art-wise to get into doing it "professionally". Unless, of course, I find it to be my life calling.

I guess I'll have to look for a cheap head somewhere.

[landwhale]

Sorry, just to jump in, I don't know what size your girl is, but I have found the difference in size definitely affects the faceup. I feel a lot more comfortable doing 1/6 obitsu faces than large BJD faces. I would recommend getting a spare doll head the same size as your girl head to practice on. I pretty much found out I am a lot more inept at the bigger sizes sinceI have a semi-floating Parabox Gretel SD sized head that I bought for practice. I've found no problem yet with staining on her vinyl but that might be due to my exuberant use of MSC prior to faceups. Winsor Newton brush cleaning solution works a charm to remove the entire faceup easily.

Personally I don't see a difference between painting on the vinyl for the Gretel head and on resin. I will point out that the smaller 1/6 heads from Obitsu uses a different plastic than the larger doll heads. Indeed it does seem the smaller heads are better at picking up pastel dust but my Gretel head seems on par with resin heads I've played with.