Ricky J Goes Home

This little man was a custom order and the buyer had very specific ideas about what she wanted, which in a way was quite a good thing for me.  With such a big kit and he really does have a mahoosive head I probably wouldn't have picked this kit to do myself.   So having someone choose it and already know what they wanted a finished doll to look like is a head start.

After that it's about collaboration and working to reach a goal.

I do have to thank the buyer on this one though as it took me forever to root this head.

 

Sweet Little Valerie

I know that Secrist kits are a little bit out of favour these days, all the hoohah over oily vinyl really put a bit of a damper on the kits, but the truth is they are actually nice kits,  a bit of a muck up with the vinyl formula seems to have been sorted out and even the older kits are still usable... you just need to know how to handle them.  

Valerie here has been reborned from a Secrist Erin kit, I particularly liked the shape of her head and the sweet pouty lips.  Initially I reborned her to show you can get a really nice skintone on a Secrist kit if you just neutralise the colour properly to start with. A previous post dealt with using mint green paint to neutralise the pinky orange vinyl colour.

Valerie is available to purchase from my website Best Beloved ~ AvailableBabies



The gorgeous outfit Valerie is wearing was handknitted by Anne-Marie Edwards
 

Tenten ~ Completed and Ready to Go Home

Tenten was reborn from a Donna Rubert "Holly" sculpt.    The customer and I have worked together really closely on this doll,  Geraldine was very specific about what she wanted, which was both daunting and at the same time quite refreshing.  There is a challenge in trying to create something that is already in someone else's head. Making that a reality isn't an easy thing to do. 

We started with a blank Holly Sculpt and built up the skin tones,  with my checking with Geraldine all the way through if the colours were right. 



I wasn't entirely convinced that this doll would look good, I wasn't sure about having such long, thick hair on a sculpt that looked like such a young baby, but the customer had given a brief so I had to go with it.   The rooting took me weeks, as it had to be very closely rooted to get the right kind of thickness. 

But as soon as she was put together and dressed, I got it,  I could see what Geraldine had been trying to achieve and have to admit I have to applaud her choice of sculpt.  It just works! 


So  now Tenten has had her photoshoot and is ready for packing up and sending off to her new home in Switzerland. 

The lovely outfit was designed and made by Rachel Blythe, I picked it up at the Discover Dolls Show in Peterborough during the Summer show. As soon as I saw the dress on the hanger I just knew I had to have it and that it would suit a doll I made eventually. 

 

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William - Available

Completed and ready to meet a new family is little William, created from a Laura Tuzio Ross "Walter Sculpt" Little William will be accompanying me to the Pudsey Doll and Teddy Fair at the weekend. 

 

William measures about 19inches from head to toe and has been painted with many many layers of Genesis Heatset Paints.  William is rooted with two tones of Slumberland mohair.

Neutralising Vinyl

I get asked often about neutralising vinyl colours to make them enough of a neutral colour to get a realistic final skin tone.  This step is one of the most important in the reborners art, understanding colour and how to cancel it out is an essential skill and takes patience, practice and a good understanding of the colour wheel, knowing what colour will cancel out another is really important. 

To start this series of articles on neutralising kits I will begin with a Secrist kit, Erin,  Secrist kits tend to be quite peachy coloured, you can just paint straight onto the kit un-neutralised but the finished result will still have that peach tone underneath your skin paints and doesn't really give the realistic skin tone that you want. 

It's no longer used technique to paint inside kits, its been shown that colour over time can leach through the vinyl so all paint work it done on the outside of the kit. 

To neutralise (cancel out) the peach tone of this kit and give a nice colour to work with the colour I use is a pale minty green.  This is applied all over the kit, although I do avoid using it on the lips and on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet of my kit.  You can do the entire surface of the kit but as I am going to paint those parts of my kit a pink anyway it seems a bit pointless to neutralise them first. 

To make this colour I use the lightest Flesh Colour  (Flesh 08)  and Phthalo Green 06

There is a colour very similar to this called Earth Mint produced by Bountiful Baby in a pre-mix but I do think that it is good practice for an artist to learn to mix their colours from scratch.  If you mix it, you understand it and if you understand how colour is created and works then you can use it better. 

Mix your colour as you would any other skin layer, its much easier to apply paint that to remove it, so thin layers are the key.  I find that 2 or 3 ultra thin layers works a treat. 

I apply this colour to my kit with a mop brush or similar brush, make sure you don't have your brush dripping with colour and use a cosmetic wedge to pounce the colour in once it is applied. 

Leave your kit pieces to one side, do not bake straight away, it's much easier to see gathered colour and streaks once the thinners have flashed off. and then use your sponge to blend any streaks or gathers you may have developed.  Once you've done that, bake. Allow to cool and then assess whether or not your kit needs another layer. 

You can see in the picture the difference in colour.   At this point you can now apply skin layers as you normally would.

Life Saving Accessory

If you use Genesis Heatset paints for any length of time one of the things you will eventually find that annoys you is dust in your paint.  It's never easy to guess how much paint you will need for a particular baby and if you are like me and like to mix your own shades it's never easy to remember exactly what quantities of each colour...   I always ended up with tons of paint going to waste or sitting in my pallet and going dry and dusty over the hours, specially overnight. 

And then a moment of genius struck, it does happen on occasion,  little jars, that's what I needed.  And what an amazing bonus they have been... cheap and cheerful but so useful.  Mix your paint as you normally would 1 part GHSP to 10 parts thinner is the usual ratio.   


I like to mix up a lot of my favourite colours and I can relax in the knowledge that once the lid is on the jar my paints will remain dust free and the thinners won't evaporate too quickly either. 

 
  

GHSP lasts indefinitely inside the jars, some of my paints have been in my jars for months I just keep topping up with thinners and additional paint if I am running low.

The paints do separate from the thinners and float to the bottom of the jar over time. But don't let this concern you,  the paint is just heavier than the thinners so the particles of paint will drop down... but a quick shake of your closed jar mixes the paint back up.


Do make sure to test your paint thickness however as even with the lid closed tight thinners will evaporate to some degree so you may need to add extra


I do bring empty jars with me and have them on my tables at dollshows so if you want to grab a set of 6 for £4 pop by and see me. 


 Genesis Heatset Paint supplies available from Gloriarty.co.uk

Introducing Baby Pia

This is baby Pia, she has been reborn from a gorgeous sculpt "Lacey" by the very talented Shawna Clymer, I have spent many days creating a delicate young baby skin by using incredibly thin layers of Genesis Heatset Paints, each layer carefully oven cured to make sure it has set.

Great attention has been paid to the detail of this baby, she has had every crease and crevice of her body painted.

I used a very fine need to micro root her hair with ultra mohair in black. Her hair has then been sealed inside with a waterproof sealant that allows the new owner to dampen and restyle Pia's hair.

Pia has been weighted with a mixture of poly pellets and glass beads and that squidgy baby feel is achieved by the use of "baby fat" and polyester fibre fill. Because Pia's limbs and head are weighted she has the feel of a real baby and requires support to her head and limbs just like a real baby would do.

Reborning is an incredibly time consuming art, it's a real labour of love to create these amazing life like baby dolls.

If you would like to have a go at reborning please visit my website for kits and supplies http://www.gloriarty.co.uk/reborn And a wonderful resource for more information about reborning is RBUK a friendly welcome community of UK reborn artists and doll collectors.

If you like my work please feel free to leave a comment. If you are interested in purchasing one of my reborns or having me make a custom reborn specially for you please email me.

Pia is at present available for sale please contact me for information.

Enjoy the photos of Pia.