Fine Art Doll Gallery

Trade Secrets

Dollmaking Tips to and from Dollmakers

Painting

I use acrylic paints (Folk Art® or Apple Barrel Colors® by Plaid Enterprises, or Anita's Craft Paint® by Back Street, Inc.) thinned with water. To add a shine to nails and lips, I use Satin Sculpey Glaze® thinned with water. Sculpey Glaze® is by Polyform products.

I also seal the eye shadowing and eyebrows with a very thinned glaze/water mixture. To add emphasis to the creases and crevices, I add a very thin wash of brown paint to these areas for added detail. The paint consistency for the accent washes to the body crevices would be similar to water. I use one drop of paint to 3 to 5 drops of water. I usually paint the body creases and crevices 2-3 times for the desired effect.

To seal the eyeshadows and eyebrows, areas that you do not want to shine, I add 2 drops of water to 1 very small drop of Satin Sculpey Glaze®. For lips and nails, the thickest consistency, add one drop of satin glaze to 1 drop of water. If you really want a high gloss shine, use undiluted gloss glaze.