Jumping in with both feet! I just ordered my first two kits yesterday, fell prey to the fourth of july 50% sale.
As a newborn photographer who never has enough models to catalog my handknits, props and backgrounds, I was curious about reborns so bought a cheap vinyl baby from walmart and tore it apart, gathered up my random acrylics and started to play.
First time I overpainted the flesh tones waaaay to much and ended up with a chalky baby.
Second time I way overdid the creases, third time I watered down my paints way more and they ended up building up in the creases turning them white. OY!
Fourth time I went overboard on the mottlingā¦ I really thought it would dry lighter than it did and I panicked and did a heavy wash with my flesh color and turned her chalky again.
Iām getting ready to paint her for the fifth time and I think Iāve kinda gotten the hang of it finally. I know I donāt like heavy creasing or mottling Iām curious to paint with the genesis but I donāt have an oven to cure them. Maybe if Iām a good girl and stick with it Santa will bring me a nuwave oven Iām itching to see the difference in how the paint reacts with kit vinyl vs the one I bought at walmart. I didnāt strip it since it was just for practice anyway.
I have so many questions for everyone. My first is those beautiful white dots on the noseā¦ what do you use for that? Iām thinking white pencil or something I remember using for tracing sewing patterns on dark fabric.
Second which is easier, or more gratifyingā¦ awake or asleep babies? I ordered asleep June and Shyann, so I got one of each. As a photographer I spend alot of time putting babies to sleep so it would be neat to photograph a baby whoās eyes stayed āfocusedā .
My goal is to work with Silicone, but my husband said baby steps lolā¦ those kits are expensive and kudos to those of you talented sculptures who can make their own.
Iām looking forward to learning alot from you all! Iāve already seen such beautiful workā¦ I canāt wait for my kits to arrive
Kelly
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Welcome! Iām also a newborn photographer with a lack of babies lol But I started reborning before I started photography.
The āwhite dotsā are typically done with a light cream-ish colored paint. Usually itās fairly thick so it doesnāt run and drip.
I prefer sleeping babies. I donāt find either sells better than the other but I like the sleeping babies a lot better.
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Welcome to the Forum @PhotographyForLife Uh oh, you are stuck in the Reborn world now, lol! What a wonderful place to be. Milk Spots are done a variety of ways, I tried it once and failed. I prefer Awake babies but have recently accepted some sleeping babies in my collection. Yes I have a collection. I did not start out wanting one but there are so many talented ladies on here, how can I resist! Enjoy this hobby and ask away, there is always someone on here that can help you!
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Nice to meet you I love that we are both newborn photographers and making more babies to photograph LOL . I honestly canāt get enough of them
so for the dots, I could use the end of a small paintbrush. (the non business end, to make the dotsā¦ Iāll give that a try next!)
ya know what I just realized I didnāt take pictures of my mistake paint jobs. I wish I had LOL so I could make notes on what I did wrong ::
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Yes! Pm me if you ever wanna talk real baby photography! I donāt get to talk about it enough lol
You could try that, I would probably use a toothpick to make sure theyāre really tiny and subtle. I donāt do them often because theyāre hard to get perfect.
thank you for the gracious welcome! Iām so excited to learn! I know Iāll probably start with the asleep baby first but I have such a hard time with getting run off paint in my creases Iām afraid to gunk up her eyes! So maybe Iāll start with the awake baby instead.
hmmm
I think I should have bought an ugly kit to start with (are there any of those out there?) . So I wouldnāt be afraid to mess it up!
Welcome to the forum! Itās a fun place to be.
Thank you for your nice introduction . Canāt wait to see the masterpiece photoshoots of your reborn babies!
For help use spyglass to find all (or almost all) answers to your questions.
I prefer awake babes, they just have more personality to my taste.
Be warn, this hobby is addictive and your 2 kits will be turn into twenty before you even know it
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My first doll was a Thrift Store Doll and Folk Art paint just to see if I liked the craft. I threw her away and bought a kit and Air Dry paint the next day.
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Thank you! Iāll definately make use of the spyglass now that I see it!
Iāve definately limited myself to these two kits until they are completed before I get anymoreā¦ although I did find someone selling a kit that looks exactly like my son when he was born.
That idea terrifies me thoughā¦ I donāt know if I could do it justice. Weāll see ā¦ time will tell
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So, Iām guessing you liked it then Did you take pictures? I was looking for dolls at garage sales, swap meet, thrift stores and everything is āantiqueā or āvintageā and too much money!
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Welcome
You may want to try Panpastels for creases. I use them, mainly for creases, blushing, and blue shading. I also use yellow ochre for some skin around the eyes and nose on newborns and sometimes the cartilage in the ears. Here is the free tutorial that I started out with, its from one of our forum members and amazing artists @sweetiepieapril http://www.sweetiepienurserybyapril.com/freetutorials.html
She has a lot of other really good tutorials listed on her web site as well.
Cant wait to see your first reborns!
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Hi thereā¦
I use Genesis heat set paintsā¦as for creases and avoiding building up of paint or paint poolingā¦I use a dry brush to remove any exces paint as soon as I stroke into the creaseā¦then a cosmetic sponge dampened with odorless mineral spirits to blend the lineā¦
I mix all my paint very thin and pounce, pounce, pounce to make sure it is evenly applied!!!
For milia I use a rooting needle to apply the dotsā¦then very lightly tap with dampened cosmetic sponge!!
Looking forward to seeing some of your babiesā¦and hang in thereā¦it takes a while to find your hand and your own way of doing things!!!
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Welcome! I am a horrid photographer, LOL, and look forward to seeing your work There are so many wonderful tutorials out there to help you get started. I highly recommend the video series, Reborn with Me by @Kim_CustomDollBaby and the series by @Gabriell. Both of them are on youtube and can give you a great primer. You are going to be hooked before you know it!
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I need to watch Gabriella videos myself.
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Welcome to the forum! And as the others will tell you, to a somewhat expensive hobby! But we all love reborns and there is a wealth of information in this group of artists!
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Welcome! There are definitely lots of amazing artist here that are so nice and willing to help everyone out!
Happy reborning! You will love it!
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No pics as it was just a Test Doll to see if this was not one of my many craft ventures.
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Lol Iāve learned all hobbies are expensive Iām excited because this one combines my love of photography and knitting too . At least thatās what Iāve been telling my husband!
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