Test driving tutorials

How many of you have tried tutorials and how did it affect your painting style? Did you follow it to the letter or just wing it?

I’m kind of a wing it girl but I followed a tutorial and it REALLY was an eye opener! I followed it as closely as I could and was really amazed by the results. I had to force myself to follow it because I tend to think I can improve things on my own lol but how do you know what needs improvement if at first you don’t follow directions? I painted pearl this way and she came out with so much more depth and better coloring than I had been doing. I’m currently painting Sam and Cozy this way as well to try and pinpoint my favorite parts before I start incorporating my own style. I’m going to try some other tutorials as well to see what I can take away from those. It only took me a year of struggling to finally sit down and force my ADD to the back burner and focus and I’m so glad I did.

Has anyone followed the LaDinna Briggs tutorial for hair painting? Or Kate Charles for AA or biracial babies. It’s more than skin tone. It’s the darker shading that gives those babies so much depth. Shading the face still eludes me. I get shading around the nose and chin etc but I watched Kate Charles on youtube and she works some magic! I’ll see if I can find the link.

What have you learned today?

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I’m intrigued! Where is her tutorial? I’d love to see & try it…

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I swear we are twins. Are you saying I have ADD? I was checking out tutorials last night, just to see what’s new, different techniques and there I go, off in my own world … Stripped a head twice. Realized today that I painted all day yesterday and I’m looking at a blank head.

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Me too!! :grin:

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Where is this tutorial please? I can’t find it …

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I have never watched a tutorial. I didn’t even know there were such things when
I started. I think you should always maybe watch and then do your own thing. I see people following these exactly and then you are just copying someones elses style.Take what you need or can use from them and create. JMO :footprints: :baby:

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I have so many tutorials on my iPad. I can NEVER follow a tutorial from beginning to end. I always end up adding something different. I haven’t even tried half of the tutorials I have.

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Exactly! I have struggled to paint from the beginning and this helped so much! So many newbies have so many questions that it would be beneficial to follow tutorials to get started and learn the basic ideas behind reborning… how to mix paint. Paint to thinner ratios. Etc. I don’t think by following a tutorial you are using someone else’s style. It still has whatever flair you put on it yourself whether you mean to or not. My baby looks nothing like the baby in the tutorial photos :wink:
I’m still trying to find the tutorial.

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I thought it was linked in the forum somewhere.

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I guess she isn’t going to share :confused:

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I’m following to see about the tutorial too!

I also painted my very first doll off of a 2 hour tutorial on YouTube mixed with custom doll baby tutorials (didn’t follow exactly cause it took me over a month to complete the doll). The only thing that has helped me the most is the info I have received on here and Jamielynn’s post from 2016 about the primary color method. I tried following the YouTube tutorials but my doll was still so pale…tried the primary color method and after 3 layers of each color, I could see the skin darkening finally.

That method works SO much better and faster for me now after @YelenaRey taught me how my paint was too thin and how to use a rainbow of colors for mottling. Both videos only showed using 2 different mottling colors.

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This can be the trick. Three swipes of paint per side of the brush and measurements by tablespoons of thinner. Some are 2 brush loads some are 4 some are 8 or maybe 2 per teaspoon. I never knew how much paint to add so this alone helped me A TON!!!

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That would have helped me tremendously in the beginning! I was so afraid of making it too chalky that I accidentally had it too thin because I didn’t know what the ratios were.

It wasn’t until I was trying Yelena’s method of using like 7 or 8 different mottling colors and after putting on 3 layers of each color, you couldn’t see any of the mottling…so either the kit wasn’t taking paint or paint was too thin…snapped a photo of my paint and Yelena immediately told me your paint is too thin. That one little thing literally solved everything. I completed Morty in like 2 weeks.

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I finished painting pearl in two days following the tutorial. I do like to use thinner layers so I’ll prob compromise but it sure was helpful and there is a lot of depth that my other kits don’t have. It’s weird.
I want to share a pic but it’s a secret what she looks like finished hence the person I’m making her for should see her the element of surprise will be ruined :heart_eyes:but here is a little peek of my usual-ish and a portion of pearl. I’m camping so bad pics and lighting lol but you can’t see any mottling on Alexa on the left (don’t mind her temporary eyebrows) and visible mottling that really built up Pearls skin tone on the right

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I use the primary method and only do the red, blue and yellow mottling, what other colours should I be using? I have read some use purple but then reed others say not to?

Purple, different shades of red blue yellow… add some blue to the yellow and make green mottle… try white mottle. I don’t think I did any washes from this tutorial was all mottling. I used raw sienna and bountiful baby blush lip color as a mottle and some other color I can’t remember and I was really hesitant to use the BB colors cause I hated them so much but that’s cause I didn’t know how to use them

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I followed MANY different tutorials when I first started. I highly recommend learning from everyone you can, even if you don’t like their style you can always learn something from them. I’ve developed my style by learning from many different people, applying what I like and skipping what I don’t, and adding my own techniques no one has taught me. I still love learning and will read/watch a new tutorial to learn new things even though I won’t follow the tutorial step by step. (Well, except for biracial/AA babies, I’m still using tutorials for those as I haven’t painted many and haven’t developed my own style for those babies…yet!) I try something new with every baby I make, sometimes from something a tutorial taught me, or someone online mentions, or even something I like on someone else’s work that I like and will try to mimic. I don’t imagine I will ever stop learning and trying new things, I get bored way too easily to be content doing the same thing over and over. :slightly_smiling_face:

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My last one I was so disheartened it was so ugly that I gave it a couple thin coats of black and I was finally happy with the way it looked! I felt like I was channeling LaDonna Briggs

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I didn’t realize she had a tutorial. I would love to see it if you don’t mind sharing the link.

My first doll the Sadie kit i painted by follow Miracle Babies Nursery on you tube !
Then i also learned a lot form Enchanted Kreature Kits Enchanted Moments Nursery on you tube
she has doin also tutorial on asian skin babies .
And there turned out very well by follow here tutorial :ok_hand:
Also on you tube My Sweet Cupcake Nursery has tutorials on you tube go look here dolls also turned out amazing good :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:
You can follow it step by step
And now i learn form you all im bleshed to be here and share the same love for reborning with you :relaxed:
Were i live i don’t have people who i can share my hobby so for me this means a lot :hugs:

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