I don’t know why I struggle so much in this area. It never fails; it’s either so light that you can’t see it, then I try to go over over it a second time and ruin it…or I just ruin it from the start. Ive tried veining first before my skin layers…I’ve tried leaving it for the last step, either way epic fail.
I’m working on two babies right now and on one of them I’ve done the veining twice and it’s barely visible. I afraid to go back over it a 3rd time for fear of it turning out too dark and ruining all my work up till now. The other baby I’m just going to pass on the veining all together (slacker lol). I think I’ve watched every youtube video known to man and have read every tutorial I could find trying to help myself, and it’s not improving, just making me more frustrated.
Can someone please please help me out here with some pointers.
I agree!! I do it first and touch it up lastly if I need to. What I do is paint them on and then take a torn sponge with thinning medium and pounce on it to make it appear under the flesh. Your paint may be too thin if they are barely noticeable.
@specialmoments. Yes I think I’m mixing it to thin now days…before it was too thick lol. I can’t seem to find the right balance. I practiced with one of the watercolor pencils I use on my bjds, it worked amazingly. I wish I could use it for veining instead of the paints, but it just wipes right off with water.
I feel you! when I first started reborning, the veins were one of the hardest parts for me. mine were so dark and blue they looked like pen marks. it frustrated me so much, but the more dolls I made the more I discovered different ways of doing it. I don’t think I’ve ever had the problem of them being too light, but for the case of being too dark, I discovered if I only used a little paint and a lot of water, I could rub it off immediately and it would be perfect. and also mixing different colors with it so it’s not so blue pen colored. You’re definitely not alone, veining is a technique that takes time to be mastered!!
I think I’m going to go find a vein colored prisma pencil tomorrow. I felt like I had better control and end results when experimenting with the watercolor pencil, so I’m wondering if using a prisma pencil would work better for me.
Veins take a while to work out. I used to use Genesis Thinning Medium to keep if from being runny. I’ve now switched back to liquid thinner and put on light coats. I then use a small mop brush and dab the edges to soften them. It’s definitely better to have light veins than dark ones.
I am mixing vein blue with thinning medium and a little bit of thinner. The consistency is creamy . I draw the lines and pounce …so they fade a little bit . They don’t have to be exact the same in all parts. Somewhere can be more darker some places lighter . Just start and do it…don’t give yourself time to stress over it.
After I give a bath for my baby parts and dry I start with two skin layers …so the blue can stain the vinyl. After the two skin layers I bake. Then next step is the veining …so if I really have to I can still wipe it down or make it softer.
Mottling is the only part that I don’t goof up lol. Aside from veining, my other serious shortcomings are ears. They are the first thing i look at when shopping tor a kit, and can make or break a sale if theyre not detailed to my liking…so theyre pretty important. But when it comes to painting, i can complete an entire layer only to realize after baking that I forgot to paint the ears lol. How in the world does that happen?
I draw the vein and immediately pounce it with a sponge. This will give it a varence in appearence, smudging it slighly to almost nothing, to looking like shading or a nicely done line. I go back over the area i just did if i think it needs more. I also do it in the beginning that way if its too dark, by the time i am finished with layers and washes they are just right.
Not prisma exactly, but i tried a watercolor pencil. It didn’t work well because I was painting on genesis oils so it’s didn’t stick. When I tried it dry, I couldn’t get it to blend, but maybe someone else will chime in and know how to use the pencil better. I just use the marker or powders for veining now.
