Reborning as an Art Form is just that, an art form (hobby, craft, etc). Personally I don’t really think there are any ‘rules’ when it come to ‘Painting’ but I DO feel like there is “standards” that should be adhered to when creating a reborn doll. Such as: Artist grade paint (whether heat set or air dry), proper weighting materials, good stuffing material, nice mohair etc. those would be MY Standards, not necessarily Rules. If I am a collector who just purchased an expensive reborn doll and found that it was weighted with sand, kitty litter, or aquarium gravel (or the multitude of other stuff) I would be very disappointed with the artist who created it. That may not hold true for many of you but it definitely would be a bad taste in my mouth. So for that, I guess I have ‘standards’ that I feel should be upheld.
I like this, the idea of standards vs rules.
I do agree with that. Now, there should be a level of standards met.
Thanks ladies, good to know someone agrees with me, makes me feel better!
I like all of it, well said.
In every art form there are rules/standards/basics that people need to learn as they start their journey. The actual art begins when you take all the basics and begin to bend them to fit your vision.
For example a sculptor who wants to create human forms needs to learn about bones and muscles and joints and how they all work together. If they later want to make more abstract human sculptures they still need to know the basics. Same with birds, butterflies, horses, etc. You can absolutely tell if someone creates exaggerated living forms but has no knowledge of anatomy or if they do.
I think you can tell if a reborn artist knows how to create a quality reborn too. It may have lots more color and originality than someone else’s creation, but the basics of being human will still show up if the artist has studied babies and how they look and move. For example, if there are veins they will look realistic because the artist took the time to study what real veins look like and didn’t just make blue V’s every now and then because someone on a YT video said that’s what you do. Lashes go in a specific area whether they are realistic wispy newborn lashes or purple glittery ones. What we do when we paint our 3D vinyl canvases can be simply a craft if all we do is follow someone else’s “rules”, and that’s fine if that’s what that person wants. But it can also be art. It takes commitment and effort and the ability to make it so. But when and if we can grow enough in our journey and develop the skill we need to bend those basics into something wonderful, it can definitely be art!
Why do you go there? You’ve been doing this long enough that you should know what you’re doing without videos. YouTube and social media is full of people with a snobby set of rules regarding everything in life.
I’ve been a parent for nearly 30 years. I have a college degree in early childhood. I taught and directed toddlers for 25 years. I did workshops training other teachers. But if I go join a parenting group on social media, I will be told all day, every day that I’m doing it wrong.
I’ve been putting on makeup since I was 15. I’m not great. But if I went on social media about it, and I’m sure I would be told how wrong I’m doing it.
And cooking…my family approves of everything I serve them. But I am no doubt doing it wrong according to the social media groups.
Stay away from the negative media and do life your way. You’ll be much happier. 
I don’t.
Just because I know about it in no way means I engage with it. It means I’m aware of it
And when you sell online you are bound to be aware of the mentality of the people in the same circle.
I would think it has to do with why you are painting. If you paint to sell, the buyer wants a realistic baby doll. If you are not painting to sell, looks like you can do whatever you want. Just my 2cents 
I definitely understand what you’re getting at. But…
I think reborning is a medium like any other. If we’re using the canvas-painting analogy… just because some people enjoy using paint-by-number kits doesn’t mean that professional artists’ paintings are equivalent, or that paint-by-number is representative of painting as a whole. And I don’t think that someone who enjoys painting as a craft hobby would be under any illusion that they’re doing museum-quality work. To them, it’s a craft, and that’s how they get value and joy out of it. For other people, they’ve found their own niche within the industry, and they have their own distinctive, evolving style. And that’s how they find fulfillment.
I think it’s a good thing that reborning can be done both professionally/artistically, and casually/by-the-numbers. Not only does that make it accessible to people who don’t necessarily want to make reborning their life’s work, but it also means that there’s a baseline standard that people can use for comparison in their experimentation. If everything was super unique and incomparable, how would we be able to judge anything for itself?
Let me put it this way. Some writers find and share joy through writing formulaic genre fiction, and others become their generation’s Hemingway. Neither style completely represents writing as a medium, but they both have value… just different kinds. Reborning is an artistic medium, so some people will make “great art” with it, and others won’t necessarily need to. Not every painter is Picasso, but that’s okay… not everyone needs to be cutting edge to make painting itself an art.
Good thoughts@
I was on this forum just a few month earlier than you, however I never felt that ’ don’t use cheap acrylic craft paint’ sound as a snobby advise 
I like that - standards vs rules.
Exactly the reason we (reborners) tell beginners about such things as using cheap paint. We are actually trying to help them learn and keep them from getting into a nightmare with a customer. I don’t think I have ever heard anyone be ‘snotty’ to a beginner, just trying to help. Although I do realize that the written word can be misconstrued.
Sooo easily.
I have no idea who it was lol but my snobby feeling was because if the high end products. Which I now understand the reasoning behind it
It was snobby imho because they were saying young as rounder expensive acrylics I didn’t understand at the time but i do now
The thing that yanks my chain is people saying don’t dare think of selling / or doing customs during your first year or until you’ve made at least 15, etc. there are some people who are great right out of the gate. And even the people that aren’t, there may be a market for them as well. It’s entirely their prerogative. I’ve seen (and experienced) a lot of pushback on those things when people are so excited to be a part of it.
As far as what makes art, there is definitely a sort of standard / pattern to reborning because humans have many similarities. There are some “rules” that will give you a wider market. People are free to do as they wish but maybe know their audience won’t be as broad.
I think the problem is that some newbies will take custom orders and then come ask everyone how to “get this skin tone” Etc. They need to only do customs for the type of painting they have already done. Also, they tend to use prototype photos because they don’t have enough photos of their own work to show.
I believe, unless a new artist is exceptionally talented out of the gate (and I have seen a few of those - I’m not one of them), they should not be doing customs. I think this misinforming to the customer. A customer may not understand skill level and just think reborns are cheap because the newbie is not charging as much as an artist with more experience and skill does. Or the customer likes the cheaper price because they are buying the doll for a child, and then later on doesn’t understand why more skillfully done reborns cost so much. I’ve seen people come into doll groups on FB and rant about reborns costing too much money. They have no understanding of how it works, and they may also be seeing cheaply done dolls by new artists who really are not ready to be selling their work and shouldn’t be.