Painting With Acrylics

Hello, I have the kit Realborn Sleeping Ana and I really want to paint her but both me and my husband decided not to use the heating method. I have done some research and found you can paint reborns with acrylic paint. I’m thinking of going with liquidex or folk art but I was wondering what colors I would need. Especially for the skin tone. We were also thinking about using waterborne air drying paints. This is my first reborn I will be creating and I don’t want to mess her up

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A word of advice, don’t use craft paint—it will not hold up for reborning. I would suggest you invest in some paint that is created for reborn doll making or a good Professional Artist Grade acrylic and mediums. Make sure it has archival properties. And it’s a good idea to ‘prime’ your kit first. If you would like some really good information go to: The Reborn Connection on FB. Angie has lots of videos, discussions etc. all on using air dry paint. She is a wizard and very knowledgeable. Good Luck.

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I use Liquitex Soft Body and Hard Body professional acrylics. I really like them and I like that I can just go to Michael’s and buy them. To begin, get a set of 6 basic colors-red, yellow, blue, green, black and white. From these you can mix just about any color you want. A tube of Transparent Mixing White is useful for softening and lightening colors. Some burnt umber and yellow ochre would also be good to have. thesprucecrafts.com has some good tips. Just search on the site for how to mix skin tones. I use a little Liquitex Ultra Matte Gel mixed in with the paints to minimize shine. I use DecoArt DuraClear ultra matte sealer as the first coat of sealer because it’s UV protective and Americana Decor Soft Touch Varnish (lavender label) with cornstarch to eliminate shine for the final sealer. You might want to consider buying a small, inexpensive kit or some test parts to practice on but you can just jump in and give it a go. I’ll be happy to help when you have questions.

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Welcome!

Waternborne is the best, in my opinion. The service is awesome from that shop. Their price, for you what you get, is unbeatable as far as I have seen. I use Waterborne paints. I did use Folk Art on my first baby. I was told that it was OK to use and that this person had been reborning for a very long time, and that is what she used. Well, I listened. I spent more money trying to get the right shade of paints. I am not good at mixing colors, and those don’t seem to mix like regular acrylics. Also, it is said that they fade over time. Waterborne has been much less money for me than the Folk Art. Folk Art paints are great for what they are made for. Waterborne was formulated for reborn dolls. Oh, and welcome to this forum and this addictive hobby!

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I use same paints as @jeanhai I use primary method. Also use Matte Gel in my paint, Soft Touch Varnish with DE and Corn Starch as a finishing touch.

I use Golden fluid paints but I started with Liquitex both are good paints but I definitely prefer my Golden paints…I also sometimes use some RebornFX and BabyFX (no longer made). I use Panpastels for creasing and blushing. :wink:

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