Sunday, October 28, 2012

Painting Your Doll

The Physics of Doll Painting

Physics can be fun.  Really.  And interesting.  Honestly.

This is Ginger.  I am getting ready to paint her. 
Her hair is in and her face is clean.


A fellow Monster High dolly friend wrote to me about having troubles with painting her dark skinned doll.  The trouble was, when she sprayed her doll with the flat sealer, she lost color. 
What she is up against is literally how color works-  what it actually is.  What we see as color is actually light waves. Most of what we see is reflected color waves. 

Colors are frequencies.  They are either absorbed by an object or reflected.  If they are reflected, that is the color we see.  Every color wave in the spectrum may be hitting an object like say, an apple, but all we see are reds and yellows.  The apple is not actually red- it is simply absorbing all of the other color frequencies- and reflecting the reds and yellows. 

A white piece of paper is busy reflecting all of the light spectrum colors- and appears white.  While something that appears black absorbs all of the color spectrum light and appears very dark. 

When you paint something with flat color, it appears dull or soft.  It cuts down what is reflected and refracted from the object.  If you put a clear shine on an object, it appears much brighter and can even appear harsh looking.  This is why we use a flat sealer on our dolls faces. 

Our skin (typically) is not shiny - it is soft in appearance. We are cutting what is reflected and refracted by the paint we have applied when we use the flat sealer.  What escapes and bounces back to our eyes is less distinct- because the reflection has been manipulated.  It is being diffused by the sealer.  It lets out less light.

This is also why we add something glossy to the eyes.  Our eyes shine.  They are wet.  We amplify that reflection using the gloss. Gloss lets out more light.

I am not going into deep detail here- that would be a bit of a snooze for most of us.  My intention is to help you understand what you are doing when you paint and use different sealers. 

Paint is used to create an illusion- and how we manipulate the paint determines what it will look like.  If you think you have lost color after applying flat sealer- you have not.  You have cut down the ability to see that color. 



The next question is, how do we solve this problem? 

>>>Add more color.  Make it much brighter than what you are actually going for.
Try it in a place you won't see.  Sometimes I will try a color out on the head where the hair is going to be.

>>>Put white paint down first- and your color on top. 
I often use this technique for lips.
If you want to use translucent colors, and you are painting on a dark surface, you won't see much of the color you use- because the color of the object will reflect through the translucent color.  The objects color will cancel out the applied translucent color(s). 
Example: Violet may appear muddy on a brown object if you spray it with flat sealer. 


>>>Keep adding color between sprayings of the flat sealer.
Adding color in thin layers gives you greater control of how it will look. 


                       
Remember:  Leave a comment and get an entry for the October Drawing :)



Thursday, October 25, 2012

Catching Up

What's New....


A few people have written to ask why it has been so quiet in here lately.
I do like to post here more often, hopefully with things that might be helpful to someone out there. 
Unfortunately, I have had quite a few challenges recently that have kept me from doing what I had originally planned. 
It is my hope to get something in here by Sunday- we shall see. 

In the meantime, what follows are some new clothes at Dolly Dolly Fashions and this post is another chance for you to comment and be entered in the October Drawing :)








Monday, October 8, 2012

October Prize

The October Prize Is...

2 Piece Outfit from Dolly Dolly Fashions!
 
Meow!
 
Leave a comment, get an entry for this month's drawing!
 
 
~Big GZ
 
 



Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Anime Doll Eyes

Painting Anime Doll Eyes

Anastasiya Shpagina

 Have you wondered about the appeal of certain doll eyes?  Have you looked at proportions and colors?



The above photo is of 2 real young women.  The effect of Anastasiya looking doll-like is done mostly by applying make-up.

Visit this link, view the video:



I believe she is wearing contacts in this photo- to make her iris size appear larger.

I have been wanting to take one of the Monster High girls and turn her into an anime character.  I have some drawings, and lots of ideas.  I am more into the warrior style - not the fairy style. 
No matter the style, the eyes must have that quality to capture the anime character.  I could not have put together a better tutorial on it than what you get to see in the above video.
If I do an anime style Monster High, I promise to take photos and post them here.

1950's Anime Eyes


Eye Painting Tutorial here on mymonstercrush:



October Weather for the Blog:  Windy with dashes and bits of everything that wanders through the yard.  It is Fall after all.

Remember to leave a comment and receive an entry for the October Drawing.  Photos of the Prize of Prizes will be up October 7, 2012.






Monday, October 1, 2012

September Drawing Winner

And the Winner Is...








Congratulations Scarred Kitty!!!
You are the winner of the September Drawing!

Send your name and address to pbvanchance@hotmail and your prize will be mailed to you!



PB is still trying to decide on the October prize, so stay tuned!

What are you and your ghoul's going to dress up as for Halloween? 
Share and earn an extra entry for the drawing.
Share a photo of your doll(s) dressed for Halloween, and receive 5 extra entries for the drawing. 

Wishing you all the best for the coming month!
~Big GZ