RebornFX Painting TutorialI

I was asked to make a tutorial for MacPhersons on how I have used their RebornFX paints.

This is a demonstration of technique. You can substitute colors that are close for many of them and mix colors together to get similar colors. Each doll can be painted differently by using colors of your own choosing. They have put the tutorial up in their free tutorials section. I am posting it here as well for those who follow my blog.

Painting Twin B With RebornFX Air Dry Paints

Bonnie Brown Twin B painted with RebornFX Paints

As I have been testing the ready to use paints for the RebornFX paint line, I just finished up painting a Twin B kit by Bonnie Brown.  In the process, I seem to have found a ratio that works well for them in my climate.  You may need to adjust things a bit depending on drying time in your own climate.   I find that a base mix of equal parts- 3 drops RebornFX paint to 3 drops Diluent to 3 drops Open Time medium seems to be a good starting point.  To this mix, I add about 3 drops of water.  You can add more water if you feel you need to but at some point, you will have to add back some Emulsion if you use lots of water.  You will be able to tell the addition of Emulsion is needed when the paints start beading up on your vinyl.

It is important to note that with any air dry acrylic paint system that water color washes can be used to achieve nice color tints as long as these washes are sandwiched between something rich in binders.  this can be layers of paint not so thinned with water or with a sealing medium of some sort such.  If you thin your paints with more water it is also a must to use a good sealer when you finish your doll.

You will find the addition of mediums does increase the sheen of the paints.  That seems to be a factor I have encountered with all artist grade mediums that contain binders in them to increase adhesion.   If you have been a user of the BabyFX line of paints like myself, you will have experienced that those paints are wonderfully matte but when you add in their Sure Bond medium to increase adhesion you can get some sheen there as well.

I do find that the RebornFX matting liquid is awesome at cutting down on the sheen appearance and reducing any tackiness you may feel along the way from the mediums.  I find I got the best results when I pounced or painted it onto the pieces rather than mixing it in with the paint mixes.  I usually end up applying this product after every 3 or so layers of paint.

Here is my baby once I finished painting her and applying a layer of matting liquid.  The next step will be to apply the RebornFX sealer over this which will reduce sheen and lock in the paints.  After that I will let her cure a week or two and then give her a final varnish.  These photos were taken with a flash.

Yes, you can heat set RebornFX paints!

For those who are wondering if you can heat set RebornFX air dry paints, yes you can. Here is baby Rosie after being painted with RebornFX paints and mediums, sealed with their paint sealer, and then varnished with Genesis heat set varnish mix.