What do you mean Face-Ups/Repaints??
The Disney Animator's Collection & BJDs
First let me explain face ups/repaints. Basically, it is kind of like reborning, except we are obtaining a doll from the Disney Animator's collection, and using different mediums (I'll get into more detail in the next section) to create more realistic or exaggerated facial features. We give the doll character and personality- create an aesthetically pleasing face through modifying the appearance of the doll's factory produced face. The mediums we use may vary between artist, but I personally have tried a few and found one technique/materials that I love. The Disney Animator's Dolls Collection that I work on are considered Repaints. I'll add some examples of the Face-ups with BJDs (Ball Jointed Dolls).
I found a few second hand animator's dolls on eBay (Ariel, Pocahontas, Jasmine, Merida and Mulan too), found some clothes to dress them in after I was done. The first doll I tried was Ariel. She was pretty banged up, pen marks and other ink marks that was impossible to get OUT! She was pretty rough, matted hair, ect. But I knew she'd be my practice dolly, and I decided to use the acrylic paint method and quickly found out that it was not the method for me! My very next faceup was Pocahontas, and it went a little something like this:
Repaint ~ Pocahontas
Original Doll
Removing Factory Paint
Removing Factory Paint
First things first, since this collector's doll was purchased 2nd hand, my first thing was to give her a warm water and Dawn dish soap cleaning. I wash her hair as well, and this is important- condition her hair afterward, rinse, wring, brush out, and lay flat to air dry overnight.
Removing Factory Paint
Removing Factory Paint
Removing Factory Paint
This next step is where I remove the factory paint. I use 100% pure acetone- normal nail polish remover doesn't work well. It'll smudge the factory paint, and generally make a mess on your hands and the doll. After removal, I wash the doll's face again and wait for it to dry.
Dolly is Complete!
Removing Factory Paint
Dolly is Complete!
After all is said and done, all that's left is to dress the doll and style her hair, and photo her! This was my first Pocahontas Repaint and it's special to me, so I've reserved it for my own collection. I since then have also collected many more Disney Animator's dolls to repaint, so be on the lookout!!
The Materials
The Materials
Dolly is Complete!
So what materials do I use? Here's what I need to create these repaints!
- Variety of PAINT BRUSHES & DETAIL BRUSHES (I mean, all kinds! Smaller bristled, thin brushes, modified brushes, mop, you name it, you can use it!)
- MR. SUPER CLEAR UV CUT FLAT SPRAY- MATTE
- SOFT PASTELS. I use Loew Cornell soft pastels in 64 assorted colors. DO NOT use oil pastels. It won't work!
- WATER COLOR PENCILS- I use a variety of brands: Artist's Choice, Loew Cornell, Prismacolor. It's important to make sure they're water color pencils. I use the variety of brands because the colors in multipacks vary, and I like the shades I am able to find.
- Tape, gloves (I use latex) plastic wrap, cosmetic wedges, Q-TIPS (dual-tipped applicators with the point on one end), plastic or acrylic paint wheel, white acrylic paint, and a cup of water!
The Details
The Materials
FINISHED DOLL
When the doll is dry, I then wrap her up. Since there's generally a lot of hair with these dolls, I'll either braid the hair or put it into a bun, and wrap the entire head in plastic wrap, and/or pull a latex glove around the head, and tape the edges at the hairline. I also use the plastic wrap around the body so the only thing exposed is the doll's face.
After ensuring there are no dust particles on the face, I put my first coat of Mr. Super Clear on the doll and let it dry completely. I'll add about 2 or 3 more layers after that (drying in-between) and set the doll once again to dry overnight.
The next day, I can begin working on the face. I use the water color pencils to lightly sketch out how I want her eyes to look- the position they'll be in. When I'm satisfied, I'll then use the soft pastels to start shading in creased areas: around the nose, under the lips, corner of lips, eyes, etc. If I choose to do makeup, it'll be done using the same materials. My first layers of pastels and water color pencils will then be sealed with the Mr. Super Clear, and I repeat this until I have the desired look.
I then detail the eyes, lips, nose, blending the water color pencils to the shade I like- then seal it again and wait for it to dry, then one last coating of Mr. Super Clear before the doll is done. Sometimes I'll paint the fingernails too.
FINISHED DOLL
The Materials
FINISHED DOLL
Once the doll is complete, the last thing I need to do is photo it. I'll admit, in the beginning I had not been terribly creative in that venture, however, my newest animators are fun and exciting, and I'm consistently learning new tricks. These dolls aren't solely for children. Collectors seek them out and I am all to happy to create new ones. For example, I like to change the characters up a bit. Instead of Ariel being Ariel, I might turn her into another character such as little orphan Annie! My imagination goes wild at all the possibilities and I am all to excited to create my newest Disney Animators Collection dolls!
When they are available, I'll post them on my site, eBay, and Etsy. If you have special requests, let me know and I'll be happy to accommodate!
Take a look below at some of of the Disney Animator's dolls I've repainted! I still have a lot of my old ones I cut my teeth on, and those will be shown here also!!
I thank you for your time and for looking at my DisAnim dollies!