Paint. Acrylic paint is the best stuff to use. I use craft acrylics, they're cheap, durable and easy to find. Some people swear by artist's acrylics, it depends on how much money you want to spend. Whichever you go for, buy the bottles, not the tubes, as the paint can be too thick.
Mixing/thinning agent. Again this depends on how much money you want to spend. You can buy paint thinners/mediums where you get your paints, or you can use good old fashioned tap water like me! Medium gives you a little longer to blend paints - it stretches out the drying process.
Brushes. Here you really should go for half-decent quality. You can use anything you like for mixing paints, but get the smallest pointed tipped brushes you can find for the actual painting. Synthetic brushes are the best ones to use - acrylics can wreck sable brushes pretty quickly apparently!
Mixing palette. I use an old plate, but you can use pretty much anything you like!
Nail polish remover. This is to remove the face paint and touch up any mistakes. Acetone free is the best.
Cotton buds. These are useful for removing paint and touching up mistakes.
Glasses for mixing and brush cleaning water. Change your brush water often if you're using lots of colours so you don't transfer old colours from the water.
Sealers. These are to give added protection to acrylic paints. The paint stays put on it's own pretty well, but this is just for extra protection, or if you want a different finish to your paint - ie satin or gloss.
1. Remove the original factory paint if you'd like to - sometimes it's easier when you're starting out to just leave it as a guide and paint over it. If you're removing the paint, the best thing to use is acetone-free nail polish remover. I use cotton buds dipped in the remover and change them often so you're not just smudging paint all over the place. Some bits are stubborn, but they will come off. Then just wash Barbie's face and pat her dry.
2. Painting. I'm not the world's biggest expert when it comes to the order you should paint bits of the doll. The thing I always start with is the whites of the eyes and her teeth (if she has any showing). Often I draw the outline of the eye very softly in pencil before I start so I can get the shape I want. Mix white paint with a tiny bit of water (or medium) and the smallest amount of brown, just to take away the harshness of the white - real eyes aren't pure white. You don't want the paint to be so thin that it won't cover the area well, but you want it thinner than straight out of the bottle, or you'll see your brush strokes. Wait for the paint to dry before adding any other layers you might need to build up the desired colour. Remember, any mistakes you make can be easily taken care of with a cotton bud dipped in nail polish remover.
I'm showing you on top of a picture for the moment so you can see more easily!
The next steps you can do in any order that suits you.
The Iris. Take a colour a shade or two darker than you want your eye colour to be, and thin it. Paint the iris - do a whole filled in circle, not just an outline, it's easier. Remember unless you're going for a certain look, you rarely see the whole circle of the iris, part is hidden by the eyelid. There are some examples of this at the end of the page.
When this is dry, put the colour of your iris (thinned paint) almost to the edges, so that you can still see a darker line around the very edge. You can enhance the iris further by painting multi coloured "spokes".
Eyeliner and shadow. If you want pale shadow, use very thin paint. If you're doing eyeliner (or anything else fiddly) try holding your breath while you paint the stroke. You can make your liner any colour you like and any thickness you like, it depends on the look you're going for.
Lashes. Unless you're rooting lashes, you'll find that your doll will look odd without you painting some in. I usually paint a few lashes at the outside corner of the eyes, top and bottom, but you can paint as many as you like.
Lips. Follow the outline of the moulded lips unless you want a different look. If you stray outside the outline she can look a little odd! I like to do the lips after the iris so I can make the colours look good together, but it doesn't really matter when you do it.
Eyebrows. I hate doing brows! It can be hard to get them even, so keep a cotton bud soaked in remover handy. You can draw them on lightly with a pencil first if you like - but do it softly. If you want regular brows, take a look at where they are placed on another doll. Other expressions can be achieved by moving the eyebrows - make faces in the mirror to see what difference brows make. Draw the brows with thin paint in one smooth stroke, from the nose side out. You can paint slightly darker little feathery lines to suggest hairs when the first layer is dry if you want to. Use brown paint to draw the brows on brunette and blonde dolls, and black for darker hair, or you can match the colour of the hair if you have an odd colour hair - ie green!
Finishing Touches.
Pupils - put a dot of slightly thicker black paint in the center of the iris.
Highlights - take thicker white paint and place small dots or lines to show the light direction. I use one in the upper corner of the iris, and one in the opposite corner of the bottom. Remember that the highlights will be the same for both eyes - ie top left corner and bottom right, NOT mirrored.
Blush - use very thin paint or leave Barbie's original blush. I put a small dot of paint on my fingertip and blend it onto the doll's cheeks.
Tear duct - take pink paint (I use a pearly white mixed with red) and put a small stroke on the inside corner of each eye, closest to the nose.
Shadow - use very thin black or grey paint to put a shadow on the eyeball - at the top, where the lid creates a shadow.
Extras.
Beauty spot - use a thick mix of black or brown paint.
Freckles - use very thin brown paint and dot each freckle on. I blot every now and then with a piece of kitchen roll.
Tattoos - use neat or slightly thinned paint. Paint on the harder body of the doll doesn't stick quite as well as on the head, so it may chip off. Sealer can help prevent this, but it's still a little delicate. Don't use nail polish remover on the hard plastic, it makes the plastic melt slightly and leaves a nasty white mark - not a good look!
* Wait for layers to dry properly before you pain over the top. It can seem like a pain waiting, but you could undo a lot of good work if you don't.
* Don't get paint on the body of the doll. Either cover her with something or remove the head before you start painting. You can't use nail polish remover on the hard plastic of the body - it makes it turn white.
* Look at real faces to see the details that make up the eye, or different expressions. Sometimes drawing eyes can help you with the shape.
Here's a few sets of eyes for reference:
Charlize Theron
Milla Jovovich
Jessica Alba
Back to LouMoo's Creations Home
elljays*emporium - general painting and cleaning tips
SpookyChicks painting tutorial - great for gothic dolls, but good just for seeing how all the layers build up
Practical Painting Class by Juan Albuerne - great step by step detailed tutorial with loads of photos
