Search:  

Click here for advanced search tips!

Genesis Paints Tutorial

How to paint OOAK Babies, Polymer Clay Sculptures, Dolls and Reborns

Genesis® Heat Dry Oil Paints are different from other oil paints because you need heat to dry them. Literally, if you don't apply heat, they will never dry. This and the quality along with their "non-toxic" properties, make Genesis® paints unique for OOAK babies, dolls, polymer clay sculptures and reborns.

      To dry the paints you need an oven at 265° F, or a Genesis® Drying Gun. I use the oven most of the time, but I use the drying gun a lot too mainly for retouching.

      Genesis® paints are very thick, so you need to use very little paint. The advice to get a "natural" look is to use 4 parts of Genesis® Thinning Medium to one part of paint. Even so, it is better to add the paint little by little to the thinner and stop when you have the desired color. You have the perfect color, when it looks like "water paint", translucent and clear, a "see-through" paint. If not, your doll will look as if it has makeup.

FLESH COLOR

     I use very little flesh color to paint my polymer clay sculpted babies or the reborns. Most of the time the clay will achieve the flesh tone I want by mixing different tones of clay, but if you want to use it or if you need to retouch a spot, then mix it as in the previous instructions.
     For reborning, the flesh colors I use are mainly the darker ones, to shade the creases, folds and wrinkles. If you want to lighten or darken the color of a doll and it's not a very dramatic change, then you can use the Genesis ® flesh all over the doll. If you need a total change in the color, then you will have to do several applications and dry between them.

BLUSHING AND LIPS

     For blushing I use red or quinacridone crimson with a speckle of blue to tone down the red or quinacridone crimson tone.
Sometimes I mix red with a speckle of yellow andFlesh 08 for a beautiful peach color  in the skin. Always use 4 parts of thinner and one part of paint. This doesn't mean you have to use the whole bottle. If you use a dab of paint, use 4 dabs of thinner and so on.  Remember that the Genesis® paints go a long way, so it's better to make small batches or if you have a lot of paint left over, just cover it or put it in a container for future use.

     For the lips I use even more thinner than paint. I don't like my dolls to have a very intense color, but that is how I like it. Other people add more color to the lips and that doesn't mean their dolls are not beautiful.
It is better to apply several layers of paint, drying between layers, than to add a thick layer and all of it in one application. I seal the lips with a gloss varnish to get a "wet lips" look.

FOLDS, CREASES AND WRINKLES

      I use red or quinacridone crimson and a speckle of yellow or a darker flesh color for the folds and wrinkles and apply with a very thin paintbrush. If you get out of the creases you can always wipe it off with a paper towel.