Repainting dolls is such a great way to change a doll’s identity. There is full repainting where you remove the existing face paint and start from scratch and there is also partial repainting where you can paint over a doll’s existing face paint, either entirely, or just to change the colors or lines of some areas of the face paint. Partial repainting is fantastic for fixing up dolls with worn paint in some sections, or to change their eye color, their eye shadow or various features to give her a new look. It is also a great guide for understanding where to paint, as you can follow over what is already there.
With full repaints, this is something that can take a little time to get the features right, such as the brow placement, lip contours and general good painting techniques. People who draw artwork or are good with make-up art especially theatre art, are usually at an advantage, so if you are into these fields, you already have the basic ideas of drawing and/ or make-up applications.
I recommend trying ideas on paper first to get an understanding of facial features and make-up techniques of the positioning of the features and also where color is applied, as this will give you a really good insight before applying paint to your doll’s face. Also looking closely at a doll to get a close understanding of how the original doll has been painted can really help.
With painting, practice does make perfect. Painting fine even coats is the key to a smooth look, yet this certainly is something that will improve with experience. The type of acrylic paint I use is called ‘gouache’ which is available in most craft stores. I use a variety of brands and find that they all have the same feel to them. Occasionally I have come across ones that must be a little old and are a bit gluggy, which are not so nice to work with or the occasional brand that is a little thicker than others, so once you find the type you like, stick with it.
For painting items such as accessories, being shoes, earrings, bracelets etc which are made of hard plastic, use the type of acrylic paint that is used for toy model cars as this is somewhat different to goauche. This paint can be purchased from Hobby stores, the type that sell paints for model cars.
The difference between the two paints is that gouache paint dries much faster and is best for the doll’s faces and works best with the vinyl faces. If you use the model car type acrylic on the face, each coat takes a long time to dry. But with hard plastic, the gouache tends to peel off, even after sealing it, it can peel. So the model car type is best for hard plastic for items such as shoes and earrings, as it will last better on that type of plastic. But if you were to paint a small section that is unlikely to get touched, the gouache can be okay. It’s just that the other type is slightly better.
With gouache paint on the doll’s vinyl faces, it stays on them very securely once it is sealed, even if you need to wash the doll, the face paint will stay secure, as it works well with the vinyl. So these are the two different types of paint required for these two types of materials.
One mention about enamel paint on hard plastic, it can work, but it takes a very long time to dry and you can end up with a layer of dust by the time it’s dry which isn’t a nice look. So I do recommend using acrylic over enamel for hard plastic objects and sealing the paint once the coats are complete.
Now for a tutorial on repainting dolls. This tutorial has the steps with photos to explain the process.
Partial repaint example for improving a doll:
You can improve a doll by partially repainting areas that don’t have even lines or are faded. This doll has had the dark blue areas repainted for improvement.
before
after
Partial repaint example for changing a dolls look:
A great way to change a doll’s look is by partially repainting over the existing paint by making new changes. This doll has had the black areas accentuated and slightly altered to give her a more dramatic look.
before
after