Category: Projects

My compressor arrived, and I have been messing up stuff since day one!
I thought I was prepared, I really did. But here is a short story on how my first day went:
I got out my old trusted mask respirator.
I started mixing my varnish with water. I think the first batch was too wet, way too much water. The other batch was too thick, and my airbrush clogged. I cleaned it between every spray session.
I kept my mask on, and about 15-20 minutes in, I got an instant insane headache.
This is when I started to suspect that my respirator wasn’t functioning properly, so I started to do some research.
Respirator filters have a life span of maximum 6 months, after being taken out of the sealed bag they come in. I got my mask as a gift years ago, with the filters already installed, so I have no idea how long they had been installed before I got them. I was pretty much starving myself of oxygen, while trying to stay safe.
I couldn’t find a local shop that sells the filters, so I had to get a new mask that don’t have replaceable filters, you basically throw it in the trash after about 6 months. But I wanted to spray during the weekend, and even though this stuff is all non toxic, it is not recommended you breathe it in. The same goes for acrylic paint, the small particles in the air can get in your lunges, and that is NOT good.
I tested my new mask today, and my first thought was “oh my god I can breathe normally!”. I could feel a significant difference, it did not feel nearly as stuffy as the old one. I feel a little bit like an idiot, I should have done some research on this as well, not just on the airbrush itself.

Ok, so here are my expirences with trying to use Liquitex matte medium.
I cannot for the life of me get it to the right consistency. I also cannot figure out how thick/thin my layers should be.
I thought I had it going pretty good, when I went to remove a speck of dust from the resin face I was working on, as I have done many times in the past with MCS, and I got a HOLE in the medium. From this hole, I could tear her entire face off, much like if you’ve ever had a sun burn and you can peel the skin off.
So I decided to remove it from the MH head and the resin head. I grabbed my acetone-free nail polish remover. The MH head got insanely sticky, and the resin head got a little bit sticky. The resin head worked out in the end, but I continued to spray on the MH head and now she looks glossy (new batch of medium, could be that I sprayed it on too thick)
I have SO much to learn, and I’m not a fast learner when it comes to this sort of thing.
I even practiced some aiming with some acrylics on a piece of paper, and my aim is currently a little off, so I’ll need to work more on that too.

I decided to go ahead and order a new varnish, the one that Xhanthi uses in her videoes on youtube, Vallejo matte. She doesn’t dilute it, so hopefully that makes things just a little easier for me. It also gives me an idea of how thin things have to be to go through the airbrush, so maybe I can learn to use the liquitex later 🙂
I think I might also buy some airbrush-ready acrylics, because this just isn’t something I enjoy trying to learn to be honest. I just want to aim my brush and paint away!

I’ll continue practicing over the weekend anyway, it cant hurt (at least not after getting proper protective gear!).

I highly recommend watching Xhanthis video on the subject, her voice is so soothing to listen to and she covers a great deal of things that gave me a boost of confidence about all of this. She also states that her first layer is usually really thick, and that she leaves it to cure for 24 hours. That makes me more confident because it means that I wont mess up if my layers are a little thick. It’s only the first layer that is so thick though, to protect the resin. I may try 3-4 lighter layers like I’ve done with MSC.

Wish me luck!

I’ve given Celine 3 faceups in total, and I just cant get it right. I’m weird this way, if I cant get a faceup that I like on a doll, I get frustrated and cant really bond with her as a result. The only doll that wasn’t this way is Kira, my Lusis 😛 I’d bond with her all over again even if she had a sharpie faceup, lol ^^
I’m a little unsure of what to do. I’d trade the Celine head if she didn’t have the white spots from my modding (which I still find extremely odd). But even if she was perfect and I was able to trade her, I have no idea what head I’d like instead. I love the Nanuri 14 head, but those go for like $300 for just the head. I’m also loving the new Liria sculpt that isn’t available any more, but I’m not sure she is for me. I’m guessing she wont come cheap either.
In any case, I’m keeping Celine for now. I think. I really like having 3 MSD at home 🙂
Here is a bad pic of the latest faceup:

She always ends up so cold, no matter how much warmth I try to add to her colors. I dont understand why I just cannot get her to work. I’ll try to take a pic with eyes later so you can see it better, I ended the faceup where I did because I thought it looked good, but no eyes or wigs work for her. Poor dear!
Edit: I just snapped a quick picture to show what I mean, there’s something off about her:

I’m also having some fun with ponies. I have perhaps bitten off more than I can chew! One small pony and one large, the small one will only get a new face, while the large pony I’m hoping to re-root as well! I just need to find the funds to order some hair 🙂

Creepy, right? XD I simply put her head in hot water for a few seconds and pulled her head straight off. Removing the tail was easy, but the rest of her mane was a little worse, but not as bad as a monster high doll.

This is the tiny pony, I used the same process of hot water and pulling to get her head off. Removing her tail would be a little worse than the large pony, as the has a plug in her neck, it’s attached to her body. I’m guessing there’s glue there, so you’d have to soften the glue and prod with something to get it completely off, and gluing it back again once you’re done.
Both ponies are Fluttershy, my very favorite pony 🙂 I also want to buy a small Rainbow Dash pony to customize, her blue color is gorgeous 🙂

I’m going to go out of my comfort zone, and try something new with face-ups!
When I do face-ups on my own dolls I usually just start without having much of an idea how I want the doll to end up. So this time I’m doing research first! I’m not going to copy someone else’s face-up, but get inspired and see what colors I like together, what sort of eyebrows I like, and so on.
I’m terrible with colors, but this time I’m going to try using a bit different colors than what I usually do. I still want to use warm colors, but I’m going to try and stay away from red for the eyeshadow for once, lol ^^
Lastly, I’m going to try and pile it on! Most of my face-ups end up sort of pale, maybe even a bit washed out. I think I do it because I’m too impatient, and also I’m scared it’ll be too much. But if I want to learn and get better, I can’t afford to be scared, and I have to experiment.
I only wish MSC was cheaper and easier to come by. Thats the main reason why I’m so careful with face-ups. I’m scared I’ll end up with a horrible looking doll and no spray D:
Anyway! Chloe and Lusis are both up for new face-ups, so they’ll be my test subjects, mohaha! I hope I’ll start this project soon, but I’m going to take my time. I usually finish a face-up within an hour, but not this time! If I feel I’m stuck, I’m going to put them away and continue later.
Wish me luck <3