AD-Free Blog
Three new dolls, and tweaking them.
In my quest for new dolls with MTM bodies, I caught a few on sale with the hopes of adding new personalities or switching out their bodies.
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| screen capture of mattel promo photo |
I bought two of these BMR1959 guys, with the hopes of switching out one body and keeping one. OMGoodness, he is the 'whitest' boy doll I have ever seen. His body matches nothing in my doll group. Everyone was darker. Not only that--his face unlike this photo was very mask like--flat and really photo'd poorly, home here.
If I had seen him LIVE in a store, I wouldn't have bought him, let alone two.
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| screen capture of Mattel Promo photo |
I also ordered two of these girls...she is also very pale and didn't match any of the heads seeking a new body. Again, her face was very flat---with none of the shading in this Mattel photo. Her lips were really Purple and her nails were Green. Again she photo'd home here, badly.
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| Screen capture of Mattel Promo photo |
Knowing from past experience that the skin on MTM AA's don't match anything else, I only purchased one of this beautiful girl. SHE came VERY DARK. I really wanted to use her body for Jacquie-playline curvy---but she was far too dark for that switch. Again, the skin was very flat, with no makeup---Dark purple lips and nails which didn't show up in photos.
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| barbieoldnewgreenredo |
First thing I did was cut this guy's hair. I ruddied up his skin with a thinned mixture of orange, red, and yellow. Very lightly sponging on and wiping off.
This brought out the contours in his face and I added a bit to his lips which were basically unpainted and not like the promo photo at all.
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| barbieoldnewgreenredo |
I'll probably be trimming his hair forever. I don't like using product on my dolls' hair.
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| barbieoldnewgreenredo |
I even 'blushed his ears and neck a bit. This helped those wonderful contours which looked flat before, photograph.
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| barbieoldnewgreenredo |
He has a quizzical expression and may become quite the character.
Love the MTM body---on these guys, I wish they all were like this now.
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| barbieoldnewgreenredo |
I did nothing with his hands...but you can see how flat his skin photographs on his hands. He may need a full body blush. (He is quite ripped under his shirt.)
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| barbieoldnewgreenredo |
I had to put him in normal clothes that origninal outfit is really over the top. The pieces separated are useable, but how many pairs of shorts do our KENs need.
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| Mattel promo photo |
I purchased two of these girls for under $15.00. Again, to keep one and use one for a body. Again, there was no shading or makeup on her face and her lips were very dark, with a little bit of teeth showing. I'm keeping one as is...I do like the hairdo and edginess of her.
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| barbieoldnewgreenredo |
I released her hair, and this is the girl that appeared. After the first try painting, when I had some issues with the lips they were blotchy and uneven. Luckily it is easy to remove with alcohol. The blush worked and was orange and yellow thinned and sponged on.
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| barbieoldnewgreenredo |
I cleaned up the lips, toned down the blush, and added a bit of crimson to the mixture...and got this lovely coral.
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| barbieoldnewgreenredo |
I covered her teeth, giving her a very full lip. Now, the contours on her face stand out when photographing in my studio. Clearly Mattel does a lot of photo altering on their promo photos.
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| barbieoldnewgreenredo |
She looks very much like my d-in-laws' mother/sisters, and I will name her Carmel or Reyna. Her hair is very soft and layered, which I may give her hair a new set.
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| Screen shot of Mattel Promo photo |
Look at the difference in the skin in the promo photo and what arrived. She is definitely a few shades darker, with dark flat skin.
I'm calling this my failure---she can be cleaned and redone again, but the dark skin on this girl has a much harder finish than the others, and the same techniques used on the others aren't working.
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| barbieoldnewgreenredo |
In life, the paint looks good, but it photos blotchy and uneven. The color seems to be sitting on top of the 'skin'. Again she had no contouring and was very dark and flat.
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| barbieoldnewgreenredo |
She's a very pretty doll, once those purple lips were gone. I'll be cleaning her off for a second time...and trying some different products. You can see how the light bounces off the hard finish of her skin. Nice detail on Mattel's part, is some hair shadowing at the hair line.
Anyone who has any AA tips....please leave them in comments. I've used regular makeup on my AA dolls, but it rubs off on clothing. I'm searching for a more permanent solution.
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| barbieoldnewgreenredo |
Her curvy body seems a bit leaner, and very short waisted. I will check and see if her measurements are the same as playline curvies. She definitely looks thinner than Ella Fitzgerald.
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| barbieoldnewgreenredo |
I think I had two successes and one failure.
Please leave comments and any tips you may have!
HAVE YOU attempted FACE PAINTING Your Dolls?
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I love-love-love your guy's new hair cut!!! I'm looking forward to the day that bun is gone from my doll too. I also give you points for the body shading, I wouldn't have thought to do that. I have the Asian girl, not a fan of the purple lips either... I would not have been happy with the AA doll, WAY to different than the promo pics! Bad Mattel!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine's Weekend Sandi-have fun:@)
Hi, Lynn. Thanks for commiserating with me...lol. Yea, he is pretty cool, in a bit of dorky way, especially how I have him dressed. The AA girl is honestly beautiful...she just photo'd horrible, so I will work on that and keep on until something works. She's just way darker than I expected. But, kudos to Mattel for portraying real life skins for everyone. I was surprised how lovely the Asian looks with her hair released...who knows, maybe we will see them in stories.Thanks for visiting, hugs, Sandi
DeleteI like the shading that you did on the guy. I also have 1 of him, had I known he was going to be so pale, I would not have purchased him.
ReplyDeleteit really didn't take much---yes, he was WAY TOO PALE! , lol, thanks for stopping by.
DeleteThanks Linda, I've put some feelers out with this post. I think I have to use a flat paint...the stuff I used was the paint markers, because I know they remove with alcohol. I might just try acrylic craft paint, thinned out or with an extender. But I will sure give that gal a looksee, Hugs, SAndi
ReplyDeleteHi Sandi. I thought you did a great job with the boy doll but was taken aback when I saw the Barbies real photo vs the promo. I agree with you in respect that, if given the chance, I much prefer the old fashioned method of going to a store and being able to examine the doll prior to purchasing it. There would be dolls I would never buy. But on the flip side...there would also be dolls I didn't like in the photo that I would buy if I saw them in person first. I saw this post yesterday but didn't respond right away because of the dilemma with the last doll. I'm not a pro repaint artist but I have altered a few of my dolls and in two cases, painted a new face from scratch. So here's what I would suggest:
ReplyDeleteDon't try to change the overall color of the doll's complexion. Instead take your darker tones and define the structure of her face (under the cheekbones, at the temples, the hollow of the eyes..for example.) I repainted a Ken doll to make him appear older. I looked at a few OOAK male dolls I found on Pinterest and noticed that the artists treat the doll's face like a canvas. You don't put the tone all over. Instead, use just enough of a darker tone (a shade or two darker than the doll's complexion) and use that to "sculpt" the features of the face. Less is more. You can always add a touch more if it's not enough. One more thing.... get yourself a visor magnifying glass...even for redoing the lip color. What I've discovered is that the naked eye plays tricks on us that doesn't escape the camera. But what you see in the magnifying glass is pretty much what the camera sees! I do this for quite a few things including while making my doll's shoes and other tiny accessories! Hope that helps a little. Big hugs. April
Oh, thanks, April. Totally love all your suggestions. I think part of the issue was the type of paint---in real life my painted doll looked gorgeous--but the camera picked up all the paint texture discrepancies..even without a flash. Somehow the dark skin plastic was different in accepting the paint. I will just keep trying until I get the desired effect. Hugs, and I appreciate your expertise! Hugs back, Sandi
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