So, I have done this before on the Bountiful Baby Forums with a couple of my other dolls, but now I am going to save those step-by-step photo logs for this site. I have not decided if I will make this a single post that I update for each step or if I will make each step its own post. Having never really had a blog before, and not being a big reader of blogs in general, I guess I will just start and see what happens.
So, I started with washing the kit in a mixture of very hot water and Dawn dish liquid. My first impressions are not good ones. I got the kit because it was one of the newest releases from Bountiful Baby and it was on sale. I am not particularly fond of the face or the "rock out" hand that so many babies seem to have. When I opened the kit up and started looking at the parts, I was shocked at how pitted and weird the palms and soles are sculpted. It looks like the hands and feet were sculpted from feta cheese, they look that crumbly. Whatever, she'll sell and I won't get attached to her like I did to one of my recent babies.
Following a bath, I gave her an alcohol rub and put her in the NuWave for 45min on power setting 1 to dry out. Then I did my first two layers. These first two layers always use the Flesh tones. For Wendy, I went with one layer of Flesh 07 and then decided to mix what was left over with Flesh 06. I have decided that since the main prototype is pretty pink, I am going to go with a warmer toned bub. I put on each layer with a brush, pounced off the excess, then mopped out the creases. After both layers, I baked again for 11min@6.
Next, I did a BB vein blue mottling layer with shading and creases. I do all of this at the same time. Since I am going for a warmer white baby, I chose the premixed vein color over UM blue. I didn't take photos. Drats.
Sometime during the bake and cool, I decided to watch the Melissa George video series on Patreon. I became a patron at the $9 level some time ago and have love the resources there. Anyways, wanting to try something different and having a cheap kit I don't really like, I decided to depart from my usual painting steps and give hers a try. My next layer then is Q. magenta 02 + Diox. purple 04. It gave me a lovely orchid color that seemed to match what the video was showing. I spot mottled the doll with the orchid color, went over the shading and creases, and hit the finger and toe tips. Then baked for 11min@6. She looks like a corpse.
Here she is in three lights: Daylight, Ottlite, and warm white.
According to the tutorial the next step is a preliminary blushing with this color that is hard to define. I got close by mixing Diox purple 02 + Genesis Yellow. It was ugly. It was puce (a hideous color name to go with this ugly color). I nixed that and made up my own color. I used a premixed color from Macpherson's called Sweetheart Blush + Creases Mix + Q. crimson 02. I don't know how off the reservation I am from my tutorial, but here we are. I never was good at staying in the lines.
All three photos are shown in a combination of daylight + Ottlite.
I feel like I have a great foundation for a fantasy baby, but that is not what I wanted. Let's see what is next...
So, in the tutorial, MG states that we are in the end stages of the doll. Um...that is...hrm.... Her dolls are beautiful. She is a prototype artist. Surely we are not almost done. On her doll, she is adding a pretty intense skin color to the doll. Now, looking at her doll and looking at mine, I will say that my colors are way more intense. I like color. A lot. Also, she has some graying blue shaded areas, so here is what I am going to do. I am going to do my indigo mottle, crease, and shade, then bake.
Top right is warm white. Rest are daylight + Ottlite.
Now I think I am ready for that skin wash. Not really sure what tone I want for this baby. Maybe I will sleep on it and ask the BB Forum to weigh in.