Painting with LDC paints: Facts and tips

Both of the above dolls were painted with Little Dreams Collection (LDC) 

Air Dry Acrylic Paints.  Along with 95% of the rest of the dolls I have painted since 2008.

I teach a lot of people around the world about these paints.  THAT being said, please let me verify to you that I am not paid by Doll Dreams INC to promote these paints or to teach them.  In the beginning, Doll Dreams INC supported me with tangible in-kind supplies and one sponsorship to IDEX 2010 to teach and show.  Since mid 2010, I have been on my own in promotion, teaching and use of these paints.  I recently produced, all on my own dime, a full reborning DVD course using the LDC paints.

The reason I do this is because after using Genesis Heat Set Paints, and standard oil paints, 

the LDC paints are my paints of CHOICE.  I do this because I love these paints!

I feel that the colors are true colors.  Pure and accurate for vinyl dolls.  They do not fade as they were created for vinyl with pigments that stay on vinyl.

Almost everyone doubts the paints adhesion ability.  These are ACRYLIC paints which mean that they MUST have time to cure.  They don't need to cure because they are LDC paints, they need to cure because they are acrylic paints and any and all acrylic paints need time to cure~about 2 weeks for total curing.

 

Please, if you are using LDC or other acrylic  paints, don't try to rub them off the next day after painting.  They WILL come off then as they have not had time to cure (adhere to the vinyl).  The paints dry to the touch within moments of painting and fully cure in two weeks.

That being said, yes, if you take a paint remover to them after two weeks, you will get them off.  But you will also be able to remove Genesis Heat Set paints in that manner as well.  I know, I have tried it and succeeded.  

You can still finish your doll, assemble it, dress it and even root it before the full 2 week cure date is up.  Be careful in dressing and be sure to protect the dolls face during rooting. 

The second doll in the pictures above I kept in my own personal collection.  I made her in December of 2010.  I have traveled her across the country and she's been loved on by many people.  Her paint is as fresh and beautiful today as it was the day I finished painting her.

One thing that confuses people is that I like to use a layer of Genesis Matte Varnish (GMV) on my dolls before I paint with LDC paints.  LDC paints DO NOT NEED a layer of anything on the vinyl, or over the top of the paints to do their beautiful job on vinyl.  Please understand that.  

Here is how I came to love the  GVM on my vinyl:

In 2009, I was going to be attending the 2009 Tiny Treasures Conference and Show in San Antonio, Texas.  I desired to enter a reborn into the Tiny Treasures Doll of the Year contest and I really wanted to enter a classic Emily Webb head and arms with Alex Webb legs from Ashton Drake.  The Ashton Drake dolls are made of a "silicone/vinyl" mix and I knew that the only thing that would stick to them was Genesis Heat Set Paints but I really wanted to use the pure colors of the LDC paints on my Emily.  So I had the idea to first coat Emily with the Genesis Matte Varnish.  I even made some textured hair and brows for her using the GMV.  The paint took well to the GMV and the doll turned out gorgeous!  So much so that she won several awards including the 2009 Tiny Treasure Reborn of the Year Award and People's Choice Award!  She was my first reborn who sold for over $1000 on eBay.  Her mommy still has her and loves her:

I loved the texture and finish of the GMV so I decided to try the techinque on my vinyl kits and I loved that too!  So this is simply a personal preference, not a standard or necessary procedure.  That is the beauty of art~you get to try new things and find your own style and what makes you work, your work.

Vinyl kits are just that.  They are vinyl.  Vinyl is not all too porous and can be shiny.  Another reason that I love using GMV first.  It removes any shine the kits might have.  Recently I began using Genesis Satin Varnish and love that just as well as the finished doll has a bit of a sheen in areas that are natural for babies to have.  But as I said before, using any coating before or after LDC paints is not necessary.  These paints, unlike some other brands, do not require a sealing layer.  They don't need sealed.  Not at all.  

Here is a little guy I painted the first of this year (2012) using just LDC paints and no varnish:

 Billy has a beautiful sheen, has traveled across the US and has been loved on by many Aunties and Uncle Jack Johnston who thought he was beautiful.

I kept Billy too....in fact, I made him for me trying a new medium with the LDC paints.  I am now using Liquitex Ultra Matte Gel instead of the LDC retarder as my medium and I LOVE it! 

So you see, LDC paints don't need anything to prep or seal the vinyl with.  It's just my personal preference.  I will say that the paints tend to cure a bit faster when the vinyl is coated with GMV.

The basic mixture for LDC paints is this:

In a ONE OUNCE jar (it is important to use a ONE OUNCE jar), place a small amount of LDC paints.  I use the end of a craft stick/Popsicle stick, leaving about 1/8tsp of paint in the jar.  This is ONE PART or UNIT of paint.  If you are mixing a specific color, as found in my color guides, you would then add, with the end of a toothpick, just a TOUCH of the other paints listed.  Then you would add to the jar almost the same amount of retarder or Liquitex Ultra Matte Gel  (UMG) as you have total paint.  Mix well then fill the jar up to almost 1/2 full of water.  Mix well and adjust as needed when you take a small portion out to place on your pallet to paint with.  If your paint does not "behave" and leaves lines or marks, thin it more first with water then with retarder/UMG if satisfactory results do not result with just water alone.

The red pigments tend to be the weakest pigments so you can mix red colors a bit "thicker/stronger".

Blues, greens and black have a lot of pigment so be very careful with these and thin them well. 

My color guides are just that...they are guides.  I encourage beginner artists to follow them exactly along with either my DVD or the free tutorial on Doll Dreams until they learn the basics of painting, and experienced artists to experiment and switch things up.  

The reborn art is always changing.  What I did yesterday may not be what I do today which makes it VERY EXCITING!  I am always experimenting and always learning.  I learn something new everyday and I love that!

I hope this puts to rest some insecurities of painting with LDC paints.  

I love them and fully trust them.  

Happy painting!