How to Repaint a Doll
Many doll collectors may choose to repaint their doll’s face as a form of doll customization. This article covers the basics steps of repainting a doll. If you are new to doll repainting be sure to check out our doll repaint kit as it includes most of the supplies you need to get started.
Shop our repaint kitsDoll Repaint Supplies
- Watercolor colored pencils
- Pencil sharpener
- Matte sealant
- Nail polish remover
Optional Supplies
- Chalk pastels
- Acrylic paints
- Paint brushes
- Makeup sponges
- Gloss varnish
The Basic Steps of Any Repaint
1. Remove the factory paint
Start by using nail polish remover to remove any factory paint that comes on the doll. 100% acetone nail polish remover works best for this. You can use it with a q-tip or cotton ball to remove the paint from the doll’s face.
2. Prep the doll
Before you begin repainting you must prep the doll's skin with sealant so that pigment will stick to it. You can do this by applying a matte sealant to the doll’s face or any other area of the body you will be drawing on. To apply the matte sealant you can dab it onto the doll’s face using a makeup sponge, or spray it on if your sealant comes in an aerosol container.
Using a matte sealant is important as without a sealant most types of fashion dolls have a slippery plastic skin that pigment will not stick to. Overall, matte sealant gives the doll’s skin a more paper like texture that is easy to draw on.
3. Begin drawing details
To begin repainting the doll you should start drawing details back on to the doll using watercolor colored pencils. These colored pencils do not include the slippery wax that normal colored pencils have so they are great for repaints. You may be confused why we are not going in with paints to add details first when it is called doll repainting. The truth of the matter is that doll redrawing is probably more of an accurate term since most of a doll repaint is actually done using watercolor colored pencils.
You can use the watercolor colored pencils to draw all major details on the doll including eyes, eyebrows, lips, and even tattoos. Just make sure to sharpen them for adding fine details like eyeliner or lashes.
4. Layer it up
After drawing your first layer using watercolor colored pencils you will notice that the color is pretty light. In order to build up a more intense color you can apply more layers. To add an additional layer you should seal the first layer with your matte sealant and let it dry. If you are applying the sealant with a makeup sponge you should tap the sealant on quickly and lightly to avoid smudging the pigment. You can repeat this process to add more layers using your watercolor colored pencils and matte sealant until you reach your desired color.
Some customizers choose to use acrylic paints instead of watercolor colored pencils for their repaints. If you use acrylic paints to add the main details of your repaint you will not need to add as many layers since acrylic paints are more pigmented. The only problem is that it is much harder to draw details on a doll using acrylic paints and they can often come out looking lumpy. This is why we suggest that you use watercolor colored pencils to draw the majority of your repaint as it is much easier to get a good looking result with them.
5. Final details
Once you have gotten the main details drawn on to your doll using watercolor colored pencils then you can add the final touches. This can include adding blush which can be done either by water down the watercolor colored pencils and painting the pigment onto the doll using a paint brush. Or by using chalk pastels where you brush the pigment from the pastels onto the using a paint brush. You can also add small pops of color using acrylic paints which can be using for things like adding catch lights into the eyes.
6. Seal everything
Once you are done adding all your final details you can seal everything once again using a matte sealant. If you would like some areas like the eyes and lips to appear glossy you can seal them with a glossy varnish, but this is optional and you can just use a matte sealant for the whole face.