Okay, it's 2 am and I just finished a faceup with this method, had the time of my life out here, here's my verdict: a lot of doll people out there still really insist aerosol is the way to go, but yknow, cancer isn't the way to go. This method really only takes adjusting to if you want *very specific* results. When I first started using this, I was terrified that I was gonna mess up my doll and that my faceup was going to be stressful and frustrating and turn out terrible. Totally the opposite. Best faceup experience of my life. Why? Because the pressure on me when it came to messing up was 0. I felt like Bob Ross. I could seal the areas I liked and wait for them to dry while i worked on other parts. This sealant though, if you aren't careful, can make your blushing patchy. However, the good news is, I was not careful at all because I *wanted* my pastels to be patchy to simulate natural redness on my doll's skin. There was a weird sealant line on the side of his nose and it made it look like he got scratched by his cat or something, and it was a very nice happy accident. Please try this at least once, this method tends to collect dust but that disadvantage is nothing compared to the advantages of this method when it comes to stress and versatility and also RESPIRATORY HEALTH. This is so good for making your dolls look like they're not wearing any foundation, or for making very pale kind of Irish-red-head freckled characters, just... making interesting dolls! if you want something more polished and refined, I would go with aerosol, but this is just the best when it comes to adding realistic pigmentation.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I also feel like Bob Ross when I sponge onto my doll's head haha!! There are further tutorials by Reborn doll artists that use sponge methods and are very useful for referencing.
I got quite annoyed with someone who was saying that Mr Super Clear wasn't that bad... I am sure that is ok if you are just worrying about your own oxygen but if you are trying to reduce your carbon footprint I would recommend trying this!
Just looking into this method myself as I want to start doing face ups in a way that is safe for me, my family and the environment. But I keep wondering if you still need respiratory protection when using this method. I mean, you don't get fumes like when spraying with a can, but still... Is it safe to use without any protection? What's your take on this? (I know or assume you're not a medical expert so whether or not I will use respiratory protection is my own responsibility, just wondering what you think). Brgds, Marian
+KianaAlexisBJD That's great! If you have tips and advice to add, we'd love to learn from your experience! I hope many others will try this sealant method out. :)
+Robynn Definitely try it, if you can! It's really great if you have no space to spray a can of aerosol. I'm super lazy to drag my butt outside to spray so I prefer this method. XD
I LOOOOOVE this sealing method :D It's fast and easy and the best part is that it's non-toxic!! I've tried using matte medium, a combination of matte varnish and matte medium, and now I'm gonna get to using matte varnish entirely.
+ghouling I would love to experiment with using other brush on sealants like Vallejo or other brands. Then again this one is working out perfectly so why mess with a good thing? XD I agree completely, love that I don't have to take a respirator on and off, I can work indoors and it's a lot faster than when I was using sprays!
How was your experience using matte medium ? I have heard that the matte varnish leaves the head sticky and shiny and that the matte medium doesn’t, is that true ?
This is probably late but thanks for this tutorial. I just recently joined the BJD hobby and I plan to buy my first doll in a few months and I was concerned about how I would do the face up because I didn’t really want to pay someone to do it for me because I want to experiment a little. Most doll customizers say to use MSC and first off, it’s not available anywhere in the U.S and second, it’s EXTREMELY toxic and I don’t want to have to pretty much leave my house just to spray my doll’s head. Another customized suggested a liquid varnish but she pulled out a airbrush which is something I don’t wanna invest in. So thanks for this ❤️
Not just leave your house, but leave your house (in the right temperature and humidity conditions) AND wear a respirator with the correct filters. I won’t let my dog in the yard with me when I spray it! Mister Super Cancer gives beautiful results under the right conditions, but it’s nothing to mess around with!
This is wonderful. You are changing the game! It looks like a lot of work but in Georgia where our humid summers run from March-September, this will be really helpful!
+Vita Plastica I would love to hear your experience using this method, Danielle! :) I really hope it works out for you. I think it would be so awesome if everyone could work on their faceups indoors no matter what time of year, whenever they want.
I finally got the supplies and I'm going to do some testing on a doll with a darker complexion and I might bring it outside to see how the humidity might affect it. I'm excited to run some tests!
YES. I'm from Minnesota. If it isn't humid it's freezing. Not a faceup friendly state. I saw Nicolle's Dreams posted a video about drying everything inside in a toaster oven specially dedicated to the purpose, but I'd rather not mess with that if I don't have to.
Hi! Just wanted to share that I finally got around doing my first ever faceup with this method. I really liked how everything turned out! I've never used msc before but it feels like the liquitex matte varnish has got some crazy tooth to it! I had to go in with some rubbing alcohol just to spot clean some of the pastels that I couldn't get out with water and an eraser. I tried my best getting out and preventing dust from going in the faceup, but failed for the most part haha. That's ok tho, the dusty look fits my boi and his personality pretty nicely, and I was able to get a really natural skin texture from using this method! I didn't have any problems using pastels with this dabbing method. Nothing transferred over when I used the sponge to dab, just had to make sure there wasn't any excess pastels before I sealed the layer. I didn't have any watercolor pencils on me to use but will try it with my next faceup pretty soon. Thanks so much for your tutorial! It really helped a lot! I never thought I would be able to do faceups without having to use msc, and tbh I really really like the way the varnish feels after it's dried. The crazy tooth on this varnish makes it pretty easy to get that natural skin texture look too!
This is soooo helpful because I would rather not spray something extremely toxic and risk hurting any animals around where I live. I ordered mine from amazon and hopefully it will get here soon
Thank you soooo much! I'm from Brazil and here we can't import MSC. I heard about Liquitex and airbrush, but a airbrush compressor is a bit expensive when you just want customize your own dolls. Now I have a really good reason to buy Liquitex, not only for my 'custom try', but for my polymer clay pieces. Thank you ♥
+veridiana cantelmo You're welcome! I'm glad you could find this helpful. :) It would be neat to use this technique for sealing on non-doll related crafts. I'd love to hear about your results if you get to try it out!
Hey! I have done two Little Pullips and work very great, even with another varnish brand (a brazillian brand 'cause the Liquitex medium is sould out on the store that used to sell Liquitex). I LOVE IT! Worked really well and soon I will do my April Story's faceup too! Again, thank you very much ♥ My Little Pullips results: instagram.com/p/BaRql0ljYW9/
@@vedias2your results are AMAZING !! was this only using this seleant method and no msc ? If so that is amazing. Did you find any trouble using pastels with this method ive seen some people say it smudges it around . I'd be fascinated to know !
O man I can't wait to try this! I did buy MSC but I'm so paranoid about breathing it in (I used it a few times before learning I had the wrong mask 😭) so I cannot wait to try this out and see how it goes. Thank you for this!!!
+Squmi Nikki You're welcome! :) I made the same mistake too and used a dust mask until someone let me borrow their respirator mask. I hope this method works out for you!
I'm never going to use aerosol sealants agaaaaaaaaaiiiinnnnn ~~~~! Well, ok i haven't tried this yet, but I really really hope it works for me! The main reason I don't do faceups often is because of the spraying. My dreams of becoming a faceup-master are now a step closer lol!
I have been looking for a way to use non-aerosol sealant for faceups, especially now that I'm pregnant and can't be around the fumes. I may try this! thank you for sharing!
I bought MSC recently because I wasn't sure which to get, perhaps I should've got this sealant. I wanted a less toxic one because I live in apartments and I sure don't want to leave my doll head outside to dry. I've painted vinyl reborn dolls before with different sealant and did the same thing with dabbing it on. I'll be sure to get this as well when I go to order the gloss!
So happy to find this video coz I just start this hobby & really don't want to invest loads of money on buying an airbrush(besides, no local shops selling this kind of products, so I have to order online). Thanks for this great video! Cannot wait to start working on my doll tomorrow!
Thank you very much for making this tutorial a few years ago. I have eye sensitivity and trauma with aerosol chemicals because I had an accident with an aerosol while wearing protective glasses and a gas mask. Before the accident I bought MSC to customize my BJDs, but I never used it for fear of having an accident on my eyes again. I don't know if you will answer this question, but I would like to know if Liquitex varnish has a strong smell, since my eye sensitivity cannot cope with vapors and odors that are too strong.
Thank you so much for this! I used msc for my first faceup because it's what everyone talks about all the time, but the cans are so hard to get... I managed to fix issues with dust or sealant waste by just putting the head in a shoebox as I spray it and then closing the lid, but I'm not looking forward to replacing the can, that's for sure. I might look into a liquid one in the future, especially if it's not as toxic!
+Dins I remember a few times when I was still using spray sealants, I couldn't predict if I had enough spray left for a full faceup. Twice I was in the middle of faceups and had to stop because my aerosol started spitting globs out. It was super annoying. I hope you give this method a try! :)
Oh boy that sounds annoying, I've heard of faceups getting ruined that way... Do you have an idea of how long a bottle like this lasts you on average? Compared to the spray cans.
I'm both, impressed and confused that this works so well. I've done the sponge on method before I found MSC, and before I came back to Liquitex, but in combination with my airbrush. I always used the matte medium, because the varnish gives me literally zero tooth to work with. But I haven't done 8 layers, so... maybe that's why. I'm lazy, I have to admit that. I only use the varnish as the final layer, to actually smooth out the tooth given by the medium x'D So my own experiences with this aren't so well, just like I've heard from a lot of other artists before. So I'm glad this works so greatly for you!
Hi, I've been really interested in doll customizing for a while now and sealant has always been a problem for me. I only had heard of the aerosols ones and the more I searched about them, the less I felt comfortable using them. Between the toxicity, the fact my garden is full of plants we use and our dog walking freely there when she wants, I wasn't feeling very confident on the impacts it would have on my health as well as the one of my family and dog. And of course when I discovered that most sealants don't work in cold temperatures, temperatures we basically have all year except for around 4 months here, I was about to give up. Then I found your video. And I must say, that was a revelation for me. It might sound strange but, I get very into my hobbies and when I realize I cant achieve it, that takes quite a big toll on me. So thank you. Thank you for showing me that life changer way of sealing that I never saw nor saw referenced anywhere else! You are helping a lot of people!!!
Thank you for this, definitely going to try this for my first repaint, since I really don't want to use something as toxic as MSC. Is it save to do this without a mask though? And can it be used for Monster High bodies as well to repaint? (like tattoos).
I use this sealent it's more of a plastic film that is 99% unnoticeable. My best results are by using a make up airbrush to apply it. It drys with in hours for another layer to be applied and 24 it's ready for drawing. Never has my color seep through( then again I'm very thorough with sealing)
Recently I’ve learned that letting each layer dry for a minimum of eight to ten minutes works best. If the air in the room is very humid, I would let the layer dry for at least fifteen to twenty minutes. I hope this technique will be helpful to you! :)
Recently I’ve learned that letting each layer dry for a minimum of eight to ten minutes works best. If the air in the room is very humid, I would let the layer dry for at least fifteen to twenty minutes. I hope this technique will be helpful to you! :)
Just so you all know, this varnish will smudge watercolor pencils, and it will get sticky after a few weeks in high humidity areas if you don’t seal with mr super clear
I love this. I am a beginner and don't want to get MSC because I am not sure I want to invest that much into it yet. (I can use the matte varnish for something else if I give up) I like that it is also non toxic and more readily available. thank you for this detailed tutorial, it really helps so much! does this also apply for vinyl dolls to have to seal it so much? resin seems like it needs more protection. thanks!!
I’m glad this will be helpful to you! There are a few people in the comments who experiment using this method on vinyl dolls, I definitely recommend looking at their responses 😁 Enjoy your future dolly projects! Working on them will be addicting!
Hi! I know this is an older video, but first off I just wanted to thank you for this awesome tutorial! This is what started me off on faceups! Also, I’m currently working on a head that I wanted to add some more realistic gore to and I was wondering if you think it would be safe to use a large amount of liquitex red acrylic paint over this sealant? Thanks a ton! 💖
Good morning! I have some questions! Would this method work well on vinyl dolls like Dollfie Dream? Also, do you know if this would work with an MSC top coat? I'm interested in combining the methods for heavy protection and quicker drying times.
This is great! Thank you so much for posting it. I'm going to have to try this. I tried it with my airbrush but I didn't like the texture the airbrush made it. I can't use msc right now so I'll totally be trying this soon!
+Gina isarty You're welcome! :) I really like that I can control the roughness and texture of the sealant with the sponge. I felt like I was at the mercy of chance when I was spraying sealants before. I never knew if the next layer would spray wrong and mess the entire process up.
Have you tried mixing the varnish with water before you airbrushed it? I you haven't I think it is not going to work well. Try distilled water with it.
I have. I usually mix my airbrush paints to be a skim milk consistency when I put them through it. I didn't like the final texture of the liquetex matte varnish. Too much tooth. Thank you though for the suggestion :)
Oh well... :-) Anyway, reply to this comment if you tried this method, I am really interested about others opinions as well :-) It would take some time to get mine (pretty rare in my country) so I am just reading the experiences for now.
Okay I will once I try it out. I did try to try it out but I only had one makeup sponge and I did it on a monster high and it wasn't right. I am going to try on a bjd soon as I get more makeup sponges. :)
Hi I am relatively new to the Dolly artist community. 💕🤗💕 I just wanted to let you know that you did a terrific job on your face up!! 🤗💕 It turned out really lovely. 🌹😊💕 I also wanted to confirm that this product is non-toxic? I did see the AP label on the bottle but I wanted to know if you ever encountered any respiratory issues while using this? I have both the matte and gloss. I didn't notice a bit of an odor with the first layer. I wanted to know if this were normal? I'm really trying to stay away from toxic chemicals such as mr. Super clear or any other aerosol with similar Hazzards. Any support from you or the community would be much appreciated .🤗💕 Happy crafting! 🙏💕
Ty for sharing, I will be trying this method as I have a new doll series coming up with bjd resin dolls. Can this also work for polymer clay sculpted dolls?!? I will also be using watercolor pencils.
+DolliesInTheRice You're welcome! :) If weather is average (low humidity, moderate room temperature) I let each layer dry between 5-10 minutes. If humidity goes up or I feel my indoor environment is feeling uncontrollable I let the layer dry for 10-15 minutes. I try to check by lightly touching the edge of the sealant (usually the area at the scalp that will be covered by a wig) and check if it is still tacky. Hope that helps!
That sounds neat! Do you mean how will the Liquitex Matte varnish react to the acetone? I think it will remove the brush-on sealant. Sorry, I am not very familiar with using sealants on non-resin dolls.
I've tried this: you can but you have to scrub quite hard to remove all of the sealant (especially if you accidentally applied very thick layers like I did) My advice is to apply the thinnest layer you can from the beginning
I absolutely love this method, but it's so hard to come by more information on it. Have you tried other types of liquid sealants? Are there any that need to be avoided? I just bought my first blank bjd and would love to try my hand at customizing him myself.
I have a bratz doll who has chipped lipstick and I want to repaint using acrylic paints...can I undercoat using this product for the top layer to stick without rubbing off?
I tried this today and with watercolor pencils it picked up the color and smudged it around, also the sealant got dirty really quick and it was hard to erase mistakes. I'll see if using an airbrush will work better. I liked the idea! I did it like how you did but it didn't work well for me :(
I'm sorry to hear it didn't work for you! :( Do think maybe cause the sealant layers were too thick? With both aerosol and liquid sealant, I've had pencils scratch the layers because they were applied too thickly. I try to do many layers of sealant, each layer as thin and even as possible. If you ever try this method again and it works out for you, I'd love to hear about it!
I have Mr Super Clear but I’m terrified to use it cause of the danger I want a safe alternative I wanna have a way to fix up the paint of a doll I have that I love very much and if it works I will feel more confident in doing doll customizations❤️
That looks easy, more handy than airbrush that you have to wash everytime you use to spary the varnish. But, how it behaves with watercolor pencils? When you have to tap on it?
I tried using this on my doll before adding white acrylic paint but the monster high head I used is very sticky covered in dust and just looks rubbish what did I do wrong
Must be something wrong with the like system, I'm the first to like this? lol... Now I'm confused, I want to start my first faceup. What method to use... but thank you so much for showing this!
Hello, I am a makeup mannequin artist. I just starting out and I have been using aerosol sealant but I hate the fumes and the little spray bubbles it leaves on my mannequins. Do you think this will work for me to even though I use makeup instead of paint?
This seems like an easier and cheaper alternative to Mr super clear. I want to try this soon! But I do have a question; let's say I use pencil instead of paint for eyelashes or some other small, fine details. Will it smear and mess up your eyelashes or other small details, since you'll be dabbing on that area with the sealant?
Hi Anandoll, i would like to ask.. have u ever used matte medium to seal the face up? If yes, is it true that matte medium is more matte than matte varnish? I have noticed that my face up is a bit glossy and sticky everytime i use matte varnish to seal. 🙈 Please kindly reply this.. many thanks in advance! 🥰
Hello! I found this quote online: "Our Matte Varnish and our Matte Medium have the same non-yellowing, flexible polymer base. The main difference is that the Matte Varnish is formulated to preserve paint film clarity, by using less matting agents in the formulation. Matte Medium can be applied as a final, non-removable top coat for acrylic paintings. Be aware, however, that the colors, especially darker values, will lose some visual intensity and clarity. Likewise, Matte Varnish may be mixed with the acrylic color, however, it will not reduce color sheen to the degree that Matte Medium will." The part where they say their Matte Medium can be used as a final, non-removable top coat sort of scares me. I personally wouldn't try the matte medium on a doll. Hope that helps!
Just looking into this method myself as I want to start doing face ups in a way that is safe for me, my family and the environment. But I keep wondering if you still need respiratory protection when using this method. I mean, you don't get fumes like when spraying with a can, but still... Is it safe to use without any protection? What's your take on this? (I know or assume you're not a medical expert so whether or not I will use respiratory protection is my own responsibility, just wondering what you think). Brgds, Marian
Thank you very much for your sharing method. But I have a question 1. how long you wait each layer of sealant? 2. Can this method seal between paiting?
Thank you SO VERY much for these videos. Super helpful! I'm doing my first face-up ever on my Loongsoul boy ("Ken" sculpt) very soon too. How long does it usually take for a layer of the liquitex matte varnish to dry?
+KrissyAlethea Hi! I'm sorry for the late response. I would recommend waiting 10 to 15 minutes between each layer of sealant. If the air feels humid I would wait at least 20 minutes per layer. Hope that helps! :) Good luck on your first faceup!!!
Really informative video! My only concern is that the only Liquitex matte varnish I was able to find at Michael's states on the label that it's permanent and not removable. :/
Is this pretty long lasting? I'd like to take commissions one day, but as I cannot use spray sealants for various reasons (no space, no proper ventilation, as well as health reasons) I wanted to use this method.
I would much rather use something like this than MSC which is ridiculously toxic. I can't deal with stuff like that because I have breathing problems. I have just put up with a week of solvent fumes as they are reflooring my block and I have had a headache all week... you can't escape it, so I don't want to be using similar chemicals! I think a lot of what you use does get blown away!
I've heard from others that the matte varnish works best when you layer a gloss on first (including the back of the matte varnish bottle itself) do you think it's necessary?
Thank you very much for this! I cannot deal with those masks!! I have two questions, do you think using watercolors and pastels will work with this sealant and which do you prefer? I already have those and would prefer not to buy higher quality acrylic paint lol ☆
+oBringMeTheDiscoCake I love to use both watercolor paints and pastels. But the one with the biggest learning curve with the sponge sealant is the pastels. Make sure you are not leaving excess "loose" pastel powder on the doll when you are sealing with the sponge. The powder that is not attached to the textured surface will smear. But it's possible to not smear, just takes a little patience and careful observation. :) hope that helps!
Thank you very much! I just picked up the varnish and came back to learn some more! I have plenty of watercolor thankfully but I think I'm gonna get a pencil set as well! Thank youuuu! ☆
Hello, do we have to still wear a mask with this sealant? If yes, is it okay to wear paper mask because is less toxic than MSC or do we have to still wear complex mask? Thank you! Oh, and can I use Liquitex Spray Varnish work as an alternative of this?
Hi! I know this is an old video, but I've been getting into doll repaint and I've been looking for alternatives to MSC since I cannot import it to my country. So I just have one question (and if anyone can help, that'd be great): does this technique work on doll faces made of vinyl plastic, such as Barbie or Monster Highs? Thanks a lot
Thats what I want to know too... I've been wanting to use acrylic paint and this exact matte varnish (since I have a whole bottle) on my blank obitsu head. I haven't tried it yet and I'm also thinking about using the airbrush to do blushing and shading...
Im curious if anyone have tried on Vinyl? I have a DD girl that I wanna redo the faceup soon too... Ive been using MSC for awhile but it got really annoying when the season changes. Unfortunately we got an early winter here......... and when I finally got time to do faceup it SNOWED!!!! Cant wait to try out this method on my resins but if it works on vinyl too it'd be AMAZING!!!
I love this product and this tutorial was super helpful I honestly don’t want to use msc one problem I had when I first used it is that it smudged my fine lines I’m not sure what happened maybe my sponge was too wet maybe I had some loose pigment would anyone know what happened?
I would recommend clearing the head with the brush cleaner just to be sure it is complete clean. Be sure to rinse with water all the brush cleanser before sealing. It will help give better results for the sealant and faceup. :)
Any tips on removing faceups from dolls that have been sealed like this? I used this method with my last 2 faceups and really loved it and will continue using it, but when I tried to remove the first faceup with acetone as I usually do, only the first few layers came off too well and the rest I had to pretty much pry off with my fingers. If anyone knows a more efficient method I’d be so grateful!
Are you in the US? I highly recommend using Windsor Newton's brush cleaner and restorer to remove faceups. I don't have any experience using other mediums like acetone to remove sealant. To be safe, the next time I would test out new sealants and remove them on a head back.
It’s not necessary to use a respirator mask for this sponge method. Because the sealant is not airborne as fine breathable particles like with an aerosol sealant. The brush on sealant I’m using has little to no odor. If you use something with a strong smell I recommend doing this in a well ventilated space.
Sorry, I have not tried this method on non-resin dolls. There are some comments from others who share their experience using Liquitex on vinyl heads. If you try it, please share your experience too so another person can learn about sealing on a vinyl doll!