Painting seamless bodies (NSFW?)

Ok....immediately i have run into a problem: the makeup sponge keeps 'sticking' to the seamless body. It's blending the colour into it just fine, but leaving residue from the sponge onto the body in the process. I'm not even sure how to fix that, or if I've totally wrecked it now! :/

What kind of makeup sponge are you supposed to blend it with???

skywalkersaga wrote:Ok....immediately i have run into a problem: the makeup sponge keeps 'sticking' to the seamless body. It's blending the colour into it just fine, but leaving residue from the sponge onto the body in the process. I'm not even sure how to fix that, or if I've totally wrecked it now! :/

What kind of makeup sponge are you supposed to blend it with???

Don't panic. I don't know if there is a specific type to use, or a specific type not to use (though you seem to have discovered that -- I am assuming you mean parts of the actual sponge are becoming loose and sticking to the body). Try using one of those small travel-sized lint rollers to pick up stuff that shouldn't be on the body (though now that the body is sticky, it would be harder to pick it up). Or go carefully by hand or tweezers -- patience is something we need with this hobby from time to time. If you are not doing so already, try using a specially designated blending sponge (I noticed some of mine had that description on the packaging).

By the way, if your colors are blending, you're already ahead of the curve.

GubernatorFan wrote:

skywalkersaga wrote:Ok....immediately i have run into a problem: the makeup sponge keeps 'sticking' to the seamless body. It's blending the colour into it just fine, but leaving residue from the sponge onto the body in the process. I'm not even sure how to fix that, or if I've totally wrecked it now! :/

What kind of makeup sponge are you supposed to blend it with???

Don't panic. I don't know if there is a specific type to use, or a specific type not to use (though you seem to have discovered that -- I am assuming you mean parts of the actual sponge are becoming loose and sticking to the body). Try using one of those small travel-sized lint rollers to pick up stuff that shouldn't be on the body (though now that the body is sticky, it would be harder to pick it up). Or go carefully by hand or tweezers -- patience is something we need with this hobby from time to time. If you are not doing so already, try using a specially designated blending sponge (I noticed some of mine had that description on the packaging).

By the way, if your colors are blending, you're already ahead of the curve.

Thanks for the calming advice, GF.  :'D

I'm still not really sure what happened there -- I had decided to experiment on parts of the body that wouldn't be showing by trying different colours and also making layers, but then it just started looking weird and almost 'scaly'. O.o  It could have been coming off the sponge, or might have been partially some residue from the pastels themselves that was sort of 'caking' on the surface of the body.... it was like, it blended a little, but then started building up a bit perhaps. But i was also worried that maybe the sponge I was using might have been scraping the silicone itself and that the residue on it was from that.

Weirdly, the parts that I *hadn't* blended with the sponge and had just applied one single layer of colour directly looked better and smoother. But I can't achieve the colour I want without several layers, so.... :/

I've taken a little break from applying the pastels and decided to try to wash the body to see what happened, just in some some soap and water. It does seem to have removed the residue and some of the 'caking' bits, leaving the underlying colour.  I was panicking also that maybe I hadn't washed it thoroughly enough to begin with, and that perhaps the residue was actually the pastels sticking to the tbleague powder. So i thought giving it a wash might help... at least that way, the parts I hadn't 'painted' yet might still be useable.

Once it dries again, I'll try to muster the courage to keep working on it... :3

skywalkersaga wrote:Thanks for the calming advice, GF.  :'D

I'm still not really sure what happened there -- I had decided to experiment on parts of the body that wouldn't be showing by trying different colours and also making layers, but then it just started looking weird and almost 'scaly'. O.o  It could have been coming off the sponge, or might have been partially some residue from the pastels themselves that was sort of 'caking' on the surface of the body.... it was like, it blended a little, but then started building up a bit perhaps. But i was also worried that maybe the sponge I was using might have been scraping the silicone itself and that the residue on it was from that.

Weirdly, the parts that I *hadn't* blended with the sponge and had just applied one single layer of colour directly looked better and smoother. But I can't achieve the colour I want without several layers, so.... :/

I've taken a little break from applying the pastels and decided to try to wash the body to see what happened, just in some some soap and water. It does seem to have removed the residue and some of the 'caking' bits, leaving the underlying colour.  I was panicking also that maybe I hadn't washed it thoroughly enough to begin with, and that perhaps the residue was actually the pastels sticking to the tbleague powder. So i thought giving it a wash might help... at least that way, the parts I hadn't 'painted' yet might still be useable.

Once it dries again, I'll try to muster the courage to keep working on it... :3

Welcome. I was off running an errand, and thought to myself I should suggest to you simply to wash the body again, but am glad you tried that anyway, with success. You really can pat/dab it dry, unless you have some particularly unhardy paper towels that will leave remnants stuck on it. Isn't it neat how the color sticks to the body, even if some of the water from washing it seems to run with a bit of dye?

Anyway, caking is normal when working with pastels of any sort on any sort of surface. You are probably not scraping the silicone "skin" or at least not enough to damage it. The use of the makeup sponge is specifically to rub the color more into the surface and to remove excess oil pastel, so your second description seems to indicate this was in fact normal. Keep going over it with the sponge until no oil pastel rubs off from the surface onto cloth or paper towel that you use to test it. Washing it with water is fine, but be careful with soap -- if you go back to earlier posts from Ephiane, you will see it is used to make the skin shinier, and that may or may not be what you want -- of course this might be a different process so it might not apply.

GubernatorFan wrote:

Welcome. I was off running an errand, and thought to myself I should suggest to you simply to wash the body again, but am glad you tried that anyway, with success. You really can pat/dab it dry, unless you have some particularly unhardy paper towels that will leave remnants stuck on it. Isn't it neat how the color sticks to the body, even if some of the water from washing it seems to run with a bit of dye?

Anyway, caking is normal when working with pastels of any sort on any sort of surface. You are probably not scraping the silicone "skin" or at least not enough to damage it. The use of the makeup sponge is specifically to rub the color more into the surface and to remove excess oil pastel, so your second description seems to indicate this was in fact normal. Keep going over it with the sponge until no oil pastel rubs off from the surface onto cloth or paper towel that you use to test it. Washing it with water is fine, but be careful with soap -- if you go back to earlier posts from Ephiane, you will see it is used to make the skin shinier, and that may or may not be what you want -- of course this might be a different process so it might not apply.

Oh, phew, I'm glad most of what I was experiencing is 'normal'. And yes, it was really neat to see how well the colour had taken to the silicone!

I just tried dabbing with the paper towel and it seems to be fine...I think I was just being overly paranoid. ;p

And thanks for the reminder about the soap making it shiny.... I decided to use the soap cause the only parts I had coloured were those that weren't going to show, so I was actually kind of curious to see the effect. I used type of handsoap that had tea tree oil in it, and this seemed to work ok. But even if it had turned extremely shiny, I was still interested to see what that looked like vs. the more matte appearance. As is probably obvious, I'm attempting to do some SW aliens, and so I've perhaps got a little more wiggle room with skin surface texture. Though, I do personally prefer a 'matte' finish for most things, but thought it was worth risking some soap to get the residue off, either way.

I went back over the earlier posts, and the shiny skin trick apparently includes specifically rubbing the body with some soap and water on the sponge (and then presumably letting it set in/dry). Normal use of soap is certainly ok when you first prepare the body for painting (to remove the protective powder) and that apparently has no effect on shininess. What happens if you wash the painted body with soap and water, I don't know or recall if I did that with mine (or if I just used water). Mine haven't turned shiny. And remember to reapply protective powder when you are all done, although there is a theory that the oil pastel itself protects the silicone surface a bit.

I did use soap to wash the painted layers I'd done on the legs, and it has not made them shiny. At least, not noticeably so. But I only just sort of poured a bit of soap onto the body and then rinsed it off straight away, just to help get all the excess pastel bits off. So maybe it's ok?

Probably fine.

Another semi-related question: you've mentioned using a type of silicone glue before in regards to painting the bodies.... I'm just wondering, what kind of glue works on these? Not necessarily for painting purposes, but in general. Especially for modding. Does superglue stick to the surface, or is a special glue required?

skywalkersaga wrote:Another semi-related question: you've mentioned using a type of silicone glue before in regards to painting the bodies.... I'm just wondering, what kind of glue works on these? Not necessarily for painting purposes, but in general. Especially for modding. Does superglue stick to the surface, or is a special glue required?

No, you need something like THIS (at least I think that's the one I use). It is handy and reasonably good (remember to remove any protective powder on the surfaces you want to bond), creating a decent bond, but also ultimately removable if you try to peel it off the surface with sufficient determination. To be clear, I have never used it to glue different silicone surfaces together, just as a way of affixing a mixed-in color (theoretically acrylic should work mixed into the glue, but silc pig is much better).

GubernatorFan wrote:

skywalkersaga wrote:Another semi-related question: you've mentioned using a type of silicone glue before in regards to painting the bodies.... I'm just wondering, what kind of glue works on these? Not necessarily for painting purposes, but in general. Especially for modding. Does superglue stick to the surface, or is a special glue required?

No, you need something like THIS (at least I think that's the one I use). It is handy and reasonably good (remember to remove any protective powder on the surfaces you want to bond), creating a decent bond, but also ultimately removable if you try to peel it off the surface with sufficient determination. To be clear, I have never used it to glue different silicone surfaces together, just as a way of affixing a mixed-in color (theoretically acrylic should work mixed into the glue, but silc pig is much better).

Ah, ok, glad I asked! I'll have to get some of that straight away!

ETA: not sure if that precise type is available in the UK...

Sorry for the slew of questions in a row, but back to the topic of 'painting'.... I realize now that it's probably best to work in many layers, and to 'wash' the figure in between, to remove the residue. I also experimented with light and darker colours and shades, and found that the darker shades don't seem to blend into lighter shades as well...or at least, the ones i was using did not. I'd love to be able to have multiple hues and shades, but just unsure if it's best to start with lighter shades and then add darker, or to use a somewhat darker colour as base and then add lighter colours on top?

The biggest challenge of this for me so far is achieving the 'right' colour or colours.... because obviously finding the perfect colour via one single pastel is not highly likely.

Well, my latest attempt with the Smooth-On products on the TBLeague body was another resounding failure. Apparently, whatever type of silicone TBL is using is not the same as what Smooth-On uses, and the paint doesn’t adhere properly. I don’t have an air-brush, so as you apply the paint, it begins to clump in sections as each new layer is added. Trying to use a pale body to make it White (like Lady Death), but you need to apply so many layers of the paint to get it to work, and as I said, the paint doesn’t go on smooth after each layer. That was a $145 experiment, and a complete failure.

skywalkersaga wrote:I realize now that it's probably best to work in many layers, and to 'wash' the figure in between, to remove the residue. I also experimented with light and darker colours and shades, and found that the darker shades don't seem to blend into lighter shades as well...or at least, the ones i was using did not. I'd love to be able to have multiple hues and shades, but just unsure if it's best to start with lighter shades and then add darker, or to use a somewhat darker colour as base and then add lighter colours on top?

These pastels are indeed limited in range of colors (although you can help yourself by getting one of those boxes with as many colors as possible -- say 24 or more), and they don't blend as easily or as thoroughly as if you were mixing waterpaints, acrylics, or tempera (by the way, make sure you don't use water-soluble pastels -- in theory they would be easier to blend but in practice they don't stick as securely and largely wash off). Painting multiple layers of color (the same and different ones) is a good idea, although I am not sure about washing in-between. That would reduce rather than enhance the degree the colors blend into each other. Of course we are speaking hypothetically, and I don't know exactly what color you are trying to get. But when I was trying to achieve a darker brown color for my second "African" body, I used some reds, blues, and greens as well as the limited range of brown(s) in multiple layers (not all of them necessarily evenly distributed across the body -- there are places where you might want to emphasize the musculature or "terrain" with a deeper color). So that you don't end up with something completely off, it helps keeping in mind what colors produce what when you mix them (even if they don't mix the same way with paints as with the pastels).

Stryker2011 wrote:Well, my latest attempt with the Smooth-On products on the TBLeague body was another resounding failure. Apparently, whatever type of silicone TBL is using is not the same as what Smooth-On uses, and the paint doesn’t adhere properly. I don’t have an air-brush, so as you apply the paint, it begins to clump in sections as each new layer is added. Trying to use a pale body to make it White (like Lady Death), but you need to apply so many layers of the paint to get it to work, and as I said, the paint doesn’t go on smooth after each layer. That was a $145 experiment, and a complete failure.

I am very sorry this didn't work out. I always thought that in theory that would have been the proper way to do it, but didn't want to go for a more complicated and possibly hazardous process. Perhaps your financial and chronological sacrifice in the name of science will be rewarded with good karma points as you have been kind enough to forewarn others and keep them from the same sort of disappointment.

GF -- Ah ok, I see what you mean...you are probably right that blending the colours prior to washing the residue off would be best. I'm not sure what I was thinking, really, lol. I guess it was more that I like to see 'how I'm doing' before continuing to blend or add colour, but in this case I probably just have to go for it and hope for the best. It's a rather counter-intuitive type of 'painting', and not at all like what I'm used to. Which I expected, but still, definitely a massive learning curve...

And Stryker -- I'm so sorry it didn't work out -- so gutting when something like that happens. I recently had some frustrating disappointments myself with a couple of planned projects, so I feel you.

I am just now getting into this stuff.

I picked up a Jiaou Doll body with "black" PS skin, which is much too pale. I am looking to color the body to match up with a head that I have on hand.

Has this oil pastel method worked on a TPE body?

Also, I have been looking into the possibility of dying the TPE outright. What I found are TPE specific pigments, meant to be used with mineral carrier oil.

https://www.polyone.com/products/thermoplastic-elastomers/tpe-knowledge-center/technical-bulletins/coloring-tpes

https://www.amazon.com/Mystic-Moments-White-Mineral-Carrier/dp/B006Y6ZA5E

http://www.vortexcolor.com/dispersion.html

Has anyone tried this?

maximvsv wrote:I picked up a Jiaou Doll body with "black" PS skin, which is much too pale. I am looking to color the body to match up with a head that I have on hand. Has this oil pastel method worked on a TPE body?

Also, I have been looking into the possibility of dying the TPE outright. What I found are TPE specific pigments, meant to be used with mineral carrier oil. Has anyone tried this?

Welcome again.

I have realized that while this thread started with some failed experiments on a Jiaou TPE-covered body, it shifted to the successful method of applying oil pastel onto TBLeague (Phicen) silicone-covered bodies and never looked back. I had been meaning to try again on a Jiaou TPE, but hadn't until you asked. So I found a floppy-footed one in the pretty pale "natural" color and did a quick (and imperfect) test with the Staedtler Van Dyke brown oil pastel. It seems to take the oil pastel even more readily than the Phicen silicone, and produces comparable results. First I rinsed the body with water (to remove the protective powder), then I dried it, then I applied the oil pastel (again, for a quick test, I didn't go at it long enough to get a perfect consistency of coloring), then I smoothed (don't want to say "massaged") it on for a while with a make up sponge, then rinsed again (even used some soap on parts of it, to see if it makes a difference), and dried it again. No oil pastel coloring seems to have come off the body, and even fairly aggressive dabbing and scraping with white paper towel does not seem to produce any noticeable color transfer (and a more thorough job with the make up sponge would surely improve even more on this good result); also, more careful, consistent, and repeated application of the oil pastel would yield a much better appearance. Haven't done so yet, but I should apply protective powder next.

So the answer is (now) -- oil pastel works on Jiaou TPE-covered bodies same as on TBLeague silicone-covered bodies. At least based on the quick test I just did. Here is the preliminary result:



As for dyeing the TPE with TPE-secific pigments mixed with mineral carrier oil, I would not know what to tell you. In principle it would probably work, but it sounds like a possibly more complicated or expensive process to me, that I personally do not see the need to try unless the simpler solution with oil pastels fails to yield satisfactory results. The issue is that not all TPE is the same (probably), the protective powder may cause complications (depending on how thoroughly you are able to remove it or not), and I wouldn't know about the availability, pricing, or any potential hazards involved in using these pigments (I know products designed specifically for use on silicone can have harmful effects so you need to take at least basic precautions -- ventilation, gloves, etc -- and there is still no guarantee for excellent or lasting results). Some have experimented with dyeing TBLeague (Phicen) bodies with fabric dye, but apparently it is a lengthy, messy, and stinky process, producing variable results.

I hope this helps.

Wow, that's promising news, GF. Thanks for taking the plunge and being willing to experiment. Always so helpful!!!

skywalkersaga wrote:Wow, that's promising news, GF. Thanks for taking the plunge and being willing to experiment. Always so helpful!!!

You're very welcome. I was satisfying my own curiosity, too, you know.

Just a quick note to say that I tried this method again the other day on one of the few tbleague bodies I have to hand atm (s12d), and I don't know yet if it was a success or not, but I gave it a go. I finally feel I am getting the hang of the makeup sponge, at least -- I honestly think I had just been using the wrong types of sponges previously (too soft and not dense enough), and that is why I was having such trouble with blending.

My previous experiments have been with colours that are darker than the body itself. This time, I tried to use white-coloured oil pastels on a 'new suntan' tbleague body. I know, I know, I should have tried it on a pale body. But I am completely out of spending funds atm and probably will be for the next few months, so I was trying to make do with what I already have. :/ The result is that.... it took an entire stick of white oil pastel to cover just the very small areas of skin that will be showing...and I'm still not sure if it's pale enough. I probably won't know till I try it with a headsculpt, which I frustratingly don't have yet.

I also attempted a technique of applying some grey pastel onto my fingers, and then lightly rubbing that into the whitened tbleague skin. I did this because using the stick of grey directly onto the figure would have made it way too dark and streaky, and yet I still wanted to create a slightly shadowed effect. Once I applied the grey in this manner, I then went over it again with the white pastel, and blended, blended, blended. I found that if I blended long enough with the makeup sponge, I didn't really have that much residue to wash off. The final effect was indeed quite a bit paler than the original skintone, but I'm not sure if I was able to get rid of enough of the 'flesh' colour underneath it. I guess one saving grace is that the tbleague suntan is kinda weirdly grey in tone to begin with.

Ultimately, I think achieving the pale white-grey skin tone I was after would have been much easier using a white Jiaou body, or if I had just used an already-white tbleague base like the Lady Death body. But, I wanted to satisfy my curiosity. Also, I didn't really have an alternative use for this particular s12d tbleague body, as all the other headsculpts I have tried with it haven't worked (they’ve been too small for its thick neck and massive shoulders), so I figured I might as well try one more time to put it to use.

Once I have the rest of the parts for this figure, I'll have a better idea if my attempt was passable or not (and will take pics, if so), but I just thought I'd share this here in case anyone was wondering about making a tbleague figure paler, rather than darker.

Please post a pic, skywalkersaga. I’m curious to see how it turned out.

Will do so soon, bear with me... just so busy with boring RL crap today.

Applying oil pastel in layers is the only way to blend the colors and come somewhere even a little close to proper color mixture (as you might have with conventional oil, tempera, watercolor, or acrylic paint). The sponge helps, although I've always thought its primary purpose is to get as much of the pastel entrenched into the silicone surface, and to take away as much of it as remains loose. I myself am about to experiment with getting a color lighter (on my newly designated experimental body).

Yes, I found a bit more of a rhythm with applying/blending .... before, I was just really confused, lol.

And I’ll be interested to see your results — I’m admittedly a bit shy to share pics of unfinished WIPs (simply because I’m still so undecided as to whether I’m going to even use it or not), so you’ll likely be able to get pics more quickly than I will. ;p

The most difficult part of this colouring tbleague bodies thing for me is actually acquiring enough bodies to experiment with in the first place...

Sorry to double post, but I have been considering the viability of certain of my planned future projects, and was wondering if anyone has figured out how to either paint or draw tattoos or 'war paint' type designs onto seamless [male] bodies? I know Ephiane had some smaller painted acrylic tattoos on one of her female figures recently, but my concern is with anything covering a larger area like the chest or back, that it would flake. I'm not sure how one would be able to use the oil pastels for such a thing either, as they require blending to make them work, so doing intricate details seems out of the question.

Just to be clear, I'm talking about actually drawing designs onto the bodies [such as with a pen or something], rather than applying some kind of pre-made sticker type thing.

I know this has been discussed before -- I also recall Stryker having issues with the tattoos on his mini-me -- but just wondering if anyone's figured out anything?

If there really isn't any reliable way of hand-drawing tattoos onto a seamless body, would something like one of the more realistic WorldBox type bodies be the next place to look?

skywalkersaga wrote:Sorry to double post, but I have been considering the viability of certain of my planned future projects, and was wondering if anyone has figured out how to either paint or draw tattoos or 'war paint' type designs onto seamless [male] bodies? I know Ephiane had some smaller painted acrylic tattoos on one of her female figures recently, but my concern is with anything covering a larger area like the chest or back, that it would flake. I'm not sure how one would be able to use the oil pastels for such a thing either, as they require blending to make them work, so doing intricate details seems out of the question.

Just to be clear, I'm talking about actually drawing designs onto the bodies [such as with a pen or something], rather than applying some kind of pre-made sticker type thing.

I know this has been discussed before -- I also recall Stryker having issues with the tattoos on his mini-me -- but just wondering if anyone's figured out anything?

If there really isn't any reliable way of hand-drawing tattoos onto a seamless body, would something like one of the more realistic WorldBox type bodies be the next place to look?

It is a good question, but I have no definitive answer for you. The first post in this thread included some examples, and for something relatively simple ("line art" if you will), if you can get an acrylic marker with a fine enough tip, you should be able to do it. As long as you are not trying to fill up a substantial area with an even color (as in repainting the body's skin tone, in effect) the acrylic marker might work. My very preliminary experiment seemed to produce decent and permanent results, but I didn't have a super fine tip and was focusing more on testing for the repainting of the body rather than the application of tattoos. (NOTE: this was based on applying acrylic marker to a Jiaou TPE body.)

Stryker seems to have had some luck with tattoo decals and identified a good eBay seller who provides a range of them that work even on seamless bodies, but the details escape me now. For comparison, this recent set includes, among other things, a "flag tattoo sticker" which would be a decal, I imagine:
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1009-new-product-acplay-new-1-6-street-fighter-american-soldier-double-head-carving-set-atx044

World Box and other hard plastic bodies should be much easier to paint, although I imagine in place of the paint flaking away you would have to worry about the paint chipping/scraping away.

ReverendSpooky is the guy to ask. I tried to do tattoos on seamless figures, but aside from water slide decals, which are very shiny, I didn’t have much luck.

Stryker2011 wrote:ReverendSpooky is the guy to ask. I tried to do tattoos on seamless figures, but aside from water slide decals, which are very shiny, I didn’t have much luck.

So apart from being shiny, do the decals hold up ok while allowing all the usual articulation? Of course, I realize that might also depend on size and placement...

I put one on the back of a thigh, just below the buttocks, and it held up fine. I tried it on the crease between the shoulder and bicep, and not so much. It really does depend on the area. I would think a pectoral muscle would probably be okay, as there is very little movement and stretch, and it is fairly flat — anywhere where there is a lot of creases and stretch will be problematic.