The beginning....

This post shows some of the first barbie repaints I sold on ebay or did by private commission. This was many years ago in 2002 or 2003.



Later came the My Scene barbies whose large heads gave so much more space for eye detail. This was another chance to try new techniques. Barbies were also easy to reroot as the heads were soft and easy to remove from the bodies.



Mackie face barbies were my next favorite as they had beautifully shaped lips. Those barbies with an open mouth were given teeth. This proved controversial as some collectors loved the teeth and others did not like the look. This is a method I love to do as it really gives a doll's face much more life and realism.



My favorite barbie to work with was the Lea/Kayla face sculpt. I believe it was the freedom of the eye sockets. These faces did not have an outlined eye area as the Mackie face and Teresa barbies did. Once the factory paint was removed new features could be added at the whim of the artist. It was so much fun to see how different she could look.



The hardest part of learning this art was the photography. I experimented with inside and outside lighting. These dolls liked to give a nice glare if the lighting was not perfect. I'm still trying to get better at photos. So far the best results are outside with natural light.



Barbies were the easiest to practice with and it was a lot of fun to see how different little personalities would emerge from the plastic features when my brush left its mark.





Here are a sample of repaints from the start of this hobby. Most were barbies and Tonner dolls. I have noticed that in the beginning my dolls were painted with very dark shadowed eyes.