Not Barbie, BHARATI. Or maybe Bluebi if I feel like it

February 14, 2013 10:47 AM

I want to change my Barbie doll's skin tone and paint her face to give her different eyes. How?

I was given a Barbie recently as a very sweet joke, and I made her a more modest outfit and tied her hair back elegantly. She sits on my desk looking glamorous. I want to change her skin tone and paint her face.

What kind of paint do I use so it soaks in and doesn't peel off? How can I go about doing this? What will I need?

posted by discopolo to sports, hobbies, & recreation (8 answers total)

Experience has told me that a good dose of a Crayola washable marker rubbed with a moistened washcloth does an OK job of this.
posted by phunniemee at 10:53 AM on February 14 [1 favorite]

You could use perminent markers- I seem to remember tattooing my dolls very sucessfully with multi colored sharpies-

but otherwise I would suggest using acrylic paint and then a sealant to "lock it in." Maybe modpodge? I guess the biggest question is what you need it to do. Are their going to be people touching it? cause then you wouldn't want it to be tacky to the touch. If you need her to be a brighter color, than sharpies are not going to be your best bet.
posted by Blisterlips at 10:55 AM on February 14

I know from (accidental) experience that wrapping a porous plastic toy in Play-Doh will alter its color. I have a little blue giraffe I made this way. It actually looks really cool- paint will look like, well, paint, but this way you're dyeing instead of painting. However, this may not work as well on the body as it will on the face, since it's a different type of plastic.
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:01 AM on February 14

...but you could always turn to the experts! "I am Donna Anne of Fantasy Dolls by Donna Anne. As a doll repaint artist since 2001, I want to share with you the supplies you will need to start painting vinyl dolls. These supplies are ones that I have used over the years."
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:04 AM on February 14 [1 favorite]

Check out Monster High Customizing here.
posted by Callicvol at 11:05 AM on February 14 [1 favorite]

food colouring will probably work if you just want to change the skin color quickly.
posted by pick_the_flowers at 11:33 AM on February 14

It's almost embarrassing to link to Yahoo Answers, but here it is: You need an acrylic paint, such as Golden Fluid Acrylics, thin it before using and paint multiple coats to build up opacity. Then you need a sealer on top of that. It can still be scratched, but if you're reasonably gentle with her it will hold up.

The plastic doll modification community is pretty huge (Barbie, obviously, but also things like My Little Pony--even before the new show--and other dolls). If you search for "Barbie modification tutorial" you'll get a lot of results.
posted by anaelith at 4:20 PM on February 14

A friend of mine customizes dolls but she seems to pick the body based on the skintone she's looking for. Maybe you can find some information or ask her a question here.
posted by Bunglegirl at 10:02 PM on February 14