There are a lot of processes involved in reborning a doll, from choosing a doll and dismantling it to painting and adding hair. Each part has a completely different set of skills. Over time, anyone can master them all but if you are new then knowing everything you will come up against can be a little daunting.

Knowing how to make a reborn doll from start to finish comes with experience, but it never hurts to have a heads up on what to expect. Here are three things relating to painting your reborn doll that you will want to be familiar with;

Pouncing - Although this term suggests a predatory or playful action, much the same as a cat would pounce on a toy, it is actually quite a delicate process. In order to add paint to a reborn doll, it is usually done with a small cosmetic sponge by dabbing on the doll parts with a small amount of paint until the area has the desired amount. Finer details such as veins will require small paintbrushes so this is usually only done for the base skin tones.

Mottling - This is another painting process that is done after the limb has been pounced and has a base color. When mottling, you should use a different colored paint and apply it with a mop brush. The idea is to then remove most of the paint from the doll by dabbing it clean with a paper towel. You are looking to leave a few speckles on the area and it will help to add depth to the dolls skin. If you have looked at a newborn baby, you will notice that the skin isnt one color and there will usually be blemishes which is the effect you are trying to recreate.

Baking - Many people are shocked that you actually need to put the limbs into an oven. While this isnt always the case, if you are using Genesis Heat Set paints then you will need to do this as the paint dry under such heat. The dolls limbs are safe as they are vinyl and you will usually have to bake each layer as you build it up. If you dont want to put them in your over you can get specialist ones called 'convection ovens' which are quite cheap or use a genesis heat set gun which is an electric tool much like a hair drier.

Painting a reborn doll is one of the most complex things you will have to do in order to make a reborn doll. However, by understanding the above and with a little practice you should be able to complete your first one in no time at all.