Faces by Katkins Designs

Doll Face Stamp Tutorial for Beginners
by Karlene Atkins

Requirements Katkins Designs doll face stamp ( I am using the "Lizzie" stamp) Ancient Page or alternative stamp pad for use on fabric in light brown or sienna small piece of quilter’s muslin or alternative fine weave cotton sharp 2B lead pencil 01 black and brown Pigma Micron pens white gel pen Prismacolor pencils…periwinkle, white, violet blue, rosy beige, pink rose, henna kneadable eraser a piece of paper towel (optional) small piece of fusible Tearaway (optional) cloth doll pattern, appropriate size for your stamp Using doll face stamps is easy and rewarding, either on fabric or paper. You can personalise the effect with your pencil and pen work, and it’s a great way to practise these skills for your doll faces.
	1 Positioning the Stamp To stamp before making up a doll’s head, lightly trace the outside edge of your chosen doll pattern onto your quilter’s muslin using 2B lead pencil. Divide the face into quarters by finding the vertical and horizontal centres. I mark this very lightly top and bottom and at the sides using the pencil. You can erase these marks later. For a childlike face, position the eyes just under the half way mark so that most of the face sits in the bottom half of your face shape, with the eyebrows above halfway. Before inking you can place the see through dry stamp where you think it should go and mark the position with light pencil.

	2 Inking the Stamp Place your stamp raised side upwards on your work surface and lightly and evenly tap the ink onto the stamp, not the stamp onto the ink as this will apply too much ink. Tap from one side to the other. Have a practise run at stamping onto a scrap of fabric which has been placed on a smooth hard surface.

	3 Stamping Press evenly and be mindful not to rock the stamp. You do not have to leave the stamp in place for longer than a couple of seconds. The best way to learn how much ink and pressure is enough is by practising. Keep a piece of paper towel handy to remove any ink from the stamp block corners so as to avoid stamping corners on your face. When ready, stamp in position onto your outlined fabric and allow to dry.

	4 Ready to Construct the Head At this point you can chose whether to continue on flat fabric or whether to make up and firmly stuff your doll’s head. If you chose to continue flat then a piece of iron on Tearaway fused to the back will help stabilise the fabric while you colour it. Work on a hard surface. Remove the Tearaway when you have finished your face.

	5 Working on a Solid Head I prefer to work on a solid head as this gives a nice firm base.

	6 Colouring the Pupils Using the 01 black Pigma pen carefully outline then colour in the pupils. To do this work layer on layer of light pen strokes allowing the ink to dry as you go. Imagine your pen is being held up by fairy wings! I tend to work from one pupil to the other backwards and forwards until they are evenly coloured. It is important that they are solid in colour as they will be the darkest tone in your doll’s face and create depth in the eyes, however be careful not to create “puddles” of ink as this will soak through the fabric and is more likely to “bleed”. Allow to dry before proceeding. HINT If you find you are heavy handed, try holding your pen further away from the point and resting your hand on your work surface for support. This will have the effect of dropping the angle of the pen back lightening up your strokes. It may feel strange to start but is worth persevering with

	7 Adding the Pupil Highlights The white pupil highlights need to correspond in position, size and shape. Imagine the pupil as a clock, then if one highlight is placed where the 10 would be then be sure to place the other in the same position. Highlights in the top half of the eye tend to look better probably because we are most used to seeing highlights this way in real life. We are more often top or side lit rather than there being a light source from below. Using the white gel pen, lightly place the highlights. Allow them to dry. You’ll probably find they fade a bit, so when dry, top them up. Remember those fairy wings holding that pen, and imagine a tiny dew drop on the end to be placed. Allow to dry.

	8 Colouring the Irises Using the point of the periwinkle pencil colour a nice even layer onto the irises. Again think layer on layer of light strokes. The pencils have a wax base so you’ll find they draw on smoothly. Use your “best colouring in”! We all seem to remember being told this from school, even though you may not have tried it out for a while! Stay within the lines and cover all the little white bits!

	9 Adding the Iris Highlights Imagine that the pupil highlight done previously with pen, has now established the light section of the eye, so next to this on top of the blue pencil in the iris, add white pencil. I lighten about ¼ of the iris in this way.

	10 Finishing the Irises Using the violet blue pencil, lightly colour the remaining ¾ of the iris on top of the periwinkle to create a darker section. It is also effective to use this same pencil to create a dark rim around the edge of the iris where it shows.

	11 Shading Behind the Nose Using the rosy beige pencil, shade “behind” the nose with the side of the lead. You may need to change the way you hold the pencil to do this effectively. The point of the pencil needs to run along the ink line as in the photograph. I have similarly shaded the corners of the mouth.

	12 The Eyelids Use the point of the rosy beige pencil to colour in the eyelids, then as before with the lead on its side, shade above the eyelids up to the eyebrows.

	13 The Lips Using the point of the pink rose pencil, colour a nice even layer over the lips.

	14a & 14b Blushing the Cheeks On a scrap of fabric, draw a patch of henna colour, wrap this around your finger and gently smooth the colour onto the cheeks. Be careful not to rub as this may destroy the nice smooth finish on your fabric and cause bobbling. It is better to top up the pigment on the fabric scrap and add it layer on layer to the cheeks until you have a nice even look. Gently blend the cheek colour into the rosy beige behind the nose and if need be use the rosy beige pencil again with its lead on the side to blend it back into the cheek blush. You can add a little of the blush henna onto the chin as well. HINT Use a cotton bud instead of your finger wrapped in the fabric scrap as an alternative if you find you have better control this way.

	15 Shadow on the Bottom Lip Using the sharp point of the henna pencil place a series of slightly curved strokes on the bottom lip beginning at the centre lip line and “flicking” downwards to mimic the curve of the lip.

	16 Accentuating Detail Using the 01 brown Pigma pen, lightly draw around the eyes and the eyelashes on top of the ink to accentuate them if desired. You can similarly pen in the line between the lips and feather over the eyebrows. Use the tip of a warm to hot iron together with a pressing cloth to lightly press the face and set the colour.

	17 Finishing Use the white gel pen over the whites of the eyes and to top up the pupil highlights if necessary.