Advice on Painting Lower Eyelashes with a Brush?

Funny, I have the reverse problem. I can do eyelashes, I can't do brows well. (:

I find this technique works for me. Get a 1 or 0 brush, no finer. Dilute your paint very very thinly to the point of translucence, and get some paper to test your strokes on.

Instead of using the side of the brush to draw like with a fine liner brush, use your wrist to flick the brush against the surface of the paper. You're basically trying to use the very first bristles to make the stroke and letting capillary action (from the bristles around) do the work for you. A thinner brush would dry to fast and hold too little paint.

Practice a bit on the paper until you get the line width and featheriness you like, and then move on to the doll's head. I find I have shaky hands, so when I do things like this I brace my elbows against the table and my painting hand on the doll head.

I like to do my lashes in about three shades, light, darker, darkest, in proportion to the doll's hair color, sealing between each layer. Screwups can be brushed away with a damp q-tip if you catch them fast enough. Lay the lashes down crossing each other, not overlapping each other.

When you're done and sealed you might want to use a very tiny smudge of dark pastel to shade the eyelashes and pull them together, kind of implying the shadow they throw on the face.

- Mel

 

I personally use a very long thin liner for lashes. It's all really about what works for you specifically, as sometimes I look at other people's face up tutorials and go 'how do they make that work? o_o;'.

I use the longest thinnest script liner I can find, it's an 18/0 I believe, and maybe 1/2" to 3/4" long? The length helps the brush to keep from drying out. There's some details on how I prepare my brush for painting small hair details in my face up tutorial, here. For the lashes I pretty much put the brush into the eye socket, perpendicular, then rest it on the area where I want the lash to start and flick it outwards to get a nice tapered line :3

Mostly, it's just practice ^^; Eyelashes are hard to get right, but I find that when using a liner to do them you forsake some accuracy at the time(until you get better at using it) to get nice straight and tapered lines. Good luck!

 

Ok, so I have been having the same problem! I look at doll's beautiful lashes wonder how the heck they did that! Buuuttt..... Recently I got a very small brush (actually, not that small compared to some people here, I think it is a 0 or a 10/0 or something, but it is really long!!) and I diluted my paints veeerryy thin. Then, I practiced on paper and it worked. I tried a tip that someone on here gave me, you act as though you are drawing the lashes at an angle starting at the top eyelid. You don't actually paint, but by starting the movement there, you get the correct angle. I guess that is also what they teach at the Volks workshops. Anyway, I tried and tried and tried and tried to do eyelashes with my old brushes and it was impossible. I got the new brush, and I could do it. So I think that a lot of the secret is in finding the right brush. My reccomendation is to buy as many tiny brushes and possible and see what works best for you. Good luck, I'm sure you will get it

 

So I've seen tons of dolls with painted on bottom eyelashes, but I almost never see them with actual bottom eyelashes glued on. Why is that? Does anyone have a picture of a doll with real bottom eyelashes so I can see it? Because I swear, they're always painted on. I want to attach some real bottom eyelashes on my doll, but I have no idea what it looks like!

 

I have a feeling that would make them look a bit surprised .. but I'm interested in seeing this too, 'cause when I do Kyo's faceup he's gonna have to have them glued on, too.

 

Hmmm, you think so? I'm not sure. I would think that if the lower lashes were trimmed and attached right that it would look the same as painted, just more realistic. 3-D!

I plan to go off of the model of my doll's default make up and just trim the bottom lashes to make them similar shaped to how they are painted on in the pictures.

 

Actually I've seen a good number of dolls with bottom eyelashes stuck on. I can't remember which threads though .

 

It's a tricky thing to do, which is why you don't see it very often. Dolls tend to get a "spider leg" look to their eyes, like a many legged insect is trying to crawl out from behind their eyes. When done well though, it can look really nice.

 

My girl has added bottom lashes...I have'nt quite had the nerve to try to paint them on so I added glue-on ones. I am quite happy with the results.

 

Probably not what you're looking for, Hombre is a very stylized character, so his
lower (and upper) lashes are very dramatic, but I think you could get a very natural look
if you used more natural-length of lashes for your doll, than the type I used. ^.^;;
I would have all my dolls with lower-applied lashes if I could, but the face-up artists
never paid any attention when I specified not to paint their lower-lashes, so now I can't
add any to my other kids, but here are a few images of Hombre -- I hope they help you a bit.






- Enzyme ^.^

 

That looks nice Enzyme! It really works with the pierced look. Not the look that would go with mine, but still very nice! Luckyl, I like your too!

Hmmm, maybe the reason why most dolls lashes are painted on is that they look really long on the bottom. So maybe it wouldn't be too hard to trim them?

 

I didn't trim mine that much, because Hombre is based
on a very specific character who loves all things, flamboyant
and overly dramatic -- but they could be trimmed quite a bit,
specially if you get the thinner lashes, for a more 'natural' look.
Most painted on lower-lashes tend to be super-long anyway, so
I don't believe that's the reason why people don't use them, maybe
it's just people's different sense of aesthetics -- I like how they look
so I use them. Good luck, which ever way you decide to got with
yours. ^.^

- Enzyme ^___________^

 

i was wondering how people make eyelashes so thin i have ie there a paint on pencil that u use or what I NEED TO KNOW!!!

 

I haven't gotten good at it yet, but I use a super thin 20/0 spotter, some people use a liner. I thin down my acrylic paint with a bit of water, I know some people use paint thinner. Using really light strokes, lift the brush in a short stroke-> set it down, draw out, then lift. It takes some work, but when you get good at it, it pays off. It looks much better than watercolor pencil. ^^ Good luck!

 

A little tip- get a book on calligraphy or Chinese calligraphy/bush painting. Some of the advice in those books helps. The hardest part is getting the pressure in your brush strokes right, which is something that you have to learn about in calligraphy. You generally start with putting a bit of pressure on the brush when you start the lash then quickly pull the brush away as you move down. You should use a retarder and a few drops of water in your paint to slow down the drying process so you can go back and clean up any mistakes (I use a crafting scalpel to gently scrape away the wet paint because they are very fine and easy to control).
As for brushes, I actually use a thicker brush I have a 10/0 round and a 10/0 liner but I trim the edges to make them neater. You can achieve tiny lashes with most sized brushes, it's all about how much pressure you use.

I hope this has been some help to you

 

To be honest, I find that it looks best when you don't 'think' about it. I usually do eyelashes either with simple stokes with a pencil, but recently I've been venturing into the world of acrylics. I use a regular 1 paintbrush with a very fine point, and just make regular light flicks starting from the eyelid outwards, so each lash tapers out rather nicely. :> It doesn't matter so much if you get paint into the lids while doing this, as you can paint over that later with a bit of pink for a more natural look. Just give each stroke a natural little wrist flick; the more you think about keeping the lines 'perfect,' the less perfect they'll seem to you. Or at least, this is the method I use. It all depends on the person; try all these methods on a piece of paper and see what feels best. :>

 

I had the same problem, until MelWogn helped me out!! This is what she said:

Hope this helped you like it helped me!

 

I use a VERY sharp watercolor pencil for my lashes. I just ordered a 30/0 paintbrush.... I'll let you know my results with it.

 

is ther a paint that would be best

 

I used a prismacolor colored pencil, but then again it was only to enhance what was already there so if you want to have more control over the line thickness then use paint + a good paintbrush. I have no idea, but... I think liquitex soft body acrylic colors are good.

 

Does anyone have tips for painting eyelashes? I've been using one of the 1/18 or whatever they're called... teeny... and yet the eyelashes STILL look garish.

​

 

Little question. They look nice, though.. *ducks*

Are you thinning the paint you're using with retardant? Or retarder? Thinner? Forget that word. I notice that it almost looks like the top part is blobbing then you drag it down.

When I painted my girl, the retarded paint really helped make the lashes look a little more delicate.

And I suck because I don't have pictures yet... Curse my lack of camera.

 

Why are you ducking? LOL! I havent thinned down the paint at all with any type of retardant. I think that's the right word. I'm @ negative 162 in my bank account right now, which is why I'm painting up my MNF DES to sell in the Market Place, so I cant get any thinner. Ugggh. Yeah, it's definitely blobbing and then I try to drag it down. I wasn't sure if my brush isnt small enough or what. Is there an alternative to paint thinner? Like water? I also have watercolor pencils I could use, if that would work for eyelashes.

 

Hehe. Use the pencils, if you don't have the moolah for the retardant. *kicks word* I think the retardant really helps to smooth the paint so you don't use a ton and get that blobbing thing. Sharpen them to an insane point, then gently work your way across. I used pencils on my girl for her first face-up and it came out ok.

Piccies of those ones right here: http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249867

 

i couldn't find brushes thin enough for my liking so i just took some small scissors and cut about half of the hairs off. seriously, it looks like there are about "4" hairs left, but i really made a big difference, also the retarder is helpful. one last tip, don't use hardly any pressure when applying, try to use just the very tip of the bristles and just very lightly stroke the surface.

 

Im not an expert with painting dolls, but I know quite a bit about painting. What kind of paint are you using? If its watercolor, just make it really watery and then paint in the lashes, getting the smallest brush you can, and using just a small amount of paint, on the very very tip of your brush. Youll probably have to do quite a few coats to get it as dark as you want, but if youre careful, the lashes should come out perfectly.

If youre using acrylic paint, you can still add water to it; it should thin down enough for you to paint the eyelashes in, but it might be a bit more difficult to spread since acylic has a thicker consisntensy than watercolor. But it can be done! Like with the watercolor, use the smallest amount of paint and only dip the tip of the brush in the paint and you should be good.

Good luck! Hope i helped at least a little bit! ;P

 

Gennii: Your girl looks so lovely! I may wind up giving watercolor pencils a whirl.

Miss Ally: That's a brilliant idea! I dont know why that never occurred to me. I'll have to find one of my more inexpensive brushes with which to experiment. The light pressure is something I'd also not considered. Thanks!

PoisonPeachPop: I'm using Folk Art acrylics. I can add water? Oo! I'll have to try that with a thinned-out brush like Miss Ally recommended. And you DID help!

 

I have a Tamiya faceup brush (Mimiwoo) and for me it seems too large even for the eyelashes, I think I am going to find acheap brush and take out all the bristles but a couple to see if it would work better on those bottom lashes. Especially on the 1/6 Obitsu I am trying to so so painstakingly and end up wiping 4 out of 5 times... lol

 

Acrylics definitely can be thinned with water, I've used them that way on wood and paper. It's been a while but I'm pretty sure I've used Folk Art ones before - my parents went through a "making country wooden crafts and selling them at fairs" stage, and I was the designated painter. I'm not sure how well it'll stick to resin if it's thinned down too much, but if watercolors will work surely thinned acrylic will. If it beads up you can try adding a tiny touch of dish soap to break the surface tension - again I've not tried this on resin, so YMMV.

And if I had the cash I'd have bought her already! I'm really looking for a Shushu, but she's beautiful. (I'm in Charlotte, too, btw!)

 

If you can't afford to get an acrylic retardant (flow medium) water will do in a pinch. You can also try drawing the lashes on with watercolour pencils and then going over them with a wet brush.

Not sure why I am replying to this as I was actually searching for tips on how to improve lash-painting, since mine suck badly, despite flow medium and superfine brushes. I think I just need to practice and work slowly...

 

I use 30/0 brush and YET have problems getting eyelashes thin enough. A few tricks I figured out on my own:

1. Take excess of paint off the brush by testing a few strokes on paper before you move to the face.

2. Hold it at the right angle. For me it works to have it slightly inclined towards the cheeks.

3. Make sure you're painting only with the tip of the brush, where the hair is most thin and flexible.

Well, and most obvious as already mentioned, thin the paint well.

It still doesn't work all the times for me. Sometimes I manage to sort of get zoned out and end up with perfectly even, thin and long lashes. Other times, no matter how many times I try, something always goes wrong.

 

You guys have all kinds of information...maybe someone can help me...I'm trying to find out how to do the extremely fine lined bottom eyelashes...I know thin brush...but I need more info...there has to be a trick to this....for no matter how fine my brush is...it is too much....so tell me dear DOA experts....what can I try...I'm totally crafty so it isn't that I can't do it...I just need to know how and what is the best method ...to acheive a soft...full delicate lower eyelash...
I think I will try making my own lashes from a previous thread...that was most helpful..and offered everything in the way of instructions...now I need instructions on bottom lashes!
Thanks for any and all help...
Cathy

 

Well, if you already have a tiny brush (like 000 size) I believe the other secret is to thin your paint with clear acrylic, so you end up with translucent color. That helps the lashes look soft.

 

Holy cow..."000",,,,,,is that like one hair on the brush?
LOL
I can see I'm gonna have to go back to the store...Thanks for that tid-bit..I'm soo out of the loop....I didn't know they even made a "000" brush!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cathy

 

000 is WAY too big, in my opinion - for me at least! I have a 30/0 (that's thirty "0"s in a row) and it's slightly too big but I have gotten away with using it. You can sometimes find 100/0 brushes, I'd LOVE to have a couple of those. For now I've bought a 18/0 brush and trimmed away some of the bristles so it's much thinner, and that's working well.

The real trick is thinning the paint, though. I use retarder so it is a bit translucent and doesn't dry on the brush too quickly, and thin it with a mix of flow-aid, water, and alcohol. There are thinners you can buy, but I haven't bought any yet so I fake it with the mix, for now.

 

I can see I'm gonna have my work cut out for me....I hope I can find these small brushes....maybe I'll have to cut some down a bit.........Thanks Amy......and anyone else....if ya have info...I'd apprecaite it...if not..my girls will be going under the brush this week some time....provided I can get the right stuff and my hand and eyesight holds up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Carol

 

Instead of buying another brush, I took a 10/0 and carefully cut off hairs one by one around the brush until I was left with something I liked. I use Golden fluid acrylics with satin glaze (retarder) and flow aid. I'm happy with this for eyelashes, eyebrows are a different story

 

My doll will be arriving to me without a faceup,But the only thing I'm concerned about are the bottom lashes. I'm terrified to work with paint just because I have such shaky hands.

I was wondering if you could do the eyelashes with Watercolor pencils instead. Would it look the same or just as good??

Thanks in advance! ^_^

 

You can use watercolor pencils for eyelashes/eyebrows/lip lines, just anything that paint can do. But it wont be as smooth as the paint though. You can practice with Watercolor Pencils before moving on to paints?

 

My doll is currently being re-modified; I've been using her for a lot of practice and different face-ups. I used water color pencils and pastels to do her first face up, and she looked pretty good. ^ __^

 

Thank you ^^ Thats what I was thinking to, I probably will practice with Pencils and move on from there

Thank you! Thats pretty much what I'm using to ^^

 

Yup! I use watercolors for my faceups. :3 It can look a little grainy though.

 

I agree on the grainy part, but I suck with brushes so I use watercolour. It's not really noticeable if you don't look at it close-up.

 

Ahhh damn :/ Hmmm Maybe drawing them lightly and then painting them on??

 

Once in a great while using a damp paper towel to just dab the tip of the watercolor pencil helps with the graininess, but you have to resharpen after each stroke (Which is why I went on to brushes and paint ^^

 

I tried using pencils for lashes just one time when I got my first doll. Never again have I touched them. xD

Using a brush takes a lot of practice, but the outcome is really worth it.

To steady your hand, hold your breath. ^^
You can also do practice strokes on the head cap.

Tips on brushes:
-smaller the better in my experience.
-different lengths of brushes for different heads.
-have tiny amounts on your brush at a time.
-I use a piece of paper as a palette to get the extra paint off, but also to flatten out the brush. Just doing strokes on the paper will flatten it. Gives you a nice thin edge to paint thin lashes with.
-Soft bristles.

Hope that helps! ^^

 

I figured that I think I'll try both

Thank you so much! I will definitely take these tips! I'm just going to get both just in case ^^ What paint thinner is the best? Or can I thin it out with water? ;O

 

I am by no means an expert, but I've heard that the graininess comes from using watercolor pencils with softer lead. Try Crayola watercolor pencils, if you can get them in your area. The lead is harder, and will make a sharper line. (For the record, this tip is not my own - I got it from mendokusai.)

 

My experiments with water color pencil tend to come out a little bit grainy. Also, if you put a gloss over it, it will smear. On my first attempt it came out with a cool kind of smoky effect because of the smearing but if you want crisp lines you're probably better off just getting a really tiny brush with the expectation that you'll have to wipe and redo a lot in the process. It's a learning experience and you get no where without practice.

 

Watercolor pencils can be grainy, but if you sharpen the tip very well, it is not that bad. Also, the marks wipe off very easily before being sealed.

If you are really worried about the eyelashes, just make sure you seal all work previous to the lashes very well. You can redo the watercolor eyelashes almost as many times as you want without messing up the rest of the face if it is well sealed. You may also find that you like the face without lower lashes.

If you do decide to paint the lashes on, I would suggest NOT using water. I have been doing faceups for a while now and found thin lines to be extremely difficult until about two days ago. Up until then, I had not invested in any thinner. The thinner makes it so much easier to work with the paint, and everything comes out looking better. My faceups still need work, but I do not have to put in nearly as much effort on lashes, and they come out better than they did before now.

As for the brand of thinner, there are probably several that are good, but I have only used liquitex. I was told Tamiya is nice, but I have not used it myself.

 

Thanks everyone! I'm going to get Watercolor Pencils and Paint. Just to see what I work best with!

 

Hi
I did a search on this but i couldn't really find anything that answered my question directly, but if there is one please do direct me to any thread(s) about it and delete this one And hopefully i'm following all the rules here

Okay so just to start off with i'm talking about bottom eyelashes (not eyelashes you have to apply but rather the ones you paint on).
I'm almost ready to start doing my first faceup, and i've been looking at various tutorials and guides but i've been curious about this for a while now - what is the best way to paint eyelashes?
Now what i mean isn't that i need a tutorial or a detailed explanation of your technique but i am wondering what you think is better between crossed eyelashes or straight up and down ones. I know i'm not the best at explaining so i've looked for the clearest examples i could in the commissions thread (i hope the people don't mind me using their pictures - i'm not advertising them nor do i claim i own the work. I'm also not asking you to compare the quality of work of either artist)
So a clear view of what i'm calling 'crossed' eyelashes (i don't know a technichal term for it ) All credit for this picture: Meggilu

And a clear view of what i mean by 'straight' eyelashes. All credit for this picture: Andreja


So what i'm wanting to know is:
Which style would you prefer on your own doll(s)?
What style do you think is easiest to do?
Do you think it makes a difference to the overall look of the faceup depending on which option you choose to do? (softer, personality difference, gender dependant, etc)

 

I don't have a preference for either of them on my dolls - just that they look natural whichever style they are in (I cannot seem to get it right when I paint them!).

I can't ge th straight style right, let alone attempting the crossed style.

The crossed ones look more... contrived... I suppose, but that may just be on close inspection rather than overall effect.

Teddy

 

Ahh, i never noticed until now but i do agree that the crossed ones look slightly more forced. However i think they blend better than straight ones from a distance, so i'm not sure which ones i should go for.
Thanks for your opinion Teddy
Looking forward to hearing more opinions as well ~

 

I use watercolor pencils for my faceups. There is a way around the grainy part. I've found that using a light colored watercolor pencil to add shadow lashes (like almost invisible ones) over the normal lashes will erase out the grainy bits as well as give you a 3d effect. It takes awhile though. I usually do 2-3 layers of this, each layer coated with MSC before continuing. If you're interested, I have pics in my portfolio (link in my siggy).

 

I'm using crossed eyelashes for girls, I think it make the eyes more "girly" and soft... but it also depends of the tone of the color used ( I use black or brown tones for my make-up... BUT! I've to try bright colors like red or green, lol!)
For me, straight eyelashes are for boy, (except for bishonen or lolita boys XD)

 

Thank you! It sounds intresting! I'll take a look at them ^^