Face Ups: Common Problems and Solutions. (Tutorial)

i have been seeing alot of MSC flaking because of humid weather around....bout WIND too??? i have been sprayin my MSC in cold wind[LOL my hair was atrociously flyin around] but it did not flake 0.0? so...yea...jus wanna ask if anyone has experienced it the same way

 

shoot me....but i thought that i did see a point on humid weather and winds like that....might be another thread on my tab. lol. ok.

i sealed my own fingernails harhar. free topcoat for my nail polish =.=

i did once in a against wind condition and i sealed my shirt XDXD

editted: did not want to spam...i have heard that saintograph pastels are not bad and very affordable 8D

 

Problem: face blush/eye makeup looks clownlike

Solution: Stop blushing BEFORE you think you are done. MSC sometimes darkens the colors. You can always add another layer.

 

Problem: Faceups done inside tend to look really dirty in natural outside light for some reason

Solution: Paint outside during nice weather, and seal inside to avoid sealing in stray dirt/dust in air.

 

wow!!!
This is really great, once I´ll start my mnf head soon
But I didn´t understando one thing, Do I have to sand, wash and spray her face before I start her make-up??

I have Mr. Hobby TopCoat Flat Matt, can I use this spray or will I have to buy Mr. Super Clean??

Tnx so much for these tips, it was great of you
kss

 

One thing I'd suggest is during your blushing phase, compare the head to the body often in natural light. A while back, i failed to do this and when i reattached the head, it looked SUNBURNED compared to the body. I wasted so much time because I had to whipe the entire thing clean and start over. >_<

 

Question: Going back to the whole pastel, when I use pastel to give a sort of blushing around the eyes, while I can keep the pastel relatively even and neat, after I spray, the color looks absolutely grainy >.< The only way I've been able to figure out how to fix this is to apply a ton of layers of it, and while that makes the graininess go away and leave a nice, smooth color, it also makes the color extremely dark which doesn't work on all face-ups. Help! How do I get rid of that graininess with the pastel while not having to go extremely dark? Am I not spraying the MSC correctly?

 

Thanks NietSage I think a get little impatient when I spray my sealer, so I'm going to try a new face-up tomorrow using that method and see if it works out better.

Also...looking for some tips on eyelashes? I know most people paint them on with acrylics but even with my tiniest brush and the paint thinned down they still come out huge and never wispy. I wonder if...plucking some of the fiber from one of my thinner brushes to make it even more fine tipped would help? ( I do plan on getting a tinier brush in the future but at the moment that's not an option >.< ) Or am I wrong and is watercolor pencil usually the weapon of choice for lashes?

 

When spraying MSC inside, do it in a bathroom that isn't used very much that has a fan. Close the door while you are spraying, and when you are done LEAVE the fan on and close the door firmly. Leave it on for a couple of hours.

This is what I do because I have sensitive little fuzzy noses around my house. Also, spraying in a small contained room helps you not to overspray because you get lightheaded when you've done too much :P

 

if you want a shimmery look, i'd try applying the powder and spraying a few layers of MSC first so it's got a thick coat over it. then apply a some gloss varnish that has been thinned out with acrylic thinning medium so it's not so strong. apply a thin-thin layer. i've had the same problem and what i've found is that often i didn't build up enough MSC over the powder and the gloss made it "wet" and screwed with the shimmer. >_<

 

Niet... your ... I have no words that can describe the gratitude I have for all the tutorials you have given us.

A simple Thank you is all I can say.

 

don't forget that if you want to thin a brush down trim some hairs at the ferrule (the metal part that holds them). Never pull them out as this will make the remaining ones loose and they'll fall out too.

 

the thing about natural light...i dont recommend it because I found natural light to be very inconsistent. 10AM sunlight looks different at 3PM and 10Am the following day doesn't look like it did the day before. XD; (atleast, where I live) I recommend using bright indoor lighting to do faceups because then you can maintain color consistency when blushing, mixing and layering.

My problem with faceups is that my dolls end up having shiny skin after their first faceup has been removed. (is it because I'm using Magic Eraser to remove previous faceups?). And it's still shiny after I coat it with MSC. Is there any way to make the shiny skin look matte?

 

I have a question about mixing pastels. I read in one of your past face up tutorials that you mixed blue into your base color... sometimes when I do that to get the same effect it's like it doesn't mix well... is there a tip anyone can give on mixing pastel colors together?

 

Fayre, I usually have to just keep mixing and mixing and mixing until it looks blended enough. I've never really come across anything that made it blend easier/faster. I just use a Q-tip and do it that way. XD haha
I have a question too though..I want to find a wayyyyy teeny tiny brush (for lashes and eyebrow hairs), and Michaels doesn't have any. I'm gonna check the local art store but if it doesn't have it, does anyone have any idea where I could get a brush that's decently priced? I really don't have the means to be buying an 8 dollar brush. X_x; lol

 

I actually had a thought last night..I was looking on ebay for thin brushes and a bunch of auctions for those nail-painting brushes came up. The ones that the people in nail salons use to paint the little teeny tiny designs on your fingernails? They're really thin and look like they'd work. Does anyone know if they'd be alright? o.o

And I actually looked at those, Niet. I would be willing to pay that. I'd really be too worried to just trim a brush. X_x;; lol

 

I've been having an issue where I try to thin my acrylics (I am using liquitex soft body acrylics the kinds that come in little paint pots) using a fluid retarder that is intended for airbrushing. On paper the thinned paints work fine but on a doll the lines are translucent and they dont layer well unless I wait for them to completely dry in between every overlapping line, it is also near impossible to get a smooth looking line with these acrylics for eyeliner because they are so translucent and watery.

I have tried using it at a one to one ratio, and even less and it either does almost nothing or it becomes translucent.

I've taken to using watercolor pencils and they work fine, but eventually I'd like to learn to use acrylics. Is there something else I should use for thinner? I can't find normal fluid thinner for liquitex, only the airbrush sort.

 

The airbrush stuff is the only flow aid my art store carries >.<
It's liquitex soft body, as far as I know all liquitex paints are good quality? If I use significantly more paint than thinner it stays opaque.. But its still goopy. I heard you were supposed to thin it to an ink consistancy which is way too thin when I try it. Also no, I have like three other brand thinners, only the liquitex works with the liquitex paint- the others just make the paint bobble around in little paint-orbs.

I dunno why liquitex does that- It does with water too. I suppose because it isnt a water based acrylic?

Edit:
I've gotten much better at using watercolor pencil for fine lines now, so I guess I dont NEED to learn to use the acrylic. But I'm having an issue now where my pastel builds up and looks grainy- it doesnt at first, but if I layer it on just a bit too much it gets grainy. I think it'd be softened by another coat of sealer ( I'll see pretty soon ) since it's not horribly obvious, but I'm not using extremely cheap pastels- they arent the best brand but I know others have used them and they cost a pretty penny as far as I'm concerned.
Is there any way to solve that? I've been brushing the pastel directly off of the pastel sticks to get a lighter amount, but when I used to shave them off it didnt happen- is it that important to shave them off?

 

Hmm, I've had the same problem, KakuraChan. I do shave them off, but I don't have the sand paper yet to grind them down. I would start, and it wouldn't look grainy, but the more I built it up the grainier it seemed to get. I've only done one faceup though, and I didn't have sandpaper to grind the pastel down further. I thought maybe it was because there werer some inconsistent grains, but if you took it right from the pastel itself, I'm not sure. My pastels are pretty damn cheap though, I couldn't even brush colour off of the sticks lol.

A general question: (nevermind, I think I found my answer in another topic! )

 

If you're still looking for small brushes, find a store that sells D&D miniatures or model trains. I have 5/0 and 10/0 brushes for painting 35mm figures (in detail, eyes, etc) that I also use on HO (1/87) scale figures.

 

I read on another forum that dipping your can of MSC in warm water right before spraying results in a thinner, more even coating. I just thought that would be worth mentioning here.

 

I am trying to put all of these ideas together.. I am getting a blank head, and would like to do my own face up. ..Question.. Is the sealer for going on before AND

 

I seal before and after and in between. Like this: sealer,sealer, pastels, sealer, pastels, sealer, acrylics, sealer, sealer. Whew!

 

Hm, I've had this happen to me a few times... D: I really hate it when it happens. But, is there any way to fix chipped MSC? Like when I'm ALMOST finished with a face-up, someway or somehow...a piece of MSC chips. T_T;;

 

..........

 

Thank you especially for the eyebrows tips and suggestions...they are impossible to do it for meeeee
I have Zoukeimura brush, extra thin brush, 0/10 brush.... a huge collection but no use for me....
I'm feeling more and more depressing ,and frustrated, but as you've said before, practice can make me better...I HOPE!!!

 

Problem: How do I clean up mistakes I made with my thinned acrylic paint?

 

These tips are so superduper helpful! :'D
Just one question, though. I live in Florida (lol at your sig) and i'm sure you know how terribly humid it is ;^; However, I don't have an empty space to spray in. Could I spray outside and quickly transport the head inside? Would this most likely cause flaking because of quick change in temperature?

 

Ohh, I see
thanks so much for the help!

 

I like a lot of your points, but I have a problem with one - don't blow on pastels - if even a tiny drop of saliva spits out onto the faceup it will smear the pastels. I've had it happen way too many times. Also, sometimes you can blow the pastels into other areas that you don't want them and you may not notice. I use a dry big fluffy brush (such as a watercolor mop) to brush the pastels away. It doesn't take any pressure, and sometimes swishing it just above the surface can create a wind to pull the pastel away. Or if you must blow, use canned air (like the kind for dusting computers) at a distance in small bursts.

I also recommend washing and drying hands before, and during any pastel work. Especially after directly handling a pastel. It is too easy to get some on our skin and not notice, then later leaving smudges and fingerprints. Some artists will wear gloves while handling heads during faceups, if they handle pastels while wearing the gloves it becomes necessary to change the gloves.

Panpastels and Schminke pastels are extremely soft and do not need grinding. They can be lifted directly out of the pan or off the stick (depending on which you are using) with a soft brush. Mixing color with these is as simple as very gently stroking one and then the other with the brush to lift the color.

Sometimes white patches on a dolls head are caused when alcohol does not fully remove the MSC. Scrubbing with a magic eraser and Windsor & Newton removes it best I have found. Also, if a head feels tacky after it has been washed it still has MSC residue and should be cleaned with brush cleaner again.

 

I just want to say I also use the Schminke pastels and they don't require any grinding, but it is important to blow away the heavier particles away. I think that "dirty" look you'll get in your blushing is caused by MSC "melting" larger particles that you can't see otherwise, and making things look blotchy and dirty. so "blowing" or using an air can (very lightly and not too close, you do need some material on the brush) is still very important.

Also, when blushing, do it in layers. Do it in many light layers and build on what you're doing slowly. Have patience. This will reduce any blotchy spots, heavier in one location than another (unlike the previous blotchy spots that just look dirty) this can also prevent the MSC from melting larger particles and causing that dirty effect.

For eyebrows, study the way they grow, find photos of models online, then practice with paper and pencil to draw out those hairs and practice. The direction of the strokes are from where they grow out of the skin (start of stroke) to their length. This gives the stroke a natural thicker base to thinner tip as a real hair is. I hate saying this because I&#8217;m still in the process of getting it to where I like my own brows and lashes. Sometimes I&#8217;m pleased and sometimes I just can&#8217;t get it for the life of me, but doing these things has increased my rate of success, LOL. Go SLOWLY and PURPOSELY (man I find that hard) When I manage to slow myself down and get my concentration zoned in, I can do great things. Problem is getting there, LOL. I think investing the time to practice is invaluable! I&#8217;m about to have to do it again after a long hiatus and will have to practice everything again! Good luck everyone (including me, LOL)

 

I have a question.. how to use thinner? I have Mr Thinner, and I've tried mixing just a little and a lot but I can't get it right.

Also, I've heard people paint with normal water colors, and I wanted to try it but wont it smudge when coating?

 

I have a question or two~

I have no clue why but my pastels have been coming off very...splotchy for lack of a better word. I blend and apply thinly but after the MSC goes on it goes darker in some parts or lighter in others leaving a 'dabbed it on with a sponge look'. I don't think I'm spraying too unevenly as eyes and lips come out fine. it's mostly around the neck hole and where the headcap would go.

Secondly how should I best go with painting eyelid creases? A lot of tutorials brush over this with a 'paint the eyelid crease' but I'm never sure how it goes. Should this be done with darker pastels? Just a random line in a darker colour? Is it a mandatory faceup technique? Would water colour pencil/paint do the job just as well?

 

I'm using Tamiya acrylics. I also have a retarder but I'm too scared to use it since it contains alcohol, the brand on that one is Amsterdam

 

Super helpful thread for a beginner. Most of my questions were answeared (and some of the prayers, too!). Thanks everyone. I guess I'll just keep trying.

 

I went shopping for supplies and such, and was going to get some Liquitex acrylics but they were like 10+ a tube and my mom wasn't for it so i had to pick some different ones and they were out of Rembrant pastels which weren't that bad in price and will probably buy later on. I would like to know if anyone has use what i have and is it resin safe, because Ive been hearing about how some Acrylics aren't safe for them

Reeves- Acrylic color set (paint)
Soft pastels
Liquitex flow aid
and
Testors all purpose Dullcote 1260 flat clear lacquer

and a picture of what i bought.

 

I am just going to try to do the face up myself and i just need to know what the name of the coating I use to seal the face first then after ? Does Michael's have this coating or only volks ?

 

Hope it's okay to bump this xD;;
but I'm also wondering the same thing as Atarashii; I recently bought some Reeves brand Acrylics because I also didn't realize how expensive Liquitex is XD;

 

Hi. I'm new to faceups. I just got two Migidoll Ryu heads, and they were blank. So I thought my mom and I could attempt to practice, and try our own faceups. I bought these chalk pastels from LeekeWorld: http://www.leekeworld.com/En/Product/p_view.asp?it_code=1323&B_catalog_num=26 , but the problem we were having is that the powder of the chalk just wasn't going on the way we thought. It just went on very light. Now I know its a powder, but it just wasn't going on as thick as we wanted, or at least as how we expected. Even darker colors like brown and black just didn't seem to be as dark as they should have been. Is there a way to get the chalk to lay on better? Is there a better product to use? Am I just expecting too much out of the chalk?

I have acyclic paints as well and the tools to do air brushing, but I was rather hoping to do pastels as I thought they would be easier.

 

Atarashii: I have the same pastels as you and I use those particular ones wet. I have found that higher quality pastels are better used dry for blushing and shading, but those are excellent to use with a very fine wet brush straight from the body.
Shinigami: As I just said, you will get more colour intensity if you wet your pastels,( harder types are better for this I have found). If they are too intense for you when dry, you can rub a cotton bud over them to mute the tones a bit too. Other than that you just have to build the colour up gradually....
Also a good tip for even eyebrows is to keep looking in a mirror. It helps to see if they are straight.

 

Replying to this here. I used those same acrylics when i first started doing faceups, as well as the base makeup pastels from volks. I found those pastels are not very vivid and it takes several layers or alot of pastel to get just a normal depth of color. They are great for practice and beginners but ive since moved on :} the black and darker colors work alright though just make sure to grind them in to a soft powder as they are a little chalky and break up too easily sometimes.

 

This is a great thread for someone who is new like me. Thanks alot for posting it.