.: Faceup Tutorial by elisa_maza/AngelToast :. (Pastels & Acrylics, 9-2009)

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Hi all!

Wow, someone unearthed this thread. XD
2009! It's now 2021, what a ride it's been.
My work has improved significantly over time, and if you would like an updated impression,
you can find me here:

www.angeltoastdolls.com

I'll leave the thread be - it's still got some decent basics that might help someone. ^_^
I'm afraid I do not have the pictures anymore though, so the ones that are missing are lost forever.
I am in the process of making new tutorials!

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9-2009:

Hi all! I figured it couldn't hurt to do a tutorial thread to show how I do my stuff. Of course, there are many different methods out there! Every faceup artist has a different style, so if I you want to start painting your own dollies, it's a good idea to look around and collect as many different tutorials and tips as you can find, and just try it out. ^__^

This is going to be a basic, natural girl faceup. The mold is a NS FairyLand MNF Juri, she belongs to Brightstar1008. Thanks for letting me use her! ^_^

This is very wordy. If you want, you can just look at the pictures *lol*, but I tried my best to put tips and such in the text.

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Materials I used for this head:

Rembrandt artist quality soft chalk pastels
Mister Super Clear UV Cut
Zoukei-Mura acrylic paints
Zoukei-Mura thinner
Folk Art matte gloss
Tamiya gloss
Velocity shimmer powder

Tools:

Various brushes
Mixing palettes for the pastels and the paint
A water dish and a stirring thingie X3
Magic Eraser (a dry piece and a wet piece)
A modeling knife and a spatula to shave and mix the pastels
A sewing pin
Tweezers
Paper towels
A rag
A piece of shamWow. ^~
An eraser
Winsor & Newton brush cleaner

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*lost photo* This is my workstation. I do a lot of faceups and mods, so I made myself a cozy little corner in the front room. ^~; Everything I need is close by in a drawer chest on wheels. Ideally, you want to work in daylight; indoor lighting washes out your pastels and you're more likely to get the sides of the face uneven because of shadows.

I have a daylight lamp with adjustable bulbs, which is wonderful. The good ones are pricey, but I got mine at an outlet store for $30! ^_____^


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Here's my blank head! So smiley. ^___^



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Step 1: Coating the head with MSC

Please be careful when spraying your doll's head; sealants, especially MSC, are very toxic and you definitely don't want to breathe them in.

As you can see, I have a ginourmous "Are you my mommy?" particle/fume mask (digital cookies to everyone who gets that reference XD). You can get one like this from places like Home Depot. I also wear latex gloves when spraying, since I don't want the stuff on my skin.

Always spray outside!!! Some people like to spray inside a box; I personally prefer to hold the head in my hand (with gloves of course). I set it on top of a box to dry. I usually let my heads dry inside, away from me or anyone else, to prevent stuff sticking to them. Don't get too close or too far away with the can - an arm's length usually works well. Spray until you get a shine on the head, but don't use too much or you'll get globs - too little and it won't seal well enough.

If there are little bits of dust or whatever on my doll's head after she dries, I use the sewing pin to very carefully pick them off. This won't hurt the MSC much if you're careful. MSC takes about 10-15 minutes to fully dry.

You can coat as many times as you want between steps. When you're starting out, it's like saving your video game; if you're happy with it, coat it! I try to get away with as few coats as possible, but my average is still 4-5 coats.



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Step 2: Mixing your pastels

I start with choosing the color theme I want for the head. For Juri, I'd like light, peachy browns, some muted pink, and some darker brown. Using the modeling knife, I shave the pastels very finely onto my palette. I can also mix different colors together this way to create a unique color scheme for each head.



These are the brushes I mostly use for the pastel part of the faceup, though I use other ones here and there as well.



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Step 2: The first layer of pastels

Now, I realize it's very hard to see in these pictures; it's probably hard to see in person, haha. I always start out with a medium-big, very soft brush, and basically explore the head with my base color; in this case, the peachy light brown. I lay a bit of color down on the cheeks and around the eyes (especially the inner and outer corners), and on the lips.

I personally also like to apply some color under the chin, and around the nose and along the bridge of the nose; but this is personal taste and doesn't work for everyone, or even every mold. ^^

Once I got a feel for the head, I go in and follow my grade school art teacher's advice: Make the dark bits darker and make the light bits stand out more. I'm now getting a pretty good impression of the way the faceup is going.

For the first layer, I keep it light. The best tip I can give you is blending and layering. If you put down a lighter layer first and then darken parts of it in the next steps, it will look softer and deeper later on.

For small mistakes and to even everything out, I use a dry piece of magic eraser. Don't scrub too hard, but it works really well in taking some pastels away without the harsh line of an actual eraser. When I'm content, I coat wth MSC.



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Step 3: More pastels, and the eyebrows

The biggest thing about this step is the eyebrows. I do those first now, using a color I mixed to match the wig; or if I don't know what kind of wig they'll have, a medium brown. And the biggest thing about eyebrows is making them even on both sides; a tough beastie even for experienced faceup artists. Again, I start very light; and I fiddle with the eraser and he dry magic eraser until I am happy with it. Once I am, I'll go in and darken where I feel they need to be darkened.

Eyebrows never come out 100% symmetrical; but I like that. People are not 100% symmetrical, so why would our dolls be when we're trying so hard to give them personalities? ^__^

Once I'm set with the eyebrows (and even during my fiddling with the eyebrows), I'll add more color and layers to the rest of the faceup as well. Basically, I'm fleshing it out and making it stand out more.





Some more fiddling, a coat of MSC, and we're ready to paint! ^^



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These are the fine brushes I use for painting: a 10/0, 18/0, 100/0, and also Zoukei-Mura 01 and NY-01.



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Step 4: Painting the eye line

Now my acrylics come into play. Again, you can use the colors straight out of the tube, or mix them together to make a new shade.

Better paints do make a difference, and so does better thinner!

The first step for me is to paint the upper lidline. For this, I use the darkest shade on my palette. I use my short stubby brush and paint inside the eyelid first; then I use the super fine brushes to draw the lines towards the inner and outer corners.

I also add the lid line and crease.

If you make mistakes, use your wet magic eraser. But be very careful! If you scrub too hard, you might take off your pastels too, even though they're sealed. If it's a tiny spot of paint gone awry, you can also use the sewing pin to carefully scratch a bit of the paint off.

I also like to paint a bit on the inside of the eyewell, to make sure the lid will look dark from every angle.



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Step 5: Painting the eyelashes

Once I'm happy with the upper lid, I'll start with the lower lashes. They get the second darkest color, though not as dark as the upper lid; but that all depends on the look you're going for. I start with longer brush strokes at the outer corner of the eye and work inwards, with shorter strokes closer to the tear duct.

There are many different ways to paint eyelashes: straight, angled, simple, criss-crossed, etc. I like to decide on the type depending on the character and type of doll I am painting. I usually start with more or less parallel lines, and then add details on the second go. I like detail. X3 But some dolls seem to prefer to have very simple eyelashes. *shrugs*

 

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Step 6: Eyebrows

Like the pastel part of the eyelashes, I try to make the color of the hairs more or less match the wig. Again, the big thing is to make them even on both sides. To accomplish this, I do them bit by bit – I start with an arched line in the outer corners on both sides, then add a few “guide” hairs that I can more or less easily mirror. When I’m satisfied with this “skeleton eyebrow”, I add the rest of the hairs, and then more detail.

Again, the style you want to use is completely up to you. Personally, I like a bit of “controlled chaos” - eyebrows and eyelashes on people don’t all grow parallel and next to each other. They grow in bunches, cross over each other, and are unevenly distributed. I like to try my best to achieve this on the dolls as well. ^__^





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Step 7: More detail

Once the basics are done, I like to add a few more details, like a lower lid crease, one or two more on the upper lid, and a few highlights in a lighter pink (or white, depending on the faceup). Again, completely optional. I’m just insane. V__V

If you feel your faceup doesn’t look quite finished yet, you can still add some more pastels! Just be careful not to rub off your paints.

If you enjoy shimmer powder, this would be the time to use it. ^__^

Coat very thouroughly.



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Step 8: Gloss

We’re almost done! If you don’t like gloss, you’re finished now! Haha. If you’re like me, you like some gloss on the eyes, lips, and eyebrows.

I usually do two layers of gloss – first, I use the matte gloss on the lips, inner lower eyerims, upper lid, and eyebrows. Once this dries, it has a matte sheen rather than a high gloss. The Tamiya gloss is much more shiny – I use this for a second coat on the lips and the lower rim of the eyes. You can even mix some of your shimmer powder into the gloss, but don’t go crazy or it’ll get clumpy. >.>



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And there she is! I hope this helped you a bit, and maybe even inspired you to paint your own doll. ^___^



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Oh, and feel free to post here or PM me if you have any questions. ^___^

All the Best,

♥~ Andrea

 

Thank you everybody! I'm glad you could find something useful in this.

And cookies to everyone who got the Empty Child reference. XD

I use an Artetje 100/0 brush for the fine detail. I've heard that with the years, some artists are able to use bigger brushes for the details, but so far I like to stick with my tiny tiny brush.

As for the paints, I use mostly Zoukei-Mura paints and thinner. Volks sells these little round cases with a selection of colors as well as a little bottle of thinner in them - I use one squeeze from the paint (it's a tiny glob, really), and one drop of the thinner and mix those together until the paint is quite thin and smooth.

The tiny brush doesn't hold a whole lot of paint, that's the downside. I have to re-dip my brush after a few strokes. So it takes quite a while to do the details.

You can't see it in the pics, but there's paint on my left index finger during the painting steps - that's because I wipe off the excess paint from the small brushes on that finger when I paint. XD

 

Thank you for your comments everyone! I'm glad you like it and I'm glad I could help!

jwsmith: YES, you have to seal the faceup several times during the process. It's a spray, not a paint. If you read each step carefully, it'll tell you when to spray the sealant, and there's also a whole little section on sealant in the beginning. MSC is the sealant I use, but you can also use Testor's. And yes, it is toxic, that's why I wear latex gloves and the giant mask in the photo.

When you get a doll from a company and it has a faceup and/or body blushing, it is most definitely sealed. Most companies also spray the doll even if you ordered it blank, as the sealant protects the resin from dirt and yellowing.

 

Thanks everybody, I'm glad you find the tutorial useful! ♥

Ellehaym: I get mine from comic stores that sell supplies for painting miniatures (you know, game figures like for Dungeons&Dragons); and the Artetje brushes you can sometimes buy here on DoA in the marketplace for accessories.

 

Satomi: The ZM brushes are actually not that bad, price-wise - but I don't use them as much as I do my 10/0 brushes from the comic store. ^^;;; I have one Tamiya brush, but it didn't keep its shape very well, so I'm not using it for acrylics anymore.

Myriamel: Yes, the lips are layered pastels. Pretty much on every layer of the faceup, I add to the lips.

 

nichan: Magic Eraser is a wonderfull tool, but it's not required! I'm sure you can use a q-tip or some cloth/paper towel. ^^

Fashiondollie: When you say "line the lips", do you mean the "stripes" on the lips or an outline around it? I don't do the latter, unless the customer requests a "lipstick" look. Even then... I don't like doing it. ^^;;; As for the "stripes" - I do it on some dolls and not on others. It depends on the doll and the faceup for me, whether or not I think it'll look good. Usually I do it on SDs. I like to keep them very light, so really you can only see them in person or in closeups.

As for the lower eyelashes - don't feel bad about having a hard time with it! It's the hardest part, that and the eyebrows. The only way to get better at that is lots and lots of practice. ^~

 

Dream_of_Isis: You're welcome! ^~;; As for blending... just do it over and over, in lots of staggered layers. Don't be afraid to push the brush down onto the resin (just not too hard).

dollecstasy: You can coat as many times as you want. ^~ You can't go wrong with more coats. Especially if you're just starting out, seal after every time you like what you've done and don't want to lose it. My minimum for any faceup is 4-5 coats - one base layer, two after two sets of pastels, and one or two after painting. Sometimes I do extra ones in between though! I go over this in the steps though, so if you have another read it might make more sense. ^^;