Aesthetics 4th Faceup

Hmmmm well, in my experience of using paint, I'd say don't use paint until you get the right kind? I think you can accomplish a very finished look with just pastels and watercolor pencils.

His eyelashes look pretty good imo. And the eyebrows aren't bad. I've personally done much worse. XD

I guess what I'm most confused about is his forehead. Is it a hole? Or different colored skin? Cause I guess that will determine how to approach that certain part of the faceup.

 

The lips look really awesome! And I like the thick black around the eyes, including the drip down one side. I agree that the eyebrows are actually pretty good!

 

I really like the direction you're going with this. The lips are particularly haunting! I think to make the eyebags/creases a bit more realistic you can blush with some greyish purple under the eye and use a slightly darker grey-purple/maroon pencil for the lines. Using pure black for shadow can look a little cartoony. Another thing is that the brain is set pretty far back from the skull so you might just see the slightest glint of grey-pink but it wouldn't be so obvious even in a wound that size. It might be a bit better to turn that into a gaping would and fade gradually to black and then to the grey you have.

 

I like the unique look of his. The thing in a forehead and vein-y look of his lips make him totally look non-human, so good job with the "necromantic, black magic zombie" -feel you were trying for.

For technicalities, I personally prefer using either watercolors or pastel dust mixed with water (instead of watercolor pencils) when making lines - either for eyebrows, eyelashes or lines and wrinkles of skin. I feel that watercolor pencils leave kinda hard and scratchy lines and water-based lines are softer. But as I said, that preference (but I still recommend to try out different techniques to see what's working best for you).

I don't see your problems with eyebrows - to me they look good. Shape is nice and pretty symmetrical on both, and hairs are drawn to look natural. So, I'd say you have done good job with those.

The thing I would personally redo is the forehead-thingy. You have used watercolor pencils in the black area of it, and without softening them with water one can see each individual line you have drawn. If your idea is not hairy or wrinkly, then one should try to avoid look like that. So, you might want to either do the area with pastels (or pastel dust mixed with water - it also makes the paste's colors more vivid in addition of making the paint liquid) or fade out the line-y look with damp brush or cotton pad. And if you are wanting strong, vivid black then add layers of black pastel. I know that it takes time, but finished look is so much better than pencil drawn.

All in all, you have good touch with face ups.

 

My favorite part is definitely the lips! Very haunting and well done. I also think the eyebrows look just fine- they're very well done. The only part that I'm not feeling so much is that part in the middle of the forehead. I think it needs more depth added to it by using more shades of colors. However, as far as faceups go I think it's a good one

 

It's actually pretty amazing. I love the right (dolls left i assume) eye. I absolutely love the little creases below the eye you did in pencil, the bring the childlike look together. That part in particular is honestly just gorgeous. I've never seen it done before; it's fantastically unique.

The eyebrows are not bad at all, either. They have a realistic texture, especially being done in pencil.

The third eye or gash in the forehead looks a bit weird though. I'd love to know how you blended it out, and what the dots on the forehead are meant to represent and how they were done.

Honestly though, it's so lovely. I especially love how dark and glossy the black tears are. It's a fantastic faceup. Oh, and are those eyes acrylic? Silicone? They're fantastic too. Even the wig and shirt are awesome. Ahhh, good job. I could gush about this for a long time.

 

I'm just gonna give you a great tip used by all professional artists dating back several centuries; never use pure black. Pure black is a color that doesn't exist in nature. This is relevant for ALL types of art, even digital. 98% black is okay, but never pure black. So for that forehead thing, I would wipe off the black and go with a really dark purple or red or brown instead, which would give a more realistic look. Otherwise, just keep it up! Good luck!

 

No problem. Actually, a lot of experienced artists don't know about this! And then they wonder why their art looks flat and odd. Since I started following this rule, everything I do is looking more natural and alive. It's a very handy little trick. ^_^