Inexpensive heads for practice faceups?

Cheap porcelain dolls

 

Dude, I second that. That's how I learned my faceup skills. Usually a little sandpaper will take the old paint off. Also, do you wear makeup? If you do, you'll notice that a lot of those skills will transfer over to doll painting--especially when you're doing lips, eyebrows, and eyeliner.

 

I highly recommend the book "Making Faces". It has every style of faceup imaginable. Fantastic resource.

 

For the modification thing - I'm assuming you mean sanding and such? - you might go to a 'dollar store' and pick up a few of those cheap little resin statues that are always all over to practice on. They're not the same quality of resin, obviously, but they should work pretty well for giving you a feel for working with the material, and they're easily thrown away when you're done.

 

Yeah, 99 cent stores and the like usually have a bunch of these dumb little statues - dogs, angels, birds, dolphins, that kind of thing - anf they're made of resin. Like I said before, it's not a really high quality resin, but it IS the same basic material, and so you should be able to try sanding and such on them, and maybe even painting, to get an idea how the material reacts to different techniques and such.

For paints - I use Liquitex Acrylics, but that's mostly because I already had a TON of them from my 1/6 scale doll customizations. And for brushes...um...I cut my own. I can never find the styles and sizes I want, so I buy the closts I can and cut it the way I want. ops:

 

I learned from years of doing customized barbies and Tylers. Liquitex is a super acrylic paint which can be thinned with medium or sealer. Also, colored pencils make nice smudge type effects and can be sealed with acrylic sealer as well.

For brushes, I use Scharff 6/0 or 10/0. These are about $7 each, but well worth it as they are super tiny and well made brushes.

I also paint under a magnifying lamp.

 

You can find some information on paints and brushes as well as face-up tips in this topic located in our Tips & Tutorials section.

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=49

 

Making Faces is a book by the late and great Kevyn Aucoin, a famous makeup artist/makeup genius. It's an American book.

/fangirl ops:

 

... maybe an open-eye Dollfie Dreams head?

 

That's $40 USD, though, and then you have to pay shipping ... so I don't know if anyone would want to pay that much just to practice painting.

Also, DD's are made of Vinyl instead of Resin. It's a bit more difficult to paint on resin, I believe. Also, vinyl stains easily, so if the paint dries and you want to start over, you'll still have a bit of stain left from the old face-up.

I agree with the suggestion that you should try the little resin statues at the $ store.

 

Acetone will remove paint from vinyl.

 

Have any of you practiced on any other doll heads before painting on your bjd head? Just wondering because I know it won't be the same, but I'm planning to buy those random plastic dolls they have at any hobby lobby or michaels. It won't be the same, but at least I'll have something to play with before continuing with my head. Besides random plastic dolls, what else have you used to practice on? Thanks. Any suggestions as well would be welcomed. I was also thinking getting a 27 dollar DD head to practice on but who knows.

 

I practice on my own doll.
Since you can wipe it off and begin again...
Practising on other heads wouldnt have helped me...since i then may as well play on photoshop (and different media altogether) ... since paining resin is different to painting vinyl..again ... it would prove different... so painting Resin gives you the most practise.. if you stuff up... start over. If you can't get the hang of it in the first two goes...give it a break... plan on paper and try again the next day...

 

personally I am practicing on a head that i had sculpted before trying out on my doll when he gets here. At least i can get used to the feel of painting the really fine brows and stuff on a 3d surface over practicing strokes on paper. :grin:

 

Personally painting over a 3d surface that isn't what i'm actually painting isn't going to help much... I dont know... If the face up was that horrible i couldn't paint it on paper to begin with... i would have no idea why i'd be trying my hand on a 3d surface in the first place.

Its strange though... you can practise on your hand :p that's a 3D surface.. but then again..why not just practice on the real head?

I mean if its that bad..then its obvious to use paper to see where you've gone wrong...
I dont know... i wish i could paint on a different surface to get the feel of it... i guess it differs.

 

I don't really go for plastic. For me, it's good ol' Sally The Abandoned Porcelain doll. robbed of her precious eyes, eyelashes, hair, clothes and body, the 15$ head goes under major make-overs whenever I can find the time. It's especially good practice because I don't have the proper doll-painting supplies, so I can't afford to make mistakes. (On gloop of acrylic paint is the end to that face-up)

 

I can paint on paper, its just harder on 3d object for me ^_^ (and the real head isn't here yet xD) If the real head is here of course there would be afew rounds of painting and removing before ending up with a right one (for people like me with few face up experiences especially)

I guess we all work differently ^^

It might just be confidence boost when it comes to this practicing on other head stuff. But it helps to make me know what are the mistakes that I have a high tendency to make are.(like waaaay too long lower lashes lol) It feels less painful when its on another object rather than the real thing for me ^^;;;.

 

Oh if the real head was there :p that's different.. i think she was asking what we'd practice on before we paint the head... so in that case it could also be there still..

I make my artiful mistakes on paper XD

 

I actually went and got a three-pack of those generic Wal-Mart Barbies. ^^; Painting on vinyl is different than painting on resin, but in my case, it was more needing to get a feel for working on that scale than anything else - my hands shake a lot, and I don't have the great small-motor control or ability to eye something and have it come out that some of the other people here seem to. And since I very rarely get over to the town with the Michael's and can't afford to order Testor's or MSC right now, it was pretty much going to be a one-shot with the can I had. If I'd had to keep wiping off and re-coating, I probably would have run out and who knows how long it would have been before I would have been able to get more.

 

trouble is... even if you did wipe it off... if you used watercolours and pencils ... you would only need water.

 

I need to find a good old porcelain doll somewhere out there. Where did you get yours from because from what I'm thinking, it'll be better to practice on procelain then on plastic. Maybe I'll try both who knows.

I just really want to get a feel for my hands to not shake and to feel comfy playing and holding the head. >_>;; anyhow, yeah, as in painting stuff on it. I don't care if it's resin or plastic or any other type , I just want to try to paint a face up on something.

 

Before my El arrived i went out and bought two old porcelain dolls a male and female which helped a bit, since it let me play with different colors and such. I got them both at a farmers market real cheap. Of course the thing is now that i have myBJD i dont really have a need for either of the practice dolls now sitting around my apt.

 

Do you have pictures and or are you gonna sell them? LOL and how much? >_>;;

 

Hi! I'm a new doll owner, and I really got into this hobby because of the customization and diy aspect of it all. I love to do face-ups and such, however, I definately do NOT want to do drastic mods to my boy until I have a little practice. (and he doesn't want me to do it, either! haha)

So I was wondering if vinyl Obitsu heads are a good practice tool for things like opening/closing eyes, modding ears, ect..? I have no idea how different these heads are from resin. ^^;

Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

Well, I've seen some great elf ear mods over on the Junky Spot forumns (you should check them out btw) but you need flexable clay. I'm not sure if you'd use the same clays on a resin doll.

 

I'm beginning to feel like I should do my doll's face-up myself when I get one. But I am paranoid! I don't even paint that well on paper!

Should I get a practice head? Or is it just a waste of extra money since it is possible to just remove bad face ups again and again?

I plan to get a tan doll or dye a doll tan, so would doing a gajillion face ups (or however many it takes to get it right) be bad for the doll's darker skin tone?

 

It might be bad for it. I don't have my resin head yet as I just ordered even though I've known the one I want for months; I too am paranoid. But I got a vinyl head that I am practicing on. Some people say it is different and it may be but at least you'd get the feel of working on a 3D face and they are pretty cheap. If you want practice resin fdolls are inexpensive and Junkyspot has MSD sized DZ heads for less than $50 I think it might be just $35. Just be aware that you may have to buy that practice head a body; I got my Gretel head with the intention of practicing on it and maybe selling it on ebay when finished but I now love her and must buy her a body.

 

I think it would be a great idea to get a practice head before you buy a doll. you'll have more experience with face-ups, and you won't freak out as much because you'll know what you're doing, and you'll be more comfortable. ^^ If you coat a tan doll well on the face and body, then do a face-up/body blushing and seal it, it will actually protect the doll from sun damage and such.

 

don't worry, doing multipul face-ups won't damage the doll if you keep up with simple maintenece like cleaning, resealing and sanding.

 

Someone in another thread suggested buying some of these to practice on before attempting it on one of your dolls:

http://www.parabox.jp/eng/60_head.html

I'm no expert, but I hope that helps.

 

Here is another option. It is NOT a BJD but getting one (or more) of these for practice gets you two things.

One, you don't feel bad about ruining a $12 head.

Two, if you like what you've done you can seal it, put the whole doll together and have a DECOY DOLL to give to grabby little relatives. You can get a wig for her at the same site for $4-$6. What you want is the first item on the page, the Gibson Girl doll.

http://www.sunshinecrafts.com/dept_view.php?DPath=DOLLS~DPDLLPRT~DPDLLPRT1&Page=1

The doll is vinyl, like the Obitsus, and in my experience there is not a lot of difference in working on vinyl and resin with the exception that vinyl is easier to stain--which is not a bad thing since it will make you be vigilant about sealing and cleaning up things.

Also, the head is very unisex and the chestplate is very flat, so you can make "her" into a boy easily.

 

we sell alot of vinyl Obitsu Gretel heads and Haruka heads for those looking to practice their faceups, they're under $20.

 

Really the only thing you need to worry about when doing face-ups on tan dolls is that with each coat of spray, your doll's head gets lighter. Which Rainman demonstrates here. The difference can get pretty striking, eventually. You can see it here, too.

As many people said, you can get a vinyl head to paint on-- but yes, it's different. But so is the resin texture of all companies, though. My Lati's resin is toothy and bumpy when uncoated, while my sister's Volks is much smoother in comparison. So it shouldn't matter too much if you switch from vinyl to resin since the biggest difference should just be rigidity. But it takes a long time to get good at face-ups, and you'll most probably be doing almost all of your face-ups on your own doll when you get him. Sure you have one to practice with now, but where will that head be when you finally have your doll? Practice is good, but sometimes the real thing is better.

Doing a bajillion face-ups on a doll you dyed yourself might make the dye come off, depending on how you go about it. Shouldn't matter too much on a doll that was tanned from the company, though.

 

I am wanting to give painting faceups a go. Would appreciate suggestions on what type of head would be a good one for beginners and not too expensive. Also would it be best to get a head with fully opened eyes. Thanks

 

Try an Obitsu 60cm. Thats what I got. That's vinyl(sp) but if you want resin I would go with a DollZone head.

TC

 

Fantasy Doll also sells 60cm heads for low prices ($40) if you want to try resin instead of vinyl. Though personally, I think an Obitsu head is great for practice! Just make sure to coat it really well with several coats of spray first, since sometimes pastels don't like to stick to the vinyl as easily. ^_^

 

Shipping from fdoll.com could be cost prohibitive because it's all the way from China. Then again, there aren't a lot of US sellers for these Asian dolls. Fantasy Doll is consider a low end (price wise) doll. A complete doll without face-up is runs about $210. You can get a head from their US distributor Mint on Card

 

If you just want to practice there are several options.

Go to goodwill and get baby dolls. Wipe the faceup and practice away. You can use Testor's on them.

Or

Go to the Dollar Store and get their porcelain dolls. The faceups are painted on, not fired on. They wipe clean very easily. Again, you can use Testors as the sealant, and the "tooth" is very similar to resin.

Or

Get one of the Vinyl doll kits here

http://www.sunshinecrafts.com/dept_view.php?DPath=DOLLS~DPDLLPRT~DPDLLPRT1&Page=1

It even has changeable eyes.

 

That's true. Thanks for posting the US distributor link! I couldn't remember it off the top of my head. Also, sometimes people have group orders in the Marketplace, and if a group order goes over a certain amount (20 dolls I believe), Fdoll provides free shipping from China. That's how I got one of my girl bodies, and I only ended up paying about $15 for shipping from the order host to me.

I never thought about using thrift store vinyl dolls or dollar store porcelain! That's a great idea!

 

if guess if you were a serious Barbie collector then you are ahead of the game.. some collectors completely re-root the hair and repaint the face of their fashion dolls to make them into a different character. I guess the only difference is how the paint sits on the the vinyl than how it does on resin.

next time if you don't remember just got to fdoll's web site, their US distributor's banner is right on the top of every page

 

I've been using the Obitsu 60m head, and that seems to be working out just fine for me, and since it's relatively cheap, you don't have to have a meltdown about accidentally destroying it... Good luck!

 

To do the eye brows, try doing it on a round wooden ball/sphere there like 50 cents at craft stores.
they help so that you can learn to move your hand the same way so you make Identical motion.....
Kinda stupid, But REALLY REALLY HELPS!!!
Try it, its cheap and easy.

 

They aren't as "cheap" as some people might want, but I've been practicing alot on a spare Taeyang head (the male counterpart to Pullip). He's plastic, so it's not the same, but still good practice. A naked Taeyang can go for about $50 - $60 and it's kinda uncommon to get just a head, but if you have access to one, I reccomend it.

I've been training to do my Lahoo's faceup by doing a new faceup on the Taeyang head every day. Unlike BJDs they can take have their faceups redone a bunch.

Also, I just ordered an obitsu Gretel head for about $18 from Junky Spot ^ ^

 

I think going to the dollar store's are a good idea. but if you want to see a faceup in...person? well as close to person as you can get, i would look on youtube. ive seen some really amazing faceup video's

 

I'd say to practice in paper ^^ , to draw a bjd face and paint it, it really works >O<!! if you can't draw you can print some picture of a clean head ^^ and practice !

 

I wonder if vinyl heads might be a false economy as they stain more easily than resin. I think it's probably best to get a cheap bobobie or fantasy doll resin head because they are less likely to suffer permanent staining and you can practise over and over again on them by wiping them and redoing them.

 

I know that sounds like a stupid question, but I'm a pretty artsy person and would LOVE to do faceups. However, I haven't even got a floating head to practice on...so is there any alternatives?

 

well practicing on paper CAN help
maybe try a cheap baby doll thats laying around. clean off its face and do your own. lol
uh.. you could get a obitsu head which is sometiems cheaper. lol. uh..
as long as you use the same materials as you would use for doing the actual doll face, it can be pretty useful i think

 

If you search there are plenty of suggestions in this forum for what you can practice face ups on

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=306784
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=288072
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5735

Also, I don't find that practicing on paper helps at all ^^; It's not only a flat surface, but it soaks up paint. When painting on on a head half the trouble is painting accurately on the curves of the surface, and the paint sits on the surface and does not soak in(very different from paper).

 

I bought a vinyl dolfie dream, which was still expensiveish ($40) but very useful! I really think its necessary to work with a head because paper/other materials dont behave the same way. I liked bomccravy's suggestion too! Just find something cheap and practice away
Good luck!

 

you could always try going to a thrift store and picking up some sort of cheap doll there, they have all sorts of baby dolls and things like that, so you could just wipe it's face and practice on that and probably only spend about $2.

 

I have a blank porcelain head I practice on. I spray it with msc first so I can get the feel of doing a faceup on the same type of material.

 

I made a suggestion here over posts number 14 and 18

Hoperfully it helps you

 

A lot of smaller vinyl dolls ( which are not allowed here on DoA) are cheap and good for practice. Check out the Junkyspot for blank vinyl dolls. Obitsu heads like Gretel and Haruka are about $30, also.

 

yah i agree with everyone that you definitly need to have a head to practice. I'm also a 2d artist, and as everyone has said the biggest thing is the 3d aspect and the curvatures of face. I totally recommend for beginning though pick up one of the cheap obitsu heads cause they're great for practice. I actually ended up painting a few for some friends after I'd done faceups for a while and scolded myself for not listening to people who's suggested getting one for practice earlier on.

 

Also, learn some basic cosmetics design. You can learn without owning a doll, from the internet and books on makeup for photo, film, and stage. Color matching, eyebrows, how makeup can emphasize or detract from features...
You'd be surprised how many faceups do not involve enough knowledge of basic cosmetology.

 

How about buying a Barbie? Just remove the make-up and do your face-up! Sry if im wrong im just guessing..

 

I'm trying to learn face-ups and went to Michael's (craft store) and bought a bunch of tiny little porcelain masks. It's not resin, but it helped me get an idea of perspective and making the faces look real and not..well, like a porcelain mask It had eye holes, so I was able to see how lining the eyes would work, and managed to pick up some cheap plastic doll eyes that fit in the holes.

Now I have a bunch of creepy porcelain faces that I have to keep in a box to keep them from looking at meeee. :>
-Pere