How to apply chalk pastels?

It took me three layers of chalk pastels and MSC to get this color on Soo - http://kiriko-moth.com/sooa.jpg - so yes, expect it to take a few coatings. ^^;

The type of pastels you are using and what you apply them with can also make a difference. I've found that Prismacolor nuPastels tend to be more vibrant than other pastels, and applying them with a q-tip vs. a paintbrush or sponge can give you a heavier coverage more quickly.

 

Would that be...

MSC >> Pastel Coat 1 >> MSC >> Pastel Coat 2 >> MSC >> Pastel Coat 3 >> MSC?

Cause i've been wondering how to get solid visible colors like that

 

That's basically it. Repeat as necessary. I was using nuPastels and they go on more heavily, so the first two coats were laying down the color, the third was smoothing it out and evening out any blotchy areas.


As for removing lashes, I gues it depends on what you attach them with. I used tacky glue on mine, so they peel off with a bit of a effort and then I can stick them back on again.
Acetone will remove MSC, but it takes a bit of scrubbing. I use the cotton makeup pads and just rub vigorously. Not too much pressure, though.

 

Oh okay Thanks!! *will try that out when his boy comes in*

 

Oh-My-Gosh. The eyelashes are SO BEAUTIFUL!!! I like your faceup. This thread answered a few of my questions as well.

 

I do the same thing. I was actually able to get black blacker than black like that. And I also did a kick ass black eye on my winking ari like that as well. But I do "shave" the pastels first (which I'm sure Kiriko Moth does) but others may not necessarily do.

 

Usually only if I'm using a mixture of colors that I need a large coverage of, or if I'm applying it with a paintbrush. Otherwise, I just use an X-acto blade to roughen the surface of the pastel and then swipe the Q-tip right over the pastel stick to pick up the color.

 

Alright, so for the past few weeks I have been trying to complete Esthetics on Flossie. She is a standard Delf Soo.
First I unstrung her. Then I sanded with 200, 400, 600, and finally 1000 grit sandpaper. I hung her peices on a hanger and hung that on a tree branch. I have sprayed all her peices at least a few times with MSC. It is a slightly windy day out, but not bad.
Just now, after perhaps 10-15 min drying time I took out my pastels and q-tips. They are the "soft" pastels, not oil. Except they won't stick at all! just comes right off!!

Am I not spraying the MSC right? I was spraying from about 1ft or so.. Should it be farher/closer? Did I need to wait longer? It felt dry.

Please share your experiences blushing. What tools and materials did you use,etc.
Any help is REALLY appreciated. Links to threads/tutorials would be great.
Thanks so much

Sarah

 

Are you grinding your pastels into a powder with coarse paper or sandpaper?
I grind mine up into a little pile the apply them with the q tip. If you MSC'd you shouldn't have any problem!

 

Maybe it's just my pastels? They're faber-castel. Yeah I made a powder and was trying to apply it with a q-tip.

I gave up and grabbed some human blush which seemed to stick OK.

Sarah

 

I like to use human powder blush to blush and apply carefully with my fingertip.

Jay

 

but I thought you had to spray the pastels after you brushed the body..

the first msc layer people use..to protect there doll form stains and to create a good primer painting layer. So i think you should brush your body with patels and afterwards spray the parts you brushed again....
I think that's the only thing that will help..iff then the pastels come of... ..that would be like so weird..

 

When using Chalk pastels what do you need?

I know you need Chalk pastels but wha would you use with it?

 

I use cotton swabs for large areas like cheeks and q-tips for around the eyes and lips.

 

ok thanks x3 I'm trying to learn how to do eyebrows with them

 

Wow, I can't think of anything small enough that would still pick up the chalk for you to do eyebrows with. o_o But good luck! If you find something that works, I'd love to know. ^_^

 

Wet a paintbrush and rub it on the pastel. When you do that it works just like paint.

Or get the cheap makeup applicators and use the edge of it.

 

^^ Thanks Cheshiretiffy

Don't worry I'll try to take pictures of him ^^

 

I use conte instead of the usual chalk pastels. With my conte, I rub it on some fine sandpaper to make the powder I need, and then proceed to use the powder with various sized, dry paintbrushes.

 

I use artists' brushes. At first I tried using things like cotton swabs but found them imprecise and really frustrating. It's a bit of a financial investment so I can't recommend them if you're only doing one faceup. But I like to change my doll's makeup quite often and personally find these things well worth the money.

Paper blending stump / smudger
http://www.misterart.com/store/view/001/group_id/7954/Cretacolor-Blending-Stumps.htm
I have one in a 5 mm size. I love these things! They're inexpensive and reusable -- you can use an ordinary pencil sharpener to create a fine point and shave the tip down when it gets dirty.. You can dip the tip in pastel powder to apply pastel in a fairly small line, like for just a hint of smudgy eyeliner, or you can use it without any powder to blend small areas. I use acrylics to paint brow hairs, but I sometimes apply some pastel over that with the smudger so the hairs aren't as stark, making the brows a little softer and darker. I also use it to apply pastels to the lips, using it like a pencil to draw the edges and fill in the middle before painting on the lines with acrylics.

Flat head pastel brush
http://www.dickblick.com/zz069/42/
(like the brush labeled "i", or "round cut brush.")
I use the #7 size for applying large soft areas of pastels. It can cover the entire eye area quickly and easily. I also use it for blushing any other large areas, like cheeks or jaws.

Small angled brush
http://www.texasart.com/store/view/...es-S57-Sable-Synthetic-Angle-Shader-Brush.htm
I use this for general eye area work. The shape makes it easy to use in areas like creases and the outer corners of eyes.

 

Thank you to both of you ^^

 

Is there a Way to make something looked Scarred with Pastels?

 

For scars you can use masking fluid or masking/painter's tape cut out in the shape of the scar, then lightly brush a fleshly pink mix of pastel over top. When it's dark enough, coat with MSC or DullCote, then peel the tape or masking fluid off, and swipe some white in the middle and blend gently.

That's the best I can describe it... I'll try to take some pictures sometime.

 

i really like to use those really pointy q-tips you can usually find in the make-up isle. one side is really pointy and the other side normal. and when it gets dirty you just toss it

i recently found that when doing really fine work, its much easier to use colored pencils than a fine brush and paints. i can't even count how many times i have messed up a face up by having an unsteady brush hand. the pencils are easier to control.

 

For chalk pastels I took one, grabbed a spare pair of scissors and scraped the side of the pastel to get a little pile of chalk dust. Then I used a dry paintbrush to just dab, tapped off the excess, and went from there.

 

I second Inertia's reccomendation of the smudger. I've been in heaven with mine since I took her advice. ^_^

 

Exactly how are smudgers used? They look like pencils to me. Do you get pastels and rub the smudger on them? then paint? Well, not paint, but ROAR!! x_x sorry for being so damn naive

 

Nope! Basically, pastels are applied like you'd put eyeshadow on yourself or something similar, as powder. you scrape or sand chalk dust onto a tray, then dip the smudger/q-tip/whatever you're using into the dust, tap it lightly to remove some of the loose dust, then rub it onto the face. It takes a bit of time and a couple layers of pastels sometimes, but it's worth it, as the pastels can blend -much- better than paint.

 

Rub it on the face? You use the cone shape from the smudgers to do this correct? Not the actual tip.

 

Smudgers are just paper wrapped up in a cone-like shape ^^ I guess it depends on how precise you want the smudge to be- really fine, like along the inside crease of an eye, or super smudgey, like on the outside of the eye ^^;
I'd say experiment with them to see the thickness you like, and you can always smoosh them down if you want the tip to be more flat instead of pointy.

 

Yes, I use the tip of the smudger for really fine areas like around the eyes. For cheek blushing I personally use a large flat "quilted cotton square" like you use for makeup removal. ^^

 

Help meee! Please >_<
Every time I do a face-up on my girl, I always have a problem with pastels, whether it's just eye make-up or blushing.

(I included a picture that I drew (T.T) to make the explaining easier!) Please ignore any unproportionality or other weirdness ;;;

See, the red pastel is supposed to go on the eyelid as a eyeshadow, but when I apply it on the eyelid with a brush, bits of pastel always flys off to top and bottom (please look at the picture)
It always happens, even if I only have a small amount of pastel on my brush. I don't think it's my brush since I'm using professional make-up brush :/

How can you fix this? Or is there no way? I can rub off the pastel with my kneedable-eraser thingie, but sometimes that rubs off my coating too :/

 

I actually use a Q-Tip for applying pastels. I think you are having the problem is because as you brush the bristles probably flare out a bit. You'd probably not have the problem when using regular makup because it's typically oil based isn't it.

 

have a wet towel close and gently wipe away the excess then recoat your head... You need to recoat your head many times in a face up
It might also be that the brush you are using is too large for the job.

 

hmm, perhaps there is too much pastels on the brush.
Try knocking the brush handle on the edge of the table or something to knock out excess then apply again. Should have slightly better control =)
The colours will come out slower though, need more patience ^^

 

I also suggest tapping some of the pastel off before you start applying.

 

that happens to me often, too, I just remove the pastel I don't want with a magic eraser, works perfectly, you don't have to rub and it doesn't remove the coat ^^

 

Ooh! Thank you guys for the tips~ I'll go try doing a face-up now >< and tell you how it went :]

 

Ok, i've read every FAQ i could find... And now i've done a few of my own face-ups on my dolls... But i'm still having one poroblem that keeps repeating itself.
I'm finding that when a shave up my pastels and apply them in power form they're just not going on evenly... I've tried washing the dolls and all sorts of stuff now, it's becoming increasingly frustraiting >..<;

Any suggestions? Or has anyone else has the same problem?

 

Maybe the powder isn't fine enough?? Or your using a not-so-good-brush

 

What kind of chalk pastel are you using?

NuPastel and the liike tend to be "harder" chalk. Rembrandt pastes are very soft and beautiful to work with. They tend to be pricey in comparison to the cheaper pastels, but they are definitely worth it!

 

I get the same problem, but I thnk its cause I use small brushes to apply it. I've been told using proper makeup brushes works wonders with pastels, and I intend to try it.

 

I use a eyeshadow brush to apply the pastel on my doll's face.
First, use the brush to brush the pastel stick directly, apply on the face. If the colour is unevenly, use a sponge to grapple some off. Repeat this procedure several times, until you satisfied with the color on your doll.

Sorry for my poor English, hope you understand what I mean.

 

Yea I used to have problems applying pastels because it would always apply itself unevenly, especially in some certain areas where it would choose to group up for some reason. Finally after changing to a better brush mean't for blending (I use a BareMinerals blending brush), began using Unison pastels, and always put gloves on after washing the head (when your hands don't have gloves on, when you touch the head it can leave oily prints that could make the blushing uneven). I finally was able to achieve that even look with pastels on my face ups. I hope I helped you alittle bit. ^^

 

It might also be the resin. When I was doing a commission, the pastel would clump up along these otherwise invisible lines on the temples of his head.

I wiped the head and sanded the whole thing and it wasn't a problem anymore.

 

I used to have the clumping problem, but when I switched to using a better pastel (schiminke) the problem is resolved. Personally I don't even bother shaving my pastels. Schimnke pastels is so soft that all I need to do is to brush my paintbrush against it and I have a nice load of extremely fine dust, finer than all the scrapping of pastels got me

 

Hey~
How do you make the pastel dust... 'stick'?

 

i had some problems getting mine to stick, but i just swabbed some water in those areas and wiped it off. the resin is porous (sp?) enough to hold just a little, and that held the pastel. just had to blend a bit ^^
since i don't have acrylics, i used pastels for almost the entire faceup, and sometimes i used it as powder, and some times i used it as paint by using a wet brush and mixing the dust around.
i can't say this is the right way to go about doing things, but it worked for me ^^'
good luck~

 

A base coat of MSC (or similar) will create a surface for the pastel to stick too, and prevents staining from any paint you might use.

 

HELPS prevent staining. There's always a chance for the paint to stain through, though it usually doesn't.

I don't want anyone to think that MSC is a failsafe against stains.

 

Ah, very true. Don't want anymore marker incidents or anything. o__o

Sorry...^^;;

 

I usually sand with 400 grit or finer. It roughens the resin enough to hold pastel well, and evens out the surface texture so that it sticks about the same regardless of the posistion on the face. I know a lot of people aren't comfortable sanding their doll's faces, though.

Usually a layer or two of MSC does the trick, but I find that even MSC tends to rub off of unsanded resin pretty easily.

And yes, markers are evil XD

 

Thanks everyone for the tips... Hopefully my nxt face up will go a bit better and all my pastels will go on a bit more evenly.
I did find that using a makeup brush helped and that not shaving my pastels helped too ^.^

 

Just popping in on this thread, not sure if this has already been asked, but here goes!

I've read on a lot of sites that the owner used pastels/chalks to do thier doll's lips and eye makeup. What chalks/pastels are best for this and what type of sealer should I use to keep the face-up from being damaged?

Thanks for any help you can offer!

 

here is a link:
houseofdoll
hope this helps.
I found this tutorial VERY helpful!
There was also one in Dollfie Dreamland that I liked to use but for some reason I can't actually see the site at the moment... but it may just be my server?
-Jenn

 

I found that using q-tips and dabbing/ rubbing the color on very very gent;y helps to even the colors. It takes patience because you have to apply several layers to get the intensity that you might be seeking, but I have never had a problem. It is all about being patient enought to learn your own tecnique.

 

I've had a read through most of the thread, so many apologies if I've missed something...

Currently if I choose to attempt any kind of face-up, I'd only be using chalk pastels [for the eyeshadow]. Does this still require MSC as a primer/sealer? I'm asking because I regularly use chalk pastels on my Blythes, and they don't need any primer [other than being sanded] or sealer, though they are plastic, and I'm not familiar with resin.

Ta,

xxSam