Shopping Any US based faceup artist recommendation?

Jay Searle. Jay's Petite Salon

I love Jay's work, and recently received the latest two heads back from her, which I'm delighted with.

Teddy

 

I agree with Teddy. Jay does beautiful work. She has brought so much character to two of my little guys.

 

My absolute favorite I've gotten a face up from is RedIrisAtelier on Etsy; she has three of my heads for two dolls right now. Here's the face up she did on my Minifee Alan, both as a smaller thumbnail and a link to the full-sized image. For the quality of her work, she's the absolute best at her price point (which varies depending on head size), but she also sticks just about exclusively to realistic work.

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She does realistic freckling, and that's my absolute favorite. For more samples of her work, you can check out her Instagram @angstypenguin.

My anime-style face up was done by BiutteChan via his shop TheKawaiiPheonix on Etsy. It's not perfect, but he also does fantasy-style face ups and is highly affordable for anyone with a tight budget. Again, here's a smaller thumbnail image and a link to the full-sized photo for closer looks.

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He doesn't only do anime and fantasy, but those are the two styles I was interested in. He doesn't have an Instagram, but you can find his Facebook page through his Etsy shop.

If you've got a little more to spend, I've absolutely been drooling over komorebi.dolls and alatexin on Instagram. They're pricier (alatexin starts where RedIrisAtlier tops out, with different price points for artist's choice, custom, and cosplay face ups, while komorebi.dolls is even more expensive but has a bunch of add on features you can request and a bit more variety), but 100% worth it if their photos are anything to go by. I'll probably eventually have a doll of my own to show of komorebi.dolls's work (I'm hoping for a desaturated realistic face up on a white doll, and RedIrisAtelier doesn't work with black), but the doll hasn't come in yet + her bookings are currently closed.

I follow so many face up artists on Instagram. If you're looking for a more niche style than any of these provide, I can probably find you someone by browsing through my follows, haha.

 

AngelToast is a bit pricey, but I've never seen one of their faceups that wasn't stunning! The skill and detail levels are amazing. I haven't personally commissioned them, but I have bought secondhand dolls with their faceups. Beautiful, every time!

 

I've used Angel Toast, TalesfromtheShrike (Instagram), glitt3rgalaxy/galaxy_faceups (instagram), Sour_dotz/Angel Addiction (DoA), mrs.starcat (Instagram), amaidenskiss (Instagram), zodiaek (instagram), and was happy with all of them! They all have different styles, but they all are professional, have excellent communication, and paint beautiful faceups.

 

I third Angel Toast! I just got an anthro weasel boy back from her (and a human head), and I cannot gush enough! She was a pleasure to work with, even suggested a slight mod to the weasel head that helped bring him into my vision of the character. I would definitely gladly use her again!

 

I'm not based in the US myself BUT I have sent a head out to someone who is and if you happen to like realistic faceups, RedIrisAtelier (Oregon based) is fantastic! She painted one of my dolls for me and years later I'm still in love with the work she did.

 

I have used Angeltoast quite a lot, and I love her work, but for a change of style, I also use other artists. My current favorite is @bahboh here on DOA. She is in Texas.

 

I totally support Alatexin as a faceup artist. Have 2 dolls painted by them (you can view them in my doll profiles) and have been super happy with both commissions + the turn around time is very quick. I may commission them for one more head but as they grow in popularity they are choosy with how they will work on so fingers crossed. I am super blessed to have had them paint my two girls and although the price is high, it's still reasonable for a realistic faceup. They will not work on fashion dolls just a heads up.

I also commissioned Angeltoast for my fashion doll but it will be a few months before they finish. They have a soft style vs my like for realistic but the commissions were open and not many people will work on fashion dolls plus price is reasonable for a small head.

I had RedIrisAtlier commisioned and they did a good job but eventually I had the faceup removed many years ago. I think they have a hard time with tinies and they face-ups are a bit messy realistic if that's what you're into.

 

Most of the faceup artists I've worked with 10+ years ago seem to be inactive here or I can't find them on other platforms anymore.

Most recently, I've been eyeing Komorebi Dolls, a faceup artist I chanced upon on Instagram. Breathtaking works, a bit on the pricey side though.