Aesthetics Beginner Faceups

This is my practice head! I'm personally super impressed by @fairithilien so far and I have agreed to let her surprise me with his final faceup.

 

These are very nice looking and a million times better than any of my first attempts, you definitely have the spark!

Acrylic paint and brush watercolors are my preference for the fine details, it's really difficult to keep the pencil from looking grainy and it's worth practicing how to control a brush.

One thing I might suggest for the makeup (especially the more vivid colors) is to start with a much paler version of the same shade to get a more subtle fade. You can also use the paler color to downblend the edges of the darker color and make the transition smoother. If you look at open stock pastels (I like Sennelier, Rembrandt are also good, I even have an old set of Yarka that aren't half bad) you can usually find several gradations of the same color and it's really useful for that Sometimes mixing some white pastel very thoroughly into your color will work as well, but it doesn't always blend perfectly and you can get little white streaks.

Great work, keep it up! Really creative fantasy makeup, don't think I could pull that off myself

 

PS you did really well with the acrylics, (those eyebrows are rad!) and if your acrylics are water based you can thin them with water and not have to worry about mediums and extenders so much

 

This is so cool What did you use to get the scale texture, if you don't mind my asking? It looks awesome!

This might just be a matter of personal preference, but for characters who are an unusual color, I like to blush/contour with a darker or just different shade of that color instead of pink or peachy. Lizards have red blood and pink mucus membranes just like everybody else for the most part, but sometimes they are green or blue or even black around the eyes and inside the mouth/tongue which would affect the lip color and the membranes around the eyes.

Ex: one of my characters is an undead dude and when I did a practice run for him, all the undertones were yellow, as was the blushing, and for the contouring I used kind of a cadet blue with a greyish tint so it created a very interesting green, I liked the way it turned out. I've found that sometimes you can get a little more control by mixing colors using layering instead of directly applying a premixed color, so blue + yellow = green, and you can use more or less in different areas to make it more green, leave it closer to yellow, or move it more toward blue. If you coat frequently between layers you can also erase, move stuff around and create shapes with a kneaded rubber eraser which can make for some cool effects.

I think my last practice run had 15-18 layers, but not hardcore ones, just light quick coats from a good distance to keep from disturbing the previous layer, kinda like spraying perfume in the air and walking through it rather than spraying it directly on skin. If you let it dry well it fixes the previous layer enough that you can even wash mistakes off by running the head under the tap and letting it dry thoroughly. This might not work well for overly clean or polished styles, I like splotchiness but I know not everyone does.

Anyway, sorry to ramble! Nothing to say about your technical skills, this looks very smooth and pretty

(Edit: "Vader blue"? My phone is trying to out me as a geek apparently )

 

Not Christmassy at all, I think the green and orange look nice together and it makes him look iridescent, like a color shift I can't remember if it's a split or triadic complement but I ignore color theory like 90% of the time anyway.

I also really love how fine your brush strokes are for the eye creases, I forgot to mention that but well done!

 

I'm honestly so proud of her. I'm sending her my dolls (that doll above is also my guy) and I'm so impressed w all her work bc I think she really has an eye for faceups more so than I do.

 

Great stuff, needs an Instagram I can lurk.

 

You are extremely creative and your face-ups look fantastic! Don't be surprised if I send a head or two your way in the future.

 

She has a tumblr! www.ithilienbjd.tumblr.com

Also lol @fairithilien I'm going to shamelessly plug away at u

 

This is beautiful, very creative. I like the use of white for the creases. I'm a fan

 

Wow! What a wonderful, creative idea. And it looks gorgeous.

 

These are gorgeous ! That galaxy one is so pretty. Everyone is all up in the galaxy themed stuff nowadays. I also love the reptilian one. The scale effects look super cool !

 

Very nice! I can really see the scarring now on my PC.

 

I'm not super experienced or anything but I truly admire your work!! Of course there are a few things that aren't perfect (such as the eyebrows being not having enough hair but that's just my opinion lol)
My favorite thing about your faceups is the creativity. I'm quite into fantasy stuff and these are so unique and beautiful!! I hope to see more of your work in the future

 

The galaxy faceup is my favorite. It looks so magical! I'm really impressed by the lizard man, too. The scale texture is perfect.

 

Oooh, the scarring technique is a great idea, and gets the point across immediately. Something to consider is the age of the scars. New scars are pink/red down the middle, where the wound was. Healed scars turn white in the center, but are outlined by pale red (I think because the actual scar tissue is not as flexible or stretchy, so it pulls on the skin around it). Very old scars are just white, and not raised much at all. Not I'm tempted to experiment with this effect...

 

I really am impressed by how you mixed the contouring and shades of galaxy in your 4th one! If I were to try the same it would probably end up looking like someone had rolled the head in galaxy-coloured mud lol Also the way you combined the scars to an eyebrow looks good! Maybe the eyebrows shouldn't be "bald" on such large areas tho.

 

It's Mathilde! I absolutely love her

 

Wheeeee I can't wait to make her wig

 

Her expression is so joyful. I know I wouldn't look that good after a run The paint splatters look great. I immediately thought "I'd love to see a smudge across one cheek or her nose, like she wiped at something." Once I read the description, I thought maybe over the forehead instead, like she was sweating while running?

Looks great~! Oddly, I especially like how the teeth look.

 

I love this! She really looks like she's run the gantlet on a color run and had a great time!

 

You've got some amazing talent! I believe my ultimate favorite of yours is the first one. Very simple and natural. Just a personal preference. Your ability to paint the finest details is astounding! The little bits of freckles, the tiny stars, ahhh

 

I love your eyebrows! I always preferred the ones with lots of small strokes opposed to the more flat color. I think the reptillian one looks the best from the side. The scales on the cheeks don't show up that well from the front (or maybe due to lighting?). I LOVE the galaxy one, and the one with the red "wings". it makes me think of a phoenix.

 

Very cute. n_n Can't wait to send Mister Hyde's head to you when I get him.