Aesthetics Cylunny's Faceup Journey

I'd like to keep a progress journal of my faceup attemps, even though all beginnings are rough! But since all good things come with practice (as with all things art), I really want to document how it goes and my findings just to re-read later or maybe have some people along for the ride xD


Start of the Faceup project
With my DV Olivia (MSD) arriving and my old practice head (Onlydoll Yifeng, SD) here, I decided to embark on the journey! Apologies for photo quality, my phone isn't exactly the best at it...

Removing a 10 year old test faceup
Way back in 2015 I did my first faceup attempt on the Yifeng. I only have bad pictures of it but I want to show it here anyway! it was a faceup done with MSC, chalk pastels and watercolor pencils. It was really difficult to remove but some good scrubbing with rubbing alcohol did it eventually. I nearly panicked! Still missing a toothbrush to really get into those nooks and crannies, but it is on the way.


Testing brush-on sealant (Liquitex Matte Varnish)
It is currently cold and rainy where I live, and humidity is pretty much 65%+ throughout the year. As this isn't ideal for MSC I decided to try out the brush on sealant! I had high hopes as relying on good weather is not great for my impatient self. Here's my verdict and (oh god) results. I did test the sealant on the headcaps before going through with it! And I went a bit wild because I was testing things, mostly acrylics on the Yifeng head and watercolor pencils/chalk pastels on the Olivia head. I don't have any lashes (or glue for it) yet so without it for now!

Pros

• Works during any weather, can dry inside, dries pretty fast (I still let the base layer sit for a day)
• Sponge + Brush to get it on didn't have as rough a texture as I thought. I would be okay with slightly grainy skin texture!
• Easier to remove than the 10yo MSC faceup, sorta peels off like a second really fine skin (i did do a lot of base layers to be safe, like 3-4 and they're not super thin)
• Seals Acrylic colors really well with zero smudging (assuming they dried)

Unfortunately, the upcoming cons definitely match what I have read and personally I feel that they ruined my work more than MSC ever did ;; They look better irl since they're smaller, but still not quite what I am looking for. Better than leaving them blank but...god I forgot what it's like to be a beginner artist at something hahah~

Cons

• Doesn't seem to hold chalk pastel pigment as well
• Definitely rougher/more noticable than MSC and more prone to collecting dust
• It's easy to smudge all your chalk pastels and watercolor pencil work!!! This might be a skill issue but no matter how careful I dabbed, these two mediums smudge and look worse than before the sealing attempt.

All images here
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Conclusion: Brush on sealant works, but I think I want to test MSC in my weather conditions (and maybe different sprays as well). While it can work for some artists, I feel like it makes my work even worse than it already is by smudging it and altering the colors ,, I preferred the unsealed layers a lot, and spray on sealants are basically made to not smudge watercolor/pastels.

Next, I will spray MSC in too much humidity and see how it goes because I am an impatient noodle! x'D

 

@cobaltconduct the texture would be okay if only it didn't smudge my watercolor pencil details ,, i had some lines I was quite fond of but they all smudged completely or vanished. I might still grab some better sponges still if i ever walk past DM or Rossmann haha~
I might try get a box with ventilation for the spraying, since german weather is...well. Would be useful if i ever want to attempt airbrushing too.

And thank you! Man I have a lot to learn and improve on in the non digital art sphere! ;U; (Also, your faceups are so pleasant to look at! They are actual quality faceups jfdhjfsfj)

 

@cobaltconduct oh that sounds reasonable, I admit my impatience may bring me to doing stronger layers that smudge rather than going in steps. it may be worth a re-try especially with some better sponges! I will definitely keep trying cx

@Lillith Thank you, it helps hearing that from others! I also heard that some other sprays are a bit less finicky with it, so I might try get some other things and see how it goes. Useful thread I will check that out as well! I could probably practice acrylics more but that's what I tried on the blue faceup and I really don't like how it looks ,, I have never been good at handling paints/brushes in traditional art, I am more of a pencil/marker person. If nothing else works out, I will bite that sour apple and practice more though xD

 

Another go with MSC!
My dad is a legend and has built me a airbrush booth that sucks the air outside. This means I can spray in my work room no matter the weather outside, and leave the circulation on even when the heads dry!

Naturally I had to give it another shot. Some thoughts and notes on this try before I get to images:

• the watercolor pencils not smudging really helps!
• I am pretty happy with the blushing.
• Watercolor pencils - because I can't use them well with water, they are still grainy (might attempt the eyeliner with acrylics or pencils WITH water next time). This doesn't really bother me greatly though, they still look pretty cute irl.
• I need to practice not getting the head dirty with flying chalk pencil pigments (woops)
• Want to try a different way to eyebrow. I don't really do the hairs well, so maybe next time I'll just do only pastel eyebrows and see how it looks.
• In general, I hope finer lines will come with practice...
• Idk what happened on the Yifeng lips I couldn't see it at all in the lighting woops

I think I will let them have these faces for a while now. At least until I get to restring Olivia (scary) and can see her head on a body, maybe even with the wig intended for her!

All images here

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@cobaltconduct thank you, again ;A; I'm really glad too, this is easier on me for now. The egg idea is worth a try, i might also use the practice head headcap cause why not haha. I will give the wet brush over watercolor a go too when I am at it o7

 

A faun Lady arrived!
I got my resinsoul Ju on a Shan body and had to give her a quick first faceup attempt! I quite like her body but it is in dire need of restringing (very kicky). Still not great at the faceup process but it's cute so for now shes okay. I might find her another head sculpt eventually because it's not 100% what I envisoned!

All images here

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@Lacrizzle thank you! I can't seem to do it any other way, being used to 2d art is showing x'D