Eyebrows: Painting and Penciling Techniques

@batchix
the templates are very useful! I guess that's the best way to be successful with the eyebrows =)

 

Batchix I just wanted to say that your templates are the absolute best! I always use them for my stepping off point when doing eyebrows. I always seem to change them after the initial layer but, my eyebrows would be hopless without them. THANK YOU!

Panicchannel, one thing to keep in mind - while we all want our doll's eyebrows to *look* identical, no one's eyebrows really are, even after you have just come from getting them "done." The best you can do is use tricks like the eyebrow template, painting them upsidedown, using the rubber-band guide or looking in the mirror. If they are too "perfect" they end up looking fake or wrong.

 

Been floating around this thread and wow… all these tips.

My biggest fear I think is doing the eyebrows. I have unsteady hands. … so that eyebrow template looks like a lifesaver to me. ;.;

Thanks so much!

 

i draw the eyebrows with pastels and go nuts "editing" them w/ a kneaded eraser.
Then i use a liner brush to stroke the little hairs. Doing it upside-down for the pastels is easier but I like to have it right-side-up when doing the brushwork.

I always look through photos of real people before doing the brows, which helps alot.

 

I want to add my thanks for the eyebrow template as well, as soon as the weekend arrives, I'm going to try my first face up.

 

Thank you for the templates and the ideas. I plan on my first face up effort within a week or so. I feel much better with the guide.

 

I don't think anyone else has suggested this, but it worked for me!
I used Batchix eyebrow stencil (you are truly an angel!) and cut it out of sticky tape (the sort that peels off easy, even from paper. I think it is called easypeel by 3M?? advantage is it is see through so you can see where it is being placed) Taped it on where I wanted the eyebrows and then used a cotton bud (Q tip) with pastels to make the shape of the eyebrow. I then took the tape off, blended the pastel with a cotton bud and eraser so it wasnt such a solid shape and then drew the hairs on with watercolour pencil. Worked a treat!
This thread should be renamed the prais to Batchix thread!

 

I used your suggestion Aussie grrrl. I used the easy peel tape and it worked great. Instead of pastels however, I painted lightly through the hole in the stencil and than took the stencil off and filled in as needed. It took lots of practice to get it to where I was happy with the eyebrows but the the easy peel and the stencil made all the difference.

 

Stenciling is the route I planned to go but I hadn't thought of the tape. That should make it even easier.

 

If you wouldn't find the blue color too distracting, you could also use a piece of blue painters-edging tape, which is made to be easily removable. Some people use it instead of cellophane/Scotch tape for holding some headcaps on.

 

Anyone have any good tips for people with not very steady-pulses?

I'm pretty happy with the technique I use to create the overall eyebrow-look,
I just can't paint hairs! My pulse is way too shaky, and all my lines come out
all scribbly, or too thick for my taste. Are there any good tricks to keep the hair-lines
clean (not necessarily straight, because eye-brow hair is somewhat curved but)
I'm looking to get sharp, thin, clean-hair/lines/strokes)? Thanks!


- Enzyme ^.^

 

Enzyme, I also have problems with the eyebrows and would like recommendations on keeping the eyebrow hairs painted very thinly with control.
I am so happy to have come across this thread, Batchix's templates are wonderful!!
Stephanie

 

Enzyme & stephwayne: You might try very quick light strokes, instead of trying to steady your hand. I suggest practicing a lot on some paper and see if you can't do a straight little hair if you do it fast enough. I think with enough practice, they'll still be very controlled.

Good luck!

 

Ah, hoorah. Thank you goodness for this thread. x.x I'm going to do my girl's faceup soon for the first time. >.<

 

Hi Batchix,
I am doing research for my 1st faceup and found your eyebrow template and brow tutorial very helpful. Thanks very much for sharing.

 

Has anyone use the eyebrow templates for their MSDs? I'm trying to figure out how to scale down the template in order to print.

 

You can always insert the eyebrow template picture (saved from here http://www.g36.net/ocdesigns/eyebrows/eyebrows1.gif and http://www.g36.net/ocdesigns/eyebrows/eyebrows2.gif) into Microsoft Word or Openoffice and scale them.

Scaling them at around 12-13cm in height makes the eyebrows a great fit for my Bluefairy TF doll. Hope this helps.

 

How to do eyebrows for regular people? Might help with dolls
Eyebrow shaping guides

 

Wow, how fascinating! I had never put much thought into doing my own face-ups before, but this has definitely inspired some interest...

 

Here's a little something I made a while ago:



The point of this illustration is that you can play around with the directionality and length of hairs. The top example is something a lot of people do when they start doing face-ups. The grey one is supposed to illustrate a pastel only eyebrow. If you look at people's eyebrows, you'll notice they grow in various ways, but probably never in straight vertical lines. Have a look at these:

link | link | link | link | link

I have learnt a lot from observing nature, looking at reference photos, and admiring other face-up artists' work. Studying the way other people use directionality and length in their face-ups can also be very helpful.

Hope this helps people get new ideas and experiment with new styles!

~*Mystaia

 

I have found that holding the head upside down works well. I measure where I want the eyebrows and then put little pencil dots in the position I want. My daughter discovered a way to get wig discoloration off of a dolls head. She uses teeth whitening strips. She puts the strip over the discoloration and peeks at it every few minutes. So far it has worked on bih brown, black and red discoloration. Don't just leave it on. Keep checking it often. puglynne

 

Question about eyebrow technique: I have seen some advanced face-up artists' brows that look like they paint the hairs on the inner eyebrows then use a brush to paint the arch and end of the brow. Does anyone have any tips on how to get that effect?

 

I have a tutorial on Eyebrows in the July 2011 issue of Doll Customizer Magazine if you are interested. I could post it here with pics if you'd prefer.

 

I would like to see it but I have no idea where I could find this magazine. If you were to post it here, That'll be great.

 

I draw the basic shape that I want in pastel with a q-tip, then go over that with a very sharp water-colour pencil to do the individual hairs.

 

I would love to read it Laurie! If you are willing to post it here that would be very much appreciated!

 

Rats! I just realized that it's an off topic doll that I did the tutorial on. Next time I'm doing a faceup, I'll take pics. OK? The magazine can be purchased at Dollyhair.com (supplier of hair for dolls.) Dollyhair's owner, Tina, is the owner and editor of the magazine.

 

Thanks for trying Laurie! I will go to Dollyhair.com and check it out!

 

use water color pencils only! and of course chalking first

 

I love this thread and all the suggestions it has. Eyebrows are something that I'm just not very good at. I can hardly take care of my own eyebrows, I try to leave that to the salon if I can. If you can do your own makeup really well, faceups can be pretty self-explanatory, except for the eyebrows. And good eyebrows can make the entire doll look good! This thread has been a good resource for me and I look forward to seeing more good links and suggestions!