Face-up critique: how to make a face up more "male"

One of the main things I do differently on "boy" faceups is the placement of the eye blushing. Males have more protruding browbones and often deeper and closer-set eyes, so I concentrate the darker shading on the eye closer to the nose under the brow to make that area look deeper and shadowed. On girls I tend to concentrate the blushing on the outer third of the eye.

You can see the placement of the shading on Riley, here. He's a Kid Delf Bory, and they tend toward the cherubic, but the shading helps him look a touch more like the sulky young teen he is! Next time I paint him I think I'll make his lips a bit less rosy, too.


Another example, Kestrel (MNF Seorin):


The shading doesn't have to be too obvious, just there. I also find that more shading beneath the eye sometimes seems to give a more "male" feel. Kale here's a MNF Elf Shiwoo, which is a sculpt that makes a nice girl, but I have been told more than once that he looks like a boy (as in the person saying it was surprised a little by this!).


I also try to make the cheek blushing more subtle and peachy instead of rosy (younger=rosier, however), and it doesn't show too much on these - Riley's intended to look young and the other two are older faceups - but I try to make the eyebrows a bit thicker, lower and less "groomed" looking as well. Sometimes if they've got really rounded cheeks I'll do some really subtle contour blushing under the cheekbone area to give them a little less rounded look. It's all subtle stuff, but it helps. I really think the eye shading is a major part of it, though.

 

Heavier brows also help. I think your last picture has him looking more masculine.

 

Just practice and maybe find a picture to use for reference, you're doing good already! But, like everything, face-ups are just something that you have to work to get really good at. I agree with AmyAngel though, under-eyebrow shading, heavy eyebrows, light cheek blushing, and maybe some definition defining to make the features look sharper are all good steps to take.

 

Blank lips helps. Or nude lips. I advise you still use a light color to blush the lips. But not much. And of corse, still gloss them.

 

I suggest when blushing the lips to try and not make the colour so strong near the edges, because to me it looks like lipstick when the colour is strong and even all over the lips(even with nude colour pastels).
For the F16 face-up try adding more pastel in the eyebrows to help thicken them and it can also help tidy the eyebrow hairs.

 

Nude lips, more uneven eyebrows (only people who pluck their eyebrows have them matching!), only use eyeliner a few shades darker than the actual doll's resin, and I only use it on the top and to about half-way, as well as the same color for eyelashes.
Tobias here is wearing a girl's wig that covers his eyebrows, but when I get my laptop back I'll update with better pictures:

But, as you can see, there is no "makeup", just natural browns!

 

well I don't suppose I'm much help since I've only done 1 face up, but it was a guy. these were my results:



(pardon the wig, it's only temporary)

To make a face masculine, i do think that heavier eyebrows help and lip color should be kept as natural as possible. if you feel like heavier brows get messier, what i did was i did a base of pastel to roughly outline the shape of his brows. then you can go in with pencil and darken them. you might want to try adding a bit of brown to the lip color if you think it's too pink (i started with a pink on his lips and added more brown). I also blushed his eyes, closer to the bridge of the nose/corner of eye, nothing like eyeshadow, a nice pinky fleshy color. hope this is helpful....

 

To get a faceup to look more Masculine:

No eyeshadow,

go easy on the eyeliner/eyelashes,

thicker lower eyebrows, Almost no masculine man has plucked looking pencil thin eyebrows in pretty little slants.

lighter lips, use only semigloss/satin gloss, not full gloss on the lips, since most masculine men don't wear jelly lip gloss. Use only natural skin colors.

Masculine men should not have eyebrows that look too plucked and shaped.

If you do facial hair, that likewise should look either sort of tidy or scruffy and messy, but never plucked and shaped or he'll look more "metro" than you're going for with the classic Masculine Look.

Faceup I did myself, several years back. It could use some more depth in spots but you get the idea.


Volks faceup I de-feminized by adding irregularity to the eyebrows. His eye shading is only for contour and avoids a makeup look. I also gave him the facial hair for his character.


One of my most feminine boys still has realistic masculine eyebrows, even if they do arch dramatically. Note he has no dark red or pink gloss on his mouth, and no eyeshadow, just some shading.

 

I really just think you need to lower your eyebrows. Try it and see how you like it then!