Aesthetics Faceup Practice [Shoushou Niko A]

An extremely long time ago, I attempted a faceup on a Dollfie Dream, which...came out good enough for me at the time, but I always admired the amazing faceups people can accomplish (which mine was not). When I got back into the hobby not-so-long ago, I decided to get a practice head and work on it.

I bought a Shoushou Doll Niko from BJDivas, and grabbed a spare A head to use as my practice face - I also picked up some watercolor pencils, not having much (if any) control over a brush with paint. Then I hit the floor running...only to panic, not knowing what I'm doing and having no confidence. I know at least to start with a layer of sealant, but proceeded to do both my "sketch" and a darker ""final"" attempt on a single layer:



I don't mind this as a design, but I definitely beat myself up over the poor execution. It's incredibly frustrating how one can draw on paper just fine but then a different surface totally throws one for a loop Fortunately, a friend sent much encouragement and suggested I keep adding layers and not give up.



^ Second layering attempt (unfortunately the eyebrows do not get better L O L)



I felt more satisfied and encouraged once I actually put her together somewhat - I got my second wind to keep trying from here! A lot of my worries melted away, actually seeing her with eyes and a wig. I look at this and felt very good, just feeling like she needed a bit of blush added!



So I added some blushing!



And some more blushing...compared to her skin tone, I think I may have overdone it However, this is where she is now:



I'm so pleased with my first (...second) attempt at a face-up! I still see much room for improvement, and I don't think I'm quite done with this, not enough to wipe it and start over (it IS a practice head ). I'd like to emphasize the highlights on her eyes and cheeks (which are not really visible in the photo). So this journey is far from over!

...it may definitely be over for her eyebrows, though I think it's great that the wig covers them...

 

Wow, thank you! I really appreciate you saying so!! I'll definitely have to keep trying!

So, I keep looking at her and thinking...maybe I can get another Niko body and just keep her...she did turn out quite cute, even as a learning project, I would like to keep her...

 

Thank you!!! I'll keep it up. I'd love to have dolls with my own faceups one day~

And I'm glad you said that, the blush is my favorite part to do which is also why I feel like I may have gone overboard, but I love faces with rosy cheeks and some pink on the nose

 

Yes! It's my first attempt with pencil, and my second doll faceup in my lifetime (the last was...I'd say around 10+ years ago). Thank you so much!!!

I really love the magical girl / shoujo manga kind of style, so a lot of my (drawn) characters end up with lashes like this. I'm glad it works well on Niko too

 

Thank you! It's so sweet of you to say so