Faceups Faceup Tips for Realistic Sculpts?

Looking at reference pictures of real people helps a lot! On top of that, checking out how artists paint that lean towards more realistic/dramatic face-ups is useful as well. I cannot stress enough how helpful it is to actually look at images first, and then trying to emulate what you have seen VS going in without references.

Generally though most realistic heads have one big advantage: their sculpting has a lot more depth. On something as smooth as a Resinsoul you have to fake a lot, while on realistic heads you have creases, folds, cheekbones etc. already there. You now have to enhance those to make them pop out even more. That means using small brushes to gently dab pastels into those places. A warm gray for example can add some shadow, on top of the pastels you used to shade the skin. Next is color. Realistic heads follow the "natural make-up" rule of "you want to apply a lot of stuff while making it seem like there is nothing there". Realistic face-ups are often heavily blushed and use a lot of different colors, but they are all made to blend into each other to make a coherent looking face. Here is a pretty good way to showcase how it is usually mapped out:



So next to the colors you use to overall shade the skin (like a peach for a light normal skin head), you want to add some subtle blues/red/yellows here and there as well. For a beginner it might be difficult to not let it look too much like clown make-up, but that's another important step. Take your time. You really need to think this through, look at your references, and then sloooowly build everything up. You have several layers of sealant anyway, no need to do it all in one layer.

 

With the generous head real estate you have there, it's also a good chance to think about texture and uneven pigmentation in addition to the shading and colour use Ara explained above. Creases, freckling, illusions of thinner and thicker skin etc can sometimes go a long way, even if you're not 100% confident in the more realistic shading style. You can also play with sealants and their texture to have shinier bits of skin in the areas that are usually more oily or moist-looking so you don't have to do all the heavy lifting with paints and pigments.

 

@cobaltconduct brought something up I completely forgot to mention, but yes, texture and shine does a lot as well.
The super matt, powdery-smooth look works well for the doll-esque aesthetic, but our faces are not like that at all.
I personally, next to dappling on pores, always do the last sealant layer with a semi-gloss sealant. Just a light spritz. It gives the surface a more skin like shine and reflection VS the fully matt look.

 

Honestly? By hand, with a brush I just prefer the control, but I know some people use sponges instead.

 

Thank you so much for this!!!!!