Aesthetics First faceup on a sd sized head

I really like the overall messy look to be honest, what bothers me though are the eyebrows. The general shape is not really inspiring to me and they seem a bit unnatural.

That being said I think you did a great job in giving a realistic feel to the skin.

 

I agree that the skin texture is cool! It looks very intentional overall, but the details don't match up with the texture. Finer lashes and brows, as well as a more delicate touch on the lips, will definitely help the whole face look better. I think playing with the skin surface is a really good idea, but it will help a lot if you neaten up the features on top of the texture. I would recommend taking either a very fine brush or a very sharp pencil and gradually layering up small groups of really thin lines for the brows, lashes, and lip details. Take it slow, and coat between layers, and you can build up dark colors without that heavy, blobby edge.

 

It does look very messy, but everything except the brows also looks very realistic.

 

Warning: I say this as someone who is yet to do a faceup on a bjd! I'm just talking visually about what I see, but obviously don't know the skillset required yet

I totally agree with previous comments about the skin texture. The skin texture you have given him is really lovely. I'm not quite sure what is bothering me about the brows, I kind of like them actually! I like the middle and the stray hairs that seem to appear under the arch. Nice details! ...but I agree that they seem to be throwing the rest of the face-up off somehow. I think the brows need a bit more colour difference to better see the details? The outline looks like dark and unkempt brows (which is the part I like!), but because I don't see a lot of contrast for the hairs it also looks like heavy make-up or cartoon-ish? I think dark brows need a stronger colour contrast. Realistic looking example, trying to explain what I mean by makeup added: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qR5OirGSB0s/maxresdefault.jpg

Basically I think they maybe look a bit too filled in? Maybe stronger more unruly in the middle with stronger, fewer strokes, like the ones you have here, before blending in later. I really like the rest of the face-up though!

 

I love the freckles, the shading around the eyes, and the slightly smudged lips. They make the faceup look very natural and make-up-free, in my eyes.

I agree with thinning and separating the brows, and making them a bit less filled in. Maybe also not quite so black/grey? Though that of course depends on what wig you're planning to use, but without a wig and just based on the rest of the faceup, maybe a dark brown instead would fit better with the overall colour scheme?

Meanwhile, I am super impressed that this is your first attempt! Much neater than my first several tries!

 

I think the faceup would look more aesthetic if the eyebrows were further apart. Otherwise I like how you go for realism, the love for detail is obvious. It's a nice effect that the area around the lips is a bit blurred. Gives a smooth transition. Keep it up, it's great for a first try!

 

I hope the following is helpful even if my experiences consists mainly of vinyl dolls.

I think that the colors are great but I don't know for the eyebrows because I don't know the color of the wig... it could potentially change the effect of the face-up.
I really like the colors of the lips and the texture: no harsh lines and like he just kissed someone (that's only my interpretation)
The skin seems really realistic but the eye makeup seems blurry like someone who would have carelessly rub their hands over it (it reminds me of the first time I did my make-up and rubbed because it was weird to have something on my face).
The eyebrows don't bother me but it could be attached to the fact I have known a few persons with these type of eyebrows (trimmed unibrow).

 

You did a wonderful job with the skin! It's very realistic. If realism is what you are going for, I think darkening the eyebrows more with thin hair lines and chapping the lips a tiny bit would balance the face-up nicely.

 

It's the coolest mess I've ever seen. Although I'm not a big fan of the brows. It's an easy fix though, but that's amazing for a first.

 

Yep, definitely agree with everyone - the skin texture is great, a really cool effect. The eyebrows do seem to come together too closely in the middle, unless you were going for the effect of him frowning? If you google up some pics, you can see normally the eyebrows start vertically in line with the inner corner of the eye - or often even further apart. Wolfie has some wonderful tips up there on eyebrow texture, too. But all that said, awesome first attempt and really love that you tried something unique. Good luck!

 

I think the face up is gorgeous. The realistic skin texture really adds character to the expression. How different was it to do a face up on an SD than a smaller size? I have only done them on MSD!