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Aesthetics First faceup, wanting critique!

Dec 2, 2018

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    1. I finally got around to doing my first faceup! (With much help from a friend in what to use and how to get started.) I decided to do a little of everything for my first go, including drawing on his hair line and scars. He will eventually be getting a permanent mohawk hairpiece, and I would like to try adding something fuzzy over the drawn on hairline later on. His name is Reidar Smith. :>

      I was not prepared for how long he took. 6 hours, and about 10 layers of sealant later, he's done! The glue is still wet in the photos, so please excuse the white gunks. >.<

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      #1 Cap'n, Dec 2, 2018
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    2. The bruise and the scars are looking good. (Maybe add an bit of purple to the bruise later). However, the scars on the headcap look less lifelike.
      I am sorry, but I am not a big fan of the beard. It looks like typical pen strokes.
      Overall you did a really good job especially since this is your first one.
       
      #2 Subzerolover, Dec 2, 2018
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    3. @Subzerolover
      I really struggled with the head scars. I wanted them to look fresh and had no idea how to do it. Thanks for the input!
       
      #3 Cap'n, Dec 2, 2018
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    4. They do look really fresh so you succeeded ;)
       
      #4 Subzerolover, Dec 2, 2018
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    5. You might want to look up some special FX tips on how to paint scars/wounds. If you shade around them with red or a red tone about 2mm away from the edges of the scars, it'll serve to give them a somewhat raised/swollen look. Weird optical illusion, but it's pretty effective on human skin. As a note on the purple suggested above -- I have a bruise purple pastel that I use for fairly subtle eyeshadow. It looks like shadows/dark circles/natural darkness in skin. It might not work for all skin tones, but could be worth experimenting.

      As for the beard/hair, I might suggest using some kind of medium/thinner/different shades or opacities of the black for a more realistic look. If you're using acrylics, use enough flow medium or similar to thin them to about 50% opacity. Lots and lots and lots of thin layers of paint are your (time consuming) friend there. The idea is to create the illusion of depth and to suggest individual hairs rather than actually painting them. Use a slightly thicker brush; where the strokes overlap, you'll get natural variation and darker shades that'll do some of the work for you.

      Overall, nice even job on the blushing and cool earrings! You've definitely got a distinctive character taking shape and I'm curious to see what you'll end up with when you're done.
       
      #5 rebeccag12363, Dec 2, 2018
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    6. @rebeccag12363
      Thank you so much for the critique! I'm planning on getting a practice head and playing around with scars to see if I can make them look less flat. I'll be sure to look more into special FX tips! For the beard, all I used was watercolor colored pencils since I'm still iffy about using acrylic paints. Even for his eyes and bruises, it's all watercolor pencils and a little pastels for blushing. >.<
       
      #6 Cap'n, Dec 3, 2018
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    7. I like the bruising around his right eye a lot, and his gold eyes are awesome <3
       
      #7 LeahTT, Dec 7, 2018
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