Aesthetics First Paint Faceups (updated 3/6)

Heya~ So... all these years I've been using watercolor pencils for faceups, and as I've now been in the hobby for some time (and want to start a nice project) I figured that I should... you know. Try to use paints for faceups for that smooooooth and fancy touch. So I busted out my Doll Leaves Fay, whose face I've never been entirely happy with, and decided she should be my paint guinea pig. Here are the two face-ups I've done over the past couple of days, if I can I'd like to keep pushing with this somewhat regularly until I unlock the mysteries of paint. (I'm also looking to improve when it comes to natural-looking skin texturing... This is something I already have some experience with, but it can never hurt to perfect technique.)

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Here's yesterday's try, after I attacked her headcap with like 700 test lines. This is where I was capable of doing some self-diagnosis of issues--I didn't let the sealant set long enough before the paint layer and used too much of it, which was an issue when it came to tooth and such--and I used too much flow-aid in the paint. These two problems combined to cause copious amounts of line bleeding, it was awful. I also kind of just gave up when it came to her lips. >>; Her eyeliner also didn't match, which was pretty hilarious.

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Today's try. Using what I learned about the sealant and flow-aid, I've made a couple of changes: I've used thinner coats of sealant and allowed them 30 minutes each to set then used an eye dropper with the flow-aid to control the amount better. So this time my lines were more crisp, but I feel like they're too dark... so perhaps I should use a bit more flow-aid? (also--her lips are still an afterthought, but it was good line practice.) The things I'm most unhappy with are her eyebrows since my brush control seems to vanish almost completely when I attack them, and her eyelid creases... where I flew too close to the sun by putting down three lines. Two looked fine. Three... three is, indeed, a crowd.


So... do you have any tips for understanding the mysterious world of... paint? How can I control my brush better when drawing eyebrows? I know white is a common highlight color for eyelid creases, but is there a more natural looking one that won't vanish into NS or easily get lost, like the highlight I tried to do here? Thanks for coming in and having a look!

 

Today's try:

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Changes: I thinned the paint even further. Eyelid crease is only two lines that merge into one, and I'm more confident with the eyebrow strokes--but I still feel as if I should dilute the paint more? The difference between the left and right eyelashes is also... not that great.

An update for 2/6: Here's my 4th try, on my Dollzone Luke, a much larger head but still quite small:

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This is with more flow-aid and with everything I've learned mashed together. Right now most of my problems, I feel, lay with the sealant ending up too toothy and laying my pastels accordingly (which I'd appreciate any advice about!). I'm kind of weirded out about how quickly I picked up paints since I absolutely couldn't use them at all with any competency for years and this was sort of a desperation move, but the world is a strange place...

 

I'm using Army Painter detail and insane detail brushes. (They're pretty pointy but need constant attention to make sure they keep that way.) As for paint... I didn't think to add a little brown to white. It seems so obvious, but mixing paints never even came to mind.

I'll give watercolor pencils a shot for laying down guides. It feels like it'll make eyebrows a looot easier with something to actually trace.

Thanks bunches! His ears are light. This lighting makes it a little more obvious, but there's collected sealant there that probably needs a bit of a soak to come out. I went at him for a while with a toothbrush and alcohol before I figured that it wouldn't hurt too much to leave a little there if it was there for a practice faceup. Before he gets his final he's spending an hour in a 91% alcohol bath, that's for sure.

I do use pastels to draw the eyebrow shape first, but no matter how many layers I do it appears to come out very light and grainy. I'm 80% sure this is because I'm awful at laying down sealant. It's always far too toothy. (Or... perhaps I should switch back to Mr.Super Clear, which I ought to be doing anyway since purity seal is discontinued. >>; )

Thanks everyone for your advice! I'm definitely going to put this all to good use. I'm going to go ahead and buy a can of Mr.Super Clear and see if that does anything for laying down pastels, hopefully then I can conquer my nemesis: the eyebrows.

 

Okay! My Mr. Super Clear came in, so it was time for another go at my Luke's face!



And here he is dead-on with more neutral lighting to stop the glistening coming off of his gloss:



I made use of all the advice I got here, particularly when it came to the eyebrows! (Also: it was, indeed, waaaay easier to put pastels down with MSC.) I'm pretty happy with the results for a first try with the watercolor pencil guidelines, but I should have been far more careful and perhaps should have used a lighter color for the eyebrow lines. (It's also pretty easy to tell the left was my first try!) Unfortunately, my Insane Detail brush seems to have finally kicked it. I cleaned and boiled it after each task, but it seems to be incapable of bouncing back to a good point even after all that. At least I was able to get the eyelashes as thin as I could! If only I could say the same for the lid lines....

Changes: I've done some layered patchy sponging in brown all over his face and a couple layers of teensy freckles everywhere rather than focusing on just his cheeks/the bridge of his nose. This seems more natural looking to me! I'd like more advice for natural texturing if anyone has any.