Aesthetics Looking for faceup help

One thick layer of sealant will usually make it smoother and have less tooth for pastel to stick to. It's obviously also slower to dry. A lot people will recommend that you do your base coat with a couple of thin layers (let each layer dry before the next).

From the photo it does look like the sealant was not dry enough and got moved by your paintbrush, but I'm not an expert. There's so many things that could be going wrong, including in theory, products reacting badly with each other.
Out of curiosity, what sealant do you use and how long do you wait aftre spraying? What type of paint do you use and what do you use to dilute it?

 

It looks like the sealant was too wet or uneven to me as well - like suggested above, light coats (of any sealant in any method) work best and give the most tooth for pastels to stick onto. So don't spray extra hard! Spray extra light If you were using MSC, there's also the humidity problem that might influence the way it dries.

The eyelash problem is most probably from the sealant not being dry but it could also be that the "tooth" of the layer is already "full" from pastels and there's nothing for any additional pigment to stick to. It's less of a problem with paint, but it looks like you were using watercolour pencils and I've had a similar issue before. A thin layer of sealant between the blushing and detail work could be helpful here so you'll have more texture to work with.

 

Firstly, MSC is super temperamental with weather conditions. Never spray it in above 60% humidity or it won’t cure and your pastels will slough off no matter what you do because they have nothing to stick to. (Not sure that’s what happened, but I did a faceup once trying to push it when I should not have and your picture is what it looked like. The eyebrows just wiped away as I tried to block them out.) If you live in a place where that’s hard (I do) switch to something like Volks ZM spray or airbrush sealant which is far less affected by the weather.

Secondly, it looks like you tried to do too much in one layer. My first layer of a faceup is just a light blush of peach or pink to bring out the facial features and maybe the first bit of blue in the corner of the eyes to start on fleshing out the resin tone. Most faceups I do are at minimum: light skin tone blushing > blocking out eyebrows with pastels > lips, inner eyes, more blushing > more lips, eyes, and blushing > still MORE lips eyes and blushing > linework on all the things > pastel shading wherever I think it needs more. That’s at least 7 layers if not more if I decide I want to fiddle with something more or lock in a bit that’s too close to something else I’m magic erasering around the edges of. You have to add color gradually or it will all smudge up and look messy, but also there is a limit to how much pastel each layer can take so if you want bold colors you have to layer it on.

Hope that helps!

 

What kind of pastels are you using and how are you applying them? I would definitely suggest doing more layers to help build up color. It's easier to build up more intense shading or more depth with pastels when doing multiple layers, and it can help your other materials too. If you're noticing things aren't sticking or building up, that's a good time to do another layer of sealant.

 

@Zacarias I’ve used Vallejo in the past. It’s annoying to work with at times because you have to clean your airbrush frequently to keep it from drying inside and jamming things up, but it also has no humidity restrictions at all and that part is great.

 

I don’t have an answer for you but thank you for making this post. Reading through these responses was so helpful as I’m about to start on a faceup myself and I feel so lost and out of my depth

 

I agree this post is very helpful. I have been watching videos and buying supplies the last few weeks, and have a blank head on the way. I am hoping that some of my makeup artist skills will translate to the art of faceups.

 

To anyone else who finds this thread and is just getting started, this post in Customization and Maintenance is your best friend for all the faceupping materials info (and a few tutorials!). There is a staggering amount of information compiled on this forum that will help you get your bearings.

@UnicornGirl Makeup skills will absolutely help you, just keep in mind that before you apply makeup coloring to a doll head you have to give it some color to make it look human. I wouldn’t put blue in the corners of my eyes, for example, when I’m doing my own makeup (I’m usually trying to mask those dark colors with concealor!) but I always do it with dolls because it makes them look less flat than just putting eyeshadow on without. I call it “skin blushing,” because you’re basically trying to add in colors that would be in the skin of the face to give yourself a more natural palette to put makeup colors over.