Would you rather commission a faceup, or do it yourself?

I would love to learn to be able to do it myself, but I also love the amazing work I have seen from face artists. If I had a specific idea in mind, I would probably commission an artist, but if I want to play around with it and try some things, I would see about doing it myself

 

I’ve found that you could have a really nice sculpt but if the face up isn’t done well you can’t really see the beauty and i know I’m horrible at face ups so I’d definitely commission it

 

Always do it myself. I like the painting process, it's a great creative outlet. There are amazing faceup artists out there, I just don't need to have their work for myself!

 

I prefer to do it myself.

Sending off heads makes me feel kind of paranoid so I have only sent off a doll for work two times.

I tend to bond with my dolls by giving them face-ups and I am able to be less paranoid about playing around with my dolls to know I can redo their face-ups if they get chipped paint or something.

Like there are definitely face-up artists I envy the skill of, but hopefully I can get on their level eventually.

 

I prefer to do them myself. I enjoy it and even though someone else would do a better job, I prefer to make them mine. And besides I spent a fortune on supplies to do them myself.

 

Sending them away, in theory, were money no object and I could telepathically transfer my goal into the artist’s head. I’m ‘decent’ at faceups, and sometimes I wish I were either better or worse so I could either achieve the brows and eyelashes I want on my own or justify sending them out.

 

I do most of my faceups myself. It really helps me bond with the doll. Not sure I would ever commission someone. I’ve thought about it, because there are some amazing artists out there... but I’m cheap and impatient, so I never have.

 

I prefer to commission someone. There are so many great artists out there who have amazing work and I love seeing my dolls come back with beautiful face-ups. I attempted one face-up when I first got into the hobby, but I realized I'd rather have an artist paint my dolls

 

I feel like I would like to do it myself. Art is one of my main hobbies and I think painting my dolls face would be quite fun and a nice bonding experience with my doll . Also, I'm kinda paranoid about my doll getting lost in shipping.

 

I would love to commission but so far all took about 1 month so i did it myself, its passable but not professional. If only its done faster and cheaper. lol

 

Doing it myself, even though I tend to see my own flaws it helps me express my creativity and figure out what sort of look I'm going for. With my art I've always preferred to see where it takes me rather than meticulously planning it out. I also have anxiety about parting with my dolls once they are with me.

 

Right now, with my inexperience, I'd commision.
But I want to try to paint mine myself sometime.

 

Maybe I can do it myself in the future. That would be really cool!
But for the beginning I leave this to the professionals. So it's a commisson face-up.

 

If I did commission someone I would send them my "attempted" work and ask that they recreate it professionally.
I like doing my own faceups, but the execution is subpar.

 

I have not an artistic bone in my body. So I send them to a face up artist. People with talent can create such loving work. A well painted face-up can really be the difference between bonding with a particular model or having a more luke warm relationship with the doll...

 

If I was good at it, I would do my own, but it takes a lot of time and money to get started. I just had 2 commissions done from an artist. I'd say the most annoying part was try to convey what you want from an artist while letting them have their freedom. Nothing is more nerve wrecking when they've done a stellar job, but it wasn't exactly what you've asked for. That means they'd have to start all over and I'd feel so guilty.

 

I really like other people's work, but I think that doing the makeup of your own dolls is always somehow special and therefore, all my dolls are done by me.
The first tries were awful, obviously, but little by little I became better at doing faceups, although it's been a while since I did my last one

 

I normally do my own-- and some of my efforts have come out better than others. I like doing it, but I have to have an open painting area and good weather for spraying and the time and energy...

I've only ordered one with faceup, though Party Martian came to me with one painted face and three unpainted, and I LOVE the look he's sporting there. So while I love to do my own, I also think it's sometimes really neat to see what another artist can do.

 

Commission for sure. My drawing skill is very limited

 

I think it's fun to try if you can, you can always wipe it off and sent it to someone if your unhappy with it

 

I personally would rather to commission someone who's face ups I admire. I'm not great at face ups yet so until I get better I'd be more comfortable doing it that way

 

I am not artistic when it comes to painting so I would rather commission someone to do a faceup for me as then I know it would not turn out looking rubbish. Also there are so many talented faceup artists in this community that I would love to support and I can do that by commissioning them to bring my ideas to life.

 

I'd love to do my own faceups but the fact is that I'm terrified of inhaling sealant, I once bought a practice head, a mask, and some MSC and I must not have had my mask on the right because I got a faint whiff of something sweet-smelling when I was spraying it and ran. I proceeded to have a three day off and on panic attack about it, threw out my MSC, and vowed never to try it again. On top of that, I live in a cramped condo complex and I'd worry about someone else on their porch inhaling it if I tried spraying it. So yeah commission only for me.

 

I prefer to do everything myself. For some reason I'm much happier with a bad result I did myself than a perfect one done by someone else. Scruffy yarn wigs and all. Plus while face ups are hard, articulating what I want to someone else is impossible. Plus, you know. I'm too poor to have people do things for me that I have a shot at doing for myself.

 

I want to be able to do my own face-up myself because I am very picky and I feel like it'll be more meaningful for me to put that time and effort into designing my doll. (I went to art school, however I have no experience painting dolls atm so I plan on practicing a lot)

Commissioning another professional would probably visually turn out better but I also will be painting the entire doll (since they're a fantasy doll) so it'd be me throwing money at something that I kind of wanna try out and see if I'm capable of doing it.

 

I'm commisioning someone else until I'm good enough to do their face-up lol I'm trying small things though, like body brushing.

 

I always do mine myself because I'm terrified of sending my doll heads to someone else. Maybe I'll order a doll with a company faceup one day?

 

I'd rather do my own - it's fun to customize the doll exactly as I want I althou have to admit that sending a doll out after I waited for so long to get them already is not a thought I enjoy... Maybe if I had a big collection and could occupy myself with other dolls while I wait... But currently it's all on me, just the way I like it

 

I have no artistic talent so I'd have to commission someone for a faceup. Just thinking about trying to do it myself is giving my anxiety and would rather let someone more comfortable and better skilled do it than me mess up the doll. lol

 

If I want something really well done, I'll commission. Especially on more expensive dolls because I want them to be just right. My cheaper dolls I don't worry about too much about doing their faceups for some reason.

 

At the moment I'm doing multiple different things;
including face-ups, so definately I'm doing my own faceups so I can learn and get experience.

 

I've never commissioned a faceup. I was an artist student. I prefer doing it myself because it gives me a sense of achievement. Doing a faceup is different from painting on paper or canvas. It is pretty fun.

 

In general, I’d rather do it myself. Before getting into BJDs, I enjoyed drawing women’s faces. I always had trouble with symmetry but enjoyed highlighting, blushing contouring and all the details. With sculpts, it feels like I don’t have to worry about the hard parts and can just enjoy bringing a face to life.

My first faceup kinda sucked lol but I’ve done 5 since and feel I’ve improved with each. I wouldn’t be able to handle the wait otherwise.

The one exception is a Peakswoods girl I have on layaway; the company faceup was gorgeous so I decided to have it done by them in this case.

 

The first doll I owned got face up made by someone else but the newer ones one has the company makeup and the other 2 I did since I figured that if I'm going to be part of this hobby I'd better learn to customize myself. And it was a lot of fun for me to see the blank face turn into something with more detailed lips, red cheeks, eyelashes etc! Due that I feel like I'm more connected with the two whose faceups I did than the one who has the company faceup even though that one is definitely much prettier than anything I could ever create. But practice makes perfect and hopefully once it's spring and warmer again I can give it another try and make something hopefully prettier, meanwhile I'm just gonna try getting better hang of using brushes on paper.

 

I thought I’d do my own face-ups, but it turns out that I’m simply not good at doing them. I caved and commissioned someone who knew what they were doing to paint my dolls. No regrets. XD

 

When I first got into the hobby, I thought the entire point was to do everything yourself. So when I heard people actually paid someone else to do a faceup I was like, "why even bother getting a doll." but I know better now. For me though the whole appeal of the hobby is to do the faceup and create for yourself. Even though I'm not very good. I will keep going until I am happy

 

While I'm not the greatest (or even really good at all) at faceups, I already have so much mail anxiety about my dolls arriving to me once, so I couldn't imagine sending them out to the world AGAIN where they could get lost, or at best, take ages to get back to me. No, I'm too possessive over them and they'll have to suffer my faceups for the rest of time (or until I get better).

 

I would much rather do them myself. It's much cheaper since I already have the materials, and I want to have the doll feel self-made. I haven't done a faceup yet, but I'm an illustrator so I should be just fine. I'm just worried about the eyeliner and eyebrows being symmetrical!
Edit: I also agree with WasteOfMuch, I don't feel safe sending it in the mail.

 

I always do them myself.
Sure the first ones weren't really all that good but the satisfaction you get from it is so good. Over time you will get better and seeing that evolution is, to me, wonderful to look back on.
Then one day there will be that one face-up where you will think, 'did I do that?'
That feeling is just wonderful and completely worth the effort and learning curve.

I also find that it causes me to bond a lot more with my dolls than to have a company or comissioned face-up.

 

@M_Kun009 Have you thought about sponging on Liquitex instead? That's what I plan to do for now, and if I like doing faceups, I'll buy an airbrush+compressor later.

It seems to require more base layers, and works best with acrylic paint (can't smear/lift like watercolor pencils/pastels when being sealed). I plan to thin mine with retardant for longer workability.

 

I think I would every now and then, but mostly no. I love painting and I think I would have the necessary skills with time, but I want to focus on making sets and clothes at the moment. I’d love to be a jack of all trades, but I think that would be too much for someone like myself who is just starting to take on. A lot of supplies!

 

I would rather do it myself and learn new skills. I'd hate to have to send away my doll's head.

 

I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I started the hobby a year ago, and have improved the most at the activity I do most often: sewing.

I do notice a small improvement with faceups (I used to enjoy shading faces before with watercolors so feel like I had a good base to start.) But I would definitely get better faster if I did it more often.

 

I don't know how to do a face up. I think it might be hard. I think I would rather pay the doll company to do the face up or commision the face up. I haven't commissioned any of my doll heads yet because they are still coming and I don't have marketplace right now.

How much does a face up commission normally go for? The person I want to ask don't take orders right now and I feel like if I ask for information right away on the cost it might come off as rude.

I'm scared I will send my doll head and never get it back. I read today that someone got their doll head stolen from someone named CrazyClam or something on an old thread. She got her head back, but it sounded like some people don't get their dolls back.

 

I rather do it by myself. Not because I think I’m better than face up artist, of course not but I often change my mind about how I want my dolls to look and like to experiment with them. It would be sad if I commission someone to paint a perfect face just to wipe it off some weeks later. Besides I’m a bit scared about the shipping

 

I have tried doing a faceup, and it really sucked. XD I ended up commissioning someone. But I do want to get better and since I will soon have a floating head on which I plan to train and make wigs with it. It is a beautiful head, but it is not rare or anything, so I do not think there is much point in selling it, especially with the high shipping costs, so I might as well use it.

 

Actually, my dolls have default face-up and much to my surprise they are still flawless after many years. I did not expect face-ups last so long. I tried to do face-ups myself on floating heads. I practiced a lot, I even invested in some professional art tools and they came out pretty decent - but I am not an artist, so I better leave the job to those who have both the talent and the experience. It was a good experiment and I enjoyed it - and I also love to see how BJD lovers try their hands, learn from each other and from artists who feel like supporting newbies with feedback and suggestions.

When my dolls need new face-up, I will try surely turn to Poppy. I adore her face-ups. I had a chance to see one of her face-ups up close on a doll of local BJD owner and it blew my mind. Really, like a piece of art at the museum.

Why don't we have temporary doll exhibitions in museums of applied art? If there were BJD exhibitions like this, who would you choose to curate the submitted artwork?

 

I would rather do it myself. I like doing faceups and other craft stuff for my dolls. It’s fun and it’s relaxing. I also get worried about sending my doll out it’s nerve wrecking

 

Never comissioned a face up because it doesn't feel like it's my doll if someone else has done it. I had a few dolls with company face ups and I've sold them all already

 

I always commission the face-ups for my dolls and I've never been disappointed so far.
In my case, I have zero to none skills when it comes to painting in general. I've tried to learn with other kind of dolls but I'm still really far from knowing what I'm doing and, perfectionist as I am. I'd never be happy with my doll if I had to make them myself.
Instead, I search and search for the perfect artist looking at their other face-ups to find the one that fits the style I wish to achieve in my doll and most of the times only have to give a few directions because I feel I can trust their instincts.

 

Myself.. Mainly because its cheaper

 

I really wish I could do it myself. I have nerve damage in my hands, and so I can't hold a paintbrush. It makes me sad because I had art training and I worked as a designer.
I have only commissioned a couple of faceups, because of finances, Most of my dolls have the company faceups.

 

I eventually would like to do it myself. Where I live has terrible nasty muggy weather and I just have no space for all the materials, but I really really would love to one day try it out myself! So for now I will just commission others or buy my dolls with company faceup! :3

 

For me right now it’s either myself (I’m an artist) or a company faceup, and that’s all due to money. I absolutely love some faceup artists but when strictly talking price, company faceups are always cheaper. Usually around $40-$60, compared to artists who charge $100+.

I am only talking price though!! I don’t want anyone to think I don’t support other artists lol I have tons of artists I’d love to get a faceup from, but when I’m short on money…. That’s the cheapest option. Other than doing it myself which is free lol

 

Comm!! Like…100% even though I’m an art kid I don’t really understand makeup..and I feel like if I were to ever paint a doll myself I would want to redo the face every week…so…I do have a Dollfie Dream head floating around that I’m thinking of taking a shot at because it’s a more animatic style…so yeah. Anyways shout out to dunceclown, his faceups are great :]

 

If I buy a blank doll, it's often intentional. I'm a very stubborn (and woefully mediocre) artist. I don't want to pay someone else most of the time (though these incredible artists absolutely deserve financial compensation for their work, but more money in my pocket means more dolls in the future lol). I also view it as a challenge to work hard and improve my skills. I like to study people's faceups, analyzing their technique and trying to find out how they did it, what mediums were used and what colors were chosen. Folks who make videos of their process are akin to heroes in my eyes!

There are simply some company faceups, however, that I love. Those dolls would be purchased with one.

 

I do both

I enjoy doing my own faceups, but I know what my own style is and what it isn't. I do venture out of my own style, and can do other things; but sometimes it's nice to have someone paint my doll that does a specific style more naturally than I do.

When it comes to anime style faceups, I almost always comission them. I have a couple of select artists that I use and they spoil me since I don't have to rush myself to learn the style.

 

I've never commissioned a faceup. At the begining, it was to avoid more expenses. I wasn't very good at it and I didn't enjoyed it a lot. But after some years, I've found my own style, and since I love doing faceups. I even become a faceup artist

 

definitely do it myself. even though it is a biiit scary and i feel like i could mess up my doll's face, but can't get better if i don't practice! >_> unless i find an artist who i definitely think could perfect the look i want! which hasnt happened yet.

 

I'm still new to bjds and have been sticking to faceup commissions as I would rather have a professional handle it. However, as an artist (I paint and do makeup on people), I plan to start practicing faceups soon and eventually take in commission work.

I see that different faceup artists have different styles as well, so I feel that even if I end up confident in my faceup works, if I think another artist would be able to portray the look I want better than I can myself, then I would totally still commission them for a faceup instead.