If you saw my
previous post, you'll know I have a new ball jointed doll! She needed a face so as soon as my sealant finally arrived I couldn't wait to get started on her! A quick rundown of my supplies:
Face mask and respirator from ebay (the spray sealant is pretty toxic) and cotton gloves also from ebay (I use them while spraying, I would use them when touching the doll while doing the faceup but the fingers in them are too long and I can't get the grip I want ;o;)
Mr Super Clear (MSC) matt spray sealant from ebay. This is pretty much what all faceup artists use. It also took nearly 2 months to get to me D: There are alternatives but this is highly recommended.
Pastels and watercolour pencils. It doesn't really matter on the brand, just make sure they're oil free and pretty high quality. Any oils will damage the doll and high quality will give them a high pigment and colour better. Not pictured is acrylic paints (I only used black for eyeliner) erasers and pencil sharpener, and an array of brushes.
I started with the blank head after spraying with MSC 2 times and letting it to dry between coats. This will give the pastels and pencils something to 'grip' onto.
I started on the lips first. I was nervous and tentative to start with, but I realised you can easily remove mistakes with an eraser. I liked using a putty eraser since it moulded itself to the shape of her face as I erased.
I also shaded the inside of her ears.
I think I spent the most time on the lips as I kept not liking what I'd done and re-doing it. I think I'm happy with the result though.
I started adding a little eyeshadow with pink and a little light brown pastels.
I used pastels to draw the line for the eyebrows and watercolour pencils to do the little eyebrow hairs. I also used pencils for the lines on the eyelid. You can see I added more blush and eyeshadow.
A side view shows her ears are a little darker too.
I drew lines on her lips with a pink watercolour pencil and also small dots in her nostrils.
The eyeliner was pretty nerve-racking, I was using a tiny brush with black acrylic paint and I felt so shakey! I found that a cotton bud dipped in water could remove mistakes pretty easily, and because I'd used MSC to seal in the previous layers, the pastels didn't rub off with it.
I used a brown watercolour pencil to add eyelashes to the bottom of the eyes.
Minor adjustments before sealing for a final time...
Then adding eyelashes (small ones for human use) using white PVA glue that dries clear.
A side view shows these better.
I also added some gloss to her lips (I just used the stuff I use on clay charms) and then I could put her head back on, eyes back in and wig on her head!
Not bad for my first try I think! I'll be uploading a progress video of her faceup on my Youtube soon, so look out for it! This girl still needs a name, I'm not sure but I'm thinking Niko would be cute :3
