My Pipos Mari came home!

[she_flame]

I bought her second handed, and she came with original face up. I thought before, that I'd wipe it off and do something of my own instead, but now I don't know. The original face up doesn't fit the character I have been thinking to her, but it's so cute that feels stupid to wipe it off.

Does anyone else have been in similar situation? What should I do with her?

[MeltedCaramel]

I bought her second handed, and she came with original face up. I thought before, that I'd wipe it off and do something of my own instead, but now I don't know. The original face up doesn't fit the character I have been thinking to her, but it's so cute that feels stupid to wipe it off.

Does anyone else have been in similar situation? What should I do with her?

<----First off, congratulations because she is adorable!! Now, as for her face up...it is cute, but it's also rather simple, so I wouldn't feel too much angst over wiping it if I were you. It sounds like you got her to make into a specific character, and if the face up doesn't fit, perhaps you should give her one that feels true to the character you want to make her into! Whatever your ultimate choice though, this is the sweetest doll! <33

[she_flame]

I came to similar thought late last night, and wiped the face up off. Soon (I hope) I can post pictures of her new face. ^^

Look: new face! (I hate doing lips, btw.)

[MeltedCaramel]

:D I came to similar thought late last night, and wiped the face up off. Soon (I hope) I can post pictures of her new face. ^^

Look: new face! (I hate doing lips, btw.)

<---Wow, that was quick!! Also: I would love to see an even closer-closeup picture! <33 I adore the fuller lip look (why do you hate doing them? They look awesome to me!) and her eye shadow just looks....mm, yes, closer inspection is definitely needed to study the awesome.

[she_flame]

The lips look chapped/blistered IRL - at least to my eyes. And I'll try to get better close up sometime soonish. ^^;

[she_flame]

Hopefully bit sharper pic of her face up. I'll be glad to hea any critique! ^^

[MeltedCaramel]

Hopefully bit sharper pic of her face up. I'll be glad to hea any critique! ^^

Ahh, okay, I'll offer a critique. I love doing critiques for artists who want to improve their work! Hmnn, okay, I think I see the "blistered" look you mean, but that can be easily remedied. What happened is that the pastels used for her lips got darker in uneven shades. Ideally you want to have the lips darken slightly as they go in and then highlight gently with a white watercolour pencil to create that rosy lipped look. You already have the basics down quite nicely, it's just a matter of layering it (I'd recommend at least two layers at the minimum until you're comfortable doing faceups) to create this look. The trick is to very subtly add on colours between the layers of sealant.

The biggest issue I notice actually may be an issue of what you're using, or how you're using it. I notice that the pencils you used have a very grainy texture (where you can see the texture of the pencil), usually this means either the pencils aren't of the right quality or they're not sharp enough (faceup pencils are always sharpened to dagger points, this creates a much cleaner line and allows the artist to control colour and intensity in their line). May I ask what materials you're using?

The eyshadow and eyelashes again, seem to be in part due to the coloured pencils, but I will say for eyelashes it's a good idea to start at the eye-liner line and gently draw downwards in the direction you want each individual lash to go. It becomes a bit of a repetitive motion until you have a bunch of pretty little lashes going in an evenly spaced row! The eyeshadow itself would benefit from using chalk pastels. If you did you use chalk pastels here I recommend putting on a very light base coat of the stuff, I notice that the eyeshadow sort of tapers off on the outsides of her eye. The eyebrows themselves also could use a bit of chalk pastel in a shade or two lighter than her hair colour and some coloured pencils to create beautifully thick eyebrows without as much individual hair-lines.

If I need to explain anything better please let me know sweetie!! I absolutely adore this faceup, and her beauty marks are just adorable! I want to pinch her cheeks, she's so cuuuute! I'm very curious if you're going to re-do her until you feel you've got it right! Either way I think this is an amazing job, and I applaud your skills! The fact that you asked for a critique shows incredible willingness to grow as an artist too! <3

[she_flame]

Thanks for the tips! They are really welcome, as even if I have long history with arts, the whole face up thing is so new to me. ^^

And you can ask what materials I am using. I have: acryl paints (none used here), Koh-i-Noor's watercolor pencils (in need of sharpening, I see), two set of watercolors (one really cheap and more like gouache than watercolor, and another with better quality) and Derwent's chalk pastels.

With pastels I have problem using them: I can't seem to get the pastel dust to stick on doll. I scrape dust off wih knife, and then, as I try to apply it with brush, it kinda just flows off from doll, not sticking on it at all. When I use coarcer brush to brush dust off from chalk directly, it sticks better. Could the sealant I use (8url=http://www.waylandgames.co.uk/games-workshop/hobby-items/paints/purity-seal-satin-varnish-spray/prod_2209.html?ccUser=]GW's Satin varnish[/url]) be the cause of this? Or it is more likely to my my technique/brushes/pastels?

And finally: yes. I am gonna re-do her until I have got the look I want. Same goes with my other dolls - I have been thinking redoing Shalunia's face up and body blush, too.

[MeltedCaramel]

Thanks for the tips! They are really welcome, as even if I have long history with arts, the whole face up thing is so new to me. ^^

And you can ask what materials I am using. I have: acryl paints (none used here), Koh-i-Noor's watercolor pencils (in need of sharpening, I see), two set of watercolors (one really cheap and more like gouache than watercolor, and another with better quality) and Derwent's chalk pastels.

With pastels I have problem using them: I can't seem to get the pastel dust to stick on doll. I scrape dust off wih knife, and then, as I try to apply it with brush, it kinda just flows off from doll, not sticking on it at all. When I use coarcer brush to brush dust off from chalk directly, it sticks better. Could the sealant I use (8url=http://www.waylandgames.co.uk/games-workshop/hobby-items/paints/purity-seal-satin-varnish-spray/prod_2209.html?ccUser=]GW's Satin varnish[/url]) be the cause of this? Or it is more likely to my my technique/brushes/pastels?

And finally: yes. I am gonna re-do her until I have got the look I want. Same goes with my other dolls - I have been thinking redoing Shalunia's face up and body blush, too.

<----The Koh-I-Noor seems like it's just a step or two below your average Derwent/Prismacolour in quality so yes, my guess would be they definitely need sharpened. When you watch faceup videos, take note that the artist, unless they're trying a specific effect, almost always has the pencil sharpened to the thinnest possible point. I don't have any experience with watercolours for faceups so I can't really comment on using them(sorry! ), but better quality is always good for a faceup.

The pastels...I don't own the sealant in question but my immediate knee-jerk reaction is "YES!!". MSC, when you use it, gives a very distinctive "tooth" (a very slight roughness you can feel with your fingers, though I don't recommend sticking your fingers all over the "canvas" to test this out ) which is what helps the pastels stick to the surface. It may also be an issue of you needing to do this in layers. Very rarely, unless the work is meant to be extremely subtle, is an artist going to get the desired result from just one layer of sealant. You're going to want to build it up in layers. I would really suggest investing in some MSC (and a respirator, or at the very least make sure you have on a dust mask and that you're doing it in either a well ventilated area or outside, preferably respirator though, but since I've been known to play a little loose with the rules since I don't use it often I know others will and have as well, so I do suggest at least taking SOME precaution which is better than none ), and spray a nice even basecoat and then start slowly building up. I think you'll notice that it gives a lovely surface to work on for pastels and watercolour pencils.

With brushes, the only thing of note is that you should use a decent quality synthetic. You can buy nice quality synthetic brushes for around $3 a brush, and you can find nice sets on Ebay and Amazon for good prices. If you already have a selection of nice brushes (from a craft store is fine, as long as they're not the brushes that come with your crayola paint set you're pretty much good) than this is a pretty null and void comment, but since you asked I thought I would make note of it.

Finally...faceups are more about practice than any technique. All artists develop their own methods and styles according to what works best for them, but looking at tutorials and practicing is the best advice I can give!

I would love to see more of your faceups and most definitely your continued efforts! Too many artists don't want to grow and are afraid of criticism so please let me reiterate that I am so happy to see someone accepting it so wonderfully and realizing that a criticism doesn't mean I don't love what you're doing! The whole reason I personally give criticism is because I love an artists work and want to see them get better at what they're doing.

[she_flame]

^^ Again, thanks for tips. I'll have one can on MSC, but I am saving it for my DC dolls. But noted: future sealants will be MSC. (And I do my apllyinh sealant on outside, so I haven't used mask, but I can easily get one, too)

I also have large collection of brushes - mostly natural hair ones. I have been planning to get few syntetics too, as they aren't as pricey than natural hairs.

And for seeing my faceups. I have done all my dolls by myself, so.
Chandira's first fave up, and my first ever
Chandira's current face up
8url=http://moonlight-and-crystal.tumblr.com/post/77168074359/my-second-girl-came-home-pink-skinned-resin-soul]And Shalunia's face up[/url]

And as I said: any concrit wll be appreciated as outsiuder's view is good to hear. ^^