Suggestions on doing tears on a faceup?

[Lunis]

Heya guys! So I'm taking a long break from commissions and doing some fun faceups in my own time that I want to experiment with. Right now I'm doing an anime-style crybaby faceup on an Obitsu Sleeping Princess head. I want her to have 3D teardrops in the sides of her eyes, but I'm not sure what would be best to use for them. It would be great if there was a way to give the tears a light blue tint too. Any suggestions?

[Kattriella]

I'm new to faceups, but what about UV cured resin? I'm not sure how well it holds it's shape, but I've seen people do some interesting things with it. Another option could be clear hot glue (some had a yellow or whiteish, what you want is clear). You wouldn't want to put the glue gun directly to the doll's face,and instead make the tears on a piece of wax or parchment paper, or even on the shiny part of a used sticker sheet. You just need something that the glue won't stick to permanently. To tint the tears, if had success with doing layers of translucent colors by dipping the very tip of a toothpick into gel or frosting food coloring (it's thickness doesn't dilute things), mixing that with clear school glue to get the desired color, and painting it on in layers until I get the color I want. This could again your head, though, so you should probably try to seal them before applying them, if you try this. You might even be able to find blue tinted hot glue, if you wanted to try that method.

Again, I'm no faceup expert, but I've used this for water drops in other projects.

[DollyKim]

Another option would be to look in jewelry making and scrapbook supplies for tiny gems in the right shape.

Paint on acrylic sealer can be built up on wax paper too.

[Lunis]

I'm new to faceups, but what about UV cured resin? I'm not sure how well it holds it's shape, but I've seen people do some interesting things with it. Another option could be clear hot glue (some had a yellow or whiteish, what you want is clear). You wouldn't want to put the glue gun directly to the doll's face,and instead make the tears on a piece of wax or parchment paper, or even on the shiny part of a used sticker sheet. You just need something that the glue won't stick to permanently. To tint the tears, if had success with doing layers of translucent colors by dipping the very tip of a toothpick into gel or frosting food coloring (it's thickness doesn't dilute things), mixing that with clear school glue to get the desired color, and painting it on in layers until I get the color I want. This could again your head, though, so you should probably try to seal them before applying them, if you try this. You might even be able to find blue tinted hot glue, if you wanted to try that method.

Again, I'm no faceup expert, but I've used this for water drops in other projects.

Thanks, those are some good ideas! I tried using some clear glue, mod podge, and brush-on gloss mixed with a tiny bit of blue paint but they all ended up completely flat once they were dry. OTL I might try layering them a bit and see how that turns out. I haven't found any hot glue that's clear enough, so I don't know if I'd be able to do that sadly. The shapes it can hold would be perfect though!

Another option would be to look in jewelry making and scrapbook supplies for tiny gems in the right shape.

Paint on acrylic sealer can be built up on wax paper too.

I thought about that, but I don't think I'd be happy with using gems for this one. OTL I'll try layering some sealants and glosses and see how that works out. :3 Thanks!

[Kattriella]

I guess I'm just lucky in that the store I go to locally has some pretty clear hot glue.

You might be able to stain the hot glue with blue dye/food coloring, or even Sharpie ink mixed with alcohol. If you went for the hot glue trick, dropping the glue bits into alcohol with the ink tube from a Sharpie inside for a minute or two might stain them the right color. I can't say for sure, but I know you can dye synthetic wigs with Sharpie ink and alcohol. (I'm wondering if it could work on doll bodies . . ."

[Lunis]

I guess I'm just lucky in that the store I go to locally has some pretty clear hot glue.

You might be able to stain the hot glue with blue dye/food coloring, or even Sharpie ink mixed with alcohol. If you went for the hot glue trick, dropping the glue bits into alcohol with the ink tube from a Sharpie inside for a minute or two might stain them the right color. I can't say for sure, but I know you can dye synthetic wigs with Sharpie ink and alcohol. (I'm wondering if it could work on doll bodies . . ."

My only hesitation with sharpie or food coloring is possibly staining through to the vinyl. The faceup is already done and sealed, so there shouldn't be a problem with that, but I'm always paranoid of staining. >w<;

[Kattriella]

I guess I'm just lucky in that the store I go to locally has some pretty clear hot glue.

You might be able to stain the hot glue with blue dye/food coloring, or even Sharpie ink mixed with alcohol. If you went for the hot glue trick, dropping the glue bits into alcohol with the ink tube from a Sharpie inside for a minute or two might stain them the right color. I can't say for sure, but I know you can dye synthetic wigs with Sharpie ink and alcohol. (I'm wondering if it could work on doll bodies . . ."

My only hesitation with sharpie or food coloring is possibly staining through to the vinyl. The faceup is already done and sealed, so there shouldn't be a problem with that, but I'm always paranoid of staining. >w<;

Yeah, that would be my biggest worry . . . If you had some spare parts lying around to test on, it might help, or if you wanted to test on an inconspicuous spot, like the top of the head. I've done that with some dolls, testing colorfastness on clothes. Stick it to the top of their heads for a while, where a wig or hair would hide it.

[Kirahfaye]

Regarding hot glue, here's a photo of my Noble. BanSidhe (Nicole Daniels) did his scar with hot glue (the cool kind) geeze.... 5 years or so ago and it still look fantastic. Naturally, she detailed it with pastels for texture, which is something you might not want or need to do. I think it took three attempts before she was happy with it, so it's easy to peel off if you don't like the results before you do your final MSC layers.

[SetsunaKou]

I make teardrops out of clear resin:
https://smile.amazon.com/Alumilite-Amaz ... lear+resin

It comes out perfectly clear----just drop a teeny bit onto wax paper or plastic wrap/plastic sheet (like the window of a doll box works) and let it dry for a couple hours. You can shape it for a while too until it starts to harden. You can also just drop it onto your doll's face, but you might want to practice a bit with how the resin acts and in what time/etc before you try it directly on your doll.
Also, if you want to color it, (and you don't directly put it on the doll face but drop it first onto paper) just paint the backside after it dries whatever shade you'd like to reflect through the tear. That works great. You can drop a tiny tiny TINY bit of paint in the resin, but then it won't be super clear. I find if you want to make it clear but with a bit of color, just paint the back side after it dries and it will reflect the color all through the tear. I use pearlescent paint for that to really give a sheen.


But if I didn't have access to resin use, maybe you could buy silk flowers with dewdrops on them and just peel off the drops, clean the back until they're clear and use those instead as teardrops:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Various-Colors- ... SwtZJY-M7Y


You'd have lots of various sizes and choices that way.

[Kirahfaye]

But if I didn't have access to resin use, maybe you could buy silk flowers with dewdrops on them and just peel off the drops, clean the back until they're clear and use those instead as teardrops:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Various-Colors- ... SwtZJY-M7Y


You'd have lots of various sizes and choices that way.

Oh what a cool idea!