Advice for someone wanting to start.

I'm rather an artistic person, I like drawing and doing alots of different crafty things. Now I'm also interested in starting face ups for my dolls, but I really dont know where to start, I would really like it if someone has a blog with info for people just starting out and showing a few techniques with the material they use and help to show people how to properly seal the work.

 

It also would be interesting if there was someone that did vinyl and resin and explain how the techniques are different if there are any.

 

I know its alot to ask but I dont really want to go in blind ^^

 

Thank you in advance

I’m a beginner myself, so I’m not as experienced as some of the other people on these forums when it comes to face ups, but I have done two so far and am plotting a third. I don’t have a blog or tutorial specifically for face ups but I’ll tell you what I can from here.

 

First off, I notice you are in the uk! Your best bet for sealing the head is Purity Seal, you can get it from Games Workshop stores. I have used it on my customs with no ill effects. Getting any of the other popular sealers in the uk is either very expensive (Mr Super Clear) or near impossible to get (testors dullcote, Volks ZM spray). You can use Purity Seal on both Vinyl and Resin BJD’s.

 

As far as spraying Purity Seal goes, I will put the head on a stick in a foam block so I’m not holding on to it, I spray in short thin coats from about 25-30cm away from the head. The fumes are very strong on any sealant and I use a half face respirator when spraying, safety first! A paper dust mask is not going to cut it. Ingesting aerosols of any kind can be extremely harmful or even fatal. Your life is worth more than a £30 mask and filter set!

 

When it comes to technique, my best advice would be practice. Just go out and do it and see what works for you. This goes for coating and painting, I had 2 dollfie dream heads, one of which was basically a guinea pig which I wasn’t afraid to paint and wipe and paint and wipe over and over again.

 

You will get a feel for what brushes you like, how thin you can make your paints, how you like to blend your pastels. The most important thing as a beginner is to practice and to not expect to be an expert right off the bat.

Thank you aquilla,

 

Thats was really informative and great that you also said which sealant would be best regarding my location

 

I will definitely shop around for the right materials, yay for the internet

 

Thank you again ^^

You can check out Den of Angels forums. They have a wealth of information regarding doll face ups. Its a mostly resin bjd forum, but the materials that you use on resin, it is safe for vinyl DDs too.

 

For face ups, acrylic paints tend to be the go to. NEVER use anything oil-based. Same goes for pastels, use soft/chalk pastels and never oil pastels. Some artists like to also use watercolor pencils too.

 

The popular sealant for face up artists is MSC. But depending on where you are located, it can be difficult to obtain (hobby stores tend to be your safest bet to find one), and it is also toxic so don't skimp out on the protective gear. MSC also tends to be finicky in humid weather, so if you live in a place that's very rainy, then you might have a hard time sealing. If you own an airbrush, I would recommend you to try airbrush sealants (I use Liquitex Matte Medium and Varnish) as you can spray indoors and won't have to wait for good weather. It also isn't toxic and safe to use.

Thank you Chiseen.

 

Unfortunately it is difficult in the uk to obtain MSC and also being in the UK it rains 99.9% of the time

Hm, yeah, any type of aerosol spray sealants pretty much need dry-ish weather.

If you have a garage, if you can spray there.

 

Where I live, its got the nickname of "raincity". I got fed up with MSC being finicky on me all the time and switched over to airbrush sealants. I like it much more as it has better "teeth" (to hold only pastels and paint) and this way I can paint even when its raining outside.

If you are spraying sealant or using powdered pastels or pigments, use a respirator. I use a half-face mask by 3M with their P95 filters (6001 is the product code). If you are near a safety supply shop or hardware store, try them on for size - size Small is what I (and a lot of other ladies) tend to end up with.

 

I really should do a faceup tutorial! But here's my usual process:

1. clean the head with soap and warm water - air dry.

2. spray a coat of MSC to seal, dry for at least 20 minutes.

3. use watercolor pencil to sketch out eyebrows and lashes. Check in a mirror or photo to make sure they're symmetrical.

4. paint acrylic over finalized eyebrows/lashes, clean up edges with water and Magic Eraser.

5. paint mouth corners and apply pastel powder for lip color.

6. another coat of sealant!

7. apply pastel for blush, add more layers to eyes/brows as needed.

8. seal again!

9. add gloss, eyelashes if desired... you're done!

 

Before I do start painting I usually do a photoshop mockup of what I want my faceup to look like, like this:

Thank you Jade

 

So the mock up did you just take a photo of the blank head then upload it to photoshop to gwt what idea you wanted?

 

Its ashame we can only get one sealant in this country >.<

 

As for respiratory masks I already have one, its my husbands and it so big it looks like a gas mask XD he use to work for a powder coating company years ago so I assume thats why he had the mask.

 

Thank you again everyone

I think you can get Purity Seal in the UK-- which doesn't go on vinyl well as a base coat, but if you do your base coat in MSC you'll be good. That way you can get one can of MSC to stretch for a really long time, perhaps. I have a post on my blog here about some stuff to consider when doing face-ups. I used to have a tutorial, but all the picture links are dead and the photos are so old that I don't know where to grab them for re-uploading. @w@; I may make a new one soon though, but everyone else has the basics covered. Good luck!

Thank you Chien

 

Yeah I was thinking about getting MSC anyway as I rather go with what I know works

 

I'll give your blog a read now ^^