Changing Faces

Recently, I've been really focusing on practicing face ups on the EAH and MH girls. I'll tackle resin soon but for now, it's vinyl.

I was hoping to show the progress I had made on my Shiva but I decided I didn't much like the outfit or the painting I did on her leg so I decided to go back to square one. Hopefully I will have some progress to show next week. I went and purchased a better brush that can make much thinner lines so I think that will help particularly with the tattoo work on her legs.

I actually do have a few projects on the go right now but more on that later.

These are my first attempts at pure acrylic face ups for the girls. I had a lot of fun doing these. I made a ton of mistakes but I also learned a lot.  In these first attempts, I didn't bother with any guideline or preliminary sketches. I just put paint on the brush and went for it.

My very first full acrylic face. This was an Apple White sculpt. Her hair was too gooey and glue infested to keep sadly. I wanted to take this photo for posterity. I was going to keep it as I love the colours however, I ended up wiping it. (More on that later.)

My second full acrylic face up. I didn't mind how she turned out actually. Although I may redo this. I found a few issues with painting the whites of the eyes first and then putting the iris on top (in other words, paint can cause unwanted bumps and textures no matter how smooth you try and make it!) 

 My third full acrylic face. My lines are getting better but those eyebrows are still shaky. I don't mind the eye shape but I am going to be redoing this girl. I may or may not try gluing on eyelashes. I'll see what the vibe is like.

 My fourth full acrylic face up. I am starting to get a feel for the brush now. My lines are thinner but not as steady as I would have liked. I am happiest with the eyebrows in this one. The white paint created a lot of unwanted texture so the iris didn't turn out as well as I would have liked. Will be redoing this face also.

The following are my second attempts. I used a different method with this one. I sealed using the dab on method which created a lovely tooth to the vinyl. I did in fact draw a guideline sketch for this and I only filled in the white of the eyes around the iris shape rather than paint the entire eye white first.

I could actually do hair strokes with the acrylic this time around. This was about the point I purchased that new, much better brush. I think my lines are a little smoother on this face. I was slowly getting the hang of how to work with the acrylic.

She's my Drusden Queen, a race of fierce warrior women descended from the Druids. 
 

The second face using the same method as above. In actual fact, I was painting these two ladies at the same time. I wanted to make her lips the same colour as the green hair under the purple. I did her hair in a viking style. She's the Queen's Champion and Commander of the Drusden forces.

I like how the sealant makes their faces a little dewy. Not overly shiny but enough to give them a bit of a glow in my opinion.

Remember the very first doll featured in this post? Apple White? I wiped her face (the faint marks are the stains from her original face up by the factory). 

I'm turning her into my Snow Queen. Unfortunately she comes with black gloved hands but that's okay. I will just need to paint them white. I re-rooted her head with this amazing yarn I had that I've wanted to use for hair for a while. It suits her perfectly. The dress was based on a pattern by Doll Art Studio. I just adjusted for EAH girls as they're slightly bigger than MH. I also added some embellishments. I am thinking of adding clear seed beads or pearls to the tulle in random spots to give the illusion of snow drops or ice on her lower skirt. As for shoes, I'm still deciding on that. Not sure if I'll use that crown or make my own. I still have to give her a face as well.

I have also ordered two more EAH girls. One will be my Dryad project and the other will be my Coraline project. But first, I need to finish my Shiva and Edea project.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!