Cheek Blushing, Anyone? Or Lack Thereof?

For me, it all depends on the overall look/style of the faceup and the sculpt of the doll. Two of my dolls have very obvious pink cheek blushing, because they are my two pouty princesses and it works for them. Some of my other dolls have some subtle cheek blushing just to bring out different aspects of the sculpt... but others have none at all.

In the end, it just depends on how it's done, really... and the overall impression of the faceup.

 

I love blushy cheeks All of my dolls have blushing to some degree, but I like peachy or skin-toned sorts of blushing the best as a general rule, with exceptions based on the specific doll. This of course also probably plays into the fact that most of my dolls are kinda girly. I tend to get a little gushy towards dolls with cute blushy cheeks when I see photos, heh. There are sculpts where I can totally see how blushing might not be required, though.

 

Generally speaking I like cheek blushing, though I can certainly think of some instances where it would not be necessary. Many male dolls could get away quite easily without it for instance. Hehe. Or it can be less called for in more serious, or certain types of dramatic faceups.
I also think it depends somewhat on the shape of the doll's face. If the blushing is used to accent the sculpting on the cheeks, I think that is really nice. For instance, the default blushing on Iplehouse's Tedros Circus Master works really well with his sculpt to accent his cheek bones. On dolls with rounder, smooth cheeks, I think that blushing would be more visible as "blush" rather than "sculpting".
Also, since the dolls are all one color of resin, with little variation outside of shadows cast by the sculpting, I think that blushing helps to ad in that "healthy glow" that people have naturally in their skin.

 

I think a little bit of blushing is good (not necessarily pink) and just enough to add some definition to the face. But some dolls may look great without it so I guess it's also more of a personal choice and fitting it with the character...

 

For me it's all about the character or the desired look/expression. Some characters it suits and others it doesn't. So depending on what doll I've got in my hand, it depends on whether or not I'd want it really. Though generally speaking I do like the look of it on some dolls. Just most of mine usually don't have it because they're not that kind of character.

 

You're not alone.

It definitely depends on the character... for me, anyway. Even the area of the cheeks I want blushed depends on the specific doll.

In general, I don't like much cheek blush at all on my boys. For my girls, it depends on the look and personality I'm trying to portray. My incoming MNF Rheia will have a lot of blush to accentuate her cheekbones, as opposed to Lenneth (my Petsha) who has less blush but what she does have is on the apples of her cheeks.

 

I kind of agree, I I'm not super into PINK cheek blushing.. like the kind that looks like actual blush makeup.. but I'm definitely into overall body blushing/shading, so I do like blushing on the cheeks and face, although I think I like it to be more skin colored (maybe slightly more pink than the skin) and just be there to add shading and keep the face from being a flat color. :3 Sometimes pink/red blushing can look really good though.

Edit: lol I'm looking through my BJD faves folder on dA and only one of the dolls I've favorited has pink blushed cheeks. I guess I really go for the natural look.

 

I think that blushing, in general, makes dolls look more lifelike and makes their skin look more realistically 3 dimensional- often this kind of blushing is not done in a pink tone, but in a natural skintone "lowlight" colour. So for the sake of realism I think it looks good. However, if you aren't worried about realism and instead want your doll to look like a doll, or like an anime character or what have you, then you can create some great looks without blushing.

 

It really depends on the doll. When I do like cheek blushing I tend to prefer it on my NS dolls as opposed to WS. I'm just yet to find the right natural shade for WS that doesn't make them look jaundiced. Even when I do like blushing I prefer it to be subtle. I'm not a fan of the heavy blushing with matching chin blushing at all.

 

Not only does it depend on the doll, it depends on what look you want for the doll. I have two NaNuRi'08s, one has quite overly-blushed cheeks, while the other has no blush at all on his cheeks. Both fit the sculpt fine. Several other dolls of mine have blushed cheeks, while others don't, and again, it fits them fine.

As for the question posed: I find blushed cheeks, depending on the shade and application, give a doll a more feminine look than dolls that don't have blushing at all. I can't say I prefer one over the other, really, since for me it depends entirely on how it's done and how the doll comes across in photos or in person.

I blushed the cheeks of my multihead Ante, but I won't be blushing the cheeks of my Wintery'09. It's all in how you want the doll's personality to be portrayed. I'm with you on liking it on some, but not all, dolls.

 

I like blushing on cheeks just because skin on faces is typically not all one color. That said, unless the character is supposed to be wearing makeup, I typically only want just the slightest of hints of rosy-ness, a vaguely redder version of the skin tone, and then it's only to satisfy that part of my brain that was used to paint texture maps for 3-D models and knows it should be there. If the doll looks right without it, then that's fine. There are no great rules to follow here. If it works, it works.

 

Male or female, I do a little something to add color and definition to the cheekbones, at least. If I could get a handle on a good general look, I think I would play more with more extreme yet natural looks, like freckles and wind burn. YOu know, subtle and challenging.

 

I usually put just a hint of blush on my boys' cheeks. I don't like pink cheeks on my own dolls, but no blushing at all seems to make them look a little pale. Especially since I blush the shadows of the eyes, cheekbones, nose, and dip between the lower lip and chin. Having cheeks a flat color, at least with my own face-ups, just looks like I missed a spot. Just a personal prefference, though. I've seen many dolls without cheek blushing that look lovely, it's just not for my own dolls.

 

i blush everything.
but at the same time i think sometimes less is fun though i like defineing lines on the scuplts to doesnt always have to be a blushed cheek to be blushed

 

I LOVELOVELOVE BLUSHED CHEEKS~!!!! It's the very reason why I fell in love with the KDF Aru headmold! It's just so cute~! My friend likes Freya so much, saying she has chubby cheeks(when she's not really chubby), but still, you've got to love them!

 

Lately it seems like blushed cheeks are very popular!

In my collection, it varies. Nana looks like a strawberry cupcake. Genji is offended just at the THOUGHT of having blushy cheeks. So, yeah.

I also think that faceup artists should be versatile enough to do both looks!

 

It makes no difference to me. I don't ever really notice if the cheeks are blushed on a doll unless I really look for it, and I don't think it detracts from a face-up quality or anything to not have blushed cheeks, but they do add a bit of depth. It just depends entirely on what you are going for on your particular doll, much like gloombox made out with hers.

My Bei has had both. Her current face-up has the blushed cheeks mostly just because I wanted to see if I even could do that, but her face-up before that didn't look any more or less nice to me without that extra bit of color.

 

i definitly prefer it and do it on all of my faceups... when asked once or twice about the doll being a boy and not wanting to girl him up by cheek blushing I always suggest a more nude color (peach or super ligh orange) just to help define cheek bones and they usually prefer the result to none at all.

The thing i hate about cheek blushing is when it rubs off and i hate it most when it does that if the blushing was really heavy cause it shows and looks aweful.

 

Color makes sense anywhere where blood comes close to the surface of the skin - eyelids, lips, cheeks, ears, nostrils. It doesn't have to be bright pink, but to me uniform color makes the doll look unfinished if it's a stylized faceup, and anemic if the realistic look is attempted. Besides, there is always a slight shadow here and there. If the doll is nonhuman, for example a demon or a vampire with dark blood, it makes sense to touch up those areas with some darker shade. Same goes for hands, which look unfinished to me if left with out any touchup.