Did your FIRST doll come with a faceup?

I`m planning on getting my first doll soon and I`m going to be getting him with a face up. I`m too scared to do a face up myself.

 

I spent a long time before I got my first BJD doing custom MH dolls, so I already had experience under my belt and wanted to do my girl all by myself! However, I'm now on my second attempt because while the first one looked fine, it doesn't suit her character at all, haha.
I don't think I would order a company faceup unless it was something really extravagant that appealed to me, just because I have a lot of fun personalizing my dolls! However, I think a lot of company faceups are really gorgeous and I completely understand the appeal.

 

I get my dolls without face-ups, as I generally don't prefer the factory face-ups. I tried doing my own early on, but found that I was pretty bad at it, so I've sent my heads away to much more talented people. Still, I'd like to keep trying in the future, perhaps on MH dolls first before I jump into resin.

 

For your first doll, did you get a face up done, or did you do it yourself. I kind of want to do the face up on my first doll myself, but I'm also kind of scared I'll ruin the doll and it won't turn out the way I want it to.

 

I got my first doll secondhand, and she already had a faceup. Her default faceup was one of the things that made me fall in love with the doll to begin with! I do have a couple dolls that I've done myself though. It definitely takes some trial and error to figure out how to do what you want, but one bad faceup attempt isn't going to ruin the doll. The nice thing about faceups is that they aren't permanent. You can always wipe off a faceup you aren't happy with and try again, or if you decide to have someone else do it, that's an option, too n_n

 

My friend, who was also into dolls when I got my first one, did his faceup for me. I have little to no artistic talent, so I probably won't ever do a faceup on anything, but I don't think it would be a bad thing to do a faceup on your first doll. If you don't like it, you can always wipe it off and try again! Or commission someone if you don't want to bother again. You definitely won't ruin the doll if you seal it well beforehand and have done your research on faceups. I'd say go for it!

 

I did the faceup by myself on my first doll but I had painted dolls like monster high before so I was only a half scared

I think you should go for it! As long as you seal your doll fist, and only use safe things like coloured pencils, acrylic paint and chalk pastels(not oil pastels) I think your doll will be fine. The worst thing that can happen is that you don't like how it turns out and have to try again.

But of course it's up to you! It depends on what would make you the most happy

 

I ordered the factory faceup for my first doll because I figured it would take me numerous attempts to do a faceup as good as theirs if I had never done one before. I liked the factory faceup anyway. I also didn't know of any local faceup artists and wasn't ready to send my doll away.

 

I did the faceup of my first doll myself. Being able to paint the dolls face was one of the reasons I ever bought a doll in the first place.

Had I painted any dolls before? No. Am I a trained artist? Nope. But I like being creative and that's what I wanted to do with the doll.

Don't let anybody tell you there is a "right" way to do this hobby.

 

I did it myself with improper materials. >.>

If you want to learn, I highly suggest doing more research than you think you need, make sure you know what materials are safe for resin, have proper protection/mask and seal your doll really well ahead of time to protect it from damage. If you use proper materials, you will not ruin your doll. If you seal first, you can wipe and repainted your doll as many times as you like without damaging it.

I still have my first doll nine years later. He's yellowed and damaged now because I didn't do enough research, but I still enjoy having him!

 

This was my first face-up: Just straight up acrylic paints on bare resin, no sealants or blushing.

coughs You will get better with time and practice.

 

I'm in the same boat as you. I'm looking at a doll right now but he has no faceup, meaning I'd have to give him one myself. It's a little nerve wracking, but you could always try practicing on a cheaper head before jumping into giving the faceup to your actual doll, especially if you've never done a lot of sealing/painting/customizing anything before. There are some really helpful tutorials in the workshop here that are really informative too.

Do what you want to do for your doll-- it is yours, after all. Like @CloakedSchemer said though, it's definitely better to go into it having done a lot of research before hand, if you do decide to do your own faceup!

 

If you have no previous painting experience, I suggest getting a doll that comes with a faceup or commission someone else so that you can enjoy the doll right away.

You can always get a cheap practice head to try faceups later on; it's harder than it looks.

 

I ordered my doll with a faceup. I tried to do one on a Monster High doll a couple of times, but I couldn't quite get the hang of it! My second doll will either have a factory faceup, or I'll commission one. I also don't have the space--I live in a teeny tiny dorm room and would have to do a lot of work outside or in a cabin or something, and then I'd be worried about a potential risk to other students. I'm perfectly happy to play with my doll and sew for her without worrying that her faceup isn't my art.

That's just me, though: If it's important to you that you at least try doing your own faceup, do your research and do it safely. You can always try again multiple times and commission one if you just can't get it how you want it.

 

I did the face-up on my first doll myself. I knew that if I didn't jump in from the very beginning, I would chicken out. ...cough I also did my first face-up on the "extra" head my doll came with, rather than the main head, if I remember correctly.

I was a complete newbie to it, the colors of my first finished face-up had too much orange and yellow, the eyebrows were really high and thin, and overall the face-up was pretty bad. But gosh was I proud of it! I also found I really, really liked doing it myself. Now, it's a vital aspect of the hobby to me.

It's not for everyone - there are a lot of incredible artists you can commission instead, many companies provide great face-ups, and face-up supplies aren't particularly cheap. But if you want to try it, give it a go! If it doesn't turn out like you want, you can remove the face-up and redo it until you're happy.

Just do lots of research first so you know what you need to buy, what you should avoid, and how to use any supplies you do get. This forum has lots of helpful threads, and you can always ask more questions.

 

My first doll came with the company face up, however after a few years and some research I decided to wipe it and try redoing his face up to something else... It was definitely a learning experience haha. Just like human make up, make sure you are doing his face up in a well lit area-- either real sunlight or a sunlight lamp is best. I did my first face up in the yellowish light of my kitchen, it came out overblushed and a bit muddy. My hand was also super shaky so my attempts at doing his eyeliner were a flop.

But don't let fear get in your way! With time& practice you'll improve. ^^ since my first attempt at face upping I think I've improved a lot. My hand is still shaky, but now I take more time with the liner and under eye lashes and I bought a thinner brush.

 

My first doll came with his default face-up when I got him secondhand. He still has it, though over the years it's started to fade. My second doll I got new and ordered blank so I could try for myself (the first attempt was... awful).

Usually when I'm deciding whether to get a doll with the default face-up or do it myself, I ask myself, "Does the default face-up satisfy my vision for this doll?" If yes, it's worth it to me to shell out the extra money to have it done professionally by the company. If no, it's worth it for me to put in the extra effort of doing it myself. That's how I look at it.

 

Doing faceups was a big part of the draw for me, so I did it myself. Of course, Vince's very first faceup was... so faint it was practically non-existent except for his little star-shaped 'beauty mark'. And then his second was a bit of a mess that went too far in the other direction (honestly I've avoided photographing it), but he's just been waiting around for his third. The other two boys had much better results, but I mean... with a first time doing any style, especially on your own, you expect for things to go wrong at least a little. It's nothing that can't be wiped and re-done, that's my philosophy.

 

I did it myself. To this day I can't bring myself to wipe and re-do her, although the blushing has rubbed off on the tip of her nose (That's her in my avatar.)

If you seal your doll properly, and use resin-safe materials (and keep removing materials handy just in case - I did mostly to calm myself down, as a reminder I could always start over if I messed up ) there's no reason why you shouldn't do your first doll's faceup yourself.

 

I've ordered my first dolls sans faceups! I plan to attempt my own faceups on them, and if it fails miserably, I'll probably end up commissioning someone