Photos by: Clockworkangel
What made you decide to do face ups? How much practice did it take you to do your first good face up?
Well before I knew about BJDs I painted Warhammer figures. For myself but also for others, just for fun. When I stumbled upon these customizable dolls, it wasn’t even a question wether or not I’d be doing the faces myself.
When and why did you decide to start a face up shop?
I really like the way different people look at different dolls and how everyone has their own ideas about that sculpt. Plus doing commissions gives me the opportunity to meet many different sculpts in person. It actually all started out about 5 years ago when I first came to know about these dolls. The very first BJD I ever saw was a Soony, and I really wanted one. She was so expensive though, I thought up a neat lil’ plan.. To get a nude face-up-less Kid Delf Ani first, make her up and create a dress, sell her on Ebay for a bit of profit and with that profit buy a Soony. How smart I thought myself to be! ;) That first Ani sold really really well, so I figured, Hey why not do that again..? So I did. And then I got a question if I would do a commission, so I wrote in reply “What’s a commission?” *LOL* Then I found Den of Angels, and thought: “oooh THAT’s a commission!” So I decided then to open up a commission thread sometime in the future.
How long does it take you to do face ups? Do you spend more time preparing for a face up(cleaning, setting and mixing colors, and so on) or doing the face up itself?
It depends a bit on how bold the face-up should be. A really natural one can be done in a day, and mostly I don’t have to spend more than 3 days on any kind of face-up. It’s usually my regular job that makes it hard to find the time to paint, because I am most fond of natural lighting (aka the sun) when painting. I usually get heads that are cleaned, so I don’t have to do very much cleaning, allthough I give every head a wash with aceton-free nailpolish remover before getting started. Also, when using my airbrush, the cleaning that thing in between color changes takes up a lot of time. I don’t have a routine like do the eyes first, then the lips etc., I just go along with what I feel like doing. But that has mostly to do with my chaotic mind and my dislike of routines alltogether.
What inspires you? Do you have a style/look that you shoot for?
Everything inspires me. That may sound corny, but it’s the truth. Music, my surroundings, my 6 year old son, my boyfriend, my favorite flowers (snow drops! :)) and of course the magnificent work of other face-up artists, like SDink, Belladonna and Crosspistols. I love to see their work, and that encourages me to try harder to perfect my own style.
Any types of face ups/molds that you hope to paint in the future?
Not really one in particular. Every sculpts has it’s own pro’s and cons.
What size do you prefer painting? Why? Is there a company that you prefer to paint?(for example: you prefer that company because their resin isn’t difficult to paint on.) Why? Are there any companies that you avoiding painting?
I like to paint all sizes! Every size has it’s challenge. I used to paint faces on Warhammer elven ladies, so a Lati white is a giant compared to that. The bigger the doll, the more perfectly smooth the colors should be, so every size needs it’s own approach. And I always use a layer of Mr. Super Clear before I even so much as touch the head, so in fact resin differences are hardly noticeable. I don’t really like to paint tan dolls though, because all the colors always come out a lil’ different then on normal or white skin dolls.
What are the top three things you wish you knew when you just started doing face ups?
Hmmm, that’s actually a difficult question. I would sure have liked to know about Mr. Super Clear, but that didn’t take me long to discover. On the first few dolls I used and airbrushed sealant.
Besides that, I already knew a lot of the technicalities of painting 3D, plus my boyfriend has a history of painting resin garage kits (Dracula, Frankenstein etc.), so if I had a question, he was alway there to answer it.
Do you have any tips or tricks?(For example: ways that you use to save a face up when you make a big mistake, doing thin lines, steady lines, blushing in layers, and so on. Stuff like that.)
I don’t really have any “tricks”, I just go along with the process. If a face-up is save-able kinda depends on what kind of mistake you made. If I make a mistake with my airbrush, forget it, I have to wash everything off and start over. But if I smudge a little bit of eyeliner, I sometimes straighten it out with my scalpel or extra-fine sandpaper, really carefully not to ruin other paint. A tip on doing eyebrows: Start out very vaguely with watercolor pencils, they are very smooth looking and easy to correct. When you are ready to get the hairs on, use a 10 X 0 size brush, (Think Pink has ‘em) and very thinned down paint.
What kind of hurdles/problems do you typically have when you do a face up? How do you overcome it?
I am still alway a tad bit nervous when I pick up my airbrush, because to me, it’s an “all or nothing” type tool.
What materials do you use for your face ups? And why did you choose each material?(for example:do you prefer a certain brand of pastels because it’s finer.)
I use acrylic ‘Golden’ paint. Van Dyck pastels, Mr. Super Clear, Tamiya X-22 clear gloss and size 0, 5X0 and 10X0 long hair brushes.
A small gallery of ClockWorkAngel’s Works:
