Face-up Questions

As an art/illustration hobbyist, I plan to try my hand at face-ups at some point. But for now I’m wondering if it’s possible/easy to add on to a factory face? I’m specifically thinking about freckles. Like, adding them with watercolor pencils and then sealing that work. Is there any reason that this isn’t advised on a Dollfie head? 

Also, if I wanted to remove part of a factory face up (eye make-up etc) could I do that without removing the entire face-up? Like with a bit of magic eraser?

It's very possible! I painted teeth onto my DD Arle and I'm so glad I did:

Spoiler

What you described is certainly possible, though you'd probably have to give the head a base coat of matte sealant before drawing the freckles on to give the surface some tooth. You could also paint the freckles directly on the face with some thinned acrylic paint, and that wouldn't require a layer of sealant since acrylics are pretty robust. (That's what I did with my Arle, since I wanted the option of soaking the added paint off in hot water to return to the original faceup) It mostly depends on what you're more comfortable with.

As for removing parts of the factory faceup, the only method I'm aware of is acetone and you'd have to be very careful to avoid messing up the rest of the face. Like a cotton swab with a tiny amount of acetone on it (to avoid drips and pooling) and holding your breath. And even then I'm not sure how easy it would be to get a clean line.

1 hour ago, 0bsequi0us said:

It's very possible! I painted teeth onto my DD Arle and I'm so glad I did

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Okay, thank you. And Arle is adorable! 🥰 

17 hours ago, OwlishBree said:

I’m specifically thinking about freckles. Like, adding them with watercolor pencils and then sealing that work. Is there any reason that this isn’t advised on a Dollfie head? 

@MagicalRozen did the freckles (and eye-shadow) on my Candace back when she was Candace's owner. Maybe she has some advice on how to best do this. I'm pretty sure she didn't use watercolor pencils for the freckles, but I could see that method working as well.

4 hours ago, Tierparkzone said:

@MagicalRozen did the freckles (and eye-shadow) on my Candace back when she was Candace's owner. Maybe she has some advice on how to best do this. I'm pretty sure she didn't use watercolor pencils for the freckles, but I could see that method working as well.

Oh cool… Candace is cute! 🥰 

I once added freckles and a different lip color to a factory face up. I just used acrylic paint. I never sealed it and it stayed put just fine. I then later removed the additions with water and a teeny bit of alcohol. The original faceup was fully undamaged (top shows additions. Bottom is after removing the additions.)

9 minutes ago, GirlWiththeDragoonTattoo said:

I once added freckles and a different lip color to a factory face up. I just used acrylic paint. I never sealed it and it stayed put just fine. I then later removed the additions with water and a teeny bit of alcohol. The original faceup was fully undamaged (top shows additions. Bottom is after removing the additions.)

Awesome, thanks! You’re the second person to mention acrylic paint being removable with hot water, I had no idea! 

15 hours ago, Tierparkzone said:

@MagicalRozen did the freckles (and eye-shadow) on my Candace back when she was Candace's owner. Maybe she has some advice on how to best do this. I'm pretty sure she didn't use watercolor pencils for the freckles, but I could see that method working as well.

Hello! Yes I did the freckles on Candace when I had her, and I used thinned and un-thinned acrylic paint to do it. I used a tube of Liquitex paint in a dark brown shade. First thing you're going to want to do is thin the paint down with a bit of water, not to much to where it is runny but to where it isn't as thick as it comes out the tube. For acrylic paint you don't have to seal it with a layer first to get it to stick, but it can certainly help, and it protects the vinyl underneath from staining. Then what I did was to lightly dab little dots of paint wherever you want freckles, let it sit for a few minutes (10 minutes or less), then carefully and I do mean carefully dab it with a clean paper towel. That's what gets the "faded freckles" look. When you're done laying your base freckles, you seal the face with a few coats (2) of sealant. Wait for that to dry (1 hour or so between coats). Then you get a new dab of paint this time not thinned with anything and you're gonna do your "highlight" freckles. The focal freckles if you would. Get a super light amount of paint on your brush. Too much paint on the brush and the freckles can look gloopy, uneven and just not the greatest. Then do your little dots where you want the focal points on the face to be. Wait for those to dry completely (30 minutes or more to be safe) then give it 2 more rounds of sealant following the steps above and then you're done! Or at least that's how I did Candace's. Painting techniques can vary depending on what you're going for. And if you do mess up, quickly within a minute, you can take a wet q-tip and wipe off the mistake. If it sits too long it gets a little bit more absorbed by the vinyl and then you may have to break out the acetone and that's where things can turn into a disaster zone.

Once sealed paint is not removable with hot water, or at least I've had no luck with it. But unsealed and if you're not too worried about potentially damaging the faceup you can scrub it off with hot water and an oil free/scent free soap. I've had luck doing that, as long as it's unsealed. Note that it may leave a stain behind though. Hope this write up helped a little bit!

Edited February 10 by MagicalRozen
wrong you're in post

12 hours ago, MagicalRozen said:

Hello! Yes I did the freckles on Candace when I had her, and I used thinned and un-thinned acrylic paint to do it. I used a tube of Liquitex paint in a dark brown shade. First thing you're going to want to do is…

Wow, thanks for the detailed instructions and explanations! I actually have a set of Liquitex professional acrylic gouache (nice, thin but opaque, smooth, etc… I recommend checking them out if you haven’t) that should work well when I decide to try my hand at this.

I actually got a few cheap vinyl heads to practice on before touching anything valuable. I was planning to experiment/play with all of my mediums on those - both primed and unprimed - and see what happens BUT just had no idea how things would go if I wanted to add to a factory face-up. And this is all so niche, Google was no help. Grateful to have found this forum!