OK. Well, here's what had happened:
I knew I wanted to re-do chelsea's faceup because everything that was supposed to be black was grey and the blushing was uneven and I COULD GO ON, but you get the idea.
So while planning his new faceup on the computer, I got the idea to try something a little...different.
Remember the tattoos I did on Casper with the temp tattoo paper? I thought maybe I could use some of that stuff to make a faceup happen. So I digitally painted the faceup, took measurements, did a lot of trial and error printing, and finally got the correct sizing (and almost the correct colors - the tattoo paper doesn't take gradients well).
Now before anyone gets all excited about instant faceups, let me tell you a few (thousand) downsides of this method:
First off, the tattoo transfer is very fragile. Much more so than a regular paint faceup. It gathers dust and fibers and fuzzy floating things so you have to be really careful to keep it clean before you seal it. Even after to seal it the texture sticks around and you could end up with a really fuzzy-faced bjd.
Second, you can't see what you're doing too well. The paper is opaque, so when you turn something around to place it you can only guess if you are in the exact spot you want it to be. It isn't difficult to remove and try again, but after two tries the frustration mounts and you become a spitting rage monster that would rather throw your doll's head across the room than make another temporary tattoo.
Third, even though painting supplies can get pricey, temporary tattoo paper isn't exactly a free taco at your brother's wedding reception either. The paper itself is expensive and there are various types to wonder over, plus all the copies of just one element of a faceup you will need to print. Then you need a good quality printer that is meant to be producing high-quality photos - in the end, if you aren't regularly using a printer for high-quality photos, it is a much better deal to just buy paints.
Fourth, it isn't like you get to avoid painting. In order to not steal another artists' work you still have to go through the digital painting process, which isn't the most exciting fun thing out there. There's less mess, which I'm personally a fan of, and of course the ever popular undo button (who doesn't need one of those in their life?!), but overall you are still. Painting. It still takes time to get right, you still get frustrated at colors that don't mix well, and you have to go through the heavily laborious process of measuring out your doll's features to ensure you get a good match. Ugh.
Fifth, the temporary tattoo paper is not *difficult* to remove, but if you don't remove it properly it can stain your doll. What happens is this; The tattoo will start to disappear and turn into a small, greyish blob that's a mix of sealant and ink color from your printer. That's all fine as long as you still have layers of sealent to remove or if you are careful to not disturb these little blobs. If you continue to remove a faceup and get down to the bare resin without properly removing these blobs, they could smear all over your doll's face. While most printer ink is water-soluble, it is also not like pastel or acrylic paint. It could stain your doll's resin to the point where you can't remove it without significant sanding. That's why you should always be careful when using home-made temporary tattoos!
Finally, there's the rest of the painting. Because of the flaws listed above, I just can't see someone using this method for the full face of their doll. So, you would still need to complete the blushing and some color addition on your own. Light colors don't transfer well on tattoo paper so any area lighter than you're doll's skin would have to be added by hand anyway. So you are really, really, really not avoiding painting.
ALL THAT BEING SAID, I do see some uses for temporary tattoo paper and BJD faceup artistry. For example;
-temporary things. If you doll is already faceuped but you want something (wounds, solid colors, face tattoos) for a specific photoshoot or cosplay, this would be an awesome method! Just be careful and don't spray it after you apply the makeup.
-eyebrows. The brow bone is an area doll owners tend to naturally avoid (usually people grab around the chin or on the sides of the doll's head), so this is a good area to utilize this tecnique. You still have to paint the brows, but it would be useful for creating symmetry. I used temp tattoos to finish off Chelsea's faceup this time around so you guys could see what they looked like (his almost full face of temp tattoos was so ugly I couldn't even take pictures of it, ugh)
-But still, they are good for tattoos. Especially if you are careful enough about applying and removing the tattoos. For people like me (with 100% unsteady hands to the max) it's just about the only option to use your own artwork on that small a scale.
Anyway, on to the pictures! There's only two because I realized upon finishing that I used way too much red instead of brown (what the hell, myself? Red is not an appropriate shading color. Shades are less saturated, you bozo) so I need to redo this faceup AGAIN. But not this week. This week is find another part-time job week because what's the point of downtime and art makes me no money.
CHELSEA:
I also decided to give him lashes this time around, but I don't think I'll keep them. They make him look a little too sleepy.
Like I said before, I kept the temp tattoo brows. Next time (I might use the temp tats again for shits and gigs) I'm going to make them way thicker I think, but it's hard to tell before I have a more permanent wig for him. At least you get to see his actual character's face tattoos now! It says 'king' under hips lips in case ya'll were curious about that. >_>
SO that's all I've got for now! Thanks for checking this out :0