Woohoo - my first practice face...and questions.

Yeah! Even though I felt intimidated I dove in tonight and did my first practice mask on myself (posted in my gallery). Lots of mistakes and clumsy, but I am happy I can see my mistakes and what needs to be improved. Like lots of practice on my line work and studying designs to get a better understanding of focal points. Overall though I thought it wasn't bad for a first attempt and I feel so encouraged to continue. Some questions though...

I had a terrible time getting smooth lines - err especially under my eyes. Is that just the nature of "old" skin? Or will that improve with a different paint (using snaz paints right now), different brush or more or less water? Or am I being too heavy handed? Basically the brush pulled the skin and skipped a lot trying to work under and the corner of my eyes. Should I try stretching the skin when I'm working on adults?

Also - dots - argggh - I make the messiest dots. Are the dotter wands any good? Or is there a particular brush I should be using? Technique? More water? Load the brush between dots?

Thanks in advance for any advice. I'm having fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love your design! Very pretty, and to my newbie eyes it looks great for a first attempt. Painting on yourself is not easy, well maybe to some it is but not to me! What size brush are you using? You say you are unhappy with the thick lines and too-big tear drops, so perhaps a smaller brush would help. Also a lighter touch, I know that experienced painters can make the most delicate lines using just the tip of a large brush - I'm still working on that!!

I did some painting on mature skin last weekend, and I did find it worked better if I smoothed/stretched it out slightly as I was painting.

I bought a dotter wand and never use it. By the time it arrived in the mail, I had learned the trick of making a little well in the paint with water. This makes a section that is runnier and goes on more smoothly for dots. Works great!

Thanks Hazel! It was a nice effect from a distance but up close it was rough and a lot of smearing. Which makes me think I'm working with my paints too wet. It's tricky isn't it?

Little well in the paint with water - and runnier - excellent tip! I'll make that the focus of my next practice session. Cuz' I would prefer NOT to buy more tools (seems to make a profit I need to keep supplies and time painting down ;-)

Honestly don't know the brush size as it's a Creatology set. They seem pretty good, soft and come to nice points. But I guess the more I experiment the more I can know what is good and what isn't. Of of course more brushes are on my next shopping list (#2 and #4 - best quality I can afford). I think I ended up with a #1 and a #6 - too small and too big. But ultimately I think your point about using a lighter hand is critical!

I love the rainbow butterfly on your profile pic - a rainbow cake is on my next shopping list too!

I think your mask is very pretty. I am also new and have not had my paints for long. I don't have much Snazaroo though, I read too much on here about it getting gloppy and stuff and the black not being good for line work. I am wishing now that I had some black Snaz for bases though because I am doing a kids' function at work on the 29th and I am finding that DFX is very staining, but very nice for line work. You did great for painting on yourself. I wear glasses and can't see worth a darn withouit them, so I have a really hard time painting on myself.

Pixie, Great 1st mask! I love the fall colors. My brush also skips under my eyes. Sorry to tell you... it's not your technique
My skin is getting a little older under my eyes. I don't paint lines there. If I have to I go very slow & intentional & only use the very tip of my brush. I make sure I get the brush good and loaded right before painting the skin under my eyes. It's not perfect, but it helps.
For dots, have a well loaded brush & press straight down. If the dots start to split, you need to reload. Very the pressure to go from big dots to tiny dots.
I love the arm doodling. This is the main thing I do to keep improving. I practice tons of thin to thick to thin lines, swirls & tear drops. A fun technique for tiger strips is to twist your round brush while you're doing your lines.

Keep practicing. You've got a lot of potential!

I love the moniker "fluttersby" - I had to laugh about wearing glasses. I do too. I had my contacts in, but I lost my "zoom" about two years ago and without reading glasses I can't see a darn thing. So I bought a 5x magnification mirror. Which works great -except at the distance you need to use the brush without it hitting the mirror it makes your nose visually squish together and disappear!!

I am not as disappointed with the snaz as I thought from what everyone says - but of course it's autumn here now. No heat or high humidity. The black was better than I expected but it is really difficult to paint lighter over dark without smearing and blending, even when dry. I hope for better results from dfx but I must say for kids this seems a great base. Course it seems everyone uses a mix of paints in their kits.

Thanks for the advice - and also the encouragement psalmbook - love love love the face on your profile pic. That is just amazing work! And you make a good point (sigh) older skin is just what it is. Not a nice smooth canvas anymore :-)

LOL! I often wish I'd started painting many years earlier, when my skin would have looked youthful when painted

Psalmbook wrote:LOL! I often wish I'd started painting many years earlier, when my skin would have looked youthful when painted

I have been thinking the same thing

The soupier paint mixture did it! Thanks Hazel and Psalmbook!

Wow, those are pretty, and your lines are very nice actually. I also have trouble with dots (or lack thereof, I should say!). Cannot wait to try out my new dotter and see if that works better than regular brush.