"Face-upping" bearded Gnaeus

I ended up with a blank real skin bearded Gnaeus head some time ago and for the first time tried my hand on an Impldoll sculpt. I've done tons of face-ups for other companies dolls in my collection, but I had been hesitatious about working with Impldoll's environmental resin. It seemed so much more slippery and smooth. I had thought it would be difficult to get it having enough tooth for my pastels, acrylics and watercolour pencils that I use for face-ups to stick on. I haven't gotten around to investing on the airbrush equipment yet. I've also been such a fan of Impldoll's face-ups in the past that I've always ordered my dolls with the default look before.

Turns out, however, that this Gnaeus head was a breeze to work on! Sure enough, it needed a good many MSC layers initially to get the surface workable, but the sculpt itself was then a joy to work on. I love detailed, realistic sculpts that have enough definition to guide the hand, yet with enough room for artistic expression. This one definitely falls into that category. It also had perfect eye sockets for applying the eyelining with acrylics and the lashes were easy to attach to the smooth rim around the eye.

I was the most worried about the beard. I'd never attempted doing a beard on a BJD before, so I had my doubts whether I'd be able to pull it off. Well, it is what it is now. I may not be completely satisfied with the result, but I'm not completely disappointed either. I wanted the beard that is actually scultped in to show, yet to look like a full grown man's beard. I think I accomplished that at least. I went with a bit of wild look for the eye brows. I wanted this head to be able to do fantasy roles. I think this head will be a lot of fun in my collection and provide some new exciting photo opportunities for my Gnaeus character.