make up in art???

Question

hiya am doing my art gcse and i was wondering how i could make my paintings of people as real as possible. a throught just came to me i was thinking maybe by using foundation it would make the face look more realistic and other make up products rather than paint i realy need some help here i am willing to take up on any advice thanxx

Answer 1

Go for it !! At least the skin tones would be natural.......
Ask at your chemist for any samples you could have so you can have a try with different colours.

Answer 2

Might create an interesting effect, but sure wont be realistic! Many amateurs have searched for the perfect 'skin coloured paint', when they should realise that there is no single colour or tone which makes up an entire face, or indeed any other object.

If it realism you want start by thinking about tone-light and darkness, and the different colours within the face. If you look closely you will see reds, yellows, blues, pinks,greens, etc all go to make up what we understand as 'flesh tones'. Experiment a bit with your portraits and with these colours and see what works.

Answer 3

Very interesting thought. Well if you do it you need to what we call "lock it in". Meaning you need to seal it with a clear coat. Say for example you use a makeup product over a painting, I would suggest that you then spray the entire canvas with a clear coat of lacquer varnish or shellac you can get any of them in a spray paint can. This will lock it in and protect it then you can add more. Say you add eyeliner to the eyes then some lip stick to the lips and blush to the cheeks you can lock all three at the same time. But if you are thinking up adding makeup because you feel it is a quick fix to get a realistic looking portrait, you could also mix your paint to the makeup colors you have.

enjoy your experiment. ( I've used nail polish before!!)

Answer 4

I think you qwould have a real problem with makeup because it is not made to stick to canvas or other painting surfaces, just buy paints and experiment with those. Remember that when you put makeup on, you put it on a face that is already there. When you paint a face in the painting you have to paint it from scrach, the artist htat paint those they know how a persons face look like at every angle, mood and light condition. You need to practice starting with drawing to learn the anatomy of the face and then go to color.
good luck

Answer 5

Sorry, not a viable medium, but the idea is 'what' you have to 'aim for' by learning to mix colors. Remember to use thin layers when working with faces, keep the paint thin and then 'pretend' it is make up. I usually use a dark orange,not much...white...touch of gold...scantest pink. Practice on something else until you can create a color that mimics the color of foundation. If you go to my blog you can 'see' how the colors I suggested work for me. All done with acrylics.

Answer 6

I wouldn't recommend it as you would not get the shadows or the nuances of skin tone that way. Mix up lots of very similar colours with a slight difference and avoiad hard edges. Hope this helps.

Answer 7

That is a good idea, but will not work because the make up will slowly start to flake away.

Ask a painter or other art person for substitutions.

Dont give up! :D

Answer 8

why not take the colors of the makeup over to the art store, and get colors that are closely matched -- or better still, take the basics, and try to mix the colors to match the color of the foundation.

Answer 9

I think that's an awesome idea! Who cares about preserving it, see what happens. I'm sure it will be quite unique, and I'd like to see some when finished. Good luck.

Answer 10

I think you'll have trouble preserving it. You will want to look into getting a workable fixative that won't affect the look.