Through an Artist's Eyes - Rachel Graves

Through an Artist's Eyes - Rachel Graves

I'm Rachel Graves of Evenstar Design. My first experience with BJD's was at a Tonner Convention in 2004, where I purchased a copy of Haute Doll that had a Volks ad in it. I was absolutely mesmerized by the glowing skin and liquid eyes of the SD Mika that was featured and was lucky enough to be able to see an SD13 Megu in person at the convention. From that point, it wasn't long until I had sold my Silkstone Barbie collection and purchased Iolanthe (Cerberus Project Lishe), my first BJD, from a Den of Angels member.

I have always been interested in the visual arts and have dabbled in many different creative media: watercolor, drawing, sewing, sugarcraft and cake decorating, and interior design. I didn't really know that I was a capable artist though until going to Marylhurst University three years ago for Interior Design. My major required a broad base of art classes to build a strong foundation in art, and I found myself having a lot of success in my art classes. So much so that the last term of my second year I changed my major to Fine Arts with a concentration in painting. At that time I was also discovering the world of fashion doll repaints and began selling the occasional Tonner repaint on eBay. By late 2004, I had gone on hiatus from school and was repainting fashion dolls full time. When Iolanthe arrived in November of 2004, I attempted my first face-up on her with moderate success and began taking commissions soon after.

My face-up skills are being constantly refined, and I have also branched out into resculpting, tattooing, piercing, and the occasional outfit. Because of the ever increasing demand for face ups, and because BJD's were where my passion truly was, I stopped doing fashion doll repaints all together earlier this year. My esthetics waitlist is now over 2 years long and growing at a much faster rate that I can work. I offer face-ups and esthetics packages for all sizes of BJD's, from SD's to Tinies. I also love to work on my own projects to sell via eBay; they are the ultimate creative expression for me, and I find it very rejuvenating to work without any creative constraints. It is necessary for me as an artist to frequently take short breaks from commissions to pursue those projects, and I am still refining the practical aspect of balancing commission work with my own endeavors.

For more pictures of my work, information on my waitlist, pricing, or to join my mailing list, you can visit my website at Evenstar Designs.

An Artist's Tutorial

Painting Eyebrows by Rachel Graves

My favorite aspect of a face-up is the color. I am very drawn to color and color relationships and am always looking for new and unexpected palettes. The part that I have always struggled with the most is the eyebrows, which seems to be a common complaint from many people who have tried their hand at face ups.

Before starting on the eyebrows, I usually have completed and coated most of the rest of the face up. If you are less confident and want the flexibility to make drastic changes, you can always do the eyebrows first.

I begin by lightly penciling in a placement line to act as a guide. Then, using thinned Golden acrylics with a bit of retarder added and a fine brush (either an 18/0 liner or an 18/0 spotter), I lightly paint the first row of fine brushstrokes. I quickly blend the edges with a damp brush or a q-tip to soften any harsh edges. I don't worry about making the eyebrow the proper thickness at this point; I am just trying to get a line of brushstrokes in the correct position and will build on them from here.

I continue to refine the brow into the shape, width, and density I want by adding more layers of fine brushstrokes and blending the edges with a damp q-tip.