Painting figures

[bsarnoffca]

I'm not putting myself out as an expert on this subject but I do feel there are lots of folks who would like to add figures to their models but are intimidated by the process. I hope this helps.

 

To start I would recommend the following:

 

Brushes:

 

-For oil paints, a set of REALLY good sable brushes. I use Winsor & Newton seies 7, sizes 000 through 1...yep no joke these things cost more per ounce than gold but they make a difference. You're paying for the tip. Wash them carefully in thinner then soap and water after each use and treat them with reverence.

-a set of nice sable but not so expensive brushes for water based paints

-thinner. I use Testors oil airbrush thinner.

 

Paints:

-a starter set of very small tube oil paints for faces. I use Winsor & Newton but Gumbacher is probably fine

-Gumbacher Copal painting medium. Thins the paint but keeps it oily

-a set of Andrea or Velajo water based paints for uniforms. They dry absolutely flat so they look super realistic

 

-a piece of plate glass to lay out and mix the colors on. Should look like this;

 

[bsarnoffca]

Okay that post went up weird but you get the point. Here are three figures I used for my last diorama. They show a range of detail. The leaning figure is lead, has the best facial detail and will be the easiest to paint. The figure with his hands behind him is resin and the detail is rougher. The last figure is one I bought and painted 20 years ago. I'm going to repaint this figure but the facial detail is very rough and requires a lot of creativity.

 

 

[bsarnoffca]

Next I spray a water based primer on the unpainted figures. Any light color is fine. I paint the faces with a few light coats of water based flesh color and seal it with a flat coat when it's dry. I do this because the oils are very transparent and it takes way too long to build up a flesh tone in oil.

 

 

[bsarnoffca]

Now I'll focus on one figure. Here I've added some Adrea water color to his uniform. This is important because if you paint the face then add the darker uniform color, the face colors may look wrong. I've the overall face color in oil in a medium flesh tone then added white to the color for the highlights...forehead, bridge of the nose, tip of the chin and under the eyes. Ive added burnt umber or brown to the flesh tone for the shadows on the cheekbones, temples, under the eyebrows and under the chin. I thin the oils with Copal medium.

 

[bsarnoffca]

Here's a close up of the face. I've added a little red and white to the base flesh color for the cheeks and mixed red and white for the lips. The upper lip should be a bit darker. You can mix a bit of Alizarin Crimson to the red and white for the upper lip. Add a bit more white for the highlight on the lower lip. Eyes are trickey. Don't try to paint the whites, and pupils. At the scale distance you're looking at these figures the eyes are prettty much slits. I do start with a bit of white water color when I first paint the figure, then add a mixture of blue and black with my smallest (000) brush. By the way all this painting needs to be done with some type of magnification. I use an Optivisor.

 

[bsarnoffca]

Here are the finished figures. The uniforms are painted in Andrea water colors. I add a bit of black to uniform color for the folds in the uniform that would be in shadow. Hope this helps some. Experiment with a figure that you don't care about. Jump in and give it a try! Adds a whole new dimension to your model.

 

 

[bsarnoffca]

Thanks for interest guys. Ted if you have specific questions feel free to ask me. The best way is take a figure you don't care about and jump in.