Figure face painting

[MicroModeller]

Hi with me being new to modelling I need some advice on face painting. I’m planning to use Vallejo acrylic paints but need some direction on paint colours.
If anyone can help me with what colours to use will be a great help.

 

[Deleted member 6559]

Hi Kevin

For what it's worth I did a face-painting guide which you can find under the Figure Building Masterclass section. Not great, but it lists the colours I personally prefer.

 

[SimonT]

Hi Kevin

Vallejo do this flesh set vj flesh but they all look very similar

I think a more useful set is the AK set AK flesh as it has a greater range from dark to light for shading/higlighting

 

[MicroModeller]

Hi Kevin

For what it's worth I did a face-painting guide which you can find under the Figure Building Masterclass section. Not great, but it lists the colours I personally prefer.

Thanks Peter I will have a look.

 

[MicroModeller]

Hi Kevin

Vallejo do this flesh set vj flesh but they all look very similar

I think a more useful set is the AK set AK flesh as it has a greater range from dark to light for shading/higlighting

Simon thanks for the information about the two different flesh coloured sets.

 

[Tim Marlow]

A more useful Vallejo face set is this one....

Vallejo Figure - Face Painting

Contains 8 x 17 ml./0.57 fl.oz. Model Color for create the different tonalities of skin colors.

acrylicosvallejo.com

They used to have a face painting primer on the site, but I can’t find it now. There are several excellent figure painters on here, so ask questions and read up on previous work. For basic painting advice Vince Venturella’ and Dana Howl’s YouTube channels are worth a look. Most of all, don’t be scared to push paint around, and have fun!

 

[MicroModeller]

A more useful Vallejo face set is this one....

http://https:tongue-out3:/acrylicosvallejo.com/en/product/hobby/sets/figure-en/face-painting-70119/

They used to have a face painting primer on the site, but I can’t find it now. There are several excellent figure painters on here, so ask questions and read up on previous work. For basic painting advice Vince Venturella’ and Dana Howl’s YouTube channels are worth a look. Most of all, don’t be scared to push paint around, and have fun!

Thanks Tim this is a great help. I’m looking forward to painting and having fun.

 

[Steve Brodie]

You dont need tons of different colours, and if you buy a paint set, the instructions are a bit misleading that come with them, so dont be dissapointed if what you get doesn't look like the pictures on the guide, I only use three / four colours and then create blends using those ones to get the different shades, lots of painters on here and most have our own way of doing things. YouTube is also very handy. Myself, I use Vallejo Brown sand 70.876 - Base. Basic skin tone 70.815- highlights. Black Red 70.859 - Shadows. They all need to be of a milky consistency, so two to three drops of water mixed in.

Base Brown sand
Highlight 1 Brown Sand - Basic Flesh 2:1
Highlight 2 Brown Sand - Basic Flesh 1:2
Highlight 3 Basic Flesh
Shadow 1 Black Red
Shadow 2 Black Red - Brown Sand 2:1
Shadow 3 Black Red - Brown sand 1:2

For a lighter skin Tone, i replace the base colour

 

[Tim Marlow]

interesting Steve, those three colours are in the set link I posted above.....very good advice though.

 

[Steve Brodie]

interesting Steve, those three colours are in the set link I posted above.....very good advice though.

Yes thats the set i have - couldnt use your link , think you have embedded a tongue in check logo - this one works - http://acrylicosvallejo.com/en/product/hobby/sets/figure-en/face-painting-70119/

 

[MattB71]

I bought the Vallejo skin set and it does a good job, but its about how you apply those colours....for me it's all about the blending of the skin tones which i find incredibly difficult, but onwards and upwards!

 

[Tim Marlow]

Hi Matt
There are two ways to do this, wet blending, as practiced by Peter Day, and layering. For wet blending I would speak to Peter. I can’t get it to work, but his results using this technique are fantastic. It’s probably because he’s an artist and I’m an interior decorator by comparison.....
Personally I use layering. There are many tutorials on YouTube showing this, but the secret is thinning your paint so that it is translucent and slowly building up the colour transition. A wet palette helps a lot with this approach because you can blend the tones on the palette before adding them to the miniature and previous blends are always available to correct mistakes.

 

[MattB71]

Thanks Tim. so layering is what ive been trying, i did stumble across a vid by Vince Venturella the other day on all of these techniques, he makes it look so damn easy too! my transitions from dark to lighter shades are not subtle enough, leaving the skin tones looking somewhat like burnt flesh! . but i keep trying...

 

[Tim Marlow]

The biggest improvement I made to my layering technique was unloading the brush before painting. If you’re not aware of this, it means dipping the brush in the paint, using a sheet of paper or the back of you thumb to “unload” the excess paint so that the paint doesn’t just flood out onto the model when you touch it. Gives you much more control in placing your strokes.
The last tip on this is to start the stroke on where you want the lightest colour depth and end it where the paint needs to be stronger. For highlights this means start in the shadow and end at the brightest point. The last part of the brush stroke always leaves the most paint, so this disguises it and minimises tide mark effects, leaving more paint where you want more paint.
Of course, the most important thing is to practice practice practice, it’s the only thing that really works....

 

[MattB71]

im spending fortunes on figure models to practice, practice practice!

 

[Neil Merryweather]

for me it's all about the blending of the skin tones which i find incredibly difficult,

Me too, Matt, but really the only way is to do it over and over again.
As for figures, don't buy cheap and cheerful stuff thinking it doesn't matter to start with. I started off with some airfix 1/32nd polythene figures and got very disillusioned because the faces were not well moulded. The better the sculpt the better your finish will be and the quicker you will gain confidence. It helps if they are figures you rally want to paint, too.
And if it goes badly, there's always Dettol!
Best of luck and show us the results-everybody is very encouraging here,unlike some other forums....

 

[MattB71]

i have a few finished figures/busts i could put up for critique...they are a mixture as I haven't worked out what i like working on most!

 

[Steve Brodie]

The other way to do it is to use the sketch method. Need to be brave though as to start with your figures face will look like a clown !

 

[Steve Brodie]

Right side sketched;



Left side blended;



Both blended;