Figure Painting

[No.6]

Figure painting

With scale models comes scale people. This could be on the deck of a ship, on a railway platform or in the cockpit of an aircraft.

Adding a figure to a model gives the viewer a reference of scale.

This Tutorial will cover some techniques on painting figures. The figure used in the tutorial is a 1/16 Otto Skorzeny plastic kit from Dragon. The paints I used for this model are acrylic.

I find acrylics easy to work with and they are kinder to expensive brushes and dry quickly. Usually when painting a model I use a mixture of acrylics, enamels, felt pens, pencils and any thing else that gets the job done.

The techniques described can be applied to almost any scale figure.

The first thing to do is apply an undercoat. Sorry for the fuzzy photo! It’s also handy to tack your model down on something that you can hold whilst applying paint. I have used an old paint pot here. It s always good to thin down the paint before application. as paint that is too thick will clog up small detail. However this does depend on the paint as I find some acrylics a bit thin as it is. spray paint can also be used to apply undercoat.

Next is the base coat. The base coat is the coat is the foundation colour of your model. This is the surface that the lowlights and highlights will be applied to. For Otto’s uniform I have used Tamiya Dark yellow (XF-60).

Shadows

Next is to apply shadows to creases in the uniform. When we look at our own clothes we can see creases and folds that cast shadows and we can also see areas of highlights. The model being 3-Dimensional means that it does cast shadows on its self. However the model does look a bit flat compared to real life. In order to bring the model to life we will emphasize the shadows and the highlights in the relevant areas. Just as an artist would when painting on a canvas.

The shadows have been applied with to the creases of the model by watering brown paint right down. Then applying it to the creases of the model. The paint being thin will naturally flow into the crease areas.

More to follow ..

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[Kiwi]

Excellent stuff, nice writing style too.

 

[duncan]

I cant stand to see a model with an empty cockpit flying, even non-scale aircraft. Anybody agree ? Even a ping-pong ball would be better imho. Nice painting No6.

 

[wonwinglo]

I cant stand to see a model with an empty cockpit flying' date=' even non-scale aircraft. Anybody agree ? Even a ping-pong ball would be better imho. Nice painting No6.[/quote']*** Seems to kill it dead eh Duncan,even a profile side view like dear Henry.J.Nicholls used to use is better than nothing,plenty of cheap action man look-a-likes around as well,all scales catered for.

 

[No.6]

Thanks for the positive feed back :gent:

Blending.

As you see in the last Image of the previous post shadows have been added to the creases of the figures uniform with watered down brown paint. The transition from the base coat down to the shadows is a bit stark. As can be seen in the below image a gradual transition has been achieved by mixing some of the brown with some of the dark yellow and applying this mix around the edges defuses the shadow giving it a more subtle and natural appearance. Blending shadows and highlights can be achieved when the paint is wet by actually mixing and working the paint on the model. Some figure painters actually use artists’ oils for this, as they dry slowly allowing more time to work and mix the paint.

Highlights have been achieved by simply adding white to the dark yellow and applying the paint in by dry brushing.

Dry brushing is a common painting technique that can give fantastic results. Usually a reasonable size of brush is used not for large areas so not a “000” The brush should always be soft, sable brushes are best. Apply the brush to the paint and wipe of most of the paint with a cloth or kitchen roll or something of this nature to the extent that there is is hardly any paint on the brush. You should only be able to see slight traces of pigment. Then in a soft back and forward motion lightly dust the brush over the model or area that you want to apply highlights.

Before adding the paint to the model via dry brushing I sometimes dry brush my finger tips! If I can see my finger print being highlighted I know I have the right amount of paint on the brush.

The pigment that is left should only be distributed over the high areas of the model. Giving you instant highlights!

You should start of with a mix that is close to the base colour and as you gradulay lighten up the paint dust the brush over the model lighter than before. This should give you gradual highlights. It does take practice.

So the lighter the paint the lighter the dry brushing action should be. Acrylics are particularly good for dry brushing due to the quick drying time. You don’t have to wait for an hour or so before giving another application of paint.

I have started to paint in detail on the model this is when it the really starts comming to life!

These techniques have also been used for painting Otto’s head.

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[ajg141]

Fascinating stuff No. 6. Makes me want to go and put my efforts back in the cupboard! On second thoughts I think I'll remove one of the crew from my stern trawler and have a bash at following your tips.

Andrew

 

[adzam]

do you recomend/ use a varnish or similiar after your painting is complete to protect it ? , if so what would you recomend ?

cracking thread though , keep it up ! :groupwave

 

[No.6]

Hi ajg141, dont put those efforts back in the cupboard! give it a shot. even just adding shadows to the clothes of your crew members will give a bit more realisim and depth. The crew members of your Stern Trawler probably woulnt even need more then that, as they are Peripherals and not the main focal point of your model.

There is a way of painting figures in a speedy way that some war gamers use. that is, give the figure a matt black under coat and then drybrush on the selected colour for clothing. This gives instant shadows

and is actually quite effective.

And Adz, I don't usualy add varnish to a finished model if it's just for a static display. dont know about anybody else? However If the minature is being used for gaming and getting handled more, a coat of matt varnish (Gloss varnish looks horrible, but that could just be a matter of opinion) can be applied to give the minature more Durability. Humbrol matt varnish does the job fine.

 

[wonwinglo]

No.6 you have seen us proud here,I am going to use these techniques on some Airfix figures from the airfield sets which were left over when the vehicles were built,the type of info here is just what we want on scale-models,well done ! :gent:

 

[No.6]

Thanks for encouraging words wonwinglow.

I plan to cover some other aspects shortly.

 

[technical]

What sort of paint is recommended for a true(ish) 'flesh' colour

Technical

 

[Famous Polish Bob]

Reminds me of my Games Workshop days...

 

[john]

Reminds me of my Games Workshop days...

They are really good, I always go wrong with painting can never get the shadowing and the ye'olde look

 

[new to trains]

ye olde look is always tough, as with any 'weathering' i usually use a thin dark wash as NO 6 recommneds, but i find figure painting tough too, a thin wash helps build up the shadows, and takes the 'fresh new' look away, but No ^ is obviusly a master figure painter !

easier to weather a building IMHO !

 

[rjwood_uk]

Can i just add its nice to see your useing the trusty blue tack to hold your pieces in place, i thought i was the only one who used it!

 

[rjwood_uk]

technical...

iv always used Tamiya XF-15 (Flat flesh)

it never looks quite right when you apply it, but when it drys it brings out all the detail and turns out quite a nice colour

 

[criticalem]

will it work on a 1/35 scale?

 

[rjwood_uk]

yes although you dont really have to do as many shades to highlight, lowlight...etc

1/48 really only 3 shades are needed, lowlight, the actual colour and highlight

 

[cavman]

hi guys new to the forums here. NO 6 very informative thread mate. some very useful tips there. technical for painting flesh i in the past have used white and then mix in a bit of red and a bit of flesh until i get the right consistency that im after it all depends on what look your going for and what kind of skin tone your after too. if your going for a darker colour try some brown shades mixed in . its not an exact science just experiment.

 

[cavman]

further to my last on flesh colours go to the following website for some great articles on large scale figure painting

Missing-lynx.com - homepage