Mixture of flat tin figures

[Peter Gillson]

Hi Guys

those who have read my 'what a plonker' posts will know the back story for my moving from busts to flats. Thos blog follows how I get on with this very different type of figures. These were in my stash and have been there for many years, I cannot recsll who made them or where I bought them.

the ones I decided to start with are:

crossing the Styx - from the Greek myth, depicting Charron ferrying a soul across the river Styx to the under world,
a depiction of St George killing a dragon
two from an Alice in Wonderland set; the Mad Hatter's tea party, and a playing card guard.

The first stage was to use double sided tape to fix the flats to my cutting board to hold them securely as well as making it possible to move them without handling them.



as you can see, i had already started (goodness knows when) to paint them so I plan to start on Styx, finishing the boat and figure.

Peter

 

[JR]

Quite a change Peter, I'd like to see more of these, esp the Styx crossing to thew underworld.

You might remember the chap who joined us for a few months some years ago, he did flats.

 

[Peter Gillson]

Yes John, yes quite a chsnge, not a voluntary one, but it should be challenging and fun.

today I spent time reading this excellent book:



i also had time to work on the boat a and start on st George's rock.




I think the flesh of the corpse looks too healthy so I plan to make it paler and pinker.

you can also see some bits of masking tape with arrows; these show the direction of the main light source. Light and shade are more important with flats than round figures so the arrows will ensure I remember where the light is coming from.

peter

 

[Tim Marlow]

Excellent start Peter. Great tip with the tape arrows as well. The book is worth a small fortune these days, by the way. I’ve always wanted it but never found an affordable copy.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Peter
Flats are rarely seen which is a shame. I vaguely remember the guy John is talking about. I'll follow this with interest. The Styx one is particularly unusual.
Jim

 

[Tim Marlow]

Didn’t Simon T do some as well? Seem to remember a couple of WW1 types?

 

[Steve Brodie]

Interesting.

 

[Jim R]

Yes Tim, the late great Simon T did dabble in flats as I remember.
Jim

 

[Peter Gillson]

Hi Guys

just realised that I hadn't posted any photos of the two flats I've finished:



they were fun and a steep learning curve. I think some of the shadows and highlights need to be enhanced to create greater contrast, and the faces could do with a little more work. One of the hardest aspects was with the St George flat - it is a strange design, he and the dragon are on what looks like a cliff, but thr girl is on a mount. the join between the 'mound' and the 'cliff' is odd and does not look quite right.

I mostly used acrylics but I think in future I will use oils over an acrylic undercoat - as recommended by Michael Taylor.

Petet

 

[Tim Marlow]

Good start…..To my mind flats are a real art form. All the work needed to give them three dimensions falls on the painter. In comparison, normal figures seem like you are just colouring in…..

 

[Mini Me]

Very interesting Peter.....That "girl" looks like she could put a "hurt" on the dragon all by herself.....built like a "brick chicken house"!! I don't know my history as well as I should but to me the shield indicates that St. George was a Templar. In any case it's a beautiful rendering. Looking forward to more of these. Rick H.

 

[Peter Gillson]

Hi Guys

i know the shadows could be improved but I'm calling this one finished. It will be interesting to revisit it when both eyes have been done.

Peter

 

[Mini Me]

Oh I like that....my eldest daughter would love it as she is a huge fan of "Alice in Wonderland" I'll have to give her a show the next time she comes by.....beautiful job on this Peter. Rick H.

 

[Peter Gillson]

Thanks Rick

you have 10 months to buy the set of flats and paint them for her Christmas present!

Peter

 

[Tim Marlow]

That’s looking great Peter. Shadow work is spot on, especially on the tablecloth

 

[JR]

They all give the impression of depth so a great job Peter.Love the Alice in Wonderland one esp.

Well worth a




Congratulations.