A little guidance needed

[jamesc94]

Hi guys,

I'm currently working on a 1/16 scale figure which I would consider to be a first serious attempt at using acrylics and figure painting. Being a first attempt this figure has also been stripped around 3 times already as I want to complete something fairly decent. However I know the completed figure is not going to be like so many that are on here.

I have completed the figures face which I am happy with although I can see the room for improvement for the next figure. I am however struggling with acrylics. How much should I be thinning the paint? at the moment I am thinning the base coat at 1 part water to 1 part paint, A highlight 5:1 and a glaze 10:1. I seem to leave hard edges when I shade and highlight.

Another question is about mistakes, how do you guys quickly correct a mistake? I always find that if my painting gets sloppy for a couple of seconds it is too late to wipe the paint away and I have to repaint the affect areas again.

I am also struggling with outlining, How much should the paint be thinned for outlining? I have attached pictures of my current attempt which I think looks far too thick for an outline.

Sorry to bombard you all with questions

James

 

[housecarl]

You could stand to thin much more James. I base coat at about 4:1, but it varies with air temp and humidity.
This is very good face painting SBS.
I don't know haw far you've gone with the face, but I'd take the lower eyelids up to the eyeball.
Carl.

 

[Mirofsoft]

No idea because I use Humbrol for base coating, then oils

BUT what you have done so far is good
My friend who was using acrylics, used what he called Inks for shadowing, and cleaning the excesses wtih a sponge

 

[Alex]

with vallejo paints, i usually basecoat with a ratio of 1:1
i don't see what would you like to dilute paint more for 1st layer ?
for shadows & highlights, 1:3 to 1:5 depending on the paint
for transitions between areas in order to get that smooth appearance 1:5 to 1:10
outlining is done like any shadow
i always always wipe my brush on a tissue before getting the paint on the figure
if pooling occurs, i immediately wipe the excess of water with another dry brush

 

[Figure Mad]

Hi James

Your methods are not wrong for you, as everybody paints with a slightly different method to each other. The one thing I have seen many times is the loss of fine detail when using acrylics with too heavy a base coat, I now use a quite thin mix for base coat so I don't fill any of that fine detail, you can always add paint in layers but you can't take off a layer.

I also use additives in my mixes like glaze medium to slow down drying and help with the pushing edges of colour to stop the hard edges you have been getting, just a touch of this can help so much.

Dave

 

[jamesc94]

Thank you all for replying,

Reading your comments it does seems like I am thinning the paint enough for each application. I think my problem is experience, could painting over the same highlight too many times cause this hard edge problem that I am having?

I have bought a wet palette which I noticed many figure painters use to making blending easier. I'll try it out and see how I get on when I attack his trousers.

I have actually got a bottle of drying retarder I'm just not too sure how to use it. How much should I roughly be putting in with my mixes?

There is a lack with detail with this kit which should be expected considering it cost me £7.99, could anyone recommend some good resin figures that aren't too expensive for me to build after this kit as I'm only 18 and a student?

James

 

[Figure Mad]

Hi James

When using a retarder, don't add too much, just small amount, just slow the drying down. You can use a hair dryer to speed the drying a bit.

As far as figures are concerned, what's your main interest or subject, there are hundreds of manufacturers out there, but my main suggestion would be to get maybe 54mm/1/32 scale, as a starter scale

Dave

 

[jamesc94]

Thank you Dave, I will try putting a drop on my palette and just drag a small amount for each mix and see how that goes.

My main interest is ww2, mainly German as I find the difference in camo patterns interesting but I'm happy to build any figure from that era. I have been looking at 1:35 but I am concerned I will struggle with camo patterns and small details if I go to that scale. I have been looking at several resin figure manufacturers and two 1:35 figures will cost £20-£25 which to me seems quite expensive given that a much larger 1:16 scale figure is £30+ from the same supplier. Are Verlinden figures of a very good quality? I actually have a few tank crews and a small vignette made by Verlinden in my stash from when I started collecting when I was younger.

James

 

[Figure Mad]

Hi James

Verlinden figures and sets are ok to good, sometimes the sculpting can be a bit off, but some of them are a good start, some of the best figures for the WW2 period are alpine miniatures, they are also not too expensive. Go with the Verlinden for now, but you will want to move on to other figures pretty quickly.

But take your time learn from the painting process...

Dave

 

[ChaosCossack]

I must say you are off to a pretty damn good start for your first (?) figure. I assume this is a fairly large scale figure and these can be a two edged sword... the large scale gives lots of room for detail but is very unforgiving when it comes to highlighting and shading. A smaller scale might be the way to go to work on technique.
I use Vallejo myself... Two or three very thin base coats to start, for sure. For highs and lows, I use a fairly thinned down mix, unload the brush on a paper towel and apply the tones in very small steps of tonal change... the larger the area being dealt with, the more steps of change you need. If harsher edges still appear, a wash (I've heard some refer to this as a filter) of the base colour will soften the transitions.
As for the paint:water ratios, I can't give you a solid number ratio but I try to get the consistancy to something like "skim milk" on the pallet, load the brush, then unload the brush. It will go on just "wet" and when dry will be semi-opaque with "fuzzy" edges.
For your area of interest, I agree with Dave that Alpine makes a nice 1:35 scale WWII fig. For economical "practice" figs, there are lots of decent plastic kits (ie Dragon) that give you 4 or 5 figs for $15 to $20. You can practice without blowing the bank account

Colin

 

[jamesc94]

I will attempt some 1:35 scale figures after this one and see how I get on. I do have several sets of dragon figures, is it worth swapping the heads out for hornet and using those?

Thank you Colin, like I said this is my first 'proper' attempt at figure painting. The only previous attempts would have been when I was about 10-12 painting figures to go with whatever model I was building making a complete mess along the way.

Thank you for the advice, I guess the only thing now is for me to get cracking with the brushes and see how it goes.

James

 

[Chibi]

Do you use a flow enhancer James?

I haven't attempted a large scale figure but I found it very helpful with painting in general, for example brush painting model aircraft

 

[Nap]

Hi James,

Good start on a big figure , like Colin says a large figure can be a little unforgiving ......

why not try a bust ............Verlinden ones are a good starting point , cheap on e bay as well from "3dVerlinden" (guess what I paint!!!)

You mention a retarder , small amounts like Dave syas ..I use W & N Blending medium which works well for me .

Thnak sfor sharing ...looking forward to seeing more on this and future work ...all that Camo eh ..scary stuff!!!

Nap

 

[skeeterbuck]

James, I too am rather new to painting with acrylics. From my experience getting the thinning down is one of he major learning curves in using acrylics. If you painting the base color for an area it should take at least two to three coats to get good coverage. Some colors like reds may take even more. The only time I want to cover anything in one coat is small or fine detail like the pupil of the eyes. Also don't forget when the paint is thinned that you need to wipe the brush on a paper towel to get the excess water out of the brush. Remember that being a little too thin is better that applying it too thick. If it's too thin you can just keep going over the area until you get the required coverage needed, but if it's too thick it's much harder to correct and in some cases like faces may require a complete strip down and repaint. Good luck, keep posting and don't get discouraged. Anything worth while takes time to get right.

Chuck

 

[Chibi]

Have you tried using something like Vallejo Opaques or Citadel Foundation first?
Also what primer are you using?

For something like red it is as well to prime with white imho

 

[Eludia]

Hi James,

I am also a rookie and I have spent a bit of time scouring the net for a good first project to practice on. I will probably go with this one as its fairly cheap (El Greco Miniatures are selling it for a tenner):

http://www.figone.fr/en/colin/

It seems to be decent size to start with (44mm) and has a nice variety of textures (leather, fabric, metallic,) and also an interesting face. You also don't have to worry too much about making the colours historically accurate which will allow you to concentrate on technique rather than accuracy. And who doesn't love a pirate

I know its not your preferred subject area but I think it would be a good practice piece to hone your skills before taking on something a bit more serious. Thats the main reason i have chosen it anyway.

Good luck mate,
Billy

 

[Eludia]

It also has the added bonus of only having one eye to paint

 

[Helm]

If you just want pure painting technique practice just buy something from poundland primer it and have it till you are happy with your mixing etc then try a decent figure.
Steve