Colour theory, basing, figures through the post....

[Jamie Stokes]

Hi to all pF Freindly types,
points of clarifaction and idea checking.

Colour theory; using a clour wheel, a smarter way to shade some colurs such as Red, would be to add some green (complementary colour) to the base red for a dark shade, and some orange for the highlights. Is my thinking in the right direction? Are primary colours really that much of challenge to do?(honest ignorance asking)


Trophy bases seem to be a favourite for basing our hard work figures, both to display and stop the poor things toppling over. The local trophy shop has a (small) selection of bases,usually with a hole for bolting on an award. nice idea if I only want to do my figure climbing out of the sewers, but for most, I had the thought of getting a wooden plug of some kind, glueing it in, and adding the ground work from there (mounting figure, terain, etc) Any better ideas from the ocean of experience?

And I might be needing to send a figure though the post. The figure is of aRoman Centurion, Pegaso 75mm white metal, so quite heavy.
The idea is, that once completed, coated with a matt varnish, to wrap the mounted figure in a very soft cloth, then place in a wooden box,braced to match the dimensions of the figure with balsa struts. Either that, or cut to custom size and shape foam, like one would see for those rifle cases (too many sniper movies, sigh)

Always open to new ideas, or other points of view.

cheers to all

Jamie

 

[Einion]

Colour theory; using a clour wheel, a smarter way to shade some colurs such as Red, would be to add some green (complementary colour) to the base red for a dark shade...

Complement of red is cyan; green is actually opposite magenta.

But this is visual complements (see this thread for a little about a proper colour wheels) mixing complements - a pair of paints that mix grey (or close to grey) when blended together - on the other hand are often not directly opposite each other on a colour wheel. This is where practice and experience with our own paints comes in.

There are two other major ways of mixing halftones, using split-complements and blending with neutral greys. All three methods are used by some people; for example yellows generally have no mixing complement, no matter how many paints you own.

There's also what I term hue shading where people use a darker version of 'the same colour' if you have one available, e.g. Brown Madder for reds, Raw Umber for yellows. This is the least satisfactory method overall IMO although it can be a good choice in certain circumstances.

...and some orange for the highlights.

An orange can work for highlighting some reds (this is partly a matter of taste, so up to a point there's no right/wrong) but it depends on various factors.

Generally speaking though you'll get better results with white and yellow used together - some people use a flesh mixture, which is similar in basic principle. Orange shifts the hue toward orange, obviously, which is why it can look wrong since ideally you want the highlights, and shadows, to be the same hue as the base red.

Are primary colours really that much of challenge to do?(honest ignorance asking)

Can be. Depends on the hue and the paints you're using. Yellows for example are tricky for multiple reasons, including that yellow pigments don't cover well as a rule and tend to be tricky to shade in a way that looks right for other reasons.

I presume you're talking about brilliant colours generally here, not strictly primaries since there aren't that many instances where yellow, cyan and magenta need to be painted in historical modelling

And I might be needing to send a figure though the post. The figure is of aRoman Centurion, Pegaso 75mm white metal, so quite heavy.

Others will hopefully have more practical experience in this area but the following was recommended to me recently:

...double boxing is nearly infallible. You wrap the mini well and box it in a smaller sturdy box worthy by itself to be shipped. Then pack that box in the center of a larger box, surrounded by packaging materials, and seal up the larger box and ship it. The actual mechanics are the same as used for motorcycle helmets. Blows to the outer shell are absorbed and are unable to impact the center box. Also, be careful not to damage the mini when wrapping it "carefully". Some people wrap the minis tightly and ferociously strap the little thing with laps and laps of strapping tape. That almost always destroys swords, detaches arms and heads, and mangles other delicate pieces that protrude. Just gently surrounding it in toilet paper--lots of it but not tight--avoids that kind of damage.

Einion

 

[Jamie Stokes]

Thank you....

Einion,
ta muchly.
Has been something I have been trying to wrap my head around since joining pF. There more to shading and highlights then adding black or white.

I'll check the threads on clour thery later.

And the packaging idea is the best one I have ever seen. Less is more.....

Cheers
Jamie

 

[busso_boy]

Trophy bases seem to be a favourite for basing our hard work figures, both to display and stop the poor things toppling over. The local trophy shop has a (small) selection of bases,usually with a hole for bolting on an award. nice idea if I only want to do my figure climbing out of the sewers, but for most, I had the thought of getting a wooden plug of some kind, glueing it in, and adding the ground work from there (mounting figure, terain, etc) Any better ideas from the ocean of experience? Always open to new ideas, or other points of view.

i've been experimenting with all kinds of stuff, mainly "bits of junk" purchased from $2 shops...tea light candle holders, asian tea cups, all sorts of stuff. it has the bonus of keeping my figures at differing heights in the cabinet so i can see all of them at a glance.

i'm currently toying with an idea of a 54mm vignette inside an inscense burner with a bust mounted on the top.

having said all of that, i still use a lot of jarrah and stained pine bases, it all depends on what i'm working on

 

[tonydawe]

Hi Jamie,

Like you, I've used trophy bases to display figures before,and like you, I've found the range rather limited and relatively expensive.

There are a huge range of commercially available bases in a wide range of sizes and shapes that you can order online from manufacturers like Pegaso, Andrea etc, or you can order them through someone like Ian (busso boy) who deals with a range of other manufacturers.

I've recently used granite drill core samples as bases for a couple of busts, and they looked pretty good (if I say so myself).

If you know anyone in the mining industry perhaps you could ask them to cut up some core samples for you with a diamond saw (PS. ask for one with lots of gold in it!!!!!).

The other option is to contact your local wood turning/ craft society and see if anyone would be prepared to custom make a base for you. You'll probably save lots of money that way.

Cheers

 

[Jamie Stokes]

Figure mounting fun

Hi All,
well, to share ideas, am working out how I can put a cut down brass rod into an inverted camenbert cheese tub. Fill with plaster, make sure the brass rod (hollow, acually) is braced so it stands square. Just me reinventing what already has been done.
Like the idea of the drill cores, may grab some stone candle stick bases from the local $2crapola shop.

Can see use of cut down and stained planks, soonish.

Local woodcraft shop has shut, but I'll find another way.

Will have to add Empire hobbies to my preferred spending list....did I just say spending, I meant supplier....... Keep local dollars local where possible.

Cheers
Jamie

 

[Steve]

Regarding packing a figure for shipment, cloth of any finish will rub off paint. Wrapping the figure in several layers of plastic wrap, on the other hand, will both cushion the figure and protect it completely against abrasion as the plastic wrap has literally no "tooth" to damage the finish. The air trapped between layers of wrap serves to protect it further. Just another idea, and I wish it were mine but it was passed to me by a wiser man than I.--