Face painting shading

[The Maxican]

My personal view is that there is no actual realistic face painting. Reason is simple: we are painting miniatures which per se are not realistic. We need to exaggerate in accordance with the scale. As a rule of thumb: the smaller the miniature the more we need to bring contrasts to the limit since the surface catches and reflects less light. We sometimes think that contrasts are too high when we only see pics of a miniature since those are way larger than the miniature in real life. At shows we then see that the actual contrast is just fine.

Miniature painting today is very much influenced by tv shows and movies. We will see what the next trend will be. For me everything is acceptable, and I don't care much whether anyone accepts it as realistic or not, if it works for the eye. Looks good is good. And contrast actually is something which I don't relate very much with realism. It's more the colours which are used that influence what some call realism.

Just my 2 cents.

Cheers!

 

[Metal Extremo]

Well, i'm not the most indicate to answer, cause i'm spanish and the painters of my country have a lot of guilt, with italians. In my opinion when we paint we try to obtain something real and beautiful. Sometimes sacrifice part of the realisty, to obtain most beauty, but in all cases our painting it's a fake, cause at the scales that we use to paint lights and shadows don't go as we paint. If we do as it is, our miniature have not depth. Faces are el 50% of the miniature. We dedicate a lot of time, in proportion with the rest of the elements to work it. More contrast, glaces with tones, impossible eyes... Cause everybody goes in first time to the face when is watching miniatures. If they are painters or don't know nothing of our hobby, is the same. To the face. A worked face, with more contrast between lights and shadow likes more. I've got my figures in the sitting room, and it's checked. My wife's friends don't know nothing about painting and like more faces with big contrast. Obviously, at minor scales more contrast to resalt.
In other point, is the competition. To try to win something at a concourse, the first is the impact. Sometimes are too much miniatures, and without a spectacular painting your work is not seen by the judges. And it's the same. The half of your miniature painting is the face.

Ending my divagations, there's only a truth. If you don't like it, don't do it. First of all, it's a hobby for the most part of the people, so paint as you like, not as the rest of the people expect. And as a friend used to say "If you don't like, you can buy it and paint it as you want, man. I like how it is."

 

[tonydawe]

I suspect the high contrast school of painting has being influenced by the inevitable rise of fantasy figure subjects from Warhammer and table top gaming over the past 20 years. There's no doubt some of these high contrast subjects have redefined the art of miniature painting and have challenged the status quo of "traditional" figure painting. That's a good thing in my view. As artists we need to be open to new ideas, new techniques, new styles and new concepts. It doesn't mean that they are all good, and its doesn't mean we have to embrace them, but we should remain open to them and accept them within the range of artistic expression and interpretation in our hobby.

Do I like it - no, not really.
Would I use this technique myself - no, I'm not brave enough to use this technique.

The "coal miner's face" technique is just one of several recent innovations in miniature figure painting that has challenged the status quo. I thank the Spanish and Italian modellers who pioneered this technique for showing us all the beauty of their artistic talents and showing us all what is possible.

 

[gforceman]

Personally I LOVE the deeper contrasts. Can't explain why, but to me it's more attractive to look at, and that's how I then try to paint : how I like them, not anyone else. Remeber that no one will ever be able to paint to everyone's taste. Some of my favourite apinters are Diego Ruina, Jaume Ortizn, Marion Ebensperger, Ernesto Reyes to name but a few.

cheers and most of all : keep enjoy painting,

Gino

 

[garyhiggins]

First of all, oh boy! do I agree with Sippog!!! I don't think it possible to paint for both eyes and camera. Paint to view and it looks too bright in pictures. I don't really think it matters weather you paint high contrast or low contrast, paint for yourself, let your own style develop, don't push it, but just aim to do a little better than you did last time.
Mind you, what do I know? The last face I painted was green!
Best wishes, Gary.

 

[Ron Tamburrini]

The last face I painted was green! That.s what happens when you paint under incandescent light in the winter when it.s dark outside
I once ended up with a green horse and I'm not alone here

 

[ChaosCossack]

I personally don't dig the overdone highlighting and shading, be it flesh tones or clothes.
A blue jacket highlighted up to white, IMO, is no longer a blue jacket... tigerstriped at best. Same with faces. I look in the mirror (bear in mind I'm pasty faced Slavic-German) and there is no pure white highs or dark black-red lows on my handsome mug. If my face did look like that one morning, I think a trip to the hospital might be in order.
I only get into deep shadows if the face is making an extreme expression (grimace, frown, yelling, screaming, laughing etc) and then only as lines around mouth, nose and eyes. Know also I'm refering to 54 and 75mm figs... I've only done one bust.

Beauty or style is in the eye of the beholder, therefore I do take exception when a paintjob is slagged for not buying into the current trend or as I've heard, judges won't look at a piece if it's not done in the currently acceptable trend, rather than taking in the quality of the work as opposed to the stylistic leaning.

There you go, my two cents worth of sweet F.A.

Cheers

Colin

 

[Funky50]

Have to say have really enjoyed this thread and have learned something from it well done for the original posting and all the subsequent replies a lot of which hadn't occurred to me before ...Kevin

 

[Ron Tamburrini]

I've heard, judges won't look at a piece if it's not done in the currently acceptable trend,
This also goes for figures not painted in acrylics by some judges no doubt this will cause a war but things have been a bit quiet re extreme highs and lows one guy seems to get the balance right all the time Massimo Pasquali

 

[Helm]

I struggle with my highlights and shadows as those of you unfortunate enough to be good at it have no doubt noticed from my frequent posts of "Why doesn't this look like yours ?" . But in part this does partly come from my dislike of the coal miner face and the attempt in my eyes to keep the face realistic and not looking like Fifi A Gogo from Club Tropicana
Steve

 

[Ron Tamburrini]

Fifi A Gogo ,should I know her

 

[Helm]

It is possible

 

[Metal Extremo]

I personally don't dig the overdone highlighting and shading, be it flesh tones or clothes.
A blue jacket highlighted up to white, IMO, is no longer a blue jacket... tigerstriped at best. Same with faces. I look in the mirror (bear in mind I'm pasty faced Slavic-German) and there is no pure white highs or dark black-red lows on my handsome mug. If my face did look like that one morning, I think a trip to the hospital might be in order.


Colin

I'm agree with you at the jacket. Highlighted up to white, the colour is burned. In other point, blue and red are difficult colours to be lighted, casuse fast lost the tone and destroyed your work. It's easier make the base colour darker and use the blue/red to light it. But faces have a different process than the rest of the elements of the miniature for a lot of the painters that i meet. I could see Jaume Ortiz painting a face, and for highlights used clear flesh, a little less than white. And for me is one of the bests at 75mm in faces, and don't see stranges his faces. Before, with camo and trousers the system to paint was the same as face, but the contrasts were not so bestial.

About the judges... i can understand that is difficult between so much miniatures to valorate everyone. Of course i understand it, but i'm not agree with it. What is a trend today was something new time ago, and with this form to think our hobby never have evolution, and our hobby has evolution in my opinion. It's difficult to innovate, the korean painters are done amazing things with tones and glaces in their busts. I think that have more weigh the name of the painter at concourses than if the form to pain is trendy or not, cause are in theory aninomous the miniatures, but all know the author of a lot of miniatures by forums, publications... but this goes to another thread

 

[ChaosCossack]

Pardon my ignorance... Can someone define "coal miners face" for me? I doesn't sound flattering at all.

Colin

 

[Ray Welshman]

The point between camera and show room is very valid. At MFCA this year I remember being totally blown away by some of the artists work and I would just stand there looking at it very closely admiring it and maybe learn something. After the show I saw some of those same figures posted as photos on the internet and the contrast was amazing, it didn't look like the same piece. My point I guess because of scale to the eye it looks excellent.

As for trends hey if all these young gamers take up miniature painting and start branching out to military and other interests and start bringing their own art to the shows and our hobby continues then I'm ok with that. Who knows in 20 years some young artist will meet an old grizzled oil/humbrol painter who does subtle and effective blending and the young artist learns and applies the technique and all the painters on a future Planet Figure will be talking about how this "new" approach is so different from the dark high contrast of current painters.

Cheers

Ray

 

[Tubby-Nuts2]

Colin, possibly Deep shadow, and High Highlighting! with not much blending in-between! That's my interpretation of this phrase!

Mark

 

[housecarl]

Pardon my ignorance... Can someone define "coal miners face" for me? I doesn't sound flattering at all.

Colin

Extreme contrast, with shadows going down to black Colin.

 

[sippog]

As for trends hey if all these young gamers take up miniature painting and start branching out to military and other interests and start bringing their own art to the shows and our hobby continues then I'm ok with that. Who knows in 20 years some young artist will meet an old grizzled oil/humbrol painter who does subtle and effective blending and the young artist learns and applies the technique and all the painters on a future Planet Figure will be talking about how this "new" approach is so different from the dark high contrast of current painters. Cheers Ray

Great image

And, yes, I agree. Irritating as I find the brainwashing of gamers by companies like Games Workshop (do you know how much they charge for some of those figures?), it is small scale gaming figures that youngsters can afford and it is the future of the hobby.

 

[ChaosCossack]

I agree Ray... I like to see all different styles of painting on here or at shows. That makes the hobby interesting. However, when one particular style is "forced" as THE style to the exclusion other styles, that's NFG. Then all figures will look the same (execution not withstanding) and that would be a drag. Like going to a bike show and all the choppers are built with the same parts and painted flat black... BORRRRING!

To encapsulate... Paint however the hell you like! Variety is the spice of life!

Colin

 

[ChaosCossack]

Thanx for the definition... I think I know what you're refering to. The skintone takes on an almost unhealthy grey pallor... Yeah, not a fan of that. In my mind, painting a military fig means you're painting a man/woman who is marching/eating/sleeping/fighting OUTSIDE... read... ruddy, weathered complection, not the pallor of a hardcore Goth-chick.

Colin