How Do You Paint Fine Details?

[Mountaindog]

I posted this question in another thread, but I think that thread had died out, as I did not get a response, and I am impressed by how helpful folks on this site are. I am fairly new to painting figures with acrylic, but not making much progress; I would be embarrassed to post my work here. But I am enjoying it, and have seen lots of books and videos on painting faces and shading clothing and skin tone, and I am using them as I still have a lot to learn in that regard. What I cannot find are instructions on painting small, precise details. There is a 54mm Iwo Jima Marine by Andrea painted by SPrimeau elsewhere on this site that has USMC printed on his shirt - I am happy if I can get four distinct dots to represent the letters. I also did Andrea's 54mm Roman aquilifer, which has a geometric design of very precise arrows on the shield. Please forgive me, but I cheated and printed something off from the internet and pasted it on, as I had no idea how to paint such a design. Any videos or books out there that would give directions like this? Painting very straight lines, small letters, unit patches, etc?

 

[housecarl]

I don't know if these will help?
http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/painting-an-standart.16031/
http://www.wampforum.com/wiki/index.php/Freehand
http://pinselwut.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/step-by-tep-painting-freehand-design.html
The only other short answer is practice, not very helpful I know.

 

[Ferris]

I keep struggling with this too. Here are a few things to keep in mind when doing this with acrylics:

1. Use a bigger brush than you might think. Key is that it has a good point, not that it is small. Bigger brushes hold a bigger volume of paint that stays fluid longer. Paint on a too small brush dries faster than you can paint.

2. Experiment with the right level of thinning. Too thin and you get a transparent, un-focused line. Too thick and the paint dries on your brush. It depends on the paint, but I think I use 30-50% thinning with water. Remember to discharge the brush on a paper towel before making the actual stroke, and test on a scrap piece before touching the figure.

I hope this helps a bit.

Cheers,
Adrian

 

[valiant]

I suggest that you practice lining on a piece of plastic card.
I cant really add more to what Adrian says, its the point of the brush that is important, a larger brush is better for lining and that it holds the paint better.
Try lines, circles, lettering, etc on flat surfaces to get the feel of it, then try lining around a paint bottle lid - Im sure it will come with practice!

Steve

 

[tonydawe]

Painting small details is difficult for all of us. There's nothing wrong with using decals, creating stencils and anything else that makes the task easier for you. It's not cheating - it's smart.

Geometric patterns can be painted freehand with a steady hand. Consider breaking the patterns down into small sub sections to make it easier to tackle. I can recommend Tommi Worton`s stencil sets for Roman and Medieval patterns and standards.

 

[Mark S]

Painted 54mm detail is a very difficult thing even for any young testosterone sweating young gun like myself, let alone the half blind old farts bumping into the furniture you'll find around here.
Seriously though, I find that fine detail is more a matter of taking away what you don't want rather than getting it right in one go.
Paint what you think you want and then take away what you don't. I hope that makes sense, what I mean is paint it then using corrective strokes with the background colour take away your 'mistakes'....... and I reckon keep in mind the whole time what Adrian said about brushes, very important.!!!

 

[housecarl]

To add to what my learned friends have said.
A touch of glaze medium or Winsor & Newton blending medium help delay the drying time.

 

[pgarri27]

Shin guards. Oh how handy that would be. I use extreme power OptiVisor so I can see precisely where the brush tip is going. I hold the figure in a wooden block for painting, and I practice the letter/number on the block before painting on the figure. That let's me see the consistancy of the paint and if I'm able to make the letter/number. For me, I have to do it VERY slowly. Manytimes the paint dries before I can get it onto the figure, and I have to reload the brush. Steve is right on. Bigger brush (0 or 1) with a fine point. When I used a 000 brush, it always dried before I got it to the figure. I struggled with this for years before I got half decent, so practice, practice, practice.
Pete

 

[FigureLover]

I use an optivisor for everything but they definitely help with fine detail. Another way you could go about the lettering this small is use a sharp black (or whatever colour you need) pencil, easier to handle than a brush. If it needs to be manipulated or shaded, then do exactly what everyone else above has said above. Hope this helps
Ben

 

[John Bowery]

A tip I finally found after many years, is to paint the thin line keeping the brush at 90 degrees to the surface being painted at all times. Therefore only the point touches the surface and will not bend and let the side of the brush touch the area, making the line wider.
Hope this will help.
Cheers
John

 

[Eludia]

I've been using a W&N Series 7 size 2 brush for most of today and it's been a bit of a revelation. A nice size for large blocks of colour, the point is still good for fine detail and it holds gallons of paint (probably, it holds a lot anyway ). No problems with paint drying on the brush and less trips to the palette to reload (one brush full was usually enough to do even the largest areas on the 54mm figure I've been working on). It's probably gonna be my "go to" brush from now on.

Anyhoo, the point I was trying to make is basically what Adrian said; bigger is better to a certain degree (any bigger than a 2 will probably be a bit clumsy on 54mm), the ability of brush to maintain a good point is more important as is nailing your paint consistency.

Billy

 

[Alex]

i use these days mostly a size 1 W&N serie 7 brush and it works perfectly
you may also try using a wet palette : helps a lot prevent early drying of paint
also do not thin too much your paint. for most liquid colors, 1:1 ratio is perfect. you may also a little bit of surfactant in your water. it will help for the flow.
cheers
alex

 

[Mountaindog]

Thanks to all of you, I am anxious to try some of your ideas. I have gone to progressively smaller brushes, I will go back up a size or two and pay more attention to consistency. As for patience and practice, I struggle with that -- I join the ranks as one of the "half blind bumbling old farts" Mark S refers to, so not sure I how much time I have left to be patient and practice! Thanks again, cheers, look forward to spending more time on the site and learning more every day. MtDg