Iron Brigade hat question

[milminwh]

Greetings,
I have a couple of Civil War Iron Brigade figures that I will be releasing, and will try and do the box art myself. Since I have started this figure company (7 years ago!), I have done very little painting (no time!), and I will try to get these guys painted myself during Christmas holiday.
The Iron Brigade wore their famous "black hats" which were made of felt. Felt is a very matte material, and I'm not sure how to best depict this material in artist oils.
Any "formulas" (base, shade, highlights) would be much appreciated.
Based on their uniforms, these figures would be representative of the Iron Brigade in 1862, so the hats were not battle worn yet at that time.
Regards,
John

 

[John Long]

I'd use mars black for the shadows, and mix in something like naples yellow to obtain the midtone and highlight. If you stipple when you blend you will also get a bit of texture that will mimic the wool look.

 

[Kandor8]

Hi John,
For flat finishes I always add Dorland's wax medium directly to my base color and let it dry for a bit on the figure and then work on highlighting and shade also w/Dorland's added. Black, if I want BLACK I only highlight - mostly w/Paines Grey or the Naples Yellow like John L. suggested. Another "flattening" technique I use is to "paint" Dorland's directly onto the dried finished area - straight, no thinning. This gives a nice cloth texture to the area as well.
look forward to seeing the figs!
Best!
Ric

 

[captnenglish]

John, I paint with Vallejo paints, so I can't offer any advice, but are these the figures I think they are??

 

[milminwh]

Greetings,
Thanks for the replies and some follow up questions - - -

John,
Stipple? Not sure what you mean?

Ric,
I have Dorlands wax but have had little success. Probably have not been able to get the ratio of paint:wax correct. What is good ratio?

Matt,
These are the Cromwell Iron Brigade skirmishers. I hope to have them ready for early 2006 release, hopefully by February.

Regards

 

[Einion]

Hi John, if you want to stick to just oils I'd suggest Mars Black as a good base too as it tends to dry fairly matt naturally. You could mix the highlights in a number of ways, I would usually add some Raw or Burnt Umber to the black to begin with, then you could add an ochre and a little Titanium White, or use a flesh mix if you have some on hand. Basically what this does is keep the mixed grey fairly neutral, instead of blueish like simple black + white mixtures usually are.

If you have any trouble with gloss drying as a rule I would soak out some excess oil from the paint, in combination with drying using heat (under a lamp, in a hot box etc.) this is the most reliable method if you want your oils to dry consistently matt.

Stippling is when you use a brush in a jabbing motion, which helps provide a slight texture if the paint has the right body (consistency) as well as making for a subtle irregular pattern when blending from one colour to another - good if the item you're depicting is an appropriate material like felt or rough wool.

Einion

 

[captnenglish]

John,
If I ahdn't converted mine I'd pop you a pic for the box art. VERY Glad to hear that the cromwell kits are finally gonna see the light of day

 

[Kandor8]

John,
Concerning Dorland's ratio to paint - depends on the color you're working with. Transparent colors like greens and reds, for instance, a little goes a long way. Others it's to taste - A good rule of thumb is to add Dorland's until the color starts to get transparent. It works great when using a glaze technique. I really like using it with Permalba white, Indigo blue, and W&N blue-black to list a few.
Best!
Ric

 

[John Long]

John,

Sorry I missed your question back to me. Einion has answered it exactly.

 

[milminwh]

Gentlemen,
Many thanks for the input. I'll try the stipple technique, which is something I've never done before. I hope to start painting these 2 figures in about 4 weeks & will try & post progress. Other than touch-ups, my first figure painting job in a few years and cant wait!
Regards