WIP Critique My First Figure Too

[Tony Lee]

Could I get you folks to take a look at this 1/35th figure for me? Was just wondering if i'm headed in the right direction or not.
LifeColor and Vallejo acrylic base color. I've only been working on the flesh and I used oils for shading.

The figure is from a MiniArts SU-76 kit and i'm going to put him in an Alan Marder II D SPG.

Thanks for taking the time to offer advice.
Tony Lee

 

[tonydawe]

Hi Tony,

I think you've done a good job so far, but as always, theres a few things you can do to improve it.

Firtly I'd suggest you boost your shadow mix and have another go at laying in the shadows. Then I'd add some upper highlights, almost pure white, to the end of the nose, the upper chin, the tops of the ears and along the top of the cheek bone.

These steps will enhance the contrast and help make your face "pop". It may seem unnatural to paint this way at first, but when you see the results I think you'll agree it works.

 

[Tony Lee]

Thanks "T" for the advice. Will start in on the highlighting in the morning.

Tony Lee

 

[Wendy]

Good start Tony. In agreement with Tony, I'd suggest pushing for more contrast with the shadows and highlights which does take some getting used to. If you need a guide on where to put highlights and shadows, hold the figure under a bright light. That said, if he is going to be accompanying a tank or other vehicle, make sure the level of contrast is the same for both, otherwise it just doesn't look right.

 

[Tony Lee]

Thanks Wendy and I guess I should've gone into a little more detail about what i've done so far and that would explain why my figure looks like it does at this point.

The plan is to put him in this when I get it finished:

Like so:

I was told the hat is wrong for the time period but that's ok because I didn't want to use the helmet,my only other choice.

To get to this point in the painting since I have the desire to go with oils, The basic flesh tones are from the LifeColor flesh kit with a thin wash of Raw Umber. Today I was going to mix up a flesh color I picked up from the net and start in on the high lighting.

Very thin transparent coats,Right???? After the high lights I go back and enhance the shadows if needed. Right?????

That's about it I guess and i'll hang around for a little while just in case someone has any corrections for me to make or rethink.

Thanks for your time
Tony Lee

 

[tonydawe]

Could I make one suggestion?

Use your hobby knife to better define the shape of the fingers on the left hand and create a small space between each finger. Because the left hand is quite prominent there on the gun shield it will be a focus of attention. Anything you can do to make that hand look more realistic will enhance the look of the figure.

 

[kansas kid]

Ah ha, Tony beat me to it. . .

Hey there, Tony Lee:

Welcome to the PlanetFigure site. Tony beat me to it. When I saw that pix
of the Tanker in the tracked vehicle, and noticed the hand, I was going to
mention the same thing. So you live in SW Missouri, the Show Me State?

Somewhere's around Springfield or Joplin, . . . Carthage? I'm a Jayhawker
and I live in the Greater Kansas City area, on the Kansas side of the line.

Again welcome, Tony. I'd suggest you check this site regularly. As there are
so many talent sculptors and figure painters here, who are very friendly and
eager to help you any way they can.

I would hope that at some point in the future you would learn how to mix all
your own colours; even the flesh tones. You save a lot of money that way,
since you don't have to have every colour in the company's paint line to
come up with the specific colour and shade that you want. A lot of the
Planeteers will make suggestions as to how to learn how to mix your own
colours in acrylics as well as with oils.

Good luck, and have fun,

rick brownlee
a.k.a. the Miami Jayhawk

 

[Tony Lee]

"T" do you mean at the finger tips or the whole finger from tip to knuckles????
You're right of coarse because I hadn't noticed but could you give me a little slack for my first time and just stay with the basics for now? I'll make a note of your suggestion and do that on the next one if that's alright.

Tony Lee

 

[Tony Lee]

Yep down here in Springfield. I've done all kinds of telephone work up your way before I retired. The last job was redesigning and building new plant for MoKan Dial down in Louisburg and all the surrounding area.

The picture of him in the Marder was just after getting the arms moved around to fit the pose and before any clean-up was done.

I've made a large investment in oils and brushes over the last few days from reading everything I could find on the process of painting figures and my head feels like it's going to burst.

I made contact with John Long over the weekend and he told me you folks needed something to do for a change of pace by taking me under your wing.

I'll stay with it so you're not wasting your time on me.
BTW Thanks for the Welcome Rick
Tony Lee

 

[tonydawe]

Hi "T",

No slacking off mate- no excuses. Sticking with the basics is for beginners, judging from your pics,you've been fiddling with bits of plastic for decades.

What I suggest is you round off the ends of the fingers and just take out a small slice at the ends of the fingers so they are seperate, but not unnaturally so. It will take two minutes and make a big difference.

 

[Tony Lee]

Oh well alright. You know i've got house flies bigger than this guys hands.

Tony Lee

 

[Tony Lee]

I'm back after a day of work at the grind and without some more practice time under my belt I think this is about the best I can do for now.

Stayed tuned now because I still need to do the rest of it.
Thanks for the help so far
Tony Lee

 

[Tony Lee]

Morning
I took these in shaded sun light. Still a cheap camera but better lighting.

What do you think now?
Thanks
Tony Lee

 

[pmfs]

Hi Mr Tony,

resin/metal figures are better to achieve better results. Anyway, the result until now seems fair, but you have to put magic in your brush to finish this guy.

 

[Tony Lee]

Pedro,you are so right i'm afraid. I'm very short of magic but I just bought three bags of Hornet heads but I need to finish this one if for no other reason than to get the feel for the paints and brushes.

Maybe you're suggesting that I keep my day job.LOL
Tony Lee

 

[pmfs]

Mr.Tony, you have good tast on hornet heads the quality is superb when compare with the head of your figure
Like I said before, you go on the right path, now is to continue to paint more and more...
You are in the right place to become a figure painter.
Any doubt we are here!