painting a white uniform

[Gary D]

Hi. I am about to start my Andrea 90mm sniper and would like to paint him in a white winter uniform. Could someone help get me started in regards to base coat colours and shadows and highlights? Should I do it al a Calvin Tan with a black base coat or is there another method that is foolproof? (aka Garyproof)
Thanks

Gary D

 

[Wendy]

Hi Gary, here's a link to a tutorial by Stephen Mallia on painting whites. Click on Tutorials on the upper left and the whites tutorial is on the right side of the list of tutorials.

Also, I wouldn't prime in black just because it's a pain to get the higher light areas light enough. (In other words, it's a lot more work to start from black.)

 

[Gary D]

Thanks Wendy! I just had a look and I might give it a go. I should have mentioned that I use oils over acrylics in the way I paint figures. I can't seem to figure out how to blend acrylics and find I have more time to work with oils. Do you think I can use Stephens method by using oils?

Thanks again,

Gary

 

[Wendy]

I've never tried oils, but I think the colors and the gist of it will work...just different blending method.

 

[blabsy]

Hi Gary,
try painting the (white) light grey acrylic first,then add some more white to the mix,then block highlight with this,let this dry over night.
Then with your favored medium oils mix an off white/grey just lighter than the acrylic grey,add whitespirit till its transparent and float this on under control,let it dry off a little, go have a cup of tea! then add your highlights in tet/white or flake/white,as you work on you'll need to add grey to black in the undercuts,but I hope you get my drift?
Hope this helps???
Best Regards
Paul

 

[Gary D]

Thanks Paul! I think I understand. Just a question about the block highlights though. Does that mean i paint the highlight without trying to blend and only use the oils to blend into shadow?

Thanks,

Gary

 

[Einion]

Could someone help get me started in regards to base coat colours and shadows and highlights?

Style issues aside, basically the shadows on white are grey, but not the grey you get when you mix white and black paints. Black + white in paints nearly always gives a decidedly blueish grey, but it's easy to compensate for this (by simply adding in some umber usually).

Some people think it's a good idea when painting white to work over a white undercoat, to save time trying to cover a darker colour underneath. I think there's a lot to be said for this, or just a light grey or beige.

Now obviously white gets dirty very easily and in the setting of urban warfare we're talking really dirty, so the good news is that you're probably not going to want to aim for white anyway. So any simple mix of white, brown and a little black maybe should get you in the right ballpark for a generic brownish grey. You might want to consider here and there mixing in some Red Oxide or similar to simulate brick dust.

Should I do it al a Calvin Tan with a black base coat...

In oils? I wouldn't!

I can't seem to figure out how to blend acrylics and find I have more time to work with oils.

Maybe that's part of the problem Gary - you don't blend acrylics (generally - you can on smaller areas) you layer colours in stages to get a transition from one to the next. The layering can be tedious, but because of the quick drying time you can do coat after coat in a single sitting, even speed-drying between applications with a hairdryer if necessary.

Einion

 

[Gary D]

Very informative Einion and I thank you. It looks like I have more thinking to do on this project as there are different styles. I will have to decide what works best for me and cross my fingers.

Thanks,

Gary