Questions on How to paint white clothing

[Chris Kelm]

Hi everyone,I would like to know if there is someone who can tell me how to paint white clothing? I know you can't just paint clothing white there must be a formula in terms of what is the base coat,mid tones, and highlights colors would be. I use Jo Sonja acrylic paints if that will help in your decision.
Thank you.
chris

 

[jai]

this is a piece in 28 mm
Color Valejo
pants started from black as a base and added white to pure white

It started from gray jacket and a little brown and white added up to pure white

robe (inner dress) purple base and white added up to pure white

6/7 gradations of color for each part of the dress

But I do not consider myself a painter ...

 

[valiant]

Hi Chris - I use Vallejo acrylics, so dont know about Jo Sonja, but I use Ivory as a basecoat, with highlights in White and shadows with Ivory/Green Ochre (just a touch)
then several very thin washes of Grey Shade (thinned to almost dirty water!)

 

[Tecumsea]

The secret is to only use white for highlighting so the base will be white with a small quantity of another colour to make a grey or with a touch of brown to create a buff colour. These will produce a warm effect. If you have more than one white on a figure try adding some Blue to white to add a colder contrasting white-it's a matter of experimenting. Sorry I can't be more specific about Jo Sonja as I use oils but hope this helps.

Keith

 

[Eludia]

Like the others mentioned Chris, start with an off white base coat. Mixing Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Umber gives a nice chromatic black which you can adjust to a warm or cool bias by adjusting the relative quantities, more Blue for a cooler bias and more Umber for a warmer bias. Add a spot of this colour to white to reach your base colour. For shadows gradually add more of your chromatic black (but not too much) and for highlights gradually add more white. Reserve your pure white only for the top highlights.

 

[Chris Kelm]

Thank you everyone for the help
chris

 

[Paul Kernan]

I generally start with a dark grey mix of Titanium White and Lamp Black. From there I add Burnt Umber for a warm while or Ultramarine Blue for cool. Shade/highlight accordingly but as everyone has already stated, Titanium White is only used for the highest light value.

Interesting point Bill (Eludia) makes as it relates to black.......I had a chance to quiz my friend Penny Meyer a couple of weeks ago at MMSI about her treatment of black. She said she always mixes her black from brown and blue and only uses a touch of black as the deepest shade value. This way highlights can maintain a richness and avoid the starkness/chalkiness that we all have probably ran afoul of.

 

[pkessling]

As everyone has commented. Never start with white as your base color. Mix either a cool (blue, grey tones) or a warm ( tan, yellow) base color. This allows you to use pure whites for your highlights.
Mars yellow and white is a good warm white and dab of Indigo and white for a cool white. The mixes really won't look white on your palette but will on the figure.
Same applies to black. Only use black for the deepest shadow color.

 

[Paul Kernan]

This should also go for an undercoat if you use one. I use an off white in the same palette (cool/warm) as my finish tones.

 

[Chris Kelm]

Thanks everyone for the info.
chris