SS Soldier - Dragon Hohenstaufen

SWEET HUXY, love it.

That is a good face....you should knock off the dust and otehr particles before doing any more work on it...your skills are improving--don't be afraid to use colors that you intuitevely don't think belong on a face, such as highlighting w/ whites and adding some pink tones too the lips...also, "suggest" eyes by filling the eye creases w/ raw umber and wiping off the excess---this can be much more effective than trying to "paint in" the eye...

Here's some similar soldiers I recently completed. Notice the light highlights and the washes that accent the deep areas...notice the highlights on the fingernails, tops of noses, ears, knuckles, cheekbones, etc...Also, I paint from dark to light:

So I painted the face of the other guy... still not done.. but would like some comments though..

 

First coat

 

Second coat

 

Third coat

 

I notice now how horrible this one turned out...

Good work overall not to heavy handed, the breeches look too green in the pics might be an artifact of photo technique.  I'm still a champion of the oil paint toneing method, with cheap testors base coats mixed by eye.  Even the guys doing "How-to" articles in the mags stuff just don't look as good to me as one shaded with oils.  Acrylic washes don't settle naturally into folds and highlighting by dry brushing leaves it streaky. call me old fashioned but a well painted fig in oil always looks better than acrylic. Almost forgot your figs need a coat of flat varnish.

I've never used an airbrush on my figs...

here's 3 other pictures of the second guy.. I'll get some pictures of the updated face of the other guy up soon....

 

 

 

Thanks for the comments,

-Huxy 

I figured 8 bucks was a bit high.  I'm not really a fig painter though.  Other then 35 scale for dio's.  If I get into figure painting more, I will probably use my artist oils mostly.My first figure which I am working on now I airbrushed the main color of it.  Shadows and highlights were done with thinned and altered shades as it should be.  Although if I can get rid of the pulsing from my compressor at pressures as low as 5-10 PSI, then my airbrush is capable of doing all the shading and painting except for the eyes and hair, and certain tiny details.  It can do all the shading and highlighting though.

fantacmet wrote:

I'm sure Valejo is wonderful stuff, but I for one have no need for it.  Also I'm not gonna pay 8 dollars a bottle for little bottles of paint.  That's what they cost me out here.  Citadel is only 3 bucks a pot.

Whoever is charging you $8 a pop is a thief. Coloado Miniatures has them at the correct $2.95 a bottle. I have some bottles that are 9-10 years and they are still fine.

And, no, the basic Vallejo paint is not designed for airbrush use but for brush painting and aimed at the figure painter.

I've neve rused Valejo.  They are not supposed to go through an airbrush very well, and for brush painting the citadel colors work EXCELLENT, and also when thinned they give a beautiful finish when shot through an airbrush.  I'm sure Valejo is wonderful stuff, but I for one have no need for it.  Also I'm not gonna pay 8 dollars a bottle for little bottles of paint.  That's what they cost me out here.  Citadel is only 3 bucks a pot.

You told me to thin the paint in the US tanker bust thread, and I did after that, and this shouldn't be too thick...  But I'm still learning :)

I did touch up with the eyelids and such, and will get a picture up sooner or later...

 

About the pattern, I did practise it a bit before doing it on this figure. But this figure was painted and put in the box for a while... I recently brought it back on the bench and did the helmet, boots and skin....  I posted this very same figure a while ago, back on page 7, where it is now...

 I am painting a second figure at the moment from the same kit, and will also have a picture of him up sooner or later.

Thanks anyways. :) 

Are you thinning your Vallejo paints? They really shouldn't be used straight form the bottle. There are a few spots where the paint look too thick. Go to the Vallejo website and click on MOdel color then scroll down for the tutorial on their product.

The scuplting is a bit soft compared to the metal and resin figures I'm used to so getting good highlights and shadows is going to be more difficult for you. As mentioned, retouch the edge of the eyes, there;s a bit of the iris running onto the eyelids.

Make sure you have a really good brush to work on details.

Also, you've chosen a really challenging camo pattern. When I have a pattern that looks like it will be difficult, such as a Scottish tartan, I practice it on sheet stock until I match the original pretty closely. Download a [attern that you're planning to do then practice the shapes of the pattern and colors used.

Anyway, keep up the good work.

Thanks all, thanks :) 

 Fantacmet, that has been one of my greatest problems, not getting the shading correctly... I used to exagerate the shading tooo much.. But I finally learned :)

calvin_ng wrote:

GREAT FIGURE PAINTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Looks alot better then my figures, what paints did you use, im planning on buying vallejo paints and hope i get better results, i love your figures calvin ng

 

Calvin, I use Vallejo acrylics and Citadel acrylics mostly. The Citadel range is available at any store that sells Warhammer, which is a tabletop gaming game. Also available at their site, game-workshop.co.uk

But I tend to use more and more vallejo though.  I recently picked up their skin painitng set (the one with 8 pots), and this is the result I got after about 3 figs.. 

Glad you like my painting, and hope my reply helps :) 

 

-Huxy 

Actually in one of your pics, you already have your answer to the skin.  The one that shows a closeup of his face in your hand.  The skin tone and shading match your own skin tone and shading pretty closely.  I'd say you got it pretty much spot on.  That is how I've learned to judge mine, is while mixing, hold the patch up next to my own skin and adjust from there.  Now if I'm going to paint a figure of a race other then a white guy, I have to call up a friend and haev them come over so I can hold patches of paint next to them.  They think I'm nuts, but they do it anyway.

Fig is lookin pretty good.  I'm finally doing something other then dio figs now myself.  My first "large" scale fig.  So far I'm satisfied with the results, but time will tell.

GREAT FIGURE PAINTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Looks alot better then my figures, what paints did you use, im planning on buying vallejo paints and hope i get better results, i love your figures

calvin ng

Doesn't look bad at all, Huxy. One thing I would do is to go back over the eyelids with some flesh tone, to clean up the eyes a bit. Maybe add a touch of warmth to his cheecks with pink added to flesh tone, and then some highlights... top of cheeck bone, bridge of nose. Places where the sun might hit.