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Shading with oils, what am I doing wrong?

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  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: Los Angeles, CA
Shading with oils, what am I doing wrong?
Posted by corvettemike on Sunday, February 24, 2013 3:31 AM

Every time I try to shade a figure with artists oils, I never get the nicely blended color differences, shadows and highlights I see in magazines and online galleries. Instead I end up with a single monotone color with dirty splotches in it. I'm following the directions of stippling the edges with a soft dry brush but it never fails I end up with a bland uniform that I will usually end up just applying a wash and acrylic dry brush to and end up thinking "why didn't I just skip the oils?"

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Arm yourselves the truth shall be revealed In my sword I trust...

Havoc Models

  • Member since
    August 2012
Posted by AndrewW on Sunday, February 24, 2013 7:37 AM

Mike,

are you talking about trying to 'filter' the figure with the oils?  I've recently discovered vallejo's Panzer aces line, where they make a 'skin tone' set, it's a shade, a mid and a highlight, all in acryl.  That's what I've been using for a fleshtone, and then an oil sepia wash for the skin, and a slight oil umber wash for the details (eyes and so on) but then again, I'm working in a 48th, so I'm not really so tight with the detail, though the figures do come off nicely.  I find picking carefully the wash colors works nicely (not just black), but I guess it depends which scale you're working in and how much detail you're trying to put in (actual eyeballs or just dark spots to represent the difference).  

If you're trying to 'filter' I would assume you're working in a much larger scale.  Personally, when I'm filtering, I gloss with acryl, apply 'dots' of the filter color with a toothpick tip, and smear that out slowly with a paintbrush.  The gloss (or at least semi gloss) helps keep the 'filter' color from covering the whole piece.  

Hope that helps at all.

Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne.


  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: Los Angeles, CA
Posted by corvettemike on Tuesday, February 26, 2013 5:27 AM

I was thinking more along the lines of the methods described by Shep Paine where you lay a base of acrylic then lay a shadow, mid tone, and highlight next to one another with oils and feather the edges.

Rise my brothers we are blessed by steel in my sword I trust...

Arm yourselves the truth shall be revealed In my sword I trust...

Havoc Models

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Tuesday, February 26, 2013 7:36 AM

Funny, I was never able to replicate the results I saw with Shep Paine and others did with oils. It always looked perfect when wet and then when it dried you could never see any differences- looked like I'd painted them with the same shade all over. So I went with deliberately over the top painting and the results looked like a clown. Then I gave up and started painting with acrylics. I still think oils look better on larger figures but I never had much luck with them.  

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    March 2003
  • From: Towson MD
Posted by gregbale on Tuesday, February 26, 2013 8:49 AM

Mike, there's a tutorial on Youtube I've found useful for demonstrating basic oil shading/highlighting over an acrylic base. It's by artist and figure-painter Dave Youngquist, and although it's nominally about painting horses, the basic technique is applicable to a lot of other things like clothing and fabric. (Just think uniform buttons instead of eyes, and wrinkles instead of veins.Wink)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S2fpoCDtAI

For me, seeing it done is better than reading about it, and seeing how relatively simple this guy's technique is gave me a lot of confidence to practice it myself. Like everything, there's a learning curve, but this one's pretty short.

Greg

George Lewis:

"Every time you correct me on my grammar I love you a little fewer."
 
  • Member since
    December 2008
  • From: Goffstown, NH
Posted by New Hampshire on Tuesday, February 26, 2013 7:52 PM

Found this some time ago and perhaps it may be of some use?

www.missing-lynx.com/.../mbheads.htm

The key, I have found, with using oils with ANYTHING is to keep your layers thin.  In fact, while watching a Michtoy video on Youtube I saw a good tip...the guy used a piece of cardboard as a palette for the oils.  The cardboard help suck some of the excess oil out of the paint which left you with more pigment that is not as "slippery" and thus went down better in a thin layer.

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Massachusetts
Posted by ajlafleche on Thursday, February 28, 2013 3:30 PM

Are you using artist quality oils? They are a lot pricier than student quality and have a much finer pigment. I'd suggest taking a look at this link since you're already using some acrylics: www.acrylicosvallejo.com/.../36

Many of the top painters have made teh switch from oil to Vallejo for figure painting.

Remember, if the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.

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