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Shading and highlighting

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  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, July 30, 2005 7:18 PM
Thanks alot
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 29, 2005 8:56 PM
I prefer oils because they're easier to work with and get good results, but like any other method, it takes some practice.

My method is probably too complex for a beginner, but Verlinden has a method that I always refer newbies to. He base coats in a simple approximation of a flesh tone. He suggests Humbrol 94 Yellow Brown or 187 Desert Tan but I would suggest a copmarably toned acrylic like Vallejo, as the oils will soften the enamel undercoat, since they're both oil based, and pull the base color into the mix, as well as screw up your undercoat and ruin the overall finish. Oils won't blend with Acrylics.

From there, he mixes Burnt Umber with Burnt Seinna to make a nice dark red-brown and loads a large brush up with paint and then smears it all over every flesh surface. Then he wipes the paint off so that there's only a light film of paint, but allowing the paint to remain built up in the creases and lower features.

Next, he mixes up a base tone from Gold Ochre and Titanium White (I think he also mixes in a touch of Cadmium Yellow, but I rarely use that color on flesh so you don't need i)t. Then he puts a small amount of paint on the brush and lays it into all of the flesh surfaces that were previously wiped clean. The trick here is to make as little paint as possible go as far as possible. You need to spread it out so that you have a thin coat of smooth paint, but only tough the color with your shade color. Don't mix yet!

He lets this sit for about 20 minutes and then takes a small, stiff, clean brush and dabs the tip at the border between light and dark paint with a quick stabbing motion. This blurs the border and mixes the two evenly. You can widen the transition by working out from the border into light or dark, depending on which color you want to be dominant in that area. Just be sure to wipe your brush clean periodically to keep the blend consistant.

After that, if I recall correctly, he takes the base and adds some Titanium White to lighten the base out. Have to check on those colors, but I'm pretty sure that's what they are. He lays this in to the higher points of the face, hands, ect and blends it into the base in the same manner as before.

Next, he mixes up a dark shade color, like straight Burnt Umber or B. Umber with some black, and drops that under the chin, nose, pits of the eyes and anywhere else that needs deep shadow. Blend as before, but be careful. This can be a fairly stark contrast as the painted areas will be the smallest on the figure in most cases and will replicate deep, strong shadow.

Finally comes the extreme highlights. He adds a little base to Titanuim White and lays that into the highest points like the checks, bridge of the nose, brow line, upper lip, chin and such. This can be blended in the same manner, though you can also leave the color break little stronger if you want to replicate a strong light source. You'll probably have to blend it a little though, to keep it from looking like you just forgot to blend.

That's basically it for shading and highlighting, whether it be skin tones or clothing/equipment. The key is, as I say, to spread the least amount of paint possible ofver the widest area possible. This eliminates brush strokes and leaves a nice dull, airbrush like sheen.

That article ajlafleche linked you to is a superb resource for painting in acrylics. It was originally published as a two part article in Historical Miniature magazine about three years ago. If you can get the hang of working with acrylics, wonderful things can be accomplished with them. I, personally, find them to be a lot of work and trouble to get the kind of results I get with oils, so I've never latched onto them, except as an undercoat, but acrylics, Vallejo in particular, are superb paints and many of the masters use them as their primary paint choice. I just have trouble with the glazing technique needed to smoothly transition the color breaks. Oils are more forgiving.

Good luck and enjoy.

Bill Horan's technique is similar to that of acrylic users, only he uses Humbrol enamals. Again, difficult to get the hang of, but you can't ignore the results if done properly.
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 29, 2005 9:22 AM
Thx Al, I needed that also.Cool [8D]

Peace,
William
  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Massachusetts
Posted by ajlafleche on Friday, July 29, 2005 7:16 AM
Go to http://www.acrylicosvallejo.com and click on "model Color" from the drop down menu. There's an excellent tutorial on figure painting.

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

  • Member since
    November 2005
Shading and highlighting
Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 29, 2005 5:40 AM
Hi,
I am not that good when it comes to figures, i was wondering how do get the shadows and stuff on the figures. Such as darker areas in the eyes and mouth and depths of the uniform. It makes them look alot more real.
Thanks, Tom.
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