How to Paint Black Uniforms?

Ok, here is my advise.

Check as many picture references as you can.
Black cloth is not truly black but usually got a bit of another colour mixed in, also how the light reflects of it will change the black to black/purple, black/blue, etc. If you want to go for all-black than you will need to play with the glossines of your paints but that, IMHO, will result in an inferior result.

So work from a medium colour that can be modified for highlitings(dry-brushings) and darkened for washes.
In short mix quiet a bit of your base colour and thus that as a base for your washes and dry-brushing too.
Example:
I tend to mix a LARGE batch of flesh/base colours that are than adjusted per kit and for shading/highlights. Simple reason, it is difficult to mix a second batch that matches the first one correctly.

To get a better image of waht I am talking about, try to get hold of the "Amazing Figure Modeler" mag that features "Lady Z/Zorro", a kit is totally dressed in black, but with the colour variations you can change her shirt to satin vs cotton pants, etc.

HTH.

There is a problem with pictures because as you know 99.9% of them will be black & white.

Here's a method I picked up recently...

Do a base coat of matt black and matt flesh (both enamels). Once dry, highlight with an oil mixture of Ivory black and flesh... increase the amout of flesh for highlights... increase the ratio of black for shadows... if you're not kean on oils use enamels for the shadow and highlights, it's just the oils are easier to work when wet...

Tarok, are you talking about flesh color in the context of face and hands or do you want me to paint flesh highlights on the black cloth?

How about matt dark grey (Humbrol) for base, matt black (Humbrol) for dark wash-shadows and matt medium grey (Humbrol) for highlights?

QUOTE: Originally posted by MonsterZero There is a problem with pictures because as you know 99.9% of them will be black & white.

If you go for WW II pics than you are right, but there are a lot of museums that have the old Uniforms and they offer colour pics or you could take your own.

QUOTE: Originally posted by MonsterZero My panzer crew is wearing typical German black tank crew uniform of WW2. I'm a beginning figure painter and want to keep it simple: paint the whole thing black and dry brush the highlights with medium grey.

I would paint it in a very dark grey (almost black), use medium grey for dry brushing and finish with a wash.

I start with a very dark gray. That;'s the base color. Depending on wheter I want a warmer, cooler or neutral feel, I'll use flesh (always for leather) for a warm tone, blue for a cool tone or gray for a more neutral effect for highlights. I've been using the Andrea/Vallejo method so I'm actually laying thin wet coats of acrylic on the high points. Look below for the thread "Wild Bill Hickock". While he's in a dark gray suit, the results are similar. This is a neutral palette. For shadows, straight black for neutral, black mixed with dark blue for cool or mixed with dark brown for warm.
For your purposes, I'd go with neutral palette for a panzer grey tank, warm for one primarily in dunkelgelb or one in a summer fall dio and cool for a mostly dunkelgrun one or one set in early spring/winter.

QUOTE: Originally posted by MonsterZero Tarok, are you talking about flesh color in the context of face and hands or do you want me to paint flesh highlights on the black cloth?

Now that just wouldn't make sense now would it?

Mix your base coat of matt black and flesh... increase the ratio of black to flesh for the shadows, and visa versa for highlights... you have to play around with the ratios to see what gives you the results your are happiest with... it's not a clear cut 50:50...

If you think this method is full of it... this is the method used by world renown painter Angelo Amorese - I downloaded a pdf with this in a Knight Hospitaller SBS from www.metalsofhonour.com (hope the URL is right)... you have to join the site to download it...

The easier way for black uniforms and leather is to paint with satin black and lightly drybrush with burnt umber and burnt sienna oils.
Avoid using any grey on black and try to highlight with browns,blues,greens.etc,mixed with base black.

I've heard of orange used as the highlight. I think that's a Shep Paine trick. That relates to the flesh idea. I've used it and it works but, as has been mentioned already, there are different tones of black in clothing so you could go a few directions, including just gray.