First Figure Attempt

Looks like you are off to a good start, Snoopy! I couldnt imagine having to deal with color blindess on top of everything else, but I think that wont stop you from doing excellent figures.

Regards, Dan

I just meant that the green parts of the helmet have some color overlapping onto the silver parts.  Any update pics for us yet?

Just another quick tip to add to what renarts has already said.  When finished and applying your protective coat, dont put dullcoat over your shiny metal bits.  They will look like lead afterwards, unless that's what you are going for.  Use a gloss or semi-gloss (probably semi-gloss unless you want him to look like he is on parade).  I did it to one of mine, he had a beautiful gauntlet and left arm scrolling that looked like crap afterward

Here are some examples of what I'm talking about. These are 120mm figures but the principle works the same. I painted the black first and then dry brushed the silver on to make the mail. The key is to not try and do too much at one time. Allow the color to build up. By doing this you can control highlights and shadows much more easily.

You should be able to strip the paint with some isopropyl alcohol. It works fine for me if I have to strip acrylic paint off.

You might want to try reversing your paint order for the mail. Paint a base coat of black and then dry brush your silver over the links. The highlights of the rings will stand out and give the mail much more depth. Any creases or shadow areas on the mail can be deepened with an extra wash of black to darken the area. I use MM Chrome silver and it makes a nice tone on metal parts. For plate armor I hit it with the Tamiya smoke. The darker "smoke" collects around highlights and really adds depth to plate.

The bronze color is nice and will give a toned down contrast to the color of your helmet. In period they used brass (called lateen then) or polished bronze. Many helmets also used no contrasting elements , but I tend to lean towards pimping out the figures a bit. Makes it more visualy interesting.

When painting armored figures, its easier to paint them as if dressing them. Gambeson or jupon first. Then mail hauberk. Lastly any plate or tabards, surcoats, livery coats etc.  This way as you dry brush the silver on the mail, you don't paint over a really nice paintjob on your overgarments. Any over brushing is covered when you do the base coat of the surcoat.

looks sharp so far, snoopy. i too am a relative beginner in figures, so this is nice to see and read about.

plymonkey wrote:

Not sure how you did your metalics, but from the looks of it, you just painted them a silver color. If I'm worng, then accept my appologies and disregard the following advice.  I would base coat the metalic surfaces with a dark metalic. Mix black or deep, dark brown (or a warm gray) with silver. Then add more silver and use that to dry brush over the base coated surface. Then try straight silver and lightly dry brush again. That'll give you a basic, no non-sense mid/shadow/highlight paintjob that looks like a convincing metalic surface. Of course, in the case of well kept suit of armor, you'll want to go easy on the heavy shadows and tarnish, keeping it largely straight silver or aluminum. The art of metalics can be far more complicated, but for a beginner, that should yield a pleasing result with little hassle.

So far the chain mail is the onlt metallics I've done.  I did them the way the Andrea Miniatures CD showed me to do them.  First silver then a black wash and in the areas of folds, more wash and then lastly a dry-brush of silver in the areas where light would hit it.

 

As you can see, I am not sure how to answer everything in one post with all the qoutes referenced.  Sorry about that.

 

-Scott

neo_hacker21 wrote:

Being partially color blind myself, I really feel your pain.  Overall a pretty good figure.  I think someone already mentioned it, but the transition between the parts of the horns on the helmet could use some more attention.  On a side note, where did the figure come from?

Thanks! I am not sure what is meant by more work around the horns.  What could be done differently?  More gap filling or paint?  The horns where tough, I was painting them once when I got distracted (kids:):)) and it dropped and they broke off.

renarts wrote:

For a first atempt it looks like you are off to a good start. Is this the Mike Blank figure? He looks like he came right out of the Manessische Liederhandschrift. The germans were great for the almost mythological crests they added to their great helms in the 13thc. I like that you've done something different than the usual (yawn) Teutonic Knight. The nasal support and decoration on the front of the helmet would really look nice in brass and really set off any color you decided to paint the helm. (Not all helmets were bare metal and were often painted). The nice part of this is that german heraldry in the 13thc. is pretty simple and is easy to paint. Perfect for first atempts or new figure painters where less is more. Keep us posted.

 

Yes, this is a Mike Blank figure.  It was also a feature article in either the second or third volume of Figure International Magazine (I think that is the correct title).  I based this figure of what the modelers did in the magazine.  I still do ont quite understand their color/mixing charts in that magazine.  I think bronze might look real nice.  The only reason I thought to use gold in the nose section, etc. was it would give a little more shine to that area.  Can I use POLLY S stripper on Andrea paints so I can redo the cloak?

Not sure how you did your metalics, but from the looks of it, you just painted them a silver color. If I'm worng, then accept my appologies and disregard the following advice.

 I would base coat the metalic surfaces with a dark metalic. Mix black or deep, dark brown (or a warm gray) with silver. Then add more silver and use that to dry brush over the base coated surface. Then try straight silver and lightly dry brush again. That'll give you a basic, no non-sense mid/shadow/highlight paintjob that looks like a convincing metalic surface. Of course, in the case of well kept suit of armor, you'll want to go easy on the heavy shadows and tarnish, keeping it largely straight silver or aluminum. The art of metalics can be far more complicated, but for a beginner, that should yield a pleasing result with little hassle.

Being partially color blind myself, I really feel your pain.  Overall a pretty good figure.  I think someone already mentioned it, but the transition between the parts of the horns on the helmet could use some more attention.  On a side note, where did the figure come from?

For a first atempt it looks like you are off to a good start. Is this the Mike Blank figure?

He looks like he came right out of the Manessische Liederhandschrift. The germans were great for the almost mythological crests they added to their great helms in the 13thc. I like that you've done something different than the usual (yawn) Teutonic Knight. The nasal support and decoration on the front of the helmet would really look nice in brass and really set off any color you decided to paint the helm. (Not all helmets were bare metal and were often painted). The nice part of this is that german heraldry in the 13thc. is pretty simple and is easy to paint. Perfect for first atempts or new figure painters where less is more.

Keep us posted.

I did not think of using red.  I guess I will try that next.

I don't thjink any of us would thiong of that intuitively, but I learne dit from my mentors.

I have Andrea's CD for painting figures.  That is how I tried to paint this one following their examples.  I guess it is time to revisit it.

This is a very good basic figure painting resource. I go back to mine every so often if I feel stumped.

 

The most important thing (at least for me) is that you have fun and that YOU think it looks good to start with. Don't put the bar too high now, it could discourage you to continue painting. I bought cheap figures ($2-3 for a set) to practive on. I learn new things the whole time, and soon I can start on my nice figures.

Good luck!

ajlafleche wrote:

When highlighting green, add increments of yellow to the base color. To get shadows, add increments of red to the base. To find where highlights and shodows should fall, place the figure under a strong single source, such as a desk lamp. If you haven't already, go to http://www.acrylicosvallejo.com, choose "Model color" from the drop downa dn croll to the bottoms for a downloadable and printable tutorial on using Vallejo/Andrea paints.

For the highlight areas, I used blue to darken.  The yellow I used to lighten.  I did not think of using red.  I guess I will try that next. 

I have Andrea's CD for painting figures.  That is how I tried to paint this one following their examples.  I guess it is time to revisit it.

 

Thanks,

Scott

Homer wrote:

What are the blue spots on the back? I think they look good otherwise, but a little bit detail work is needed. Look carefully at the horns on first picture. Also, the belt seems to be blue and green. /Lars

 

The blue dots I think you are refering to on the back of the cape, is my attempt at shadowing those areas where light is not getting to properly.  I know I need a lot of work in that area.  Those spots is where the fabic has slight folds so I tried doing different shades.  This is where my color blindness comes into play.  I sometimes cannot tell if it is to blue or just a dark green.  You see blue where I see a really dark green or even almost black.  I guess I will need to fix that some how.  Thanks!

The belt is not finished so what you see is the gray primer still.  I was thinking about the belt being a red along with red on the horns where the squares are.  Sorry I do not know the technical names for that part of the helmet.  Also how would gold look on the facial part of the helmet (middle cross between eyes, nose, and mouth area)?  I will being doing more thing this week and will have his sword/scabard on which if I go with red then the scabard with be red with gold or silver metal tips.

Thanks,

Scott

When highlighting green, add increments of yellow to the base color. To get shadows, add increments of red to the base. To find where highlights and shodows should fall, place the figure under a strong single source, such as a desk lamp. If you haven't already, go to http://www.acrylicosvallejo.com, choose "Model color" from the drop downa dn croll to the bottoms for a downloadable and printable tutorial on using Vallejo/Andrea paints.

What are the blue spots on the back?

I think they look good otherwise, but a little bit detail work is needed. Look carefully at the horns on first picture. Also, the belt seems to be blue and green.

/Lars