Artist oils versus acrylics

I'm not a figure guy but I have heard of people using both for their figures. So, I will leave this question to the pros.

Welcome to the forums

Andy 

Thanks for the reply Wulf, you are right most (if not all) use a combination. I already have a good supply of enamels and acrylics as well as the basic Winsor-Newton Oils. Last night I ordered a basic flesh set of Andrea acrylics from Squadron! so now its just trial and error, cant wait to play!!, I mean paint!

Thanks 

You might try posting this topic over in Dioramas or Armor.....there are some really talented figure and armor painters over there!

HTH 

The big difference in the two are drying time. Many figure painters like to use oils because it allows plently of time for blending of shades - a technique much used in oil painting itself. Acrylic drys very fast and the blending technique is very difficult to do. But of course, I've seen many great paint jobs with Acryl's alone. You do have to deal with slow drying time for oil - as it may take days to drying completelyl before you can add a new layer of paint on. I've seen a few combine the two, use acrylics to do the base colors and then use oil to do any areas that needs very smooth transitions in tone.

Tools can be weathered on or off, depends on your preference. Besides using pastels or pigments to add 'dirt' or 'dust' to the tools, one common trick to use graphite powder (from scrapping a common pencil) to the tip of shovel, ax, pick, etc... to show use and a bit of metalic sheen to that part. 

JayDog wrote:

...undecided as to use 'Artist-Oils' or acrylics to paint the figures...

Take your pick.  You can use either or both and you will hear different opinions depending upon who you ask.  Some figure painters work exclusively in oils, others use only acrylics; lots of folks use oils over acrylics.  There are still some figure painters around who use only hobby enamels and get good results.  On the extreme end, I've seen absolutely magnificent figures painted with airbrush inks; the stuff graphic artists use for airbrushing.

Try each medium and pick your favorite(s).

Over the last several years, I've moved to Andrea and Vallejo acrylics almost exclussively. I only use oils where I need a deep wash, such as hair or fur. These two brands of compatible paint have an incredible shelf life and thin with diluted water, no need for esoteric and arcane thinners and formulae. They brush on very smoothly and you can add addional layers in minutes with no lifting as happens with Tamiya. Shading is done by applying several thinned layers of paint. You may want ot invest in some relaly good brushes. I'm using mostly a #2 Kolinsky sable with a fine point for small areas and detail work, including eyes in 54mm.