well, here's a very stupid question....

Howdy Jim ...

First off, it's not a stupid question ... anyone that tells you that they never asked it is a liar!

Check out my OIF Figure thread about my 120mm figure. The first post will walk you through the painting of the face. I HIGHLY recommend purchasing the FSM book, "how to paint realistic military figures" ... osprey also has a good book, "modelling and painting figures". However, any good figure/ modeling book should walk you through the steps.

I like the FSM book, b/c it takes it a step further. It takes you through the steps using enamels, acrylics (my preferred), and oils. It talks about the advantages and dis advantages to all.

But, to try and sum up your question (per how I do it) .... First, I would apply a couple of coats of you base color, at least two coats. Then, I go back over it with a darker version of the base color using a wash. Then, I darken the base color again, and using a fine 000 brush, I purposefully pic out the "dark" spots. Best way to do this I've found is to take a black and white picture of the item you're painting and go from there. Then, I go back with a lightened version of the base color for the highlights. Of course, making sure that all these shades are blended as we go. I typically do the eyes (120mm only) after the highlights. The steps are pretty similiar for all scales. Just in the larger scales you have to be more careful of blending and detail work.

One thing to keep in mind is that a 120mm represents a real person at about 10'. A 1/35 figure represents a real person at about 20'. Keep this in mind when you start thinking about how detailed you want to get. How much detail can you REALLY see at 10' ... at 20'.... Just think about it.

Also keep in mind that everyone here has there different tricks. I like to learn by the book, and then test new ideas out branching off those methods.

Best way to learn is to just get to it. Go buy a GI JOE figure if you don't want to test on your actually build. It's cheap, and you can use it as a test-bed for other things as well.

Just my thoughts....

well jim, guess i'll be the first reply. everyone has their own way of painting flesh but its all "pretty much" the same. i found a book at my local hobby shop by francois verlinden called "the system" vol. 1 figure painting. i cant tell you how much this book has helped me in my figure painting especially the flesh tones. so i scanned my copy...i hope this works and i hope this works 4 ya. its invaluable to me!

but like i said, you'll probably get 6 different answers. hope that helps!

 hey n.p. i'm just glad if its helping you. seems to me (and now this might p.o. a few people or might not who knows but its nothing personal to ANYONE here in the forum), like alot of people give very vague answers or dont tell you everything for what you need to do or know. And i understand when you really want to know an answer and really want help and you cant get it (or they dont want to tell you?). however, that is merely my observation only and may or may not be true.

  i realize the pages i scanned were cut off but even if you just look at the pics you can understand it step by step! it works...really does!

model maniac 96 wrote:

oh yeah, I forgot, once you have started the painting process, on the 1/35 scale figures( whenever it should come ), is it better to paint the uniform areas first, or the flesh areas first?

depends on what your painting (figure wise). i almost always paint the flesh first, especially if you follow the method i gave you. oil paints always make a mess from the constant "removal" of excess paint that always ends up with excess on the uniform. by doing it this way, you can paint the uniform and "cover and hide" by painting over it. again, you will probably have many other answers on this...this is just how i do it. naturally, regardless of whichever you choose to paint first, ya just dont want to mess up what ya already did...i think that makes sense!

However you paint ... in pieces or assembled ... ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS paint from the inside - out.

Basically, whatever is underneath something ... that will always get painted first. Here's the way it was explained to me. First, you paint the under-roos. Then the under shirt ... then the outer shirt (if its tucked in) ... then the pants, then the belt.

Make sense? But trust me .... you'll only have to do it wrong once before you figure it out for yourself!

modelchasm wrote:

Make sense? But trust me .... you'll only have to do it wrong once before you figure it out for yourself!

amen brother! listen to this guy!

Gee, thanks, camo!?! Make me sound like I did it wrong twice or something!?!?! ...

... ok .... I did. 

Yeah, no kidding!?!

Yeah. You can also appply this method to basic uniform colors as well ... until you start getting into camo colors.

Take my OIF figure for example. The base color is deck tan (Vallejo), the mid-tone is a grey color, and the dark tone is a darker version of the mid-tone. The shadows were created using a slighting darker color of the dark-tone, thinning it out to a nice wash. For the highlights, I just drybrushed the base color over the finished uniform. I had wanted to make the vest and helmet colors a little lighter (sun faded) but I was getting lazy having to paint the ACU pattern, and so I didn't feel like mixing more colors. Hind-sight ... I wish that I had taken the time. It would have only set me back a day or two and it would have been totally worth it.

Bottom-line ... take your dang time. If you get tired of it or frustrated .... put it down, step back and come back later on. $10 bucks says that when you come back, you'll be surprised at how well it looks ... well, most of the time .... so make that $5 bucks!

Hope that helps. Keep the ????'s coming ..... we know you gottem'....

Hey, one thing that everyone has failed to mention thus far (either that or I'm really tired ... congrats, you get my last post...)

You need to be looking at what you're going to be painting with first!!?! Oils, enamels, acrylics ... each one is going to have it's own little quirks and ways to be handled.

Ok, now it's sleepy-time .....

My technique is to just paint the face & hands in the basic "flesh" color I use, usually MM Radome Tan... Then I shade and highlight with lightened and darkened shades of the same, using a burnt umber wash in between fingers... For eyes, I don't do the whites and all that.. My guys are out in the sun and squint, so they're little more than narrow black slits... I paint them to be viewed from normal viewing distances, 5 to 12 inches away from the eye, not to be photographed up close and a 1/35th figure turned into a 1/12th GI Joe-size photo on a computer monitor...  LOL, I doubt that I'll ever approach what some of these guys do here.. I just can't see that well anymore for close up work... 

see, everyone has their own way. you have to discover through doing, what makes a good figure for you. find a system that works whether your using acrylics, enamels, oil or a combination. (dont be affraid to use all 3 mediums). i assure you (from a mediocre guy ) you'll get really great results your second or third time. so dont get discouraged and no matter what...listen to these guys, they are masters of their crafts!!

 btw, if you use enamels as i do (not sure about the acrylics myself), i usually take a spare sprue from one of my kits dip it into the paint, get a small blob on it and then put it on a cheap $1 plastic painters pallet (although spare styrene or just about anything will work) then use an eye dropper and drop one drop of paint thinner and mix it around. reason being is that thin paint applies better (no clumps), dries faster and looks more realistic. i'm sure that same "basic" idea applies to acrylics as well.

as you can see, i wouldnt write home about any of these figures but they were done with the techniques i told you about (enamel and oil). you can see what "hans" means about the eyes...the oif guy is one of my latest and i left the eyes out...the oil color "filled" it in and considering the scale...its ok as is! most of the other figs were done through variouos stages of practice. just take your time and remember...its paint....you make a mistake...you can always "give it another coat".

Also .... sounds really dumb, and I never really believed it until it ruined a figure (had to start over on that one...)

.... Get into the habit of washing your hands before you sit down to work ... every time. ESPECIALLY after you eat. Some references will tell you to wash the model before starting to work on it. I still don't believe that one, however, I DO wash it before it hits the booth. (Recant that one ... the only time that I typically wash a model BEFORE construction is if its a resin casting that I've done. Not really worried about commercial casts, but sometimes I don't quite get the ratios right and they might have a little residue on them.) After the first coat of primer goes on, I'm religious about keeping my hands clean when getting ready to handle the model. Since I use acrylics, after I put that first coat on, I don't want to be scrubbing dirt and oil off.

Hope you're taking notes ... this is a pretty good thread.

camo, glad to get a closer look at that OIF figure .... You nailed that tri-color camo as well as the base. The face looks nice too!

modelchasm wrote:

camo, glad to get a closer look at that OIF figure .... You nailed that tri-color camo as well as the base. The face looks nice too!

yeah well model, dont tell p.o. that...lol...he thinks i only came "close" to the "grey/green" color! as far as the camo...was just getting somewhat good and the military had to go and change to that digital pattern!!

modelchasm wrote:

.... Get into the habit of washing your hands before you sit down to work ... every time. ESPECIALLY after you eat.

Nothing like a model with a "BIG OL'FINGER PRINT" on it.

Notice the finger print, lower right above #2 &#3 road wheels.