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Best Acrylic Figure Painting Tutorial Contest By Schnobs & Citadelgrad87

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  • Member since
    June 2009
  • From: Joplin, Mo
Posted by figure freak on Monday, August 17, 2009 1:56 PM
Sign - Ditto [#ditto]and nice autobiography scott lol just kidding
  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: clinton twp, michigan
Posted by camo junkie on Monday, August 17, 2009 12:55 PM

oh my god scott....he asked us about our figure painting not our life stories!!!!!! blah blah blah!!! Laugh [(-D] j/k bud! separated at birth and about 9 years apart!!! Whistling [:-^] the medalion... Shock [:O] but i thought....i thought I was the only one.... Laugh [(-D]

BTW, DO WE HAVE A WINNER FOR THIS THING YET OR WHAT????? C'MON GUYS...GET THIS PARTY STARTED ALREADY!!! Party [party]

 

"An idea is only as good as the person who thought of it...and only as brilliant as the person who makes it!!"
  • Member since
    March 2008
  • From: East TX
Posted by modelchasm on Monday, August 17, 2009 10:03 AM

I just sit here and wonder what type of sleep-aid medication Camo takes at night that gives him the insight and ablility to write such thoughts in the morning? .... HAHAHHAHA Laugh [(-D] ....

I always know that you're kidding. You and I are just the same, almost as if we were seperated at birth .... Shock [:O], HEY! You wouldn't happen to have half of a medalion on a chain that you wear for reasons unknown to you, or have the numbers "1 of 2" tatooed on your butt? (I have "2 of 2".) Big Smile [:D]

As for me and my modeling days ..... I've been building models, mostly WWII aircraft since I was about 7 or 8. The hobby took a nose-dive when I realized that there were women in the world, or better yet when they realized I was here. I picked it back up late in high school b/c I ended up living w/ my grandparents during my senior year and I got to learn a lot about my GF's service in the pacific (I had no idea what he did prior to that). He passed away soon after I moved to college. I worked here and there during school, but 3 years into it, I enlisted in to the Army and modeling ground to a halt. I didn't get back to school or modeling for another 4 years. After graduating and commissioning, Army schools kept me pretty busy, so most modelling was done w/ smaller kits like the German Pak 40, etc. Then the deployments started rolling in. Tried to do some modeling there, but Chip n Dales isn't their thing ... ok, bad joke. Tried modeling while deployed but when you get excited about getting the mold seams off "this month", things go pretty slow and you don't learn much. Honestly, I had never really messed w/ figures, except for maybe a pilot here and there that was locked up in a cockpit. I always thought that models should be build static and for display. For some reason during my last "vacation", I took pictures like no tomorrow. And after coming home and scrolling through them, I realized how much "life" there was to model. I decided to give real figure modeling a shot. (IMO, when you get up to 120mm, then the figure becomes the focus, not the tank or AC that he's standing next to.) Since then, I've probably completed 3-4 figs, was never to happy or impressed w/ them, and honestly the first 1 or 2 got hacked back up and reused somewhere else. "Flash Out" and my 120mm SF figure were really the first two figs that I've been proud of. All in all, I'd say that I've been modeling for about 7-8 years total, w/ about the last 2 years being almost strictly figures.

I'm still at the point where research and learning take up most of my time. Right now, I've been trying to get more "well rounded" again by working on my MH-6 and my HMMWV builds. But, like I said before, I'm just glad that I can share what I've learned thus far .... and that it maybe helps instead of hinders.

"If you're not scratching, you're not trying!"  -Scott

  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: clinton twp, michigan
Posted by camo junkie on Monday, August 17, 2009 7:49 AM

you are very right gil on every aspect of what you said in regards to oils and acrylics. i like to tease scott (and everyone else) who use acrylics 1) just because its fun 2) i used to use them so i feel i can...they know im joking (i hope). Whistling [:-^] as far as how long i've been figure painting, has to be close to 20 years now. most of that time was spent searching/researching on "how to" books etc. everytime i looked at other people's work i would say..."i wish i could do that"! then after awhile i was able to. that's y i wanted to get this tut out there and help you guys so you werent spending the years on it like i was!!! it isnt that hard (really!!) but i understand most peoples apprehension about it. my advice, dive right in, use these tut's to your advantage and try try try. doesnt matter what era you paint, scott and i tut will help you. anyway, blah, blah, blah...that's my "story"! Wink [;)]

"An idea is only as good as the person who thought of it...and only as brilliant as the person who makes it!!"
  • Member since
    July 2009
  • From: North Carolina
Posted by Back to the bench on Sunday, August 16, 2009 11:24 PM
In the future I would like to give both acrylics and oils a try since they can both clearly be used to great effect and both have their own unique pros and cons. It seems kinda like the preference of a musician for a particular brand of instrument (Stratocaster vs Les Paul for instance). There are virtuoso performances with each, it is largely a choice of style and preference. Hmmm, music, there is one more thing I suck at Sigh [sigh] Oh well I can turn on the radio or get a big charge out of looking at ya'lls work, life is goodSmile [:)] Just out of curiosity, how long have cammo and modelchasm been pursuing the art of figure painting (and I do consider it an art).

Gil

  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: clinton twp, michigan
Posted by camo junkie on Sunday, August 16, 2009 10:18 PM
shnobs...booo, go home drunkie!!! what do you know....booooo!! Laugh [(-D] didnt bother to think it could be a tie scott!!! im sure acrylics will win in the end as i said...they seem to be the norm anyway....boooooooooo!!! Big Smile [:D] hey, so long as one person can look at my tut and say...yes i can do that then produce their best figure to date....im happy!!!!!
"An idea is only as good as the person who thought of it...and only as brilliant as the person who makes it!!"
  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: Everett, WA
Posted by Schnobs on Sunday, August 16, 2009 10:10 PM

I will have to vote for Scott as well I was very impressed with his writing style and skillset.

Make a Toast [#toast]

 

"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance. That principle is contempt prior to investigation." Herbert Spencer
  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: clinton twp, michigan
Posted by camo junkie on Sunday, August 16, 2009 8:00 PM
awe man....shot down because of my lousy camera. Laugh [(-D] oh well, cant win them all. but hey  scott's worthy too!! (even if he over did the green on his camo....hahaha j/k scott, those are your words and i never even noticed until you pointed it out!!)Big Smile [:D] btw, f.f. says he could use the kit...send it to him. he's young and needs more kits.Wink [;)]
"An idea is only as good as the person who thought of it...and only as brilliant as the person who makes it!!"
  • Member since
    March 2008
  • From: East TX
Posted by modelchasm on Sunday, August 16, 2009 3:50 PM
Thanks, Gil. Glad we could help you start thinkin' about figures!

"If you're not scratching, you're not trying!"  -Scott

  • Member since
    July 2009
  • From: North Carolina
Posted by Back to the bench on Sunday, August 16, 2009 1:38 PM
Voting on one vs the other is kind of like asking if you would prefer to have a thousand dollars handed to you in 100s or 50sBig Smile [:D], either way we are all big winners due to the generosity of others sharing their skills and experience. But I guess I will cast a vote for modelchasm partially due to his high quality photos. Those are really helpful to guys like me who learn from pictures and cartoons more effectively than any other method. It is difficult to get proper lighting, focus and depth of field when working that close with a camera, very nicely done. But as I said the info contributed by camo and all the others is very good, very appreciated and far better than anything that I am capable of. Thanks to all for helping me start feeling that maybe painting figures well is something that I can actually learn! 

Gil

  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: clinton twp, michigan
Posted by camo junkie on Sunday, August 16, 2009 12:20 PM
that's 3 for me! Big Smile [:D] more models for my stash....SCOTT, my wife would kill me!!!! i have a real nice, friendly guy from new zealand sending me kits via the new york air national guard (long story). Laugh [(-D] i really dont need anymore. please, keep your kit or put a sign out in the yard, "free to good home"!! Wink [;)] not being ungrateful, as i am extremely, but there's just no room!! Smile [:)] now if it was a figure or something small...then maybe...but that's ok!! Whistling [:-^] dont change it...im just kidding! thanks though scott for the vote!
"An idea is only as good as the person who thought of it...and only as brilliant as the person who makes it!!"
  • Member since
    March 2008
  • From: East TX
Posted by modelchasm on Sunday, August 16, 2009 10:30 AM

I completely agree w/ Camo. I'm just glad/ hope that this helped someone else out w/ a future build.

HOWEVER, b/c BLUF this is a contest .... I'm gonna throw my vote towards Camo's tut. I really enjoyed reading his posting on oils and it was very easy to follow the words w/ the pictures. I think that was the bottom line here, right. Who can post the best tut.!?! I think that if we were basing this on who's figure/ model is better, that would be better done in an online Group Build titled something like FSM's online Model Show/ Contest. After the completion of the GB, the majority could vote the winner in different catagories, etc.

Besides, I think Camo needs more models for his stash anyway .... he's just to humble to say, "Oooo OOooooo, I want the model! Mail it to me! Mail it to me!!!" Laugh [(-D] 

"If you're not scratching, you're not trying!"  -Scott

  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: clinton twp, michigan
Posted by camo junkie on Sunday, August 16, 2009 9:51 AM
thanks for the vote of confidence f.f. however, my vote for me was more "playful" than anything else. there are ALOT of talented guys here....scott (modelchasm) alone and his abilities still amaze me. not to mention guys like manny (not that he entered...but just saying)and other's. im grateful you guys think im "that good", but being my own worst critic...i think im o.k. at best. Whistling [:-^] the most important thing i think scott and i were trying to accomplish (although i dont know, scott may have been in it for the kit...Laugh [(-D]) was to help you guys become better at what you do. i dont expect everyone to go out there and buy up all kinds of oil paint and enamels and all that. continue with what your working with. if you use enamels and such and want to try my way...its there for you guys. i can assure you, whether you paint ww2 or modern, my techniques will make you a better figure painter (and that's not gloating, that's just what the results will produce). anway, thanks again, for your vote f.f. and (anyone else). Bow [bow]
"An idea is only as good as the person who thought of it...and only as brilliant as the person who makes it!!"
  • Member since
    June 2009
  • From: Joplin, Mo
Posted by figure freak on Sunday, August 16, 2009 9:30 AM
even if camo doesnt want the kit, i think he put forth the best effort (not saying anyone else didnt)in making a very  useful tutorial and i could use another kitWink [;)]this was a good idea to really make use think
  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: clinton twp, michigan
Posted by camo junkie on Sunday, August 16, 2009 8:40 AM
i vote 4 me! Big Smile [:D] give the kit to someone who wants it though (no offense...i have enough kits is all) Wink [;)]
"An idea is only as good as the person who thought of it...and only as brilliant as the person who makes it!!"
  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: Everett, WA
Posted by Schnobs on Saturday, August 15, 2009 9:05 PM

That was  great Post Scott!  You are quite talented thats for sure.

Thanks for sharing it!

Guys!  It is time to start voting for your favortie Toot!!  I have 1/72nd scale kit that needs a home!!

"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance. That principle is contempt prior to investigation." Herbert Spencer
  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: clinton twp, michigan
Posted by camo junkie on Saturday, August 15, 2009 8:38 PM
yeah b-t-b, we've all seen that one. no offense Wink [;)] i even tried to mimic it but oils/enamels dont work like acrylics so, my results where less that bad!!
"An idea is only as good as the person who thought of it...and only as brilliant as the person who makes it!!"
  • Member since
    July 2009
  • From: North Carolina
Posted by Back to the bench on Saturday, August 15, 2009 4:01 PM

Wow what an informative and helpful thread. Of course looking at the quality of work I am not sure whether to be inspired or just throw all of my brushes out the window and try to learn basket weaving insteadBow [bow] Thanks to all for sharing your talent and ideas. Here is a link that I came across that has a lot of neat info and tons of nice photos. The guy's name is Calvin Tan and the link is for a tutorial on painting digital camo in 1:35. The quality of the website is pretty amazing and a ton of work is on display there.

 

http://zyclyon.blogspot.com/search/label/Alpine%20Miniatures%20-%203rd%20Stryker%20Brigade%20Combat%20Team%202nd%20Infantry%20Division 

Edit to my post...

this may be the wrong place to ask, but what do I need to do when posting a link to make it a proper hyperlink so folks don't have to cut and paste? 

Gil

  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: clinton twp, michigan
Posted by camo junkie on Friday, August 14, 2009 6:07 PM

 modelchasm wrote:
HAHA!, thanks brother! I've been farting around w/ some oils if that makes you feel any better!?! Other than that, "no excuse, Sir".

muhahahahaha....welcome to the dark side brother!!! Evil [}:)]

"An idea is only as good as the person who thought of it...and only as brilliant as the person who makes it!!"
  • Member since
    March 2008
  • From: East TX
Posted by modelchasm on Friday, August 14, 2009 5:51 PM
HAHA!, thanks brother! I've been farting around w/ some oils if that makes you feel any better!?! Other than that, "no excuse, Sir".

"If you're not scratching, you're not trying!"  -Scott

  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: clinton twp, michigan
Posted by camo junkie on Friday, August 14, 2009 4:56 PM
so long as it helps someone scott!! besides, the figure turned out great so why not use it for something like this right? i imagine alot of people will be interested since it seems like acrylics are the norm. now get busy and do something!!! Mischief [:-,]
"An idea is only as good as the person who thought of it...and only as brilliant as the person who makes it!!"
  • Member since
    March 2008
  • From: East TX
Posted by modelchasm on Friday, August 14, 2009 4:29 PM

Well, I haven't done squat for the hobby in the past few weeks, either due to laziness or busy-ness, so I guess I'll throw in my 2 cents ...

I exclusively use acrylics; Vallejo & Model Masters. So, I guess my tutorial will be on the use of acrylics. I will also be using photos and such from a recent build, so sorry ... nothing new to see. (I will say however, that my camera takes pretty good up-close pics. The picks out the nasty details and blemishes nicely and I find that taking pictures in progress not only shows me the flaws, but also the blending of the colors ... or the lack there-of.)

First, I start off just like anyone else by assembling the figure. (Maybe we can do another contest later on about how people to that .... as there are a million ways to do it.) I, personally, assemble the figure as much as possible, to include pouches, etc. However, I typically leave off the hands/ arms and I always leave off the head. This is to aid in painting the flesh colors.

Next, (again, a personal thing ...) since I assemble my figures using wire in the joints, I will glue in extra wire from the feet, shoulders, and neck and then clamp this extra wire into some home-made paint clamps to help aid in painting. Here, you can see this particular figure's head attached in the clamp. Also, I've already primed the figure w/ MM acrylic grey primer. I always prime as this helps bring flaws and seams that were missed. I also prime pieces since I scratch a lot of detail and many pieces are made from different mediums such as resin, plastic, soda can aluminum, wire, etc. The prime coat gets everything on the same page. As you can see, I've cleaned this up a few places already. (Note: Before priming, I also wash everything to remove oils.)

Next, I typically start the figure w/ the flesh tones, painting the face and hands. Although I've hardly ever used oils to paint, I can say that I understand the biggest difference in using oils versus acrylics. Using oils, you basically end up taking away from the oil coat until you get the basic look you want. Using acrylics is just the opposite. The "secret" to acrylics is suttle layering. I think this is why I love using them. After getting everything cleaned up and a fresh coat of primer on....

 

.....,  I start in with 2-3 thinned coats of MM flesh tone as a base coat. This ends up giving me a very pale looking figure that needs a beach vacation.

(To note: I only use an airbrush in applying the primer and the base coat. Everything else is hand painted using brushes.)

After satisfied w/ the base coat, I then begin "washing" the shadows in using MM's burnt sienna. Typically, I'll use a more highly thinned paint here and I'll continue adding layers until I'm happy w/ it. Just the way acrylics dry quickly, I find that using mutiple layering gives me more control. At this point, the flesh tones are looking quite horrid, but here's where the patience comes in.

Typically, while I'm working on the shadowing, I'll also paint the hair IF its visable. So now a quick  summary ... basically, I've gotten the light and dark down ... now, its time for blending things together using mixes of MM's flesh tone (used for the base coat), warm flesh tone, burnt sienna. I don't have written down mixes for these. I just go by the look each and every time. I find that this keeps my figures looking one in a million. Again, the secret to blending the colors here is using suttle thinned layers of paint.

After I have the mediums blended the way I want them, I use VERY SUTTLE highlighting ... and I don't typically use a light color. Confused? Don't be. To help add some highlight AND life (warmth) to the flesh, I add thinned but unmixed MM warm flesh tone. At this point, this is where I always step back and look at the face, sometimes using a mirror, after painting each and every layer. Put on too much here and you're going to be starting over. Be suttle, and you'll end up w/ a winner every time.

For this particular figure, I didn't go too heavy on the shadowing since there were going to be dark colors around the face to help "darken" things up. Here I've added some detail w/ MM's aircraft interior black, then added a sheen to the glasses using Future Floor Polish.

As you can start to see w/ the figure's head, and as advised by numerous books, I paint from the inside out. Basically, this means that I paint flesh, then undershirts, then jacket, pouches, straps, etc. .... inside - out.

Now on to the uniform. As stated before, I like to assemble as much of the figure as possible before hand. I find that this keep glue marks to a minimum. I begin, again, by priming the figure w/ MM grey primer. Same cleaning-up process as above w/ the face.

Whether its painting the new ACU or the 3-tone DCU uniform, I like starting out w/ a base coat of Vallejo's deck tan. Its not too different than the grey primer, but I've found that it gives just the right look for sun faded tan ... or "scaled-down" tan. Take your pick. This particular figure is getting the 3-tone DCU. The green color was mixed, mulitple times, using MM's OD green and tan/ sand colors. (This was the first time that I had painted the DCU, and using hindsight, I should have made the green spots a little smaller as I think they ended up drowning out most fo the tan base color.) After applying the green, I used a fine detail brush and MM's rust to add in the brown striping.

The vest & details are painted w/ MM's dark tan. Other details are painted w/ MM's aircraft interior black. Again, using the inside-out technique.

Weathering the uniform came easy, and again, using acrylics, its all about using multiple suttle layers. I used a highly thinned washes of MM's interior black (this is the only black color I use BTW. It has a grey hue to it that helps tone itself down.) I used more of these washes on the vest & pouches as I didn't want to darken the DCU uniform too much. I wanted to keep that sun-faded look, but I still had to add shadowing to the folds. For highlights, I dry-brushed unthinned Vallejo sand yellow to the vest, camelbak, pouches, etc. For the DCU, I dry-brushed very slightly w/ the base coat color, deck tan. The weapon was done using the same methods as described above. A base coat fo MM's interior black was used and since this is an SF figure, I went back and painted striping on the M4 using Vallejo deck tan & MM's dark tan.

Once everything is completed as its own part its all brought together. Since I use wire to attach everything together, I don't worry about CA glue squishing out from joints since the glue is attaching the part to the inside of drilled out holes and not just flat surface to flat surface. **IF something is going to be glued surface to surface, make sure to scatch off the paint in this area so that resin bonds to resin (or plastic to plastic) and not paint to paint.

All decals were printed off my home printer on regular paper just using images from the internet and Photoshop to resize them. In hindsight, I think that this figure would benefit from a slight dusting w/ pastels. Also I typically, "seal" my figures w/ a flat, clear coat, but since this one has the "futured" glasses, I decided not to.

But, if there's one thing to take away from this write-up on painting w/ acrylics its this: Painting w/ acrylics takes a lot of patience. Painting in suttle layers is THE KEY to blending colors in the acrylic medium. IMHO, acrylic paints, specifically Vallejo, used in multiple thinned layers gives the user a silky smooth finish that is unmatched by anything except the real thing.

Credits: I rely heavily on two particular books in my stash of references; Modelling and Painting Figures #8 by Osprey Modelling; and How to Paint Realistic Military Figures, 2nd Edition by Kessler and Winar, by FSM. I also rely VERY heavily on opinions to those on this forum (to name them all would double this post, but they know who they are.)

Hopefully, this post will at least help someONE in figure painting w/ acrylics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"If you're not scratching, you're not trying!"  -Scott

  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: clinton twp, michigan
Posted by camo junkie on Friday, August 14, 2009 10:54 AM

thanks. i hope someone will use it and be able to really improve their figures!! perhaps those that use acrylics can combine it with their own...who knows! Smile [:)]

"An idea is only as good as the person who thought of it...and only as brilliant as the person who makes it!!"
  • Member since
    June 2009
  • From: Joplin, Mo
Posted by figure freak on Friday, August 14, 2009 9:52 AM
thats awsome! i love it i will be using it for sure
  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: clinton twp, michigan
Posted by camo junkie on Friday, August 14, 2009 9:34 AM

ok so here it is although its posted in the forum already! Wink [;)]/forums/1174885/ShowPost.aspx

 

"An idea is only as good as the person who thought of it...and only as brilliant as the person who makes it!!"
  • Member since
    June 2009
  • From: Joplin, Mo
Posted by figure freak on Friday, August 14, 2009 9:15 AM
take the link from your origional figure toot post, so you dont have to write it twice
  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: clinton twp, michigan
Posted by camo junkie on Thursday, August 13, 2009 9:49 PM
ok, so i have to ask. im trying to make this as simple as possible. what do you recommend? do i "write a book" and post a ton of pics or is there an easier way??? i'm done i just have to post one way or another.
"An idea is only as good as the person who thought of it...and only as brilliant as the person who makes it!!"
  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: clinton twp, michigan
Posted by camo junkie on Wednesday, August 12, 2009 9:01 PM
ok, i will try and get it out tomorrow. i dont have a link, rather just a write up on my own so it is what it is!! i hope if nothing else, someone can use it! Big Smile [:D]
"An idea is only as good as the person who thought of it...and only as brilliant as the person who makes it!!"
  • Member since
    April 2005
  • From: Piscataway, NJ!
Posted by wing_nut on Wednesday, August 12, 2009 3:35 PM

Being very new to figs I had heard how great Vallejo paints are for figure painting. I invested in a number of clors and when looking over their color chart found this...

http://www.acrylicosvallejo.com/asp-inc/_modelis.asp?p1=ing&p2=modelcolortecnicas

Marc  

  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: Everett, WA
Posted by Schnobs on Wednesday, August 12, 2009 3:31 PM

No worries we can wait a few days for you to finish.  I have a few links I would like to add as well not for the contest but just to share with everyone.

I really like this Calvin Tan Tutorial I found at Alpine Minatures:

http://zyclyon-tutorials.blogspot.com/2009/03/1_28.html

Lynn Kessler is a Rock Star!

http://www.track-link.net/articles/96

I found this post helpful as well:

/forums/957910/ShowPost.aspx

I got this one from Bill:

http://www.coloradominiatures.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=5#1a

"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance. That principle is contempt prior to investigation." Herbert Spencer
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