What is the most efficient way to paint faces with good results?

camo junkie wrote:

dont know about you but my hands shake too much...lol...also glad u got "it" i was worried ya wouldnt! but should've known better that even with your lack of intelligence you could still figure it out buddy!! disclaimer***i am kidding with scott as he knows it and it's what we "lesser's" do!!

But I thought you just said that I DON'T got "it" ... I confused ... . And hey! ... its not a lack of intelligence, its called a public education! HAHA!!!!!

... and you're kidding w/ me!?! Sure you're not just being your crabby, childish self??? (hehe)

dont know about you but my hands shake too much...lol...also glad u got "it" i was worried ya wouldnt! but should've known better that even with your lack of intelligence you could still figure it out buddy!!

disclaimer***i am kidding with scott as he knows it and it's what we "lesser's" do!!

I guess I can continue to strive for "it", but then again "it" is a gift. Damned since birth I guess .... but, I'm happy w/ my non-"it" builds, but that's no excuse not to try a little harder.

Ohhhh ... if only one of "us" had "it", then maybe "we" would understand "them".

hey scott...your eyes will never reach that level of expertise with or without the magnifyer buddy!!! ya just dont have "it" in you...ya know what i mean...it's ok as i dont have "it" in me either. i think ya know what im talking about dont ya!!

Guess you guys have helped narrow my search for me ... thanks! Seems if I want to try to even come close to the work of professionals, the opti-visor is the way to go ...

We'll have to keep these in mind for x-mas. Until then ... I guess amatuer/ unprofessional work will have to do.

Opti-visor...magnifier of champions. Opti-visor...don't sit at your desk without it.

My eyes are VERY good, and I was resistant to use the visor as well at one time, but demands of the perfection needed on the job have required it. It's all about how closely you want to look at your work. Always looks better without the visor, but with it you can see every scratch when you file or sand.

Al, I owe you debt...Thank you for the link to Timelines Miniature Forums. Amazing, serious, world-class work to aspire to and grow with. I had to join right away. It's a place for civilized, mature, accomplished figure works.

Opti-visor...magnifier of champions.

Opti-visor...don't sit at your desk without it.

It's a rare session I don't have mine on at my modeling desk. There are about 7 figure guys in my club and I think we all have one of these. If your eyes are really good, you can get by without one, but after a, er, ah, certain age...

Citadelgrad87 wrote:

The magnifier helps me tremendously.  I am nearsighted, but I wear contacts, and I see fine, I can read this post as I type it and it's standard font 2 feet away.  I find that the magnifier helps me see so much better than the naked eye.  Painting things like straps, eyebrows, etc is just way easier for me when it's three times as large as the naked eye.  BLending and layering are easier for me, too.  I know Karl and Edmund/Schnobs use magnifiers on their figures, and Edmund's figures and posts are what got me into trying figures to begin with.  Karl's are great, but he's been building a while, it was intimidating to me.  Schnobs started into modeling about when I did, and when I saw what he could do with figures, I decided to try it too. Take a figure into a shop that will let you try on some optivisors, and look at your work, you might like it, I could never paint figures without one.  I use the number 7, it's at the high end magnification wise, but there is a 10 which is even stronger, but the focal length is about the end of my nose, and puts the work too close to me to be comfortable.  I think there are 3-5 lesser strength versions, too, and you can buy extra lenses so you can swap them out if you need too. Try it, you'll like it! Bill

Re: opti visor?

Th Donagan IS the Opti-visor it's completely worth the $30 somthing dollars. I personally prefer the # 4 lens ( which is actually a 2X lens ) they break down like this: Item No. Focal Length Magnification LX-3 14 Inch 1.75x Power LX-4 10 Inch 2.00x Power LX-5 8 Inch 2.50x Power LX-7 6 Inch 2.75x Power I agree the #10 is too much magnifacation to really work. That $20 copy at hobby-expo is ok,unless you've ever tried one of these babies.  Here's a link to the maker: http://www.doneganoptical.com/optivisorlx.php      "From a recent thread here on these  /forums/1/1087784/ShowPost.aspx#1087784

Enjoy your time, brother ... Take a breather ... I'll do my best to catch up to your builds while you're gone! HAHA!!!

Take care.

The magnifier helps me tremendously.  I am nearsighted, but I wear contacts, and I see fine, I can read this post as I type it and it's standard font 2 feet away. 

I find that the magnifier helps me see so much better than the naked eye.  Painting things like straps, eyebrows, etc is just way easier for me when it's three times as large as the naked eye.  BLending and layering are easier for me, too. 

I know Karl and Edmund/Schnobs use magnifiers on their figures, and Edmund's figures and posts are what got me into trying figures to begin with.  Karl's are great, but he's been building a while, it was intimidating to me.  Schnobs started into modeling about when I did, and when I saw what he could do with figures, I decided to try it too.

Take a figure into a shop that will let you try on some optivisors, and look at your work, you might like it, I could never paint figures without one.  I use the number 7, it's at the high end magnification wise, but there is a 10 which is even stronger, but the focal length is about the end of my nose, and puts the work too close to me to be comfortable.  I think there are 3-5 lesser strength versions, too, and you can buy extra lenses so you can swap them out if you need too.

Try it, you'll like it!

Bill        

I definitely agree w/ you on the resin figures. I usually stick to 120mm, but I'm finding out that 1/35 resin figs are worth it as well. The last set of plastic figs I did were for a 1/48 B-17 (the crew). They came out ok, but then again, they were getting closed up in the fuselage, so I really wasn't all that concerned.

Bill, I meant to ask you .... does having the magnifier really help you w/ your figures? I don't mean to pry, but is it b/c you have bad vision to begin w/ or do you find that it just helps you look closer at your layering and color blending? Just a thought .... I don't use one, but I'd consider it if I thought it would help me improve my figures.

Thanks, modelchasm, I'm very happy with him, and he's most definiately my third figure.  I built up and painted two styrene DML nachtjaeger dudes that came with my E100, then this guy.  I have to tell you, resin is the way to go if you want to paint figures.  No matter what I did with the styrene guys, there just isn't enough detail to let me paint them well.

After banging my head against those two for a week or two, I picked this guy up and it seemed to be much easier.  

Bill    

.... Sorry Camo, you're right ... I forgot my disclaimer, therefore my opinion is automatically debunked .... when will I learn.

But for the record ... I don't think that I hate oils like you hate acrylics. At least I'm a LITTLE excepting....

HAHAHAHA!!!!!!! j/k buddy!!

I think that every type of paint has its place. I just like using acrylics on figures b/c of the finish they give, so I agree w/ Bill. However, its very hard to get a really nice, worn finish on a tank or A/C w/o a oil finish. I personally like to use dot weathering w/ oils on subjects like that. Unfortunatly, I haven't done one of those in quite a while.

Hey Bill ... AWESOME results! And if these ARE yor results after only 3x figs ... you're a fast learner!! HAHA!!! Glad you found a tech that works for you. Some people don't (Camo ... ), but I think (IMO) Vallejo acrylics are the best way to paint figures ... especially the flesh areas ... no matter how you finish them. VA paints just seem to give you that smooth, real-life look.

Again, nice job, Bill!

I have only tried one way, and it works for me, so that's the way I paint.

Valleo acrylic paints, they come in a TON of shades, they thin with water, they clean up with water, and they go on like silk.

Get some GOOD red sable brushes, I have a couple 000, some 00000 and 0000000, others tell my they don't hold enough paint, they are perfect for details like buckles, outlining pockets, etc.  Don't use the brushes on anything but the Vallejo paint.  You will also need a magnifier of some sort, I use optivisor, I know Schnobs uses a magnifying glass on an arm with a dedicated light. 

Here's how I painted my first resin figure with Vallejos,

/forums/1169916/ShowPost.aspx

In that thread, i discuss the colors and techniques I used, based on Vallejo website information, Schnob's help, and an excellent toot by Bodge on this forum.

Skip the flesh tones and get light sand and cork brown, mix 50-50 for flesh, that will save you the 3 bottles of "flesh" tones that are all too light. 

I am not an expert, but I got these results after only 3 figures.  That seems pretty efficient to me.      

There are a number of toot type threads in the past month, including a toot contest thread from about 3 weeks ago.

Bill    

tr-la-la-la-la....tra-la-la-la-la...tra-la-la-la-la

indy, your getting too deep and analytical for those of use with only a 2 year college degree buddy! im not getting into another debate with you bud, i just think your dwelving too deeply into an unnecessary human psyche.

... Sure, indy .... you're right ... my opinion is wrong. Whatever ....

I was simply offering up MY opinion on the matter ... not trying to sum up everyone elses into a statement of my own. Its fine if you disagree w/ my opinion, but its NOT fine to tell someone that their opinion is wrong. (And as it turns out .... this too is an opinion of mine). Also, you should confuse expertise w/ an opinion .... a doctor is SUPPOSED to know more than me, a mechanic is SUPPOSED to know more than me, my mother sure as hell knows more than me. I don't pay for opinions ... I pay for someone's expertise. If you pay people for their opinions ... well, that's your money I guess. But, I guess I get what you're saying ... if I was of the opinion that 2+2 was 5, yes, factually, I'd be wrong ... but (and here's my point) its not YOUR  place to tell me that.  

But .... we can go round and round here, but I'm really not all that interested ...

As I have to agree w/ others' opinions here lately ... I will be keeping my comments and my wrong opinions to myself. If anyone wants to hear them on a particular technique or subject, there's the PM buttom just below .... I guess I'll also have to start every posting from now on w/ a "disclaimer" of the definition of "IMO".