Figure painting according to Jim!

[cdntanker25]

Alright, first off I am by no means a pro at this... But I'll state some of my past experience that taught me many things about attaining realism. First and foremost is my past experience with Warhammer and Warhammer 40K miniature games by Games Workshop. This is where I did the bulk of my painting, and where I learned most of my skills. I have won many best painted army titles in tournaments and competitions, though never won a game in my life!!! I just love the painting of the figs! Everything I have learned from the 10 years of figure painting I have under my belt, I just applied to historical pieces recently. Ok, LOL that's about it for that heh (see not a pro!).

There are a few things you're going to need... Brushes, paints I'll be using a mixture of oils and Acrylics... (using either or both for this is perfectly fine,) and patience!!!! The latter being the key to it all! Hopefully what I present to you will eliminate any stress or anxiety towards painting figs and we'll see some awsome artwork in this section of the forum!
As requested I'm going to post pics of a fig as I go along with it. I am working with the machine gunner from the DML kit Gen2 figs "Desperate Defence: Korsun Pocket". With what I have learned, you should be able to produce a decent looking fig in about three-six hours! Not too bad considering what we spend on a tank or airplane or car!!

Ok here's the first step for tonight...

Collect a few soda (Pop in my neck of the woods) bottle lids and a few paperclips to go with them. Drill a hole in the middle of the lid and insert the paper clip (after bending it straight). This is going to become your stand for your figure


a list of starting material.


this stand will allow you a better field of attack on the model, aswell as a great way to set it down without wrecking the paint job!.

Next you'll need to drill a hole into an unconspicuous part of the model. I tend to do it in the foot of the figure (the hole should NOT go all the way through, just enough for the paper clip to act as a pin to secure it to the stand). On this figure I did it on the inside leg that'll be on the ground and will not be seen when finished!


here's a reference photo of what I mean




The next step is priming. One thing I find the best to do is buy a rattle can of Model Master paint Flat black is best to use! I say Flat Black because it creates a shadow and shading on the model already and will elimnate alot of work! Don't use your AB, though you can, I find that AB'ing the figure tends to create a grainy texture that a rattle can doesn't do. A human doesn't have a grainy texture!!! alright..that's it for tonight... I have to wait for the glue to set over night before I prime my figure, I hope this is a good insight for anyone....

[animal]

OK this is what I was looking for. You have an eager student waiting for the next lesson.

[charles]

Don't forget me too. I'm already at my desk Nice start. I know I'm going to be enjoying this. Well Dave, it's you and I to begin with

[cdntanker25]

Alright, well I couldn't quite get some good pics at this moment, so if the sun is shining I'll take some tomorrow morning a post them up! All I have done is put the base coats on the figure. Panzer Dunkelgelb for the tunic, and white for the pants. These will be offset by washes and mixing of paints to achieve the final outcome. I'm doing a splinter pattern cammo smock on the machine gunner and his pants are reversed in the white. Soo that's about it for the next step, apply a base coat! I could have told you guys this earlier LOL but I wanted to give pics to keep up with my progress!

[charles]

I'll be waiting

[southsix1]

Excellent thread, please keep it going!

[cdntanker25]

alright I have a pic of the basecoat down for the smock, as well as the wash that was applied to it.I think we all know about basecoats and such... and washes... but here's the pics nonetheless. The next part is to re apply the basecoat over the washed parts, this will create a shadow effect. Different figures call for different procedures. This being a cammo smock, I didn't use successive coats of mixed paint (usually a ratio of 3:1) to the base coat to create even more shadows. If I were doing just a straight Field Grey uniform, I would use the basecoat of field grey, then wash it with Anthractigrau. I would then mix the anthractigrau and field grey to a ratio of 3 parts Athractigrau and 1 part Field Grey. I do this about three times making the ratio a little more field greyish. The final one being straight field grey applied in a drybrush.

When it comes to shading, you want to apply each mix les and less to the model. Take for instance pants. You see the folds of the pants and the raised parts aswell. The folds naturally would be darker than the raised parts. What I have done with my machine gunner is pretty basic. I painted the pants white, then I added a wash of Panzer Interior Buff because the pants were not a full white, but an off white. see pic below

the pants with a white basecoat.

the pants after Interior Buff wash. Notice the black is kinda showing through? That's fine because of the successive mixed paint that will be added. What I will be doing next (after it dries) is adding 1 part white to 3 parts interior buff, with the white being the final coat only painted on the raised parts of the pants.

How I usually handle folds and creases and the like is after the basecoat is down, and the wash is dry, I apply the mixed paint to the pants trying to avoid the creases. Let's say the pant is pressing against the thigh, but the folds are fanning out towards the ground, you'd paint the thigh part with the mixed colour, applying less and less to the thigh area... the raised parts would recieve the white paint only. I don't know if I'm making sense at all, this is my first time attempting to explain without people around me to show them what I mean. I hope this is helping, please give me more feedback so I can cater to your needs!

[charles]

I think we get you, at I do. One little favor. Could you sharpen the image a bit. It is a little blur and it makes it hard to see the beautiful details of the figure. Thanks. You're doing an outstanding job. Please continue.

[animal]

I'm still learning. Thanks.

[cdntanker25]

sorry about the bad pics... I can only paint late at night and the lighting kinda sucks... can't wait to be finished with this after hours job so I can be a normal human again! My camera is kind of an enigma, it works when it wants to. Anyway, Charles I'll try to get better pics for ya. Tomorrow I'll talk about flesh painting, as I'm sure that's where most people are afraid to go~!

[charles]

You are so right. Getting the right tone is a real problem. Can't wait. Thanks.

[Bluecorsair]

This is a great thread, thanks alot, My biggest downfall in figures is the eyes

[cdntanker25]

ok flesh painting is realitively easy, many people tend to get over excited and daunted by this task, but it really is no different than what I've been talking about with the uniform! Since I bought the new DML figs that have just a basic uniform, I'm going to work on them and take pics and re-explain everything!!! Faces aren't that hard, alot of the shadow has come from your black undercoat! What I typically do is paint the faces and hands second to last (alot of people start from the inside and work their way out!). I do this because there is nothing more annoying than getting a dab of grey or other clothing colour onto the faces. With a standard sized brush, paint the flesh in a base coat. I do this in Model Master Warm Flesh. It's a little on the pinkish side, but sets the tone of rosy cheecks just right. Dip your brush into the paint and try to remove much of the excess. Lightly paint the flesh areas, trying to avoid the cheeck creases aswell ans any neck creases, leave these black. This technique is alot like drybrushing, but with more paint. After this has dried, take a darker skin tone (Model Master makes a few different variations), and thin it down with either water or mineral spirits (if you're not using acryls). you want this wash to be really watery so as to go deep into the recesses of the nose, lips, cheeks and eyes aswell as behind the ears etc... I do this with Model Master Shadow Tint. Now since alot of my figures are based in winter time, the person would have more of a rosy cheek complextion, but pale skin aswell. After the wash has dried take Warm Flesh tone and Light skin tone and mix them at 1:1. Do the "kinda drybrush" technique over the face and hands yet again, but with even less paint. This is starting to creat a shadow and light effect on the face. Usually the cheecks, nose and chin are the main targets. After this has dried, take a 000 brush and dip it into your light skin tint paint. and lightly accent the cheeck bones, neck lines, and chin and brow ridge. Try to make this blend in with the paint, so as to not look too splotchy! If you're doing a winter scene, it wouldn't hurt to kind blend in some warm skin tone to the cheeks to make them look rosy. For the lips, do the same with a 000 brush and lightly paint them with the warm skin tone (if in the winter) or the dark shadow tone.

As for the eyes, I don't tend to paint them, the wash creates a shadow effect and you'll bring out the eye lids and such after you've added the mixed paint. The reason I don't paint eyes is because of the scale. If you walked down the road to the point you were the same size as the figure, your friend would not be able to see your eyes, but the shadow from your eyebrowns and nose. That was how I was taugh, and that is how I attack eyes. No one has complained yet. Besides, I think they always look toooooo big on the figure when they're painted!

the same applies to the hands! As for any hair on the figure, I tend to use alot of dark browns as a base colour then just highlight with a woody colour to make it look like brownish/blond hair! I'll post some pics up once I get a chance to do some painting on my figure.

Cheers for now, hope that helps

[cdntanker25]

sorry guys for leaving you hanging... With my wedding less than a week away things have been crazy around here. I haven't forgotten this thread, so please bear with me as I sign my soul away to the woman I love! After all is said and done, I'll be back to this thread, with better pics and better detailed descriptions of my steps! Thanks for being patient