discussion 1/10th scale RN Estudio, New Year and Oracle Witch

[PaulinKendal]

Just finished these two. The left hand bust is in acrylics, the right hand one in oils.












I wasnt really invested in the subject matter, so I treated them as practice pieces - you can probably see the remnants of 3D printed supports on the right hand bust. These were left mainly because the figures were very fragile, with some extremely tenuously connected details (earrings, flowers etc). As these inevitably dropped off during mounting and painting, the supports became highly visible.

 

[Steven000]

Great paintwork Paul! Also nice you did one in oils and one in acrylics, cheers

 

[scottie3158]

Great result. Which medium did you prefer?

 

[pjgtech]

Very nice those.....Which one did you prefer, the acrylic one or the oils one?

 

[Tim Marlow]

Nice job. They look like Mapp and Lucia . I think I prefer the cleaner finish on the acrylic bust, the eyes are much sharper, for example, but the oil has great merit as well.

 

[Jim R]

Both look excellent.

 

[PaulinKendal]

Thanks gents.

Which medium did you prefer?

Which one did you prefer, the acrylic one or the oils one?

Tricky question! Acrylics are what I'm used to and what I've practised using for years now, so it would be odd if I didn't feel more comfortable with them, and achieve a better end result in acrylics. And I believe that's what I've done.

BUT - oils unquestionably facilitate smoother transitions than I can achieve with acrylics, even at this early stage. That was particularly apparent with skin tones (although the colours are wrong - my fault).

What surprised me was how easy freehanding was in oils - I wasn't expecting that. As Tim Marlow has pointed out, acrylics definitely delivered better eyes - I really don't know how to achieve as sharp a finish in oils.

The frustration of not knowing the oil medium fully, not knowing how to get a satisfactory finish to the eyes, resulted in me laying off final refinements elsewhere on the figure, where I could have easily done better (look at the leaves, and her neck, for example).

So now I have a real conundrum - with my next figure, do I push on with oils, or revert to acrylics? I really don't know right now.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Could you not just paint the eyes in acrylic and the rest in oil Paul? I know you can’t overpaint oils with acrylics, but nothing stops you painting different areas in different mediums. Long time since I messed around with oils, but I do remember how easily they blended…..I have a load of them in a tool box so perhaps it’s time I had another go….

 

[PaulinKendal]

Mixing them up is something I've considered - my next figure might get that treatment.

Despite warnings it can't be done, I've successfully overpainted oils with acrylics. The black hair was achieved by basing with a dark blue acrylic, then applying a thick oil wash in black, then highlighting in acrylics again. (I did something similar with the Green Knight).

The acrylic paint doesn't go on top of the oils smoothly but, once an initial coat is on and dry, further applications go on just fine. Of course, the finish might degrade over time, but it hasn't yet. I have wondered whether I could varnish the oils, before applying acrylics. I might leave the oils to cure thoroughly on this figure and then give that a go.

My best guess is that I'll settle on using oils for some figures, acrylics for others. We'll see.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Mixing them up is something I've considered - my next figure might get that treatment.

Despite warnings it can't be done, I've successfully overpainted oils with acrylics. The black hair was achieved by basing with a dark blue acrylic, then applying a thick oil wash in black, then highlighting in acrylics again. (I did something similar with the Green Knight).

The acrylic paint doesn't go on top of the oils smoothly but, once an initial coat is on and dry, further applications go on just fine. Of course, the finish might degrade over time, but it hasn't yet. I have wondered whether I could varnish the oils, before applying acrylics. I might leave the oils to cure thoroughly on this figure and then give that a go.

My best guess is that I'll settle on using oils for some figures, acrylics for others. We'll see.

I can see a good coat of spirit varnish (such as Winsor and Newton) allowing overpainting in acrylics, but as you say, the oils would need to be thoroughly dry first. It being, of course, the presence of oil that causes the problem with acrylics. I do remember some colours taking forever to dry when I messed with them, Prussian blue being an extreme example. Some colours also dry very shiny even after leaching out the excess oil first. The most reliable from a modelling perspective were the earth colours such as ochres and umbers. They dried quickly with far less sheen.

 

[Richard48]

Stunning work.Lovely vibrant colours indeed.Wow.
Richard

 

[PaulinKendal]

Stunning work.Lovely vibrant colours indeed.Wow.
Richard

Thanks Richard.

 

[PaulinKendal]

It being, of course, the presence of oil that causes the problem with acrylics.

It must be said that the volumes of paint being used are really minuscule. I block painted in the main colours in acrylics first:
As a result, the oils cure really fast - a couple of days sitting on a radiator and they're done. (In fact, one frustration with oils is that, unlike acrylics, I can't just keep on painting endlessly. I stop regularly so that the paint can cure, so I can add more without muddying everything up).

 

[Tim Marlow]

It must be said that the volumes of paint being used are really minuscule. I block painted in the main colours in acrylics first:
As a result, the oils cure really fast - a couple of days sitting on a radiator and they're done. (In fact, one frustration with oils is that, unlike acrylics, I can't just keep on painting endlessly. I stop regularly so that the paint can cure, so I can add more without muddying everything up).

I used to use Sansodor and fine liquin to dilute mine and found they usually dried overnight without heat…..had the same issue with painting sessions though, one or two colours on a figure and it was on to the next one. I’ve just purchased a few flats and have decided the test subjects will be oil painted, so when the next couple of projects are done I’ll see if I can improve my old techniques…..might have to buy a couple of new brushes as well, don’t want to mix my acrylic brushes up with the oils……

 

[PaulinKendal]

had the same issue with painting sessions though, one or two colours on a figure and it was on to the next one.

Ah, of course. You would be painting a batch of smaller figures, while I generally paint larger singletons, and hate having several figures on the go at once. So when I can't add more oil to a subject, I stop painting entirely, while you at least had/have others to attend to!

 

[Tim Marlow]

Ah, of course. You would be painting a batch of smaller figures, while I generally paint larger singletons, and hate having several figures on the go at once. So when I can't add more oil to a subject, I stop painting entirely, while you at least had/have others to attend to!

Quite possibly. I’ve only ever painted singles and busts in acrylics, and even then I used to hairdryer to dry the paints more quickly……..patient I’m not….

 

[Airborne01]

Very, very nice indeed mate
Steve