discussion Tyz Guide To Figure Painting

[Tyrel]

Hello all. I got numerous requests to do a Master Class on figure painting after posting my Desert Diorama in the tank section. Well it took a lot longer than I thought due to other commitments but here it is, How I paint figures. It is by no means a definitive method and there are far better figure painters out there than me, but this a method I found that works for me.



Subject: 1/16th scale Dragon Otto Skorzeny Figure. (I'll do a 1/35 class later)



Materials I used:



Artists oils - Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber, Titanimum White, Cobalt Blue, Vandyke Brown, red, and Paynes Grey. Mineral Spirits for thinner.



Vallejo - Burnt Umber, Sand Yellow, Medium flesh, Cavalry Brown, Burnt Cad Red, Black Grey, Black, and Leather Brown. Water for thinner.



Humbrol Enamel - Silver and flat red. Mineral Spirits for thinner.



Tamiya Acrylic - Sea Blue and Olive Drab(More of an Olive Grey). Tamiya acrylic thinner.



Paint brushes in sizes from 1 all that way down to 00000.



Foam sponges and foam makeup applicators.



Flat lead wire for the MP40 strap and helmet strap.



And of course a compressor and airbrush.



Ok...here we go.



1. Some shots of the figure. I used lead wire to form the MP40 strap and the chin strap for the helmet.

 

[Tyrel]

2. I used Lifecolor Grunbraun as the uniform base coat.

 

[Tyrel]

3. I used Tamiya Sea Blue with a drop of Tamiya Metallic Grey for the MP40.

 

[Tyrel]

4.All flesh was given a coat of Humbrol #63 Sand as basecoat for the flesh. Let this dry for at least 24 hours. I tried to rush it and you can see the result in a few steps. On the left cheek/chin. If you don’t let it dry properly, when you wipe off the first coat of oil you will take some of the Sand coat with it. I also painted the belt with Vallejo Cavalry Brown.

 

[Tyrel]

5. Next I mix up equal amounts of Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre, and Raw Umber. This results in a nice rich red brown.

 

[Tyrel]

6. This mix is painted on all exposed flesh quite liberally ensuring that all deep spots (Eye Sockets, Nostrils, Inner Ears etc) get covered. I know it looks weird but it will make sense in the later steps.

 

[Tyrel]

7. I usually let the paint sit for about an hour as it lets some of the red brown oil penetrate and stain the sand base. Using soft sponges. ( I use ones from the women’s makeup dept), wipe in a downward only motion softly. This removes the majority of the red brown from the flesh except for the deep spots and leaves stained flesh. You can see where I took off some of the humbrol sand on his left cheek and chin. This is what happens of you don't let the sand paint dry completely. I corrected this off camera

 

[Tyrel]

8. For the hands you wipe perpendicular to the fingers. (In the direction of the red arrow). This leaves the shadows of the fingers with red/brown paint.

 

[Tyrel]

9. Now you have two options, leave the paint for a couple of hours and then add the light flesh. This option allows you to work with all wet paint and allows for some really nice blending. The down side is that it is easier to mess things up because it’s just as easy to drag the wrong shade to the wrong spot and be forced to start that area again. Option two is to let the now red/brown base dry completely before adding the light flesh. This option allows for more safety but it’s harder to get a good blend. You now have to rely on the ability of oil paint to become virtually transparent if you spread it far enough. This is how you achieve blending.

The light flesh mix. There are no perfect recipes for this but here are some guidelines I have used.



Gold ochre – Burnt Sienna – Titanium White----mixed in a 2:1:4 ratio.

Now comes the to taste part. You can take this mix and add a little blue for a darker cooler shade or add a little red for a warmer shade if you want. I usually split the medium shade mix above and make a darker and light shade so I have three shades of flesh.

 

[Tyrel]

10. Use three or four small brushes for the following. (You should always try and have at least one clean one ready). I use one brush with a point to apply a small dot of the medium flesh to various spots on the face. (Avoiding the shadow areas). Then I use a brush that no longer has a good point, I call them pusher brushes, and push the flesh dots until they become basically transparent. Keep using small dots of paint until you get to the shadowed areas. Now if you used option one from step 9 you have to blend the light with the still wet dark. This means dragging some the dark in to the light and some of the light into the dark. This where the extra brushes come into play. It won’t take long before you realize you need a new brush because you have ended up with a weird shade mix on the brush and you aren’t blending anymore. This takes practice and I can’t say any more than you will get the hang of it. If you use option two of step 9 then this where transparency comes into affect. If the flesh coloured paint is almost transparent when you push it over the border of the shadowed area you will see immediately that you’ve changed the shade of the shadowed area just a bit. You keep doing this (all over the hands and face) until you’re satisfied with the result. The goal here is to leave the shadow areas darker than the higher point and to show a smooth transition between the two.

 

[Tyrel]

11. I added hair colour here. A Vallejo Umber brown (I think) and mixed up some titanium white with a bit of paynes grey for the eyes and final highlighting. Never use white for the eyes as it’s way too…..white. Here I apply the grey to the eyes.

 

[Tyrel]

12. Here is where I made my next mistake. I was painting the silver piping on the cap and for some reason (paint fumes???) I ended up painting the lower trim on the cap silver as well. Oh well, I corrected it later on.

For the iris and pupil I used Archer Transfer human eyes and was quite pleased with the result.

 

[Tyrel]

13.Next to add a bit more colour to his face I added some red to my flesh mix. I also used this mix for the lips as well. Same thing as before, just a few drops here and there and then “push” the paint till it blends in and give a bit more of a rosy complexion to the cheeks.

 

[Tyrel]

14. After that, the final highlight. Remember the grey I mixed in step 11? Well take some of that put a drop on each cheek, lower and upper bridge of the nose, and chin. These are the highest points of the figures face and should then be the lightest colour. (Note: I did also add a drop of grey to the upper left forehead area). Now, same as before, get your pusher brush and blend it in.

 

[Tyrel]

15. After a bit more tweaking with blending flesh I ended up with this.

 

[Tyrel]

Now I didn’t take any more pics because I was trying to get him ready for a contest and for this I apologize. Here is how he ended up looking. You will notice that he now has some stubble growth. This is totally optional and was done by putting very small drops of Paynes grey and really pushing it and making it transparent. I also put a little more red on the cheeks and between the eyes.

 

[Tyrel]

I hope I was able to pass on some useful tips for you all. Like I said earlier, my way is by no means the right or only way to paint a figure. It's just A way. I'll do a step by step on 1/35 next. Thanks.

 

[Guest]

Ty, what can I say. This is a superb and valuable asset to us all on the forum and I know people will speak for themselves but I will say a huge thank you on behalf of Scale Models forum for not only a superb tutorial but so well demonstrated, illustrated and described.

A great piece of work. defiantly a 5 Star rating. Thank you.

 

[tr1ckey66]

Hi Tyrel

Thanks for the tutorial - I've been wanting to try oils for a while because I've seen some stunning results (yours included). I've now got a guide to follow.

Thank you so much and keep the great dioramas coming!

Cheers

Paul

 

[Tyrel]

I'm glad to have helped. It was the first time I tried something like this and it was fun. I'll definately do it again for the Panther diorama I'm working on.

Cheers.