Skin and faces

[cypher]

Howdy folks I\'ve been working on these aspects of a mini for a while. I\'ve tried a million things and I\'m slowly getting better. I wanted to poll how other people do these.

So far I have discovered blending is the best for large skin areas like on a barbarians chest. Faces don\'t work so well because I can\'t get the brush in there to mix it up without just creating a new color from the paint.

I have learned that building your colors on the palette helps tremendously with layering. I learn that mixing each color into the preceeding color comes out great and now I see how people achieve such nice faces.

Do you use washes on skin? I have alot of problems with washes on skin it never seems to look right. Are there any techniques for using wash on skin and faces? When I wash I do it super light just enough to cover the borders of the face and get into the major cracks. Should you do the wash first or last? I am thinking it would be better first, but the wash helps cover up and blend colors into each other so I do it towards the end.

I am thinking the best technique for faces is using a built up palette, doing a wash relatively early and then mixing the wash color into the palette.

Above all I am learning that less paint is better. The finer the paint and you build it up, the better the end result. I am thinking it takes about 3-5 coats of each layer to get it right.

Ok well I am just on my journeys in painting. I have progressed tremendously since I started a couple of months ago. Looking at what other people do is a real incentive to want to learn how to paint better. I am beginning to like painting more than playing the games now!

Thanks good luck.

 

[slappingpaint]

wow, asking for a bit there, aren\'t ya? ;-)
I\'m going to post links straight to pictures on my site to show you some differances.

but about the washes, I use them all the time. There is 4 out there that I use.
look at the shadows, and not the final skin tones, so you can notice the differances.

Reaper Flesh wash is a darker thicker wash that works well http://www.slappingpaint.net/vampguy_front.JPG

Citadel OLD flesh wash
http://www.slappingpaint.net/thrud-wagon-2.JPG or
http://www.slappingpaint.net/truthseer.html
this stuff is my favorite. not too dark, a bit warm.

Citadel NEW flesh wash
umm..silly me, no pics.
but it is more red, and thicker than the old stuff

Vallejo Smoke transparent paint
thin this stuff down A LOT
http://www.slappingpaint.net/thay3_f.JPG

but to answer your questions about using a wash.
2 thin coats are always better then 1 thicker one. push the wash into creases and such. like eye sockets, mouth, lines from nose to sides of mouth, ears and under cheek bones.

and for an upside down post...
my favorite combo for painting flesh (all thinned paints,btw)
citadel old dwarf flesh
wash with citadel old flesh wash
paint areas of the face, leaving the deepest recesses alone with dwarf flesh
mix dwarf flesh with citadel elf flesh for a mid tone color, and paint the same areas again, but start blocking out areas. like, don\'t paint directly under the cheek bone.
then use elf flesh and start on your highlights.

ok, thats a bit basic, but the best i can type.
if you can\'t get the above paints, vallejo makes an awesome paint, DARK FLESH. use just that, lightened with ivory, or white for all your flesh needs.


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mini-painter
this is a minipainter egroup that has a wealth of information for ya. much more than i can ever tell you.

phew!
hope that helps
Craig
aka slappingpaint

 

[cypher]

Yeah I did.

Hmm I will print that out and think about it.

As for Citadel new flesh wash, it is terrible. I call it gold wash, because that is all I use it for.

So far my recipe for caucasian flesh is Reaper Hill Giant Brown, Citadel Dwarf Flesh, Reaper Ruddy Flesh and Reaper Dwarf Flesh. I am trying for about a spread of 5 shades mixed togethor on the skin and face in layers.

I will try how you described to do a wash on the face. I have had no luck with washes on skin though. It always either comes out too strong or has no effect.

What I am frustrated with is getting smooth transitions between shades. I might be too ambitious with all the colors I am using. I need to practice getting the colors to blend better. However every once in a while I get it right and it looks extremely good.

Thanks

 

[cypher]

Well I think the real problem that I experience isn\'t skin and faces but blending shades and highlights. I think this is the one techqniue that just has to be learned from experience and practice.

I put up a pic called Barbarian with Bad Skin so you can (try) to see what I am talking about. Unfortunately my camera stinks and tends to blur everything. Until I get a scanner I am stuck with this thing.

Thanks

 

[cypher]

Oh hey I just noticed that yahoo groups thing you sent. This site looks more appropriate for what I am looking for right now. If I can send pictures up there then I can get the help I am looking for from the group.

Thanks

 

[Goodwinpaints]

For washes on flesh I have just two words to say ... Vallejo Smoke!

By all means come on over to minipainter and join the madness. I guarantee most of the names will be familiar from this place.

Deane P. Goodwin
http://minipainter.netfirms.com

 

[cypher]

Cool I have discovered how to do caucasian skin real nicely. I put it up to see what people think but everybody just voted on an unfinished mini. So this place is not good for a critique just finished minis.

I have gotten really good at Dr. Faust\'s layering technique. It was real hard at first because I don\'t think that way at all. But I practice alot and be real patient and now I am doing it very well. But it took me many hours just to do the skin.

I don\'t like washes at all. They never dry in the cracks where they are supposed to. They always mess up everything. They are always the wrong color. So I don\'t use them at all on skins. Just on armor and other things.

lol

 

[cypher]

Hey Craig (slapping paint) I was at your site and saw those red wizards. Really nice!! They looked amazing. I have been frustrated lately with painting I seem to progress very slowly now. I guess it just takes alot of time and practice. I have learned a few interesting techniques this morning which finally came togethor after a couple of weeks of mediocre results. Actually I\'ve been getting worse lately pushing to hard to get it right. I am using washes now I have figured out how to do them right and it helps smooth my blending and highlighting alot!

As for skin and faces I am getting better I am happy with my results. Now I am stuck on cloth. I find it tremendously difficult to do well. Partly why I\'ve been so frustrated lately with painting. Just cannot get it right. When I do it it looks like a 2 year old drew on it. I liked the capes on those wizards very smooth! Nice work. Too bad you couldn\'t keep them!

 

[cypher]

Hehe! I finally managed to join the group now! It is exactly what I was looking for. Lots of information in the FAQs!! Cool!

 

[slappingpaint]

Hey Cypher,
There really is no subsitute for experiance. the more you practice, or paint, the better you will get. Also, when you try new things, you push your talents further each time. You might not notice it at first, but when you look back at your older stuff, you will see the differance.
The minipainter group will probaly help you a lot, for the group of people over there can be quite helpfull. And if you have the time, read some of the archives. there are gems hidden in those 58,000 messages. Look for Laszlo\'s tutorial on layering. looks imposing, but makes sense when you understand it.
about those red wizards..those reds took me some time to lay down. just start with a dark red, and work your way through your lighter reds, using yellow as a final highlight (but only very limited) remember, thin paints are your friend

about painting cloth, ever thought about painting your midtones first, then paint your shadows and highlights? instead of starting dark then working up to your highlights?

 

[cypher]

That is a good idea I will try it. Dr. Faust said he was doing that too. He uses too many colors I can\'t do that many yet I have to cut down to a few for now.

I was real happy today I did a good blending job. It took me a long time to do I have to go very slow and do the layers many times with thin paint. I see these things are coming togethor finally. I just want to paint nicely.

 

[slappingpaint]

not just skin and faces anymore...

you know, I don\'t use many colors. I use my palette to blend and mix colors. for example, for my reds, I use 4 colors with vallejo, or 3 with citadel.

http://www.slappingpaint.net/templar_mix.JPG

is an example of paint mixing on the palette. the reds got buggered with some green paint, but this should give you an idea you don\'t need a double handfull of paints. (not disrespecting Doc Faust, he\'s quite good)

but, I think the more you practice, the better you\'ll become, and the more natural it will be for you to build up your colors.

just some random thoughts.

 

[Shroud]

If you are interested, I have a skin and face tutorial up on my site now:

http://members.shaw.ca/jarrettl/paintingtips.htm

Regards,

Shroud

 

[cypher]

hehe no not skin and faces anymore. Will look at tutorial. Dr. Faust is the best!! He has lots of good tutorials. Just his shading/higlighting tutorial has about 6 or so colors on it was too much for me right now. Will eventually work up to it.

Craig is that your Warlord minis on the minipainter archive? Those look pretty cool! Reaper is releasing them this summer I heard.

Thanks

 

[slappingpaint]

Reapers Warlord minis

Hi Cypher,
no, they aren\'t mine. ReaperRon was kind enough to send me pictures of some of their new warlord line coming out. so, I shared with minipainter, and I put bigger pics on my site. Reaper is coming out with cool stuff all the time! :bouncy: I really want to see what else is going to be in their warlord line, and dark heaven and paints..god, i\'m addicted

Cheers!
Craig

 

[cypher]

Yeah Reaper is my favorite. Too bad the prices are going up

I have discovered I have one talent at painting. No matter how I paint I achieve tabletop quality. However I can paint it extremely fast. I did 3 minis today in about 20 minutes! They are only a bit rougher than the ones I spent weeks on and quality wise not that much worse.

I also discovered how to combine techniques. Each technique I am weak at alone but togethor it comes out really good. And I can do it super fast. So I am happy I have at least found my calling in painting minis. Maybe they\'ll make a golden demon speed painters competition or something...

Oh where are you going?
With beards all a-wagging?
No knowing no knowing,
what brings Mr. Baggins?
Way down in the valley,
way down in the valley
fa la!

See yah amigo...

 

[cypher]

Just as a note...

Reaper Flesh wash matches Reaper Caucasian perfectly. Unlike Citadel Flesh wash which doesn\'t match any of the citadel flesh paints. Citadel flesh wash mateches reapers flesh perfect too. So reaper has made a fine caucasian flesh IMO.

 

[cypher]

Weird craig, if you\'ve noticed this is becoming my online journal maybe it will help some other people just starting.

I went back to the very basics today and avoided all the complicated stuff. This is what is frustrating me. The simpler techniques are yielding better results for my skill level.

I am painting the KISS way, keep it simple silly....! It is much more fun this way! I\'ll save all the fancy stuff for another day.

I am priming everything white. White is making a huge difference!

Before I start I ink everything to see the details on it. It looks lovely just inked!

I am finding inks and washes to be my best friend now! They come out so much better on white.

I speed painted a bunch of minis. Somehow this has made an improvement on the one I am working on now, nice and slow. I dunno it seemed to get me in the mood to really paint well.

I learned when speed painting save your inks for last. They take so long to dry it is no longer speed painting

Well that\'s about it. No longer frustrated, I\'m having fun again!

 

[slappingpaint]

Brown ink is my favorite. i use it quite frequently. but when I ink an area, I go to another area until the ink dries . or use a hair dryer to speed up the drying.

Congrats on finding the fun in painting again. sometimes doing it easy you learn grasshopper

and I hope you like the whole world to be able to read your journal ;-)

to mention something.
my favorite brush is Vallejo sable #2. nice point, with a wide body that holds a lot of paint. I can paint almost an entire mini with it. that brush along has sped up my painting.

 

[sivousplay]

Cypher,

Glad to hear your having fun and glad that you\'re finding white primer useful. I\'ve seen exactly what you\'re experiencing, that simple washes on top of white primer just make the detail JUMP out and makes it much easier to paint. Dark primer hides so much stuff, it\'s really tough to find all the detail in the shadows & darkness.

good luck ... use the fork Luce
jim