Hoe to paint 'subtly'?

[Jagannath]

Areet all,

I'm taking on a bit of a personal challenge this year and trying to learn to paint faster, and with different techniques, hopefully to strengthen my painting repertoire.

So, here's my question - my painting style is pretty contrasty, with black lining, which I'm happy with. Having said that, how do people achieve the style of painting that the studio paint jobs for Pulp Figures have?



Are they white undercoated and 'washed' with paint?

[Michi]

It looks to me like the way of layered painting that I do too. The only wash that seems obvious is that on the white jumper (center top row) , I think.

[Major_Gilbear]

Very roughly:

> Work off a white or grey undercoat (helps brighten the colours).

> Use a darker version of the base colour for "dark lining" rather than using black. More than shading, this is to define the details without making the contrast so stark. Generally, I'd avoid any black lining that isn't on black.

> Use a layering technique and thin paints to build up highlights. Apply these selectively, and you won't need to do too much shading.

Alternatively, start with blocking in the model with your highlight colours over a white/grey-primed model, and then with thin paints gradually "wash in" the more saturated/darker hues. If you do this, you needs to works towards the shadow areas, and will likely need to do a final highlight pass again anyway. It's a lot like painting in reverse (and I normally prefer it, as the paint tends towards the deeper/lower parts of the model anyway), but is otherwise similar in technique to the normal highlighting method that most people use.

It would help if you posted some examples of your own work so that we can point out the differences in technique/colour more specifically.

[westwaller]

I'm not entirely sure that those pulp models are not black-lined anyway? Or at least painted over a black undercoat.

[theoldschool]

Bob Murch very kindly took the time a good few years ago to walk me through his painting style. Basically it's washes over solid colour followed by dry-brushing. He mainly uses Liquitex artist quality burnt and raw umber for his washes.

 Sounds much simpler than it really is, Bob often uses multiple washes and not always of obvious colours, violets over white for example. It's not a mechanical three stage process, he layers washes and drybrushing to achieve the colour he is looking for.

I'm sure there's a lot more to it, but that's how it was explained in layman's terms.

Hope that helps.

Of course it might have helped if I had explained the figures in the photo are designed and painted by Bob Murch.

[stone-cold-lead]

I'd go with layering. Undercoat colour doesn't matter too much but I habitually use black (even under white!). Blend out the edges of each layer using feathering, cross hatching wet blending or whatever works best for you to get a smooth transition. I like a bit of dark lining. Black can be a bit harsh sometimes so I'd suggest a very dark brown as an alternative.

[opponenttheory]

One of the easiest ways to creating smooth transitions is the push/pull method. It's a bit tricky to explain in words but the general idea is to use a controlled movement of the brush to push of pull the paint across an area of the model.

This model I painted recently might help to explain.



I started with a smooth basecoat. Then to shade the abdominals for example I mixed a darker colour and starting at the middle of the muscle I pulled the paint towards the bottom where I wanted the greatest shading. I repeated this several times and with several darker mixes. Then to highlight the muscle I used lighter mixes and pushed the paint towards the top. To finish I would use a few very dilute layers of the basecolour to clean the transition.

[Hammers]

One of the easiest ways to creating smooth transitions is the push/pull method. It's a bit tricky to explain in words but the general idea is to use a controlled movement of the brush to push of pull the paint across an area of the model.

I started with a smooth basecoat. Then to shade the abdominals for example I mixed a darker colour and starting at the middle of the muscle I pulled the paint towards the bottom where I wanted the greatest shading. I repeated this several times and with several darker mixes. Then to highlight the muscle I used lighter mixes and pushed the paint towards the top. To finish I would use a few very dilute layers of the basecolour to clean the transition.

Interesting. I have never heard of this technique before.

[zemjw]

Some of the Miniature Mentors tutorial videos discuss this technique. The first one on that link uses it, if memory serves.

My big problem with the approach is that it takes a long time, mainly because the painter in the video is using extremely thin washes, so has to go over an area 10 or more times to make a difference. Using slightly more pigmented washes would probably speed things up.

I sometimes dabble with the two brush blending approach, which I find quicker and just as acceptable.

[SteveBurt]

The quickest technique of all is block paint and then selective washes over each area, using different ink colours to give the correct shading.
It does take a little practice, but it is much faster than layering as you only paint each area once.
It can be combined with highlights after the ink wash dries for more punchy effect.

[Jagannath]

Thanks everyone

The quickest technique of all is block paint and then selective washes over each area, using different ink colours to give the correct shading.
It does take a little practice, but it is much faster than layering as you only paint each area once.
It can be combined with highlights after the ink wash dries for more punchy effect.

That's basically how I paint - I guess it comes from starting with GW in the 90s. Basecoat, wash down, highlight with basecoat then a couple more highlights.

I'm going to have a play about with even lighter base colours then thinner washes to shade and tone, see the results that produces.