28mm Painting: Where do I start?

[Andy in Germany]

Hello again. my tabletop model making has stalled a bit lately, partly because of work and other commitments, but also because although I seem to manage things like buildings and vehicles, I can't get the hang of figure painting, especially of faces.

After the last attempt I cleaned this figure as best I could and re primed it.

Where do I start from here?



Thoughts and suggestions welcome (or links to tutorials and YouTube videos welcome, as I've looked but can't really find anything useful)

Many thanks...

[Storm Wolf]

Andy,

I always start with the skin, face, hands whatever and work out from there.
But I think you will find everyone is different. Just make a start somewhere, it will all work out ok.
Just shade the face with a little flesh/brown ink and keep it simple. I used to do eyes and everything now I generally don`t bother, except for character models.

Good luck

Glen

[Donkeymilkman]

I always try and paint as if I was getting dressed, e.g. start with the shirt/jumper under her top, then the jacket, the gun, and then the hands (due to the hands being above the gun if that makes sense).

I know how you feel about being able to paint. I always find when I am looking at buying miniatures, I frequently tell myself 'I love that mini but I could never paint it to a great standard. I will wait till I am a better painter'. The issue is the only way I am going to be a great painter is if I buy the damn figures and practice! So slap some paint on her and go! 

I'd also say part of it is learning when to leave a figure alone, if you've stopped enjoying painting the figure and it's stopped being fun, then it's probably best to move on to something else, get your mojo back then start again with it. I always think you can tell when someone has enjoyed painting something and when someone hasn't. I know it shows in my work.

Anyway, I hope this ramble helps,

DMM

[Andy in Germany]

Andy,

I always start with the skin, face, hands whatever and work out from there.
But I think you will find everyone is different. Just make a start somewhere, it will all work out ok.
Just shade the face with a little flesh/brown ink and keep it simple. I used to do eyes and everything now I generally don`t bother, except for character models.

Good luck

Glen

You may be right about the eyes. This is my second attempt with this figure at least, possibly the third, and it was the face that defeated me every time.

Trouble is, she's a figure for a Pulp league and a leader, no less, so she's every bit a "character" figure...

[2010sunburst]

Best approach I’ve also found is inside out, so milky is spot on.  Paint as you would dress.  That gives you the ability to tidy up over painting as you go.  You also minimise the number of “tidy” lines you have to paint.  As to faces, two coats of basic flesh tone to get a solid covering.  Follow that by highlighting with a lighter flesg tone in nose, forehead, top lip, top of cheekbones, ears, point of chin, and jaw line.  Let that dry then use a smash of Vallejo game flesh wash and watch her come to life…..you can then refine the highlights a little if needed, and paint in any mouth or eye detail you want.  When painting eyes, just use ivory, and cut it back to size with a darkish brown.  The pupils can be added with a vertical dark grey line, again cutting back over painting with the darkish brown.  It really is easier than you think…..

[fred]

I’ve found the Kev Dalimore tutorials for painting IHMN figures very useful - I think they are on the North Star site - in following these I think I’ve done some of my best painting. Obviously this figure won’t be in them guides, but there will certainly be similar figures.

[has.been]

Lots of good advice, not least to go ahead & paint.
It is not that I get better at painting, just that I get
more experienced at hiding my mistakes & weaknesses.

Block in some colours then, when dry, coat with some
Army Shade, or similar. Then a few 'highlights' using
the same colour you blocked in with. When finished, look
at the model while holding it at arms length. That is the
kind of distance it will be seen from most of the time.

[Hobgoblin]

I always paint metals first (base coat at least) as metallics are more likely to mess up other colours and be awkward to fix than vice versa. I tend to do all the base colours, then apply a wash, then highlight from there (original colour and one or two highlights in lighter tones). It depends on the figure, but I aim to use as few washes as possible - the ideal being one coat of Agrax Earthshade or equivalent over the lot - but that's not an option for many human skin tones or for cleaner or brighter clothes. It might do for quite a lot or all of this figure's clothing and equipment, though.

For eyes, I'd wash the whole recess in dark blue or purple (an old tip from Aly Morrison) and then paint in the eye in an off-white (NOT pure white) and then add the pupil/iris - remembering that the dark bid takes up quite a lot of the eye.

[Storm Wolf]

You may be right about the eyes. This is my second attempt with this figure at least, possibly the third, and it was the face that defeated me every time.

Trouble is, she's a figure for a Pulp league and a leader, no less, so she's every bit a "character" figure...

Honestly at 3 feet/1 metre who is going to know? I very seldom bother at all these days with the eyes and I must admit that I use a mix of mix of citadel contrast and army painter inks these days with very little traditional "proper" painting going on.

The overall effect can be controlled by the undercoat or basecoat colour, I tend to ink on top of medium grey as this prevents things being too bright, if i want bright I use a white coat under that bit first. Tone down and dirtying can be acheved with the army painter tones, dark, soft and strong respectively or as many on here use aggarax earthshade.

Quick and easy and not as much fuss

Good luck

Glen

[Andy in Germany]

I always try and paint as if I was getting dressed, e.g. start with the shirt/jumper under her top, then the jacket, the gun, and then the hands (due to the hands being above the gun if that makes sense).

Best approach I’ve also found is inside out, so milky is spot on.  Paint as you would dress.  That gives you the ability to tidy up over painting as you go.  You also minimise the number of “tidy” lines you have to paint. 

This makes sense: one of the problems with my last attempt was a "gap" I couldn't get rid of around the hairline because I left the face until last, in fact that was the final problem that ended with poor Betsy being dumped in a pot of Alcohol and scrubbed with my old toothbrush... Starting with face and working "out" would have avoided that...

[Andy in Germany]

Lots of good advice, not least to go ahead & paint.
It is not that I get better at painting, just that I get
more experienced at hiding my mistakes & weaknesses.

Block in some colours then, when dry, coat with some
Army Shade, or similar. Then a few 'highlights' using
the same colour you blocked in with. When finished, look
at the model while holding it at arms length. That is the
kind of distance it will be seen from most of the time.

Thanks. I'm able to hide my mistakes on things like houses and vehicles but I'm finding it harder on the tiny area available on a figure...

What's an "Army shade"?

[Andy in Germany]

Honestly at 3 feet/1 metre who is going to know?

I think my problem is that I'd know, and I'm a tad too perfectionist... Maybe learning to let things slide is also important.

The overall effect can be controlled by the undercoat or basecoat colour, I tend to ink on top of medium grey as this prevents things being too bright, if i want bright I use a white coat under that bit first.

So before painting the end colour, darken on the primer above for shadows and white for highlights, then block in colour?

[has.been]

What's an "Army shade"?

A translucent 'stain' that will put on most of the
shadows for you. If I am doing more than a few
figures, I use coloured wood varnish instead. It
does pretty much the same job & is a LOT cheaper.
Light Oak = a light, subtle shading. e.g. over white Indian Mutiny cloth.
Dark Oak = much darker, e.g. over Viking chain mail
Mahogany = a red/brown. e.g. over different undercoats for horses.
The Army Shade does come in small dropper type bottles if
you just want to experiment with it. For most of my figures I use
it over the flesh, it sinks into eye sockets etc. Then when it is dry
I highlight (forehead, nose, cheeks & chin) that does me for faces.

[2010sunburst]

Tried army painter shades and Vallejo flesh wash.  This wins hands down for faces….

[Storm Wolf]

I think my problem is that I'd know, and I'm a tad too perfectionist... Maybe learning to let things slide is also important.

So before painting the end colour, darken on the primer above for shadows and white for highlights, then block in colour?

Yup, you can also highlight on the upraised parts to increase the contrast effect.