Avoiding chalky skin: How do I get that smooth flesh finish.

[Captain Blut]

Lately I've been trying to step up the quality of my paint jobs. I have been having the most trouble getting a smooth blending with caucasian flesh tones. All of my attempts end up with a rough, chalky looking finish. Basically I have no idea how to paint human flesh. The tutorials I have seen do not go into step by step detail or if they do they are only tabletop quality jobs or below. I realize that the subtle look I am going for is a very advanced technique and requires time and patience. I am willing to put in the time to make my minis look good, I just need some guidance. I tend to use GW and Reaper master series paints if that helps you help me.

 

[BPI]

Hi Cap'n Blut, this is one of those threads that could really, really do with a picture of your current work to aid with where to point you Your Gallery not having much in the way of flesh in it at all!

Standard pointers would be don't thin the paint too much & let layers dry before working over them. The "whiter" colours will always do this more than others though due to the chemistry of the paint.

Have you ventured into the sticky thread at the top of this bit of the forum? There are links to tutes & step-by-steps in there that are waaaay beyond TT level

Cheers, B.

 

[generulpoleaxe]

The chalky look is often caused by jumping from dark to light too quickly.

try a base coat of elf flesh with a touch of scorched brown as a base coat.
shade with beasty brown add in red for warm colour or purple for a cool colour

add white to the base coat mix for first highlight, the mix an off white for the final highlight.

the paint to water ratio should be like skimmed milk, that way you not only get smooth coverage but each colour mix will give you several layers (feathering)

just a basic run down but it's somewhere to start.

 

[Norscaman]

I have found that thinning with water and surface tension agent (like future, Derivan Matisse, etc.) has greatly improved my flesh. I am almost ready to post my first miniature! Like poleaxe says, skim-milk is what you are looking for. To get that consistency, try, literally, painting with skim milk. You will see how it looks on your palette and can go from there. I don't mean that you should paint a mini with it, but just that you should see how it works in your brush and palette. Then, of course, wash all of it off!

 

[Captain Blut]

 

[Captain Blut]

These are two of the four WIP mini's I have. Yes my camera sucks (3.2mp w/macro mode). I hope the pics are decent enough to give you an idea of where I am in the process of painting them.

 

[Dribble Joy]

A mid tone glaze over slightly exaggerated highlights works well to bring everything down a bit and reduce the chalky effect that the rather matte look that many lighter colours have. Adding a small amount (and I mean small) of a rich colour (like purple) to stages of the paint job will give it a more translucent look.
Using a highlight colour other than white/light brown/bone will also help. A bring yellow added to a mid tone flesh will appear glossier.

 

[boristfrog]

Mr Scream did a face painting tutorial in issue 4 of Irregular. The tips can be applied to skin in general though. Check my sig for the link.