Building a better Red tech?

[ScottRadom]

Hey, I got two of these models and I wanted to try working on my red\'s on this one. I for sure won\'t paint the cloak red on the next guy, but I wanted to get one of these guys done for eBay and try using some of the advice I have been given on shading and highlighting red. The shading on the red is done with Vallejo Black Red and a P3 Coal Black which is like a black blue/green. It\'s been suggested many times over that I use a green or a blue to shade reds and this is my first crack at it. The red has also been highlighted up to bronzed flesh but it seems the pic\'s are knocking out most of that. Other then that the pic\'s are pretty close.

Thoughts so far?

 

[Donga]

You\'ve got the right idea so far, you could take the highlight a little higher OR there isn\'t enough mid-tone red.

Hard to tell sometimes.

The other problem with red is that its a bugger to photograph!

 

[.sam.]

the way i usually paint red and the way i like most is by starting with either blood red or scab red shade with blues and greens and highlight with space wolfs gray.


id say your attempt is really good atm but i agree with donga i think the highlights need to be pushed more, especially on the top of the head and shoulders as they would recieve a lot of light.

 

[ScottRadom]

Thanks for the crit\'s guys. I\'ll try hitting it with more bronzed flesh on the parts mentioned by Sam. I\'ll try the shadow grey on my next red attempt as well, but I don\'t want to switch from the bronzed flesh to shadow grey on this model, as I already have a decent amount of the flesh color in there.

Donga, I think you might have really hit on something too. In my efforts to get the shade and highlights I think I have been sluffing on the mid tone! Very good point sir, a very poignant crit!

 

[nick232]

i think its a bit too dark. when i paint red i start off with the GW foundation red. then start adding blazing orange. then in the recess add black to the foundation. then i spend hours(i\'ve now found out why it takes so long to paint minis!) useing these recipies to get nice SMOOTH blends!

 

[Donga]

When I paint red, I start with a base of Scab Red/Black mix then just scab red - Dwarf flesh to highlight. Unsure about SW Grey highlight? Never used that, can\'t comment. I then re-stablish the shade with either a mix of Scab red/black with either VMC Dark Prussian blue, GW Scaly Green, or VMC German Black Brown. It all depends on the subject and the final look.

The key is very thin layers, lots of layers. You get super smooth layers there.

 

[DrEvilmonki]

for red I start with scorched brownwith a little purple - scab red - blood red - very slight orange highlights and plenty of glazes over the top.

But that gets you a pretty reddy red
http://www.coolminiornot.com/112589

 

[.sam.]

Originally posted by Donga
When I paint red, I start with a base of Scab Red/Black mix then just scab red - Dwarf flesh to highlight. Unsure about SW Grey highlight? Never used that, can\'t comment. I then re-stablish the shade with either a mix of Scab red/black with either VMC Dark Prussian blue, GW Scaly Green, or VMC German Black Brown. It all depends on the subject and the final look.

The key is very thin layers, lots of layers. You get super smooth layers there.

its the colours demonherald suggested to me


its how i painted this: link

and this is it on one of dh minis: link

 

[Trevor]

You need more highlights, either edge or zenithal depending upon your style. Doing this with red is tricky, because it ends up looking orange or pink. It also looks to me like it goes from dark to light very rapidly, perhaps too rapidly...

If it makes you feel any better I just looked through my gallery and all my reds look a bit off too

 

[emopainterguy]

Looks good so far, but at first I have to admit I wasnt sure what was red and what was brown... Donga seems to have been spot on with saying you are missing a bit of your midtone.

Having painted a few red minis in my days I\'ve found a couple different recipes that all work well. For a nice easy red I usually base with the foundation red, wash with baal red or devlan mud (or both), touch up with a bit of the foundation red, highlight with blood red, wash again with baal or devlan, and then do a final highlight with the foundation red.

Works surprisingly well for simple models. Using the baal red or devlan mud lets you decide whether you want a darker dirtier red (with devlan mud) or a more red red (with the baal red). That is more or less the recipe I used for these blood ravens:

Obviously you can play around with it, use a green wash in the shadows to get some nice contrast. You could also shade with scorched brown or one of the darker GW reds (scab or gore). If you wanted a brighter red you can always add a little highlight of blazing orange (you have to be careful there or it\'ll start to look orange), or use a more neutral colour, like bleached bone.

 

[ScottRadom]

Thanks guys, some real good tips there!

 

[crazyboyae1]

yeah hitting the very edges with bronzed flesh will be good, as well as shading in places with a greenish or purplish color not only in the deep creases but where ever shadows will be, take a flashlight and put it ontop of the mini and see where some other shadows will be other then the main ones

 

[crazyboyae1]

you didnt do to toronto gamesday did you scott??

 

[ScottRadom]

GD Toronto is at a horrible time of year for me. Work really picks up in May and June, and it\'s tough to get any time then. Might still go for it next year though.