eyes

Redgar

New member
I really can´t paint pupils. I load the brush with paint, and when I make the stroke the paint has already dried

does anyone know how to do it?
 
yeah,its tricky aint it but if you can get it right then your a big step forward.
Im assuming its just the pupils your worried about.First thing is you need a steady hand so rest against something to sure yourself.Next and even more important thin the pupil color down with water a lot,preventing it from drying on the brush.next load the brush and wipe off excess on paper so you get a thin line when you draw with it .
Paint your eyes with a verticle stroke,dont worry if you go above and below as youll be able to touch up after.do both pupils making sure they are not cross eyed.if the lines too thin then it will look like cats/snakes eyes,so add another.
You need that steady hand though!
 

Nekron99

New member
I use a pen too, the Sakura fine line .005 comes in a bunch of colors, and work great for blacklining, pupils, tattoos, cape/robe embellishments, etc.
 
W

wulverine

Guest
Tooth picks

When I first started painting eyes many, many moons ago I had the same problem. This prob. was solved when I found that the point on a toothpick was about the right size, unfortunately this left me with another prob. the eyes then looked too starey and mad.

Luckily for me my local gaming club solved this problem for me in the form of a golden demon finalist. here\'s the advice.

1. Using a small brush, a 1 or 0, paint the whole eyeball white.
2. Using a smaller brush, 00 or 000, paint a small T shape in black over the white.
3. Using the same brush, paint a darker shade of your flesh tones under the eye.

While tricky to get the hang of, once mastered this technique looks ace. Your models should no longer look quite so maddened and more natural and because the area you are painting is so small, you won\'t be able to notice the T shape. ;)
 

supervike

Super Moderator
the eyes have it....

Eyes are the bane of my existance....

I have tried many techniques, but the one I currently like is this from DR. FAUSTS painting clinic...


http://www.paintingclinic.com/clinic/clinic.htm

There are two methods for \'eye painting\', but the first one seems to be the one that has helped me.
 

Cerridwyn1st

New member
Ditto

Originally posted by Nekron99
I use a pen too, the Sakura fine line .005 comes in a bunch of colors, and work great for blacklining, pupils, tattoos, cape/robe embellishments, etc.

I hate sounding like Rush Limbah, but I go along with the .005 Sakura pen. Hey, if it\'s good enough for Jen Haley, it\'s good enough for me.

Though I did use a shapened plastic toothpick once.

Oh, and don\'t use white for the eyes. Will make your guys look google-eyed. Use a 50/50 mix of white and bleached bone. Thin VERY carefully, and use a very fine brush.

This is what I\'ve started to do for eyes. It\'s a mix of several styles, actually.

I basecoat the whole face with a flesh tone about two shades darker than my final, usually Dwarf Flesh.

I fill the eye socket with a 50/50 mix of Vallejo Model Color Burnt Sienna and Plaid Walnut varnish. I thin this a little with water or Magic Wash. I also trail this mix down the sides of the nose, just under the nose, the lips and just under the lips. If the cheeks should be defined, then I also put this under the cheekbones.

Use a fine brush to put the thinned white/bleached bone mix on the eyeball. If there\'s a boo-boo, clean it up by painting over with the dark mixture.

Dot the eye with the Micron pen. The dark mix above and below the eye will mask any errors in getting the pupil a little high or low.

Using a Windsor Newton 000 miniature, I put a mix of Dwarf Flesh and Elf Flesh above and below the eye, leaving brown lines around the eye. I also leave a line of brown for the eyebrow.

I use the same paint on the eye ridge, leaving the brow. I touch up the brow if it needs it.

I\'ll add Elf Flesh a little at a time to the dwarf/elf mix and layer up until I get the color I like in the eye area. I\'ll also start layering the other areas of the face.

Dragonsreach has a very good article on painting faces here on CMON. If you look at that, you will have a good idea of what areas of the face need to be left darker than others.

Part of the problem with getting good eyes is just your brush skills. Everything you paint will suffer until you can get this down. Eyes just show this weakness more because they are so delicate, and are one of the first things people look at on a mini.

It takes time and practice to build good brush skills; keep at it and you\'ll get better.
 

mouse

Member
eyes...

...well, either use the pen or the pick or the brush.

normally, i add extender or else the paint dries up too fast on really small brushes.

all advice given are really sound. the pen is frequently used. quick and hassle free. otherwise, use the pick to dot the pupil.

for me, i use the brush. use black as the undercoat (or any colour as your preference and the effect), cover with off white (not WHITE!! it\'ll make the model look goofy unless that\'s your intent), dot the pupil by lining it (depends on where the model is looking, line the pupil in different areas)..two lines normally do the trick. wash with red ink (depends on your model again) then wash with flesh wash...lastly, eyes are normally glossy, hence varnish it with satin or glossy varnish.

experiment and see what you prefer. :)
 

MClimbin

New member
I must admit that I use the pen too. Works well! Why not?

I have to say that learning to paint eyes was really frustrating for me. I used to hate painting faces, so I would do them first just to get them over with. I remember reading a description of how to paint the eyes. It went something like this:

first, paint the eyes in black, then swipe the eye in white leaving a border of black. Then dot the eye.

Jeez! Talk about impossible! I thought, \"Oh, right, just swipe the eye, as if it is that easy!\" You should see some of my earlier eyes, they were quite \"interesting\" :( They would have been good for raccoons, though. :)

Just keep practicing. You will find your way of painting eyes. Nowadays, I\'m pretty happy with the way I do eyes. In fact, I still paint the face first, but it\'s because it\'s the most fun for me!

Michael

ps: if I ever get around to building a website for my minis, I\'ll post small pics of *all* of them, including my first ones. It might be interesting for beginners to see the progression from \"sucky\" to \"intermediate\"--so far!
 

Valander

Member
Yes, technical pens/Microns work great! Biggest issue with these, though, is that you need to make sure the paint is completely dry before using the pen. Clogged pens are absolutely no fun.

If you can\'t get ahold of the pens (or don\'t want to, to be a \"purist\" ;) ), then adding a bit of extender to your paint will help keep it wet on the brush. Also, when you\'re working with really thin paint like this, it\'s really helpful to have a damp cloth nearby. After loading your brush, lightly touch it to the damp cloth. This will make it so that the paint won\'t completely flow all over your model as soon as you touch the brush to it. You can easily reshape the point, too, by twirling it on your palette.
 

mule

old and stubborn
Here\'s how I paint an eye.
Coloured stripe down the middle (usually blue) then a black dot in the centre.
I often put a bit of red in the corner of the eye before going around the edge with a dark brown (usually paint, sometimes ink).
On important models I\'ll usually try to go a bit further, like a small white dot in the
blue to reflect the sun, or wash the blue with a brown or green.

Now, where are those glasses...?

P.S. I usually use white so as to draw attention to the eye. I find the small amount of red in the corner mutes the crazy look ... or maybe I\'ve forgotten what I\'m talking about...
 

Cerridwyn1st

New member
You know, Redgar, I never asked how small your brush is. If you use a really small spotter (15/0 or smaller), then it is very easy to have the paint dry on the brush. They just don\'t hold very much.

Thinning the paint with extender helps, and dipping the brush in your water to get it damp before you load the paint.

I use a cheap, damp sponge to blot. Gets off most the excess, sometimes a dry papertowel just doesn\'t do enough. The sponge is also great for shaping your bristles.
 
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