Help with red...

[misterjustin]

I\'ve gotten some good tips and feedback for painting with red in the WIP thread, but it didn\'t seem like the most appropriate place to be fishing for \"how to\" advice.

This is the first time I\'ve used red for anything other than highlights. I specifically purchased the Inquisitor Henchmen and this priest to learn to paint in reds before working on a Sisters of Battle group.

At this point the paint on both is a bit thick as I keep painting over the work I don\'t like. Neither was filed well either as both are just pieces for me to fiddle with as I practice with red and some freehand.

Those two disclaimers out of the way... help?

 

[generulpoleaxe]

start with a mid tone red.

using washes add brown to your mid tone and begin to shade.
if you want realy dark shading add a touch of purple to the mix when it gets to dark brown.

for the highlights start adding a light red.

if you want the highlights to have a realy rich red look to them add a bit of orange to your last highlight colour.
do this a couple of times.

now glaze over the highlights with red.

for any hot spots of light use a very thin white glaze and do only one or two coats.

hope this helps.

 

[Avelorn]

There are several ways to do reds. A good way of getting a nice highlightcolour is to use a fleshcolour, like GW dwarf flesh. It contains warmer tones that prevents the red from becoming too pink. You can also use a yellow/white mix to highlight red. For shading you can, as suggested, use browns or purples. Adding small quantities of green will very quickly darken a red color.. and that\'s the \"color theory\" way of doing it!

Working from black can be easier actually, but it depends on the result your after. Using GW colors Scab red has for example pretty descent coverage. Adding red gore, blood red and later dwarf flesh will create a nice red imo. You can allways add richness to it by using washes of a midtone red.. maybe even mixed with red ink. But then you have to be careful with the gloss.

 

[Dark Seraphim]

Be careful not to create too much of a difference, it will make it look unrealistic. Going from Scarab Red to Blood Red with Dwarf Flesh will create a VERY bright highlight, as the shade is very dark....

As I said in the WIP thread (Noticable on my Eldar\'s Bloody Hands) I use red gore / black to Blood Red and no higher. In the end, it all depends on what you want the result to be like, as there are many good ways to achive a great effect.

 

[misterjustin]

What I\'m going for is a really deep, rich read. I\'d like to do a Sisters of Battle group in black armour and red robes. I really want it to look like a regal cloth -- something very classy. This will build in to working on freehand \"embossing\" and/or \"embroidering\" on the robes and such later as well.

Just trying to step it up a notch.

 

[Avelorn]

DS: No.. it depends on how large portion of the cloth you use for different layers. The last highlights that create the bright spots should most often be applied to just a fraction of the cloth.. like edges and such. BUT depending on the lightsource and reflective capacities of the cloth there could be a pretty large portion of the cloth that is very bright and very dark.. but the colour of the cloth is still determined by the midtones. I\'ll do a new thread to explain.

 

[Dark Seraphim]

@AV: I know, but cloth in real life isn\'t very reflective to begin with, unless it\'s silk (and some others, leather if you can call that cloth ), they usually absorb light. But yeah, using the last highlight should only be edges if so.

@MJ: I would go with my method (of course you would ) as it does give you a deep red without gaining pigmentation from other parts of the colorwheel.

In the end, it\'s your descision. Keep us updated

 

[misterjustin]

Basecoat - GW \"Scab Red\" with GC \"Royal Purple\"

Highlight 1 - GW \"Scab Red\"

Highlight 2 - GW \"Blood Red\"

Highlight 3 - there is no hilghlight 3... but I will use GW \"Blood Red\" with \"Bestial Brown\" as I have no lighter brown.

Better, but...?

 

[Avelorn]

I think for a deep richer red you could go less into red and more into magenta. Which basically means less bloodred.

Is this something like what you\'re after?

I worked from black. Used scab red as a base layer, shaded with mixing in regal blue. I highlighted then by mixing in red gore. I don\'t remember recipe for the last highlights but I think I either used a flesh colour + red gore mix or a white/yellow/red gore mixture. So basically I went a bit warmer on the highlights to keep the cloth from looking washed out.

 

[farseerlum]

ink over white can make a very vibrant red.

but you knew that already.

it\'s frequently the last highlight that makes a red work. it is all red/brown until that one highlight that blings it into RED.

 

[misterjustin]

Averlorn, to use one of your pieces as an example I\'m more after this:

I actually found a piece that I\'d painted about six months ago - when I got back in to the hobby after my 13 year break - that matches the piece above. Now I just need to duplicate it. Heh.

 

[Avelorn]

That mini is also from when I returned to this hobby. Good luck with your red! I have the recipe for that specific red if you want it? But it\'s nothing strange, basically blood red with shadings of scab red and nausating blue.

 

[misterjustin]

BINGO!

This is just about perfect for me:

It\'s that deep, right purple/red that looks like velvet sofas from the 30s movie houses. PERFECT!

I have messaged \"verzaniproductions\" and I\'m hoping folks might have some thoughts on how this was created. I\'m already going to pull out another SoB and start dabbing around, but...

 

[Shawn R. L.]

The best shadow I have used for red is alizron crimson. It\'s VERY deep rich red. The thing I dont like about using brown for a shading additive is that it dulls the red. Alizron crimson dosent do that. It will get very dark and retain it\'s good strong hue. As with all strong colors, you want to start with a good undercoat of white.