Painting Class.....Skin up with Klute

[Grumb]

Sorry Mark, started cleaning up the mini I wanted to use and realised that the tip of her nose is missing...

Don\'t have time to break out the GS right now, so I\'m just gonna have to follow along and live vicariously through the other students. Consider me \"auditing\" the class!

Good looking work so far folks.

I\'m off to the beach for a week of vacation...you all take care and we (RedDawn and I) will see you in a week.

Cheers,
Grumb

 

[Klute]

@GothicWolf........good.Theres some depth lacking.What I would do is apply a lighter highlight on the very tips of things.Then a wash thats darker than the basecoat.This will blend in the layers and give depth to the whole figure.

@Jabberwocky........at first I saw only the top pics and thought great thats a real good looking dark skin and very fitting for the sculpt.
As you know yourself the next step spoiled it.This is becuase the layers are too abrupt.You can see the steps in the colours.Go for thinner paint and more colour transitions.

@Grumb.......Arggghhhhh.

 

[Jabberwocky]

So you would have left the mini as is after the first layer? How high would you take the highlights?

 

[Klute]

@Jabberwocky......yes.Thats one of the benefits of using this technique,you can stop whenever you reach the look you are after.Just a little lighter highlights on certain paints like the nose,chin,fingers etc.

 

[gothicwolf]

on right path yet? or am i still wandering in the dark

Edit : btw im also looking for insperation as to the rest of the minis color and techique scheme, any ideas would be gratfully recieved

 

[Anatora]

I\'m here...I\'m here...Haven\'t dropped out. On my third base coat and repainted eyes. :~(
Just can\'t seem to make the paint go where it is suppose to. Will try again this afternoon so I can post tonight and make corrections so I will be ready for tomorrow\'s lesson.

 

[sebrushworth]

Question for Klute

Hi!
I\'ve been following this thread intensely over the last week, but don\'t have a digital camera so haven\'t been able to post any pics

Anyway, I\'m wondering about the blending technique you\'re using. When you\'re layering and switch to a new colour mix, do you continue painting from where you stopped with the last mix, or do you go back to the beginning and layer over the entire area again? (I\'m hoping you understand the question )

 

[Klute]

@Gothicwolf....loking fine mate.Colour scheme??Red with gold trim and armour.Yellow with gold??

@sebrushworth.....Hi......all through the layers and mixes keep doing a smaller area.I sometimes glaze over areas Ive already done to blend things up.

If I was to use thicker paint I would be doing more intermediate mixes.That isnt needed here becuase the mixes are that thin they are just toning the colours underneath.

Heres a quick pic of the finished concubine along side the harem guard.These are done with the same technique,the black girl having a basecoat of scorched brown over black primer glazed up to bestial brown with some bleached bone added for the top highlights.
Just as an example of a different colour skin.

 

[Valloa]

Originally posted by Klute
@Valloa.......looking great.From there I would take the highlights up a little further just on the really high spots.Knees,knuckles etc.
Then start washing a very thin tanned flesh(dont forget the flow enhancer)
This will bring out the shading more.Put extra around areas like the hands to pick out the deep sharp recesses like between fingers.This will also give a subtle dark lining in areas.Be carefull around the face so you dont get any in her eyes.
Learn to control the washes and not just slap them on.
If you feel confident enough,and you are certainly skilled enough,use a darker wash (bestial brown)around the hands,hairline etc to pick out the really deep stuff.

See I like to have a good seperation between areas like skin and hair but like to keep it subtle with browns etc and not black.
Not as striking but looks more realistic IMHO.

Try two:

 

[supervike]

Here is my step two...

Hello Class, here is my latest..

I \'darklined\' with some bestial brown, but for some reason anything with \'red\' in the color saturates terribly when I snap a pic. Any suggestions on that are welcome too...

Please point out all the bad stuff Klute, be brutally honest, please.

 

[Klute]

@Valloa
@Supervike

Both look very,very good.No tips on photography,sorry.I would but Im not qualified for that in the least

From where you both are I would leave the skin.I would darkline around the adornments.ie bracelets,hairline,boots,pants etc etc.
Use a fine brush with a very thin wash of bestial brown with flow enhancer+water.Dont overload your brush and control the wash into the recesses.Capilliary action should draw the wash along the line.Keep doing this until the colour builds up till your satisfied with the results.
Add some scorched brown if you want it darker.

 

[Klute]

BTW heres a couple of face close ups to be going at.I will post these again later when I go over detailing in the last step.

Ive realised Ive pushed my own limits doing the figure for this,so thanks.

 

[Modderrhu]

I\'m late, I\'m late, I\'m late. And with crappy pics too. Should be able to take better ones over the coming weekend.

Layers as follows;
1) Dwarf flesh with a touch of camo green
2) 1 vile green, 2 camo green for the eyes. Really, they are green.
3) Dwarf flesh, elf flesh glazed on
4) Elf flesh
5) Elf flesh, white
6) Pallid flesh, white

 

[Wolf_Fang]

Originally posted by Modderrhu
I\'m late, I\'m late, I\'m late. And with crappy pics too. Should be able to take better ones over the coming weekend.

Layers as follows;
1) Dwarf flesh with a touch of camo green
2) 1 vile green, 2 camo green for the eyes. Really, they are green.
3) Dwarf flesh, elf flesh glazed on
4) Elf flesh
5) Elf flesh, white
6) Pallid flesh, white

interesting place for a peg lol

 

[supervike]

How\'d you know...

Originally posted by Wolf_Fang

interesting place for a peg lol

her name was Peg????

 

[Wolf_Fang]

no no no....... look where the peg to hold the model is placed lol

 

[supervike]

yes, I was just being.....difficult...

It is unfortunate pin placement...lollol

 

[Klute]

@Modderrhu......that looks real nice.Photo is a bit dark and washed out but I can see that the layers have gone on nice and smooth by the legs.



Right then next lesson.As the skin is done I will briefly go through the rest.
Oh nipples fit into the skin catagory.
Tanned flesh/water.....30/70 with a little flow enhancer.
Get a tiny amount on your brush and just touch the nipple on the side.This should apply a little wash that will run around the nipple.This gives a darker tint around the areole(sp?) but leaves the tip of the nipple a lighter colour giving an automatic highlight.You might want to keep going over it to get a deeper colour.

LIPS
Blood red/water 50/50..not too thin,you want this to stay where its put.Small amount on the brush and just \"stroke\" the lip with it,building up the colour.I usually only do the bottom lip.Dont hold the brush perpendicular to the figure,more of an angle.Then use skull white/water 50/50 and apply a very small line for the lip highlight.This gives it a glossy wet look.
BLUSHER/EYESHADOW
I have used tanned flesh for the blusher in a very thin glaze mix.Keep adding to the face until the desired depth of colour is acheived.
The eyeshadow was done the same but with blood red.

NAILS.
Use the appropriate colour for your figure,mine is blood red to match the lippy.
Blood red/water 30/70....no flow enhancer.Now this gets a bit technical.Have you ever applied watered down paint only for the pigment to flow to the outside and create a ring.Thats the effect we want.
So as you paint the fingernail,just touch where you want it and draw the brush off the finger.This gets tricky on small figures,so a bit practice is warranted.
Same for toes.

HAIR.
Ive done blonde hair and the colours I have used are.
Basecoat of snakebite leather over white primer.
Then spearstaff brown in a 50/50 water mix.
Bleached bone 50/50.
Skull white 50/50.Put this on as a \"halo\" highlight around the top of the head.

EYEBROWS.
This obviously depends on hair colour.Ive used scorched brown very thin.


That about covers it.Hopefully theres some more of your pics to see (dont be shy) and I will try to answer any questions you have.


A little side note....Without moaning and going into much detail Im not very well at the moment so apologies if I seem late in answering stuff.

 

[Modderrhu]

@Klute: Thanks! I\'m not 100% happy though, after looking at it again last night, I\'m thinking that some very thin glazes with elf flesh and pallid flesh will sort out some of my issues. And yeah, the photo is poor. I like to take pics outside with ambient sunlight, but daylight hours are short, work hours are long and the gf deserves a little extra time from me. Will touch up, then post a hopefully better pic.

@Wolf_Fang & supervike: Haven\'t we been through this before? Bloody perverts, the lot of you! She rides bareback, and a little extra \'help\' is required to keep her on her steed. And just so you know, her name\'s not Peggy, her name\'s not Fanny, it\'s Iníon na Bhrón. Honestly, can\'t take you anywhere twice unless it\'s to apologise, and the third time is to return the stuff you stole.

 

[supervike]

Originally posted by Modderrhu
Honestly, can\'t take you anywhere twice unless it\'s to apologise, and the third time is to return the stuff you stole.

**looking at shoes, and kicking dirt** sorry....

@Klute. Take all the time you need! I can\'t wait to try these next steps. The face really \'brings\' the mini alive.