Painting faces and especially eyes....help !!

[Spaztica]

I would really like some tips on what works for those out there who have a working skill at painting faces with detail to eyes. I have a really hard time painting eyes and not sure what works for others out there...

 

[gohkm]

Everyone has issues painting eyes. A good sculpt may help, but ultimately, the only sure-fire solution is lots, and lots of practice. There's a great tutorial here: http://www.destroyerminis.com/paintingeyes/.

Instead of painting the eyes last, as suggested in the tutorial, I tend to paint them first. That allows me to correct any mistakes I make, particularly if I over-blackline the eyes.

 

[PegaZus]

Yeah, that's a pretty good tip, to paint the eyes first. I don't seem to follow it, but it does prevent you from spending hours getting the rest of mini right. Easier to strip just eyes rather than that.

 

[cfwheeler58]

http://www.planetfigure.com/articles/eye_tutorial-mark_benette/eye-tutorial.html

 

[Einion]

A good sculpt may help, but ultimately, the only sure-fire solution is lots, and lots of practice.

QFT

Practice, practice, practice, it's the way to get better at doing eyes, as well as any fine details. There are tips that can help but end of the day it's your hands working with your paint and brushes that have to do the work.

Einion

 

[10 ball]

A great tip for eyes or any other small detail is you don't need a micro small brush. A size 1 or 2 is super - as long as it is a quality make that goes into a perfect tip.
Having a larger brush keeps the paint from drying out before you have chance to paint the eye. Make sure you have not got to much paint on before!

 

[Dragonsreach]

My method for eyes depends on how well defined the eyesocket is in the sculpt, but as an example for the Sascha DuBois I did earlier thie year here's how It went.

Thin down either chocolate Brown or Leather Brown from Vallejo Model Colour, use this to 'set' the eye socket. Allow to dry.
Support your two hands together holding the miniature.
Now with your primary Hand, paint the eye Nearest to that Hand, using Vallejo Model Colour Ivory. (Ivory is less of a startling colour for eyes than plain white.)
Turn The Model Upside Down and paint in the other eye.
Now remember that in real life the iris/pupil looks to take up 1/3 of the available area of the eye, so when painting that in allow for that and the eyelid cover.
Normally the eyelid covers part of both the top and bottom of the iris, and if you just "dot" in you end up with the "thousand yards stare" effect.
Also try to get the iris placement even avoiding the "boss eyed look".

 

[Kretcher]

I visited Ischa a couple of months ago, he has a great way of doing eyes, PM him and see if he can give you some information on how he do it.

/Kretcher

 

[ischa]

i´m putting a tutorial up on my thread i like my method

 

[airhead]

CMON Articles: Faces with Expressions
http://www.coolminiornot.com/articles/1222-faces-with-expressions-part-1

Reaper: Betty Davis Eyes:
http://www.reapermini.com/TheCraft/12

 

[uglybug]

Great links there thanks everyone. A quick method that I figured out the other day, instead of doing the typical dot for the center of the eye I did a V. By doing the V there was a tiny white spot in the center of the pupil so it looked like a light reflection was hitting it.

 

[Dragonsreach]

A quick method that I figured out the other day, instead of doing the typical dot for the center of the eye I did a V. By doing the V there was a tiny white spot in the center of the pupil so it looked like a light reflection was hitting it.

Wouldn't that make it look more like a cateract than a pupil? (Pupils being 'black' an'all)

 

[uglybug]

Wouldn't that make it look more like a cateract than a pupil? (Pupils being 'black' an'all)

I stand corrected. Unless his pupils were dilated because some ogre was coming at him with a big ax.