vallejo model colour halp please

Wootton

New member
hi, i got the vallejo model colour paint set (not the military 1)and skin tones set that has 6 paints in it 3 days ago and i have finished my 1st model, a lotr sam, i will post it soon when i have finished the base. i am pleased with the outcome but the skin seems very yellowish and tanned which looks good but i need more natural browny-red skin tones sometimes(like the gw one e.g. dwarf flesh)

so the question is what vallejo model colours do you guys use to get the skin tones described above.

i will post a pic of the skin on sam when i can to show you more of what i mean, any advice would be much appreciated as i am not at all familiar yet with the model colour range

thanks, paul
 

Ritual

New member
GW skin colours more natural? ??? There hardly are no natural looking pre-mixed skin colours in any line. Tallarn Flesh from the Foundations paints and Midlund Flesh from P3 are pretty good, but still requires some tweaking to look really good.

If you know what colour you want then just try different mixes until you find something you\'re happy with. It\'s really not that hard. I can\'t give you any more specific hints because usually I do things differently each time.
 

mickc22

Granddad!
Hi Paul
VMC 803 Brown Rose, similar to dwarf flesh
VMC 843 Cork Brown
These 2 work nicely as a base color to work from


Mick
 

Pictish Mini Painting

I'm actually a man!
Hi mate,

The best thing i can advise for good flesh tones is to work in basically coloured water.

I know this has been mentioned before but it really works, i have tried it for the first time on my nurlge lord and it really brings out the colour.

I wanted a pinky\\ sickly colour to the face so i took the base flesh tone and added a tiny drop of warlock purple (or model colour equivelant) and watered it down, about 5:1 water to paint.

i then painted it onto the model, it looks liek you have done nothing, but after about 6 coats, aiming where you want darker and lighter areas, it really starts to take shape.

Just work out what you want tone wise, i.e. a sickly face will have a lighter, greeny\\blue palour, where as a yellow tinge or red will give a warmer look, and blue for a cold model.

It takes time to get it looking right, but the effect is quite simple and subtle.
 

bullfrog

New member
Everyone has hit the nail on the head with the VMC Cork Brown as it makes a good basecoat and is gaining in popularity for its use as such. I shade with VGC Skin Wash diluted to just have a hint of colour or I find the shading too stark. To build up the highlights I add VGC Cadmium Skin to the Cork Brown. If you want to go lighter still then add VGC pale skin.
I find that the browness of the Cork Brown knocks back the yellowness of the skin coloured paints just enough.
The above paints give a very close match to my own skin but I am blonde haired and fair skinned so it may not be what you are looking for.
Any unwanted colour cast can be corrected with extremely dilute washes of a neutralising colour.
 

LunchBox

New member
A goos reddish flesh:

Base with a thin wash of GW Foundation Tallern Flesh

Wash with VMC Saddle Brown...a personal favorite of mine!

Highlight up with GW Dark Flesh, Dwarf Flesh, and end the high points with VMC Light Flesh.

Here\'s a little tut I put together, and you can follow the steps with whatever VMC colors you prefer...please forgive how grainy some of the pics are; the resizing tool in my pics is not the greatest, but you\'ll get the idea:

Howdy...I\'ve had a few requests, so here it is...How to paint faces/skin:

First, the brushes...I use these 3 for faces. Note that the middle brush is labeled \"broken\", and as you see, the tip is...well...broken, and curves off to the side. This is perfect for getting to areas of detail that require you to hold your hand and or the model at an odd angle.
brushes.jpg


First, the face on top (Face A) is washed with GW Elf Flesh. The face on the bottom ( Face B ) is washed with GW Dwarf Flesh. The important thing with this coat is smooth coverage...even coverage is secondary. At this point, all we\'re really doing is trying to tint the light colored primer to a dull. pale skin tone. 1-2 coats is enough.
face1.jpg


After that dries, the next step is to wash on your shading color. Face A was washed with GW Graveyard Earth, for a brown skin tone. Face B was washed with Terracotta, to create a pinker skin tone. When it starts drying, or after it dries...doesn\'t really matter...I re-wash from the eyes, down.
face2.jpg


After that dries, lightly drybrush the base skin-tone back on. Face A was drybrushed with Elf Flesh, and Face B with Dwarf Flesh. This is a very light drybrush, and the purpose is to softly smooth out the harsh transitions between the washes I\'ve applied so far, as well as define where my highlights will go later. This is not for coloration, so you will not notice much if any difference.
face3.jpg


The next step is where the highlighting begins. Face A is highlighted with Elf Flesh, and Face B with Dwarf Flesh. Thin coats are applied, from light high to low, then back to high. In other words, start at the top of the cheek, when the paint is the strongest, drag the brush down the wrinkle in the cheek, then back up to the top. Keep in mind how light will be hitting the face, and what might be in the way, like Face A\'s arms. This usually takes about 3 coats per highlight from the eyes up, and 2 layers from the eyes down. The top of the head needs about 4-6 glazes.
face4.jpg


The next step is similar to the last, but now we build the color up a bit more. Face A is highlighted with Pallid Flesh, and Face B with Elf Flesh. 4 glazes on top, 3 thin coats in the brow area, and 2 coats from the eyes down.
face5.jpg


The next step involves a lot of different proceedures. I take the highlight I was just working with, and do not thin it...get a little paint, and wipe most of it off. I then sweep the brush across the eye-sockets to lighten up the eyelids a bit. I then wash Scorched Brown into the eyes. Then, I move down to the mouth, and paint the teeth with thinned Bleached Bone. When that dries, I wash the mouth with thinned black.

Just a quick note...washing the eyes with black, makes the mini look like it\'s wearing eye liner. Then, a lot of people go back with white eyeballs, and it looks like a bug-eyed, makeup wearing Marine. Scorched Brown is a nice deep reddish-brown, so it works for these mini\'s. Face A was a little too red, so I glazed reaper Granite into the eyes, to dull it down a bit.
face6.jpg


After this all dries, I pick out the eyes with thinned Fortress Grey, then again with thinned Vallejo Ghost Grey. To add the pupil, I barely dab a little thinned black in the eye. If you goof up, hit it with Ghost again, and try again. For the teeth, I go back in with Bleached Bone, then a 50/50 mix of Bleached Bone and Skull White. Just like the eyes, you don\'t want to just paint the teeth white...it won\'t look realistic, and you\'ll end up with a makeup and denture wearing bug-eyed Marine.

After the eyes are dry, I hit the eyelids on face A with Pallid Flesh, and Face B with Elf Flaesh. To finish the highlights on the rest of the face, I used the 50/50 mix of Bleached Bone and Skull White to hit the sharpest highlights on Face A, from the nose, up. Face B was done with Pallid Flesh in the same manner.
face7.jpg


After all this, you can call it quits, or add a few more details. I glazed the lips on Face A with tenticle Pink, and Face B with tanned Flesh. I also added stubble to face A by applying 2 glazes of Reaper Ash Grey, and 1 glaze of Boltgun Metal. I also glazed the scar on Face A with Scab Red.

These were done in about an hour and a half, so they\'re not as tedious as I would usually do them, but you get the idea. Please feel free to add anything you think will help others.
 
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