Some Very Basic Questions (1 Viewer)

[thebritfarmer]

Hi Brad, You must look like some star treck character with that thing on your head. Next time you're at the same show as me, you can put it on so that I'll recognize you .

Seriously, I've thought of using one of those but the one I saw, years ago, did not magnify enough for me.

Again Pat, probably totally out of sequence, a symptom of one of my many character flaws, is the question of dust. I paint some, walk away and sometimes don't return to the job for a long time. So I cover the figures being worked on as seen in the photos.

Very nice Russell and I see you managed to shrink the photos a little bit as well.

 

[Russell]

Hi Scott, Yes, I reduced the photos. I go to Photobucket and resize them. Thanks again for your help. I'm having fun again.

 

[theBaron]

Hi Brad, You must look like some star treck character with that thing on your head. Next time you're at the same show as me, you can put it on so that I'll recognize you .

More like something out of a Terry Gilliam movie

Russell, that's a good tip, too, to cover your work, if you have to leave it.

I also use kit boxes, styrofoam produce trays, and the plastic trays some Chinese takeout places use, as organizers to take work to and from my shelves, keep groups of figures or parts together.

Prost!
Brad

 

[wadepat]

Hi Pat,
Interesting thread and I am enjoying reading how others go about the job. I won't add to many of the points as they've been well dealt with.

As to brushes there is no agreed standard for numbering them. I like them small with short bristles as seen next to the penny on the right. Quality is a factor because you don't want the bristles falling out.

What I want to contribute is seen in the attached photo-a magnifying lamp. Without it I could not come close to doing a clean crisp job with any details. I bought mine in an electronics shop for people who weld small pieces. I've seen some in arts and crafts shops. When buying I recommend you bring a toy soldier with you to put under the loop and test the magnification. Of course if you have excellent eye sight you won't be needing one.

If I'm a bit out of sequence with your questions, I'm sorry.

Hi Russell,

Don't worry about being late or out of sequence. I can use help in any sequence in which it is offered!

I especially appreciate you mentioning there is no standard for numbering brushes. The various numbers applied to the brushes produced by different manufacturers have been confusing to me. Now, I know why. I also very much appreciate the pictures you posted with your comments. The picture of your brushes are very helpful to me and I am glad to know the terminology that discribes the various parts of the brush. Most of all, you are providing me with basic information, which is what I both want and need.

Thank you for your help!

Warmest personal regards,

Pat

 

[wadepat]

Hi Pat,

I don't think oils lend themselves to blending like acrylics do. As oils are generally used for "toy soldiers" I doubt that you will need to do any shading or blending.

Regarding acrylics, one method I use is dry brushing. (please see my Jersey cows posted in this thread. The colouring on the body has been achieved using this method. Basically you need cheap brushes (the procedure damages them)with short bristles. (You can buy brushes designed for dry brushing). You paint the object black and then buildup from there, to the lightest colour.

To dry brush dip the end of the brush in a tiny amount of paint and then scrub it off on paper towels until there is hardly any paint left. Then scrub the brush over the area of the figure you want to highlight. You will see the colour show up against the black. Once you have done the first colour allow it to dry before applying another coat or colour otherwise you will rub off what you have just done.

Hope that my ramblings make some sense to you. I will try and do some pics to demonstrate if that would help better.

Scott

Hi Scott,

Your explanation of the dry brushing process is useful to me. However, I have a question regarding your instructions. When you say "paint the object black," are you referring to the entire figure or just to the object on the figure you wish to highlight (for example, the folds of a jacket.)? Must you always paint the object black or could you paint it a base color (i.e., brown for a jacket) and then use lighter colors to highlight the object?

Also, when you direct me to "scrub the brush over the area you wish to highlight," do you mean apply pressure and actually scrub or can you simply use light strokes of a nearly paintless brush to achieve the effect you want?

I apologize if my questions have become tiring. If so, please let me know and I will give it a rest. However, I am learning much and the learning gives rise to new questions.

Thanks for all your help!

Warmest personal regards,

Pat

 

[wadepat]

I think we need to maintain the distinction between oils-artist's oils, and petroluem-based enamel paints.

Artist's oils lend themselves readily to blending, which is a feature that those who use them prize. And as Scott pointed out, they're not really used for painting toy soldiers, though they are used by many who paint in the connoisseur style, and they are popular in Europe.

Petroleum-based enamels, on the other hand (eg, Testor's little square bottles), aren't really used for blending. But they are handy for painting in traditional toy soldier style, especially the gloss enamels.

I haven't heard of anyone blending acrylics-blending being laying a new color on top of a color that is not quite dry, and mixing the two to produce a transition zone between the two. I imagine you could, but acrylics' shorter drying time almost precludes the technique. Acrylics lend themselves more to building up a color by successive washes-applications of the thinned out color.

Scott raises another good point-drybrushing, to get the effect of different colors side by side, or highlights and lowlights, which is the effect a painter using artist's oils is shooting for with blending. I use drybrushing, too, especially on figures that go with my scale models (eg, a pilot in a P-40) and especially for highlights, and washes for lowlights or shadows.

As an example, I painted the pilot I mentioned by washing the kit part first with soap and warm water. Then I primed him with a fine-grained automotive primer (sounds high-falutin', but it was just WalMart's generic brand). Then I laid in my base colors, from the inside out:

flesh for the face
khaki for the trousers
medium brown for the leather jacket, shoes and flying helmet
yellow for the Mae West

Then highlighting/shading. On the jacket, a slightly lighter shade of brown, almost tan, drybrushing to hit the higher areas of the jacket-tops of folds, for example. Same on the khaki trousers, a slightly lighter color (I used the flesh color). I applied some shadows to the trousers by washing with a wash of artist's oils in turpentine (aka an oil wash). For the rest of his body and his face, an oil wash using burnt siena. Just enough to pick out the detail of the casting.

I also used a matte lacquer between applying the basic colors and the oil washes, to keep the thinner from possibly damaging the layers below, since I was using all petroleum-based paints.

The techniques would be similar for larger figures.

For touching up damaged paint, though, you wouldn't need to go through such an involved process.

If I had used all acrylics, I would have painted in my base colors, maybe using lighter shades, then use all acrylic washes to lay darker colors in the lowlights and gradually build up the shadows.

Hope that doesn't confuse things further, prost!
Brad

Hi Brad,

No, you have not confused me. Clearly, you have a huge body of good experience and great information from which to draw and I appreciate your willingness to share it with me. Soon, I will have a few more questions regarding dry brushing and washes.

Knowing petroleum based enamels are not used for blending relieves me of a few concerns I had. Also, your definition of blending, "layering a new color on top of another color that is not quite dry and mixing the two to create a transition zone," provides me with a much greater understanding of the objectives of dry brushing and washes.

Now, I must digest the information that has been presented to me today. However, you should watch out for tomorrow! I may be back with even more questions!

Thanks for all your help, Brad!

Warmest personal regards,

Pat

 

[thebritfarmer]

Hi Scott,

Your explanation of the dry brushing process is useful to me. However, I have a question regarding your instructions. When you say "paint the object black," are you referring to the entire figure or just to the object on the figure you wish to highlight (for example, the folds of a jacket.)? Must you always paint the object black or could you paint it a base color (i.e., brown for a jacket) and then use lighter colors to highlight the object?

Also, when you direct me to "scrub the brush over the area you wish to highlight," do you mean apply pressure and actually scrub or can you simply use light strokes of a nearly paintless brush to achieve the effect you want?

I apologize if my questions have become tiring. If so, please let me know and I will give it a rest. However, I am learning much and the learning gives rise to new questions.

Thanks for all your help!

Warmest personal regards,

Pat

Hi Pat

Glad that I could be of help.

If you were going to dry brush the entire figure then yes I would start with a black base coat. You can use other colours such as dark brown, navy blue etc...The object is to work from dark to light. Dry Brushing only really work where there is raised detail such as hair, feathers. I wouldn't generally use it say on a jacket as the effect doesn't look all that great.

You do need to apply gentle pressure when "scrubbing" the harder you scrub the more paint will come off but dry brushing works best by building up layers.

Any more questions please ask away. Your posts are always well thought out and I have never found them tiresome. There is always something to be learnt so carry on posting

Scott