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JohnReid · 21 June 2006, 06:45 PM

Today I spent a couple more hours on the figure ,painting the face and hands and shading with pastels.
For you expert painters out there my methods will probably seem a little crude but like I explained before it works for me in a lighted diorama setting.My style is impressionistic(I think that is what they call it) as I dont attempt to paint in every detail but let the lighting work for me.(Anyway that's my story and I'm sticking with it)

The flesh color I made using white and yellow ochre to make a pale yellow then I added small amounts of burnt sienna until I got a flesh tone that I liked.I added a drop or two of flow medium and one drop of varnish to the mix.If you are using JoSonja paints the flow medium contains varnish already so be careful not to get things too shiny.With a paint consistency of about 20% cream carefully paint the face and hands.Apply as many coats as it takes to cover the burnt umber gesso.
The hair I left burnt umber as I had put it on thin enough that there were natural streaks in the hair already.The shoes I left burnt umber and polished them with my finger using a little nose oil.(I am not kidding here ,if you want a nice leather look rub your nose with your finger and apply to the shoes)This is called personalizing your figure with your own DNA.
I added a little more burnt sienna to the flesh mix and painted the lips and facial creases etc...
From here on all the shading was done with pastels.Because my paint is flat with very little varnish in it ,pastels stick to it very well .These figures ,once inside the diorama ,will not be subject to handling so pastels work very well for me.Simply take a dark grey or even black and apply a small amount to a dagger type soft brush and work the pastel in the low areas and around areas you want to make stand out such as pockets etc....I then took a little burnt sienna pastel and shaded in the face and hands.
Tomorrow I will finish painting some of the details such as buttons and the tie pin and finish off the shading process using overhead lighting like the figure will be subject to in the diorama.
Now isnt that simple.Nothing fancy and with a little practice very easy to master.The secret ,if there is one,is gesso,flat acrylic paint and the best brushes that you can afford.Any Questions?
Cheers! John.

21 June 2006, 06:45 PM	#1122 (permalink)
JohnReid Shot Down Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 9,910	Today I spent a couple more hours on the figure ,painting the face and hands and shading with pastels. For you expert painters out there my methods will probably seem a little crude but like I explained before it works for me in a lighted diorama setting.My style is impressionistic(I think that is what they call it) as I dont attempt to paint in every detail but let the lighting work for me.(Anyway that's my story and I'm sticking with it) The flesh color I made using white and yellow ochre to make a pale yellow then I added small amounts of burnt sienna until I got a flesh tone that I liked.I added a drop or two of flow medium and one drop of varnish to the mix.If you are using JoSonja paints the flow medium contains varnish already so be careful not to get things too shiny.With a paint consistency of about 20% cream carefully paint the face and hands.Apply as many coats as it takes to cover the burnt umber gesso. The hair I left burnt umber as I had put it on thin enough that there were natural streaks in the hair already.The shoes I left burnt umber and polished them with my finger using a little nose oil.(I am not kidding here ,if you want a nice leather look rub your nose with your finger and apply to the shoes)This is called personalizing your figure with your own DNA. I added a little more burnt sienna to the flesh mix and painted the lips and facial creases etc... From here on all the shading was done with pastels.Because my paint is flat with very little varnish in it ,pastels stick to it very well .These figures ,once inside the diorama ,will not be subject to handling so pastels work very well for me.Simply take a dark grey or even black and apply a small amount to a dagger type soft brush and work the pastel in the low areas and around areas you want to make stand out such as pockets etc....I then took a little burnt sienna pastel and shaded in the face and hands. Tomorrow I will finish painting some of the details such as buttons and the tie pin and finish off the shading process using overhead lighting like the figure will be subject to in the diorama. Now isnt that simple.Nothing fancy and with a little practice very easy to master.The secret ,if there is one,is gesso,flat acrylic paint and the best brushes that you can afford.Any Questions? Cheers! John.