Losing grip – Painting faces
Today: heads. Because heads are vital, not solely to individuals on the whole, but in addition to an RC inside. If you’re doing an inside, it’s value spending a bit of additional time in your chosen driver’s head, as a result of that’s what our eyes are naturally drawn to. The very very first thing anybody will see, upon reflex, is your driver’s face. We all know that the primary impression tends to final. If you’ve spent ages in your inside, you want a face to match it.
Last time I painted a driver’s head, I used brush and acrylic colours, as seen in this column. Have a glance under for the end result.
Pretty good, took a night to do. This time I needed to strive one thing totally different, specifically my airbrush. I imply, I’ve acquired it, so why not use it? Also, it figured it will be so much simpler. I used to be proper about that, so right here goes: a recipe for getting an honest end result rapidly, with methods that truly are fairly simple. For reference, I’ll jot down the precise colours I used, however pores and skin colours from any model will do. Plenty to selected from.
First, take away mould line with a sharpie, mount the pinnacle on an extended M3 screw to maintain your grubby fingers off it, and give it a white base coat utilizing any form of polycarbonate spray. With the bottom coat performed, acrylics can then be used. I began out with a fair coat of a darkish pores and skin tone (Vallejo german crimson brown blended with AK medium flesh), earlier than hitting it with a lightweight coat of a medium pores and skin tone (AK medium flesh) sprayed at round a sixty diploma angle from above. This offered primary shades and highlights.
I then strayed from the plan and gave the face a wash with Citadel coloration Bugman’s Glow, a thinned down darkish pores and skin tone designed to stream into the recesses. Don’t do that. It completely messed all the pieces up, the poor dude seems lika a foul case of a nasty pores and skin illness. I attempted to reserve it utilizing a brush, however as you’ll be able to see under that didn’t work out. Not fairly.
No actual want to say this, other than letting you understand that I mess up now and again, and that errors may be handled. I redid the entire thing from step two and then added a skinny coat of a really brilliant pores and skin tone (AK luminous flesh) sprayed virtually straight from above. This created the ultimate highlights on nostril, chin and cheeks. At this level, after 4 layers of paint (polycarbonate base coat, darkish pores and skin tone, two successive highlights), you might cease and be pleased. There’s a little bit of definition, and no matter head gown you resolve upon, it would conceal the unpainted eyes when seen from solely barely above.
I pushed on, in fact. Using a high quality brush , I then fastidiously painted a wash into the recesses across the nostril, higher lip and eyes, to present the face a bit extra definition. At this level I additionally gave the lips some definition, in addition to some medium brown hair.
Finally, particulars, once more with brush. Eyebrows, eyes (together with a lightweight reflex within the pupil), and a 5 o’clock shadow. Done! Tadaa! The decrease lip seems a bit bizarre within the {photograph}, higher in actual life.
Then to selected one thing to put on. Cowboy hat, cap or military helmet? Easy! How to not use a rusty ole’ helmet when Axial offers one. Again, utilizing an airbrush it is extremely simple to get a extremely good end result. First, black base coat with polycarbonate paint. For causes that quickly shall be apparent, I then began by portray my would-be inexperienced helmet in Vallejo german crimson brown.
Next, I gave it some random patches of AK medium rust and AK gentle rust. This could possibly be skipped, however will give it just a bit bit extra life ultimately.
Before the subsequent step it’s important that the paint is totally, totally dry. I left it for an hour or so earlier than hitting it with magic: Vallejo Chipping Medium. At a strain of round 17 psi (with a 0.35 airbrush, most likely a bit much less with a 0.5), this clear medium spatters out as tiny, random droplets. This product, a water primarily based resolution, slows down the drying of the subsequent, remaining coloration. I let it dry for a couple of minutes (it’s dry when it seems dry), and then hit the helmet with three coats of successively lighter shades of olive inexperienced: Army Painters Militia inexperienced, Army inexperienced and Drab inexperienced, from a progressively steeper angle. Like with the face, this produced some pure shading. Very simple to do.
I then left it to dry for round twenty minutes. Don’t fear about leaving it to dry for too lengthy, I’ve by no means had any issues doing that. I’ve gotten issues when transferring on too rapidly although. So, after roughly a cup of espresso, I hit the helmet with luke heat water and an outdated tooth brush. As I mentioned, the chipping medium delays drying, in order that when the colour is labored with some water and a brush, it comes off in a random sample to disclose the layer beneath. In this case orange, as in rust. Realistic put on and tear created instantly. This could possibly be performed with rattle cans and hairspray (which has the identical impact of delaying drying time as chipping medium does) as properly. I’ve tried that, however since I acquired my airbrush, that is my most well-liked approach.
To end it off, I utilized some weathering powder (Vallejo medium crimson I feel) utilizing a brush, and manipulated it with the comb and my finger ideas till I used to be pleased. Finally, I utilized some matte varnish to seal all of it in.
Helmet on head, performed! By the seems of it, he’s utilizing his granddads outdated helmet, lately discovered within the attic.
If you’ve by no means painted a scale head earlier than, this may appear greater than a mouthful. But do have a go! Worst case situation: you mess up. Well then, redo it. I tousled, I redid it. No worries! It’s a toy in any case, his pores and skin situation was by no means actual. And if it was, I’m proud that I cured him.
To learn one other column, hit the link!