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Preparing, Building and Painting
Historical Miniatures
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SESSION 5
PAINTING FACES
In this Session we will be painting the face using acrylic paints by Vallejo. The colors we will be using for base coating the face are Dark Red # 946, Mahogany Brown # 846, Flat Flesh # 955, Ivory # 918 and Black # 950.
Applying a Base Coat to the Face
We begin by dipping our brush into the water to moisten it. Touch the tip of the brush on a cloth or paper towel to remove access water - we want it moist not dripping! Dip the tip of the brush into Flat Flesh and apply to a new area on your palette. Now, with your brush, add small amounts of the Dark Red and Mahogany Brown to achieve a flesh color with a reddish brown tone. The resulting color can vary depending on your personal preferences.
The next step is to apply the color mix (after wetting your brush again) to the entire face and any other exposed flesh areas, hands or neck for example, on the figure. Make sure the paint is not to thick or thin - this will take some practice!
Applying a Base Coat to the Eyes
Our next step is to base coat the eyes. Mix Flat Flesh with Ivory # 918 and apply it to the eye area, remembering to keep the paint thin. Never use a pure white - it will give a "pop-eyed" look that is not very realistic.
Painting the Iris
THIS IS THE STEP THAT MANY PAINTERS DREAD! Relax, you can paint over any mistakes you might make. Using a Navy blue or Mahogany brown carefully paint the iris in the eye space. Make sure you cover up 70% of the white area with the iris. Be careful that they are the same size and pointing in the same direction. When dry, using a very small amount of paint, dab in the pupil with black. If the eye area is large enough (90mm and above) you can paint a "catch-light" (a very small dot of white) on each pupil in the direction the figure is looking.
Refining the Eyes
Using Mahogany Brown, and using your best brush, paint a VERY THIN line on the upper eye lid.
Adding Shadows
Mix up Flat Flesh, Dark Red, and Mahogany Brown again, this time using very little of the Flesh. This will be our deep shadow
color. Keep the mixture VERY thin (almost a wash) and apply it to the line underneath the eye bag, the inside of the nostrils, the inner portion of the ears, and the upper eye socket.
Defining the Eyes
Apply Flat Flesh in a thin consistency to the upper eye bag and the top of the lower eye bag.
Shading and Highlights
Once again mix Dark Red, Mahogany Brown with just a bit of Flesh, keeping the mix dark. Dilute with enough water from your brush to create a very thin wash. Apply in VERY small amounts (you can always add more!) to the sides of the nose and underneath the chin. This thin wash will act almost like a stain. Repeat the process until the desired shade is reached. The next step is to add a Flesh and Dark Red mix in a thin wash to the cheek hollows and the temples. KEEP THE PAINT MIX THIN and slowly build the color stain or you will get blotchy, hard edged color transitions. Take your time.
Highlights should be applied using our three color mixture by adding just a small amount of Dark Red and Mahogany to Flesh. Apply a thin coat to the top of the cheeks, chin, top of the ears and nostrils and finally a line of Pure Flesh along side the crease that follows the cheek down to the lip.
The Final Steps
At this point study the color transitions between areas on the face to make sure they are smooth and not harsh. Adjust the shading and highlights as needed to create a face with character and life. If your shading is too dramatic your figure will look cartoonish, if too subtle it will look one-dimensional and toy -like. If the figure you are depicting is to be a bit battle weary, you probably will want to add a five o'clock shadow. This can be added by mixing Flesh and Blue. Apply a wash of this mixture to the beard area and let dry before re-applying.
Hold your figure at arms length and see what a great job you've done!
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