paint styles

[prophet118]

indeed my mileage does..lol

[Qwyksilver]

I found my blending and layering performs at a much better quality when I am on the highway than it does when I an in the city.

[prophet118]

heh, ok doke, weird comment, but ok

[Errex]

Dark to light here. Although, I do go back and forth several times amongst them, depending of the mini.

[Dancin'Debby]

I found my blending and layering performs at a much better quality when I am on the highway than it does when I an in the city.

[Rodnik]

I take several different initial approaches that just depend on the circumstances:

Midtone first

Darkest first

Lightest first

 

No rhyme or reason, really, except the end effect I'm looking for. I have found that it's easier to stay "true to the color" with a midtone first approach. The end-color is darker with a darkest first approach, and the end-color is lighter with a light first approach.

Sometimes, following the axiom of "use a limited palette", I can use the same three color values over an entire mini, layered differently, to produce some nice results. I've found, too, that a midtone first approach gives me much more control (from my perspective) with precision color placement and blends, as I don't have to "tweak" the feathers as much.

I generally just concern myself more with the destination as opposed to how I got there....which probably goes a long to explaining why I take so long to paint and screw up so much...

[Kheprera]

I've been working from darkest to lightest, but I'm still learning. I don't think I've yet to find the best method for me, yet.

 

I've tried the midtone first, and that was okay, but I'm trying different methods to find which one works.

 

In the end, that's the most important. Whatever works for you to achieve the results you want.

[prophet118]

I've been working from darkest to lightest, but I'm still learning. I don't think I've yet to find the best method for me, yet.

 

I've tried the midtone first, and that was okay, but I'm trying different methods to find which one works.

 

In the end, that's the most important. Whatever works for you to achieve the results you want.

true... i think with applying midtone first, it can be a bit of a hassle, especially if you are a "must see the end product quickly" kind of person

 

with the midton first it gives you a basic idea of where to go

[twiztidjuggalo78]

Ive allways started with the midtone first just because thats how I learned. originally all my minis just had one layer no highlights or shades at all then I learned about washes and glazes (from this forum) and kinda went from there. Until it was mentioned in this thread I had never heard of starting with a shadow first and working all the way up. might have to give it a try.

[prophet118]

hehe, thats me, spreading knowledge like a plague..lol

 

even if it isnt intentional

[prophet118]

by the way, heres the auction for arrius, im using my wifes account for it, since paypal doesnt like 2 people using the same bank info..lol

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...AMESE%3AIT&rd=1

[claymoore]

Usually I start with the mid-tones first. That's how I was taught to paint figs using oils and i carried it over to acrylic painting. I have seen enough great paint jobs with other methods to know its just a personal preference thing.

[Vaitalla]

Works for me, but I might just have to give it a try and start in the middle somewhere. At this painting class, what were the reasons that they stated if you don't mind me asking?

Heh. Well, since neither Marike nor Derek have ID's on here yet...the reasons for starting with midtone are many.

 

1) Saves you work--as stated previously by someone in this thread, when you start dark you end up covering most of that area with midtone and highlights anyway.

 

2) Makes it easier for you to judge color composition because the color you are starting with is the color you want that part of the mini to appear upon finishing. Starting dark it's sometimes hard to judge because the area is going to change visually soooo much when you start layering in midtones.

 

3) Less hassle--you don't have to worry as much about paint coverage vs. the consistancy you're looking for; your midtone will cover fine over white or black usually, darker colors tend toward translucency which helps you get smoother layers toward the shadows, and your lighter highlight colors will almost always have great coverage for layering over your midtones because of the high quantities of white present in most of them.

 

4) More control--using translucent glazes to shade your midtone makes it easier to introduce tints of complementary colors into your shadows and often you'll find you don't have to shade as dark as you might have thought (so easier to judge your light/dark contrasts from the beginning).

 

Derek and Marike would probably come up with another five or six reasons. I used to paint entirely dark to light but since I've switched to midtone first I only do dark to light on pieces that I want to be very dark or shadowy, such as Necropolis models.

 

--Anne

[prophet118]

ive just found midtone first as an easier approach... it gives me more control over my direction..lol

 

and gives almost immediate gratification when you highlight..lol

[Kheprera]

And I've discovered that in the past couple of weekends, everything I had learned two years ago has gone by the wayside. I can't even seem to get a decent primer on a mini.

 

Brush control? Next to nothing. I tried darklining today and should have just basecoated the darn mini with the darklining color (found a lovely mix, though, of the brown liner and nightshade mix that is a wonderful liner color). I was even using a 20/0 brush.

 

Luckily I had only primed the mini and was lining before any basecoat.

 

I'm not feeling the Zen Mode. Maybe it was the constant interruption between setting up the painting area the way *I* wanted it (as opposed to hubby's way), trying to find my paints (btw - anyone missing a pot of RalPartha white primer? I'm missing my Reaper Pro white brush-on primer, but have acquired a Ralpartha one instead) and I'm still trying to get the hang on the Master paints.

 

Basically, my paint style doesn't exist at the moment. I'm consider dumping everything in the Simple Green bath I have going for Deathsleet (three straight days so far, and that wing STILL won't budge) and giving all my minis to my husband to paint.