Hair

[Dypak]

I'm looking for a tutorial or tips on how to paint hair such as blonde, brunette, black, red head.

 

Not only do I need tips on the how, but the colors as well. I'm using Vallejo paints (that's what I have).

 

So far what I've come up with is either disappointing or not enough detail to satisfy what I'm looking for.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[ttuckerman]

Try this one for starters. It's the Red Hair thread.

[Dypak]

Try this one for starters. It's the Red Hair thread.

I'm not sure which one you mean. I've been through six pages in this forum and I don't see one titled "The Red Hair Thread".

[Caffiene]

I'm not sure which one you mean. I've been through six pages in this forum and I don't see one titled "The Red Hair Thread".

Im guessing he meant to put a link but something went awry during the posting process ;)

 

I assume he was referring to this thread.

[Adrift]

I'm looking for a tutorial or tips on how to paint hair such as blonde, brunette, black, red head.

 

Not only do I need tips on the how, but the colors as well. I'm using Vallejo paints (that's what I have).

 

So far what I've come up with is either disappointing or not enough detail to satisfy what I'm looking for.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Thanks.

I'd really like to encourage you to paint miniatures, practice and discover what works for you!

[Dypak]

Im guessing he meant to put a link but something went awry during the posting process ;)

I assume he was referring to this thread.

 

Thank you. I follow that up.

 

I figured something must have happened with the link he tried to post, probably lost in transmission.

 

 

But I also don't want to limit it to just red hair. From what I can tell blonde can be problematic and the yellow I've used comes out looking like mustard, at which point I'm tempted to get the ketchup and relish.

 

I just worked on a miniature (Reaper Juliette) and did her hair. It started off with a good base of SS Camo Brown then to Chocolate Brown, the highlight I had made her come out gray so I need to tweak that but not sure which color to use as a highlight.

 

Any links or suggestions for other types of hair (blonde, brunette)?

[buglips*the*goblin]

Did you use white to lighten the brown? If so, try a tan or yellow. That should solve the grey problem.

 

Also, this applies to highlighting reds. Yellow instead of white so it's more orange than pink.

[Dypak]

I'd really like to encourage you to paint miniatures, practice and discover what works for you!

 

Thanks.

 

I just started around the holidays and I've discovered that a foundation makes all the difference in skin tone. Not only that but Wal-Mart brushes suck incredibly.

 

I've already completed one mini that promptly went into the Simple Green, and I have two more nearing completion. I need better light to take pictures of one of them (Juliette) and then I'm going to try giving her the cartoon/anime eyes before she goes into the Simple Green as well.

[Dypak]

Did you use white to lighten the brown? If so, try a tan or yellow. That should solve the grey problem.

 

Also, this applies to highlighting reds. Yellow instead of white so it's more orange than pink.

 

I tried white, beige brown, and iraqi sand. I'll have to play more with the yellow--I thought about it, but didn't follow through. Still learning how mixing colors works.

 

As with red, you're right (orange is a red-yellow and that works wonders as well). I've done that with my current mini and it came out fantastic.

[buglips*the*goblin]

Work in Progress threads are a good source for seeing what mixes with what, and sometimes what doesn't. It might be a different kind of paint than you're using, but it should still help give an idea of what sorts of colours play well together.

[Caffiene]

From what I can tell blonde can be problematic and the yellow I've used comes out looking like mustard, at which point I'm tempted to get the ketchup and relish.

Im more of a digital pro than a paint expert, but in general blond hair typically has a fair bit of green in the shades. Looking for a greenish version of each of the colours youre using might help.

To give you a bit of an idea what I mean - I suggested something similar in this thread about hair for a golden retriever.

[smokingwreckage]

For blond, maybe mustard middle, shade very sparingly with a richer brown, highlight with white? maybe VMC goldbrown for the basecoat?

[ttuckerman]

Sorry about the mixup. It must have not taken the copy and I was left with the last clipboard entry.

[smokingwreckage]

Sorry about the mixup. It must have not taken the copy and I was left with the last clipboard entry.

 

That could have turned out much worse, then :P

[CashWiley]

Work in Progress threads are a good source for seeing what mixes with what, and sometimes what doesn't. It might be a different kind of paint than you're using, but it should still help give an idea of what sorts of colours play well together.

 

Definitely hit up that subforum and do some digging. If the artist didn't list their formula for the hair (or whatever), make a post asking what they used. There aren't any secret recipes around here, folks love to share.

 

For starters, I've been basing things on the RMS hair triads and just extending them a bit in either direction. But just using the red or blonde triad alone will result in good table top quality hair, three tones. If you slip in a darker color in the recesses and pop a couple lighter highlights it looks even better with little effort.