Diet? Try a Salad - I mean a Green Slaad

[R2ED]

Here's another that I was practicing on with oil paints mixed in.  I am not sure I have it figured out yet.  I had read that before applying oils, you should do a gloss coat to give a 'protective' layer so you can reset the oil if you need to clear up a mistake.  I'm not sure I'm getting much from that method and may just go straight over the acrylic layer next time.  The gloss coat may only be needed first with the pin washing?  Not sure.  Any help would be loved here.  

 

That said, there were a few areas that worked great and some that sucked.  

 

1.  oil wash on back of cape area worked out well with a black 4:1 mix of spirits to paint.  Win.

2.  The primer I used was an older one and it had a 'chalky' texture to it and prevented much of my washes from settling in only recessed areas.  Fail (but I have since stopped using that primer).  This was just an older project sitting calling my name to finish him.

3.  I have no idea how to finish that translucent stuff, so I left it on the 'to-do' list and guidance from some of the Reaper forum folks.  No idea what to do with those.

4.  Horns on his back were a cool mix of brown to light tan.  Win.

5.  Keeping to darker tones all over.  Red/Green/Purple all were good choices for this slimy guy.  Win.

6.  Dry brushing a yellow to bring out the bumps on his face was also a good win.  

7.  Eyes are questionable, but may end up blacking them out to fix them.  Might be more fitting with a 'fish eye' look.  

 

Love the feedback if you got it!

[Glitterwolf]

Great job.

[PhantomAsh]

Fantastic! I am working on this one and I might copy how you did the back horns in particular - I really like the look. I am not sure what to with the fireball either - the reference pic I was using painted over it entirely and I might go with that, as I do not have any inks at the moment.

[DragonWyrm]

Good job. I really like how you go over what you tried and what you learnt. 

Now for transparent effects:

•  Personally, when I force myself to paint them and retain the transparency, I just use a transparent paint a glaze it so that more of it remain in the recesses. Examples of transparent paint I used to good effect are: Quinacridone Magenta, Pthalo Blue, Pthalo Green and Indian Yellow. People like using the Tamiya clear paints. 
• You can also do a wash of transparent paint, but that won't work as well if you don't use a matt varnish first to add texture for it to stick too. 
• You can use the transparent paint normally and then wipe it off with a cloth/finger to create the highlight.
• You can just paint in the highlight with a transparent paint for  different effect.
• You can dry brush a tiny bit of white (or pale colour) for the highlight

Experiment and find the way you like the most.

[R2ED]

@DragonWyrm, i love the tips! Never thought about the need for adhesion with the matte, so I'll make sure to do that first. If i did an acid ball, I'm guessing it's going to be green, yellow, white?   I will give it a go once i work up the courage. I'm nervous that it'll mess up where it's now, but to get better we gotta push ourselves.   Good advice on the how to.  Thanks! 

[Jeepnewbie]

Love the way this guy looks. Maybe a bit of yellow haze around the pupils?  It could dull the white and blend it more with the rest of him. 

[R2ED]

Also a good idea worth trying.  The eyes are "too human" kind of look.  Need to be more ominous and seedy.

[kitchen_wolf]

35 minutes ago, R2ED said:

Also a good idea worth trying.  The eyes are "too human" kind of look.  Need to be more ominous and seedy.

 

[KayBee]

Very nice. I can't fault anything.

[snitchythedog]

Very nice job.  For your question about oils.  I have never had an issue with using oils and spirits over straight acrylic paint with the exception of some metallics.  Some metallics the spirits will cause the metallic paint to separate right on the surface.  To get around this in the past I have waited up to a week for the metallics to dry prior to application or I have sealed the metallics using Future floor polish (or whatever they are calling it these days).  Mat sealing will help if you are doing multiple applications and do not want to wait for the oils to dry completely (48hours or more).  It will limit how much the turps leaches off the old application of the oil. 

If you have not looked into it another cool oil technique is filtering.  Applying a neat line or dot of contrasting colour oil to the surface then taking a brush that is damp with spirits to drag the oil into a thin layer.  You are effectively highlighting a model but with much greater control and a wider colour pallet (think adding stubble to a flesh coloured face or rosie cheeks).  Some of the guys on the fine scale armour websites generate results better than airbrushing.   

[R2ED]

@snitchythedog I'll try just hitting it without the varnish on them oils.  Good to know about the metallics being affected.  I think I'd need to see this filter technique you're talking about.  I have seen blending done with a dry brush and pulling the paints, but not with a damp brush. I'd love to learn it! 

 

Is matte better than gloss varnish for oils in general? 

 

 

[snitchythedog]

3 hours ago, R2ED said:

Is matte better than gloss varnish for oils in general? 

 

 

Generally I use what I have on hand.  However gloss varnish will give you more protection as it creates a thicker smoother layer of varnish.  You can always spray a matte varnish on after you finish painting. 

 

For the filtering this is a poor attempt by me.  Warning I tend to be a craptastic painter.  It will however give you an idea about some of the effects that can be achieved if you spend the time and effort to nail the technique.

Spoiler

 

Edited December 30, 2020 by snitchythedog

[R2ED]

Nice. If that's craptastic, then sign me up!   So you did that with a damp brush in spirits, dabbed oil paint on the skulls, and simply ran the brush across them to pull that color across all the skulls? Pretty slick. 

[snitchythedog]

19 hours ago, R2ED said:

Nice. If that's craptastic, then sign me up!   So you did that with a damp brush in spirits, dabbed oil paint on the skulls, and simply ran the brush across them to pull that color across all the skulls? Pretty slick. 

The greens in the skulls were done that way.  The tinting on the stones is the craptastic bit.  That was done the same way.

[R2ED]

On 12/28/2020 at 10:39 PM, kitchen_wolf said:

 

@kitchen_wolfJust so you know, i tried this method on my giant frogs i posted in WIP.  Turned out awesome!  Thank you for the suggestion.  I'll try to do this with the Slaad too.

Edited January 2, 2021 by R2ED