Introduction

As we know, the use of acrylic paints is nothing new to figure painting. Yet, for the last couple of years we have seen an increase in both the amount of quality work performed with them and more people that are finding out that acrylics are an easy to use, safe and adaptable alternative for figure painters of all levels.

In modeling magazines, month after month, we gaze through photographs of exquisite figures masterfully painted with acrylics and read through articles written by top painters that give all kinds of sage advice and recipes on what to do with them. However, there still seems to be a void in the “how to do it” area, or to be more explicit, the actual paint handling procedures. The need to fill this gap is what prompted me to write this article based on what I perceive to be the most basic concepts and to explain, as plainly as possible, how to work out specific techniques of painting with acrylics.

While some of you may find the next few pages downright elementary. I do believe that great figure painting comes from having a clear understanding of its most fundamental aspects. Besides, if this is to be a truly educational article, we cannot go any faster than our slowest student. So lets gather a few things and get started.

One of my first figures painted almost entirely with Vallejo Acrylics, using the same techniques described in this article

Supplies

As with any other kind of paint, acrylics have their own special requirements, but nothing more than a few tools that will allow us to make the most of them. Let’s do a quick run down of the basic tools:

Brushes
Save yourself a lot of money and frustration, “buy the best”. The quality of your work will depend on the quality of your materials. Winsor and Newton Series 7, either standard or miniature (old Series 12) styles are still the top choice for round brushes.

Series 7 brushes cost a little bit more, but well taken care of, will outlast and outperform any other brand. You will also need a good quality flat sable brush for coating large areas. Most major brush manufacturers carry at least one series of this type and they all perform quite well for our purposes

Series 7 brushes are the top choice for figure painting. At left is a #2 miniature and at right, a #2 standard.

As for brush sizes, I have found that the minimum practical size for acrylic painting is the #0, and there are good reasons for this, it holds just the right amount of pigment and the point is sharp enough to work on the smallest detail. Smaller brushes don’t hold enough paint and by the time you load your brush and get ready to use it, the paint usually dries at the tip, turning your once enjoyable experience into a quite stressful event. Unless you are working on very large surfaces a #0, #1, and #2 standard rounds and one #4 flat should be enough for working on figures from 54mm up to 120mm.

It is important to note that acrylic paints are inherently rough on brushes. You must make sure to religiously clean your brush often, during painting. At the end of your painting session wash them thoroughly with a good quality brush cleaner to get rid of all paint residue. Read the excellent article by Bob Knee regarding this matter in Historical Miniature magazine, issue #16. Set aside a set of brushes to be used exclusively with acrylics, any traces of enamel or oil thinners can effect your water-based paints. It is also a good idea to use a cheap brush to thin and mix your paints, a process that really wears down your expensive brushes, which should only be used to apply paint.

Cotton
Rag: You will be using it a lot, a lightly moistened lint free cotton
rag like an old T shirt, or even an old towel will do fine. A second
choice is a lint free paper towel, although these are prone to break
apart during long sessions.

Palette:
A good size plastic or aluminum palette with several wells is a must
when working with acrylics. They are inexpensive and keep everything
well organized. I cover mine with thin aluminum foil for no other reason
than I don’t like to wash the trays all the time, so go with whatever
makes you comfortable.

Cleaning Jar:
A glass or ceramic container full of clean water and steady enough for
you to swish your brush around in. Remember to change the water as often
as possible during your painting session, enough brush cleanings will
turn your water into very thinned paint and will contaminate your palette
or even worse, mess up your figure.

Water Dispenser:
An eye dropper, empty bottle of any device that delivers single drops
of water roughly the same size as the paint drops coming out of the
bottle. (Vallejo Acrylics come in a bottle with a built-in eyedropper
dispenser.)

Water:
Don’t be cheap here, tap water in most cities tends to leave a chalky
residue when it dries. Knowing that all kind of funny chemicals are
in it, makes me very cautious, so I rather stay on the safe side and
use distilled water for all my painting needs.

Plasticard:
A small section of primed plasticard (sheet styrene) makes great practice
surface on which to try out the simple exercises found throughout this
article, designed to get you acquainted with basic procedures.

Scrap Figure:
I will use a scrap figure, built from my parts box, to illustrate the
different techniques described here. The objective is not to paint a
specific uniform or figure, only show the basic techniques and procedures
and then, once you understand them, it will be your turn to try them
on a figure set aside for this same purpose. As soon as you are done,
you can always strip the paint from it and be ready to start again.
Good quality figures that will enable you to make all kind of mistakes
and experiment at minimum expense and anguish, can be bought at bargain
prices at any model show.

Vallejo
Model Colors Acrylic Paint

Throughout this article 3 colors will be used for examples: 922 U.S.
Uniform Green, 952 Lemon Yellow and 980 Black Green but if you prefer,
in table #1, further ahead, you will find several color combinations
that will also work well.

Using Vallejo Acrylics

Features


This relatively new product owes its success to the fact that it did
away with all the problems that had plagued previous lines of acrylics.
They are 100% water soluble, totally flat, quick drying, highly pigmented,
have an excellent covering power (great for correcting any mistake!),
plus they come in these neat bottles that dispense the paint a drop
at a time.

And once you are
done, the remaining paint at the tip of the nozzle seals the opening
so airflow is minimized and the paint won’t set inside the bottles.

With a line comprised
of more than 200 different colors, varnishes, mediums, glazes, florescent
and metallic you can do a lot more other than undercoat with them. Even
if you are a “dyed in the wool” oil or enamel painter, give them a try.
You will find that acrylics are unbeatable for some applications and
bring about some very remarkable effects. While I still rely on oils
and enamels for certain portions of my figures, most of my former painting
methods have been replaced, with significant improvement, by acrylics.

Although
I still favor oils for the skin portions of my figures, everything else
on this Celt by Elite was painted with Vallejo Acrylics. The application
of freehand designs like this one is simplified by the use of acrylics
due to their color richness and ease.

As
with any other medium, a sound basic approach will be the cornerstone
of a well executed figure. This is where we start! Now that we have
the basic materials and some paints, lets go through the main parts
of the process one step at a time.

Plan Ahead

Before
doing anything else, clearly establish your objectives for a particular
painting session. Arrange the paints and tools you will be using and
very carefully study your figure. Familiarize yourself with all the
different details and analyze the location and form of the main shadows
and highlights. Always practice the techniques you will be using on
a scrap surface and most importantly: take your time, don’t rush.

Preparing your Paints

Shake
Your Paint Bottles

Do what???? You would be surprised at the amount of people that skip
this necessary step and later complain that the only thing coming out
of the bottle is a clear liquid with some paint on it! So don’t be shy
about it, shake that bottle vigorously, tap the bottom against the palm
of your hand and make sure that all the paint is thoroughly mixed. Now,
get your palette ready for the next step.

Vigorously
shake your paints before and during your painting session to maitain
uniformity on your mixtures.

Thinning


The use of “very thinned paint” is the essence of painting with Vallejo
acrylics. Coming straight out of the bottle, the paint is too thick
for most purposes and different degrees of dilution are necessary to
achieve the distinct effects that make for a realistic painting job.
As mentioned before, we use only very clean water. In order to do this
accurately and establish a reference point, we will add a certain amount
of water drops for every drop of paint we intend to use. We will designate
this as “dilution rate” and it will be noted as “parts of paint” to
“parts of water”, (e.g. 1:1, 2:1, 1:3, etc.). The right amount of water
is different for each particular situation, nonetheless there are three
primary dilution rates with specific purposes that will give us a good
starting point:

1:1 Minimum rate
of dilution used primarily for basecoating. Good solid coverage.

1:2 Thin coatings, airbrushing, outlining and small details. Thin without
being transparent.

1:5 Minimum for highlighting and shading. Transparent, base color will
show through.

Add
the necessary amount of water to your paint with an eyedropper or empty
bottle to reach an adequate consistancy for your needs.

From
left; Paint straight from the bottle is too thick and builds up easily.
Next; 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 and 1:4 dilutions.

It
is very important to note that these dilution rates are not absolute.
Practice and experience will fine-tune them to your own painting style.

As you go along
with your painting session, you may notice that paint will begin to
dry on your palette. As soon as this happens, add the necessary amount
of water and/or paint in order to maintain the same dilution and consistency,
this is very important, so keep an eye on it. Adding a small amount
of Vallejo #587 Slow Dry to your palette will delay the drying process
and extend the working time of your thinned paints.

Preparing your Figure

Once
your figure has been cleaned and assembled, it is time to lay down the
foundation of our painting process by priming and basecoating. The application
of these is straightforward and shouldn’t give you any trouble.

It is a good idea
to prime all your figures, metal or resin. Although this is not necessary
on resin, priming will always bring out any flaws that are not easily
seen on bare materials and will leave a uniform surface over which to
apply a good even basecoat. Always prime with one thin coat, preferably
with an airbrush, and let dry for 24 hours. (Vallejo has its own primer,
#919 Foundation White. I personally don’t use it, but if you like white
primers this is a very good one).

A
uniform primer application is the first step for a quality finish and
will show any surface faults not easily seen.

Three
layers of 922 US Green diluted to 1:1 and allowed to dry, make a good
basecoat to work over on our examples.

Once
the primer has dried it is time to basecoat your figure with whatever
color or colors you have chosen for this purpose. For any base-color,
always use a midtone value that will enable you to have enough latitude
to work in your shadows and highlights, maintaining a good overall balance
between them. Use the largest brush possible (use your flat brush) to
lay in several thin coats with a dilution rate of 1:1 for an even coverage.
Let it dry for about 3 hours before any subsequent paint application.

Applying Paint

Prior
to attempting any technique on an already primed and basecoated figure,
we have to learn how to apply thinned paint exactly where we want it
without causing any damage to the surrounding areas. This is known as
“paint control”, the single most important thing you must learn while
working with any kind of paint, but when working with very diluted water
based paints, maintaining it becomes crucial. Any time you load your
brush with these very thinned paints, capillary action within the brush
will load an excessive amount right into it. This excess is a disaster
waiting to happen, as some of us already know. You just need to touch
that neatly primed and basecoated figure that you have been working
on for days, only to see the paint running wild from head to toe, ruining
an otherwise fine job.

Well,
next time, after loading the brush on your palette, take a short trip
to that cotton rag, mentioned before, and touch the side of your brush
against it to unload the excess of diluted paint. Don’t worry, even
if you see a big stain on the rag the paint is not going to be totally
unloaded and leave you with a dry brush. This operation lets your brush
retain the right quantity of diluted paint, allowing you to easily apply
it and, as an added bonus, will eliminate those splayed brushes so common
with acrylics and enamels.

You may need to
touch the rag with your brush more than once depending on how diluted
your paint is or how much paint you need. If you get too excited unloading
water and mess up the point of your brush, simply reform it by gently
rolling it over the rag.

Very important:
once your brush has been unloaded, test it over a piece of paper or
other surface to make sure that your dilution is working properly and
if not, re-adjust the consistency of the paint on your palette and test
again. A lot of paint jobs are messed up by skipping this step.

A
paint overload will splay the point of your brush, rendering it useless.
Unloading excess paint will eliminate this problem.

Painting Exercise

Don’t
just take my word for it, try it! On your palette, place 1 drop of paint
in 3 different wells adding water to prepare the 3 basic dilution rates
mentioned before. For each one of them, start by loading your brush,
unload it on your rag, and proceed to paint fine lines or shapes over
your practice surface, maintaining good paint control throughout the
process. Strive for a clean and even application of lines and shapes
by unloading excess water as necessary. Watch how solid or transparent
each dilution rate is and experiment by modifying them. Don’t forget
to clean your brush each time before loading it again and test your
brush before using it.

Methods of Application

Now
that you know how to properly thin your paint and apply it where you
want it, lets analyze some methods for using your abilities.

Figure painting
involves a lot of different techniques with specific applications, however,
the most important ones have to do with the subtle color transitions
necessary for achieving realistic effects. These color transitions comprise
a process commonly known as blending, which has one single purpose:
blur the border between two adjacent colors, making the transition from
one to the other as “soft” as possible. This can be accomplished in
oils and enamels by physically mixing one color into another, in order
to soften the edge between them (Diagram 1a).

On the other hand,
for acrylic paints like Vallejo, blending is predominately a visual
effect and not a physical process as mentioned before (Diagram 1b).
Once applied, they dry very fast and cannot be blended as well or as
easily as oils or enamels. This is the main difference between using
acrylics and other paints. Although it can be done in some very limited
situations with the addition of a drying time extender, it is easier
to treat acrylics like acrylics and let blending be the visual result
of correct application using the following two technique’s.

Layering

Layering
is the application of successive paint coats over the same area. It
can be either:

Solid: used
wherever full coverage by a single color is desired. Best accomplished
by applying several thin coats with dilution rates of 1:1 or 1:2. Used
mainly for basecoating, patterns, and details.

Transparent*:
used wherever gradual color build-up using a single color is necessary
allowing the underlying coat to show through. Used for toning, shading,
highlighting, and effects. Dilution rates start at 1:5 and up.

*Transparent layers
of color are also known as glazes. I will refrain from using this term
in order to maintain a clear and simple nomenclature.

PAINTING EXERCISE 1

Now it’s your turn to practice layering. Using a 1:1 dilution rate,
paint a good basecoat with 2 or 3 solid layers over an area of your
practice surface. Let it dry and then, using another color with a 1:5
dilution, apply one transparent layer over your basecoat. (Remember
to unload your brush on the rag) Allowing each layer to dry before applying
the next, apply a second and third layer on top, trying to keep your
basecolor showing through. Add more water to your paint if necessary
and experiment with higher dilution rates. By this time you should be
automatically cleaning your brush each time you use it, don’t forget
it.

Feathering

Feathering
is the application of progressively smaller transparent layers of color
(feathers) in order to visually blend each layer into the previous one.
This visual blending is achieved by slightly increasing or decreasing
the brightness or darkness (value) of each successive feather. It is
primarily used for shading and highlighting. Dilution rates of 1:5 and
higher is necessary.

PAINTING EXERCISE 2

To practice feathering: On your plasticard, using 922 US Green as basecolor
with a 1:2 dilution, paint a wide brushstroke. While it dries, prepare
your palette by progressively adding small amounts of 952 Lemon Yellow
to the base color. We will do this in 25% increments. This means that
you have a first well with only your base color, a second with 3 drops
of base color and 1 drop of yellow, a third with 2 drops of each color,
a fourth with 1 drop of base color and 3 drops of yellow and fifth with
only yellow. Thin each mixture to a 1:5 rate. Starting with a clean
brush every time and using each one of your color increases, apply progressively
smaller brushstrokes in order to feather each mixture into the previous
one. Use “layering” to give more intensity to each increase if needed
and strive for a subtle transition between them. As you become more
experienced and expand your color knowledge, you will be able to mix
your color increases or decreases as you go along on a single well.
This exercise requires some practice a good feathering technique comes
with a lot of it, so don’t be discouraged if your first attempts fail.

Highlighting and Shading

The
particular theory on this topic is far too extensive for the scope of
the present article and I will leave this to the excellent material
available that covers it in depth *. This will let us stay within the
application process, which by now, you should have a pretty good idea
of how it is done. Highlighting and shading are made possible by combing
both layering and feathering into a very simple process:

* “Building and
Painting Scale Figures” by Sheperd Paine Ð Chapter 3

Highlighting


As a general rule we highlight the raised areas of our figures where
light gathers the most. When using acrylics, remember to highlight first.
The reason for this lies in the fact that it is easier to cover any
mistakes made while highlighting with your darker colors than the other
way around.

Diagram
4: Highlighting

Highlighting is accomplished by adding a small amount of a higher value
color to our base color, thinning it accordingly (minimum 1:5) and starting
with the widest feather that corresponds to the lowest point of the
area t be highlighted, carefully apply this first increase layering
it as required to obtained the desired intensity. Next, add another
small amount of highlighting color to your last mixture and apply the
next feather on a smaller area again by layering it as necessary. Repeat
this process until all your increases have been applied. Depending on
the position and desired effect, highlighting can range from a single
increase in value to the use of multiple feathers going all the way
to the highlighting color itself.

Last increase using pure 952 Lemon Yellow, only,
over the top highlights.

Shading: By adding 25% of 980 Black Green to our base-color, the first
decrease is applied on the darker areas.

Asecond decrease is applied by mixing 50% of 980 Black Green with our
base-color and pure 980 Black Green is used for the darkest areas.

Shading


For the most part, we shade areas where light gathers the least or requires
a little help in defining their form and it is normally done once our
highlights have been applies.

Diagram 5: Shading


The application process is similar to the one used for highlighting,
but in this case we will add a darker color to our base tone in order
to create progressively lower values. Shading requires a higher dilution
rate and is usually accomplished in no more than 3 color decreases depending
on the particular depth of each feature or the desired intensity. Remember
that the paint must be very thin, it is better to carefully build up
each shadow by layering each decrease application than by using a strong
single one that may obscure any painted detail or the base color. Start
with dilution rates of 1:8 or higher and be sure to unload your brush
on the rag several times before using it.

It
becomes significant to understand that applying highlights and shadows
is a matter of personal style, experience and a good knowledge of color
theory. However, successful results with acrylics will always rest on
three factors:

TABLE
1 – SIMPLE ONE COLOR MIXES FOR HIGHLIGHTING AND SHADING

The
right color selection.



Here I can only stress that good results require a careful selection
of compatible colors and values that stem from a suitable base color.
This means that unless you are trying to depict a particular effect,
your basecolor must be present throughout all your increases or decreases
in order to maintain color harmony. If you need some help getting started
in this area. I have included a table (Table 1 – next page) that shows
some easy single color highlight/shadow mixtures that you can use as
a basic reference. Experiment with these mixtures to acclimate yourself
with the technique.



The number of increases or decreases over the color value.




These are determined by the size and configuration of the specific area.
On large and shallow areas where subtle transitions are necessary,a
higher number of increases or decreases of the base color will be required
as opposed to small and deep areas like tight folds and creases, where
swift changes between highlights and shadows allow for more intense
transitions in fewer steps.



The adequate placement of highlights and shadows throughout the
figure.



Even if only a few, when precisely applied they go a very long way.
A good understanding of the “Stop Sign Rule” is essential here. Always
study your figure under an overhead light so you will be able to recognize
the features and planes that give way to the predominant shadows and
highlights and then accentuate them accordingly.

Toning is applied here by using a 1:12 dilution of the base-color in
order to soften contrasts and provide a more pleasing balance.

Outlining enhances a figure by separating and defining areas and details,
acting as a bold shadow. Pure 980 Black Green was used here.

BASECOLOR,
HIGHLIGHT, SHADOW

922 US Uniform Green

952 Lemon Yellow

980 Black Green



975 Military Green

850 Vallejo Olive

980 Black Green



850 Vallejo Olive

915 Deep Yellow

975 Military Green



915 Deep Yellow

951 White

981 Orange Brown



981 Orange Brown

915 Deep Yellow

940 Saddle Brown



940 Saddle Brown

981 Orange Brown

985 Hull Red



875 Beige Brown

917 Beige

984 Brown



984 Brown

875 Beige Brown

822 Black Brown



908 Carmine Red

956 Light Orange

926 Red

909 Vermillion Red

851 Deep Orange

908 Carmine Red



851 Deep Orange

911 Light Orange

909 Vermillion Red



911 Light Orange

915 Deep Yellow

851 Deep Orange



844 Deep Sky Blue

951 White

965 Prussian Blue



965 Prussian Blue

901 Pastel Blue

898 Dark Sea Blue



901 pastel Blue

951 White

899 Dark Prussian Blue



846 Mahogany Brown

929 Light Brown

872 Chocolate Brown



872 Chocolate Brown

875 Beige Brown

822 Black Brown



843 Cork Brown

847 Dark Sand

826 Medium brown

856 Ochre Brown

948 Golden Yellow

983 Earth



992 Neutral Gray

951 White

862 Black Grey



830 Field Gray

886 Green Gray

979 Dark Green



886 Green Gray

971 Green Gray

830 Field Gray



871 Leather Brown

977 Desert Yellow

822 Black Brown



921 English Uniform

917 Beige

871 Chocolate Brown



988 Khaki

976 Buff

941 Burnt Umber

Complementary Techniques

Toning


When painting with acrylics there are times when you may find that your
highlights and shades are just too stark, you need a small value adjustment,
or maybe a slight tint for a particular effect is required. In these
cases we use what is known as toning, which is nothing more than a very
diluted transparent layer of color applied over an area in order to
soften harsh contrasts, fine tune the overall valance or add that special
effect. A dilution rate of 1:12 is a good starting point for this purpose
and don’t forget to unload your brush several times before applying
it.

Outlining


Outlining is the application of a solid dark thin line that separates
areas and defines details like seams, pockets, flaps, etc. by acting
as a bold shadow. This is done by layering a very thin line with the
lowest color value for each area to be so defined using a dilution rate
of around 1:2 in order to build up color slowly until the desired intensity
is attained.

Edging


Although not as widely known as outlining, when accurately placed, it
is just as important and its effects can be quite stunning. Similar
to outlining, it is the application of a solid light thin line that
separates and defines different areas and details by acting as a bold
highlight furthermore increasing the overall sharpness of our figure.
A high color value with a 1:2 dilution is required for gradual color
build up.

Conclusion

Well,
that’s it, and although a whole book could be written about the use
of acrylics for painting figures, these few pages embody the core techniques,
and as you see, acrylics are not so difficult to use after all. Practice
and experience will make the rest. I hope the preceding concepts and
ideas will be helpful in getting you started in the use of Vallejo Model
Colors acrylic paint or at least provide you with a solid reference
point to experiment and go beyond your present technique. This doesn’t
mean that you should become an “acrylic only” painter. Each kind of
paint has its own merits and excels in certain areas, it is for each
one of us to identify and integrate these characteristics into our personal
painting style. Let acrylics become another tool in your pursuit of
excellence, you won’t be disappointed.