Hi guys... i always have the troube of painting nice figures. To make them actually look more "life like". Any suggestions as to how I can go about painting great figures? Like what paints to use, the methods, etc...

Sorry mate, cant help u in this as I have not tried b4.

Cheers!

I guess I have some experience painting figs..But still lots to learn...I use Tamiya Flat flesh to paint and some brown and orange for highlighting/ shading..For me, 1/35 I don't bother abt eyeballs. Are u painting 1/35 or 1/16?

I paint both 1/35 and 1/16. But more of 1/35 for Dioramas. I'm also using the Tamiya Flat Flesh now, but it doesn't seem to "stick" that well to the figures when painted. Another layer of the flat flesh and the previous layer will peel... frustrating. Maybe it's time to change to Vallejo arcylics. They have better reviews from other modellers when it is used for figure painting (personal preference though... some prefer to use oils, some enamels).

I read that eyes for 1/35 figures aren't necessary needed as we won't be able to see them. Maybe just a little black highlight would be enough.

Hmm..I don't seem to have the problem u're having w/ Tamiya paints...i paint the first coat quite diluted. Don't paint too thick or the features will all be gone. Second coat also paint diluted and it shd hv covered all unpainted parts. As for eyes, black highlight w/ very diluted black will do juz fine..

Hello my fellow country-man
Perhaps I could contribute some know-how about figures painting.
Myself have been painting figures for the past 20 years whether in 1/35, 1/16 or bigger. I have been using many medium of painting materials; in oil, acrylic, enemal and whatever.....
I personally perfer using oil for the skin and vallejo acrylic paint for the rest.
As how to paint a good looking figure, I afraid you need to see a demo to get a right direction.

Hi coca
You said you've used all the types of medium there is to paint your figures. Oils, Acrylics, Enamels...for 20 years.. wow.! Any favourites?

You're right about the demo.. but I shall do some trail and error first. Tell me more... i've seen your sherman in the armor forum! Very impressive

Well JM, I still using oil for the skin and vallejo for the rest of the work.
First go get yourself a good quality of paint brushes. You can get them from local art shops like art friends or straits commerical. Get paint brush number 000,00 and 0. They are a little expensive but it's a must.

Thanks for the advice Mr Wong..
I'll make a trip down to art friend to get those brushes. Any brand would do right?
BTW, i've used oils before and i realized they don't "stick" well to the plastic. Would you mind posting a picture of a figure you did? Sorry if i'm asking so so much from you Trying hard to perfect figure painting

20yrs! That's a long long time to be making models..I can't imagine how huge my model collection would be like in 20yrs time!!..

Greetings JM, sorry for the late reply.
When buying good quality of brushes make sure is stable brush. Any brand will do.
This is what I do when I start painting my figure; clean up the figure, spray a coat of surfaces, when dry apply a base coat of enemal paint prefer sand colour. Let it dry for overnight. By then you can start applying oil paint over it withour much problem.
cheers...

Yeah Psyfool... I can't image how huge the collection would be (provided i'm modelling constantly without breaks in between).

Hello coca... no probs with the late reply.
I went down to Art friend and got myself the 3 brushes that you recommended for figure painting. Brand: Ashley White Taklon Brush 0, 00 & 000. Thanks

You said to apply a base coat of enamels and leave it to dry... unfortunately i had a bad experience with enamels. I got the Tamiya one. There's this layer of fluid above the settled paint, should I stir to mix them together? Must I thin (with what) the enamel paint?

Yes, I have a 20 years of collections, I think the amount of model kits I have are able me to open a model shop :-)
For every enemels paint, you must stir until it even, and thin it with thinner or turpentine. The reason for applying enamel base coat is to absorb the oncoming oil pigment and at the same time cut down the gross finishes look. When applying oil paint make sure is really a thin layer, apply layer after layer and also make sure is smooth. Blend the color until no hard edge appear.
Well all I can say is painting figure require skill and a lot of practice. At present moment I'm painting a 1/35 scale Tamiya WWII Machine gunner, of course I will share with one I finish it.

Coca... you said to thin enamels with either thinner or turpentine. Does that mean any thinner or turpentine (those that I can get from the hardware shop)? Or is there a specific brand for thinning enamels?

As of now, I do apply oils to my figures after a base coat of acrylic paints. But i would have to agree i sometimes do apply thick layers of oils (lots of practice required still).

Should I dab the tip of my brush (with Oil paints) on a piece of cloth first to remove excessive oil paints on the brush before painting?? How can i apply thin layers of oils??
(my my... i hope i'm not asking too much... Learning in progress... )

Yeah... love to see the Machine gunner pic... it's going to be a great help to improving figure painting.

hello guys..sori for the absence..btw, i cant help it but to bring this topic up again..i read a lot of article in here abt fig painting but i found only one, juz 1 that suit me really well...have a go at this JM...
https://armorama.kitmaker.net//features/597

Thanks for the link Danial.. I've saved it into my favorites.

I've read lots of articles on figure paintings, some use oils, some acryllics. It totally depends on preference (I guess).

Well face painting is aways hard for me. Anyway i prefer to camou them if i can