"A bit of flesh....." Topic

Hi all.

I've been looking for ways to improve and enhance my painting lately, and I thought I would start by focusing on flesh tones. I've tried a few methods so far.

The first has been painted as follows (all paints are Vallejo):
Chocolate brown
Cork brown
Flat flesh
50% flat flesh & 50% Light Flesh

picture

The second was painted using:
Brown rose
50% brown rose & 50% flat flesh
Flat flesh
50% flat flesh & 50% light flesh

picture

The third was painted with:
Bronze Flesh
Ogryn flesh wash
Highlight of bronze flesh
Flat flesh
50% flat flesh & 50% light flesh

picture

(All the mixes are approximate) Sorry about the eyes, but it's something I really, really struggle with. Practice makes perfect, as they say :)

So, what I was hoping you could help me with, is, which do YOU think looks more effective?
Are there any particular methods you use/prefer beyond those shown? (Yes, I know there are A LOT!! lol)

I look forward to your comments, etc… :)

I don't like Vallejo for flesh tones. I cannot really say why.

I mix GW Dwarf Flesh with GW Elf flesh to make my own Human Flesh colour. Then I wash with a brown colour (Army Painter Strong Tone or GW Devlan Mud or simply dilute GW Scorched Brown.)

Characters get additional highlights of GW Elf Flesh and GW Dwarf Flesh on the lips. To get stubble mix in a little grey.

This is a BTD 28mm Russian. (If you chose small you get the actual size)
link

Regards
Mick

Well, I like the Vallejo equivalents of the GW flesh! Try Beastial brown, dwarf flesh, then elf flesh with or without blends in between. I like to throw some VMC orange brown in between the beastial brown and dwarf flesh usually. Alternately, substitute VMC cavalry brown for the beastial brown and/or VMC red beige for the dwarf flesh .

Don't take me wrong. I use a lot of Vallejo Model Colour. I just prefer GW for flesh tones as all the shades fit together nicely.
Mick

the third one looks best to me,

regards

jim

I like the third, too. I think lips look better if you just paint the bottom lip.

I think the GW Dwarf flesh is too red, and the Vajello Medium flesh is too yellow, so I mix the two together to get a colour I like…Its a bit of a pain to do each time, so I am still on the look out for what in my mind is a good flesh tone

I use reaper pro paint series for flesh tones,as i too gave up on GW and vallejo out of the bottle for flesh.
the reper comes in triads -base-hilite-shade of different fleshtones…also some cheap crafstore paints actually work well

I think they all look good (as defined by "better than I can paint"). My only comment is that, imho, soldiers are much more tanned than the usual wargaming figure.

It's a lifestyle lived almost entirely outdoors under the sun, and while the chest, belly and forehead might stay white, the cheeks, neck and sometimes forearms should be pretty brown. Unless of course, you're doing the Bulge or French Fortress Troops…

ymmv

For basic painting I use GW Dwarf and Elf Flesh on a Vermin Brown base

hussarbob1746.webs.com

Depends on nationality, season, location, etc. The first two seem a bit pale for troops that have been out in the sun every day, but otherwise good. The third one looks rather olive-skinned to me -- suitable for Mediterranean or Middle Eastern nationalities -- but still rather pale.

I used to put a lot of effort into painting faces and they still looked like a madman had applied clown paint. I picked up the following wash technique from a friend and my face painting woes are gone. Not only is it quick, but the faces look better than I've ever done.

1. Use white primer -- this is a wash technique, black, brown, gray, primer won't work.

2. mix 2 parts raw sienna with 1 part burnt umber and 4 parts "amended" water. (Amended water has a wee bit of dish soap added to help the flow. I actually use 1 drop of Liquitex Flow Aid with regular water.)

3. Wash it over the flesh bits and let dry.

4. You can go back and highlight, but I find that it looks good as is.

5. Paint the hair with a 50/50 mix of dark brown and water – not too thick, not too thin. BTW, I cover any exposed hair with the initial flesh wash.

DON'T PAINT THE EYES. This is actually the best part because I *hated* painting eyes and the wash makes the eye areas look suitable shaded. At 28mm scale you shouldn't see any eyes anyway.