Leo Zanza | 08 Feb 2017 10:01 p.m. PST |
Hey guys, I just finished my second pair of Napoleonic miniatures, any advice/comments are appreciated. link Being fairly new to the hobby I always like receiving some feedback. With these french infantrymen I don't like how my white turned out. How do you guys paint miniatures with large areas of white? Washes just seem to make the figure dirty looking but without the wash it just looks flat & boring. Thanks, Leo |
setsuko | 08 Feb 2017 10:43 p.m. PST |
Don't beat yourself up, especially as a behinner I'd say they're good. As for the painting, I paint my white areas light grey (either as a primer or with a grey primer over black primer). Then I wash them black, and most importantly, go back with a grey and then white highlight to prevent the dirty look you mention. Here's a blog post on how I paint my fusiliers: link Also, don't underestimate doing several thinner coats instead of one thick coat, especially for a good coverage with white. |
langobard | 09 Feb 2017 3:19 a.m. PST |
As setsuko says, don't beat yourself up! I don't know if this will help, but on Seven Years War / Napoleonic whites I tend to go for three different looks: 1. Leather, usually a semi gloss if in 28mm, 15mm my brightest flat white. 2. Coats: depending on the place and time, a coat was a thick enough material to apply chalk to. This covered a multitude of stains and kept it looking clean enough to make washerwomen envious (at least according to Duffy, I think in his Austrian Army of the Seven Years War). 3. Shirts and trousers, generally I do these a light grey and hit them with a bit of white for a highlight. Just suggestions and hope they help! |
Dwindling Gravitas | 09 Feb 2017 4:46 a.m. PST |
For whatever it's worth, I think as a unit they look fantastic, Leo. Embrace the above tips, but don't stress over it. They really do look great as they are! |
rustymusket | 09 Feb 2017 6:02 a.m. PST |
I agree that the figs look great! You are miles ahead of me and I have been painting for 30 years. Enjoy! |
79thPA | 09 Feb 2017 7:12 a.m. PST |
They look pretty good to me. |
Leo Zanza | 09 Feb 2017 7:25 a.m. PST |
Thanks for the friendly comments guys i appreciate it:) @setsuko I just read the tutorial on your blog & I will definitely follow this technique in the future! @langobard I tried at first using as you said a grey with white highlights but it looked a bit odd. However I think I used a grey that was too dark, also washing it black afterwards made it even darker:) |
Flashman14 | 09 Feb 2017 10:01 a.m. PST |
My take on French blue is to use some dark navy blue then blend in Vallejo Luftwaffe Blue to highlight. There's zero problems with contrasting highlights there – you get all the dynamism you need without using the ridiculous Vallejo Prussian Blue that is just way off the mark – even for Prussians! There's just no condition or conceivable path that takes you from Indigo, even when dyed improperly, to anything resembling Vallejo Prussian Blue or inevitably sky blue. Lavender/gray is the result not a heavily saturated bright blue. Literally, a better representation would be to use black and highlight with a medium gray – that would be closer than what is commonly seen. |
Frederick | 09 Feb 2017 11:13 a.m. PST |
I like them – good advice on how to paint white, a tough colour in my experience to get right |
jwebster | 09 Feb 2017 1:52 p.m. PST |
Your figures are great – I don't think you will get better results unless you spend a lot more time on each unit, and I would always say getting them on the table is the best. Personally I gave up on 28mm after a couple of trials because I was trying to put too much detail on them and went to AB 18mm White is tricky. One way to deal with French line is to paint the trousers a creamier/brown off white colour and then have the belts white to show the difference. A classic approach to white is to use Vallejo Ivory as the base coat, allowing you to highlight white. It's ok for the base coat to be darker than pure white as we see contrast better than we do absolute colours. setsuko has a good guide – the advice on coat colour is spot on. With miniatures you should go a shade lighter in colour than actual – makes it show up better at scale. Incidentally, the bayonet scabbards (or whatever their correct name is) were brown. I only recently discovered that. If you want to improve miniature painting there are tons of websites and videos out there. You have the basics down – try looking at techniques that increase contrast, such as more washes (or even "the dip"), increased highlight -> shadow contrast, brighter colours, outlining (black lining). Most people play around with new ideas getting the best from command figures, and then gradually feed those ideas that work for you into the rank and file. John |
Leo Zanza | 10 Feb 2017 6:46 a.m. PST |
@Flashman14 Do you have an example of french units painted with dark navy blue & luftwaffe blue? Also I couldn't find dark navy blue in Vallejo's paint list. @Frederick, Thanks I have to learn how to do it properly though since i'm a huge fan of Napoleonic history:) @jwebster Thanks, it is as you say, i'm trying to get familiar with new techniques. I like your idea to use ivory as a base coat. It is basically what i tried but with a grey that turned out too dark. Definitely won't make that mistake again:) I wanted to paint Józef Poniatowski but I put that on hold till my painting skills are up to the challenge:) |
davbenbak | 10 Feb 2017 10:04 a.m. PST |
Lots of good advice. Here are some of my suggestions of different techniques you can try until you find what works best for you. 1) Prime with black. Helps to define straps. The only drawback is that it really mutes the colors. I use this for TYW/ECW/ACW figures. I like my colors to pop on Napoleonic's since I paint to a parade standard so I prime them in white myself but if you like the campaign look it might work for you. 2) If you prime in white then next go over with a black wash. It brings out a lot of detail for painting as well as turning white areas grey. You can then go back and highlight or paint with white. This is how I paint Austrians. 3) It looks like you are using acrylics so maybe try thinning your paints a bit with water on a pallet. If you have primed in white you will see it's almost like using a wash with each color as the paint settles in the cracks. The colors may look too light at first but will come out just right after a dark wash. 4) Try using a brown wash. I use GW acrylic washes. Nothing as dark or concentrated as Army Painter or "The Dip". Again go back and highlight in white. Beware brown does not play well with some colors (like light blue)and you may have to go back over them or use a different color wash on those areas. (I use a blue wash over light blue). 5) By all means post more pics of your progress. As you can see this is a very supportive group with lots of experience, often the source of answers to even the most obscure questions. Paint them to your standard. As a gamer I use the arms length test. If I can hold them out at arms length and see the level of detail that I want them so can the other gamers. The sooner I can get units on the table the better. |