"Painting figures with a limited Palette" Topic

As I continue to teach myself about color and color theory, I thought I would show you what I've been working on:

link

Good luck painting Prussians with that palette.

Apart from that quip, it isn't a bad idea. I tried to do much the same when I first started to use tube acrylics back in the 80's but never quite as severe as a 4 colour palette.

For his day it isn't that bad a set of colours but I'm certain you could do better (for painting figures) with more modern colours. A middling red rather than the orange vermillion, a stronger, brighter yellow (though YOchre has some excellent qualities in mixes) and a stronger white (titanium Oxide) plus a Pthalo blue or similar.

I like the project. Indeed, you need a good blue. Phtalo is a cool and really strong one, Ultramarine a warm but not so strong. Good luck!

I haven't quite figured out how Zorn did it but he gets most of his blues from the Ivory Black. The Ivory Black is a blue/black which is why you get a good magenta and green when using it. It will take some experimenting to get it down.

In my first year of fine arts we worked with 5 colours I think: burnt umber, ultramrine blue , cerulean blue, vermillion, ochre and titanium white. After first year, if you wanted, to expand your range you could.

Fundamentals first, indeed. This exercise will serve you far better than trying to ascertain which out of the bottle colour best approximates the epaulettes on your carabiners.

Shep Paine used less than ten color tubes of artist's oils. You can't argue with the results.

Interesting experiment.

Nowadays when I do a figure I pick 3 colors: main, contrast, and gear. Of course I have to add flesh and metallics. I find limiting myself in this way speeds up painting and gives good visual registration across the table. I shade/ highlight/blackline each color appropriately.

I use artist colors not hobby paints; I allow myself the full palette but often mix my own shades and highlights.

I do paint fantasy not historicals.

I mix almost all my own colours and I paint my figures with a few as possible to convey the uniform. I think you get a more cohesive overall look to the figures this way.

Thanks for the encouragement. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who has or is doing this.

That is a very strange vermillion if it produces a purple as rich as that. I'm quite surprised at that – if the vermillion were true to natural colour (a very rare and expensive pigment today) it should produce a brown as Ivory is a brown black, it is Lamp Black that is bluish.

With modern synthetic hues I'd not know if the same qualities were there in your oils though.

Well I've only purchased single pigment colors to avoid "issues" with blends. The brands are Winsor & Newton and Gamblin artist oils. If there is something else in their process then I can't say for sure.
Even mixing the Ivory Black with the Yellow ochre gave a beautiful green, so there is certainly blue in it.

Intertesting.