HM Journal Issue 08 Modeling Tips

ISSUE NUMBER 8

HISTORICAL MINIATURES BY GEORGE GRASSE
HISTORICAL MINIATURES JOURNAL

MAY 2010

Before you start, clean and prep the figure with a thin coat of primer either sprayed or brushed. Do not over-apply the primer - keep it thin so details aren't lost. One note about using a paint "wash" which is part of the secret in painting faces. Keep the wash thin. The thinner the wash, the less noticeable is the demarcation from one shade of paint to another. Use a soft, slightly blunted brush to dab the wash in the area of the demarcation as if to blend the two shades as though you were using oils. Keep the paint on the palette wet. Water-based paints will start to dry as soon as you put them onto the palette. Every once in a while, add a drop of water, and I mean distilled water, to the mix. I classify paint viscosity into "out of the bottle" which is usually thick, "thin" which is a modest amount of distilled water added, and "wash" which is quite thin and will run all over your palette.

1) Eyes are first. Apply off-white first; then surround the eyes with a dark brown liner and a dot for cornea. Check shape, alignment, and expression.

2) Apply basic flesh color. Surround the eyes so that not much of the liner is showing especially on the lower eye lid. Paint the hair flesh, also. Flesh is an excellent color over which a hair color wash can be applied.

3) Apply a wash of basic flesh mixed with a small amount of dark brown. Apply to sides of the nose and lower half of the face. Keep the wash thin.

4) Mix a wash of basic flesh mixed with a small amount of scarlet and just a touch of dark brown. Apply the wash to the temples,cheek bones, and inside the ears.

5) Mix another wash of basic flesh and a small amount of medium gray and apply to the hollows of the cheeks and around the mouth to represent slight beard growth. Make this as light or dark as you want but keep the mixture thin.

6) Separate the lower and upper lips with a thin line of dark brown liner. In this example, the mustache is underlined with the liner. Next, apply a mix of basic flesh with a little more scarlet to the lower lip. Use this to narrow the brown liner separating the lips if the line is too heavy and noticeable.

7) Apply a thin mix (not a wash) of basic flesh (30%) with light flesh (70%) to the bridge and nostrils of the nose, outer edges of the ear, thin streaks to the forehead - any area that needs highlighting. Modify the % of light flesh to suit your highlighting technique.

8) Choose a hair color and thin it down so that when applied to the flesh-painted hair, it fills crevices and gives the hair some highlighting. To finish, apply a dark brown liner to the base of the headgear and the top of the collar. Use black if the uniform items (hat, coat) are darker than the liner.

Tip 27) Basic periodical reference materials I think you will need for WW1 aircraft modeling, Part 2, are:

Austro-Hungary: Österreichische Flugzeug Historiker (Öfh) website: http://www.oefh.at/

Italy: Gruppo Amici Velivoli Storici (GAVS) is the society and they produce a journal "Ali Antiche". Website: http://www.gavs.it/index_eng.htm

Belgium: Aviation Society of Antwerp vzw, Antwerp International Airport, Box 38, 2100 Antwerpen, Belgium. Website: http://www.asa-be.com/

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