Custom Figure Painting Tutorial by MIKED

[XOC2008]

Thanks, MIKED, for this tutorial!

http://www.fighting118th.com/2012/10/08/custom-figure-painting-tutorial-by-miked/

Post your questions, comments, etc, below!

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Yup, thanks MIKED, and thanks XOC for posting/converting it to the front page.

It's a great tutorial, and works for both 4" (1:18th, cough) and 6" scales. (The figure shown does in fact use a 1:18th MU figure).

 

[Monkeywrench]

Boom!

 

[MIKED]

Gentlemen, thank you so much for your hard work and consideration. XOC did an amazing job converting that piece for the site in an incredibly short period of time. Thank you for your treatment of the article the honor of being featured on your front page.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

Nice!...I love seeing new techniques...the way you shadow looks awesome!

 

[Slaymaker]

Wow! Awesome stuff. Question...if you are painting so many layers of flesh tone and repainting over eyes and stuff and you mix it on a plastic plate...do you constantly make more? I assume the layers of paint take hours to dry and in that time the paint on the plate is dry as well, no?

 

[MIKED]

Wow! Awesome stuff. Question...if you are painting so many layers of flesh tone and repainting over eyes and stuff and you mix it on a plastic plate...do you constantly make more? I assume the layers of paint take hours to dry and in that time the paint on the plate is dry as well, no?

Yes! That's a good observation. I try and mix just the amount of paint I'll need and even sometimes try and assembly line several parts that have the same color so as not to waste paint. It's important to have a solid formula for the color you've mixed because you may have to mix it several times before you've achieved adequate coverage. Keeping the paint that thin slows the drying time considerably, but you should still expect you're pool of paint to dry on you're palette several times before you finish. That's why I caution in the article to be careful not to reactivate dried or semi-dried portions of paint on you're pallette while thinning. Those unfortunate clumps will wind up on your subject in the worst possible places!
Also...the layers don't take hours to dry. 10 minutes is plenty of time if you don't allow pooling in areas like eye sockets and folds (which you shouldn't) and the drying time on the subject can be sped up considerably through the use of a hair dry on a low setting (be careful not to melt your figure!)

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Slaymaker, for any customs I'm working on, if it's a color that will likely chip and need retouching, or is a common color that I'll reuse again (like common Hasbro flesh tones or colors for camo, etc.) I'll usually mix and save small vials of paint. You'll need some small vial that can be sealed air-tight, but it's always nice to have these pre-mixed custom colors later.

 

[Meddatron]

excellent tutorial. Very nice to see someone uses the watery technicque to aplly flesh as well. if i dont do it very thin i get massive brush strokes everytime. Happens with Flesh, silver, white and yellow to me if i dont apply them thin enough.

 

[fogger1138]

Some questions from a novice:

• What do you mean when you say "point the brush"? You use that a few times in the tutorial and it's not clear to me from context where I should be pointing it. (For instance: "For this you want to make sure that only the tip of the brush has paint on it so brush off any excess on your palette and make sure you point the brush while doing so." Do you mean point the brush so that the sides are what you're wiping, or something else? Probably a stupid question...)
• Does paint on paint really not produce rub? It's that easy?
• How well does Dullcoat work as a sealer?

 

[MIKED]

Some questions from a novice:

• What do you mean when you say "point the brush"? You use that a few times in the tutorial and it's not clear to me from context where I should be pointing it. (For instance: "For this you want to make sure that only the tip of the brush has paint on it so brush off any excess on your palette and make sure you point the brush while doing so." Do you mean point the brush so that the sides are what you're wiping, or something else? Probably a stupid question...)
• Does paint on paint really not produce rub? It's that easy?
• How well does Dullcoat work as a sealer?

I don't think you're question is stupid at all! Just the opposite- I never know how effective I'm being when I try to explain this stuff...I'm glad you guys are helping me clarify. When I say "Point the brush" I mean simply this- When you have really good, sable detail brush and you pull that little plastic tube cap off you may notice that the tiny bristled brush comes to a razor sharp point. Seeing that you may think, "WOW! This'll make painting eyes a BREEEZE"! only when you dip it into the paint (especially the thinned variety that I describe in the tutorial) the brush absorbs the watery paint and expands. Now it seems like you're going to have to paint these eyes with the head of a Q-tip instead of the head of a pin. Simply roll the head of the brush on the palette while pulling back (affectively painting a small, thin line on the palette) this should rid the brush of excess paint and return the head to a razor sharp point. Now you're ready t take on those detail areas! Also, once the brush has been thoroughly cleaned with tap water (not the gunky stuff you have in your water jar) I will usually point it with my tongue (EWWWW...I know... gross...and unhealthy, right? It's a holdover from college days) before I cover and store it for it's next use. It preserves the life of the brush. Did all of that make sense?
As far as paint on paint not producing wear... nothing is that easy. Especially on those double knee joints, which seem to be made of a type of plastic that simply rejects paint. However, two painted surfaces (especially painted the same color) rubbing against one another will be MUCH more durable than a painted surface rubbing up against a bare plastic, wood or metal surface any day of the week. Try it yourself on a usually problematic area like the hip joints I demonstrate in the tutorial or on the torso joint. Just make sure all surfaces have been thoroughly painted, sealed and cured before putting it to the test. Forget about those knee joints. They are simply the bane of all custom painters.
As far al Dullcoat goes- I swear by it. It's all I use. I love everything about it (I've even learned to like the smell)- it's durability, finish, and look are fantastic. I love what it does to a figure/ vehicle.

 

[fogger1138]

I don't think you're question is stupid at all! Just the opposite- I never know how effective I'm being when I try to explain this stuff...I'm glad you guys are helping me clarify. When I say "Point the brush" I mean simply this- When you have really good, sable detail brush and you pull that little plastic tube cap off you may notice that the tiny bristled brush comes to a razor sharp point. Seeing that you may think, "WOW! This'll make painting eyes a BREEEZE"! only when you dip it into the paint (especially the thinned variety that I describe in the tutorial) the brush absorbs the watery paint and expands. Now it seems like you're going to have to paint these eyes with the head of a Q-tip instead of the head of a pin. Simply roll the head of the brush on the palette while pulling back (affectively painting a small, thin line on the palette) this should rid the brush of excess paint and return the head to a razor sharp point. Now you're ready t take on those detail areas! Also, once the brush has been thoroughly cleaned with tap water (not the gunky stuff you have in your water jar) I will usually point it with my tongue (EWWWW...I know... gross...and unhealthy, right? It's a holdover from college days) before I cover and store it for it's next use. It preserves the life of the brush. Did all of that make sense?

Okay, that's what I thought you meant, but I wanted to be sure.

There's probably a lot of painting techniques that people take for granted that I have no clue about.

 

[MIKED]

Slaymaker, for any customs I'm working on, if it's a color that will likely chip and need retouching, or is a common color that I'll reuse again (like common Hasbro flesh tones or colors for camo, etc.) I'll usually mix and save small vials of paint. You'll need some small vial that can be sealed air-tight, but it's always nice to have these pre-mixed custom colors later.

Mr. Rex is right on the money, here. This is a GREAT idea. I always say I'm going to do this, but never do. I'm so damned lazy! LOL! Do it. It makes sense and you'll save yourself a boatload of labor and frustration in the long run.

 

[MIKED]

Okay, that's what I thought you meant, but I wanted to be sure.

There's probably a lot of painting techniques that people take for granted that I have no clue about.

I understand. I'm sitting here waxing eloquent and thinking that I'm giving this detailed, comprehensive explanation, meanwhile people are reading it and saying, "What the hell is this guy talking about?" I hope I was able to clarify. Also... I answered your other questions about the Dullcoat and the paint rub as well. you may have missed it- I went back and edited that post about 4 times! Sorry! If you did miss it, go back and give it another looksee.

 

[fogger1138]

As far as paint on paint not producing wear... nothing is that easy. Especially on those double knee joints, which seem to be made of a type of plastic that simply rejects paint. However, two painted surfaces (especially painted the same color) rubbing against one another will be MUCH more durable than a painted surface rubbing up against a bare plastic, wood or metal surface any day of the week. Try it yourself on a usually problematic area like the hip joints I demonstrate in the tutorial or on the torso joint. Just make sure all surfaces have been thoroughly painted, sealed and cured before putting it to the test. Forget about those knee joints. They are simply the bane of all custom painters.

I'll have to try this next time.

As far al Dullcoat goes- I swear by it. It's all I use. I love everything about it (I've even learned to like the smell)- it's durability, finish, and look are fantastic. I love what it does to a figure/ vehicle.

I've never tried it as a sealer. I tried one sealer that did not work out well for me (it was old and may have gone bad?) - I'll have to try this instead. Does it work fairly well in preventing rub as well?

I understand. I'm sitting here waxing eloquent and thinking that I'm giving this detailed, comprehensive explanation, meanwhile people are reading it and saying, "What the hell is this guy talking about?" I hope I was able to clarify.

Most people probably won't have problems with it, it's just me. I've been doing this for a year or so now but I don't do it very often and I feel like I don't have a lot of the background knowledge that others may, so I spend a lot of time looking up stuff like how to clean brushes and the like.

 

[MIKED]

I'll have to try this next time.



I've never tried it as a sealer. I tried one sealer that did not work out well for me (it was old and may have gone bad?) - I'll have to try this instead. Does it work fairly well in preventing rub as well?



Most people probably won't have problems with it, it's just me. I've been doing this for a year or so now but I don't do it very often and I feel like I don't have a lot of the background knowledge that others may, so I spend a lot of time looking up stuff like how to clean brushes and the like.

Works great against paint rub. Most people will say that a glossy surface will produce a stronger barrier against paint rub (and that's logically true), but the Dullcoat has always protected my stuff to my satisfaction while producing the realistic finish I want. I'm terrified that they'll change the formula one day.

Please always feel free to contact me with any questions about this stuff. I'll never try and answer something that I have little to no experience with. I'll always let you know if you'd be better off looking elsewhere for answers.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

As far al Dullcoat goes- I swear by it. It's all I use. I love everything about it (I've even learned to like the smell)- it's durability, finish, and look are fantastic. I love what it does to a figure/ vehicle.

totally agree with you...I used to use some other acrylic sealer I found...and it worked great for a while...then slowly it started to react with the paint under it and it turned shiny...NOT the look I was going for...


The testors dull coat on the hand has held up so well on everything I've put it on...and it just makes toys look SO much better...the finish is so consistent and uniform...

 

[Fled74]

Great tutorial, and congrats on the front page feature!

 

[MIKED]

totally agree with you...I used to use some other acrylic sealer I found...and it worked great for a while...then slowly it started to react with the paint under it and it turned shiny...NOT the look I was going for...


The testors dull coat on the hand has held up so well on everything I've put it on...and it just makes toys look SO much better...the finish is so consistent and uniform...

I've had similar issues. In fact I've had other spray varnishes react REALLY horrible with the paint... Like getting all sticky and gross... or not drying properly. When you've spent days or weeks of your spare time on a custom and something like that happens at the final stage...UGGGHHH!!! I can always rely on the Dull coat. And in some of the situations mentioned above, the Dullcoat acted as a remedy, believe it or not. If you ever have problems like that (curing issues, stickiness) give it a coat of the Dullcoat. It may surprise you!

Great tutorial, and congrats on the front page feature!

Thanks!