I'd like to share two painting tips that I recently had to learn the hard way. The first I learned years ago in my oil painting class, but I seem to have forgotten. I was working on my Malanthrope the other night and thought it looked pretty good. The next morning it looked completely different! The reason why was at night I paint by warm yellow indoor lighting, and in the morning I get cool reflected skylight through the patio door. I learned this in college but forgot my lesson. So be aware of your lighting as it differs during the day.
Secondly, I was wondering why my paint was coming off in certain raised areas on the Malanthrope. I realized it was because I was handling it excessively. This has never been a problem before because most models have a base that you can handle. Not so with my dear 'thrope. Mine is magnetized to the flying base for ease of transportation. So now I have to paint extra cautiously and slowly as it sits on the flying base to avoid hand contact. Pay attention to how you handle your models, as the oils on your skin can be detrimental to the paint. Sealant can stop this problem, but unfinished models will suffer.
Good tips both.
ReplyDeleteFor lighting I use two seperate lamps, one a full spectrum from the left to illuminate what I'm working on. The other is a standard incandescent from the right to reduce shadows from the single source. I'm thinking about switiching it to full-spectrum also, but I'm torn as it's a great heat source to cure green stuff.
For handling, I plasti-tac my guys to the top of a paint bottle while painting them. This keeps me from rubbing off the completed pieces. If it's a really involved project or a guy to large/heavy for the plasti-tac, I'll lacquer as I go too. This allows me to directly hadle the fig without mussing it.
Both good tips. :)
ReplyDeleteObviously not viable for that model, but I own a magnifying glass and claw gubbinz that allows me to hold models by the base and paint with ease. I'd recommend one.