Thank you all for those very kind words!
Andonio64, for the leather I use a technique described by Spencer Pollard which I found on Hyperscale years ago:
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Here's a method that figure painters, myself included have used to paint leather of different kinds over the years...
1. Paint the area to be 'leather' using matt black. Enamel such as Humbrol works best for this, though you can also use an acrylic such as Tamiya. Leave to dry out thoroughly.
2. Grab some oil paints. You'll need Raw Umber, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna and Yellow Ochre.
3. Using a soft, flat brush dry brush the surface of the piece using small amounts of the Raw Umber oil paint used NEAT. Don't thin it...
4. With the Raw Umber in place, you'll see that the piece, especially if detailed, will have a gentle sheen over its raised surface, with dark, matt areas in the recesses - exactly as you see on really leather. You also see that the leather is nice and dark - again a feature of this material.
5. Happy with your base coat, you can now add some warmth by working in some other colours such as the more red Raw Sienna or Burnt Sienna shades. Work in small dots of colours using a fine brush and then blend the dots into the surface of the piece that you're working on. This will result in a more worn surface that exhibits different shades that reflect worn patches.
6. Highlights can now be added using the Yellow Ochre, this colour being perfect to simulate 'raw' leather, where the surface has broken down. You can also use this to add highlights along edges and also scuffs and scrapes - all of which help increase the realism of the finished part. At this point you can also add to the shading around seams and the like using a mix of Raw Umber and the Matt Black enamel that you used earlier.
The result of all of this will be a multi-toned part that has areas of dark, matt shadows and warm, glossy highlights - just as you would find on any leather item - be it a soldier's boot or an ornate sofa!
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Cheers,
Eric
