Constructive criticism needed

[Des]

With the influx of new WW1 aviation figures in 1:32 scale I thought I would give figure painting a go. This figure is from Alley Cat, it was a free figure I received when I purchased the Bristol.

Any pointers to where I have gone wrong will be much appreciated, on this particular figures the majority of paints used were Gunze acrylics, I used Humbrol 62 leather for the goggles and Mr Metal Color Stainless for the goggle frames. Many thanks for any tips you can offer.

Des.

[Rizzo]

I think it looks great already. The one area that stands out as needing a bit more is the eyes, I think- they seem quite faded and without as much definition.

I found the easiest way was to overpaint the white, and then add the colour for the pupil (which maybe needs a slight adjustment inwards too?). But not so as to worry to much about keeping the paint away from the skin- just focusing about the size and position of the pupil. You can then paint the skin last of all; doing so will correct any overlaps that were created when painting the eyes.

A little heavier shading around the eyes might help too.

[Des]

Thanks Rizzo for your input, it is much appreciated. The biggest problem i had with the eyes was that the left eye was slightly deformed making it hard to achieve a fine demarcation line between the eye and the flesh, I also see your point about the pupils not being positioned correctly, this is something I will correct on my next figure, funny how things stand out so much in a photo.

Des.

[pepperman42]

I think your painting is above the quality of the figure. The head is too "cartoony" Colours are spot on and look good. I base coat with acryls but then do hilights and shading with artists oil. They are easy to use and you never have to rush. Shep Paine's classic step by step has to be somewhere online.

Steve

[coyotemagic]

I think your painting is above the quality of the figure. The head is too "cartoony" Colours are spot on and look good. I base coat with acryls but then do hilights and shading with artists oil. They are easy to use and you never have to rush. Shep Paine's classic step by step has to be somewhere online.

Steve

I agree with Steve's assessment, Des.  I think you may be able to improve the eye area by darkening the face overall and adding deeper shadow around the eyes.  Make him look more squinty.  None the less, you've done a hell of a lot better job than I could've done.
Cheers,
Bud

[Marco]

I think your painting is above the quality of the figure. The head is too "cartoony" Colours are spot on and look good. I base coat with acryls but then do hilights and shading with artists oil. They are easy to use and you never have to rush. Shep Paine's classic step by step has to be somewhere online.

Steve

I agree with Steve's assessment, Des.  I think you may be able to improve the eye area by darkening the face overall and adding deeper shadow around the eyes.  Make him look more squinty.  None the less, you've done a hell of a lot better job than I could've done.
Cheers,
Bud

I agree with the above. You´ve done a good job. Painting figures is really hard. As for comments: there is too much white in the eyes. All you need is a sliver of white (barely nothing - sometimes you don´t even have to use it). The less white you put in, the more squinty he´ll get. I would also cut down the neck - it´s too long.

[BLOWHARD]

Hey Des, it does look pretty good except for what has already been pointed out.  One really good thing you didn't do that most figure painters do is overdo the shading.  Most pro figure builders fall in love with the shading and go WAY to far.  Always be mindful of what real people look like, especially the their faces.  Aside from the eyes, yours is very restrained and more realistic looking than it would be if it were over shaded.
About the eyes, do notice very little white area shows, just a tiny touch in the corners.  The rest is pretty dark.

I hope Tony doesn't mind, but here's a picture of two heads by Tony Bell-
 
The MvR head has it's irises pretty large but both look pretty good.
I tried finding other examples but for some reason I'm not seeing too much of any value online.

[lawman56]

Des, I think the figure looks great as is. Since the face and eyes have already been touched on, as well as blending of shadow and highlights, might I suggest dirtying him up a bit? What colors you choose will depend on what type of terrain and conditions he will be in, but a general rule of thumb I follow is to carry whatever he'll be standing in, onto his boots especially. I personally find pigments to be best for this.

I coat the sides, heel and toe fairly heavy, thinning the amount of coverage as I go across the the metatarsal area and up the boot. Also, depending on exactly what type of material he's wearing and whether he will be pre, or post, flight, maybe a few small oil or grease stains on his coat front. Maybe even a little thin black wash on his face, leaving it clean only where his goggles and/or scarf would cover.

Once I find out where I hid my workbench and finally get a chance to sit down and do something, I'll attempt to make two build logs to post. One on scratchbuilding, detailing and weathering a trench wall, and the other on detailing and weathering a figure, (yes figures do get weathered).

 

[Des]

Thanks very much for all the hints and tips on improving my figure painting skills, i will be trying a lot of these techniques on my next exercise especially improving the eyes.

Des.

[Dekenba]

If you do a pilot who, rather unfortunately, was shot through the front of the head whilst flying against a Fokker D.VII, you'd not have to worry about the eyes so much.

[lcarroll]

All looks very good to me, I don't have the courage to venture into the world of Figures. I've seen some beautiful work on these first hand and believe that it takes a special and more artistic set of talents to produce good results; interpretation of illumination, tones, shadows etc that don't often, if at all, come into play on Model Aircraft. I appreciate the results and admire those who can achieve them (like many larger Scale Guys that, like me, admire the talents of the "Braille Scalers" but wouldn't /couldn't venture down that path!)
So, nice work from someone who really doesn't understand this "black art"!
Cheers,
Lance

[rhallinger]

Archer Fine Transfers makes iris decals for 54mm figures, to be applied over white, then the lids cut in.  I think they would be quite small to work with, but the tutorial on their website shows a simple drawing well-illustrating the proportions of they iris, white and lid position.  It is a nice simple guide. 

With all of these figures coming out, I may have to try these decals and report back on how they work.

Regards,

Bob

[WillScarlet]

     Des, I haven't done a lot of figures, but I find using oils on any faces and bare skin areas gives (me anyway) the best and most convincing results. Some practice at portrait painting, or study of a "How to Paint Portraits" book would be helpful. Practicing on a larger bust figure is good too.  The above advice on the eyes is good, they are THE most difficult area of figure painting.

 Will

[Des]

Thanks Bob and Will for your comments. I have had a look at the Archer eye decals, they look very good but they would be extremely small. My next step is to purchase some really good quality brushes, the Da Vinci 00 range are supposed to be perfect for doing figure painting so it will be a trip to town tomorrow to see what is available.

Des.

[kinnies]

Hi Des,
Looks very good. I have used oils in the past for figures as it is easy to blend and the slow drying time allows for corrections etc.
There are some very good tutorials on youtube done by the Michigan Toy Soldier company. Truly outstanding stuff.
Cheers,
John