Where can I find some tips on painting people? Can you suggest products, techniques, articles, etc.?
On my layout I've got around 120 people I've painted. In that time I have learned a few things.
1 Use flat colors. Shiney people don't look right
2 Take your time. It's a hobby not a race
3 I use friends as models sometimes. Like Fr. Pete at the sawmill in photo fun this week. Folks get a kick out of seeing themselves on the layout. Nothing fancy just similar facial hair or hair color it all it takes.
4 dont paint in the faces. The molded in texture is better than anything ameture painting skill could improve.
5 Wash the figures in warm soapy water before painting.
6 use a varity of colors to make the same figures look different.
7 if a figure is not in the right pose, warm the figure with a heat gun and bend it to what you want.
8 Have fun
Jim
All good tips. Brushes make a bigger difference than paint. I use the cheap craft acrylics after priming the figures with Krylon or Rustoleum spray primer. Practice is the biggest thing. Buy a package of plastic soldiers or other figures at a dollar store to practice on if you're afraid of ruining expensive figures. Once you paint a dozen or two you should be confident enough in your abilities to try painting figures you care about. After about your third or fourth you should be able to paint figures that look better than most of the commercially-painted figures.
Some brands of craft acrylics cover better than others. You can use this to your advantage. I once painted a storekeeper figure wearing an apron with a light brown paint that covers poorly to give the apron a worn-out look.
If you mess up a figure too badly, dunk it in a container of purple cleaner (from an auto parts store) for a few hours or overnight. It will come out clean and ready to repaint.
91% isoporopyl rubbing alcohol will remove acrylic craft paint in seconds. I also learned by accident that it will also remove the original black paint off of a post war Lionel steamer shell!
Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
Good tips here: I'll add a few more.
-Try to visualize the colors you want to use on one given figure and start with the lightest color first. Despite what a figure might be, you can't change it by how you paint it. I've taken normal worker figures and turned them into RR workers by using a razor blade and taking off all sides of a hat rim except for the front, and then painting the figure in shades of blue to represent overalls. You can paint gloves on to a worker figure by just painting the hands red, brown or green.
-I cut the bases off many of my figures. If the base is needed, I sand it as thin as I can get it. Paint the base last and match the color to where you plan to place it.
-Acrylic paints work best, but you'll have to experiment with brands. I've gotten lucky with the little plastic pots of paint that come together with a dozen colors. It's a good idea to have a little flesh color on hand just in case you need it.
-Paint pens and magic markers are handy to have around too. The Sharpie Markers are good ones. You can use a fine point marker to paint a belt, or paint pens to paint buttons on a RR luggage worker or conductor. You can fake a hankerchief or rag hanging out of the pocket of a worker by using a little red or white and "suggesting" that cloth hanging out of a back pocket.
-A black or brown fine point Sharpie Marker can be used to dsuggest facial hair, sideburns, mustache, beard, etc. It's amazing how different you can make the same exact molded figure look on a layout.
-Brown markers work well for making African-American figures. When you have kids over, nothing impresses a young minority child more than to see a black conductor or engineer on your train layout... I've witnessed this one... it's priceless and probably goes miles to promote the hobby.
-Be creative. The ordinary Plasticville and K-Lineville figures we all have can be painted to suggest differing types of people than they are molded to be. The same figure that can be painted to represent a well-to-do professional can be painted to suggest someone more average, or even a bum by suggesting torn clothes or patches on the pant legs and sleeeves.
-I always check dollar stores too. Those cheapie blister packs of toys can often have a painted figure or figures, barrels and other useful items. I found a cop with a dog in one of those packs. But these figures are often a cheaper soft plastic and take paint a little more difficulty. Acrylic paints are essential here... paint pens can soften up the actual plastic used to make the figure.
brianel, Agent 027
"Praise the Lord. I may not have everything I desire, but the Lord has come through for what I need."
If your figures are soft plastic coat them with super glue and let dry.then the paint will stick like regular plastic.I squeeze a tube of super glue into an old soda cap and use an old cheap brush to coat the figure.Just use the super glue like paint.When you're done throw the cap and the paint brush away.If you've ver tried to paint a soft plastic figure, the paint always flakes away eventually.This method works and stays permanent.
ps I didn't believe it myself until I tried it.
Painting figures in an assembly line fashion is a good way to get them done faster. Got the navy blue open? Paint the cop's uniform, the business man's suit, and whatever else floats your boat. Do all the flesh colors at one time. The cop's and business man's shoes are black, as is that beauty's hair in the pink dress...do them all at once.
Everyone,
Thanks for all the tips. I will add this link to the FAQ Index at the top.
Jim H
Hi Folks,
Wearing a pair of magnifying glasses (+3.25) from the dollar store, and working with natural bright light, made my figure and detail painting go much better. And not drinking too much coffee gave me a steadier hand!
Take care, Joe.
http://www.josephrampolla.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/christmasgarden
Tell me more about this paint wash to bring out details please.
Sturgeon-Phish wrote:Tell me more about this paint wash to bring out details please.Jim
It's really, really complicated. :) To make a wash, just take a dark colored waterbased paint, thin it with water (the consistency of milk is a good goal), and brush it onto the painted figure. It will settle into the recessed areas to make it look more like shadows and bring out the detail.
Can you use acrylic and thin with water? I may give this a try
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