Hey all,
I'm trying to work on my figure face painting skills.
I've read this:

http://www.acrylicosvallejo.com/blog/category/model-color/page/2/

And I just don't grasp the whole 'blending' part.
I'm trying to do it over and over. And it doesn't work.
Can anybody try to explain? does he mean using diluted color OVER the previous one? AHHHH really frustrating.
Thanx.

The short answer to your question is, "yes."

The paint is applied in thin, transparent layers, one layer on top of the last, until the color saturation or intensity is what you want.

These paint layers are thinned to the consistancy of milk or even dirty water. Note that these thinned paint layers are NOT washes. The paint is only put where it's wanted. The number of layers used can be in the dozens depending on what you're trying to achieve.

This is sometimes called a "glazing" technique or a "tempura" technique.

The author's use of the word "blending" is misleading. The colors are not actually blended together in the sense that you might think about with oils or enamels. The color transistions are achieved by varying the intensity or saturation of the colors by the number of layers added over each other. The subtility of the color transitions is largely a factor of the number of layers used and how thin the paint is. Thinner paint applied in more layers makes of smoother color transitions.

Acrylic paints cannot be "blended" in the sense of mixing one color with another on the subject. Once an acrylic color has dried, or set, or cured, it is essentially permanent. So, the next layer of paint is not "blended" into or with the last layer.

Personally, I don't paint figures like this. I've tried and simply don't have the patience or knack for it. I much prefer a "classic" oils blended wet-on-wet technique.

However, I can't argue with the results that guys who're really good using acrylic glazing get. The real masters of this technique get some fantastic results.

Hope this helps to clearify things a bit.

Good luck.

Thanks for your detailed reply

Look here

http://zyclyon.blogspot.com/

Calvin Tan also does amazing work. He explains it quite clearly also.

G