I tried painting some DML faces the other day but didn't do well at all. I tried presiding the eyes, under the nose, under the jaw, and behind the ears. I used water based black for that and the base coat for the face I used Testors enamel Flat Light Tan. It didn't come out as I had hoped. Nothing was darker anywhere- it was all the same shade and I put on too much paint to boot. This is the one part of figure painting I dislike. Anyone have any suggestions to what I can do to fix this? Any paint suggestions? I prefer using acrylics as its easier to clean up for me. I got some ModelMaster Acryl Skin tone base but it's thick as molasses. Literally. I can't barely use it much as I know how to now. Any suggestion on how to use that paint? Was my thought with the preshading correct? If I had used a better paint might it had come out differently?

I don't have any pictures of what I was working on a few days ago but I have some pictures of figures I did recently. This was my best figures that I've done so far. Any suggestions on how I can improve? I'll leave them as individual links so there's not many images.



http://i1312.photobucket.com/albums/t526/michaelg951/Model%20kits/Tamiya%20M4A3E8%20Sherman%20WOT/0923142335_zpshknofiyh.jpg
http://i1312.photobucket.com/albums/t526/michaelg951/Model%20kits/Tamiya%20M4A3E8%20Sherman%20WOT/0923142335b_zpsjfuat7nj.jpg


http://i1312.photobucket.com/albums/t526/michaelg951/Model%20kits/Tamiya%20M4A3E8%20Sherman%20WOT/0923142335c_zpsjntpl6um.jpg
http://i1312.photobucket.com/albums/t526/michaelg951/Model%20kits/Tamiya%20M4A3E8%20Sherman%20WOT/0923142334a_zps87gwretk.jpg

If I recall they've already been matted over and possibly given a small wash. Not sure. I know I also should have fixed the seams between the shoulders and legs.

doing figures is probably the hardest thing to do. there are many techniques that people use. For acrylics, it is not as simple as just doing a preshade then covering with paint. with faces, the amount of paint going on in one area makes the preshade almost non-existant. this is to say, with the way that you are doing it.
do get a preshade to work, you have to do very thin layers. you may want to search the internet for different methods to see which you liek the most.
i specifically do very very thin layers. this is a time taking process that will take a couple hours to do. will typically go in the following order.

black based
airbrushed brown
thin base flesh color
thin base flesh color mixed with a warmer color such as orangish
thin flesh highlight for the raised areas (top of cheek/forehead/etc)
base flesh color over the entirety
thinned red for the cheeks for warmth

as you can see, there are multiple steps that i would take, and that is just a bit of the steps. there are over a dozen layers that would be done on my figures to get the look you are trying to get. these steps are not the exact steps i take. each step is typically followed by a thinned base color to blend the part that i just did.
you might want to slow down with your figures. i can tell that you are trying to rush the process. its not a quick process, and will take time to get the look you really want.

Michael,
Painting figures is nothing more than practice practice practice. No joke. Here are a few places to check out. Also when trying methods used by others never worry about changing things to fit your needs better. I hope these will help. Cheers, Brock
http://www.missing-lynx.com/articles/figures/mbheads/mbheads.htm
http://www.missing-lynx.com/articles/figures/mbface/mbface.htm
http://www.missing-lynx.com/articles/figures/mbpart2/mbpart2.htm

http://www.timelinesforum.com/index.php?page=vallejo1

Hey Mikey, I’m in the same boat as you. When I got back into modeling, I chose acrylics because they’re not as messy or smelly. I’ve been using Vallejo Acrylics with some pretty good results. Just a few very basic things I’ve learned (no expert here though).

Thin acrylics down and go with very lightly layered coats, and as mentioned above, taking your time is key.
Paint consistency can vary between some colors.
The use of a wet palette will prevent paints from drying out, allowing you much more time to work.

If you haven’t done so already, you might want to enlist or even just check out the ‘Improve your figures’ campaign currently running through July 1, 2015. Lots of valuable information is being shared there … both from experts and frustrated figure painters like myself.

Good luck!

—mike

I would suggest searching Youtube and/or Google. There are some really good articles, out there.

here is a great step by step tutorial. this is what i have used for a majority of my technique.
http://zyclyon-tutorials.blogspot.sg/2009/03/painting-head-by-calvin-tan-head-is.html