Pick up that brush, repeat

[BarleyBop]

bright bar/pub lights on at 2 AM

Ha, what's that Leonard Cohen line from his song 'Closing time'?

"She's a hundred, but she's wearing something tight"​

Thanks for the encouragement, we learn as we go!

 

[Steve Ski]

Wow, a lot of great questions and comments on this subject, so please allow me to clarify some of my comments. Sometimes I can think it better than I can type it, lol.

With respect for Mr. Barley, I don't want to jack his thread, but I would like to clear up some questions and make some clarification, if I may.

This one skipped by me.

A Masters Class. I am all in.
They are looking good BB. I can see where this is going. This should come along easily enough with your prior experience.
Steve, thank you for letting us look over your shoulder here.
By leaching, do you let the oil in the paints soak out into the paper and cardboard?

Peppy, there's going to be all kinds of techniques used by everyone, so this is how I personally approach figure painting, the palate specifically. You can use a plastic lid, cardboard with wax paper, anything that will not leach, draw off, the oils. A dry oil application, or dry palate, would be used for weathering rigs, structures, etc., but I never run a dry palate when painting figures. I hope that is a much better explanation than I left before.

Don't sweat the brush work too much.
Brush work smoothing can be refined and eliminated over time. You mastered the hard part of painting the details
Zoomed in like this with such bright lighting is always tough and in some ways does not really represent what it looks like in person. I always find things in my own stuff that I thought looked near perfect in person with normal lighting, but then find lumpy or rough surfaces when zoomed in
For me it's like turning the bright bar/pub lights on at 2 AM

I would like to comment on our differing views concerning this approach to figure painting, if I may. I will respectfully disagree with Mr. Blake on this approach, for the following reasons.
1) If your personal goal is to learn to paint great figures and keep learning, that goal is attainable, but it won't happen overnight. We are always learning, so take the next uncomfortable step to stretch your learning curve outward. With every figure you paint you should be looking back at the prior to see what needs improvement and keep pushing the edge of your comfort zone. Such as in life, same as in brush work, imho.
2) We/I play to the camera, so I want everything within that frame to be as exceptional and specific as possible, meaning I "try" not to pass off less than perfect work. Do I/we ever attain that? No, not really. Nobody I know walks on water but One, but this is a goal to shoot for, leading back to point no.1.
3) Because you will probably never be here in person to physically see my work, nor anybody's work, unless at a competition or convention, you won't get the advantage of seeing that work from a distance. Therefore, and I've said this before, personally, I "play" to the camera. In other words, I'm telling a story, dictating how you perceive that story, and I have total control of how I want you to personally view my work within that story, so I need to be "up close and personal" with all my photos, otherwise the point is mute and your drive to improve suffers, if that is your intention from the beginning.

I hope this is a little more helpful than my last comments.

I apologize for being long winded. Barley, the set is looking great, keep at it!

 

[BarleyBop]

keep at it

Will do!
No need to apologize, great to have a convo and advice, even if a little asynchronous!

@blakeh1 , @Peppylepugh , everyone, keep your comments and suggestions coming!
I think its great to discuss different approaches, and we aren't the only ones benefiting from the exchange...

For any of us who came through school or a career in art/design, and possibly more so for those who didn't, honest critique is essential to learn, progress, and reassess what we already know, as well as validate our knowledge gained through experience.
Like the samurai who surrendered their sword at the entrance to the teahouse, we park our egos at the door.

My personal aspiration for this forum and I have heard others say it countless times in different ways, is that we are all on an equal footing, in a safe, enjoyable environment that will help us all reach our model building goals.

Now back to the add-action!

 

[blakeh1]

Wow, a lot of great questions and comments on this subject, so please allow me to clarify some of my comments. Sometimes I can think it better than I can type it, lol.

With respect for Mr. Barley, I don't want to jack his thread, but I would like to clear up some questions and make some clarification, if I may.

Peppy, there's going to be all kinds of techniques used by everyone, so this is how I personally approach figure painting, the palate specifically. You can use a plastic lid, cardboard with wax paper, anything that will not leach, draw off, the oils. A dry oil application, or dry palate, would be used for weathering rigs, structures, etc., but I never run a dry palate when painting figures. I hope that is a much better explanation than I left before.


I would like to comment on our differing views concerning this approach to figure painting, if I may. I will respectfully disagree with Mr. Blake on this approach, for the following reasons.
1) If your personal goal is to learn to paint great figures and keep learning, that goal is attainable, but it won't happen overnight. We are always learning, so take the next uncomfortable step to stretch your learning curve outward. With every figure you paint you should be looking back at the prior to see what needs improvement and keep pushing the edge of your comfort zone. Such as in life, same as in brush work, imho.
2) We/I play to the camera, so I want everything within that frame to be as exceptional and specific as possible, meaning I "try" not to pass off less than perfect work. Do I/we ever attain that? No, not really. Nobody I know walks on water but One, but this is a goal to shoot for, leading back to point no.1.
3) Because you will probably never be here in person to physically see my work, nor anybody's work, unless at a competition or convention, you won't get the advantage of seeing that work from a distance. Therefore, and I've said this before, personally, I "play" to the camera. In other words, I'm telling a story, dictating how you perceive that story, and I have total control of how I want you to personally view my work within that story, so I need to be "up close and personal" with all my photos, otherwise the point is mute and your drive to improve suffers, if that is your intention from the beginning.

I hope this is a little more helpful than my last comments.

I apologize for being long winded. Barley, the set is looking great, keep at it!

I agree with that philosophy, I just might have worded it poorly
A little clarification for this

"Don't sweat the brush work too much.
Brush work smoothing can be refined and eliminated over time. You mastered the hard part of painting the details"

i.e. don't get discouraged. with time and effort it can be improved to the point where zoomed in looks just as good (something I still am striving for)

I mainly post pics of my work so I can take a more critical look at it. There is a lot of stuff the camera can catch that is missed in person.
I often catch details I missed or did sloppily when I am cropping and browsing pics to post
So it is definitely a great tool to help improve

On the flip side, there are sometimes things that need to be exaggerated for the camera, or painted a certain way to look better in camera. I tend to shy away from things like that. For example, I try to tone down the contrasted weathering in Star Wars stuff or the contrast in oddly colored panels that almost disappeared in the final films, but had to be done that way to achieve the shot.

Since I do a lot of gaming with people in person, in some cases I paint to what I refer to as "table top" quality so it looks decent enough in person on the table

In the end you are correct, the important bit is to always try to out do yourself and your expectations in order to improve.
For example, no matter how well I may think I did something, with a short browser search I can always find someone who has done it better, and I can use that to motivate myself