Episode 02 - Painting the Skin

Whenever I paint a miniature, after having done the base, I always paint the figure itself from the “inside” out. Basically this means, that I paint the areas that are the furthest into the miniature, or, that I have to pass the brush past most detail to get too. Unsurprisingly, this means that I nearly always start with the skin.

I always paint skin using the layering technique, as opposed to dry brushing as used on the base, because it gives a cleaner finish. Dry brushing can sometimes leave you with a grainy, dusty look, which is not the effect I am after for skin. The layering technique is quite simply building up lighter layers of paint, leaving some of the previous layer showing, as you progress to the highest points on the detail. The amount of the previous layer left showing depends on the number of layers used. The more layers, the less of the previous layer is left showing. The more layers used will result in a more even looking transitions whilst fewer layers will result in an extreme highlight sort of look. As a minimum I will always use 3 layers, base coat, mid-tone and highlight.

My style of painting assumes that the model is surrounded by a “halo” of light. This means that the model is painted as if it is light from a 360 degree light source situated about shoulder height of the model, not a directional light source. This will mean that highlights are placed on all the highest points evenly around the model, but, not placed on the underside or inner parts of details. The mid tone is still painted in these areas to help provide some definition. This technique saves a bit of time in the long run.

The aim was to get a darker, more demonic, looking skin tone for the Typhon warriors. To achieve this, the colours I have chosen to use for the skin are Games Workshops “Charadon Granite” as the basecoat, Derivan MiNiS “Boer Brown” as the mid-tone and Derivan MiNiS “Khaki” as the highlight. I think these colours work really well together and an added bonus they are commercially available so I don’t have to mix my own colours! If you do end up mixing you own colours, once you have perfected the ratios in the mix, mix a pot full of the colour. This will not only save time, but ensures your mixed colour looks the same every time. I don’t make up names for my colours, but I do put a label on the pot with the colour ratio used to create the colour. A colour swatch painted onto the paint pot lid, helps you to pick the colour quicker from amongst your sea of paints.

Games Workshops “Charadon Granite” was painted onto all the skin areas. Nearly all the skin was covered only leaving the black undercoat showing in the deepest recesses. The beauty of black undercoat is that when painting dark colours, your first layer of shading is done for you. Next Derivan MiNiS “Boer Brown” was used. I covered about 50% of the Chardon Granite with this colour. Derivan MiNiS “Khaki” was then used as the final highlight. The highlight colour is only used sparingly on the highest points of the skin so not to lighten the skin too much. As a general rule, I also like to use the highlight colour a bit more on the face. This lightens the face of the model, draws the viewer’s eye to it and can help you give your little fella some expression.

When using less layers, the end result can look a little stark and the highlights quite extreme. To soften the overall effect, I have washed Games Workshops “Badab Black” over all the skin areas. Another way to do this is to thin down your paint: 1 part paint to 8 parts water. When thinning paint, I use Distilled Water, which helps to eliminate “tide marks” that sometimes occurs when using tap water. The end result of the wash is a softening of the skin effect and helps to blend the layers together. Don’t make the wash too heavy or the layers will blend right together and the detail definition will get lost. If you are unsure, do this stage in a couple of goes using a thinner wash. With a thin wash you can always put another one over the top, but if you go too heavy, well... A similar effect can be achieved by using more layers or the blending technique. This is fine for a display piece, but not when faced with another 20 or so of these guys to paint.

That pretty much sums up the techniques I use for painting skin. No matter the colour skin I’m painting, my technique doesn’t change. Just the colours I use. This is a good time saving tip. I also have certain standard recipes I use when painting different colours. When painting an army I will resort to using these recipes where I can, allowing me to paint faster as I can easily visualise the end result because I am used to how the finished colour will look.

See you next time when I tackle the armour and using metallic paints.

Cheers,

Adam