I've found a few articles on painting flesh tones with oils. They all discussed suggestions for color mixes, but never if they cut the oils with linseed oil or thinner.
Been a long time since I did paint by the numbers. Is it required to cut oil paints with either linseed oil or thinner?
thx - Craig
Linseed oil if using artists oil pigments. (operative word here, pigment) They come in tubes, or *cans*
Regular thinner/turpentine if using model oil based paint.
plan on the Grumbacher line of oils so linseed oil it is. I'm sure the smell they give off will bring back many childhood painting memories but without the headaches of my trusty old Testors red tube...
Craig
"There's also a longer answer - using the paint direct or thinned a little will give a slow drying coat than can be left to partially dried and then hightlighted and blended. Skin could have a semi gloss apparance. For the clothing some of us put the oil paint on white index cards which absorbs much of the oil - them a good grade of turpentine can be used to thin the paint and thin coats or washes are used to give a flat effect. I prime with floquil white or primer grey and let dry for a week before applying the oils. You should look for a more detailed book on painting figures.
Val Kraut
I use mineral spirits (you have to take some care) and a drying accelerator with them which helps a lot. Grumbacher and Windsor & Newton both make both products but I can't recall the product names of the accelerators.
Cookie Sewell
I used to use some stuff called Opal Medium, first bought in 1975. I still have the tube!
You can also blend artist oils with Humbrol enamels. This allows the paint some additional drying time and enables you to "feather" edges between base coat, shadow and highlight. You can also use this method when painting the uniforms.
Mmmm, the type of finish. Forgot all about that. Oils are going to give a semi gloss finish? Reminds me of the old flesh tone paints that came only in gloss.
Craig
Mmmm, the type of finish. Forgot all about that. Oils are going to give a semi gloss finish? Reminds me of the old flesh tone paints that came only in gloss.
There's multiple approaches to getting flat uniforms - the one I mentioned with the oils on white card. There's acry;ics like the Andrea paints that dry really flat but dry fast and require special techniques to blend and shade, and brute force flat spray coats. There's some good books and articles out there. Also some non-obvious techniques - like a soldier on a smokey battlesfield would appear with colors somewhat unniformly dulled down, while a bright summer day parade uniform would be uniformly bright. One of the classic mistakes is lifeless loooking blue pants with a bright red shirt.
Val Kraut wrote the following:
They have an acrylic retarder that slows drying. Find it in the art stores in the acrylic paint aisle.
If brush painting - do *not* thin the oils. That just weakens them. Besides the slow drying time (allowing blending), oils have a super- concentated pigment. A little goes a *long* way. Thinning them just reduces this property. (Painting a solid model or figure requires different techniques than painting on canvas.) By thinning them, they will not cover properly. And remember, they need to be applied over a
*matte* primed surface - preferably in a color close to what you will be using (i.e. "flesh" for the flesh areas). When painting a figure in oils, one usually ends up basically painting it twice. Once, blocking in the colors with a matte enamel or acryllic, and then going over everything with oils - base tones, shadows/shading, and highlights.Oils can also be easily mixed with enamels such as Humbrol (to alter color, finish, and/or drying time). They will dry glossy if used by themselves - yes - but that is what Testors Dullcoat is for.
:o)
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