Hi all

I am looking for a bit of advice

I am about to start a figure of a German Panzer officer who is dressed in black. What's the best way to paint black and still be able to not only show highlights but also shadows.

I mainly paint in either or both Acrylics (Vallejo) and Enamels (Humbrol). Any hints or tips fouled be most appreciated.

Thanks

Paul

Hi Paul

I paint in oils but I suppose the principle of the paint mix is the same, just the application is a different technique.

I always start with a lighter base coat by mixing flesh with black. This is especially useful when replicating cloth as it gives off a warmer appearance. Once your base is dry the next step is to add the gradual shadows by steadily adding more black to the base colour, with highest point of the creases being the base coat and the deepest creases almost black.

The key thing is to always think about black not being a true black on clothing and remember that leather has a slight sheen which can be achieved using acrylic inks or straight oils.

Thanks
Dave

Hi Paul,

I've done a small video tutorial on how to paint black uniforms.

You can find it here: http://giovannimodelling.blogspot.it/2011/02/video-tutorial-3.html

Please let me know if this can help.

Ciao

Giovanni

Hello Paul; if you like acrylics you might find great source of inspiration here; there's no explanation but I think the pics are extremely interesting:

(SBS)
http://www.timelinesforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=607

(The finished stuff)
http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/better-pictures-of-early-war-german-tankers.18363/

I've spent hours looking at these pics trying to understand how it works, and here's my guess (it is a guess only):

basecoat: black + b. skin tone
2 or 3 progressive highlights, made of basecoat w. addition of b. skin tone.
1 or 2 shade, made of basecoat + black

Then, blending.

I've tried; if you're interested I can send you the pics, just tell me.

Cheers
e-j

Many thanks for the replies guys, all most helpful.

Paul

For Vallejo's Id sugegst using Black + Sunny Skintone for the base color, highlight with more Sunny Skintone added and shadows with more Black added. This will give you a really nice, soft, warm black, much like what Jaume Ortiz achieves.

Once you understand the concept, you can add a variety of colors to the black for various tones of black. I've used blues, yellows and browns with good results. The key as previously noted is to use an off black base color, one that you can darken to get your shadow colors.

Hope this helps.

Giovanni,

Excellent video. Many thanks for posting it.

Chris

Thank you very much Chris!

...or you can use pure Black + Dark prussian blue as base, highlights with base + violet and light blue, shadows Back.

Pedro.

I've also used Tamiya NATO Black, too, which is a sort of dark charcoal gray.

Got to say I am currently working on Youngs Templar Knight bust and used Pedro's colour selection of black=prussian blue as the base and the cloak has come out exactly as I wanted it. It previously kept coming out as a grey cloak and now it looks black. Thanks Pedro.

Ken

For black cloth, I've found the simplest (with Vallejo) is:

Base- German Grey
HiLite- Base + sky grey (2 or 3 progressive HL)
Shade- Black

The quality of the base can be modified if you want by adding a touch of English Uniform to the German Grey... makes the final tone of black not quite as crisp, more worn out looking.

Cheers

Colin