Hello, I am brand new to figure painting and I would like some feedback on my first attempt at painting a face. I realize my first try is sloppy and unrefined, so keep in mind this is my very first attempt. I would say that I am not discouraged by my first try.

This is Young Miniatures 1/10 scale B-17 waist gunner bust. I was planning on painting the face several times for the sake of practice and repetition. Painted with acrylics, mostly Vallejo. The face looks better in person, leave it to my camera to make my painting look worse!

I need advice on painting the 5 o'clock shadow. I tried a technique where I paint a very thin layer of dark blue paint. But I had trouble controlling such a thin paint--it kept pooling and showing tide marks. And yes I did touch my brush to a towel to draw off the excess water, but it still pooled. I've also experimented with using various mediums from Vallejo, but I still get a very uneven coat. See for your self:


Advice would be appreciated.

Chris

Hi Chris,

Overall not bad for a very first attempt. Tone looks right. I suppose you are using acrylics?
In time you can start working with highlights and shades. When doing so lat the applications dry before doing the next pass. A hair drier will speed things up. The power of acrylics is in layering many transparant layers. It requires some practice, but once you get the concept, it's not very hard and most enjoyable. There are many tutorials on the web. Do check them out.

About the beard (overall tone looks good, don't make the effect too strong): If the paint is very much tinned you need to 'unload' it even more (the thing with the paper towel). What also may help is to mix in a touch of Tamiya matte medium X-21(?); this breaks the surface tension of the water and makes the thinned paint spread out more, and it kills the shine that blues tend to give.
If you find the effect too strong....just apply a thin layer of the local skintone to tone things down.

Hope this helps a bit. Don't hesitate to ask more questions. Best is to keep going. Every time you'll master a new trick.

Cheers,
Adrian

Hi Chris,For a first attempt well done,You are heading in the right direction for sure.Im new to Acrylics after using Humbrols and oils for flesh.Main thing is keep going and enjoy the modelling.
Happy painting from Richard.

That's a very credible first attemot.myou gave done well on his eyes, which is usually the big issue for newbies. Your colours are good to. Perhaps a bit more brush control and a bit more shading under the brow and around the nose. For beard shadow I prefer diluted sepia paint ir ink rather than blue, especially if the subject is brunette rather than black haired.

Thanks for the positive replies, everyone. Adrian: I am painting with acrylics. Here is my second attempt after stripping the first coat.

Better, no? I used oil paint for the beard, but the rest was done with acrylics. Now that I have taken pictures, I see a few spots that need touch-up! I think I'll go ahead and finish the rest of the bust.

That is looking very well Chris. I agree with Colin the eyes look convincing. You have avoided the common newb mistake of using white. No 'pop eyes' here.

I also agree with Colin about brush control. One good bit of advice I once received is to paint 'precisely'. Use a well-pointed brush and respect certain boundaries and edges very precisely. The bottom edge of his right eye is not really precise in that sense, although the colour is very nice.

One thing I'd suggest at this stage is to add some (precisely painted, of course) deep shadows and outlines. Eg. the upper lip (dark redish brown), a very dark brown outline of the upper eyelids (not the lower!), inside the nostrils and around the edge of the face, where it meets the headgear. Such outlines can be small and subtle, but can give that extra bit of 'pop'.

Overall great result for initial work!

Cheers,
Adrian

Being an oil painter I have to say that this to my eye is an excellent first / second face in acrylics.
Don't be shy about using oils in some areas of the face. The 5 o'clock shadow for instance can come out really well if you dab on Paynes Grey from a brush that has been wiped almost clean on kitchen paper. Using a light touch you can build up and vary the shade and shape of the beard.
When you've blocked out the headgear in it's first dark coat you'll see better where you have to go with shading the face
Cheers
Derek

I could call this bust done (again, my first real attempt at a figure). The kit came with an oxygen mask, but I broke the hose and haven't come up with a solution to fix it.

Painted with (mostly) Vallejo acrylics, and tiny bit of oil paint and spots of Humbrol Metal Cote. The base was made from a piece of fiddleback maple I turned on a lathe. I attached to it a .50 cal shell casing. These gunners would have been knee deep in these casings, so I thought I must include one. Comments welcome.

That is a really good result for a first attempt.

Hi Chris
That is a very good start you have made mate,I think the face is very good considering it's your first attempt,I like the fact that you seemed determined to keep going when some may have given up,perseverance will make you a better painter,keep painting and read as many articles as you can and try to build up your own style.
I don't know anything about acrylic painting as I've painted in oils for over 25 years,but give oils a try,you can achieve some great results in oils,especially when trying to create the 5 o'clock shadow.
You won't go wrong on this site mate,they're are some brilliant painters on this site who are more than happy to help you along the way.
Good luck,it's a great hobby,a try not to be too hard on yourself at first,remember always you are painting for yourself and no one else,enjoy the expierience.
Brian

That is a nice result and I will say the same as Brian, try oils for the face.
Nice idea to mount on a .50 casing
Bob

Thanks for the positive feedback, everyone! I think I could have done better with the leather jacket--the gloss coat seems to have killed the contrast. And I think I may have too much contrast on the back pad of the parachute harness.

Actually, I did use oil paint for the beard. I have some experience with oil paints, as I use them to weather model aircraft and tanks. But when I tried to paint the figure with oil paint, it just wouldn't stick to the acrylic undercoat. No matter how little pressure I used when blending, the oil paint would just lift right off. So I switched to acrylics and had much more fun.

Nice work! I am an oil painter and for shadows I use Paynes Grey. Put a small spot on your pallet and barely touch the paint with the end of a #3 round brush. You will want to wipe off on a clean rag/cloth almost all of the paint and then gently stipple the grey on the areas you want to show beard growth. Easy does it though. It's easier to build up and area than take paint away from it.
Best of luck!
Gary D

Chris,
Very good for your first. You are way ahead compared to my first years ago. Ditto the remarks about the planet. The guys here are most encouraging with their comments. All I can say is keep painting!

Best Regards,

Rod

If you are going to use oils mix some of the flesh with the 5 o'clock shadow mix,start off lightly and work the mix until your happy with it

This is your first??? Sheehs....I'd be happy if my last would look like that.

As for replacing the hose; try some this copper wire wrapped around a suitable thicker piece.