Hey All,

I've started painting my Josey Wales sculpt and I need some help from all you painters. This is my first attempt at an all-acrylic paint up. The face is done and the jacket (gray) is basically done. The shirt (blue), bandana and hair/beard have been started. What stands out to you that needs improvement? What are the some major or more subtle flaws that you see? All comments are welcome and appreciated. Thanks in advance for your input.

-jim cox

Jim-

I like it! You have his facial "squint" spot on!

For the beard, I think it's a bit too well groomed. Perhaps need to add a bit more scruffy hairs to his beard up to the cheek and lips area.

My recollection is that his clothing was a bit more faded. The blue and red could be toned down a bit.

In general though, I really like this bust!

Keith

Very nice. Maybe some lighter highlights on the high parts of the face.~Gary

Hi there!

Ok,unpaint it and start over again...(Kidding :lol.Very nice so far!Good you're working with acrylics,you'll be able to make corrections and additions.So,based on my poor knowledge,go for it and make a mix of your basic skintone with some brown(Burned Sienna),black and a small quantity of green.Use this mix very thinned to shadow the area above the beard to the chickbones.This will make the figure look unshaved.Highlight it adding white and flesh color to this mix.

He's going to wear a hat,right?So give the skin to the top of the face and around the eyes a darker tone,using brownish darker versions of your basic skintone.Black is welcome in your mix as well.Highlight it again with white and/or flesh.Generally try to give your flesh parts a more pale brownish tone,it looks too redish .Pass the whole face with a VERY thinned coat of your basic skintone(1 part color to 14 parts water more or less...),unloading VERY well your brush to a piece of cotton cloth before applying the coat.This will give a well-blended colors result.Do the same with every other part.

As for the jacket,add some green and black to your basic grey and apply some coats of highlights and shadows to the lower areas.Give more highlights near the shoulders.

Blend better between highlghts and shadows the colors of the shirt.This will happen painting with very thinned coats to the limits between each previous coat you've applied and with the technique I described above(1 color to 14 water...).Use mixes of your basic blue with black,green,purple and/or brown for the darker tones and basic with white,yellow,light brown and/or flesh.You're the one to choose the mix that satisfies you more .


Can't wait to check it finished!I wish you a pleasant painting!Hope I helped..


Cheerz!
-Kostas.

Jim, did you sculpt it? I you did, you did a great job.

As far as the painting goes,I suggest a little more shading and highlights.
looking forward to your next step.


Cheers
Roc.

a little dribble of "chew" out the corner of the mouth.

awd

Jim,

So far i like it but i must echo the other guys. More shadow and highlighting would hurt him..

marc

Thank you all for your input!

Marc, Roc, Gary - Additional hilights/shadows will be added. One of the toughest things for me right now is getting the same brilliance as oils, especially in the highlights.

Roc - Yes, I sculpted him. Thank you for the compliment. I have much to learn in sculpting though. Guess I'm trying to learn to sculpt and paint at the same time!

Awd - If I thought I could do a convincing 'chew dribble', it would be there.

Keith - Great observations! Looks like you've seen the movie a few times. I will tone down the shirt (repaint it) and bandana. I'll also add some shadow around the beard and mustache to give him a scruffier look.

Kostas - Thank you for your in depth reply. All of your points will be taken and incorporated. I really appreciate you taking the time to write out those observations.

I'm finding that switching from oils to acrylics is frustrating but rewarding. Acrylics definitely fit my painting style better because I tend to be too heavy handed and over blending with oils. Plus I'm too slow. I find it difficult to sit for long sessions to paint everything at once wet-on-wet. Acrylics allow me to set a piece down whenever I need to. This is definitely going to be a huge learning experience (along with learning to sculpt better).

I thank you all again for taking the time to give me pointers and suggestions.

-jim cox

Jim, I know we all have different opinions, but for me the only thing I'd change is to highlight/shade the hair & beard -the rest looks fine to me.

Why use acrylics to achieve the same effects as oils, why not use oils?

Cheers
Roc

Hi Jim..good to see you get around to painting your version of Josey..I can't offer you any advice on the acrylics...as I'm a dyed in the wool oil painter (when I get the time)..but good luck with them...if they suit the way you work and you enjoy their properties...then they must be the medium for you...I tried to paint with acrylics, but beyond colour undercoats, I had no luck..just too different from the oils for me.

Looking forward to seeing how he turns out for you.

All the best..Roy.

Hello Jim,

Congrats for the sculpt! The famous Eastwood squint is spot-on.

Like other members I think that the facial hair can benefit of some extra work.

First thing that comes to my mind is the blending of the hair into the surrounding flesh.

Another point is that facial hair rarely has the same colour as the hair (scalp?) itself. It's generally darker and often speckled with grey.

Some detail work on the beard and moustache will wipe off the 'action figure' look of the bust.

HTH
Quang

Roy - Your're right, you gotta go with what works for you. For me, after years of painting with oils I was still not able to get the results that I'd like. I think with more work the techniques required for acrylics will better fit my persoanl style.

Quang - Great 'action figure' comment. Nice observation and very true. I will most certainly take your advice (along with the others who've mentioned it) and scruff him up a bit more. I'll also darken the beard and outlining/edging hasn't even been addressed yet on the firgure at all. BTW. I made some changes to the Sacagawea sculpt that you had mentioned concerning the deer tail poncho type skin (sorry I forget the exact term for the item she's wearing). I hope to start painting her soon too. I'm going to try my hand at a 1/6 or 1/4 scale Chief Joseph bust later this year and will be using your superb example as a guide.

-jim cox

Hi all!

-Jim!It's my pleasure to help whenever I can,you're very welcome!I get your point,because all my teachers paint with oils and I've always used to paint using acrylics.It needs a lot of free time to paint with oils,since you have to finish an area at once,while the color is still wet.Furthermore,it may get glossy at the end,the limits between two different areas do not get very obvious,you have to be very careful when painting and much more disadvantages...

Another important point with acrylics is that the mix needs to be very thinned-like milk!You always have to unload your brush on a cotton cloth before you apply the coat(this way you remove the water and only a small quantity of paint remains on the brush...).This way you'll be able to give a very thin layer of paint on the figure,which is almost transparent and macroscopically the different tones of colors seem to blend one with each other.What is boring about this technique is that you'll have to clean your brush very well before each application and that you'll have to pass several coats OF THE SAME tone to get well-full-painted area(this is very usual when applying the basic coat,such thinned mixes are not able to paint the area with only one application...).But the advantage is that you may receive a very nice smooth blending and avoid the color to look glossy,even with the most "dangerous" colors like Prussian Blue by Vallejo for example-very nice tone of blue,but glossy

Cheerz!
-Kostas.

Here are some updated pics, almost done. Additional input welcome. Thanks for looking.

-jim cox

Jim, The figure looks pretty good. On a larger figure/bust it's best not to have extreme contrast as it can be too much. I think you're on the right track.~Gary

Hey Jim,

He is coming along nice, I would have to say your best work both in sculpting and painting. I am not sure what needs to be done but the pistols look like they are just missing something. It may be the picture but comparing them with the bust it just look a little unfinished. Maybe adding some smoke from Tamyia on the blued portion my work. Still it all is looking really nice and I like the small pistol in the shirt.

Joe

Thanks for the feedback Gary and Joe.

The pistols are not completely done. I am having a hard time painting them correctly though. I will be messing with them some more and adding a satin finish to them. I've not done the edging or the hat as well.

-jim cox