Thanks Adrian
The lighting and the flash do bring up a bit of sheen. It's not perfectly flat by any stretch but not nearly as bad as it looks in the pictures. I have used matte varnish before but not on so large an area. I'll see how it looks when I have the reds completed.

I have heard of the Tamiya medium but have never tried it. I guess it couldn't hurt to give it a shot.

Colin

Some of VMC's reds and blues tend to shine; I really recommend to try the X22. I mix about one brush stroke of X22 per 2 drops of paint for them to dry dead matt, plus water of course to thin. Make sure to mix it in properly, I use an old brush, and to get the gooey stuff from the bottom (so don't stir the X22). If you put in too much the paint dries 'chalky'.

Cheers
Adrian

Thanx for the tip Adrian, I'll try to stop by the shop this weekend and pick some up.
You're right about the reds and blues, a couple of the darker browns and greens too. I find a touch of english uniform takes some of the edge off the base colour.

Thanx again Adrian

COLIN

Oh crap, before you buy anything Colin: I just noted this stuff has number X21 Flat Base, not 22.
How's that for advice!?

Adrian

LOL
Thanx, you saved me getting crosswise looks from the guys at the shop when I asked for X22

Simple, effective and it works.
I wonder if Admins can pull Zeno's posts and pin them somewhere? It would be a shame to get it burried if Colin's thread gets cold one day.

Good idea G... I'm sure I'm not the only one who has a terrible time taking taking photos of their work.

Colin

Very good start Colin! Nice red tone.
Keep the good work!

Regards
Pedro

Great Start Colin!
Ciao by Maco

Thanks Pedro and Maco
I deepened the shadows of the pants before I went to work. I'll post the progress when I get home tonight. I hope the pics turn out because IMHO I really like how it turned out, in the flesh.

Cheers

Colin

Colin

I don't think I can add much when it comes to photography. I have a regime that works for the camera I own....an older digital Olympus c4040 with a very fast kens and macro. Here is a photo of my setup. Not nearly as scientific or knowledge based as Zeno's. I ran over my camera with the car recently but it still works. Just ordered a new used one off ebay for backup.

Colin

Perhaps my biggest problem is that I should have the light pointing AT the fig as opposed to pointing down on the fig. That may help right off the top. I'm going to try to get some shots when I get home from work tonight.

Colin

My light is a halogen with a dimmer switch. I don't shoot full power.

Colin

Mine is a fluorescent "daylight" lamp. Gives a good even light for working. I have never positioned it other than straight overhead.
Worth a shot to try casting from in front of the fig.

Trial and error I guess

Colin

Try to use 2 lights. There are out there many variations of light boxes. Look to the picture below. There are used 3 lights and this is ideal. My "studio" is an abbreviation of a light box with parchment paper in stead of the transparent fabric used on 3 sides and just 2 lights instead of 3. I positioned the 2 light to compensate the lack of the 3rd. It's a shortcut but does the job.
Your target is to have uniform light around the fig and to cancel the shadow which results by using one single source of light.
Hope it helps.
Cheers,
Zeno

For some reason I can't upload the picture. Probably sort of a glitch. It's showing me uploaded 100% but the picture doesn't show up.
I'll try later.
Zeno

Thanks Z

Here is the picture. This is a light box example using 3 lights. Found it on the net and there are many other examples. Search for "light box" and hit "images".
As I said, it can be done in many ways but, the concept remains the same. Uniform light and no shadows (as possible).
Hope it helps.
Cheers,
Zeno

Colin,
I really like the figure and wait to see your progress. It looks fun with a great dynamic pose.

Zeno,
thanks for the photography lesson.

Hey All
I used some of Zeno's photog hints. The set-up needs some tweeking but I think they are getting better. I have to come up with a better backdrop though.

Anyway, I think I have the pantaloons were I want them. I darkened the shading using first Burnt Cadmium Red then Red Black.
Next, I'll finish the reds on the fez and the jacket cuffs and then I can start the yellow lace and braiding.

Thoughts?

Colin