Ethnic diversity painting

[Deleted]

Not sure if WD or GW has covered this. But do any of the excellent artists have any advise over painting models skin tones that aren't white/caucasian.

I'm currently creating my vets and trying to aim for a mix or white, hispanic and black...

Does anyone have advice over which basecoats to best use, tints and shades to go for, and hints about doing features like eyes and mouths.

Additionally, does anyone have experience remodelling guard face structures away from "caucasian"? As most GW guards have very "big nosed, high browed" caucasian face structures.

Ideas and posts would be appreciated...

[knight (M.I.A)]

Dark Flesh for black skinned people, Tanned Flesh for Hispanic.

Remodelling faces is nearly impossible. Only think you could do would be sculpting complete new head.

[Deleted]

Useful, thanks knight. I was wondering whether some shaving off of the nose with a scapel would be enough to modify the featues, also you could artificially "light" the features to make less effect on the caucasian aspects - your thoughts?

[knight (M.I.A)]

I never cared much about that. Normally you can fix everything with the right paintjob.

[ssgtdude (M.I.A)]

The right skin tones will give the illusion of varied races within your unit. However, you will need to be careful when it comes to doing the darker skined races as the build up is usually so subtle that it doesn't transpose well on such small figures (It isn't as simple as painting a figure black and doing a brown/chestnut wash). To make up for this a pose might be more in order.

Really the best thing that you can do is go mall watching. Set yourself up in a mall with a couple friends and just watch people go by. If you need to convince a friend to go with you tell them you just want to check out the girls. As people walk by really take note of how the light reflects off the skin tones and how shadows play off the different skin textures and clothing.

Take a digital camera with you and snap a few pics for reference. Another trick I use is, and I'll admit it here, bridal magazine and a few others like Cosmopolitan and the assortment of adult mags (I swear it is only for the pictures). You are able to get some very interesting pics of how make up was applied to the live models. Transposing the same techniques to the figures using paint you get a fairly close approximation to the job you are looking to do with your figs. done properly this will give your painting a much more dynamic look and give the illusion of a unit that you are looking for.

So, to recap
Research your material
study the pose of your subject
pose the models accordingly
approximate the skin tones
Take your time

[Ymmot (M.I.A)]

in the future ethenticity will no longer exsist, diversity will be bred out of the genepool and we will all be a slightly tanned super race!

you hear that people?
I am imposing mandatory mixed race merrigaes until my dream is realised!

[Commissar]

*watches as Ymmots fascist "supermen" march down the street*
This cant be good.

[Ymmot (M.I.A)]

dont like it?
let me introduce you to my death squads...

did I say death squads?
I ment happiness police,
they teach you to think like me from the business end of their submachine guns.

[ssgtdude (M.I.A)]

I can hear it now...
What he die of?
Lead poisoning... er I mean he died from an over dose of happy bullets.. er ummm pills... Yeah that's it happy pills...

now back to your regularly scheduled post.

[Deleted]

Photo references really are your best bet here if you want accuracy. Conversely if you just want a variety of tones you can do what I do. Mix up four or five flesh tones of varying hues and do the same for washes. Then just mix and match making sure to test them on your pallette as you go to avoid really odd looking models. Finally, vary your final highlights as well. White, gray, pink, red and the lighter of your fleshtones. Try highlighting different parts of the face with different colors. Ex. Cheeks, noses and lower lips look good with a touch of red.

[cobaltsentinel]

And when all else fails, paint camo on their faces!

[Deleted]

All good advice, except the Welsh input...

[Ymmot (M.I.A)]

I briefly thought about painting all the faces back and doing small circles around the eyes to make it kinda look like my army was wearing ski masks,

I quickly decided against it and stuck with my tiny pot of dwarf flesh that came with the battle for skull pass box set(I couldnt resist all those night goblins for such a low price!), the stuff has lasted me through 80 or so figures.

[Deleted]

Whatever your ethnic bent might be I strongly reccomend to any mini painter that you take the time to wash and highlight the face and dot the eyes. Even if you skimp on other parts of the model. Nothing else will elevate your models above the herd quite like doing faces well. Detailing the hands also marks your models as a higher caliber.

[Rolling Thunder]

*Orders Sasha to destroy ymots secret police HQ*

10 seconds later.

RT, Commissar and Staff sergeant sitting outside the smouldering remains of ymot's secret police HQ.

RT: Say what you will, for me Beria was the better secret policeman....

[Sappmer]

May 9, 2008 10:27:29 GMT -5 ssgtdude (M.I.A) said:

the assortment of adult mags (I swear it is only for the pictures).

Isn't that why you get them?

[Deleted]

Sorry to dig out this thread, but I am also painting a part of my basic troopers, roughly one in three, as black skinned men (and women, the old 1980s female IGs). Maybe I can help suneokun.

My recipe is very simple, and comes from the realization that black skin is generally more dark brown (references are GW):
. Dark Flesh plus black, 50/50
. Dark Flesh plus black 80/20 as first highlight on most of the areas apart from the deepest recesses
. Then blending/progressive highlighting with Dark Flesh, then Dark Flesh plus Dwarf flesh: Dwarf flesh added progressively, in very small amounts, to end with a dark cream final highlight I put only on the very edges.

Of course this makes for only one type of black skin. You could get good results using black as a starting point and building the highlight with Elf Flesh or something like that.

For Hispanic skin I do not know, but I would start with a Khaki color mixed with dark flesh, and go from that. For oriental skin (Japanese, Chinese...) Vallejo colors makes a color called Bronze Skintone that is a perfect starting point for oriental skintones.

Hopefully that was helpful.

[Deleted]

No digging involved, this one was barely buried... thanks for the tip - that details awesome. Would like to see some pics of your mini's when you get the chance.

[Deleted]

Thank you suneokun. I could take a few pics during the week-end and post them on the thread. Old IG troopers... and IG beastmen! (Ha, look at me bragging about my old school minis ... Only one old beastman to be fair...)

[Deleted]

May 20, 2008 14:11:44 GMT -5 @luikki said:

Old IG troopers... and IG beastmen! (Ha, look at me bragging about my old school minis ... Only one old beastman to be fair...)

Lord knows I love me some Imperial Beastmen! commissar.proboards22.com/index.cgi?board=Painting&action=display&thread=2938

LSM

[Deleted]

Outchi mamma! A good idea, well put together: congratulations.

What you did is a bit what I have in mind for my army: an ad hoc force defending a hiveworld/prison world, with loyal beatsmen, humans, and abhumans. The all thing sprang from the lonely old beastman I own, and a few old Ral Partha "Beastmen in Space" models I had lying around.

You ask yourself what to do with the bigger beasties. What about using them as a stand-in for heavy weapon teams? Put one minotaur on a large heavy weapon base, give him a heavy weapon to toss around one-handed, all angry and feral like. Instant heavy weapon team, with two wounds representing the two guardsmen, and the heavy weapon. Might not work with the most picky of your opponents, but who wants to play with picky opponents anyway?...

To stay on-topic, pics of black-skinned minis will be on this week-end.

[Deleted]

What a brilliant idea! I like it a lot: sort of like "try again" Bragg from Gaunt's Ghosts... but with (or without horns).

[Deleted]

May 21, 2008 2:09:53 GMT -5 @luikki said:

You ask yourself what to do with the bigger beasties. What about using them as a stand-in for heavy weapon teams? Put one minotaur on a large heavy weapon base, give him a heavy weapon to toss around one-handed, all angry and feral like. Instant heavy weapon team, with two wounds representing the two guardsmen, and the heavy weapon. Might not work with the most picky of your opponents, but who wants to play with picky opponents anyway?...

You sir, are a genius... let the conversions begin!

LSM

[Deleted]

May 21, 2008 7:47:35 GMT -5 @lsm said:

You sir, are a genius... LSM

*blushes heavily and goes hide behind his mom*

I am about to try it, only not with minotaurs but with ogre kingdoms' plastic ogres. Let's see what comes out.

[Deleted]

Ok... Back from the US, and I found my camera... So, a pick of the IG soldier I promised, as an example of black skintone. This is made with the recipe I described in this thread. The pic is utter crap, sorry about that... Hopefully you can make something of it, suneokun, and it helps. I have a few more painted that way, and more to come. If you want more pics...

Now how do you attach a picture to this...? *mumble, mumble*



Moderators, feel free to delete or change if this is too big. Sorry in advance if this breaks any forum regulations... I'll live and learn, promise.