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Painting skin – nightmare for some, EZ for others. Back in the days I’ve struggled with a proper skin tone, my miniatures turning out too dark, or skin being overall flat and uninterresting. Practicing ‘Five Layers Technique‘ for many years, led me to some realisations and now I am able to present to you my ultimate way of basic skin painting.
* Regular Brush,
* Bugmans Glow (GW),
* Dwarf Flesh (GW),
* Flesh (Val AIR),
* Strong Tone Ink (AP),
* Soft Tone Ink (AP),
* Pale Flesh (Val),
! You can achieve similar results using different paints and avoiding mixes, as long as you follow Five Layers Technique basics. For example Bugmans Glow (GW) might be switched for Tanned Flesh (AP) or Tan (Vallejo).
! You can start by applying first layer on any surface. This method does not require any special preparation, like re-painting surface to primer black etc.
1 I started by applying an underlayer of Bugmans Glow paint over any surface destined to become skin. This layer might be a bit messy and is not meant to be smooth, only to cover entire surface. For this particular layer I encourage thinning the paint a bit to help it flow into recesses.
2 Next I applied a main layer of Dwarf Flesh. This time I tried to keep paint from flowing into recesses and made sure that it will cover all big flat areas.
3 I then applied a layer made of a 1:1 mix of Dwarf Flesh and Flesh over all raised areas. This is suposed to be the first highligh and provides a difference in skin tones over the model. Don't worry if some piant flows into recesses, just try to avoid covering everything with it.
4 Here came the flood of wash. I applied a 1:1 mix of Army Painter's Strong Tone Ink with Soft Tone Ink. As usual I didn't bother to be subtle about it.
5 Once dried, I highlighted skin with a 1:1 mix of Elf Skintone and Pale Flesh. This usually is the final highlight and is meant to POP the skin.
! If I was to enchance skin a bit and move forward from this point, I would add points of focus with lines and dots of Pale Flesh. Some deeper spots can also be in-lined with Flesh Tone or some brown-ish wash to build contrast but that's for another article.
Thus we may know that there are five essentials for miniatures painting:
He will paint who knows when to paint and when not to paint.
He will paint who knows how to handle both superior and inferior brushes.
He will paint whose paints are mixed on the same palette throughout entire project.
He will paint who, prepared himself, waits to take the project undercoated.
He will paint who has hobby capacity and is not interfered with by the customer.
If you know the miniature and know your paints, you need not fear the result of a hundred paint jobs.
Remember Fifty Shades of Scarhandpainting? Well, it was published an uncountable number of hobby hours and over a thousand painted miniatures ago. Yes – today is my dear Scarhandpainting.com’s second anniversary and guess what – I totally forgot to get myself a present. At least you guys remembered and prepared a fantastic surprise for me: over 220000 visits from more than 90000 different IP’s throughout the year. That literally doubled last year’s results. I’m very excited to see how popular this site is. For me this is the best reward for all the effort put into expanding Blog’s content. It is insane that so many people visit my humble site and for that I thank all of you. Cheers!
Last twelve months were like a constant extatic frenzy of painting new, awesome projects, meeting fantastic people from around the world and hobbying all night long! Must say that this way of life suits me well, creating a variety of means to express myself through hobby. It brings me joy to interact with great people and see how they implement my ideas into their own projects. Sharing projects with an audience keeps me hyped and motivated, while providing tips and advice through hobby related articles helps me focus and grow as a painter. That’s why I plan to continue on a quest to bring even more projects and articles to life.
Looking at all these pictures I can’t help myself but feel satisfied. I’ve painted an entire spectrum of crazy awesome stuff from among both games I love and games I haven’t even heard of before. Some of these have really challenged my skill to the limits, while others felt like visiting a good old friend. If this is how next twelve months would look like then count me in!
At this point I would like to thank all of my friendstomers, without whom this fantastic trip wouldn’t be possible. I appreciate your support, all the hobby chatter and trust you bestowed upon me.
Special thanks to Andreas, Thomas, Jek and Behemoth. I am honoured with your trust and friendship. You have my axe, my bow and my brush!
The number of articles grew exponentially since first anniversary. Below is a list of articles that you found most interresting throughout last twelve months (ordered at random).
TUTORIAL: INFINITY DIY CONSOLE
TUTORIAL: PAINTING ‘INFINITY’ BLACK
TUTORIAL: PAINTING NOMAD RED ARMOUR
TUTORIAL: INFINITY ‘DO IT YOURSELF’ GAMING TERRAIN
COLOUR RECIPES: FALLEN FRONTIERS RIFFS
TUTORIAL: PAINTING MICRO ART STUDIO CONCRETE WALLS
COLOUR RECIPES: INFINITY USARF
PAINTING PHILOSOPHY part three EDGE OF TOMORROW
With two sharp brushes in hands, chest wet from dripping paint and fierce warcry on my twisted lips I urge you to ‘Witness Me!’ as I face another year of insanely cool projects! What lays ahead cannot be described with simple words. Follow me and see for yourself!