supervike Posted March 10, 2008 Report Posted March 10, 2008 Hola fine forum folks. I'm starting to finally get the itch to paint again, after a lengthy hiatus and many false starts. But, I want to paint a particular model red, and am very disappointed in the rather lackluster results. I want a bright red, much like this: All my attempts come out flat and dull. So, if anyone is willing to give me a bit of a HOW TO do red...i mean, what basecoat, what colors, how to highlight, the works. I'd be much appreciative! Quote
Ritual Posted March 10, 2008 Report Posted March 10, 2008 There's really a million (or at least many, as in plenty more than one) ways to paint red. I usually do things differently depending on what mini I paint. So, it's difficult to lay out ONE recipe. But generally, I try to use a fairly bright red as base coat, but not fully saturated. So, depending on what paints you use, either pick out a fairly neutral red that is either slightly (not too much though) dull, or a bright red and dull it down just a little bit by adding either brown or an olive green. I usually shade it with a very dark brown. GWs scorched brown or VMC German Cam. Black Brown would be my choices. Depending on what look you want you can mix in either a bit of purple or a bit of green, but you can also try with just the brown. Brown for shading gives a more natural shading than black, IMO, but it still makes them deep which is good for added contrast effect. It's also generally easier to blend red and dark brown well, than red and black. For highlighting I often use a skin tone. If I use a light skin tone I get a lighter and paler red look, and if I use a more colourful skin tone, like dwarf flesh, I get a fuller and warmer red. Also, red is a quite easy colour to tweak afterwards through glazes. You can, instead of mixing purple into the shading directly, glaze the shaded areas with purple afterwards if you want colder shadows. Also, if the highlighting makes the red too pale, you can easily make it more vibrant by glazing with orange or a fiery red. Hope this helps. Quote
supervike Posted March 10, 2008 Author Report Posted March 10, 2008 It does help... My main issues (other than the dullness) are the highlighting. If I use a white/red mix, everything is obviously too pink, but I don't like the yellow/red mix, as it changes the tone to that orangey/red that I am trying to avoid. I'll try that dwarf flesh, as its that richer warmer look I'm aiming to get. Just looking at the above reference...Is there much for highlights there? I realize the blending is rather flawless, but it seems to me its a base red that is taken down for the lowlights with a brown. Does that assessment seem right? Quote
Ritual Posted March 10, 2008 Report Posted March 10, 2008 Yeah, it doesn't look very much highlighted, but I don't think they have just shaded it and skipped highlighting. It is probably very subtly highlighted. Also, keep in mind that red is a B***H to photograph. It can often look good (although just as often it will look like crap), but very rarely look like it does in real life. Quote
Ritual Posted March 10, 2008 Report Posted March 10, 2008 The best example of my own of reds is probably this one... Forget about the bikini as that is actually a very reddish brown, but the scarf around her hip and, particularly, the shield is done basically the way I described above (without adding greens or purples). The photo is also decent and not that far from how it looks in real life. So, you can see what type of look you can get with the recipe I gave. Quote
supervike Posted March 10, 2008 Author Report Posted March 10, 2008 yep...thats very good Anders, just the look I'm aiming for. Rich deep red without losing the 'red' quality. Maybe it'd just be easier if I have you paint it for me..... Quote
Wren Posted March 10, 2008 Report Posted March 10, 2008 If you like the reds I did on my Seeing Red entry, I had some of your same issues with using orange to highlight up, so experimented a little. First I definitely agree that starting with a basecoat on the brighter end and putting the bulk of the work into shading down is the way to go. Reds are on the transparent side and annoying to highlight, and the ones I've seen that have a lot of depth always seem to have a heavy concentration on shading. I did a few shading layers with darker reds on mine and then started mixing in a very dark brown (Reaper Walnut or Brown Liner). For the highlighting on the brighter reds on mine I used a mix of yellow + a cream colour. Highlights on the darker red were brighter reds then orange-red with a bit of cream added for the top highlights. Those did pink up a bit, but since they were the top highlights sparingly applied, didn't shift things too pink. Quote
matty1001 Posted March 10, 2008 Report Posted March 10, 2008 Vincent H's tute is good, and the end colour is similar to that mech thing in your post vike. http://ca.games-workshop.com/Community/Games_Day/blog/feb_19/painters-VH.pdf When I do reds I usually shade with browns and purples, and very small amounts of black. And highlight with either oranges/yellows, peach or white, depending on the final effect I want. Quote
green stuff Posted March 11, 2008 Report Posted March 11, 2008 I tend to agree with everything that has been said up till now concerning how to work with red, but I'm under the impression that the problem is more on how to place light and work with contrast than wich colors to mix. At least that's what I understand from this sentence : All my attempts come out flat and dull. As Anders said, there are a lot of ways of doing red, but not just because of it's tint (warm or cold). Surface also have different reflexive properties. And judging on the mini you showed, size can also play a role (exagerating the shadows adds to the impresson of power). Finally, the way an object is lit (hard or soft light, non-white light, the angle, ...) can change the atmosphere of the subject. I'd Google up some pics of red cars or other machines to find something that matches what you're looking for. Here are a few examples : Shiny : Cartoonish : Warm highlights : Also, I took 5 minutes to rework the contrast and light spots of the red on the mini you showed : The reworked result is a bit crude and cartoonish, but I think it shows the areas that can need more contrast. I chose to hightlight with cold colors, and I think it doesn't show up too pink if the highlight area is kept to a minimal. The shadows were done with purple, but I tend to use red-green mixes or dark brown. Quote
DeafNala Posted March 11, 2008 Report Posted March 11, 2008 Hey Vike, If you'd like a really bright red start with a dark red like burgundy base, do all the highlights in a golden yellow [orange for a darker red effect], finally paint over with a somewhat watered down bright red. I got this method from a friend who was restoring her Harley; the "candy apple red" is achieved with bright red over a gold fleck/ Crimson base. I wish I could show you an example, but even after a long talking to, my newly acquired camera refuses to cooperate. "Try it; you'll like it." BTW, thanks again for that lead to alphaforge site; very cool site, very. Quote
supervike Posted March 11, 2008 Author Report Posted March 11, 2008 Wow...great tips folks, everyone of them...I really appreciate it. I'll give them all a go, and see what works best for me. Quote
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