Painting White [Hair]

[Saracenar]

Greetings all!

I've just started painting an Oiran. I primed her in black because I wanted to do a dark purple dress and stuff...and then on a whim I decided I am going to paint her hair white.

Thing is, I'm unsure how to make the white look good. At the moment it has no depth, and is just a flat sort of white.

I've read a few things around the 'net, but not a lot about painting white hair. I assume it'd be quite similar to painting a white tunic or cloak, (although I'm unsure how I'd approach that as well...).

So, I've come to ask for help.

The first idea I had was to maybe do a coat of grey, and then dry brush white over it. And then...well, that was my only idea. Is this something I should try? I'm hesitant to just throw the grey on without knowing if it will be worth it, as I've noticed the plastic models don't tend to hold as much detail as the metal after you start painting them (they're still good though!) and I don't want to put on any unnecessary coats.

Is this is a good idea, or is there a better way? I'm working with gamesworkshop paints (the old range), if that makes a difference.

Thanks!

Edited January 6, 2013 by Saracenar

[Mako]

Painting white is tricky and there are lots of different ways to do it depending on what kind of white you want (warm, cold, glossy, etc).

I'd suggest, for white hair, starting with something like astronomican grey, going up to white and shading or washing with a slightly blueish grey. Shadow grey or some such, but very dilute.

The key factor in getting it to look white is that only the very top highlights should actually be white, the rest should be greys.

[Evilbleachman]

Alternatively, you could go for a warmer approach and start off the whites with a bone color and work your way up from there by mixing in whites. This might actually be something to consider, since it will give off a yellowish tint to it, which will contrast with the purple of her dress well.

[Mako]

That too. He speaks truth!

Depends on whether you want snowy white, or ultra pale blonde.

Edit: In fact, I used both types of white on my lady justice, and there's a step by step for her at the start of my WIP thread. Which might or might not be useful, but I thought I'd mention it anyway in case!

Edited January 4, 2013 by Mako

[Saracenar]

Wow, that was a fast reply!

Alright, I'll give that a go, and report back here. Thanks for your help Mako. Pictures when I'm finished!

EDIT: Also, thanks Evilbleachman!

I think what I'm imagining is a snowy white. So I'd be best going with the greys for that effect, yes?

[Evilbleachman]

Yes. As Mako suggested feel free to add a little blue to the shading, as it gives off that crisp cold look.

[Mako]

No worries, I often roam the boards at random times of day! Looking forward to seeing how she comes out.

[Saracenar]

Alright, I'll get right on it. Thanks again

Edit: And, I will check out the Lady J. tutorial.

Edited January 4, 2013 by Saracenar

[Saracenar]

I have finished my Oiran, although I am unsure how I feel about her. Not sure what I'd change though, at the same time.

I want complete and brutal honesty about both the hair specifically, and the model in general. All comments and criticism welcome.

[Guardian]

I will start off by saying the new plastics are VERY hard to paint well! Especially the oirans!

The lack of texture is cripling for an inexpirienced painter.

That said, I like the color choices, very apropriate for their line of work.

Regarding the paintjob, from the bat the paint looks a bit too thick and grainy. I suspect drybrushing on the smooth parts, right?

Some of the general advice I would give:

1) Spray Very VERY thin prime coat, less is more! (and definitely no need to cover all the parts 100% with the primer)

2) Dilute paint as much as you can get away with without being uncontrollable.

3) Dont drybrush untextured surfaces

4) Dont give up!

5) Paint some older (metal models) for start.

Good luck!

[Saracenar]

I will start off by saying the new plastics are VERY hard to paint well! Especially the oirans!

The lack of texture is cripling for an inexpirienced painter.

That said, I like the color choices, very apropriate for their line of work.

Regarding the paintjob, from the bat the paint looks a bit too thick and grainy. I suspect drybrushing on the smooth parts, right?

Some of the general advice I would give:

1) Spray Very VERY thin prime coat, less is more! (and definitely no need to cover all the parts 100% with the primer)

2) Dilute paint as much as you can get away with without being uncontrollable.

3) Dont drybrush untextured surfaces

4) Dont give up!

5) Paint some older (metal models) for start.

Good luck!

Thanks Guardian. You're right about the dry brushing!

I have been painting models for about seven years now, but my painting only really got 'good' when I started Malifaux.

Just from my experience with this model, the first of my plastics, I definitely agree that they are harder to paint than metal (they, and some of their details, are so tiny!).

I think a lot of points you mentioned are where I went wrong. I could spray lighter. I could dilute the paints more. Drybrushing is usually the way I highlight (express mode!). I definitely won't be giving up any time soon

Is there something I can do to reduce the grainy-ness on the dress?

My painting has never been top quality, but it doesn't usually bother me because I prefer playing the game to painting. But with Malifaux there is more focus on individual models, so I do like to do a better job than on say a 40k model. Thanks for your tips

[Mako]

The graining is often a result of drybrushing with paint that's started to thicken on the brush. So using a little thinner paint, less of it on the brush, and more layers of it might help.

That said, looking at how accurate your brushwork is (getting all the red and pink bits so neat) I'd say you might do better moving from drybrushing to layering. You've got the control for it, so next time you could easily paint the highlights on using very thin layers and small colour changes. That also avoid clogging detail since you'll have less paint with more control.

The hair is tricky. It's one of the hardest things to get right, but if you move to painting rather than drybrushing it will allow you to pick out each bulge and wave in the hair and only highlight those. As the hair goes in, either as a wave or at the ties or where it joins the skin, don't highlight it as much. Then a careful and dilute blue/black wash (or just black if you prefer) should help get into the tiny grooves and around the edges and folds a bit to accentuate it even more.

But I think the big one for me is that you have good brush control, which means you have the skills to paint these plastics. Don't think of them as hard to paint, but more as having more space for you to show your skills *wink*

[WookieeGunner]

I would take the hair up a notch. Get your thinest brush and lightly draw lines down the flow of the hair with pure white. You don't need a lot, just follow the topmost edges. And I wouldn't try to drybrush the white on, just lightly draw them on, that will help give some more texture to the hair.

[Saracenar]

Thanks for the help and compliments guys. Unfortunately I'm not going to have time to paint between now and a weeks' time, so the hair will have to wait. But I will get around to touching it up/possibly redoing it after then.