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Master Class 1: Lesson 10 - The Face; Clanrat: Start To Finish
Topic Started: 8th September 2013 - 07:46 AM (762 Views)
hannanibal
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The bread that satisfies all hunger... the peanut that reverses time...
Master Class 1
Clanrat: Start to Finish
with Hannanibal

Lesson Ten
The Face

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Clanrat model as it was left at the end of the previous lesson.


INTRODUCTION
In this lesson we will be using a technique called "glazing" to add subtle, realistic flesh tones to the face and other areas of the flesh. We will also be adding in details such as claws, teeth, eyes and whiskers on the muzzle.

MATERIALS NEEDED
  • Your plastic Clanrat model, completed to the stage shown above
  • A Size 1 or Standard Brush and a Fine Detail Brush (for the whiskers only)
  • A water jar filled with clean, cold water.
  • A palette
  • A sheet of kitchen roll/paper towel. Do not use toilet roll, as it will cause fibres to adhere to the brush.
  • A brightly lit painting area. Either painting on a table near a window, or using a craft lamp with a daylight bulb is ideal.
  • A rag or paper towels for mopping up spillages
  • Tweezers for removing dust and hairs that may adhere to the miniature
  • A hair-dryer, on a low setting for both blow and heat. (optional)
  • Paints: As listed, or equivalents as discussed in the Paints & Materials List thread
          GW/Citadel Blood Red (discontinued)
          GW/Citadel Bestial Brown (discontinued)
          GW/Citadel Tausept Ochre (discontinued)
          GW/Citadel Sunburst Yellow (discontinued)
          GW/Citadel Dark Flesh (discontinued)
          VGC Bonewhite
          VGC Ultramarine Blue
          VMC Royal Purple
          AP Dark Tone ink
          Glaze medium

NOTES ON THE QUALITY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS
The stage-by-stage pictures in this lesson are quite poor and shouldn't really be used as a standard to aim for. As I painted this model, and took pictures after each stage, the day got darker and the light failed, leaving these pictures (and the ones in the upcoming lessons) grainy, bleached, and dirty looking. I have included them anyway, but, when glazing, you should use your own judgement to decide when to stop adding more layers.

After I completed the model, my girlfriend took a final photo in a proper setup with bright, natural light, resulting in a much better and much more true to life picture. This is more like the result we are aiming for:

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TECHNIQUES OF GLAZING
Glazing is used to change the colour of an area subtly by applying multiple ultra-thin layers of paint to build up a colour gradient. It can be used to add a bit of realism to all sorts of flesh, from a red nose and ruddy cheeks to necrotising flesh around a blister. On this model, I have added multiple thin glazes of blue around the eyes to give them an unhealthy appearance, and reddish-purple glazes around the muzzle and near the roots of any hair on the body and face to make these areas appear sore.

When glazing, it is vitally important to get your ratios right. You must have a LOT of water in comparison to paint; and, if you are new to glazing, I would say that glaze medium is essential. Adding a small amount of glaze medium will stop your paint from separating, and allow the ratio to be much more forgiving.

The ratios I used were roughly 1 part paint to 1-2 part glaze medium and about 8-10 parts water. This is not a ratio you should follow religiously: as long as the paint and glaze medium components are roughly equal, and the water component is vastly dominant, you are on the right track. The final consistency should appear as the intended colour on the palette, but be absolutely useless for anything but glazing with. It should be even more transparent and thinner than a Citadel Wash/Shade.

Too much water in relation to paint and glaze medium and your paint WILL separate into visible particles. If this happens you will see swirls and grains of paint in the mix (in which case it's useless, do not apply it to the model until you have corrected the ratios).

The other important thing to consider about glazing is directing and controlling your brush strokes. Simply "washing" the area will result in a blotchy, streaky finish that should be avoided. Once you have the correct glaze ratio, you should load up a standard-sized brush with glaze, blot it very slightly on a kitchen towel so as not to flood the model, and then use the FLAT of the brush to push the glaze toward the area you wish to have the strongest colour. Imagine you are sweeping the paint particles toward the area you wish to be strongest in colour.

In this picture, I have added arrows to show the direction I pushed my glaze. I intended the roots of the hair to have the strongest colour, so I pushed my glaze toward this area. I did likewise with the blue glaze around the underside of the eye.

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Brush in the same direction a few times, and then allow the glaze to dry before applying another. Using a hairdryer with a low air setting on low heat can help reduce your drying time. Just don't get too close, or the air may blow the glaze around.

The first stage of glazing should be hardly noticeable once it's dry. You must build up the colour gradient by repeating the process with additional glazes until satisfied.

If your first glaze is too obvious, you have too much paint in your ratio and should adjust it accordingly.

GLAZING DO'S AND DON'TS
DO-
  • Get the right ratio. You glaze must be thin and transparent.
  • Add glaze medium. It will allow you to add more water to the glaze before it separates.
  • Blot the glaze on a paper towel before application so you don't flood the model.
  • Push the glaze, using the flat of your brush and multiple controlled strokes, toward the area you wish to be strongest in colour.
  • Use multiple layers of glazes.
  • Allow each layer to dry before adding the next.
  • Use a low setting, on both blow and heat, if you choose to use a hairdryer to speed up drying times.
  • Stop glazing before you go too far. You can always add more glazes, you can't take extra glazes away.

DON'T-
  • Make your glaze too strong. If your first glaze is quite noticeable you have probably used too much paint in the mix.
  • "Wash" the area you are glazing. Remember to push the glaze in a controlled manner with all brushstrokes going in the same direction.
  • Add a fresh layer of glaze before the last is dry. This will create tide marks and tears in the previous glaze.
  • Use dirty water to make your glaze. Use fresh water each time you mix up a new glaze.

GLAZING THE SORE AREAS
Using the ratios given above, mix up a glaze of 2:1 Blood Red and Royal Purple. Using a standard brush, apply this glaze in stages along the bridge of the nose and toward the base of the patches of fur on face and body.

I used 3 stages of glazing, but depending on numerous factors, you may need to use more; you definitely won't need less.

These pictures don't convey the effect as well as I would wish, so use your own judgement to decide when to stop.

Glazing Sores: Stage One
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Glazing Sores: Stage Two
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Glazing Sores: Stage Three
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GLAZING THE UNDERSIDE OF THE EYE
Change your water. Mix up a glaze of VGC Ultramarine Blue. Using a standard brush, glaze the underside of the eye, working toward the socket. It doesn't matter if you get it in the socket as we will be painting this later.

I used 4 stages of glazing.

Glazing Eye Underside: Stage One
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Glazing Eye Underside: Stage Two
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Glazing Eye Underside: Stage Three
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Glazing Eye Underside: Stage Four
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WASHING THE EYE, TEETH AND CLAWS
Wash unthinned AP Dark Tone Ink into the eye socket, the mouth and over the claws of the feet. This will provide shading for the next stages. Be careful and don't flood these areas. Use a smaller brush if you want extra control.

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BASECOATING THE TEETH AND CLAWS
Basecoat the teeth and claws Bestial Brown. Be very careful and use only a slightly thinned paint so you don't flood the model. If you get paint in the gaps between the teeth and claws use multiple washes of Dark Tone Ink to redefine the recess.
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PAINTING THE MID-TONE ON THE TEETH AND CLAWS
Use Tausept Ochre to paint the teeth and claws, leaving some of the previous colour showing at the base.

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FINAL HIGHLIGHT ON THE TEETH AND CLAWS
Use VGC Bone White to apply a final highlight on the teeth and claws. Just a small flick will be enough. Remember to leave some of the previous layer showing through.

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BASECOATING THE EYE
Paint the entire eyeball Blood Red.

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HIGHLIGHTING THE EYE
Add a single dot of Sunburst Yellow to the eye. Leave a lot of the previous layer showing through.

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PAINTING THE WHISKERS
Using a fine detail brush, add dots of slightly thinned Dark Flesh onto the muzzle. You must be careful to have the paint only on the very tip of your brush, as any more than the tiniest amount of paint will cause an unsightly splodge. Make sure that you touch the tip of the brush down lightly, without bending: if the brush hairs bend, they will make a line rather than a dot. Just a quick touch of the tip is all you need.

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ONE LAST THING
The face isn't quite completed yet.

In the next Lesson,"Tidying Up", we will be adding more definition to the face if it requires it. I added wrinkles under the eye, and on the brow using the original flesh highlight mix just to add a bit of depth and character. You may also have glaze on the completed hair (I know I did), which is my fault for adding the messy glaze lesson AFTER the hair stage.... Anyway, any mistakes like this will also be rectified in the next lesson. Not long to go now!

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PHOTOGRAPHY
Once the miniature is dry, take a good close-up picture of your model, and upload it here for comments and criticism by 20 September 2013. I will need the pictures to be clear and bright so that I can see how tidy your brushwork is. Store the model in a drawer or box away from sunlight and dust.

LESSON COMPLETED BY
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Host Tar
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Chieftain
Awesome, although I didn't expect anything else.

I've tried the blue/purple/red aruond the eyes, mouth & nose before & always comes out too strong for me, I think I'm drowning it :P But I'll be certain to test this out on my next few slaves.

Bonus with having so much fodder to paint, you get so much exp in painting & hundreds of test cases to try out on :P


ps. when you gonna do light reflections? I'm so crappy at doing it right :-/
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hannanibal
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The bread that satisfies all hunger... the peanut that reverses time...
OSL will cover light reflections and that's the last lesson before completing the base.
The next three lessons are:
11) Tidy Up
12) OSL
13) Basing
Though I could compress the basing lesson into the OSL lesson if need be.
I placed the tidy-up lesson before the OSL lesson so people can see what their finished model looks like before choosing to attempt OSL on it. It's tricky and practically impossible to get right first time. The photos for the OSL lesson are awful too. Very dingy and muddy so not ideal for teaching a very difficult technique.
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Ratt Baron
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Hannanibal that is fantastic
This is the lesson I have been looking forward to the most I just hope it will come out half as good as yours will be starting stage 1 tomorrow so fingers crossed

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hannanibal
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The bread that satisfies all hunger... the peanut that reverses time...
Thanks everybody.
If you are uncertain of how your glazes will turn out practice on a test model first. This is tricky to get the hang of but doesn't take too long to get right.
Good luck everybody.
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Ratt Baron
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wow what a learning curve !!!!!!
well I`ve done it , one side I`m really happy with and the other is s**t the eyes caught me out me 3 times and I had to try and match the earlier highlighting as you can see it doesn`t match the other side but not to worry I`m still impressed with the lesson thanks hannaibal I`ve learnt sooooooo much!!!!!!

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some daylight photos to follow

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hannanibal
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The bread that satisfies all hunger... the peanut that reverses time...
HAHAHAHA! WOW! That looks brilliant mate!
Ok, the second picture has a more subtle, softer glaze than the first but believe me you have done REALLY well. Both pictures look excellent as stand-alone images. Doesn't this stage just make all the difference eh?
Wow, I'm so proud! :lol:
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Im reduced to tears maybe its the wine I'm not sure
Again what a great lesson
Sure as hell beats watching x factor repeats with the wife



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hannanibal
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The bread that satisfies all hunger... the peanut that reverses time...
That's why I glaze everything. It just turns it up to 11. Well, glad you enjoyed yourself. Are you going to try the OSL when I get round to it?
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OSL only small lagers no way pints all the way (or pitchers) unless you mean that funny lighting thing In which case count me in :D

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Jona
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Going to start this now. It looks very interesting.
Just a quick question: I notice you have lessons for tidying up, source lightning and basing left, but aren't you forgetting the wood part for those of us who have it? I still have a spear shaft and and shield to do. ^_^
It was a really interesting lesson, but I'm affraid I forgot your advice about rather too few glazes than too many. Now my poor clanrat looks like he's got a cold or wears makeup. Anyway.

Front left
Front
Front right
Top
Edited by Jona, 23rd September 2013 - 02:42 PM.
Attempts at interclannal cooperation - a Skaven army log
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hannanibal
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The bread that satisfies all hunger... the peanut that reverses time...
Great work again Jona. I don't have time for an in-depth look just yet so I'll get back to you with any critique in a bit.

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten the wood parts. they are included in the tidy up lesson which is already written up. I am just waiting on Olorin to look it over before posting.
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Oh excellent! Looks really good, well done :D

Look forward to the rest of the lessons!
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hannanibal
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The bread that satisfies all hunger... the peanut that reverses time...
Sorry for the delay in the next lesson. The next lesson, lesson 11, will be posted this Saturday and the due date for completion will be put back a week.
Edited by hannanibal, 26th September 2013 - 12:27 PM.
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Olorin the Ancient
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Hannanibal is too generous to say this, but the delay is entirely my fault. However, this does give people a couple of extra days to finish Lesson Ten.
- Olorin the Ancient
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