Painting with Julio Cabos

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PAINTING WITH JULIO CABOS

INDEX

01. USING ACRYLICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .03

02. BEFORE PAINTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .05Preparing the model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .05Priming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .05Choosing the lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .05

03. THE BASICS OF BRUSH PAINTING FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . .06Painting the eyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .06Painting the face (ACS-01 Flesh Paint Set) . . . . . . . . . . . .07Painting white material (ACS-02 White Paint Set) . . . . . .08Painting red material (ACS-03 White Paint Set) . . . . . . . .09Painting blue fabric (ACS-02 Blue Paint Set) . . . . . . . . . .10

04. BASIC AIRBRUSHING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11Tools and materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11How to use the airbrush to paint a figure. . . . . . . . . . . .11The painting process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

05. ADVANCED AIRBRUSHING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17How to paint a PIN UP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

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1. USING THE ACRYLICS

Most figure painters today use acrylic colours forpainting their miniature figures.As with any activity, the correct use of this mediumdepends on first mastering some basic concepts.Usually, the acrylic pigments tend to sink to thebottom of the container when stored over a longperiod, so the first thing to do before using them isto shake the bottle well.Once you obtain a uniform colour, squeeze a fewdrops onto the palette and add some water untilyou get a milky consistency. If you want to make acolour mixture, simply add the various colours andmore water and mix them until you get the shadeyou are seeking. There are a number of differentbrands of acrylics and all are similar in composi-tion so they can be mixed together with no prob-lem.Keep in mind that when applying acrylics with abrush keep it fully charged with paint so that witheach pass paint is added to the figure. Also, themost important part of the brush is the tip, whichhas to be fine and always maintained in perfectcondition.If there is too much paint on the brush, this can beeasily removed by passing it a couple of times onan old towel or cloth. Always carry out a few testson, for example, a sheet of paper before applyingpaint to the figure.

Shake the paint container

Adding water Mixing

Pouring the paint

Loading the brush with paint

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There are three basic problems to overcome whenpainting with acrylics: paste coats, colour ridgesand brightness.The pasted effect occurs when the paint is appliedtoo thick; to solve the problem, just add water untilyou get the right consistency. It's better to applytwo or three thin coats rather than ruin the job byallowing the brush strokes to get out of control.Ridges are the result of too much paint or water inthe mixture; using less paint and/or water in themixture solves this.If the end result is too bright or has a glossy sheen,the answer is to add some matte medium to themixture or give the completed figure a coat of mattvarnish.

Types of brush strokes

Applying paint on the figure using a brush.

Cleaning the paint from the brush

The result of adding different percentages of water to a basic colour

10%Water

30%Water

50%Water

70%Water

90%Water

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2. BEFORE PAINTING

Preparing a miniatureAll figures, whether made of metal, plastic, resin, vinyl,or any other material, will have small flaws that haveto be corrected; these include mould lines, metal orplastic flashing, channel marks, air bubbles, etc.Once any flaws on the figure have been removed orfilled, wash it in soap and water to remove any oils leftby the mould release agent. These oils, if not removed,will adversely affect the primer.

PrimingThis is the final preparation phase before painting canbegin and is essential because primer ensures thatpaint will adhere to the figure. You can apply primerwith an airbrush, a spray can, or a paintbrush,although it is recommended to use one of the first twotechniques. If you do not have the necessary materials,enamel paint diluted with thinner can be used appliedin several thin coats.Try to use at least two or three diluted coats instead oftrying to cover the surface with a single coat.

Choosing the lighting angleBefore painting a figure, you must first decide whereyou want the light to come from. There are a numberof different lighting techniques, such as zenithal (thefigure is lit from directly overhead) or general (the lightcomes from different angles and sources).So, to discover how your chosen lighting scheme willapply to the highlights and shadows, first place the fig-ure under a light bulb in the chosen position. The lightwill then show you where to position the highlights andshadows.

Eliminating the mould lines.

Filing the mouldlines.

Sandpapering.

Spray Priming

General lighting Zenithal lighting Lateral lighting

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3. BRUSH PAINTING BASICSFOR MINIATURES

I will now show you how to work on the figureusing some of the paint sets available from Andrea.Each set has been carefully designed to avoid trou-blesome mixtures when painting the base, high-lights or shadows. One important advantage -espe-cially for beginners- of using these sets is that youdo not have to worry about any special mixturedrying on the palette before you have finishedusing it or retrieving an original mixed shade thathas dried before painting has been completed.Skilled painters can use these innovative paint setsas a basis for developing new shades, thus person-alizing the final result according to one's taste.

Painting the eyesOf course, there is no rule that says you must paintthe eyes first. However, it is true that painting eyesis usually one of the most difficult stages whenbeginning to paint figures. In any case, it is quiteclear that eyes are not easy, and if a mistake ismade it is always easier to paint them again ratherthan the whole face.The most suitable brush is a No: 0 or No: 1, thesharper the point the better, and made of Kolinskysable in every case.

Grenadier, 1st Red Life Battalion “Lange Kerls” (C. 1720)

Andrea Miniatures. Code: SG-F136Metal. 54 mm

Spray Priming

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01. Palette with colour base XNAC-02,matt black and XNAC-60 airbrushmedium.

02. Mix the diluted paint with a little ofthe medium. This will avoid thepaint drying on the brush tip andallow you to draw accurate outlinestrokes.

03. The upper eyelid is outlined, paint-ing it with a KS-0 brush and care-fully following the model's shape.

04. XNAC-11 Navy blue is used to paintpupils and it is also mixed with themedium. Begin with a tiny spot thatcan then be rounded off and cor-rectly sized by careful, small strokeswith the tip of the brush.

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Painting the face (ACS-01 Flesh Paint Set)This set is supplied with two flesh tones (light anddark) to coincide with the choice of highlights andshadows. By using this assortment, many differentmixtures can be obtained according to requirementswithout the need to closely follow the shades pre-scribed in the leaflet for every case.

05. Base colour of a 50:50% mixture ofbase colours Nos: 1+2. Apply twoor three coats, allowing each coatto dry before applying the next toachieve an even finish.

06. First highlight by adding No: 3 tothe base colour mixture. The face ispainted according to an overheadlighting scheme, looking for thoseareas of maximum light.

07. Second highlight shade just usingNo: 3. The more lightened areas aretreated gradually by accentuatingthem using the same shade appliedin successive thin coats just like inprior stages.

08. Third highlight using a mixture ofNos: 3 and 4. In this final phase,just mark those points receivingmaximum light.

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9. First shadows by mixing the basecolour with No: 6. Just as with thefirst highlights, start by working onthe broad, general shadow areas.

10. With the second shadows, enhanceand define some of the areas justtreated: particularly the eyesockets, the base of the nostrils,chin and, a little softer, thecheekbones. The mixture used hereis obtained by adding more No: 6to the second shadow.

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11. Base colour No: 1 applied over a mattwhite primer will give a brighter finishthan painting over a grey primer.

12. Next, the first highlight using No: 2, thisworks to settle a first, general approachto the highlights, leaving finer details oncreases and folds for a further stage.

13. Second highlights, No: 3, apply severalcoats and concentrate on the tinycreases and those areas receiving morelight in accordance with overheadlighting.

14. Third highlight, No: 4, this shade is purewhite and can be used straight from thebottle or mixed with No: 3, thus leavingthe pure white for an extra, finalhighlight touch.

15. The first shadow canbe painted using No:5 directly from thebottle or mixed withthe base colour iflooking for a subtlergradation.

16. The final shadow,No: 6, is appliedonly in the deepestcreases or those lessexposed tooverhead lighting.

Painting a white cloth (ACS-02 White Paint Set)Next, is a step-by-step example of how to paint white cloth. TheWhite Paint Set has been designed to produce warm whites. In this example, the colours will be used in the sequence theyare presented in the box, beginning with the base, followed bythe three highlights and then the two shadows.

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Painting a red cloth (ACS-04 Red Paint Set)The method here is quite similar to that used when using the white set withgradations produced using successivemixtures of either new andprevious colours orstraight from the bottle asexplained in the leafletincluded in the box.

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17. The base colour of three thin coats of paint.

18. The first highlight using No: 2 that can be used straightfrom the bottle.

19. The second highlight, No: 3,enhances the fine creases.

20. The third highlight, No: 4, isprimarily used on small creasesand folds as well as on smalldetails such as eyelets, edges etc.

21. The first shadow is painted asexplained earlier.

22. The final shadows, using No. 6, isfor outlining the different elementsof the garment and to enhancesome areas in natural shadow,such as the insides of the trousersand coat.

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Painting a blue fabric (ACS-05 Blue Paint Set)Blue, unlike the previous colours, is one of those shades that can beregarded as a little more complicated when applying highlights andshadows. These Paint Sets are perfect for mixing with any othercolours and many combinations can be obtained according torequirements or taste.

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23. Begin by painting thebase colour No: 1applying two or threecoats.

24. The first highlight usingNo: 2 that can beapplied without mixingit with the base colour.Two layers were appliedin each case.

25. Second highlight usingNo: 3 and following thesame method as used inall previous processes.

26. Third highlight No: 4,this last highlight colouris thought to give ahigher contrast betweenthe highlights andshadows, but canomitted for the sake ofa smoother finish.

27. First shadow colourusing No: 5. The firstcoats will cover sometransitional pointsbetween the base colourand the highlights. Thecreases that receive lessoverhead lightening canbe treated later.

28. Second shadow usingNo: 6, this shade isquite dark and verygood for adding depthin the final shadows.

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4. BASIC AIRBRUSHING

The airbrush is a very useful tool for paintinggroundwork, large models or bigger figures.However, by following some simple rules andusing the correct materials, it can also be used topaint smaller figures with astonishing results in asurprisingly short time.

Tools and materialsThere are a huge variety of airbrushes accordingto operating systems and purposes: simple ordouble action, detachable or fixed cup. Myadvice is to use a double action airbrush withfixed cup and a 0.4mm nozzle.The compressor is also very important in ensur-ing a quality finish. As with airbrushes, there area number of different types available, but twonecessary key features are an air reserve tankand a manometer that is used to select the cor-rect air pressure (normally between 1.5 - 2 bars)as a continuous airflow supply.Other complementary materials when airbrush-ing include adhesive masking sheets and mask-ing fluids (Maskol or latex).Other useful instruments are a steel rule andsome tweezers to move pieces of masking on thepiece.

How to use the airbrush on a figure.Just like painting with ordinary brushes, carefulplanning to determine the order in which the differ-ent parts must be painted is essential to guaranteea good result. Obviously, this order of work willvary according to the particular figure to be paint-ed. However, in general, comparatively largerparts or areas (capes, overcoats, trousers, etc)should be painted first.When painting the different elements, it should firstbe decided which parts will be easier to mask orconceal once they are painted to avoid -as muchas possible- the laborious and delicate process ofmaking and positioning masking patterns.The method I use is to apply thin coats -a sort oflight shadowing- while keeping the primer whitefor the highlights.The first coats should be airbrushed at a short dis-tance (3 - 5 cm) from the piece, attempting to placemost of the paint at the bottom of creases and foldsand partially faded on the background cloth. If astronger highlight is wanted, then the method is toairbrush just on the upper, protruding areas usingshort, accurate passes. The shadows can then beenhanced on the deeper areas at the end by giv-ing them an extra pass with the airbrush. The paintwill just naturally flow from the nozzle to the bot-tom of creases.

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PAINTING PROCESS Starship CaptainAndrea Miniatures. Code: : SG-F129. Metal. 54 mm

01. Priming by airbrushing the figure with white.

02. Cutting and fitting the adhesive tape on the figure'supper half.

03. Colours from the new acrylic XNAC range that aresuitable for both ordinary brushes and airbrushes.

04. The trousers are given a coat of a base colour madeup of the following mixture: XNAC-02 matt black +XNAC-05 English uniform+ XNAC-40 light yellow +XNAC-16 Napoleonic blue3

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05. Progressively add drops ofwater drops until theconstancy of a milk shakeis obtained.

06. A 40% water + 60% GunzeSangyo solvent are mixedin the airbrush cup.

07. Using a synthetic brush,add paint to the cup andstir it until you get a milkyconsistency.

08. Deeper areas (the bottomof the creases) are nowtreated with a moresaturated shade whilemaintaining a subtlegradation on theintermediate areas andleaving the primer colourvisible on the light peaks.


9. When painting the highlights on the crease peaks,accurate control of the airbrush should be practicedto assure that the nozzle is placed at the correctangle.

10. Turn the figure upsidedown for finalshadowing, thusenhancing the effect ofoverhead lighting.

11. The masking is nowremoved now and thehighlights and shadowstouched up with a sharppointed brush.

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12. The trousers are masked off up tothe pullover and then proceed topaint them in the same way.

13. The highlights are applied fromabove, thus reinforcing themaximum light points.

14. Last, repeat this but with the pieceupside down to apply shades juston maximum shadow points.

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15. Once all masking has beenremoved the final result can beappreciated. The next step is toenhance some of the smallcreases and folds with a brush.

16. The smaller, final details, suchas the hands, face and bootsare painted in the traditionalway.

17. The completed figure

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5. ADVANCED AIRBRUSHING

In the previous exercise, I revealed how to use theairbrush to paint clothes using short, saturatedpasses that do not require a great skill level. Itonly requires a good control of the paint flow, thedistance and spraying angle.Before accepting the challenge of painting thisnew figure, it is first advisable to carry out somefree hand exercises, such as painting a number ofvertical and horizontal strokes by moving the

HOW TO PAINT A PIN UP Dusting AwayAndrea Miniatures

Code: PIN UP-08. - Metal. 80 mm01. The flesh colour is

prepared. In this case Ihave used a mixture ofACS-01: No: 1 + No: 4(Flesh Paint Set) + XNAC-43light flesh + XNAC-31crimson. The paintconsistency should be likea milkshake.

02. A mixture of 40% waterand 60% solvent is pouredinto the cup. The paintmixture is then added untilit has a milky consistency.

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hand from right to left or up to down while main-taining the same thickness throughout the line. Toachieve this, the trick is to maintain the same airpressure, paint flow and distance to the piece. Bypracticing this, it will help you to gain a bettercontrol and skill with your airbrush.Also, do not forget the importance of accuratelycutting and fitting masking to obtain a good finalresult.

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05. As the work is carried out with ahighly diluted mixture, severalcoats will be required to attainthe correct colour saturation.

06. Add a little No: 6 from the ACS-01 for the first shadow tone.

07. Use this tone and concentrate onthose different areas moreaffected by shadows. The spraymust closely follow the shape ofthe area to be painted. Forexample, if it is the leg the handholding the airbrush must bemoved vertically.

03. Now, check that the airbrush sprays clean and evenon a piece of paper. If some small spots appear itmay be because the paint is too thick, so add somemore water and solvent. If the paint mixture is toorunny, more paint should be added.

04. The spray pattern should be very smooth andtransparent enough so that the primer can be seenon those points of maximum light. This is extremelyimportant, as, during this painting operation, onlythe shadows will be treated.

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0808. A new mixture, this time No: 2 andNo: 6 from ACS-01, is prepared topaint the second shadow tone

09. Continue with the shadowingprocess, making the figure's subtleforms more and more evident.When applying the first shadowtone, the paint should cover thebottom of the creases withoutreaching those points of maximumlight. This second shadow willenhance the colour transitions.

10. Items used for painting stockingsand their transparency.

11. Almost half of the cup is filled withsolvent.

12. A different tone of flat black is usedto modify the black tone usedbefore (XNAC-02). Part of the dresswill also be painted in black. Byusing different paint brands we canget a variety of finishes on thegarments.

13. Once two or three loads of painthave been added with a brush,check that the transparency is rightby spraying to on a piece of paper.

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14. Begin by airbrushing the entire piece with athin, even coat. Next, concentrate on themuscle forms that were painted earlier withflesh tones.

15. Tiny bits of adhesive tape are used formasking patterns.

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16. Masking is removed with tweezers andthen adjusted to very carefully follow theshape of the stocking.

17. Paint using the same mixture andtechnique as that for the legs.

18. Make a new mask to paint the smoothtransparency of the knickers.

19. The painting process is similar to that ofthe stockings.

20. Concentrate the shadows only over theless transparent areas.

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21. To paint the dress use the Nº 5tone from the Black Paint Set (ACS-02) and only apply the colourin deepest areas of the creases.

22. Due to the figure's position and thezenital lighting scheme, shadowson the front of the figure are moreintenses than on the rear, so theshadows must be increased on thisside.

23. Paint the final shades using Nº 6from ACS-02.

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24. Once the painting process iscompleted remove the maskingtape. Now the finish obtained bygood masking can be seen as wellas the superior result of paintingthis type of figure with an airbrush.

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2525. Most of the work is concentrated

on the face. The palette isprepared with all the coloursused in earlier mixtures inseparate cells. When brushpainting, the paint consistencyrequired is different than whenusing the airbrush and the paintshould only be diluted withwater.

26. Here intermediate tones play animportant role when obtainingcredible make-up effects. Oncethe touching-in has been donewith a brush on the highlights,shadows and intermediate tones,tiny details such as the lips, eyesand eyebrows are completed.

27. The eyes are painted with mattblack XNAC-02 + airbrushmedium XNAC-60. The medium isused to make the work easierwhen painting the pupils as thepaint takes a longer time to dry.

28. Paint is poured into the differentsockets.

29. Black paint is diluted with justwater.

30. Paint and medium are mixedtogether to get the correctconsistency before painting theeyes.

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31. Details of the painted eyes.Special attention was given tothe direction of the girl's gaze.

32. The completed figure.

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Painting with Julio Cabos

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