In the Studio

The Copperfox Welsh Cob has come a long way since my last post. He's not quite ready to paint yet, but he's getting close. Finishing up prepping is one of the most tedious times in the customizing process for me. All the pieces are where I want them, and all the sculpting work is essentially done. I'll think everything is good to go, only to find another tiny place that wasn't quite smooth when I spray the primer. 

In the Studio

Just thought I'd share a couple of pictures of projects I'm working on now that NaMoPaiMo is over. First up is the first of my two Andre resins (sculpted by Sarah Rose.) He's almost ready to start painting. I resculpting him slightly with a new braided mane and tail as well as shoes. I plan on painting him a very dark brown with some subtle dapples.

NaMoPaiMo - Days 6-17

Finally done with the dapples!

I'm sorry it's been a bit since my last NaMoPaiMo update. I've been spending most of the last week or so working on my entry's dapples, which, while important, are not the most interesting thing to see a bunch of in-progress pictures of. I ended up doing 1-4 layers of pigments depending on how prominent I wanted the dapples to be in different areas. After sealing with several layers of dulcote and giving him a full day to dry, he was finally ready for phase II of airbrushing!

Basic Technique for Light Over Dark Dapples Using Pigments

My NaMoPaiMo model in progress

 When they're well done, dapples can make a solid colored model a lot more interesting. There are lots of different ways to paint them, and for most models I'll use a combination of techniques. In this post I'll show you the basic method I'm currently using on my NaMoPaiMo model, which is a light-over-dark technique using pale pigments to paint dapples over a darker base color.

Quick Tips - Airbrush Thinner

Vallejo Airbrush Thinner

When I first started airbrushing, I just used water to thin my paint. This worked, but I was constantly plagued by several problems. I'd have to wait a long time between coats, because the water greatly extended the paint's drying time. Paint had to be applied in extremely thin coats or else it would start to sag or drip. But the most annoying thing was the tendency of the paint to bead up because it was just not sticking to previous layers.

NaMoPaiMo - Days 3 - 5

Jadakiss after the first round of airbrushing

 As expected, after the first round of airbrushing my progress on my NaMoPaiMo model has slowed somewhat, as I'm now in the tedious process of adding dapples.

NaMoPaiMo - Days 1 and 2

Jadakiss primed and ready to go!

Yesterday and today I've made some good progress on my NaMoPaiMo model, Jadakiss, and have been trying to make sure I take a photo after every coat of paint. This won't really be a tutorial, but I will be trying to explain what I'm doing as I go along and hopefully you'll be able to get a better idea of my painting process. My techniques aren't really the most efficient, but I like going back and forth with darker and lighter layers of paint since I think the color ends up having a lot more depth in the end.

Paint the Town

A few of the acrylic paints in my collection. From left to right: Vallejo Model Color in Chocolate Brown, Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic in Payne's Gray, Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic in Van Dyke Red, and Golden Fluid Acrylic in Interference Orange.

It's the last day before the official start of NaMoPaiMo, and I thought I'd talk about something most of us participants are probably going to use at some point during National Model Painting Month: Paint!

 

Prime Time: That Which Lies Beneath the Paint

Krylon Gesso Spray and Tamiya Fine Surface Primer

With NaMoPaiMo coming up, I thought I'd start a series of posts on some of the finishwork materials and techniques I use. Since a lot of people are probably in the process of prepping right now, I thought I'd start by talking a bit about the types of primer I like. Different people like different kinds of primer, and the most important thing is finding something that works for you. 

My NaMoPaiMo Entry

 

This year I'll be participating in National Model Painting Month (NaMoPaiMo). If you haven't heard of NaMoPaiMo, I highly recommend checking out the Official NaMoPaiMo Info Page. Basically, it's the same idea as NaNoWriMo, except instead of writing a novel in November, the goal is to paint a model horse entirely in the month of February. The first NaMoPaiMo was held last year, and while I attempted it, things just didn't work out for a variety of reasons I'm not going to get into here.

In the Studio - Jumping Around

 

I apologize for not posting here lately! It's about impossible for me to get any serious time to work with my computer during the holidays, but I'm finally starting to get caught up and I have a couple more posts I plan to put up this week.