Color Theory Tutorials: Why Didn't I Learn This Earlier?

You know, I love those moments when I really learn something I've always wanted to learn but say to myself "How in the world did I get from from where I started to here?" I'm sure this happens often to most of us. We sit down at our computers expecting to do a little hobby research on a topic but soon find ourselves veering off into something totally different because it catches our interest. Last night was no different for me. What started out as an expedition into making and using washes to paint faces on 15mm figures quickly turned into several lessons on color theory. Amazing.

In the past, I've tried to understand color theory but have had a difficult time with it. Sure, I understand all about primary colors, mixing them to make secondary colors, and then putting them on a basic color wheel, but I've never really been able to grasp much beyond that. I've read in How to Paint Citadel Miniatures the book's sparse section on color theory, but never quite understood the bits on complimentary colors, harmonies, discord, and so on. I've never understood how it relates to painting miniatures. Perhaps I'm just a bit dense when it comes to this subject. I don't know.

However, after watching some videos and reading some websites related to the videos, I have a much better understanding about color theory and why it's so important to understand when painting. I finnaly understand how to mix a proper shadow and highlight for any color. I understand warm and cold colors, for example the difference between ultramarine blue and cerulean blue and why that's important. I now understand why simply mixing white does not give us a proper highlight. And so on and so on.

Even if I don't want to mix my own shadows and highlights, which is quite easy it seems, I can at least know which of my 200+ bottles of paint will be a good match. I don't have to rely on Reaper or Foundry. I now am free! Of course, I have to rethink some of my painting habits but that is the fun (and frustration) of learning.

Anyway, that's enough blathering from me. Let's get to the meat of the matter.

The Basics, Shadows, and Greys:

"Mixing Paint with the 6-Colour Colour Wheel"

The fellow in this video, along with his companion website at Paint Basket, helped me understand color theory the best as it applies to creating colors suitable for making shadows and generally mixing colors. He also explains the difference between between the hot and cold version of each primary color and what happens when we mix them to create secondary and tertiary colors. For example, I always wondered about the difference between cadmium red and alizarin red.

He then explains how to create shadows colors for any color, using the various color wheels he creates. For example, I never knew that to create a shadow color for yellow we need to add violet to the yellow. Now when I have a color that I'm not sure what to use for its shadow, I can either mix it myself or take a look at these charts to get a good idea. Great stuff! I wish I had known this years ago.

Just make sure to look over his webpage after watching the video, and replay any bit of the video that may confuse you at first. I know that I had to do this a few times, but I readily admit that I can be a bit dense at times, especially late at night.

Highlighting (Plus Shadows and Color Wheel)

"The Color Wheel"

I also found this video from Paint Basket and its companion webpage to finish the missing pieces of the color theory puzzle. Whereas the video above delves into mixing colors to achieve proper shadow colors as well as proper gray tones, this video simply and clearly explains how to mix colors to achieve proper highlights, as well as how to make black. Simply adding white to a color to create its highlight is not the way to go. All that does is fade out the color. This video explains how to create highlights properly. This also was a major revelation for me. Be sure to check out the other videos at the Paint Basket's YouTube channel. They also discuss how to paint metallics and many other topics that might be of interest. I'm still poking through them, looking for new tips.

In-Depth Color Theory for Miniature Painting

" Colour Theory"

Finally, I want to mention the video series that got me delving into color theory last night. This is a six-part, detailed series of color theory presented by Romain at Beasts of War. Due to time slipping away from me last night, I haven't watched the entire series yet, getting through only the first two episodes. Each episode runs about 16 minutes. Romain has a very "Bob Ross" personality when it comes to explaining things, which I enjoy much more than the short-attention-span head-banging approach that many other hobby videos take on YouTube.

Episode 1 mainly deals with the importance of understanding color theory and why it's so important for miniature gamers to get outside and look at how color works in nature instead of simply slathering paint onto a miniature, something I like to call paint-by-numbers. Of course, this leads to the great divide amongst miniature gamers: those one one hand who enjoy painting the figures to look as artistically nice as possible and those who just want to get the little metal things done so they can play the game.

I'm beginning to think that many mass-combat gamers lean far closer to the latter than the former, at least from what I've seen at conventions and on TMP, whereas small-unit or skirmish gamers tend to want their figures to look more artistic. Of course, I'm generalizing here, brushing over the many possibilities in between. I enjoy the artistry side of miniature painting much more than I enjoy the gaming side, but there are times when I just want to do everything paint-by-numbers and get something done! Being all artsy-fartsy can be very frustrating at times. I guess this is the great dilemma of miniature gaming.

Anyway, Episode 2 gets more into the color wheel, mixing colors, and learning to paint with harmonies. Romain taught me the importance of using no more than three main colors on a figure and how to make the colors work with each other. Ironically, I had learned the same thing decades ago in college when I got into publishing, except there my professor limited me to using only three fonts on a page--anything more he felt created dissonance and was hard to look at.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it. Perhaps these videos and websites will help you understand color theory a bit better and help you select the best colors for your miniatures. As I mentioned, they're making me rethink a lot of what I thought I knew about shadow, base, and highlight colors. Good stuff.

If you know of any additional good painting videos, websites, or books, why not point us to them in the comments section below. Until next time, take care.

Priming Miniatures: Gesso

Gesso used to prime a resin building.

Probably one of the most important questions miniature gamers have after they purchase their miniatures is "What primer do I use?" Several years ago, I heard some fellows on the Warmaster email list singing the praises of gesso, so I decided to try it for myself.

What is Gesso?
For those who don't know, artists for centuries have been making and using gesso to prime and seal their canvases. Today, many manufacturers make acrylic gesso sold in tall bottles or wide-mouth jars. Gesso commonly comes in white, black, gray, and clear. I would imagine one could make other colors by adding dies to the white gesso, though I haven't found a need to try it. I have used only black and gray.

Why Should I Use Gesso?
A quick search on model and miniature painting forums quickly reveals the many reasons for using gesso.

First, you apply gesso using a simple paint brush. This means that you can prime your miniatures at your painting station instead of carting everything outside to spray paint or investing in an expensive spray booth. This is a nice plus for those of use living in Florida during the hot and humid summers.

Since gesso is orderless, this makes painting indoors that much more convenient, especially if you live in an apartment or have a family member who is sensitive to paint fumes.

Since most gesso today seems to be acrylic, it's non-toxic and cleans up easily with water and soap like any acrylic paint.

Gesso is also quite flexible, especially since it's made to seal painting canvases, which are themselves flexible. I accidentally have bent backwards rifles of gesso-primed soft plastic figures without the gesso showing any signs of cracking.

Gesso is very durable, assuming you follow the instructions on the bottle. This means letting the gesso dry at least 24 hours before touching or painting it, even if the figure looks dry. Now, I will be honest here. I've had some problems with gesso. Gesso doesn't like pointy tips, so I tend to apply a second coat to those spots as well as any spots, like hats and rifles, that might get handled or bumped a lot when painting them. Also, gesso can rub off when applied too thinly because there is little gesso between the rubbing finger and the metal figure. I've also had some problems with certain brands of gesso and have gotten confirmation from a certain popular brand about how they changed their formula, causing problems. (More on that below.) Overall, though, gesso can be very durable and rock hard, requiring sharp fingernails or blades to remove.

Gesso doesn't obstruct details because it shrinks as it dries, making it fine for small-scale as well as large-scale figures. Yes, it looks super-thick when it goes on but dries snugly to the model. Below is the now-classic time-lapse of gesso drying on a miniature.



How is Gesso Applied?
Artists use wide, stiff brushes to paint gesso onto a canvas and then work it into the material, filling and sealing the porous holes. They usually apply two or three coats in a cross-hatch pattern. Decades ago, I used to help my sister do this when she was an art major in college. Little did I know back then that one day I would use gesso to prime models! Below is a short video from Dick Blick showing how to prime a canvas using gesso, in case you were wondering how it was done.



While it's nice knowing how to apply gesso to a canvas, knowing how to apply it to a miniature is more important. Ironically, the technique is basically the same! However, I use a large, standard, cheap paint brush to paint on the gesso. Though some manufacturers say their gesso could be diluted slightly, while others on modeling forums insist on thinning everything brushable, I have never thinned gesso, achieving fine results.

Too many people paint gesso like it was a regular acrylic paint, putting on a thin layer. They are dismayed and upset when they find that their figure has many bare and thin spots, resulting from the gesso shrinking while drying. So then on the next miniature they decide to slather the figure in gesso so that the figure looks like a mound of gooey gesso more than a figure. Now they discover a new set of problems: there is so much gesso on the figure that it's beginning to run down the figure and pool into large puddles where it shouldn't be.

The key to painting on gesso is what I like to call "glopping." Not too thin and not too thick. You just have to experiment a bit. Plus, I like to work the gesso into all the nooks and crannies kind of like they do in the Dick Blick video, jabbing my brush as I glop on the paint and working into into the figure. Remember, the gesso will shrink as it dries.

What are the Downsides of Gesso?
While all of the above sounds like I absolutely love gesso and will never consider using anything else, gesso has some serious downsides.

What I have been calling "webbing" is a serious complaint I have about gesso. While brushing gesso onto your miniature, you might notice that a thin web of gesso suddenly forms across a narrow opening. Perhaps this could be an area between the gun and the body, or between the legs of a 10mm figure. I usually blow a bit on that area to open it up, and then try to reapply some gesso where my breath thinned it out too much.

I've also experienced bubbles in my gesso after the figure has dried, leaving all sorts of pock marks on the figures. These marks are impossible to remove or disguise, leading to the only possible solution: stripping the figures in a bucket of Simple Green. I had this happen to me because I shook my bottle of gesso. Sure, I mixed the pigment into the solution really well but added a bazillion little bubbles into the gesso at the same time. So, do as James Bond would not do: "Gesso. Stirred, not shaken." (Good advice when mixing brush-on varnish as well!)

Are All Gesso Brands and Colors Created Equally?

The simple answer is: No. They are not all equal, and people will tell you that, often with a sports fan's fanaticism for their favorite brand. But it just makes sense that, like everything in life, some brands would be better than others. Though I'm far from being a gesso expert, I will pass along some of my own experiences.

When I began using gesso years ago, it seemed that people leaned toward Liquitex being among the best brands. While nominating anything as "the best" can cause a cat fight among even the stoutest and most reserved of men when it comes to hobby related issues, I found Liquitex to be good and reasonably priced. The black applied quite well, once I learned to handle it. Sure, some webbing occurred when I was sloppy but the finish was solid, no rubbing off.

Then I tied their gray gesso, but found their gray to be too thin and runny, causing it to pool too easily, and too shiny, creating less tooth for the paint than black gesso. Plus, Reaper paints can have problems "cracking" when painted on surfaces that are too smooth--I learned this the hard way and even got official confirmation from Reaper, though they can't quite figure out why this happens. So the bottle of gray gesso went in the trash.

Recently, I began having problems with Liquitex black gesso. The gesso seemed to rub off easily and not apply as well as before. I chalked this up to my gesso being a bit old, though it was in their newer label bottle. I was no longer a Liquitex fanboy, and for a while even left gesso for spray primers (which I might write about later).

But a few weeks ago I decided to give gesso another chance. Setting out to discover what "real" artists thought was the best brand of gesso opposed to what gamers thought of gesso, I read that Liquitex has changed their gesso formula, making it weaker. If what people are saying is true, I had one of the newer, weaker bottles. The company assured people that though they are using less pigments or whatever the gesso is still perfectly fine. Many disagree.

So what gesso should I use? Artists kept recommending Golden acrylic gesso as their favorite brand, being much better than the new formula Liquitex is using. A few weeks ago at our local art store, I decided to pick up a jar of Golden black gesso. Ironically, I had little choice because black Liquitex gesso was no where to be found at the local craft and art stores. We'll see how this Golden gesso goes, and I'll report my findings.

So What Do You Think?
Regardless, if you have any experiences--good or bad--or recommendations about gesso or priming miniatures in general, feel free leave a comment. And a big thanks and welcome to the blog's new followers. I hope you enjoy what you see.

Finished Babylon 5: A Great Father-Son Experience!

Last week we finally watched Season 5's last episode, "Sleeping in Light," which was the original end of the series meant to air at the end of Season 4. When the show moved to Turner and was picked up for one more season, JMS and crew filmed a new ending for Season 4, which was actually the first episode the crew shot when they reunited for the fifth season.

We had finished all the shows but the last one a few weeks prior, but had to wait until we were "psychologically ready" to end it all. I know this might sound odd, but it really felt like losing a friend. I'll be honest, I had some mourning symptoms afterward! It really felt different for me the second time around because I knew this ending was final (knowing now that the continuation series, Crusade, would collapse quickly and be a continuity mess). Also, the entire five months we were watching the series, I kept thinking about the cast members who have died and how much the others (including myself) have aged and grown since the pilot was filmed in late 1993. Wow, 19 years have passed since then!

In the end, I was very happy to share with my now-21-year-old son my favorite television series of all time. He also was happy, and will have those memories of us watching one episode a night at 10pm for all those months. What could be better than that?

The real kick is that we now have these little B5 catch-phrases we toss around at each other, and sometimes break out into our really bad impressions of our most annoying villain, Wade (from Season 4), who talks with a bad speech impediment and went on way too much about historical evolution, saying "Mister Garibaldi" way too many times. We mock his death scene, where Garibaldi finds him just barely alive, Wade once again pointing out the obvious while slurring. Instead, we have him say in a Shakespearean manner, "Mister Garibaldi, I'm dead!" Blech, that character was annoying!

To The Future!
Ok, so now we move onto the movies and maybe...maybe...the short-lived Crusade. And some of the episodes with JMS commentary turned on. But we need a bit of a break. Because when those are over, it's really really over. Then we move back to watching Deep Space 9.

And so it begins.

BTW while typing this post I just had to listen to my Best of Babylon 5 soundtrack CD. Jeremy has begun collecting many of the numerous B5 soundtracks. Ok, that's enough for today! Just beware Vorlons bearing gifts.

Road to Victory 2012: USS Barb 1:72 Model

I've been extremely busy the last several weeks teaching two 6-week classes during our summer semester, so not much being done on the hobby front. But here are some more photos from this year's Road to Victory Reenactment.

This year, the Central Florida chapter of the US Submarine Veterans set up a display. Several retired submariners were present to talk about working on submarines. The photo to the left is their trailer they take to their events--I thought it was pretty nifty. This past spring semester, I was lucky to have as one of my students a retired Lt. Commander submariner, who had been based out of Saint Marys, GA for many years. My young college students really admired him and worked harder because of him! He really inspired them, and loved telling them stories of working on submarines.

USS Barb (SS-220)

The main draw for me was the 1:72 scale model of a Gato class submarine, the USS Barb (SS-220). From the USS Barb's Wikipedia entry: "During the seven war patrols she conducted in the Pacific between March 1944-August 1945, Barb is officially credited with sinking 17 enemy vessels totaling 96,628 tons, including the Japanese aircraft carrier Unyo. In recognition of one outstanding patrol, Commander Fluckey was awarded the Medal of Honor and Barb received the Presidential Unit Citation. On the sub's 12th and final patrol of the war, Barb landed a party of carefully selected crew members who blew up a railroad train. This is notable as the only ground combat operation that took place on the Japanese home islands." Below are some photos of the model and the fellow who built it. If you ever thought of using a submarine in a game, this is how big it would be in 1:72. If you wanted a sub for 28mm gaming, it would be about 130% larger. Yipes! I hope you enjoy the photos.

The entire 1:72 model of the USS Barb in its display case.

Another shot from the front. You really need to click on these photos to enjoy the model!

The gentleman in the red vest built the model himself. I didn't get his name! Nuts!

A professional painted and weathered the model. He did a great job!

It even comes with a painted crew!

Click on the photo to go to the US Submarine Veteran's homepage. Tons of great info on submarines!

New Poll: Best Star Wars Soundtrack?

I just started the blog's first ever poll--Best Star Wars Soundtrack.  Please take a moment to vote and then feel free to discuss your vote in the comments section. We'll see how this goes! I'll kick it off, though my comments below sound more like my usual posts than comments! :-)

Though I like many tracks from the various episodes, such as Duel of the Fates from Phantom Menace and the opening battle sequence of Revenge of the Sith, overall best soundtrack for me just has to be Empire Strikes Back. You get The Imperial March, The Battle in the Snow, Main Star Wars Theme, Yoda's Theme, Asteroid Field, City in the Clouds, and more. Jam packed listening fun! Back when I first saw the movie in 1980, I ran out and bought the original flip-open, double-disk LP set with photo booklet inside and everything. I wore it out during our late-night RPG sessions! Sure, now I own the soundtrack on CD and have ripped it to MP3, but sometimes I miss opening that old enormous dust jacket, flipping through the photos, sliding out the albums, and putting the needle on the record. Ah, those were good times! Read more about the ESB LP and CD at its Wikipedia page.

Painting WWII Soviet Infantry - Part 2:Summer Tunics & Trousers

Articles In This Series
Part 1: Series Introduction, Plus Ranks & Insignia
Part 2: Summer Tunics & Trousers
Part 3: Basing Tips & Tricks
Part 4: Winter Uniforms
Part 5: Painting Guides
Part 6A: Finished Black Tree Design 28mm Infantry
Part 6B: Finished Black Tree Design 28mm Infantry
Part 6C: Finished Black Tree Design 28mm Infantry

Series Overview
This is the second in an ongoing series of articles documenting the research I have been doing for painting my 28mm Black Tree Design miniatures for 1:1 skirmish gaming. Finding historical information on Soviet uniforms that gamers can use was very difficult, with much of it scattered across various Osprey and other books, along with some websites. I hope folks find this series of articles helpful and might even stir some interest in gaming the Eastern Front. While I painted 28mm miniatures, nearly all this information is useful for all miniature sizes.

Color Variations
Since the Soviets had practically no quality controls in place, uniform colors were amazingly varied. The basic summer tunic and trouser color is an olive shade of khaki, though the color varied widely from drab olive green to a pale brown to a light cream color. Just take a look at the color variations among the reenactor uniforms sold at Trident Military.

I saw the same color variations  among the color photographs I saw in the books I used, as well as among the original color photographs online and color photographs of original uniforms. (Just be careful when looking for color WWII photos online because there seems to be a hobby of colorizing old black and white WWII photos.)

Besides the variations in the cotton cloth dye, many of the color variations came from the cloth fading in the harsh weather and poor dye quality. Normally, the fresh troops who were sent to fill the gaps in shot-up units would wear the darker shades of olive khaki, whereas the hardened veterans would be wearing the lightest shades of khaki.

Painting The Figures
Because I wanted to reflect the chaotic nature of a Soviet platoon that had been fighting for a long time in Stalingrad or elsewhere, with new soldiers replacing dead soldiers while fighting aside veterans with the 1000-yard stare, I painted the tunics and trousers on my figures a variety of shades. Often, the tunics and trousers would be different colors. This fits in with the Black Tree Design figures, which represent Soviets in late 1943.

A Word About The Paint Colors I Chose
I decided to paint my soldiers based on the paints I could easily get my hands on and what already was in my collection.  I  primarily used Reaper paints because I could get them discounted locally from Cool Stuff Inc, a major online game discounter with a brick-and-mortar store. I also used some Vallejo paints because I had bought them years ago when I painted my 15mm figures. I also used some craft paints because I have a massive collection of them, though craft paint military colors tend to be lacking. While it can be frustrating to figure out what colors to use for Soviets, it's also very liberating because there is no "correct" shade of anything! Feel free to experiment as you please, and have fun with it.

My Reasoning Behind Who Got What Colors
For the untrained fresh troops, I tried to pick figures with frightened faces, painting their uniforms in darker shades. As in real life, their trouser and tunic color almost always match, assuming they got their entire uniform from the same supply depot.

Veterans got lighter shades of khaki. Some have lighter tunics with darker trousers or darker tunics with lighter trousers. Sometimes soldiers were able to get new bits of uniforms as things wore out, or they simply strip uniform bits off their dead comrades, a common practice in a besieged city like Stalingrad that major resupply issues. Or I simply varied between the Reaper and Vallejo khaki for more subtle variation.

Because I saw this in vintage color photos, a few soldiers got tunics painted Uniform Brown. Because modeling to me is more about creating an illusion of reality instead of an exact copy, I didn't want to get so crazy with "authentic" color variations that gamers would feel that the soldiers didn't belong in the same unit. I didn't want the units too feel too disjointed. (This is why I painted all the helmets and caps the same color, to give some sense of unity across the entire platoon--but more about that at another time!) Having only a few soldiers in brown tunics but khaki trousers gives that variation while keeping the illusion the soldiers belong to the same unit. At least that's my theory!

Patches and Tears
I have seen a number of photos where the Soviet soldiers had different colored patches on the knees and other places that would wear out, though I didn't attempt to include this. Tears and sewn tears would also be common, but I didn't attempt that either. My skills aren't up to that quite yet. (I did give a couple of my guys scars, though!)

Vary It Up
So if you're looking to do a more authentic platoon of Soviet infantry, try to vary the shades of the tunics and trousers. A uniformly equipped and uniformly shaded rifle section or platoon would be fresh untrained meat for the grinder!

Summer Uniform Painting Guide
Below are the colors I used to paint the summer tunics and trousers on my Soviet figures. I've also listed some additional suggestions I've found. Luckily for the Soviet WWII gamer, unlike the French Napoleonic gamer, there is no correct color for anything in the Soviet army! So use whatever you think looks right to you.

Fresh Troops

Highlight: Reaper 9122 Terran Khaki
Base: Reaper 9121 Khaki Shadow
Shade: Reaper 9158 Olive Drab

Veteran Troops
Highlight: Reaper 9123 Khaki Highlight
Base: Reaper 9122 Terran Khaki or Vallejo 988 Khaki
Shade: Reaper 9121 Khaki Shadow

Hardened Troops
Highlight: Reaper 9123 + White
Base: Reaper 9123 Khaki Highlight
Shade: Reaper 9122 Terran Khaki

Brown
Highlight: Reaper 9127 Uniform Brown + Reaper 9123 Khaki Highlight
Base: Reaper 9127 Uniform Brown
Shade: Americana DA180 Asphaltum

Vallejo Variation
One of the figure painting books, I can't recall which one or where I found this, suggests painting Soviet tunics and trousers the following colors using Vallejo paints.  The mixes are equal parts.
Highlight: Base Color + 914 Green Ochre + 976 Buff
Base: 879 Green Brown + 882 Middlestone
Shade: Base Color + 872 Chocolate Brown + Black

Michael Farnsworth Guide
Farnsworth's painting guide, available online at Artizan's website, suggests the following Vallejo colors for Soviet tunics and trousers. I'm not much a fan of using Russian Green for the uniforms because the color is a bit too green from my research. Fine for armor, but not for the uniforms I feel.
Standard Uniform Base Color: 924 Russian Uniform Green
Khaki Variants: 973 US Field Drab, 921 English Uniform, or 983 Flat Earth
Tan Variant: 874 US Tan Earth
Faded Beige Variant: 821 German Camo Beige, 847 Dark Sand

What's The Code?
"Hey," I hear you saying, "how did you keep all these colors straight in your head?" That is a very good question, especially considering that I can't even remember my own cell phone number let alone what color I painted something last month!

To keep myself from getting confused, especially if I had to go back later and touch up the paint on a tunic or trouser, I created a simple paint code I painted on each bottle cap. You can see this in one of my progress photos below.

The code to the left is the tunic color. The code to the right on the cap is the trouser color. TK=Terran Khaki. K=Vallejo Khaki. KS=Khaki Shadow. And so on. Yeah, sometimes things just click for me!

Note: I didn't like the green on these helmets, later repainting them darker.

I hope this has helped you get some ideas for painting Soviet tunics and trousers. I'll be doing the gear next, followed by the weapons, along with a selection of books you might find useful.