New to flats - Die Zauberflöte figurines

[Hannibal]

This is a spectacular improvement, Henry.
Thank you so much!!

[Henry]

Oh, thanks John; I was thinking that one day I should try to paint one of his tin-twins in a different color setting. @Hannibal, indeed, the light was not white; I can use two different sources, as in the pictures, and I was using the one more yellow (though the one more white doesn't look so white either on the paper sheet). I've just tried to apply a few of the tricks in the post suggested by Sandor (I also use a Galaxy for now to take pictures). The results look already a bit better!

[John Alberts]

Nice work, the Papageno stands out to me though, you captured its essence or something.  Unique maybe

[Hannibal]

Henry, I have a question on your photographies, as they are all looking quiet yellowish.
What kind of light do you use when taking your pictures? (natural?, light bulb?  which kind ?  do you know its temperature? 
Can you take a photography of a white piece of paper with exactly the conditions you use and publish it here, or one of your painting with a white paper as background?


Personally for pictures, know I use my smartphone (Samsung), using the function "Picture", nit portrait, but enlargement x 3.  The best is to have the background placed at minimum 1-2 inches behind the flat to attract the focus on the flat, not on the background, and I use a WHITE light bulb, or LED, not yellowish (cold white).  The light must be distant from the subject to prevent over-exposure of artificial highlights.  Best is also to put the smartphone on a support (table, foot) not just in the hand to prevent movement of vibration when pushing on button or a timer of a few seconds.


Also using the enlargement factor, the subject can occupy 70 to 80% of the field of the picture, not a small surface as you do, where you loose in details, résolution.


Of course multiple light sources is the best as described by Jean Paul,
I have a Nikon, but for routine pictures and WIP, too much time for setting, space, ... actual smartphone are becoming really good !! (although not perfect in colour temperature adjustment, to adjust for correct white

[snagy]

Hi Henry,
since I also had problems with making more-or-less good pictures about my painted figures, I asked fellow members for advice.
Jean_Paul gave a good description about the way he makes the photos about his outstanding figures.
You will find it on the link:
https://www.intflatfigures.org/index.php?topic=5172.0
The description is about the middle of the page, so you need to scroll down to see it.
Good luck!
Sandor

[Henry]

Thanks, Mark and Sandor! Indeed, I used both matte and semi-gloss "satin." The Zauberflote figures are all varnished in matte, except for Papageno's cage, which is done in satin. The redrawn Mignot figure, on the other hand, is solely in satin. I am still working on finding a suitable method for properly photographing flats...

[snagy]

Very nice figures indeed!
May I ask what kind of varnish you use?
I mean matt, semi-gloss or gloss?
Regards-
Sandor

[marko]

Wow quite a range of subjects here - they look good.


Keep at it and continue to enjoy and thanks for sharing.


mark

[Henry]

Here the final version, after varnish... plus on more Mignot figure, I suppose)

[John Alberts]

Me too!

[Henry]

One point that seems to make a difference on finishes is to keep the paint, whether oils, enamels or acrylics, very thin when applying.  The surfaces are very small obviously.

Hi John, thank you, I can further improve that point. I'm also considering reducing oilseed % in he mix (today roughly 75% oil and 25 % turpentine, to a 50 % - 50 %).

[John Alberts]

One point that seems to make a difference on finishes is to keep the paint, whether oils, enamels or acrylics, very thin when applying.  The surfaces are very small obviously.

[marko]

Welcome Enrico glad to have you join us and thank you for sharing.

You will find very few things in painting have absolutes as to approach, there a many ways to reach the same results.

But, to your questions:
- Priming there are various schools of thought though white as an undercoat is pretty common with the idea that using thin overcoats allows the colors to shine through being again common.  It is also common to undercoat in enamel or similar if you paint in oils.  But, I have read of undercoating in light grey and black for the purpose of enhancing shadows so who knows.  (Greg DiFranco and Peter Fernk also undercoat in a grey or brown to get a feeling for the shadows and the colors are laid out which is fascinating - we have articles from both if you search the site.)

One approach used successfully by a number of folks is to undercoat in the correct colors using one painting medium - enamels and then oils - Mike Taylor and Nicholas Ball or undercoating in acrylics and then overpainting in thin layers of oils.

(You also have some amazing folks that use exclusively acrylics for amazing results - Greg DiFranco, Penny Meyer, Peter Ferk - it is really a matter of what you are comfortable with.)

Gianpolo BIstulfi's site has a nice painting tutorial as well as a LOT of amazing work, you might try here as well:
http://www.zinnfiguren-bistulfi.com/generalita-dic14.htm

- Shadows - again different approaches.  One interesting article is Daniel Canet - also on the site - titled Painting in Vivid Colors which has some bearing in this area.

- Metals - Matter of choice, some folks polish the metal of the figure itself, variations in grays are very common and everything in between

- Pictures - I have the same issues as you though I have been told by very 'good photographers' that they just use an IPhone and do nothing.  I suspect paying better attention to the lighting and or getting light box probably would help in this realm.

There is a knowledgeable of articles on How To advise as well as some great stuff in the BFFS Journal but, both of those areas of the site will require becoming a member.  However, the group here is always willing to share/assist and encourage so always feel free to enquire.

The figures you showed were quite nice and your interest i expirmentation will pay dividends.  It is really a matter of finding what works for you.

mark

[Henry]

Thank you for the warm welcome (and appreciation). OK, I see different points I'd like to know your opinion about:


Priming: I used a light burnt umber primer over the white Humbrol coat (I'm trying to increase the linseed oil % over the turpentine going up with layers). This seemed at first a good idea because of creating "automatically" folds of tunics. However, now it doesn't seem to me such a good one as all the colors look darker somehow... I'm thinking of modifying it in the next trial with an orange-yellow priming. What do you think?


I should maybe try to give each area the main color first (as a kind of priming), and then a second layer and add the details.


Shadows: I'm not convinced by shadows on the white tunics. I used darker versions of the color elsewhere (like, darkened crimson for Pamina gown), and I was supposed to use burnt umber for the white tunics. But now it looks like dirt more than a shadow...maybe use grey next time?


Metals: Here I used a mix of metallic oil colors, along with their non-metallic counterpart (like, light gold and Naples yellow). I feel quite satisfied but...I know there's a lot of discussion on that point. I'm sure there are ways to improve it...


Final look: I don't feel somehow comfortable with the overall final look. Not sure if this will improve with varnish and/or if that is the result of the burnt umber priming.


And also...how do you take good pictures of flats? Here I used an iPhone camera but the feeling from the photos is still a bit different from the real thing...


As next things to try, I'm thinking about increasing turpentine % over linseed oil in the next trials. By the way, did somebody test the water mixable Winton oil colors? How do you feel about them? (Will they last???)


Thank you so much

[willie]

     Welcome Enrico to are group of happy misfits    I like your work well done. A few rules to go by 1. Do not  washing your brushes in your brandy. 2.Have a bit of clothing with deeps pockets so you can hid what you pick up at shows.    3. A man cave where you can paint and store all the books you are going to get 4. Have money put aside for paintbrushes and paint. 5. Have a complete Mental check up and your in. Willie[size=78%] [/size]