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Interactive figure painting by Bob and Laura!

so i stand corrected with my earlier post that bob's coat would be plain wrong but i still think that this is one of the ugliest coats i have ever seen!

i still would say to go with either a tan colored raincoat or a khaki brown wintercoat (at leat on one figure) ...

what a yuck looking green coat this is! :blink
 
I think the one we have here is more of a winter over coat. Laura remember the picture I sent you? That was an original, plus the coats these guys would be wearing would have been washed several times, not to mention worn during the buildup and training in England.
 
I don't think this is supposed to be a wool, winter overcoat. I think, (although it is hard to tell because I don't know what the sculptor had in mind) it's supposed to be the GI raincoat. Judging by the color on the figure boxes artwork, that would be my assumption. The part that confuses me is the overlapping horizontal pleat on the back, I'm not sure if the GI Raincoat had this? IIRC, the wool greatcoat had several vertical pleats on the back.

Having said that, there are variances in the designs I'm sure, for instance the picture that Rob posted, the coat has an overlapping pleat on the shoulder, which I have seen before. I have also seen raincoats without the shoulder pleats, different button configurations, different style cuff belts on the sleeve ends etc.

I do think the color you have applied MP is a bit 'forest green' for the lack of a better description. I would go for a more pale color like the box artwork, or a more OD color, like the photo I have posted below.

Of course, these are merely my opinions. I am by no means all that well versed on GI clothing. I am following this thread however because my figure painting skills are absolutely atrocious. :S

.

wwii-raincoat_20091230_1291525194.jpg
 
Thanks Ken, I know my color is way off base, just need to figure out how to bring it back to right. But the Teacher said that's for later so no problem. One thing though, I think the figures I have also have a belt on the coats. I can't tell from these pictures, will look in a minute. It's about to rain here so a pot of java and the rest of the day playing in the garage is in order.
 
Yup, I know the smoking figure does in fact have the waist belt, I'm not sure about the 'walkie-talkie' guy. Thing is, you can find the waist belt on both raincoats and wool great coats, so even though I originally mentioned it, I edited it from my post.

Notice the sleeve cuffs on both figures vary greatly, one has the narrow 'belts' with a small buckle style adjustment, while the other has the wide button style. That's what makes it so difficult to really nail down for me, I'm sure the sculptor was using some great references and for all I know, he might have been portraying the wool great coat.

Whichever you choose will be fine. I only brought up the color again because because Laura corrected her initial opinion but I agree with it. Sorry to re-hash a topic that has been already covered, I'm always late to the party. :blush:
 
I'm confusedd...does everyone agree that my color is off base?

Let's make them Navy Pea Coats that way I can really be wrong.... :mpup

Seriously, I think they both need to come back some shade of khaki side of OD.
 
maybe we paint the coat pink? :silly:

now seriously: if you want to paint the coat in OD give a mixture of green, grey and brown a try and experiment with these colors until you receive a satisfying tone! :)

i would say 70% green, 20% brown and 10% grey should give a nice OD! haven't mixed that tone that often in my life!

but only if you want the coat to end in an OD finish! (i'm still confused!)

ken - thanks a lot for helping with this issue! it is of great help in any case! and if your figure painting skills are atrocious like you say give it a try ... i learned that my way of painting figures is close to the bannerman way of painting figures! (strange enough!)

you won't end up with top notch figures like from a master but you have a good starting point to improve when having went through this! this thread has motivating purposes, to encourage peoples to lose their fear of figure painting! join in!
 
moon puppy wrote:
...does everyone agree that my color is off base?
Click to expand...

I believe so Bob. ;)

When I said "whichever you choose" I was referring to either winter wool overcoat, or synthetic raincoat, either way, it's your figure. B)

...again, I only brought up the color issue because Laura 'corrected' herself and I don't think she should have. She also mentioned me and said I might chime in so I did but I seem to be muddying up the waters here. :blush:

Get yourself some Java and just ignore me and my ramblings, it's only confusing the both of us. :silly:

EDIT: Olive Drab has no green in it, Olive Drab is a mixture of Yellow Ochre and Black, varying the ratios of these colors will vary your shade.
 
look above ken! :)

Ken Abrams wrote:
...again, I only brought up the color issue because Laura 'corrected' herself and I don't think she should have. She also mentioned me and said I might chime in so I did but I seem to be muddying up the waters here. :blush:
Click to expand...

i am by far no specialist on u.s. uniforms! ask me anything about german uniforms and i give you a correct answer but u.s. or any else allied is way off the paths i usually walk! :blush:
 
interesting what google spits out when searched with the correct keywords:

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t31161.html
 
Something chemical is going on here. Instead of blending the paint is beading up and rolling, blobbing off the figures. The primer used on the faces seem to be reacting not only to the thinner but to the paint as well. Everything that was primed in black seems to be sticking like glue but the face tones are just a mess. I have already stripped the faces and will prime with the black primer acrylic and start over.

I also attempted reapplying a khaki color to the figures but that paint seems to be reacting to the other color in the same way, beading up. I'll take some pictures for you to see. VERY strange as the oils are from the same set. I'm about ready to strip and start a new on all of it. Y'all know me, I have to do it three times before I'm happy with it.
 
argh!

that's quite very ... suboptimal!

two proposals now:

- use a figure that came with a kit for trial and error!
- get yourself that rectified turpentine i have shown you in a mail some time ago! that expensive one in the small bottle!

you can see with my figures that it works when the chemistry is correct!

i know that all this is very frustrating but in the end you will win! i'm here to help you!
 
I'm not sure it's the turpentine. The problem would be using Polly Scale as an acrylic primer. It just aint acrylic and I believe some of the paint experts here have testified to this.

I'll have something fixed today. Real Life derailed my modeling plans today so I haven't really had much time in the garage after all. Who knows, maybe tomorrow will be better.
 
alpine013_20091230_1018354002.jpg
alpine012_20091230_1479918211.jpg

Heads are primed again. one I used the same black that I used on the bodies. the others are primed with Mr. Surfacer just to see what happens. Can't get any worse right?

alpine011_20091230_1950868008.jpg

alpine010_20091230_1246682286.jpg

Should be able to see more shadow now and the coats are coming back to the color it should be, it is right?
 
fineyfine! :cheer:

now to the first highlights! dip the brsuh in the thinner, add some white with a little bit of yellow to your uniform base color and take a second brush (maybe damp not wet from the thinner - depends on how thin the color is) and apply the highligts to all spots that are prominent! try to touch every highlight spot! if you miss one do it later!

with a clean and dry brush blend the highlights into the others!

firstlights1_20091231_1574157156.jpg


firstlights3_20091231_2084740818.jpg
 
Laura -

I'm working on a figure that has a black leather jacket. If the jacket is black, what color do I use for shadows? And for highlights, do I add white or another color to the black?
 
deux amis wrote:
If the jacket is black, what color do I use for shadows?
Click to expand...

blacker black! :silly:

when you paint black clothing you do not start with plain black! lighten your black with flesh tone color in a ratio of about 70-80% black to 20-30% flesh and apply this to your figure! first shading with a little bit more black in that paint mix, second shadows with plain black! highlights vice versa - the lighter the more flesh into the black!

you may also add a speck of blue to the color mix - gives an interesting note! chris does so! i haven't tried that out yet!

deux amis wrote:
And for highlights, do I add white or another color to the black?
Click to expand...

in no case white! like i wrote above use flesh!
 
Pictures tomorrow but...the highlights turned out well. Painting the flesh just does not seem to be my bag. The colors just rolls, heavy brush strokes, doesn't seem to be grabbing on to the primer. Regardless of what primer I use. I really don't understand it. It's as if I need a dead flat surface to get the oils to grab hold of. Same situation on the overcoats. that first color I did dried glossy and the new color is just rolling under the brush.

But I think you'll like how the fatigues are turning out.
 
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