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Painting Redheads


darthfoster

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I'm working on a project for a friend and she wants the girl that I'm painting to have red hair like hers. So, I'm just wondering for those of you that have done figures with red hair, what have you done to get the color just right or at least close? Thanks,

Anthony

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Properly done, hair can be one of the most striking parts of a figure model. First, if there is a part in the hair showing any scalp, run your flesh tone along the exposed skin line. Then, because it is difficult to do later, wash in a dark version of the color you will use into fine recesses of the body of hair. Let this dry completely. Then, lightly drybrush the body of hair with your color coat(s) to lighten the hair strands against the darker recesses (this is something akin to highlighting recessed panel lines on an aircraft in a preshading technique). Continue adding drybrush coats until you have the depth of color and any highlights you need. This is my technique I use with artist's oils. Using Vallejo paints might give you a completely different painting plan and sequence. Just be certain you use a good, fine grain primer first.

 

How "red" is the lady's hair?

 

Ed

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Properly done, hair can be one of the most striking parts of a figure model. First, if there is a part in the hair showing any scalp, run your flesh tone along the exposed skin line. Then, because it is difficult to do later, wash in a dark version of the color you will use into fine recesses of the body of hair. Let this dry completely. Then, lightly drybrush the body of hair with your color coat(s) to lighten the hair strands against the darker recesses (this is something akin to highlighting recessed panel lines on an aircraft in a preshading technique). Continue adding drybrush coats until you have the depth of color and any highlights you need. This is my technique I use with artist's oils. Using Vallejo paints might give you a completely different painting plan and sequence. Just be certain you use a good, fine grain primer first.

 

How "red" is the lady's hair?

 

Ed

Thanks for the tip(s). Below is a sample, just taken from a web-site, but it's close to the color of my friends hair color. So any ideas would be helpful. The project I'm working on is entitled "Where's the Fire?" by Andrea's Miniatures. If you look at the link, their example is pretty close to my friends haircolor. http://www.paderos.com/Round-Figures/Andre...fire::6668.html Thanks again, Anthony

180px-Redhead_close_up.jpg

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I would say that a lot of it would be which shade of redhead do you want. The colors run from strawberry blonde to auburn. Good colors to start with would probably be burnt sienna, orange, red and burnt umber. Rust might be a good base color. Experiment is the best way.

Edited by LesWalden
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I'd suggest you have someone take a picture of your head from several different angles. Try to figure out what the different tones are. Then start with the darkest base color for a base and progressively work out until you have the lightest shade.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've been pretty happy using three colors, starting dark as the base coat and dry brushing two lighter colors over that, the lighter the color the drier the brush. For this I used (I think) a base of raw sienna, followed with Citadel Blazing orange and Fiery orange. This slection of colors is probably a bit bigger than life than you are going for but the same technique and milder colors would probably work for you.

 

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