Panzer Crew Uniforms (Learning Series 2) [PDF]

Zitiervorschau

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The extremely talented artists within this book take you on a journey through every aspect of figure painting through their very own words guiding you through their styles and approaches. Follow along as they teach you the methods and skills they’ve developed over time by explaining the how and why of highlighting and shadows, the affect they have on our scale figures and perhaps more importantly, the manipulation of the colors used and the tricks to getting the most out of them in scale figure painting. Read along with each author as he teaches you how to create a feeling of unity by establishing passages of light and shade over complex patterned clothing by connecting the elements through color. Follow each artist in depth tutorial as they share their knowledge in a book explainingthe aspects of figure painting from solid colored uniforms, to very complex patternedcamouflage and even skin tones and hair. The artist’s own approach and signature style is found within the text of each article, providing subjective experience and objective know-how as a result of years of practice and experience. The results found within are absolutely striking.

panzer crew uniforms

These pages are so profusely illustrated with ‘in progress’ photos and descriptive text explaining figure painting, fromthe very start to the most sublime of finishes. Instructional drawings, color plates and page after page of in depth works-in-progress articles that are written by artists who excel in thesemediums, this truly is a big book.

Roberto Ramirez David Hernanz Juan Manuel Vergara

AK 272

www.ak-interactive.com

Phone & Fax: (+34) 941 22 30 64 [email protected]

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panzer crew

Uniforms Roberto Ramirez David Hernanz Juan Manuel Vergara

All the AK Interactive staff and myself are proud to introduce this new issue of the AK Learning Series. This time Roberto Ramirez, expert figure modeler, with Vergara and Herranz will will give us a in-depth masterclass on figure painting covering Panzer crew uniforms and of course many secrets on flesh painting. An outstanding step by step to understand historical and artistic background of this subject. This book is meant for all of us who enjoy and love this great hobby.

Fernando Vallejo

AK Interactive President

Original Idea, Design Supervision, and Cover Design: John kozelek Publisher: AK Interactive Editor: Fernando Vallejo Concept Development and Project Manager: Roberto Ramirez Layout: BMS English Translation: Guillermo M. / Ken Abrams Depósito Legal: LR-90-2014 Printed by Quick Wheel

(c) 2014 AK Interactive. All right reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, actual or future, including photocopy, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

index 1. Imitate panzer crews.................................................................. 4 2. The panzer units........................................................................... 6 3. PANZER CREW BLACK UNIFORMS.................................................. 8 4. WERHMACHT TANK CREWMAN WITH SPLINTER A (Juan Manuel Vergara)................................................................... 20 5. SS TANK CREWMAN WITH M-44 UNIFORM (Roberto Ramirez).......................................................................... 30 6. SS TANK CREWMAN WITH PLANE TREE AUTUM CAMOUFLAGE (David Hernanz)...................................... 42 7. SS TANK CREWMAN WITH PLANE TREE SPRING CAMOUFLAGE (Juan Manuel Vergara)........................... 52 8. SS TANK CREWMAN WITH OAK LEAF AUTUM CAMOUFLAGE (David Hernanz)...................................... 60 9. FLESH LIGHTS AND SHADOWS..................................................... 72 10. reference objects...................................................................... 74 11. reference gallery..................................................................... 76

Imitate panzer crews In recent years, fans of modeling have seen the hobby evolve to a degree of accuracy and fidelity in comparison to reality in a way that few could imagine. As modelers, we try to recreate every detail of the original into our works through a constant search for perfection. Progressively new accessories have appeared and materials have improved to make this desire possible, and we’re always climbing steps towards achieving our goal. High-level modeling is not a domain reserved for a few privileged and talented ones anymore. Availability of publications and the Internet have spread and popularized the skills and knowledge of the great gurus and the emergence of new products has opened the possibility to create works of great beauty and quality to the average modeler. One element that I personally find essential for improving the presentation of a scale model is the accompanying of it with at least one figure. In my opinion the figure gives life to the model, it gives us a reference in

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terms of size and interacts with the model while telling us more about it; making it ‘more human’. Of course the fact remains; even a great model loses appeal if the figure or figures that accompany it don’t reach the same level. Over 80 % of new launches of brands, magazine articles and models submitted to competitions and exhibitions

belong to the German army of World War II. The wide variety of weapons, vehicles and uniforms that they used exert a special attraction to modelers worldwide. Among them the tanks especially stand out, being one of the few German words internationally known to the point of not needing translation; the ‘Panzers’. The purpose of this book is to approach our painting to reproduce the uniforms of the Panzerbesatzung (panzer crews) as faithfully as possible and show that besides the black color, they wore various types of camouflage clothing and their uniforms ranged from greengray through brown sand and ending with white. Not only the colors, but the textures and materials of the clothing changed with the season, location, or the raw materials that were available at the time. The authors of this work are renowned modelers who want to pay a small tribute with their works to those men who manned, fixed, fought, lived and died in their panzers who are involved in an elite unit without par-

allel among the others throughout history. Their spirit is reflected in the last verse of the hymn of the panzer troops or Panzerlied: Und läßt uns im Stich Einst das treulose Glück, Und kehren wir nicht mehr Zur Heimat zurück, Trifft uns die Todeskugel, Ruft uns das Schicksal ab, Ja Schicksal ab, Dann wird uns der Panzer Ein ehernes Grab.

And if you leave us in the lurch once unfaithful luck And if I never came back Return to the Homeland, we find a deadly bullet and Destiny calls us, Yes, Destiny. Then give us our panzer metal tomb.

I hope you enjoy reading this book, but I also wish that it will serve as an indispensable reference when painting your figures and crews, and the tool that will help you climb one more step in your quest for perfection.

Luis Miguel García, January 2014.

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The panzer units Detailed analysis of the whole panzer uniforms requires an extensive work that goes far beyond the scope of this book. But broadly speaking, there are three fundamental elements that characterize them: The black uniforms The Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany to have armored units but the rising German army solved this limitation by creating motorized and mechanized regiments; however they trained as if they were actually tank units. In the late 20s and beginning of the 30s, bikers of these forces were equipped with black jacket, pants, coat and leather gloves, even the helmet was black, so in 1934 when armored units were created, these uniforms prevailed. This circumstance, added to the transformation into ‘Panzerregiments’ of some cavalry regiments following the Prussian tradition of the ‘Hussars of Death’ or ‘Black Hussars’ (named for the color of their uniforms), made black the definitive characteristic color of their uniforms. The skull logo Also the Hussars of Death, carried the insignia of a skull with crossed bones on his headgear (garment Head Hussars). In July 1921 a commemorative badge to distinguish personnel who fought with the first units to 7V which appeared in September 1917 during the First World War or wearing a Totenkopf skull was created, and since then it remained as hallmark armored troops until the surrender of Germany in World War II in May 1945 .

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FINALLY, THE THIRD ELEMENT THAT DISTINGUISHES THEM IS THE COLOR OF THEIR Waffenfarbe (Corps Color): PINK It is not unique in the German army uniforms to identify the membership of the various units and fighting forces through a series of colors but especially in a highly militarized society like the Third Reich. This aspect, combined with the various military badges distinctive of rank, decorations and uniforms, acquired great complexity. Some say that the pink color comes from the combination of the characteristics of the Infantry Combat (White) with Artillery’s firepower (Red). To simplify this greatly and to avoid this fact leading us to an insurmountable obstacle to represent a figure, we can use the following summary table with the colors of the main units and bodies of the Wehrmacht and SS:

White Infantry



Red Artillery



Pink



Golden yellow



Panzer troops Cavalry

Black Engineers Green

Grenadiers Panzer

These colors would go on the shoulder straps and collar patches of the troops, NCOs, officers and chiefs, as well as on the inverted “V” of the campaign hat and on the peaked cap as we shall see in the box below:

NCOs

official

heads

general

NECK

SS Jobs Shoulder Pads

common left Arm

NECK

Jobs Wehrmacht Shoulder Pads

Reichführer SS

Generalfeldmarshall

SS-Oberstgruppenführer und Generaloberst der Waffen-SS

Generaloberst

SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS

General

SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS

Generalleutnant

SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS

Generalmajor

SS-Oberführer

No equivalent

SS-Standartenführer

Oberst

SS-Obersturmbannführer

Oberstleutnant

SS-Sturmbannführer

Major Hauptmann

SS-Hauptsturmführer SS-Obersturmführer

Oberleutnant

SS-Untersturmführer

Leutnant

SS-Sturmscharführer

Stabsfeldwebel

SS-Hauptscharführer (SS-Standartenoberjunker)

Oberfeldwebel

SS-Oberscharführer (SS-Standartenjunker)

Feldwebel (Oberfähnrich)

SS-Scharführer (SS-Oberjunker)

Unterfeldwebel ARM BADGE

SS-Unterscharführer (SS-Junker)*

Unteroffizier (Fähnrich)

ARM BADGE

troop

Stabsgefreiter SS-Rotenführer

Obergefreiter

SS-Sturmann

Gefreiter

SS-Oberschutze

Oberschutze

SS-Schutze

Soldat – Schutze - Grenadier

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Panzer Crew Black Uniforms

advice We will give you some int black on the process to pa eatly garments, which is gr ck bla AK th wi facilitated set it is is th ith W t. clothing se y piece very easy to paint an ing. th clo ed lor of black co

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We will start priming with a medium gray. In this case we use a Tamiya spray primer.

With the base tone of the set and using a number one brush, we apply this color to the whole figure. It is recommended that the paint is uniform, 2 or 3 layers will suffice. The reason for giving this basis with the brush and not with the airbrush, is that sometimes a grainy painting may appear on the figure leaving the quality not suitable to continue working.

1 2 The same goes for the shadows but in the opposite direction, they will be applied with the airbrush from beneath the figure, to obtain shadows at the bottom of the wrinkles.

Then it is the turn of the highlights. With the specific tone for first light, and using the airbrush, we will lightly spray from above the figure so the paint is deposited on top of the wrinkles and give us a good base to work the highlights later with a brush painting from above.

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5 Now with the brush and the maximum light tone we will finish the highlights of the garment. If there are transitions of colors it is important to create halftone colors to blend in these contrasting areas.

To obtain a satisfactory effect, it is very important to make the stroke on the crest of the wrinkle with the brush because that’s where most of the light falls on the garment and we want the most paint to be applied.

To finish the painting of the garment using the maximum shade color, we will outline all parts of the figure.

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We will prime the figure with a neutral gray color to prepare it for subsequent painting work.

This is another example of how to paint a black uniform, mostly using the airbrush, which facilitates and speeds up the time needed to paint a figure of this type. The first thing to consider when airbrushing figures, is using a quality airbrush, perfectly clean to avoid unwanted disasters. The only technical specification this useful tool must have is a nozzle and needle of 0.3 mm. or 0.4 mm. diameter for the paint to flow swiftly and smoothly. We will work with a pressure of about 12 kg (approx. 25 psi). With these technical aspects clear, we can now start on the paint. The set of AK Panzer Crew Uniforms Black has been specially formulated for use with both brush and airbrush, the only thing we have to keep in mind is that if we use these paints with airbrush, we will have to dilute them to be effective with this device. The ideal dilution of the paint is a bit variable, but always resembles the consistency of skim milk. Therefore, in the airbrush’s cup we will deposit some paint slightly diluted with water, and then we’ll pour a little acrylic paint thinner. On the market there are several of these products, the most useful are those which are made to work with vinyl - acrylic paint. Nonetheless we can replace them by a previously made mixture of alcohol and water, already added and mixed to the paint. With an old brush we can take a little of this mixture from the color cup, and deposit it on the walls. The mix will slide down the wall leaving something similar to a skim milk trail letting us know it is the correct consistency.

1 Once this initial layer is dry, protect the head and hands of the figure with low adhesiveness masking tape to avoid damaging or soiling the primer and leaving it ready for the painting of the skin after removing the tape.

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3 We will give a first layer using a brush, with the color indicated as the basis of the set. This way we will achieve a finer result with the paint sprayed next.

Airbrushing begins with the first color shade, placing the airbrush perpendicular to the figure in order to deposit the paint in these areas and create the first shadows.

5 Once this is finished, we apply the deepest shadows with the shade color of the second AK set. In this case we will use the airbrush from the bottom as shown in the photographs, in order to emphasize the darker areas of the picture, without spoiling the previous step.

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To apply the highlights you must place the figure in/on an angle precisely contrary to the one used for the shadows. In this case the airbrush is above the figure, proceed the same way as previously but use the lighter colors of the set. Test first on paper to choose the desired tone for lighting this black color scheme.

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The result must be that of a slightly grayish color on the illuminated areas, and darker almost full black in the shadows. We don’t want to lose the reality of these colors, and we like giving the figure some definition in relation to its size.

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With the initial airbrush work completed, we begin to work with the brush. After removing the masking we paint the skin and hair and start getting an idea about the final outcome of the figure At this point we can tell if some retouching or enhancement in terms of lighting and shading will be needed.

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17 Once we’ve finished the step of skin painting, we will strengthen some high lights and shadows. For this we will place the set colors on a palette to have all at hand when retouching

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With a brush in good condition, highlight the deeper shadows that airbrush could not reach like the edges and seams of clothing.

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In the shoulder zone, a pronounced step has been produced during the initial process of decoration. At this point, we must apply a glaze or ‘filter’ of an intermediate color to start softening this shift in color. This application should be repeated several times until it disappears. The glaze should be a much diluted color applied to the area we want to soften and should be allowed to dry thoroughly between applications to avoid making a mess, and ensure the soft transition of color remains visible.

20 Just as we have done in the shadows, we emphasize some extreme highlights using the lightest

color mixed with some secondary color. This application is used to define points of light and to highlight or intensify some areas.

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As a final painting process, proceed to emphasize this depth and create shadows where necessary. These areas are often the most remote and internal folds of clothing. With the same color, we outline the whole figure.

Painting the borders of the shoulders, neck and unit patches, our figure is finished and ready for inclusion in any armored vehicle of the time, or just to be placed on a pedestal within a small vignette, showcasing these troops in our display case.

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an Wehrmacht Tank Crewm with Splinter Muster A

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1. Face

To paint the face use a base color base from AK flesh color set. The painting of the base layer has to be the consistency of skim milk so it is not too heavy with color, for the desired effect we will apply 2 or 3 coats.

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3 4 To highlight, we will use the lightest shade in the set and work towards the base color. It is important that the paint is diluted as well as pulling the brush stroke to the area we want more highlighted, as that’s where most paint is deposited.

The highlights will be concentrated on the nose, cheeks, chin, forehead and upper lip. We will continue highlighting while adding some second light tone to the mix that we have from the previous step. The process remains the same but we narrow the highlight zone to the highest parts.

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At this point we will start the extreme highlights, adding to the mix more quantity of this color until it is just pure color. These highlights are the extreme points of the highest illuminated parts. To finish, we will give some much accented highlighting at the tip of the nose, cheekbones and chin directly using the latter color. It is important to maintain the mixtures used above during the process to blend any jump in transitions if needed.

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7 The next step is the shadows which help increase the faces realism and depth. Start by adding the first color of the set of shadows to the base. We apply them even more diluted than the highlights. These shadows will start to frame the face. Apply the shadows to the deepest and lower parts of the face like the eye sockets, the side of the nose, temples, chin bottom and bottom of the cheeks.

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We apply three shades with the chosen tone and then we add to the mix the second color of the set to give another three shades in the deepest areas of the folds and wrinkles.

When the lighting and shading process is finished it’s time to give the impression of life to the face by applying tones, using color specially formulated for this purpose by AK. These tones have to be very dilute, so it is important to drain the brush very well on a napkin to avoid tidemarks and streaks.

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With a highly diluted gray tone we will draw the mustache shadow and stubble on the face There is no need to rush with these tones: only in the third or fourth application we must begin to sense the color. Finish off by painting the other parts of the head, thus we have finished the process of painting a complete face.

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2. Splinter A camouflage muster Playing any camouflage scheme has always been a headache for figure painters. Here we will explain the process of painting of a Splinter A worn by soldiers of the Wehrmacht. With the help of AK Splinter Set the task is greatly facilitated.

First the base color is applied with brush and the specific AK set tone for this camouflage.

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Then we will give some general lights and shadows with the airbrush to make the figure gain volume.

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From here begins the most important thing: reproducing the specific shapes of the scheme. With patience, color designed for this type of pattern and diluted paint; we begin to draw the shapes. It is very important to adapt the drawings to the figures scale to make them as realistic as possible.

When the shapes of brown spots are finished, we move to the green spots that are painted with the AK color for these spots.

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During the process it is important to have base colors ready if we have to rectify any trace of our mistakes.

To highlight the garment we must highlight each color individually, as each color has its own particular light tone. In this case we add the AK light tone for both the brown and green spots.

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When this process is finished, you have to integrate the pants camouflage with the rest of the garment as a whole, lest it not seem artificial. To do this use a wash of AK applied with an airbrush. If we persist with this technique, we can give this piece a very dirty and used appearance.

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Now we come to an important step: shading. With the shadow tone we must shade all of the pants like it were a single color, don’t worry about the individual camouflage colors. If you look at any real camouflage garment you will see the shadows areas are constant. For this we use the airbrush and apply it from below the figure, allowing the paint to only adhere to the bottom of wrinkles, thus we get general shading. Then we shall finish the shadows where there airbrush can’t be used with a brush.

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The next step is to paint the rain lines of this camouflage. With a thin brush, AK color stripes and patience, we make these lines. We must be firm in the stroke so they are straight and not wavy. It is important to remember that not all camouflages are equal, each one has its own specifics. For this reason, to represent any camouflage it is very important to have good references. Add to the painting of the pants dirt stains applied with acrylic paints and oil paintings in earth colors. To complete the process you have to outline the elements of the pants, like the seams and buttons etc. with a shadow tone. We have thus completed the Splintermuster A camouflage pants.

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3. PaP Lambskin Jacket

I will explain the process of painting a lambskin jacket that in my opinion is the most interesting part of the figure. The appearance of this sheepskin is very rough and has abrupt changes of color that we will try to reproduce with paint. For the base we use Dark Earth, preparing two starting mixtures in different palettes. In one we make all the highlights adding Yellow Desert for the firsts highlights and Iraqi Sand for the last ones. In another palette we prepared the shadows by adding German Dun Black for the firsts and Black for the last ones. Lastly, in a couple of wells we make very watery tones with Sepia and Violet ink. The reason for having all these mixtures prepared is the continuous coming and going in the application of light and shadow. It is very important to add Tamiya matte base in the process, so that the paint does not become glossy.

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Usually we do paint strokes with the brush until the top of the wrinkle to illuminate it, but not in this case. With the brush tip we stipple the corresponding light increases with each color, up to the highest and clearest part of the wrinkle. This technique is very similar to what is done when trying to reproduce woolen cloth at larger scales, but in this case the dots don’t have to be so accurate and can be done more freely. In the process, we will constantly keep returning to these points to reduce the transitions between colors and that the jump is not so noticeable. It’s a fun process and technically does not require as much as other forms of painting and the result is perfect to represent this type of suede material. The same methods reversed can be applied for the shadows. You should use the same stippling method in darker areas to give the necessary contrast. It is very important to experiment with the dilution of the paint to make the effect as realistic as possible and remember to let the dots dry before stippling over them to avoid affecting the previous application. Finally, we apply the color tones to give more chromatic richness to the garment and unify further the colors of the jacket.

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SS Tank Crewman with M-44 Uniforms

One of the most commonly represented armored troop camouflaged uniforms at the end of WWII, was the M-44 or DOT-44 and popularly known as the dot or pea pattern. This camouflage was first used by the armored troops in the beginning of 1944-1945. The most often seen are the shorter jackets and trousers of the armored crew but other accessories were designed similar and used by assault troops and other special units (Waffen SS).

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AK Interactive in its new line of figure paints are designed differently and are representative of WWII German camouflage. The set designed for this purpose, is what I used to paint this figure.

We start applying a base layer with the color indicated for this purpose, highlighting it slightly with a pair of airbrush coats. This produces soft highlights that will help us in representing this pattern depending on the volume of the figure.

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Next we prepare a palette of the set tones, to work easily with all colors for the different spots and dots.

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After checking some reference sources about this camouflage, we distribute on the figure the firsts light colored spots with a small brush in good condition.

We do the same with the dark green spots, placing them on specific places depending on the base colors we apply them over.

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Once all the big dots are painted we start to paint the dots with a brush number 0 with a steady hand and patience. Actually if you look carefully in photographs of the time, or in my case an original garment collection, these aren’t really points, they are rather small clouds.

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To make a more realistic camouflage on a figure, it is better to work first on just one garment while continuously monitoring the size of the dots and the distribution of colors in the pattern.

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A little trick (that we should not abuse-overuse) but that helps to visually understand this camouflage on a miniature figure is to distribute the clearer points on the wrinkles’ crests or on the areas more exposed to the light. Thus, once the process of shading is finished, the volume effect in a camouflaged figure will be even more enhanced.

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With the camouflage pattern completely finished on both garments, it is time to shade the entire figure to obtain volume. There is a generality that I always use to paint camouflage; distribute all the patterns colors on the clothes without any shading, and then shade them as if it were a solid color. This way we manage to integrate the different colors depending on the figure. Until now I used dark colors and those that chromatically matched the camouflage colors. For this purpose, AK has designed two perfect shades formulated with the correct dilution for use straight from the bottle.

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At this point, you should gradually shade the whole figure, repeating this process until reaching the correct darkness, insisting on the most remote parts that have less exposure to light.

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Once this step is completed we can see how the camouflage is fully integrated with the help of trick I mentioned previously and the shading that I applied over all the colors.

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20 We only need to highlight the seams with a translucent color and shade all the garments with a very dark color to complete our camouflage.

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Face Painting: To paint the face of this figure I decided to put it on a stand separated from the body. For me this is easier and more comfortably to paint without ruining the work done on the uniform. Once the face and head is completed, I will then attach it to the body.

In General, when painting a face or the skin of a figure I always falsely highlight the raised areas to better show all the details of the face, thus we get a more striking visual effect. On this occasion I used the new set of paint skins AK Interactive with much resemblance to the actual garment.

This gives me the base color that I am looking for by applying two / three layers of heavily diluted paint, which I’m gradually adding to this base color using small applications of the highlight colors. Start with the first and gradually work to the base color as we lighten, then we add this mixture to the second highlight color to apply to the areas exposed to the most light. The dilution of the paint to use for these applications is achieved by adding water to the mixture until the thickness of skim milk, and by applying them as many times as necessary to softly shift the color, as we highlight we will constantly brush a smaller area so that our transition from light to dark is smooth and subtle.

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With the extreme highlights now on the face, we are ready to begin to shade it.

The shading process is exactly the same as the highlighting one but in reverse, that is the shadows are gradually placed into the deep folds where less light would fall. To do this, we darken the base colors and shade these areas with more diluted paint.

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Once the shading process is finished we will give the face a more realistic and vivid appearance. To do this I mix an intermediate tone and apply it to the area where the light and shadows converge. To do this using the color set choose an intermediate tone and apply the heavily diluted color, ensuring proper coverage letting it dry well between applications.

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We paint the cap with regimental insignia and colors, once complete we will decide whether it is right or if it needs retouching in both light and shadow, as well as the intermediate tone.

If we properly follow these easy steps, we can get very bright yet realistic smaller scale results, these standards are the same for all scales when taking into account that the higher surface highlights need to fade subtly into the deeper shadows when painting the face.

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With his head glued in place this figure is really striking, and is designed by the manufacturer to place inside the hatch of a tank. This is a very detailed and well finished model and will win many points with the inclusion into an AFV. Such quality figures as this will increase the satisfaction of seeing a finished model with a figure painted to the same high standard.

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lane p h it w n a m w e r c k n a t Ss tree autum camouflage

e figure’s face This time I started th at provides very using a simple mix th Arena Brown of good results; a basis g with beige tin na and Red Black, illumi sh based fle d red, browned flesh an d black re er op and shading with pr ces to en fer re and olive brown (all Vallejo Model Color).

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For the hat I used the AK set for black uniforms

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8 9 I will focus mainly in this article the painting of a smock in Plane Tree camouflage pattern in the autumn colors. To paint this version I have used the set of colors of autumn camouflage AK Interactive. First apply the base color that matches with the highlighting color from the same set; we will apply at least 5 increasing highlights. We can illuminate the base color in an exaggerated manner then we will complete the pattern and shadows to give a general tone to integrate the colors into the look of one garment.

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The camouflage scheme When painting a pattern we must consider two important points; one must be able to scale out the camouflage scheme and two, give a logical placement to the pattern. For this we need to have good photographic reference material to guide us as to avoid any headaches and problems when starting painting scheme. One trick that I normally use to reference scale from photos before transferring the pattern to the figure is to study the pockets (be it a coat, a jacket or as in this case a smock). Details like the seams provide us with an idea of the scale and size of the spots that we have to paint.

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Secondly we have to copy the placement of the spots in the reference photo or at least try to get as close as possible. Once we have completed this we can start working on the pattern shapes. I recommend that you use an area as flat as possible, with the least amount of wrinkles and folds to begin laying out the scheme. In the case of Plane Tree begin making small circles with darker camouflage color next to each other, but not overlapping.

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21 22 Then in the gaps we have left between the patterns we go darker, directing the size of the spot in the direction you wish. We can make black spots grouped into three circles or one circle close to a larger spot ...all this work is based more on the power of observation than in the skill or ability to draw to it.

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Now we have the first part of the camouflage finished, so we can apply the small brown spots. The pattern color cannot be too similar to the background color tone. These spots we apply using the same process by placing them near the darkest pattern colors and even overlapping in some cases this darker pattern color.

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The most interesting and perhaps the most important thing being that the most attractive color draw attention first; this is the one that corresponds to the portion orange spots. If we look closely we see that in the original photo the orange will overlay the dark brown, so this color will work with the same system as above but this time making circles in dark areas, giving the final shape to the scheme.

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Dark spots Brown spots

Orange spots

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35 36 If we realize that we have covered the highlights to much with heavy washes, we can pick out the highlights again in these areas of untouched camouflage spots. Once complete, we can work in the shadows like any other garment.

Finally, we have the outline of our smock laid out; now it does not seem a camouflage, looks more like a Christmas tree but this is where we begin to shape the camouflage and make it look like it’s all the same garment. To integrate all these tones together we use basic colors and highlights to perform a general pattern throughout the garment. We apply a much diluted wash (mostly water) with a brown tone either by hand brush or airbrush giving several passes until we begin to see that everything is within the same color tone but without covering up the previous paint scheme, leaving it dry thoroughly between each application.

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Pants

To paint the pants I used the paint set from AK Interactive; Panzer Troops which we have mentioned previously. In this case I have sought to create a strong effect of wear with highlights mainly on the knee.

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To outline the seams and pockets I used black matte by Life Color, applied with caution and very dilute as it is surprisingly dull and much deeper than any black paint used so far. This allows me one or two passes to highlight without risking getting to get outside of those seams.

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For pigment I used Dark Earth AK-081 applied with a brush directly on certain parts of the pants.

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SS Tank Crewman with Plane Tree Spring Camouflage

In this article I will ex plain how to paint a version of spring/summer Pla ne Tree camouflage. Th e pattern is the same, the only difference be ing that the colors are designe d to adapt to the early sp ring colors of that season . Painting of a smock in Plane Tree camouflag e of any version may be on e of the most complic ate d to paint but with good planning and good re ferences it will be much simple r.

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Before you start painting the scheme you must apply the base color by airbrush and start to apply some general highlights. The base color is from the set by AK-Interactive (ref. whatever) which is made specifically for this light camouflage and is the overall result of adding the highlight shade of the base mixture.

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To begin with the scheme, it is important to think of camouflage as a superposition of smaller drawings. Thus the first spots that we will paint in green will be adapted to the size of the pattern as close as possible to the scale we’re working in, which is in this case 1/35.

6 Then comes the application of the dark spots and as we explained earlier, camouflage is a superposition of spots. Following these rules they remained on top of the dark green. We will alternate between smaller separate points and the larger spots.

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7 With great precision and patience we complete this camouflage which is for me one of the more colorful, with the bright colors and many small shapes.

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Now we have to join the camouflage pattern on the blouse and keep the look of the fabric, we will apply some shading sprayed from below using the airbrush with dark wash AK this is highly diluted and very lightly applied without repeating the application over covered areas.

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At this point it is important not to be discouraged with the first impression of the result. Since the profile of the garment, painting collar jacket, belt, Granada and the placement of the head will change the figure radically.

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Now we only need to paint the pants to complete the piece. With a brush, apply the base color by blending German Grey (Vallejo Model Color) and German Uniform (Vallejo Model Color). Don’t forget to add Flat Base (Tamiya X-21) to the mixture so that the paint will not end up satin or glossy. When the base color is painted and dry we mask off the top of the figure. Using the airbrush from the top to give two highlights using Matte Flesh (Vallejo Model Color) added to the base color.

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Apply the shadows to the trousers by airbrushing from below, with the mixture of the matte black base Lifecolor. Using a paint brush this time to the top of the pants, continue highlighting and shading with the same mixtures in areas necessary to intensify the light and shadow appearance. This last step of highlighting and shading becomes faster because the process can be done with the airbrush. Using this tool over the hand brush will naturally reveal areas where you should apply each of the highlights and shadows corresponding to give the figure volume and to finish this garment.

Such figures can be placed in a scene with an armored vehicle or on a pedestal with a simple terrain; both applications will showcase our personal work. In this case, I made two simple Jerry cans, encompassing the history that can be counted on one figure, like perhaps a tank driver of your vehicle, ready to load the fuel and continue on to a new, unknown adventure.

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SS Tank Crewman with Oak Leaf Aut um Camouflage

This time we are going to paint the picture of a tank commande r with black jacket and pants featuring the Oak Leaf type camouflage in the autumn colors.

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Cap Being the highest point of the figure and thus more exposed to light, rather than start painting with the base set black colored uniforms AK 3002. I used the first highlight in the set as my base color, adding the second and third highlight color in the previously mentioned processes as the last highlight and adding some Vallejo Model Color Matte Flesh to accentuate the wear and give greater clarity to the cap. Then I painted the hat to correspond with the Panzer troops rose.

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The rest of his face painted with Flesh from the AK set, as has been discussed extensively in this book.

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Jacket

to paint the jacket, I again use the set from AK. Just as a reminder, to begin we always paint the base color from the AK set first applying it with a brush and making sure to cover all areas well. We try not to spend too much time as excessive rubbing will cause fresh paint to get satin, or even glossy.

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Once we have applied the base and allowed it to dry completely, we began the process of adding the highlight colors gradually to the base color.

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We should try to make the transitions as smooth as possible and with this first step we merely outline what will be the highlights when we finish the job. The last color highlighting we will use only focuses on the most prominent areas, like shoulders and seams of the jacket. To shade of paint must be diluted and it is quite essential to brush them well, even when the seam like they have completely dried, the paint may remain soft enough to leave a mark in the surface.

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Belt When we paint such a dark garment and the area around a belt, we need to focus on representing the characteristics of leather to get the right contrast. For this I used black matte foundation lightening the brown. It is important to ensure that the belt is a little gloss to get that distinct effect of leather against the matte jacket fabric.

Autumn Oak Leaf camouflage pants

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As in the case of the autumn Plane Tree camouflage pattern, we will use the set specifically created for this type of camouflage by AK Interactive.

We apply the base color of the garment and then add the highlight color from the set brightening it up more than then the desired outcome. This will be darkened later with washes used to integrate the camouflage together. This will reduce some of the highlights. Here I applied the first highlight with the airbrush to quickly mark the areas to further enlighten by hand brush.

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For the second and third highlight we use the hand brush and we’re going to cut in the general outline that was done with the airbrush. If at any time we make a sudden change in light, or if stroke is applied too heavily, we can fix the area by applying a little front highlight with a much diluted application, or we can leave it and use the correct spots to camouflage the area.

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To perform this Oak Leaf pattern version we first must make bigger spots with the same set of points, similar to the example of the Plane Tree and joining them until they cover a larger surface. We started with the dark spots of color set first.

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When we finish this process we will use orange to delicately outline the perimeter of the dark color. Here again we include small patches of the intermediate color patterns and anything that we observe in our references of real clothes.

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We have already completed the hardest work but all the colors are too scattered so we must now integrate with a light wash. In this case we use the airbrush and spray a brown wash using (ref. brown wash). We give several passes allowing drying between coats paying close attention to the opacity so we don’t cover all the previous work. When we finish blending the camouflage we might have to touch up some of the highlighting if necessary. Touch ups can be done with the base color and clear as well as slightly orange, both applied to their corresponding areas in the pattern. In my case I never highlighted dark spots, now with the brush I apply a dark shadow to enhance they deeper areas with the darkest color of the set, which is also used to outline all the pants details.

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The land and its supplements have been painted acrylic paints, drained dirt AK-012 “Streaking grime” black oil smoke. For the dusty terrain pigment I used AK-42 European Earth pigment and fixer AK048.

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Lights and shadows of the flesh To paint a face we must keep in mind some basic rules regarding the lighting and shading and follow the pattern of brush strokes shown below. Using the effect of ‘daylight’, which is the most often used and gives the best results. Taking some time to study the way a light source looks on our figure or head will help us understand how to paint it this way and we will have an initial idea of where to place the highlights and shadows. After studying this effect on our figure we can proceed to paint using the flesh set from AK Interactive. This paint set will help make this task much easier, since we will now have the colors formulated for this purpose as are labeled.

To help show the direction of the light source we make our brush strokes like the examples shown. We cover all the parts in paint, the highlights, shadows, beard, etc. After applying the base color and we’ve painted eyes, we think back to the way the light effected our figure, these can be seen marked in picture 1. We will paint in triangles following the direction of the arrows. We will be gradually adding highlighting to the base colors, as continue adding highlight color to the mix we will narrow the painted areas up to the points of maximum light (Figure 2). The direction of the stroke in the process of lighting is essential and has to follow the direction of the arrows, thus get a smooth gradient to areas of maximum illumination. For the shadows we will do exactly the same method, but changing the colors to shadow colors added to the base color, and dragging the stroke into the deepest area of shadow ( Photo 3). If we decide to simulate a slight effect of a beard on his face, mix the last shadow of the set with a little black, and using glazes (very diluted paint) and follow the outline seen in photo 4. To build this up to our desired effect by applying successive layers with the brush after each layer is allowed to dry thoroughly between coats.

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Visually shown below are the steps to be followed to paint a face using colored outlines.

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Base layer applied AK 3011.

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First light adding to the base, the color light AK 3012.

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Second lights, adding to the mixture obtained, the color of light AK 3013.

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Extreme Lights applied with 2nd Light Pure AK 3013.

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First shadow applied with AK 3011 Flesh + Base Color 1st AK Shadow Ref 3014.

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Second shadow adding to the mixture obtained color 2nd Shadow AK 3015.

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Final result Lights and Shadows.

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Effect of beard, applied glazes 2nd Shadow AK 3015 + Black Matte.

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Result of the effect of intense chin, insisting on the number of applications.

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reference gallery

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Uniforms

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The extremely talented artists within this book take you on a journey through every aspect of figure painting through their very own words guiding you through their styles and approaches. Follow along as they teach you the methods and skills they’ve developed over time by explaining the how and why of highlighting and shadows, the affect they have on our scale figures and perhaps more importantly, the manipulation of the colors used and the tricks to getting the most out of them in scale figure painting. Read along with each author as he teaches you how to create a feeling of unity by establishing passages of light and shade over complex patterned clothing by connecting the elements through color. Follow each artist in depth tutorial as they share their knowledge in a book explainingthe aspects of figure painting from solid colored uniforms, to very complex patternedcamouflage and even skin tones and hair. The artist’s own approach and signature style is found within the text of each article, providing subjective experience and objective know-how as a result of years of practice and experience. The results found within are absolutely striking.

panzer crew uniforms

These pages are so profusely illustrated with ‘in progress’ photos and descriptive text explaining figure painting, fromthe very start to the most sublime of finishes. Instructional drawings, color plates and page after page of in depth works-in-progress articles that are written by artists who excel in thesemediums, this truly is a big book.

Roberto Ramirez David Hernanz Juan Manuel Vergara

AK 272

www.ak-interactive.com

Phone & Fax: (+34) 941 22 30 64 [email protected]

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