Any tips on painting eyes?

[IronKobra]

Hi anyone and everyone willing to share some sage like advice!

 

I am painting up a model of Gabriel Seth at the moment and I am really struggling with the eyes. I have the white blocked out and I understand that I need to not put a tiny dot on the white as he would look like he is on something. rather I need to paint a line that connects the top and bottom of the eye ball but I am really struggling with the application of this!

 

Anyone have any tips or pointers? I am not painting this model for me so would like to make it look pretty good since it's a gift.

[Blackwyvern]

try with a tooth pick and tipp less than a mm into the paint

[barry_hhh]

the way i have always painted eyes is black line , then paint a smaller white line across that , then paint a tiny vertical black line /dot int he center , looks sweet as , just got to have a quality brush and a steady hand

[Shadey]

Barry_hhh's technique is solid. It is easier to control your brush doing a short line than it is to do a spot.

[Brother Nihm]

http://handcannononline.com/blog/2011/04/0...ces-and-eyes-2/

[IronKobra]

Cheers guys! I had minor success with the vertical line...I knew this was the way I had to go but was really struggling with the control.

[Marshall_Brant]

How are you holding the subject? Because bracing your elbows on a solid surface and cupping your hands will give you the best stability.

 

For future reference if you have unattached heads/helmets. It works to drill into the bottom of the neck and stick the head/helmet on a tooth pick, better control and your hands aren't rubbing off the paint you just applied.

[Shadey]

As Brant said how you brace it is a big part of it. Also, experience will train your muscles and the only way to do that is do it, again and again chalking any shudder worthy attempt up to practise.

 

I like the idea of an artist's/architect's easel which theoretically would allow you to brace the mini solidly while keeping your back straight rather than crouched over a desk. Never had the room or the opportunity to actually test it though.

[IronKobra]

How are you holding the subject? Because bracing your elbows on a solid surface and cupping your hands will give you the best stability.

 

For future reference if you have unattached heads/helmets. It works to drill into the bottom of the neck and stick the head/helmet on a tooth pick, better control and your hands aren't rubbing off the paint you just applied.

 

I have the model in question drilled and pinned onto a cork, holding the cork with elbows in the table like you say for stability. I would have painted the head seperately but the model comes with the head attatched. Gabriel Seth is the model. I have never really tried to paint them in such detail and I suppose practice is the key here, just have to do it more. But advice so far has told me I was on the right path :lol:

[Marshall_Brant]

Ah Gabe. With a model like him. I'd tend to put him on his base. It'd bring the center of gravity down instead of him being balanced by a piece of cork, and I'd leave his backpack off (stick it on a tooth pick too same reason as heads and helmets) so also you have a place to brace him from the backpack nub without handling any vital bits. I'd do up his base paint it add some flock or snow. Then I start painting from the bottom up.

 

This technique works for me, so who knows it might help you.

[EmbattledSoul]

Micro pen perhaps? Really fine point for the iris/pupil.

[Red Fury]

I don't have too much experience painting eyes, probably like most space marine painters, but one trick I have learned is to not do eyes white. I use bleached bone instead with a black dot of a pupil painted or penned on after (some models the pen works great, others not so much). But by using the bleached bone instead of white you will subdue the total crazy glowing white eyes problem.

You can barely see it on this librarian, but you can tell what the difference would be if they where white. Works ok for me, although the link that Brother Nihm supplied has results far better than my own, I think the bigger pupil looks better.

[striker8]

The age old question of how to paint eyes.

 

I'll start off with saying all techniques discussed so far are valid and do work but want to point out as I usually do each painter will have to experiment a bit and modify things to fit their personal style and needs.

 

Currently I use hemostats to hold tabbed mini's and I blue tack plastic ones to bottle caps. For hand positionaing I brace my brush hand wrist against the hand holding the mini in an atemot to lock them together so any shakeyness is synced between both hands.

 

Actually painting wise I use an 18/0 brush to paint the whites. Some times it's actuall white, others VMC pale sand or even ghostly grey or fortress grey depending on the effect I'm after. The pupil/irris I use a disposeable .03 micron pen and can't recomend these enough to begining or ewxperienced painters. I try to aim for a tiny verticle line for the pupil/irris but sometimes due to the sculpt a dot is all you can get and you have to learn to except it.