I want to share my personal experience with acrylic paints to help out those who hand paint their kits. This is more about the texture and finish of acrylic paint rather than the hue. I've been an acrylic painter for almost 10 years. I started off using Apple Barrel acrylic paints and gradually moved to more expensive paints as I experienced. My current favorite brands are Atelier and Winsor Newton. They have a thick creamy texture that is great for blending on canvas. Apple Barrel has a more watery texture and has "weaker", more transparent pigments. (Of course, both of these brands will need to be watered down before being used for hand painting kits.) What I noticed from using both of these paints is that Atelier, when dry, has a "waxy" finish/texture. It's like a satin sheen that can be slightly sticky depending on the pigment. Apple Barrel, when dry, has a "chalky" finish/texture. This is a true matte. I much prefer Apple Barrel for painting kits because of the matte finish. However, because it's very "weak" compared to higher quality brands, more layers need to be applied. The matte chalkiness makes it susceptible to scuffs and damage, but that can be protected by a sealer. A bonus for Apple Barrel is how affordable they are. At least where I live in the USA, you can buy a 2 oz. bottle of Apple Barrel at Walmart for 50¢. I recently bought two potential skin tone colors, "Sunkissed Peach" and "Lite Mocha".
*2022 edit: For those continuously asking about where I got my torsos to practice... guys I said I made them myself 😑 in fact, there's a link to an amazon listing to where I purchased the molds, stop asking and read the damn descriptions! If the item is no longer available, then just look for a premade silicone mold of a torso, there are tons of those on amazon. ****************************************** Thank you so much for the welcome back comments 🤣 It feels weird to come back doesn't it? LOL I've been reading and replying to almost all your comments, but some are same and I guess my replies get lost in between, so I want to address the question that has been repeated several times here: Thinning Americana (and folkart brands) Thinning can be done with just water or even an airbrush medium if you have it. It depends on the consistency of the paint itself to determine how much water it needs to be thinned out, some bottles come with runny paint, others come in super THIC 😏 If the paint is runny, I thin 1:1 with water, if the paint is too thick that your're basically squeezing out a tiny poop dollop in your paint cup, then thin down with 2:1 or you might even need a 3:1 ratio, always add a little at a time and mix to see how the paint thins, I normally leave it at chocolate milk consistency and crank up the compressor just a little bit (from 20 to 25 PSI) because craft paint is a less pigmented than hobby paint and thinning too much will result in you having to do 3 or 4 layers for full coverage. To thin out Vallejo paints, they carry their own brand of thinner, I used that and their airbrush flow improver, just a few drops of each and it does the trick to use with your AB. I also want to say that thanks to all your continuing support, we've now reached 10,000 subs! 😲 I didn't think I'd reach 100 when I started xD so this was a morale boost to continue to put more videos out! I'm still in the editing seat, I'm doing a small video review and unboxing of an amazing Sailor Moon kit that I'm sure, most of you here have not seen, and that will be coming out between tomorrow and Friday 🤓 Next video after that is a GK special on Charagumin kits from Volks and then part 2 will drop 🤩
May 3, 2020---I've downloaded and watch a lot of your how to videos. I'm not into resin figure kits per say, but about 15 years or so ago, I bought a bunch of 'em via Ebay. Women with lots of various kinds of weapons of mayhem and of course, VERY little clothing. However, the prices of them have jumped in prices. Many were sold out of Thailand and they'd have a low price. I waited till the last 3 minutes for the sale to end and with more than one figure with no bidding on it, I'd actually get it cheaper than the cost of mailing it to me! They're in different scales, but my favorite is Nude Raider, a parody on Tomb Raider. Think I've got about 3 dozen figures and 2 of Nude Raider, plus some regular resin figures of Tomb Raider. Thanks for the video.
I've wanted to get into garage kits for the longest time but never knew where to start, found your channel recently and wanted to say thanks for the really helpful videos and info.
The thing about Vallejo and some of their skin tones is that they're meant for smaller scale miniatures and then to be used with a flesh wash and layered up with lighter and lighter tones to create depth and contrast. I'm new to the gk scene and have just ordered my first kit from e2046 im mostly a miniature painter so excited try something new. Your vids have been a great help.
@@kikyamart8749 Many different types of Asians have medium to dark skin. They even show in anime, just like in real life, that if people are outside a lot they will have a tan. It's also important to remember that maybe some people want to create south Asian characters. I for one want to create Mexican characters out of GK kits, and people from Mexico come in all different types of shades, from the whites if the whites to the darkest darks.
ironically enough. never use black. Since white and black are terminal values, your eye winds up flattening out rather than falling in. Use chromatic darks and for rich lustrous browns, you want to match temperament with temperament. So if you're mixing an orange and a blue for instance, you want to make sure they are both either cool colors or warm colors. If you mix a warm orange with a cool blue, you'll get military olive camo color. not the best for skin. I like using purple and green for my shadows with orange and yellows for highlights. black and white being the last "colors" you go to just to get specific areas. and in those cases i would use light washes of white and black.
@@kikyamart8749 You do know Asia doesn’t just consist of Japan, China and Korea most asians are dark skinned or tan like in Vietnam and India and more, pay attention more in school
I actually really needed this video. I am about to paint my very first resin kit. And I was very hesitant on what I should use for the skin tone. But thank you so much for this!!! I will be re watching it again.
Super stoked on the video! Glad you posted! Primera vez que oigo pronunciado *Vallejo* correcta mente. 👌🤣 I live in the U.S. and I’m hispanic so when I went to my local hobby shop and asked for Vallejo primer the way its pronounced in spanish, they looked at me like like all confused and then proceeded to correct me and called it “Valeyjo” 😂😂😂
DAAAAAAMMMMNNNN some of those went on SO YELLOW it was crazy to see, seeing it in the bottle and it appears such a peachy skin tone, but goes on bright yellow would make my flip out like you said, yikes! Thanks for doing a comparison! I hope you'll also do other common paint brands for typical skin tones.
Oh my god girl, I just declared myself your number one fan, as a visual artist I would love to learn how to do this, I just saw your video of the sailor moon figure and I was fascinated!
Out of curiosity think you would ever like to try a video like this for gold paints since it can be quite difficult to paint gold with acrylics? And it would be nice to see comparisons between a few different golds.
Hey there. Good to see you. I use Garage Kit colors skin tones ( water based ). They make great colors with corresponding transparencies. I paint from dark to light and use an organic approach. Every character has skin tone that is different. Don’t want to be one trick pony. Just saying, they are the best skin tone colors available. Thanks for all your hard work.
I loved this video. Skin tone is one of the major problems when painting GK and what I liked more is that you compared two brands of paints I can find in my country (Brasil). I am returning to airbrushing after a few years (I stayed for a while using rattle cans) and I think I will try Americana paints first because they cost less than the half of Vallejo ones for bigger bottles. Thank you very much!
Thank you for the video, I only recently considered picking up a resin figure of a female pilot but didn't know how to approach the skin tones. Keep up the great work.
Great information, I will try out Vallejo! I have a zillion different colors of Tamiya... this made me realize how limited the colors are in some areas of the spectrum! Im more of a military modeler, this will be my first time painting a figurine. I bought a 3D resin printer, so I doubt it will be my last.
Hi, found your channel while trying to learn how to get better at flesh tones. I just paint wargamming stuff and use VALL-EH-HO paint almost exclusively. I think the tones work better on smaller scales where you want more contrast in the highlights. Skin tones look waaaaaay nicer and more natural at that scale though, makes me want to try one of those kits lol.
just subscribe... thanks for this planning to repaint some anime fig kit this coming... really grateful for this tutorial... your one of the humorous tutorial sensei i met on RU-vid.. hope to see more eye opening tutorials in the future.
I know this video was from many many moons ago, and it's a very unrelated question, but I love the lipstick on you and I wondered what it was! Whenever I watch one of your videos you always look beautiful - ~goals~
Thank you for the video. I'd be really thankful if you could answer just one question - I feel like this video mostly concerns female skin tones. Could you recommend some paints (base+shade) for painting more masculine anime skin? Think for example - a Goku garage kit. Preferably acrylic.
Hi Leona, you finally came back to do tutorials, you're very good. Can I know how to dilute the Americana colors and the Flockarts to give them as an airbrush? Thanks for your help.
I am going to be that person. But I paint plastic models, which means I test my colors on spoons lol. But I have 3 resin figures and am looking to buy some flesh paints. But I am super curious as to where you got the multiple chest pieces from? I want to paint practice on what would be essential for my figures.
Thanks for the overview! I'm still hoping to actually start working on any of the myriad figure kits I've picked up over the years, so the more information I can get the better.
idk why i cant seem to get my colors to look like yours. mine tend to all end up looking more in the yellowish side for some reason but video did help a lot nonetheless and i could just add a bit of pink or orange/brown to some of these to get the tones i want. really good video especially with showing the vallejo colors i don't own already.
Vallejo has a pretty good set for the face/skin that goes further with darker skin. Most of the use I see has been for wargaming figures and not garage kits. Skip GW (Citadel) as their market is for the wargame hobby and blending is much more difficult from their containers as opposed to dropper bottles. The pots would be an absolute mess to work with for airbrush unless you transfer them to empty dropper bottles or use droppers that you'd find for essential oils. There's also the longstanding gripe that the paint in the pots dries out quickly.
Been doing mini painting for about two years now and kind of want to get into doing anime scale figures. I already have display case of anime figures so figured why not! Not sure what to start with really though. Was eyeing a Asuka bust kit seen someone recommended in a forum.
yay! Love it! Thank you taking your precious time to make these wonderful videos. Quick question: how do you thin Americana acrylic paint and what's your suggested ratio? I find that it peels sometimes after it dries, or maybe my nails are just long. lol
You can thin Americana paints with just water, as per ratio, it always depends on how thick the paint is, if it's runny, then 1:1, if it looks like you squeezed out a mini poop into your paint cup, then 2:1 or even 3:1 if necessary but add a few drops of water at a time :)
oh an about it peeling... Are you sure you used primer before painting? If not, then that's the problem. Also, always seal your work after the paint dries so it won't chip and it will make a good bond to the surface.
Peeling might be a sign the base surface hasn't been washed properly. I always wash in soapy water and then rub down with alcohol. Some use hardware store degreasing agents.
what if u have a preciously painted figure and u didnt have a airbrush would it ruin the texture of the figure to paint over it with a fine tip brush if u watered it down? i need some advice ty
Thank you for posting a video on how to use acrylic paint skin tones. That's definitely going to help me out here when I build some figurines. Question what kind of primer do you use is it black or gray or white before you add your base coat??? Also can you by chance make a video on how to airbrush skin tones like start to finish where did you make one like that already???
I have actually. I did a full skin tone paint process on Halloween girl, you can look for that video in my wip playlist. regarding primers, I use krylon's primers, white and gray, I only use the gray one on pieces that require dark paint, the rest I prime it in white.
Just curious, do you just airbrush a basecoat, or are you going to have follow up tutorials on how to layer on highlights and shadows for skin specifically?
Wahoo! You’re back and I can shoot you a question that has been rattling around in my skull for some time now. I watched and enjoyed all your videos especially on finding kits, loved it and has been very helpful. My question is, once a kit leaves production is there any hope to see it on any specific sites? It seems that the kit I wanted to buy (long ago) but waited, because I wanted some cheaper practice kits first, is now out of print/stock everywhere and eBay-sellers are asking for well over $100! I’m even willing to go to a sketchy non name brand option. Any leads or general advice would be awesome! Side note, my entrance to model making and painting comes from table top gaming miniatures (D&D, Warmachine, Warhammer, bloodbowl....) and I first found your videos to get me more comfortable with airbrushing. One thing lead to another and you managed to convince me to step out from my comfort zone of 1/24th scale (mostly vehicles) to the 1/6th scale! I’m not afraid of bigger models and higher detail anymore thanks! Looking forward to your updates, when they are ready of course ;) -Your faithful resin monkey
Mmmh that's a tricky question. When a kit is released now a days, it's only at Wonder Fest or other events like that in the year, unless you're at the event and get your copy, you're pretty much at the mercy of scalpers when you look for the kit online once the event is over. For really old kits, I'd say look for them on all Japanese second hand sites like yahoo auctions, mandarake, surugaya, yellow submarine and rakuten, a couple of these sites do sell and ship overseas, but the rest needs you to purchase through a proxy service. I avoid ebay because some Japanese sellers might want to sell you something so high because they think you're stupid and don't know how much their selling that same kit on yahoo auctions (I've seen it myself, even purchasing via proxy, the total is lower than what they were selling it on ebay), so go to the source. Of course, there are some regular US sellers on ebay that just want to get rid of their original kits and sell them at a decent price, so I don't 100% discourage looking there.
Hey Leona, great to see you uploading more stuff! And especially a skintone video; your last one has been SO helpful to me and I've seen it maybe 100x already. I have one question: how did you thin the Vallejo paints for airbrush? I know they are intended for handpainting (at least some of them) and I've used their Airbrush Flow Improver medium when I airbrush. Just curious what you used.
@@leonasworkshop Thank you so much! I must have missed the Vallejo brand thinner when I saw the paints at the store. I will grab some for future projects^^
I think maybe the yellow skin tones would be good for creating a sunlight look on a figure, like in a diorama or for a certain effect? Or maybe as a base for darker skin tones (going more toward olive tones maybe?) Anyway, awesome job, maybe someday in the future you could wipe the paint from those busts and make a video with different skin effects specifically, like getting a freckled Irish skin or a deep brown skin tone that doesn’t look flat. That might be pretty cool, and can challenge you to use your gross yellow skin paints? ;p
Vallejo tend to cater more to people painting warhammer or DnD minis. That's why 'Elf Skin' is darker, and while a lot of them are totally out of the ballpark for Japanese GK's. I paint everything from Western GK's, to Anime GK's, to tabletop minis, and there are specifics paints that are perfect for one but not for another.
Been waiting for this for so long, but the wait was worth it. Would have liked to have seen you do darker skin tones, so as to do a more complete and all inclusive look at the subject of skin tones, but I get why you wanted to narrow it down. I am looking forward to the next part and await its release. PS: Any chance of you posting photos of the finished samples with some more direct/front lighting?
Dark skin is coming in part 3, dark as in brown tan skin as there's a new paint line that is only for tanned skin, so I will def show how to use them, and about the pictures, I think it will be the same result, I can say that the scenes where I just finish airbrusing the pieces in the spray booth is the best light to see the actual tone.
Hi, you mentioned that using lacquer will be completely different from airbrushing acrylic. Do you telling me some of the differences? I understand that the thinning agent will be different and the lacquer are more toxic. Is there anything else?
Thank you for this video, this will help.. But now that I saw that.. I wonder where I can find bodies to test different tone and effect, since it'll help to not ruin a kit without knowing the render...
Regular water is fine for americana acrylic paints, if you want a more specialized way to thin, use liquitex airbrush medium to thin down the paint and avoid the pigments too deluded
