I Painted This Miniature With Just 5 Colors, by RedCat Paints on YouTube. 10 min 22 s.
- Video length
- 10 min 22 s
- Time to do it
- 3 hours
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Put out just five acrylics: a blue, a red, a yellow, a black and a white. Leave the rest of the paint rack shut for the whole model.
Mix skin from red, yellow and white, then add a tiny touch of blue to take the pink edge off. Test the mix on a spare piece before you paint the face.
Build cold steel from a mid grey, then glaze lighter greys toward the light and darker greys into the shadows. Keep the bands narrow and roughly parallel.
Make browns by mixing all three primaries, then lean the balance toward red or yellow for warm leather and toward blue for cool, dark tones.
Use the colour wheel to find the colour opposite the one you are mixing. A touch of that opposite dulls the mix and helps shadows and highlights sit together.
For gold, start from a yellow-brown base, then glaze pale yellow for the shine and a purple-tinged brown for the shadow. Purple sits opposite yellow on the wheel.
Finish by tidying edges, deepening the darkest shadows and dotting the brightest highlights. Check the model under normal room light, not just your painting lamp.
Thin paint with water to roughly the consistency of milk and apply two thin coats rather than one thick one.
Tips and common mistakes
Mix more than you think you need, because matching a skin tone again later is very hard.
Keep a dab of each mix on a spare card so you can repeat it on the next model.
Add dark colours to light ones a little at a time; it takes far less black than you expect.
Let each thin layer dry before the next, or you will drag the paint and lose the smooth finish.
Questions
Do I really only need five paints?
For most colours, yes. Blue, red, yellow, black and white mix into skin, leather, steel and gold. You may still want a ready-made metallic for speed.
Why do my mixes look muddy?
You are probably mixing all three primaries in equal amounts. Let one colour lead and add the third very sparingly.
How much water should I add?
Thin to about the consistency of milk. Two thin coats cover better than one thick coat and keep the fine detail sharp.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
