Wrinkles in 15mm - some pics

Some pics here should illustrate the general concepts of the wrinkles noted in the previous post. I picked a few figures of 15mm Spanish figures from Battle Honors and AB (white and yellow coats make the patterns more recognizable), and in due fairness, some of the clothing folds are sculpted into the figs. I've posted both infantry and cavalry figures, although the folds are going to be very similar. Most of the folds are not sculpted, which should demonstrate the fact that if one wishes, the folds can be painted in instead.

For really fine work, like the inside of the knees and elbows, I use a size 00 brush with an extremely fine point on it. I carefully drag the brush from the inside of the knee/elbow out, allowing just the very tip to drag and make a sharp "V" to the knee/elbow joint. The rest of the sleeve or pant is painted so that the color is more or less solid in the stressed part of the fabric (the anterior of the leg, posterior of the arm), and the wrinkled part is painted in in a more or less diagonal fold pattern. If anyone is interested, I could do a step by step, but until then, these pictures should show the general idea. Happy painting!

Wrinkles and Folding in Clothes

For an interim post, some have asked to have me describe the creases and fold patterns in the clothing I paint in my figures. Really, it isn't very difficult. One only needs to observe the human body with clothes on it, and it is relatively easy to replicate in miniature.

One example would be when one's arm is bent at the elbow, it follows logically that the fabric would be stressed most at the tip of the elbow, but the rest of the fabric will give on the inside of the arm. The figures I paint follow that general principal, and really good figures are sculpted that way. Some figure brands like AB and Old Glory have the correct folds and stresses sculpted into the figure. If the figure doesn't have the right clothing effects sculpted into it, it isn't the end of the world, because the folds can be painted on without the sculpted texture. A look at the following pics should convey the general concept.






That having been said, I find quite a few figure painters who appear to blotch highlight colors on in a way that highlights the knees (elbows) and generally blocks the legs (arms). I think this is very effective, and makes for an attractive finished figure, both close up and on the game table. The style I use is not as loose, but both are great painting styles for 15mm, and the whole thing is a question of taste. Again, since I paint far more than I game, I like to see how tight I can make things like clothing folds, etc. When one plays a game, however, no one notices the tight style. I like doing things in the style I do because it is satisfying to me in the exercise of painting, so there is no "right" style.

So . . . for those of you who have asked, here are a few pencil drawings that illustrate things fairly well.