Pre-Shading Help

sci-fi-bldr · Post by **sci-fi-bldr** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:40 pm

I've seen some of you guys talking about pre-shading...and even seen a few pics of models with it done on them...I'm going to give it a shot....wondering if I may get some help

If you are going to be using a final color of a light gray..( say.. like on an X-wing)....what color should the pre-shading be??....dark gray..or all the way to black??

If your panel lines are around the size of a fine pencil line...how wide do you go with the shading??....1/8...1/4...more??

When you begin to put the main color on the ship...how do you work it next to the pre-shaded part??...

Do you spay over the the shaded area??

What about the wash...when do you do that step?...when do you seal??

Say there will be other colors on the ship....(red panels...etc..)..what do you do then...do they get the same dark color??...or a darker version of the accent color??

BOY I ASK ALOT OF QUESTIONS....

.....anyway...thanks for any help that you can give me

Post by **TER-OR** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 11:21 pm

Here's what I do, and it's based on mostly aircraft modeling.
It also works for armor, and anything which gets some weathering.

Base color
If it's dark enough, you can pen the panel lines now.
Darkened base color airbrushed along panel lines.
Lightened base color airbrushed inside panels (for faded areas).
Base color airbrushed lightly to blend in the above. This lets you adjust how much fading and darkening you end with.

This is essentially post-shading, which I find more effective than a strict pre-shading technique - certianly it's more flexible.

http://modelingmadness.com/reviews/alli ... slepv1.htm

That's probably the most weatherbeaten paint job I've done.

Lt. Z0mBe · Post by **Lt. Z0mBe** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 12:42 am

TER-OR wrote:Here's what I do, and it's based on mostly aircraft modeling.
It also works for armor, and anything which gets some weathering.

Base color
If it's dark enough, you can pen the panel lines now.
Darkened base color airbrushed along panel lines.
Lightened base color airbrushed inside panels (for faded areas).
Base color airbrushed lightly to blend in the above. This lets you adjust how much fading and darkening you end with.

This is essentially post-shading, which I find more effective than a strict pre-shading technique - certianly it's more flexible.

http://modelingmadness.com/reviews/alli ... slepv1.htm

That's probably the most weatherbeaten paint job I've done.

Terry,

I've told you before, but that thing looks great.

Kenny

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 10:16 am

I've used black with a white finish. Gives you a lot of leeway for shading but also takes a lot of painting to cover up.

I'd go with the dark gray.

sci-fi-bldr · Post by **sci-fi-bldr** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:25 pm

Thank for the help guys...guess a little experimentation wounldn't hurt....huh

Wonderful job on the Ventura TER-OR

Mark Yungblut · Post by **Mark Yungblut** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 9:33 pm

What I did on this Tachikoma model was take the base blue and added black till I got a color about 50 percent darker.

http://www.starshipmodeler.com/contest/kit_18.htm

Post by **TER-OR** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 10:57 pm

Which is perfect for Anime subjects. It looks just like cel shading - as that's what they do!

And when using white - never use black. Always gray, shades of gray.
For panel lines, Payne's Gray is your freind - Mark has my eternal thanks for that tip.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 11:28 pm

Black pre-shaded.

I go through a lotta black & a lotta white.

Sdf-1 · Post by **Sdf-1** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:23 am

Kylwell, that's a stunning VF-0S!!! I love it!!! I think your black pre-shade looks so good I will try it myself. Though, I understand what Ter-or is saying also, a dark grey would be the other option. It's possible I go for that too. The only thing I would worry about black pre-shade with white finish, will it be smooth enough. But at least Kylwell's Valk looks amazing.