Slitherine

No, not a new disease but a request for advice on flesh colouring for Cambodian and Thai 15mm figures please. Anyone got any pictures to share?

Thanks

zoltan wrote:No, not a new disease but a request for advice on flesh colouring for Cambodian and Thai 15mm figures please. Anyone got any pictures to share?

Thanks

Cambodian and Thai are quite dark skinned... especially those who have been out in the sun for a long period of time (like warriors on campaign).

I did a paint job for Maori which I think turned out quite well. The flesh I used for them was Citadel Foundation Khemri Brown. It might appear dark, but I think it's about right.

I have also used the Khemri brown with good results, although it can be too brown for Asian people. I mean by that that it should be the darker tone of all and over it you get the lights. You can get a light by mixing it with bronze flesh. Alternatively (if you are not using lights) you can get the flesh tones by mixing the Khemri brown with bronze flesh. You will get that way a softer tone that seems more Asiatic that represents better the olive flesh tone.

In my Indians I mixed some darker looking with some lighter. I noticed looking at pictures that the impression of having darker flesh comes from the body hair, as it happens with some Mediterranean people.

Strategos69 wrote:I have also used the Khemri brown with good results, although it can be too brown for Asian people.

You're possibly right. Nice figures btw.

I would say, however, that we underestimate how tanned people would be on campaign. They are in the sun all day every day for weeks at a time.

You can't compare (for example) an image of a Japanese person who lives at home with a soldier who's been on campaign for most of WWII. They would be VERY dark skinned.

That said, it might just be one of those 'don't let the facts get in the way of a good paintjob' because if the figures LOOK wrong (even tho 100% accurate) they will still LOOK wrong.

Your idea of lightening the Khemri Brown is probably right-on.

Thanks! I agree with you that troops on campaign would look darker, but sometimes it can be against the overall preconceived ideas we have.

Strategos69 wrote:Thanks! I agree with you that troops on campaign would look darker, but sometimes it can be against the overall preconceived ideas we have.

Most definitely. My personal quote is "Never let the facts get in the way of a good paint job". In this particular case there may be situations where the 'right' colour looks 'wrong' and so the 'facts' would get in the way of what looks 'right'.

A good example of this is wood, which goes grey when aged. How many carts or chariots or buildings do you see painted grey? If you saw some, they might look wrong.

ravenflight wrote:A good example of this is wood, which goes grey when aged. How many carts or chariots or buildings do you see painted grey? If you saw some, they might look wrong.

I am not sure that there is much evidence that Cambodian and Thai chaps were made of wood!

But we have strong evidence that the Chinese were made of terra cotta.