INVENTIVE METAL PAINTING WITH LIFECOLOR

INVENTIVE METAL PAINTING WITH LIFECOLOR

Italian paint brand Lifecolor now offers two interesting sets enabling figure painters to realistically emulate metal with solid matt shades.

INVENTIVE METAL PAINTING WITH LIFECOLOR

Renowned for its wide range of acrylics, in individual bottles and special sets, Lifecolor has joined forces with noted figure painter Alessandro Gobbi to develop new paints for replicating metal.

Rather than employ traditional metallics, the idea is to use standard matt colours in complementing hues to impart the reflectivity of metal, and depth, in both ‘warm’ and ‘cold’ tones. The NMM (Non Metallic Metal Set 1) Gold set CS53 provides six shades: UA 7007 Solaris Yellow, UA 7008 Ocre Sandstorm, UA 7009 Pure Green Oxide, UA 7010 Revel Brown, UA 7011 Dark Code, UA 7012 Poison Black. In the NMM Set 2 Steel (CS54), there are: UA7013 Blinding Moon, UA 7014 Riding Sky, UA 7015 Thunder Vibe, UA 7016 Phantom Blue, UA 7017 Ambient Mass, UA 7018 Revenge Black.

INVENTIVE METAL PAINTING WITH LIFECOLOR

Gobbi has created these hues with the intention of them being applied roughly, then blended so the finish looks like it is reflecting directional light and being affected by the surrounding colours, with convincing high and lowlights. It might sound complicated, but actually makes sense when you read Lifecolor’s ‘how-to’ PDF, and is arguably easier than using ‘proper’ metallics to gain the same effect.

While stunningly painted fantasy figures adorn the box fronts of these sets, the paints are also suitable for giving life to metal armour or decorative items worn by historical subjects such as knights, ancient Greeks and many more. Each set costs £14.99, available from The Airbrush Company: www.airbrushes.com and the instructional guide can be downloaded from this firm’s NMM product pages on the website.