how do paint stuff to look like leather?

[steveo3002]

ive seen other guys work where the seats really look like leather with the level of shine they used

any tips on how to on a mid grey...mine just look like shiney paint

[drunken monkey]

is that Cambridge UK?

if so, pop down to your local Gamesworkshop and see what colours they have.
Their paints dry to a rubbery sort of finish like artists acylics and as such are neither gloss nor matt and in my eyes, does quite a good impression of leather.

Otherwise, Tamiya's XF range of semi-gloss (Modelzone stocks these in larger stores) also does a good job of the same thing too

[corvettekid_7684]

I'm not sure if this looks like leather to you, but the paint was gloss, which I dulled with a matte clear, then lightly sprayed a satin clear. Looks a little better in person

[lemansnut]

I just use a regular flat paint and then after it dries give it a light rub with a finger or soft cloth. It will give the high spots a slight sheen and leave the creases dull.

Mike

[jmpsebring]

after spraying on your basecoat, paint again in artist oils. You can add highlites and shadows easily. Your basically just staining the prepainted surface. Sounds so scary to many. Truthfully it's simple and you'll have hours to fix,blend, remove or anything else. Figure painters learned long ago that you can 3D paint items and bring them to life.
A few tubes of paints and a practice part and you can do it. Half of your contrast will be gone once dried. So ..overdo it a touch. Should be easy to find WIPs on Figure forums.

[corvettekid_7684]

Originally Posted by jmpsebring

after spraying on your basecoat, paint again in artist oils. You can add highlites and shadows easily. Your basically just staining the prepainted surface. Sounds so scary to many. Truthfully it's simple and you'll have hours to fix,blend, remove or anything else. Figure painters learned long ago that you can 3D paint items and bring them to life.
A few tubes of paints and a practice part and you can do it. Half of your contrast will be gone once dried. So ..overdo it a touch. Should be easy to find WIPs on Figure forums.

I haven't tried this with artists oils, but on mine I did it with a tan water based wash. I think it adds some depth & dimension to them. If it doesn't look good you can always wash it off. Bad thing is the surface tension of water can make it difficult to stay exactly where intended. I might have to try the oils sometime...

[Vric]

Old trick: rub your finger on flat painted part. Skin oil usualy do the job

[andybmw7272]

I like some testors model master clear laquer semigloss and testors model master clear laquer flat mixed together and hit a light mist coat to dull it down. Then the old oily finger trick as mentioned gives some depth/realism on top of the flat.

Hope this helps!
Andy

[rsxse240]

You might also look at real leather seats and notice the creases and stretching that is present and try to reproduce the effect with a scribe and as stated follow it with paint, semigloss clear and rub it down.

[JTRACING]

I like to do a base color using acrylic craft paint, then go over over it using artist oils. and seal with dullcote.

[CFarias]

Wow JTRACING! Is there a WIP for your project?

[CFarias]

Try airbrushing a darker base color onto the entire seat. Then, very lightly airbrush a lighter, almost transparent shade onto the seat. Buildup this color up until you get a two-tone effect. The darker shade will be in the creases and the lighter shade will be on the flat areas. Then follow up with a light coat of semi-gloss until you are satisfied with the sheen. This works especially well for earth tones and red leathers, not so much for black or white leathers.

[CFarias]

Sorry for the bother, JTRACING. I found your WIP. Awesome work!

[generationx]

Many years ago I saw a tip for leather - paint the seat in the matt colour required then rub over with the wax from a candle. I've tried this in the past and it works well, after all to treat real leather seats we use wax products.