GRIZZRYPANDA - Kashimakaze making process part.2 (Patreon)

After dry fitting, it's time to paint. To be frank, the painting can be seen in the painted sample image of Shimakaze's figure, so take a good look at it and see what colors are used.

┃It's super important to look at the ”Decomas” photo and think about the colors to use

If you want to get a perfect copy of the color, it is important to look at the "Deco-mas" photos available on the official website or mail-order sites.

*Deco-mas" is an abbreviation for "Decoration master" and is a coloring sample of mass-produced products. In Japan, they are generally called "Deco-mas.

In particular, the finished PVC of the shimakaze is dated, and the shadows may have been omitted, so it may not look right even if you use that as a reference.

In some cases, even recent figures have changed in quality from DecoMas to mass-produced figures, so it is preferable to refer to DecoMas photos (photos that show the correct colors without color filters or effects) as much as possible.

This time I used Good Smile Company for Shimakaze and AMAKUNI's DecoMas for Kashima, respectively, as reference for coloring.

I finished color matching all of the above photos in one session. The only color adjustment I made was probably the hair color.

┃Using the all-purpose paint "Clear Black" will generally solve the problem of insufficient shadows and too much saturation.

The shimakaze shirt had shadows in clear black, not blue or purple, so I followed that. The shadows on the legs and arms are also clear black (a mixture of CMY and pure violet).

The blue color for the skirt and sleeves is created by using Gaianotes' Ultra Blue as a base, then mixing cyan and magenta to create a navy blue color. Depending on the ratio of cyan and magenta, you can adjust the purplish navy blue or bluish navy blue, so it is best to create a color that suits the island-style costume.

The color used for the buttons and collar line is Gaianotes' Pearl Copper. It is a bright color like polished copper, exactly the color used for the island wind's clothing. Gold is not a good match, so I used this color, which is closer to Shimakaze's deco mass.

The shadow can be clear black. If you spray the shadow color on the buttons, the shadow color will naturally fall down around the buttons, so all you need to do is masking and painting the buttons to create a well-shadowed costume. Of course, don't forget to shadow the wrinkles.

By the way, this outfit and the gloves have a hint of skin color on them.

White and shadow alone would have looked too bland. I finished it off with pearl coat.

This is not limited to this kit, but the shadows around the buttons of the costume and other parts of the costume will make the whole look much tighter, so we recommend that you put in as much as possible, although it is very detailed.

In extreme cases, the ideal figure should have almost no solidly painted parts and have gradation everywhere you look (this is generally the case with DecoMas).

The difficulty level increases when trying to create a gradation on the entire surface, even for kits with a small number of parts, but even so, once you have a finished product that is well painted, you will feel quite confident in your technique.

Back to the story, I also used clear black for the shadow of the socks with a TE*GA-like pattern.

I used clear black as much as I could. It can be used for shadows, it can be used to reduce saturation, it's just too versatile... If you know how and where to use Clear Black, I think you can get pretty close to DecoMas level painting.

If you haven't used it yet, please mix cyan, magenta, and yellow at a ratio of 1:1:1! If you haven't used it yet, try mixing cyan, magenta, and yellow in the 1:1:1 ratio of the pure colors sold by Gaianotes. Then, add a small amount of pure violet to suppress the greenish tint of the black. If the greenness is suppressed, the ratio is just right. If you dilute it moderately with Gloss Clear, you will be able to use it in a nice saltiness without a particulate feeling.

┃Hair is tightened with shadows and highlights.

This is what it looks like when the hair is almost just coated with a base color.

I used white to highlight the bangs a bit, but this lacked impact. Therefore, I used clear black and white to add shadows and highlights to make it look more crisp.

The base color is left mostly unchanged.

Shadows are placed finely in the tips and grooves of the bangs in clear black. Highlights should be placed well because they stand out more if they are rather exaggerated.

The hair was first matted with GX114, then sprayed with Gaianotes Semi-Gloss (EX-09) in areas where gloss was desired, and then sprayed with a bit of Gloss Clear in areas where more gloss was desired.

By combining multiple glossy effects like this, you can create a glossy look that can never be achieved with a matte coat alone, so it is good to use when you want to create a cuticle look in your hair.

It is easier to see in a forward-lit photo like this.

I've had comments on Youtube saying that it "looks like CG" or "I thought it was MMD", but I think it can be made to look that way if used in the right way.

I personally interpret Kashima's hair as silver with a hint of lavender or purplish, so I used that color scheme.

┃If we follow the unspoken rule of not using black monochromatic for black expressions, it may be easier to achieve perfection?

As I wrote in the article on Marin's 3D Edition of  Takatori's, we basically do not use raw black to represent black.

As mentioned above, the ideal paint job for a figure is to have gradations all over, so it is difficult to create gradations with raw black....

So most likely a blackish color or clear black will be used. This time Kashimakaze also does not use black. The ribbons, bunny ears, and pant strings (?) are just painted with gray surfacer as the base color and clear black over it. It might have been interesting to make a little more color difference between highlights and shadows on the bunny ears.