A long-awaited introductory tutorial for oil painting on model horses (such as Breyer horses, Peter Stones, Schleich or artist resins) that also walks you through painting the palomino horse color. I demystify the oil painting process, break it down step-by-step for beginners, talk about common issues and how to proceed with those issues, and discuss some tips and tricks.
Paint Colors to Buy
- Titanium White
- Mars Black
- Titan Buff (aka Unbleached Titanium)
- Iridescent Pearl White
- Iridescent Gold
- Naples Yellow
- Raw Sienna
- Burnt Umber
- Cadmium Orange (substitute Pyrrole Orange if working cadmium-free or if converting this recipe for airbrush use (cadmium colors are not safe to airbrush or otherwise vaporize))
Color Mixtures
Step 1: Base Color
4 parts Iridescent Gold
4 parts Iridescent Pearl White
1 part Raw Sienna
Step 2a: Midtone/Body Color
2 parts Raw Sienna
2 parts Titan Buff
2 parts Iridescent Pearl White
1 part Iridescent Gold
0.25 parts Cadmium Orange
Step 2b: Pangare/Highlight
1 part Titan Buff
1 part Iridescent Pearl White
This color combo takes a long time to dry in oil paint, so plan accordingly
Step 3: Shadow
8 parts Raw Sienna
2 parts Iridescent Gold
2 parts Naples Yellow
2 parts Burnt Umber
1 part Cadmium Orange
Step 4: Points
2 parts Shadow Mixture
0.25 parts Burnt Umber
May adjust ratios to taste; increase Burnt Umber for darker points
Step 5: Muzzle Color
1 part Pangare/Highlight mixture
1 part Titanium White
0.25 parts Mars Black
Optional Neutralizing Color
Ultramarine Violet
Add to mixtures in small amounts if your horse looks too yellow or orange
4 parts Iridescent Gold
4 parts Iridescent Pearl White
1 part Raw Sienna
Step 2a: Midtone/Body Color
2 parts Raw Sienna
2 parts Titan Buff
2 parts Iridescent Pearl White
1 part Iridescent Gold
0.25 parts Cadmium Orange
Step 2b: Pangare/Highlight
1 part Titan Buff
1 part Iridescent Pearl White
This color combo takes a long time to dry in oil paint, so plan accordingly
Step 3: Shadow
8 parts Raw Sienna
2 parts Iridescent Gold
2 parts Naples Yellow
2 parts Burnt Umber
1 part Cadmium Orange
Step 4: Points
2 parts Shadow Mixture
0.25 parts Burnt Umber
May adjust ratios to taste; increase Burnt Umber for darker points
Step 5: Muzzle Color
1 part Pangare/Highlight mixture
1 part Titanium White
0.25 parts Mars Black
Optional Neutralizing Color
Ultramarine Violet
Add to mixtures in small amounts if your horse looks too yellow or orange
Tools and Supplies
PREPPING & PRIMING TOOLS & SUPPLIES:
- Files https://amzn.to/2YeVuAr OR https://amzn.to/2H2Gmz1
- Sandpaper https://amzn.to/2DRGyjE
- Sanding sticks https://amzn.to/3quQRDx
- Goggles for protective eye-wear https://amzn.to/2ZZEu2w
- RZ mask for prepping https://bit.ly/2FM2tNl
- Duplicolor Sandable Primer https://amzn.to/3xVSJ9a
GENERAL PAINTING TOOLS & SUPPLIES:
- Gloves for painting and priming https://amzn.to/2J3QPxl
- Painter’s mask for airbrushing and priming https://amzn.to/2LyeZT4
- Replaceable cartridges for painter’s mask https://amzn.to/2vEKf88
- Temperature and humidity gage https://amzn.to/2IZWTXN
- Lint-free blue shop towels https://amzn.to/3EZfMmK
- Palette knife https://amzn.to/3D9Jsx0
- Aluminum foil
PAINT BRUSHES USED IN THIS VIDEO:
- Affordable makeup brushes for painting/pastel https://amzn.to/38zATxC
- Silver Brush Monza filbert 0 https://bit.ly/3izgoWv
- Silver Brush Monza filbert 12 https://bit.ly/3izgoWv
- Master’s Touch white taklon filbert ½ inch – discontinued
- Grumbacher Goldenedge filbert 2 https://bit.ly/3xW7poZ
- Rapheal Kaerell pointed round 1 https://bit.ly/3BuwvgQ
- Escoda Versatil synthetic Kolinsky pointed round 1 https://bit.ly/3kHhvWQ
- Rosemary & Co Evergreen filbert 7 https://bit.ly/3f1fQYL
- Rosemary & Co Evergreen angular 1/8 inch https://bit.ly/3wZ1nm5
BRANDS OF OIL PAINTS I USE:
- Sennelier
- Daniel Smith
- Williamsburg
- Winsor & Newton Artist
- Grumbacher Pre-Tested
- Gamblin Artist
- M. Graham
- Rembrandt
MY OIL MEDIUMS:
- Winsor & Newton Liquin Original https://bit.ly/3hVc7Of
- Gamblin Solvent-Free Gel Medium https://bit.ly/36PKjo3
TOPCOAT VARNISHES/SEALERS
- Winsor & Newton Professional Picture Varnish Satin https://bit.ly/3iybVmY
- Testors Dullcote
MORE FROM BLUE MOUNTAIN STABLE ON WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA:
- Website: http://www.bluemountainstable.com/
- Blog: http://www.bluemountainstable.com/blog
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluemountainstable/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlueMountainStable/
- YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/BlueMountainStable
- Files https://amzn.to/2YeVuAr OR https://amzn.to/2H2Gmz1
- Sandpaper https://amzn.to/2DRGyjE
- Sanding sticks https://amzn.to/3quQRDx
- Goggles for protective eye-wear https://amzn.to/2ZZEu2w
- RZ mask for prepping https://bit.ly/2FM2tNl
- Duplicolor Sandable Primer https://amzn.to/3xVSJ9a
GENERAL PAINTING TOOLS & SUPPLIES:
- Gloves for painting and priming https://amzn.to/2J3QPxl
- Painter’s mask for airbrushing and priming https://amzn.to/2LyeZT4
- Replaceable cartridges for painter’s mask https://amzn.to/2vEKf88
- Temperature and humidity gage https://amzn.to/2IZWTXN
- Lint-free blue shop towels https://amzn.to/3EZfMmK
- Palette knife https://amzn.to/3D9Jsx0
- Aluminum foil
PAINT BRUSHES USED IN THIS VIDEO:
- Affordable makeup brushes for painting/pastel https://amzn.to/38zATxC
- Silver Brush Monza filbert 0 https://bit.ly/3izgoWv
- Silver Brush Monza filbert 12 https://bit.ly/3izgoWv
- Master’s Touch white taklon filbert ½ inch – discontinued
- Grumbacher Goldenedge filbert 2 https://bit.ly/3xW7poZ
- Rapheal Kaerell pointed round 1 https://bit.ly/3BuwvgQ
- Escoda Versatil synthetic Kolinsky pointed round 1 https://bit.ly/3kHhvWQ
- Rosemary & Co Evergreen filbert 7 https://bit.ly/3f1fQYL
- Rosemary & Co Evergreen angular 1/8 inch https://bit.ly/3wZ1nm5
BRANDS OF OIL PAINTS I USE:
- Sennelier
- Daniel Smith
- Williamsburg
- Winsor & Newton Artist
- Grumbacher Pre-Tested
- Gamblin Artist
- M. Graham
- Rembrandt
MY OIL MEDIUMS:
- Winsor & Newton Liquin Original https://bit.ly/3hVc7Of
- Gamblin Solvent-Free Gel Medium https://bit.ly/36PKjo3
TOPCOAT VARNISHES/SEALERS
- Winsor & Newton Professional Picture Varnish Satin https://bit.ly/3iybVmY
- Testors Dullcote
MORE FROM BLUE MOUNTAIN STABLE ON WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA:
- Website: http://www.bluemountainstable.com/
- Blog: http://www.bluemountainstable.com/blog
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluemountainstable/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlueMountainStable/
- YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/BlueMountainStable
Video Transcript
This tutorial video walks you through creating a nice palomino horse, and also shows you the basics of creamy blending and miniature models painting with oils. It comes with a color recipe that you can easily modify by adding more white and gold for a lighter palomino, or more raw sienna and burnt sienna for a darker, redder palomino.
Step one is applying a base coat using the warm-gold mixture in the color recipe, and this will be a lot easier if you primed your model in white primer.
By the way, all of the tools and supplies that I’ll mention in this video are down in the description below. That’s also where you will find the color recipes and what colors of paint you need to buy.
Basecoats can be done in a variety of fast drying media, and I have painted this one in airbrushed acrylic paint.
While you can hand paint this step, I find the airbrush not only faster but it lends a micro texture that makes oil painting easier. However, hand painters can simulate this by spraying clear matte spray over the basecoat.
While that is drying, mix up your colors on a sheet of aluminum foil to use as a palette, and leave room to fold over the foil later. This is how you can save your palette for use days later, which is a nifty trick I learned from a friend. I recommend using a palette knife to mix, as it’s easier to blend the color and you won’t trap color in your brush strands, so it’s waste-free. Use a lint-free paper towel like a blue shop towel for cleanup.
Oil painting lends itself very well to the wet-on-wet blending method. It’s very similar to the alla prima method known in fine art oil painting. Wet-on-wet is pretty simple. For this step you will apply the lighter pangare color to the model’s flanks, groin, elbows and breast area. While that is still wet, apply the midtone body color next to the first color and blend the transitions.
Here is where it is important to note that you need to apply oils in light loads to avoid brushstrokes. I dip my brush into my color pile and then lightly tap it on my palette to off load the excess paint. If I’m using medium, I repeat this step and mix it in lightly, and as you can see, the final result is quite a light load on the brush.
These thin layers make it easier to keep the model smooth, but also means that your first few layers of color may still be splotchy looking. This called pigment streaking, and this type of streaking is okey. So long as the paint texture stays smooth, your following layers will fill in the streaky look.
As you can see here, there is both pigment streaking and a little textural streaking, so it’s important to come over back over with a clean, soft brush and smooth that texture out.
Soft brushes are also important to applying smooth oil layers on plastic, resin or pewter models and getting creamy blends. Synthetic or sable brushes designed for acrylics, watercolor or mixed media are great, as well as make up brushes. Be careful with brushes made for oil painting, as they can often be too course for models and not as soft we need.
You want to make sure your brushes also have plenty of “snap,” which means they instantly return to their shape when you lift them from the model. They should also be firm enough and springy enough to push paint around without folding over on themselves.
There are a few different ways to get the paint on the model. You can brush it on as you would other media, or you can stipple, which is when you lightly tap the brush. Stippling can make the process of blending easier. Scrubbing is similar and is a nice twirling and rubbing motion.
Finally, if you need further blending, come over the area with a big, soft and clean brush, such as a mop brush. I’m just using a fluffy makeup brush as my mop brush. This final step will also help remove any textural brush strokes you might have missed.
Before I call this layer done, I like to add in some of my darker shadow tones and take advantage of the wet-on-wet blending to get a smooth blend.
Then I set the model aside for a week to give it time to cure. Bear in mind, some colors of oils take longer to cure, and white is often one of them, which is why I gave it a week before proceeding. How long you need to wait ultimately depends on your environment and the brands of paint you are using.
I am also using Liquin mixed with my paint, which is an oil painting medium that shortens the cure time.
Technically, you don’t need oil mediums for this tutorial. Actually, you really don’t need them for model horse painting at all, as you can work with just the paint. But, if you find certain colors are just too stiff or it’s hard to avoid textural brushstrokes, a medium like refined linseed oil or walnut oil can help loosen up your paint. And then of course, there are ones that shorten or lengthen cure time.
Solvents are technically another option, BUT since they can be very problematic and ruin your model or your synthetic brushes, I will just say for now avoid solvents until you learn more about oil painting.
Back to painting. As you can see, she’s already looking more like a palomino and next we will repeat the addition of pangare, body and shadow tones according to your reference.
It’s important to take your time and not rush this process so you can get a realistic result, and give yourself time to deal with issues like texture and lint. These lighter colors are lint magnets, but you can pick the lint out as you paint, or sand them out after the layer has cured. Don’t worry about removing EVERY piece of lint, as many of the smaller ones will be buried under layers of paint anyway.
Sometimes paint can be a little grainy, as was the case with my unbleached titanium, and I just did a little bit of sanding with sanding sticks to remove the granules after the paint had cured.
In the first few layers, really pay attention to the lighter tones and get those looking nice, as its easier to get the lighter tones correct now, than it is later when the model is darker. While not impossible, it’s often easier to go from light to dark, than from dark to light.
Build up your shadow colors slowly, making sure to block in the body color as well, to keep your model from going too dark, too fast. It may help to mix these two colors together and thus have a transition color on your palette if needed.
I found that my model lost a little bit of shimmer in her lightest tones, so I worked in a little more of that pearlescent white that we mixed earlier.
If by chance your model comes out a little too saturated or a little too yellow, you can knock that back by adding a tiny bit of ultramarine violet to the color mixtures giving you trouble. As you can see, a tiny, tiny bit goes a long way in helping reduce the strength of yellow.
As you near the end, work in the darkest color on your palette for the points. A little bit of this goes a long way, otherwise your horse could look more like a light chestnut.
To paint the muzzle and eyes, create a soft grey mixture by combining Mars Black and Titanium White with some of your previous pangare mixture.
Start by making it a very light grey and as you paint these areas, slowly darken the eyes, inside of the nostrils and the lips with increasing amounts of mars black into your mixture.
I also used some of the pangare mixture to block in the mane and tail colors. I find blocking in the mane and tail now helps me better see if the whole horse color is looking correct.
Continue darkening the points with the shadow color and use it to add muscle shading too.
Give your model at least a few weeks to fully cure (for reference, I like to aim for 4 to 5 weeks in my environment). Then seal with a topcoat varnish that is formulated to work well with oil paint, such as Testors Dullcoat, Mr Super Clear, or Winsor and Newton Professional Picture Varnish. Sealing your oil layers also provides the perfect tooth for any acrylic details or markings.
And there you have it! A beginner friendly oil painting tutorial with a color recipe suited for intermediate and advanced artists as well.
If you found this video helpful, please like, comment and subscribe. The YouTube algorithms love when you do all three and that helps me reach more people. Also, don’t forget the links below for all the tools and supplies mentioned in this video, which by the way, where not sponsored. They are all items I bought for myself after extensive research and that I use in my own hobby studio.
Now go paint those palominos!
Step one is applying a base coat using the warm-gold mixture in the color recipe, and this will be a lot easier if you primed your model in white primer.
By the way, all of the tools and supplies that I’ll mention in this video are down in the description below. That’s also where you will find the color recipes and what colors of paint you need to buy.
Basecoats can be done in a variety of fast drying media, and I have painted this one in airbrushed acrylic paint.
While you can hand paint this step, I find the airbrush not only faster but it lends a micro texture that makes oil painting easier. However, hand painters can simulate this by spraying clear matte spray over the basecoat.
While that is drying, mix up your colors on a sheet of aluminum foil to use as a palette, and leave room to fold over the foil later. This is how you can save your palette for use days later, which is a nifty trick I learned from a friend. I recommend using a palette knife to mix, as it’s easier to blend the color and you won’t trap color in your brush strands, so it’s waste-free. Use a lint-free paper towel like a blue shop towel for cleanup.
Oil painting lends itself very well to the wet-on-wet blending method. It’s very similar to the alla prima method known in fine art oil painting. Wet-on-wet is pretty simple. For this step you will apply the lighter pangare color to the model’s flanks, groin, elbows and breast area. While that is still wet, apply the midtone body color next to the first color and blend the transitions.
Here is where it is important to note that you need to apply oils in light loads to avoid brushstrokes. I dip my brush into my color pile and then lightly tap it on my palette to off load the excess paint. If I’m using medium, I repeat this step and mix it in lightly, and as you can see, the final result is quite a light load on the brush.
These thin layers make it easier to keep the model smooth, but also means that your first few layers of color may still be splotchy looking. This called pigment streaking, and this type of streaking is okey. So long as the paint texture stays smooth, your following layers will fill in the streaky look.
As you can see here, there is both pigment streaking and a little textural streaking, so it’s important to come over back over with a clean, soft brush and smooth that texture out.
Soft brushes are also important to applying smooth oil layers on plastic, resin or pewter models and getting creamy blends. Synthetic or sable brushes designed for acrylics, watercolor or mixed media are great, as well as make up brushes. Be careful with brushes made for oil painting, as they can often be too course for models and not as soft we need.
You want to make sure your brushes also have plenty of “snap,” which means they instantly return to their shape when you lift them from the model. They should also be firm enough and springy enough to push paint around without folding over on themselves.
There are a few different ways to get the paint on the model. You can brush it on as you would other media, or you can stipple, which is when you lightly tap the brush. Stippling can make the process of blending easier. Scrubbing is similar and is a nice twirling and rubbing motion.
Finally, if you need further blending, come over the area with a big, soft and clean brush, such as a mop brush. I’m just using a fluffy makeup brush as my mop brush. This final step will also help remove any textural brush strokes you might have missed.
Before I call this layer done, I like to add in some of my darker shadow tones and take advantage of the wet-on-wet blending to get a smooth blend.
Then I set the model aside for a week to give it time to cure. Bear in mind, some colors of oils take longer to cure, and white is often one of them, which is why I gave it a week before proceeding. How long you need to wait ultimately depends on your environment and the brands of paint you are using.
I am also using Liquin mixed with my paint, which is an oil painting medium that shortens the cure time.
Technically, you don’t need oil mediums for this tutorial. Actually, you really don’t need them for model horse painting at all, as you can work with just the paint. But, if you find certain colors are just too stiff or it’s hard to avoid textural brushstrokes, a medium like refined linseed oil or walnut oil can help loosen up your paint. And then of course, there are ones that shorten or lengthen cure time.
Solvents are technically another option, BUT since they can be very problematic and ruin your model or your synthetic brushes, I will just say for now avoid solvents until you learn more about oil painting.
Back to painting. As you can see, she’s already looking more like a palomino and next we will repeat the addition of pangare, body and shadow tones according to your reference.
It’s important to take your time and not rush this process so you can get a realistic result, and give yourself time to deal with issues like texture and lint. These lighter colors are lint magnets, but you can pick the lint out as you paint, or sand them out after the layer has cured. Don’t worry about removing EVERY piece of lint, as many of the smaller ones will be buried under layers of paint anyway.
Sometimes paint can be a little grainy, as was the case with my unbleached titanium, and I just did a little bit of sanding with sanding sticks to remove the granules after the paint had cured.
In the first few layers, really pay attention to the lighter tones and get those looking nice, as its easier to get the lighter tones correct now, than it is later when the model is darker. While not impossible, it’s often easier to go from light to dark, than from dark to light.
Build up your shadow colors slowly, making sure to block in the body color as well, to keep your model from going too dark, too fast. It may help to mix these two colors together and thus have a transition color on your palette if needed.
I found that my model lost a little bit of shimmer in her lightest tones, so I worked in a little more of that pearlescent white that we mixed earlier.
If by chance your model comes out a little too saturated or a little too yellow, you can knock that back by adding a tiny bit of ultramarine violet to the color mixtures giving you trouble. As you can see, a tiny, tiny bit goes a long way in helping reduce the strength of yellow.
As you near the end, work in the darkest color on your palette for the points. A little bit of this goes a long way, otherwise your horse could look more like a light chestnut.
To paint the muzzle and eyes, create a soft grey mixture by combining Mars Black and Titanium White with some of your previous pangare mixture.
Start by making it a very light grey and as you paint these areas, slowly darken the eyes, inside of the nostrils and the lips with increasing amounts of mars black into your mixture.
I also used some of the pangare mixture to block in the mane and tail colors. I find blocking in the mane and tail now helps me better see if the whole horse color is looking correct.
Continue darkening the points with the shadow color and use it to add muscle shading too.
Give your model at least a few weeks to fully cure (for reference, I like to aim for 4 to 5 weeks in my environment). Then seal with a topcoat varnish that is formulated to work well with oil paint, such as Testors Dullcoat, Mr Super Clear, or Winsor and Newton Professional Picture Varnish. Sealing your oil layers also provides the perfect tooth for any acrylic details or markings.
And there you have it! A beginner friendly oil painting tutorial with a color recipe suited for intermediate and advanced artists as well.
If you found this video helpful, please like, comment and subscribe. The YouTube algorithms love when you do all three and that helps me reach more people. Also, don’t forget the links below for all the tools and supplies mentioned in this video, which by the way, where not sponsored. They are all items I bought for myself after extensive research and that I use in my own hobby studio.
Now go paint those palominos!