Damned irregulars with proper uniforms!

[fsn]

Dear chaps (are there any chapesses out there?)

I can turn to the paint brush with a happy heart on most occsasions. Last night for example, it was with great pleasure that I addressed so 1940 Germary gunners of various function. The joy of consulting my master paint schedule, selecting the correct colours, knowing whch undercoat I will use. It is quite honestly, OCD bliss. Everything ordered, rational and logical.

However the sight of some French civillians was enough to throw me into a loop, I don't mind telling you. There's no uniform guides d'you see? There's no tellign what the blighters might have been wearing. Certainly a French man or gentleman would have been wearing a black, brown or blue suit (I believe some wore mismatched jacket and triuser) but WOMEN?! I am plagued with uncertainty.

Gentlemen, would you be shocked to hear that I have the same problem with pre-uniform armies. I hesitate over Huns, I vacilliate over Vikings, I shy from Saxons, and all because I cannot come up with a suitable painting regieme that makes these blighters look different, but somehow the same?

Tell me then, Pendraken Sages, tell me how I am to confront this abstract demon? How, good sirs, do you paint un-uniformed armies?
   

[fred.]

I feel your pain Sir.

Uniforms are so quick an easy to paint. For the unordered masses I have found that picking an appropriate colour, painting various items of clothing on several figures. Then picking another colour and painting various items, some on the figures first painted, and some on ones who didn't get the first colour - and so on. Towards the end I will use the odd brighter colour on just a few figures.

[OldenBUA]

Our forum member Nik Harwood (and others too, it must be said) regularly updates a resource thread that you could use as a 'uniform guide' when painting female figures. Oddly enough, it's in the Community->Chat and News section of the forum. It's currently 50 pages or so, you can't miss it.

[Hertsblue]

I always had the same problem when painting renaissance Swiss and Landsknechts. I have to say that I solved it the same way that Fred did, otherwise you're continually washing your brush out. Great minds?

[fsn]

That's what I do, but I'm usually disappointed with the results. How many colours would you use?

[Matt J]

I'm just coming to the end of a Norman army at the mo and solved the problem as Fred described.

I used 6 colours all natural hues - a blue/grey, dark brown, reddish brown, yellowish brown, light tan and off white. Using each colour in turn. For the tunics on the unarmoured spearmen and archers.

I've used brighter colours (blue, red and green) with hoops for the under mail tunics on the knights and heavy infantry as they would probably have better garments.

All the trousers were painted the same colour (off grey) representing some sort of dirty wool.

It gives the army a sort of uniformity but still individualist. Don't get me started on shields though 

:disclaimer - my main pictoral resources was the 'An all colour fact book: All about knights' which I had when I was 7 

[Hertsblue]

Yes, it does depend greatly on the forces you're trying to portray. The Swiss and their Germanic alter-egos tended to dress fairly garishly (to put it politely) so my colours were pretty vivid. As Matt says, at least six colours needed.

[nikharwood]

Our forum member Nik Harwood (and others too, it must be said) regularly updates a resource thread that you could use as a 'uniform guide' when painting female figures. Oddly enough, it's in the Community->Chat and News section of the forum. It's currently 50 pages or so, you can't miss it.

[nikharwood]

Yep - using muted hues with a limited palette that includes some bolder colours that will tie them all together - so a red that you'll see in different places (someone's shirt, someone's trousers etc)

[O Dinas Powys]

However the sight of some French civillians was enough to throw me into a loop, I don't mind telling you. There's no uniform guides d'you see? There's no tellign what the blighters might have been wearing. Certainly a French man or gentleman would have been wearing a black, brown or blue suit (I believe some wore mismatched jacket and triuser) but WOMEN?! I am plagued with uncertainty.

If you want a vague idea for colours you could watch/search the web for stills from any of numerous ~WW2 films and TV shows with a focus away from the battlefield: Inglorious Basterds; The Devil's Backbone; The Secret Army; Allo Allo...

Cheers,

Meirion

[fsn]

Thank you Gentlemen.

I shall persevere.

[FierceKitty]

I always had the same problem when painting renaissance Swiss and Landsknechts. I have to say that I solved it the same way that Fred did, otherwise you're continually washing your brush out. Great minds?

Landsknechts, certainly. But Swiss troops often wore cantonal colours, so you just have to use these creatively, with yellow breeches for the first three figures in the Uri pikemen, left leg for the next three, half a doublet for the following, etc. Switch to black, and your "uniforms"  are done.

[Orcs]

If you want a vague idea for colours you could watch/search the web for stills from any of numerous ~WW2 films and TV shows with a focus away from the battlefield: Inglorious Basterds; The Devil's Backbone; The Secret Army; Allo Allo...

The best way is observing what women actually wear.  May I suggest you find suitable attractive female and then ask if you can examine what she is wearing.     As a man of research this will involve inspecting each garment as you remove it.  Special attention and time should then be given to the colour and shading of the skin and hair.

If by this point you have not been stopped or slapped you will find all worries of painting civilian clothing has gone 

[fsn]

 

[FierceKitty]

The best way is observing what women actually wear.  May I suggest you find suitable attractive female and then ask if you can examine what she is wearing.     As a man of research this will involve inspecting each garment as you remove it.  Special attention and time should then be given to the colour and shading of the skin and hair.

If by this point you have not been stopped or slapped you will find all worries of painting civilian clothing has gone 

ONE woman? What sort of scientific sample would that provide?