How to paint marvel the easy way

[Inkster]

Hey guys i thought i would share my secret for painting marvel characters because i know how achieving those hard solid lines are.
It does take away the airbrushed look but leaves you with a killer looking design.
Now its properly worth mentioning that if you dont have a plotter cutting this is gonna be time consuming and difficult in my opinion but it is possible

Also i have to apologies that i was so into the piece i didnt take pictures of the process so i am gonna explain it as best i can

This tutorial will seem like it takes forever but it really doesnt unless your plotter goes crazy on you

So to start here is what i used

Material: Aluminium Composite (DIBOND ALT) purchased of ebay for £2.50 A4 sheet
Paints: Wicked, primer, Base coat matt black
Others: Vinyl (ANY COLOUR), transfer tape and a sheet of acetate
Renegade Krome & Patriot

Colours used in this one are
detail scarlet red
opaque red
detail red violet
detail yellow
detail orange
opaque brown
opaque blue
detail black & white

Okay so the image i am gonna show you is hellboy that i painted yesterday


Okay so lets get started

First i found an image on google that i liked and downloaded it.
Then i opened the image in GIMP2 and converted the image into a threshold by clicking the TOOLS tab>COLOR TOOLS>THRESHOLD

Then i found the darkness i wanted making sure all the detail was there

Okay now we got that sorted the next stage is to export the file and open it in inkscape
Once you have done that make sure the picture is selected and click PATH>TRACE BITMAP now in here i set my threshold to 500 and then click update and ok now you can close that box.

Then you can click and drag the top layer off and you will see you have 2 of the same image you need to keep the one that now looks smooth and then save as a .eps file

Now you have that file ready there is one more
Open the image again in GIMP2 (not the threshold one, the original)

now you are gonna get the fine detail you need for i.e the hair so click the rectangle select tool and select the hair and threshold it until your happy the detail is fine and then again with the beard and finally the little hair that peaks out.
it should look like this
View attachment 25113
Cont...

 

[Inkster]

Then you need to use the paint tool and black out all the face leaving only the white in the hair pattern that you just created
Like this
View attachment 25116
Now goto color tab and click invert so now its should be this
View attachment 25118
now its all white you need to paint the 4 corners in order for the image to stay the same ratio as the other so its easier to line up for the plotter to cut even tho the plotter will cut these you dont pull them from the acetate
like this
View attachment 25117
Now you have your final image you repeat the steps above for the first one so load it up in inkscape and then trace bitmap save new image as .eps

i must mention before i get when saving .eps if your using signblazer when the save dialogue comes up make sure its set to level 2 from the drop down box


Now if your cutting by hand you can save most of these steps print and get cutting (i would like to mention tho i would still run the image through inkscape as the edges become smoother and it reduces the image noise)




Okay onto step too cutting i wont take pics of this as i assume if your using a plotter you know how too

All i did was load the first image up make it just bigger than A4 size and cut
Then weeded it leaving me with all the black edges and applied my vinyl transfer tape to ready it for application

I then changed my setting to now cut the hair detail out of the acetate

and there we have it the 2 stencils so lets move on.


Okay so i prepared my panel with a scotch brite and cleaned it with panel wipe
The i used a spray tin primer after that had dried i then applied the matt black base coat

Now i gave it an hour to set in a warm room before laying the vinyl on the panel as the paint can pull when you remove the vinyl
Now your going to lay the vinyl on the panel but before you do your gonna peel the transfer away from its backing and then place it on your jeans or top a few times to reduce stick, then we line it up and place extra will be overhanging because you set it to cut a little larger than A4 these edges help you position it and one you have you just take a cutting edge and trim.

Now its time to paint lay in your colours and blends i would like to say i laid my colours directly over black as i wanted the deep reds and used the white were i needed to colour highlights (this is also a good opportunity to paint what you see as you cant see a defined image)
once you have got it the way you want it you step back and realise this looks like @&!%
But have no fear your about to reveal what i like to call a work of art
So start removing the vinyl being careful not to lift the paint if you do (which i did, bet you cant guess where ) just push it back down

Now you have it removed lay over the hair detail stencil and fill the last part now step back and admire you have created marvel the way it should be hehe

I hope to see some created with this method
Thanks for reading and sorry about grammar it is 2am

So heres the finished result

View attachment 25119

 

[MeeshellMP]

Thats way cool!! Looks just like a comic book:subdued: thanks for sharing!!

 

[Inkster]

Thats way cool!! Looks just like a comic book:subdued: thanks for sharing!!

No probs glad i can help can you see all the images its messing about this end

 

[Diegojavbau]

Thanks a lot !!!

 

[VikingNerd]

Sorry, this is the Nerd in me coming out but Hellboy is not a Marvel property. He is part of Dark Horse comics. Does not make that much difference to most, but as a HUGE comic fan i just figured I would clarify. : )

 

[Inkster]

Sorry, this is the Nerd in me coming out but Hellboy is not a Marvel property. He is part of Dark Horse comics. Does not make that much difference to most, but as a HUGE comic fan i just figured I would clarify. : )

Theres always one no your right I know that but alot or ppl think hes marvel so its easier to go with. Liked this

 

[Tol]

Brilliant, thanks for this tutorial. Just did a quick test on the side of a PC case panel after reading it - very pleased