Simulate Suede Tip
Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 7:37 pm
Hello Everyone I have been trying to find a good way to simulate suede for seats.
Currently working on the RB6 Red Bull and wanted to find a way to enhance the appearance of the seat.
Did a test and have to say I am happy with the results AND wanted to share it with you.
See full test report below!
Steps taken in Test for RED Bull Blue seat.
Goal to create a suede effect.
By Jeff Wallen 10-2017
Need to have a suede effect on a seat. Aftermarket items are too thick and look out of scale for a 1/20th scale model. Not to mention it just doesn’t look right. Simply painting with a flat paint per instructions is less than ideal.
After seeing several videos on YouTube for weathering armor and using pastels and pigments, I thought there was potential in creating a suede texture and effect. Had also seen videos in homes to create a suede effect on a wall. Both of these options are the basis for this test.
Our goal is to create a suede effect on a spoon in this test.
Tools needed
• Plastic Spoon
• Various shades of Blue pastels
• Knife
• XF-8 Tamiya Flat Blue
• X-20 Tamiya Acrylic Thinner
• Various paint brushes
• Eye dropper
• Small dish to hold pastel shavings
• Surgical gloves
Test Steps
1. Base coat of Tamiya XF-8 paint applied to spoon and let dry
2. With a knife shave off medium blue pastel into dish
3. Using a soft brush applied generous amount of pastel to the spoon (DRY)
4. With eye dropper carefully added X-20 thinner onto the spoon. We need to be careful not to disturb the pastels as much as possible. This step will “FIX” the pastels to the surface giving texture to the surface
NOTE I was using Pastels because that is what I had. Pigments would be another option and may produce the same effect.
5. Used a hair dryer to speed up the drying. Results look very promising at this stage. The surface texture was fairly consistent. Any large chunks were easily removed.
Next we want to add some depth and variation using different shades of blue pastels
6. Shaved a lighter shade of pastel into the dish
7. Using a small stiff brush I used a crossing or X stroke to add in the dry pastel. The X stroke was key in giving us the effect of random color variations on the surface. This stroke was used in a home painting video I saw to give a suede effect on a wall!
8. With a large soft brush I blended in the pastel applied very lightly and removed any loos pastels
9. Time for the 3rd color of pastel. This time I went with a slightly purple tone instead of blue. Using a small brush I dabbed randomly onto the surface. Goal here is to add variations of color.
10. Final blending with a large soft brush was done.
Results and notes to add
Several tests were done before I came up with this draft.
1st test done was just using pastels on the painted spoon. Did not do step 4 to apply a fixer.
The X stroke used was effective but I didn’t have the texture on the surface I was looking for.
Having the textured surface added much more depth and realism.
More on Step 4 and applying the fixer.
It was difficult not to disturb the pigments applied. Originally tried to wet the surface and then apply the pigment. Loaded up the paint brush and tried to flick the pastel onto the wet surface. Mixed results. Then reversed the process as noted in a Tank Art book from Rinaldi Studio Press.
It was easy to make corrections if you had a big chunk on the surface once dry.
Products used where what I had on hand. If you have other products such as a dedicated pigment fixer that will work fine. And yes pigments will do just as well if not better than pastels. Do know if you do not like the results it is easy to remove with water and start over.
Testing is MOST Important
Cannot stress enough about how important it is to TEST. Plastic spoons offer a fantastic canvas to test with. Anytime you have a new product or new technique TEST. You don’t want to test something new on your model. You need to know how a product reacts and be comfortable with its’ application BEFORE you use it on your model. Personally spend more time researching and Testing than I do actually building a model. But in the end I limit my mistakes and know “what & why” I use a tool, product or technique. We all have had that project stall and end up being a shelf queen never finished because things went wrong. Or purchased a product that didn’t produce the results we hope for.
TEST TEST TEST and Test again to become better at the craft of scale modeling.
Final Thoughts
I had a lot of fun looking on You Tube for ideas. All started from seeing mud applied to a tank. This gave me the idea of adding texture. Then watching more videos for home improvement, I found a video on how to paint a wall with a suede appearance. Base color was applied and a second color was added using a X stroke. Walla I combined the two in this test.
I think the overall effects achieved will be perfect for the Formula 1 car I am building that has a suede blue seat. Adding in the seat belts and carbon fiber accents should look fantastic.
Using techniques from other genres such as Armor can be used on automotive subjects given you look outside the box. Automotive, Armor, Air Craft, SCI-Fi, no matter it is all modeling with different techniques that can open doors to adding that something special to your model project.
Currently working on the RB6 Red Bull and wanted to find a way to enhance the appearance of the seat.
Did a test and have to say I am happy with the results AND wanted to share it with you.
See full test report below!
Steps taken in Test for RED Bull Blue seat.
Goal to create a suede effect.
By Jeff Wallen 10-2017
Need to have a suede effect on a seat. Aftermarket items are too thick and look out of scale for a 1/20th scale model. Not to mention it just doesn’t look right. Simply painting with a flat paint per instructions is less than ideal.
After seeing several videos on YouTube for weathering armor and using pastels and pigments, I thought there was potential in creating a suede texture and effect. Had also seen videos in homes to create a suede effect on a wall. Both of these options are the basis for this test.
Our goal is to create a suede effect on a spoon in this test.
Tools needed
• Plastic Spoon
• Various shades of Blue pastels
• Knife
• XF-8 Tamiya Flat Blue
• X-20 Tamiya Acrylic Thinner
• Various paint brushes
• Eye dropper
• Small dish to hold pastel shavings
• Surgical gloves
Test Steps
1. Base coat of Tamiya XF-8 paint applied to spoon and let dry
2. With a knife shave off medium blue pastel into dish
3. Using a soft brush applied generous amount of pastel to the spoon (DRY)
4. With eye dropper carefully added X-20 thinner onto the spoon. We need to be careful not to disturb the pastels as much as possible. This step will “FIX” the pastels to the surface giving texture to the surface
NOTE I was using Pastels because that is what I had. Pigments would be another option and may produce the same effect.
5. Used a hair dryer to speed up the drying. Results look very promising at this stage. The surface texture was fairly consistent. Any large chunks were easily removed.
Next we want to add some depth and variation using different shades of blue pastels
6. Shaved a lighter shade of pastel into the dish
7. Using a small stiff brush I used a crossing or X stroke to add in the dry pastel. The X stroke was key in giving us the effect of random color variations on the surface. This stroke was used in a home painting video I saw to give a suede effect on a wall!
8. With a large soft brush I blended in the pastel applied very lightly and removed any loos pastels
9. Time for the 3rd color of pastel. This time I went with a slightly purple tone instead of blue. Using a small brush I dabbed randomly onto the surface. Goal here is to add variations of color.
10. Final blending with a large soft brush was done.
Results and notes to add
Several tests were done before I came up with this draft.
1st test done was just using pastels on the painted spoon. Did not do step 4 to apply a fixer.
The X stroke used was effective but I didn’t have the texture on the surface I was looking for.
Having the textured surface added much more depth and realism.
More on Step 4 and applying the fixer.
It was difficult not to disturb the pigments applied. Originally tried to wet the surface and then apply the pigment. Loaded up the paint brush and tried to flick the pastel onto the wet surface. Mixed results. Then reversed the process as noted in a Tank Art book from Rinaldi Studio Press.
It was easy to make corrections if you had a big chunk on the surface once dry.
Products used where what I had on hand. If you have other products such as a dedicated pigment fixer that will work fine. And yes pigments will do just as well if not better than pastels. Do know if you do not like the results it is easy to remove with water and start over.
Testing is MOST Important
Cannot stress enough about how important it is to TEST. Plastic spoons offer a fantastic canvas to test with. Anytime you have a new product or new technique TEST. You don’t want to test something new on your model. You need to know how a product reacts and be comfortable with its’ application BEFORE you use it on your model. Personally spend more time researching and Testing than I do actually building a model. But in the end I limit my mistakes and know “what & why” I use a tool, product or technique. We all have had that project stall and end up being a shelf queen never finished because things went wrong. Or purchased a product that didn’t produce the results we hope for.
TEST TEST TEST and Test again to become better at the craft of scale modeling.
Final Thoughts
I had a lot of fun looking on You Tube for ideas. All started from seeing mud applied to a tank. This gave me the idea of adding texture. Then watching more videos for home improvement, I found a video on how to paint a wall with a suede appearance. Base color was applied and a second color was added using a X stroke. Walla I combined the two in this test.
I think the overall effects achieved will be perfect for the Formula 1 car I am building that has a suede blue seat. Adding in the seat belts and carbon fiber accents should look fantastic.
Using techniques from other genres such as Armor can be used on automotive subjects given you look outside the box. Automotive, Armor, Air Craft, SCI-Fi, no matter it is all modeling with different techniques that can open doors to adding that something special to your model project.
