Q and A With Dmitry Fesechko Pt 2

We continue our Q and A with Dmitry Fesechko.

Is there a Color which you seem to favor and like to add it to all your models where you can? 

As I mostly work with oils, I’d say that I very like natural pigment cobalt turquoise, that can be pretty expensive. I usually add it to skin tones, to non metallic metals and in a lot of mixtures. The same with light yellow ocher.

Can you pass on one trick or technique or tip that you think newer painters would find helpful or a technique that you wish someone had shown you when you were a new painter?

If you have some money to spend, try oil paints. And as introduction for working with them try to watch some tutorials or read something not about painting miniatures with oils, but how to work with oils on canvas. And also always try something new and pay less attention to tutorials. You will get much more fun discovering something for yourself!

What does your work space look like?

Wet pallet or ceramic/plastic? 

For acrylics I prefer wet palette, for oils I use plastic and after work I remove the paint with palette knife and wash it. It always clean.

What paints do you use?

Acrylic paints are mostly Vallejo. Oil paints… I have a lot of them. Oils can be very cheap and very expensive. The more expensive the paint is the more pigment it has and in professional range paints the pigments are natural. I think that Old Holland are one of the best. Schmincke and Rembrandt are also of high range. 

What do you use to thin your paints and to what ratio?

Water for acrylics. The ratio varies of the purposes. White spirit for the first oil layer. If more layers are needed I use some diluent that consists of white-spirit, a little bit linseed oil and siccative.


What technique do you tend to favor when painting to Blend?

Using oils I make first brushstroke with one color, then another brushstroke near it with the second color and then blend it with the brush that have no paint.

What do subject or type of miniature do you prefer IE sci-fi or historical?

I’d say I like not a genres but miniatures. They can be in any genre.

Miniature painting can be very expensive and that could put off new people to the hobby have you learnt anything to cut costs? 

I think the best way to cut costs is not to spend a lot of money on many different paints. Just buy the most vivid because you always can make them dull, but you can’t make dull paints more vivid. You can also have one miniature for experiments. Try something new on it, if it works – use it on another models and leave this one for more experiments. And may be for extreme costs cutting try to buy just black and white paints and try to work in monochrome. Anyway it will give you priceless experience in future!

How long do you spend on a miniature from start to finish?

All I can say is that for miniatures 54mm, 75mm and busts starting from 3 working days and to many, many, many days.

What do you prefer metal, resin, or plastic models?

I like to work on metal surface most, but metal models are hard to transport. The resin and plastic are much better regarding this.

How do you know when you are finished with a miniature and when to stop before you have ruined the work?

Ah, yes, This is a very hard part of the work. Sometimes I even totally remake some parts and then realize that the first variation was better. I think I stop working when I really like the result.

You said you mostly work in Oil why is that and is there any advice you can give about working with it for someone who may have never used it before?

Oil painting totally differs from acrylic. It is not layer based (though you can paint with more then one layer). Sometimes it is hard to start working with oils for people that used to work with acrylics for a long time. The more expensive the oil paints are, the better they are. In miniature painting it is very important for oils to be highly pigmented and to lay down evenly and smooth. Do not add to much drying accelerator. It can ruin the paint layer. Just a little bit is enough. Read the instructions on the bottles. It is usually not recommended to add more than 5-10%. I also heard that people use the oven to accelerate the drying time. I think this is a mistake, it ruins the layer and after some time (maybe some months or even years) it can crackle. It is better to wait day or two. Just start another model. And be ready that you will have to varnish the model, because it will be too shiny (though sometimes you can leave it shiny for some effects). If you want to procced working with acrylics you also have to varnish the model because acrylic paints don’t stick on oil layer. And always use acrylic mid-tone underlayer.

And finally is there anything you like like pass on to the noobs who are reading this hoping one day to paint as well as yourself?

I’d say do not try to paint as me or as someone else. Paint as you, as yourself. It is very pity to see a lot of models painted in the same color schemes and when it becomes impossible to recognize the author. Of course it is very helpful to learn watching the work of good painters, but when you achieve some satisfying results you should concentrate on finding yourself. Also watch the paintings of 18-19^th century masters, you will find a lot of inspiration there.