How to Paint Action Figures

As time goes by, your action figure may lose paint due to drops or bumps, which makes the action figure not looks good, and the color becomes dull, without the light, you may want to learn how to paint action figures, this article is the solution to your problem!

How are Action Figures Painted

Usually, the action figures you buy are made and painted by the action figure manufacturer, but now, you can’t return the action figures and ask the factory to repaint them for you, because the factories that make your action figures are almost in China, and the high shipping cost will make you choose to paint the action figures yourself at home. Of course, if you want to custom anime action figures, the best choice for you is to cooperate with a custom action figure maker in China.

In fact, you can get the same effect as the factory by painting your action figure at home, as long as you do the right steps. Action figures are painted as the process of polishing, cleaning, color mixing, diluting paint, spraying, drying, etc. Imagine how to paint a car, you will understand the whole process of action figures painted.

How to Paint Action Figures

Tools

First, you need some basic tools and materials, such as a multitude of different-sized brushes (standard brushes, wash brushes, dry brushes, detail brushes), airbrushes, air pumps, sandpaper, and tweezers, coloring with an airbrush is more uniform. Have some art skills so that you can draw your action figure perfectly in the detail.

Get some newspapers so don’t spoil the floor where you are painting the action figure.

Clean Up

Use alcohol, or thinner to remove the paint previously used in the action figure, then sandpaper to thoroughly clean the surface of an action figure, and remove particles that may weaken the adhesion of the paint. Finally, use soapy water to remove dust, and clean, then you can paint.

Use Primer

When painting action figures, start with a primer. Use white primer if the action figure has a dark theme. When applying the primer, you can use acrylic spray paint. After applying the primer, let the figures dry before continuing.

Mix Paints

Use Pantone cards to compare the color of the action figure you want to paint, then weigh different weights of the basic color paints separately according to the Pantone card recipe, then mix them together and stir well.

Thinning Paint

A paint thinner can reduce the viscosity of paints, reduce the amount of paint volatilization, dry fast, remove oil stains, and increase bonding with the action figure, thus improving the effect of paint spraying. It is easy to dilute the paint, just add thinners in proportion and mix them well, the ratio of dilution is usually 2:1:1.3, where 2 is the paint, 1 refers to the hardener, and 1.3 is the thinner.

Painting

When painting you can use clips, and tape to block some parts you don’t paint and then spray with the airbrushes, slowly and evenly, that’s it! You can try different colors and effects, there are many different ways to paint.

How to Paint Action Figure Head

The head can also use spray paint, but remember to have adhesive tape to block the parts that do not need to be painted. For complex heads or those with multiple colors, hand painting is best so you can easily control the parts you want to paint.

How to Paint Eyes on Action Figures

Painting the eyes of an action figure is the hardest part. If you want to present the action figure like a real person, you can only paint it carefully by going through the brush, with just a little paint, and coloring from top to bottom, dark to light. In addition, you can use eye stickers and put the eyes on the head of the action figure, which will also look great.

How are Mass Produced Action Figures Painted

Spray Paint

Spray paint is usually used on large areas of color, such as spray primer, skin tone, and hair color. This has the advantage of spraying multiple parts of the action figure at once, without having to spray them one by one, which is fast and shortens the production cycle of the action figure, .

Pad Printing

Pad printing is used for more complex patterns. For words, logos, and eyes, pad printing is a good solution because it can accurately print the pattern on the action figure as if the design was pasted on.

Hand-Painting

Hand-painting is used only in places where spray painting and pad printing are not possible, such as lines, curves, textures, etc. It requires skilled workers to paint by hand, and it takes a long time and expensive labor costs.

About mass-produced action figures, read this article: how to make custom action figures

What Paint to Use on Action Figures

Paint is mainly divided into oil-based paint and water-based paint. Water-based paint uses water as the dilution solvent, and water-based paint uses water as the diluent, which has good environmental performance and no pungent odor. Oil-based paint uses organic solvent (thinner) as the diluent, which price is cheap and good for painting.

Primer paint can be directly applied to the surface of the action figure and is the first layer of paint, used to improve the adhesion and fullness of the second paint so that the paint can play the best effect.

Is Acrylic Paint Good for Action Figures

Acrylic paint blends well, which is the most common choice for painting action figures, it is waterproof, easier to work with and clean up, and paint-resistant for long periods of time.

How to Remove Paint from Action Figures

Are you unhappy with the action figure painting, or do you want to repaint the action figure and just want to remove it as soon as possible? You can use thinner, it can clean, and thin oil-based paint, although multiple repeated erasures will leave a little trace. Thinner can also be used as wash brushes and spray guns.

How to Fix Paint on Action Figures

The surface of the action figure should be clean so that the paint can be better fixed. The paint should be diluted to the right consistency, add thinner and hardener mixed according to the color needed. Once you’ve finished painting action figures, then allow all paint to dry and cure for at least 24 hours, this will prevent the paint from peeling off and allow it to hold its shape better.

Do not assemble the action figure part unless the paint is completely dry, once everything is dry, the parts can be assembled and a complete action figure is drawn.