Veining Research | specialistpractice

Veining

Airbrush Research

On the first test I did, I decided to try out a bit of veining just to see what it would look like on the face with the tumours, but I hadn't practiced it yet.

Colour-

For this attempt I tried to match his skin tone and the colours of his veins in his wrist. I used a mixture of the Vein tone and the olive adjuster in the Kristyan Mallett Skin illustrator box. But I don’t think it works at all, next time I will try with just the vein tone, which in hindsight I should have just tried first, as it is made specifically for this purpose.

Application-

To try these veins I used an airbrush, but I couldn't get the line thin, hence why I decided I needed to do some more research.

Real Life Veins references

Varicose veins are veins that have become enlarged and twisted. The term commonly refers to the veins on the leg, although varicose veins can occur elsewhere. Veins have pairs of leaflet valves to prevent blood from flowing backwards (retrograde flow or venous reflux). Leg muscles pump the veins to return blood to the heart (the skeletal-muscle pump), against the effects of gravity. When veins become varicose, the leaflets of the valves no longer meet properly, and the valves do not work (valvular incompetence). This allows blood to flow backwards and they enlarge even more. Varicose veins are most common in the superficial veins of the legs, which are subject to high pressure when standing. Besides being a cosmetic problem, varicose veins can be painful, especially when standing. Severe long-standing varicose veins can lead to leg swelling, venous eczema, skin thickening (lipodermatosclerosis) andulceration. Life-threatening complications are uncommon, but varicose veins may be confused with deep vein thrombosis, which may be life-threatening.

Varicose Veins

Spider Veins

Fig. 26.1

Fig. 26.2

Fig. 26.12

Fig. 26.16

Fig. 26.17

Fig. 26.14

Fig. 26.15

Fig. 26.8

Fig. 26.10

Fig. 26.13

Fig. 26.4

Fig. 26.6

Fig. 26.9

Fig. 26.11

Fig. 26.7

Fig. 26.5

Fig. 26.3

The Iwata CM-B2 has a 0.18mm needle and nozzle combination with the head system specially matched for each airbrush which is then hand fitted, adjusted and then tested by Iwata's specialist airbrush engineers to ensure each one is is perfect in every aspect including atomisation and controlability.

Micron Airbrushes

Although it is tricky, veining using an airbrush is still one of the most popular methods of veining because it does not give a harsh line, and if you use translucent paint you can really make it look like these veins are under the skin.

There is an example of veining in Fig. 26.3, The artist is not well known, but I think that it shows nicely how you can get the soft effect with the airbrush. This is a zombie makeup hence why the skin in pale and the veins are that colour, personally i do not think that they look like they are coming from beneath the skin, but maybe this was the look she was going for. however I do like how she has faded the veins out at the end, especially on the top vein. I think that makes it look more realistic.

The trick to getting thin lines, is having more control over the airbrush, and this requires a lower psi, in pressure. usually about a 5-10psi on the scale. (As low as you can get the compressor).

Fig. 26.3.1

Fig. 26.3.2

Fig. 26.3.3

Fig. 26.3.4

In Fig. 23.3.1 there is a diagram of how an airbrush works, and you can see how the difference in air pressure and needle size would effect the result. In Fig. 23.3.2 there are some examples of different sized needles used in airbrushing. These particular ones create a finer line. I am still a little new to airbrushing and a lot of the information out there is very varied because you can get airbrushes that spray really big things, like boats and cars, to tanning brushes and then detail airbrushes.

However i believe that the smaller the needle the more defined and precise line you will get. I think best for Veining is 0.3mm.

Equipment

In addition to regular airbrushes used by painters and makeup artists, you can also buy micron airbrushes. These are popular when painting maquettes, and create a finer line, good for detailing. This would work well when creating veins. In the photo below Casey Love is using a micron airbrush to paint his super sculpey character maquette, this was a tutorial for the Stan Winston school of Character Arts, and is where I first heard about micron airbrushes. He is using an Iwata airbrush and compressor for this, but you probably can purchase them else ware. There is more information about these particular airbrushes below.

For this tutorial, Steve is painting a latex mask, with acrylic paints, and a Iwata airbrush and compressor.

He uses the veining to create a illusion of depth. Within his character.

Between colours he always cleans out his airbrush as not to mix them.

And tests the lines on the back of his hand before applying any paint to the piece. He also uses a mini egg whisker to thoroughly mix his paint in the pot and in the airbrush cup, so that it runs through smooth and evenly.

When veining, he holds his airbrush really close to the piece, the closer you hold the airbrush to the surface the finer the line will be.

The best way to get the illusion of veins fading in and out, is not to pull your airbrush away like you would with a brush, it is to use a double action airbrush and release the trigger so that less paint is coming through. Then if need be you can go over the line again.

Subtlety is key; it is best to be too light than too heavy with this technique.

Steve Wang- Airbrush Veining Techniques

For The Stan Winston School of Character Arts

I thought it absolutely crucial to look at real life veins for research and reference, the images in Fig. 26.6 and 26.7 are my models veins in his wrists. his wrists do not have very complicated veins, and they are also not very obvious in colour. This could be an advantage for my as it will be easier to paint the veins on a blank canvas rather than the wrists in Fig. 26.8 and Fig. 26.9 these wrists belong to Nicki Turner and myself. You can see the colours so much more clearly, I think it is important to note the colour variations from purples to aqua to greens in these, which I will transfer to my makeup.

They are also a lot more complicated in pattern, which I think would be good to incorporate in my makeups, because it will transpose from human to cyborg well.

Lightning Strike Scars

Spider veins are slightly different to Varicose Veins, They usually occur on the same parts of the body, such as the legs, but they are a lot more subtle than varicose veins and do not protrude as much. Also note the varied colour of them, the blue and the maroon. I think i am going to try and use both of these colours in my makeup.

I decided to look at lightning scars just to note their patterns rather than the colour. Because of the element of electricity in my idea, it could be an idea to include these in my makeup.