Tips for chrome

Robbyrockett2

Air-Valve Autobot!
So the piece I'm working on has a lot of little chrome parts. I've ran through the forum looking for different paintings with chrome pieces. Most of them seem to be very close up. While they've given me a good idea of how to achieve the effect. Mostly just little black and white lines in strategic places with the proper distortions.
However most of the examples I have found the chrome object is the main subject and occupies a large space.
I think i have the parts with little 1/4 inch bars figured out.

I guess im looking more for examples of like motorcycles and such, where they have lots of parts in chrome that end up rather tiny.
Can anyone point me to some examples with something like a chopper where the engine only ends up occupying like 2" square?

And maybe some pointers on how to layer the different colors involved?
I'll probably have blue, black white and some tan involved here.
Also I do have some metallic paints, Could they also be used to my advantage anywhere? maybe underpainting the black areas?
 
reference, reference reference - Chrome was real popular when I first started Airbrushing back in the day. We used to focus on a sky color, a dark horizon line, usually around midway through the shape, and then a ground color. Remember, chrome reflects everything around it, like a mirror, so much of it's color is dependant on its surroundings.

I found this example by an artist named David Parrish -

132d52c9ac6000c5c2b77c3ed92aa9a9--photorealism-honda.jpg
 
So this is still mostly just painting what I see and using lots of references, no layering tricks to bump it along?
 
ooh, Thank you that second one may help a lot. It's a bit lower on detail and closer to a level I think I can achieve for the size of my piece.
Third one too!
 
So say in the third one on the lower portion of the pipe. If I were to underpaint that black/darkgrey with metallic do we think it would help make it pop or just screw things up?
 
Metallics have their place, but I have no idea where. I don't use them, not would I in anything I work on. Maybe on lures or something where you want that shimmering, but never in an illustration...
 
Metallics have their place, but I have no idea where. I don't use them, not would I in anything I work on. Maybe on lures or something where you want that shimmering, but never in an illustration...
They worked really well in underpainting the parts on the time machine in my steampunk girl. Thats why I asked. I have a feeling you're right though.
It wont hurt to try a little test piece i guess but I have a feeling its not gonna work well.
 
This link is to a YouTube channel from the UK. The artist is Mick Neil who has a business called Airbrush Academy. The video is hints and tips for painting Chrome. Hopefully there will be something useful in it for you.
It’s on a larger scale than you want, but I’d guess the techniques are the same.


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Im gonna check out that video for sure. Looks like it may help a lot. Just seeing it step by step. I know ill end uo using some tan and blue just because of surroundings. You guys are definitely getting me closer on this.

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An oil plug?
Or sticker?
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it is the refection of something in the chrome I cant remember what it was and I lost all my photo's when my desktop died on me but I think it was a tree reflecting in that air cleaner cover
 
Hi, A while back I decided to have a go at Chrome and painted this engine as a test, I ended only needing one colour for the chrome, Paynes grey, but the whole painting came alive when I painted the coloured reflections , I also learnt Chrome is certainly a case of paint what you see and not get swayed by what you 'think' is there. I used a lot of frisket to make sure I had nice sharp edges, in fact I covered the while transferred images lines with frisket and then cut out sections as I progressed..


engine_large.jpg
 
Hi, A while back I decided to have a go at Chrome and painted this engine as a test, I ended only needing one colour for the chrome, Paynes grey, but the whole painting came alive when I painted the coloured reflections , I also learnt Chrome is certainly a case of paint what you see and not get swayed by what you 'think' is there. I used a lot of frisket to make sure I had nice sharp edges, in fact I covered the while transferred images lines with frisket and then cut out sections as I progressed..


View attachment 51001


My gosh Beanpole, was you born with a airbrush in your hand? Fantastic job on this one also. Detail is so amazing.
 
Hi, A while back I decided to have a go at Chrome and painted this engine as a test, I ended only needing one colour for the chrome, Paynes grey, but the whole painting came alive when I painted the coloured reflections , I also learnt Chrome is certainly a case of paint what you see and not get swayed by what you 'think' is there. I used a lot of frisket to make sure I had nice sharp edges, in fact I covered the while transferred images lines with frisket and then cut out sections as I progressed..


View attachment 51001
Covering all in frisket and cutting as i go was my first thought too, I actually saw the thread with this picture (i think) .
If I'm remembering right though there wasn't a lot of steps shown and it was way close up so I kind of went by it.
I looked at @Micha der Wolf 's 55 chevy i believe it was also but again The chrome was too much the subject matter. Yours and his helped give me the concepts a little but I was looking for something like @DaveG references because they are further out.
I think the main thing I was struggling with was defining the different parts in small scale while still achieving the effect.
Great tip on the single color too! That helps give me kind of analyze and get a vague idea how you layered that for effect.
 
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