Starks333
20-09-2006, 09:18 PM
Alright, well im no master(yet...) but here are some dos and donts ive learned along the way
some people wanted some explanations, i will try for photo tutorials once i start painting again(which should be soon my camera works again-->magic and i want to paint up that ddwarf and gobbo)
first some definitions that should help
Drybrushing: this is quick technique used all over by many newer painters, the point is to have very little paint on the brush and have drybrush as in no water, and then just paint over the model giving a sort of effect...what most people dont realise is this is also a more advanced technique when used properly, in combination with others its great for adding a \"dust\" layer, as in something that sits on top of your other layers to add something to it...for example weathering, or maybe even a bit of texture
Tips: When doing drybrushing its a great idea to do layers, many GW eavy metal painters use this to get a form of textured appearence on the ultramarine models(looks fancy sometimes) a darker layer first then a brighter layer over top...for weathering layers again is a good thing as it adds depth to the dirt/mud etc...theres not really much broad use for this technique on display models(other than ones mentioned) but it can be used broadly and effectively on table top quality minis
Feathering: softening the edges, so it blends in better with a bit less contrast
Tips: not your typical table top mini technique as it adds a bunch of time, this is used to clean up \"joint\" lines, where two shades meet, when painting display minis you dont want \"joint\" lines showing up everywhere so you feather them...example; painting a cloak you have your darks in the recesses but your brights are too obvious...so you wash/glaze them to darken them or simply blend them in better, but you still see the obvious step 2 to step 3 progression in the layers, so you take your brush and depending on which layer you choose(i always choose the darker one) you mix it up and feather from that side
so, dark side->light side......i chose dark side mix, so id feather from left to right covering a bit more of the dark side while doing it...its best to cover a bit more of one side because sometimes your mixes wont be perfectly the same
Wash: a very thin watered down paint or ink applied to an area to assist in shading
Tips: this is the easiest way to shade stuff and add some character, this is best suited for an inbetween layers technique as it can help shade and help smoothen out the layer underneath...an example would be washing blood red with red gore...this will add the red hue to blood red(which is orangey) but still keep it brighter...another example is black/brown/purple/green etc inks to metallics, each adds a bit of character, rust, wear, grease, oxidization etc, you can apply several washes and get a bunch of effects at once, it adds depth when using the darker shades as well as character
dont use this technique to fill in the recesses with unwatered down inks, it will result in \"pooling\" and the ink will shine which is ugly...however adding dishsoap breaks the surface tension of the ink, allowing it to flow more freely and also help prevent the shinyness.
and if any of you ever wondered how GW models ended up so dull in some stores, thats because they do washes with paint(rather than inks), which dulls them
Glazing:Glazing: ++++edited by my good friend+++
Applying a thinned down ink (usually 10 parts of water), over a blend or area to smooth transitions and the colour. Control has to be taking here because if no control pooling occurs so SMALL QUANTITIES PEOPLE!!
Tips: Best used when a transition is rough or not very smooth.(also known as \"joints\") Apply this evenly over the blended area to blend the colours together better. The more glazes you add of the same colour to the same areas the smoother the transitions will be. A Glaze when mixed with 10 parts of water will basically turn the ink into dirty water but still have the colour, this is done as it breaks the surface tension and shinniness of the ink. Also adding glaze mediums can help too.
This is essentially a bigger version of feathering, feathering is softer(as the word sounds) and usually used only for display quality, while glazes are handy for high quality table top as well as display as its not as slow of a technique
Wet Blending: blending colours together while they are still wet without use of layering
Tips: best suited for larger areas because wet paint likes to move. you have to quickly apply to spots of wet paint and then manually blend them together in the way you wish...so if its a cape you would want it darker in the recesses while getting brighter near the top of the folds, you just apply the two colours on either side and then squish them together in the middle, but when you do so, follow the lines, if the fold goes vertical use vertical strokes, otherwise you will end up making swirly patterns, curvy patterns and it wont look like shading
if the paint is too wet it might just flow through the piece you are trying to blend... if its too dry this technique is very difficult as you can also get drying time happeneing around the edges of the applied wet paint, which creates a type of crater..sometimes you just need to brush over it with a wet brush to get rid of it, other times you are screwed!!
Layering: painting in layers, gredually increasing the contrast
Tips: must have very thin paint otherwise you will end up with a model that looks like it has too much paint on it after all the layers...layering requires you mix colours as well, and not just simple brightening and darkening you want to add depth, ill explain a bit later
Non Metallic Metals: Painting Metallic colours with non metallic paints
Tips: this is best used when the colour scheme of the model is not well suited for actual metallics(usually brighter colours, pastel colours etc) the only really way to get the best effect is to layer this with several layers of colour, because most areas are small wet blending is very difficult, and if not blended does not look as nice
my personal dont is never use white when doing gold, it makes it cartoony and just not at all realistic(because gold doesnt reflect white)
you may not want to take the time to paint up a display mini because you dont think its worth it...well consider this:
The better you get overall, the easier it is to paint better quality \"table top\" minis, simply because you can do the more complicated things, and it now takes less time to do table minis to a higher standard because you know how to do quick and easy versions of the complicated stuff(layers with washes)
Starks
Post edited by: Starks333, at: 2006/09/23 00:31
Post edited by: Starks333, at: 2006/09/23 00:42
some people wanted some explanations, i will try for photo tutorials once i start painting again(which should be soon my camera works again-->magic and i want to paint up that ddwarf and gobbo)
first some definitions that should help
Drybrushing: this is quick technique used all over by many newer painters, the point is to have very little paint on the brush and have drybrush as in no water, and then just paint over the model giving a sort of effect...what most people dont realise is this is also a more advanced technique when used properly, in combination with others its great for adding a \"dust\" layer, as in something that sits on top of your other layers to add something to it...for example weathering, or maybe even a bit of texture
Tips: When doing drybrushing its a great idea to do layers, many GW eavy metal painters use this to get a form of textured appearence on the ultramarine models(looks fancy sometimes) a darker layer first then a brighter layer over top...for weathering layers again is a good thing as it adds depth to the dirt/mud etc...theres not really much broad use for this technique on display models(other than ones mentioned) but it can be used broadly and effectively on table top quality minis
Feathering: softening the edges, so it blends in better with a bit less contrast
Tips: not your typical table top mini technique as it adds a bunch of time, this is used to clean up \"joint\" lines, where two shades meet, when painting display minis you dont want \"joint\" lines showing up everywhere so you feather them...example; painting a cloak you have your darks in the recesses but your brights are too obvious...so you wash/glaze them to darken them or simply blend them in better, but you still see the obvious step 2 to step 3 progression in the layers, so you take your brush and depending on which layer you choose(i always choose the darker one) you mix it up and feather from that side
so, dark side->light side......i chose dark side mix, so id feather from left to right covering a bit more of the dark side while doing it...its best to cover a bit more of one side because sometimes your mixes wont be perfectly the same
Wash: a very thin watered down paint or ink applied to an area to assist in shading
Tips: this is the easiest way to shade stuff and add some character, this is best suited for an inbetween layers technique as it can help shade and help smoothen out the layer underneath...an example would be washing blood red with red gore...this will add the red hue to blood red(which is orangey) but still keep it brighter...another example is black/brown/purple/green etc inks to metallics, each adds a bit of character, rust, wear, grease, oxidization etc, you can apply several washes and get a bunch of effects at once, it adds depth when using the darker shades as well as character
dont use this technique to fill in the recesses with unwatered down inks, it will result in \"pooling\" and the ink will shine which is ugly...however adding dishsoap breaks the surface tension of the ink, allowing it to flow more freely and also help prevent the shinyness.
and if any of you ever wondered how GW models ended up so dull in some stores, thats because they do washes with paint(rather than inks), which dulls them
Glazing:Glazing: ++++edited by my good friend+++
Applying a thinned down ink (usually 10 parts of water), over a blend or area to smooth transitions and the colour. Control has to be taking here because if no control pooling occurs so SMALL QUANTITIES PEOPLE!!
Tips: Best used when a transition is rough or not very smooth.(also known as \"joints\") Apply this evenly over the blended area to blend the colours together better. The more glazes you add of the same colour to the same areas the smoother the transitions will be. A Glaze when mixed with 10 parts of water will basically turn the ink into dirty water but still have the colour, this is done as it breaks the surface tension and shinniness of the ink. Also adding glaze mediums can help too.
This is essentially a bigger version of feathering, feathering is softer(as the word sounds) and usually used only for display quality, while glazes are handy for high quality table top as well as display as its not as slow of a technique
Wet Blending: blending colours together while they are still wet without use of layering
Tips: best suited for larger areas because wet paint likes to move. you have to quickly apply to spots of wet paint and then manually blend them together in the way you wish...so if its a cape you would want it darker in the recesses while getting brighter near the top of the folds, you just apply the two colours on either side and then squish them together in the middle, but when you do so, follow the lines, if the fold goes vertical use vertical strokes, otherwise you will end up making swirly patterns, curvy patterns and it wont look like shading
if the paint is too wet it might just flow through the piece you are trying to blend... if its too dry this technique is very difficult as you can also get drying time happeneing around the edges of the applied wet paint, which creates a type of crater..sometimes you just need to brush over it with a wet brush to get rid of it, other times you are screwed!!
Layering: painting in layers, gredually increasing the contrast
Tips: must have very thin paint otherwise you will end up with a model that looks like it has too much paint on it after all the layers...layering requires you mix colours as well, and not just simple brightening and darkening you want to add depth, ill explain a bit later
Non Metallic Metals: Painting Metallic colours with non metallic paints
Tips: this is best used when the colour scheme of the model is not well suited for actual metallics(usually brighter colours, pastel colours etc) the only really way to get the best effect is to layer this with several layers of colour, because most areas are small wet blending is very difficult, and if not blended does not look as nice
my personal dont is never use white when doing gold, it makes it cartoony and just not at all realistic(because gold doesnt reflect white)
you may not want to take the time to paint up a display mini because you dont think its worth it...well consider this:
The better you get overall, the easier it is to paint better quality \"table top\" minis, simply because you can do the more complicated things, and it now takes less time to do table minis to a higher standard because you know how to do quick and easy versions of the complicated stuff(layers with washes)
Starks
Post edited by: Starks333, at: 2006/09/23 00:31
Post edited by: Starks333, at: 2006/09/23 00:42