By purchasing miniatures for playing Warhammer, you have the opportunity not only to assemble your own army, but also to breathe life into it, just by adding colors. We agree, this activity seems quite difficult, especially for beginners, but we can assure you that everything is not as scary as you think. Like any job, painting miniatures requires some preparation, perseverance and concentration. Be prepared to spend several hours at this activity, carefully drawing out fine lines and sometimes creating individual, unique images.
If you are still interested in this pastime, the miniatures are already waiting, and the brushes are ready for battle, then Uncle Orc will tell you where to start painting miniatures.
Games Workshop, when releasing models, also provides everything necessary materials for their transformation. The Citadel line paints offer a wide range of colors and are designed specifically for painting miniatures.
This exciting process includes several successive stages. You should start working with a miniature with . The Citadel series has aerosol paints that are used specifically for priming miniatures. Typically they are black or White color. Your choice directly depends on what painting technique you use and what color your model will be. Note that it is also convenient to prime using an airbrush, where you can control the air flow, which means the primer layer will lay down more evenly.
Without departing from the topic, let us immediately note what the difference is between white and black primer. White is most often used by professionals due to the fact that applying paint on such a background is much more difficult; it requires more training and accuracy, since all the colors applied become brighter and more saturated. But with such a primer it is much easier to create a blending effect (light flare effect). The main thing to remember is that white primer used when the final result of the miniature is light or bright.
Dark primer used by artists who want to paint as many models as possible. Let us immediately note the main advantage of such a primer - it immediately serves as the most dark color on your miniature and also creates a shadow effect. Best suited for those models that need the final result to be dark.
After the miniatures are primed and the primer has dried, it is time for the second stage - applying paint.
Exactly what colors you need depends on the model you are going to paint, or on your imagination if you don’t want to follow the template suggested on the packaging. For this purpose, GW produce a series of base paints, which are intended for mass painting of miniatures and have such a consistency that when applied to the model, the layer lays flat and does not show through. They are great for painting over a dark primer (black or grey). This line includes colors familiar from school drawing courses: black (), red (), white (), green (), blue (), brown () and gold (). Having these paints, you can already vary color shades of your own free will.
Once the base colors have dried, it's time to apply. This is a special paint that closely resembles ink and is intended, as the name suggests, for pouring onto miniatures. This is necessary in order to fill the depressions on the model with color, thus creating shadows. It is quite difficult to predict how the stain will lay down, so in order to be able to remove the excess without any problems after applying it, Uncle Orc recommends first applying varnish over the paint and letting it dry thoroughly. Thus, the stain application algorithm looks like this:
1. Varnish is applied to the painted model. Let it dry.
2. The wash is applied. Without staying on smooth surfaces, it flows into the cracks where it needs to be.
3. Remove the excess before the spill dries. It is important to do this right away, because... After drying, it polishes and becomes like paint; it will be difficult to get rid of.
Voila! Your miniature, with a shadow effect, looks more voluminous and realistic! After complete drying, the wash will no longer dissolve with water, so you can safely apply other colors on top of it without fear of them mixing.
So, a short summary from Uncle Orc. To paint miniatures you will need:
- the primer is black or white, depending on your skills, the technique you are going to use and whether the miniature itself is light or dark;
- a set of base paints from the Citadel Base line (paint from GW would be an excellent alternative);
- pouring.
Please note that wherever paints on the same base are mixed (for example, all acrylic), so that the colors are not distorted, it is necessary to first apply a layer of varnish, or initially use paints on a different base. This is necessary so that the bottom layer does not get wet from water and does not merge with the top one.
In the next article we will take a closer look at painting techniques that will help you paint your miniatures! Well, in the meantime, Uncle Orc wishes everyone creative inspiration!
The most important thing in all painting methods is to understand just one thing. The whole is not simply the sum of its parts.
Every technique, no matter how cool the result it produces, is worthless if used only on its own. Don't get hung up on constantly using the same washes or dry brush, no matter how much you like them - use as much as possible and combine for maximum effect.
Drybrush and overbrush.
Some of you will already start to cringe at these names. In general, most people who paint miniatures consider drybrush almost a dirty word.
And on the one hand, they can be understood - many do not use these techniques particularly diligently and correctly, creating an aura of “techniques for lazy beginners”. And then, having more or less mastered the skill of painting, they also begin to paint “I painted it without drybrush, I don’t use this crap anymore”.
Pf.
Drybrush or dry brush- this is one of the simplest techniques.
The idea is to take a little lightly diluted paint onto your brush and remove most of it ( on a separate napkin or wiping on a palette). The residue is applied to the mink with fairly rough movements, literally “wiping” along the edges and surfaces.
What’s good about the method is that it’s really simple, and it’s quite difficult to “smear too much” - everything is very easy to control and you can always stop in time.
What’s bad is that it’s quite monotonous, and if you only use it, all your minions will look the same.
Overbrush- the same dry brush, by and large. The only difference is that the paint from the brush is not removed from the palette or napkin, but is simply smeared on.
This is a little more difficult, since you can spread too much. On the other hand, this method can replace the application of base coats if the mink is dark and in black primer.
The difference in general is this: overbrush fills the cracks, has more obvious strokes and at the same time comes out more opaque, while drybrush is smeared mainly only along the edges with protruding parts, and at the same time the previous layers are more visible through it
For these techniques to have the right to life, they must be used with a bunch of different colors, combine with each other and other methods, and on top of mandatory apply ink or washes to darken.
Introduction
As you know, acrylic paints have been used in our hobby for a long time. Meanwhile, in the last couple of years, more and more modellers are choosing acrylic, and we have seen not only an increase in the number of works done in acrylic, but also an increase in the quality of miniature painting. Paint is gaining more and more popularity due to the fact that it is safe and easy to handle.
In magazines, month after month, we admiringly look at photographs of beautifully painted acrylic miniatures, and also read articles written by the best miniaturists in which they share tips and recipes for working with acrylic. Meanwhile, it seems to me that there is a significant gap in the painting sections regarding the description of all aspects of painting miniatures. The need to fill the existing vacuum prompted me to write this article. I will try to describe the basic principles and explain as fully as possible the basic techniques for working with acrylate paints.
It may be that to many the contents of the following pages will seem elementary. I believe that the best miniaturists are those who understand the basics well. On the other hand, this is a teaching article, and in learning you cannot progress faster than the slowest student. Well, now put some paint in your hands and let’s get started.
Required accessories
Like any other type of paint, acrylic requires a special approach. In order to be fully prepared, we will need only a few items. Essential items include:
Brushes
As the British say: “We are not such rich people that we would buy cheap things.” The quality of your work directly depends on the quality of your art supplies. Winsor and Newton Series 7 (formerly Series 12) brushes in both standard and mini lengths are the most the best choice from round brushes. Series 7 is a little more expensive than other brushes, but if you care for it properly, the brush will last longer and better than any other.
You will also need a good flat bristle brush for painting large surfaces. Most manufacturers offer at least one series of these brushes, and most of them are of fairly good quality.
As for brush sizes, the minimum practical size should be No. 0, as this is what allows you to pick up enough paint and maintains a sharp tip for working on small details. Smaller brushes take up too little paint and by the time you're ready to paint, the paint on the tip has already dried. Instead of pleasure, painting turns into torture. Unless you are painting large surfaces, it will be enough for you to stock up on round brushes No. 0, 1 and 2, as well as flat brush No. 4 in order to paint any figures from 54 to 120 mm.
It is important to remember that acrylic is inherently detrimental to the brush. You should wash your brush very carefully and as often as possible while painting. After finishing painting, thoroughly wash your brushes with a high-quality solvent to get rid of paint that has accumulated in the bundle and clip. There is a very instructive article on this subject in Historical Miniature magazine No. 16 written by Bob Knee. Brushes intended exclusively for acrylic should be kept separately, because not even a large number of enamel or oil can ruin the brush. It would be a good idea to use a cheap brush for thinning and mixing paints, as these processes wear out the brushes. Expensive brushes should only be used for painting.
Cotton fabric:
You will use it very often, slightly dampened, without cotton fluff, such as an old T-shirt or towel. You can also use a paper towel, but it does not produce paper dust. Its only drawback is rapid wear and tear from long-term use.
Palette:
A conveniently sized plastic or aluminum palette with indentations is a must-have item for working with acrylic. Palettes are inexpensive and allow you to keep everything organized. As for me, I line my palette with aluminum foil, since I really don't like washing it after each painting session. Everyone does what is convenient for them.
Water container:
A simple glass or stable ceramic vessel full of clean water, as you will need to wash your brush frequently. Remember that during the painting session, the water needs to be changed as often as possible. After washing the brush, the paint will turn the water into a mixture of several colors, so it needs to be changed so as not to spoil not only the palette, but also the miniature
Pipette:
You must have an eye dropper or an empty bottle that allows you to add water drop by drop (Vallejo Acrylics are sold in bottles with a special dropper attachment).
Water:
This is something you shouldn't skimp on. In most cities tap water leaves a whitish residue after drying. Knowing that there are a ton of chemicals added to water, I prefer to exclusively use distilled water for my painting needs.
Polystyrene:
A small piece of primed polystyrene makes an excellent testing ground for simple painting exercises and for practicing basic skills.
Working figure:
To illustrate painting techniques, I use a figurine I assembled from spare parts. My goal is to demonstrate the basic acrylic techniques described below, not to paint any specific uniform. Once you understand the principles, it will be your turn to try them out on a figurine specially selected for this purpose. After trying one or another method, you can wash off the paint and start painting again. In any hobby store you can inexpensively purchase good figurines that will allow you to experiment and make mistakes. This will save you from mental anguish and will not burden your budget.
Acrylic paints Vallejo Model Colors
For this article I chose three paints: 922 U.S. Uniform Green, 952 Lemon Yellow and 980 Black Green, to use their example to explain the technique of using acrylic. Below, table No. 1 shows color combinations based on other colors.
How to use Vallejo acrylic
Vallejo acrylic appeared on the market relatively recently and gained popularity due to the fact that the manufacturer got rid of the problems inherent in acrylate paint from other companies. The paint is 100% soluble in water, gives an exceptionally matte surface, dries quickly, has a high pigment content, has high hiding power (which is good when correcting any mistakes), plus it is sold in bottles from which the paint can be squeezed out in small portions, a drop at a time .
After you've finished painting, the paint on the spout of the bottle dries, forming a plug that prevents air from entering the bottle.
The Vallejo range includes more than 200 different colors, varnishes, solvents, glazes, metallics and florescents and, as you understand, allows you to not only prime models. Even if you are an uncompromising fan of enamels or oil paints, you should just try acrylic. You will see for yourself that acrylic is incredible for some needs and can achieve amazing results. Although I continue to use enamel and oil to paint some parts of my figures, most of my techniques have changed as I am able to achieve much better results with acrylic.
As with any other paint, the right approach is the cornerstone of a beautifully painted figure. The truth is exactly this! Now that we have prepared everything we need and selected paints, let's look at the main points of the painting process step by step.
Planning
Before you pick up your brushes, you need to clearly imagine the goal or result you want to achieve at this stage. Select the necessary paints and tools and carefully examine the figure. Take a good look at all the details of the figure, as well as the location and shape of the main dark and light areas. Before you start, practice on a piece of polystyrene and, most importantly, never rush.
Preparing the Paint
Shake the paint bottle
What? What??? You'd be surprised how many people skip this step and later complain that all that comes out of the bottle is clear liquid and paint flakes! Don't despair, just shake the paint by vigorously tapping the bottom of the bottle on your palm, and make sure that you thoroughly mix all the contents of the bottle. Now prepare your palette and move on to the next step.
Dilution of paint
Painting with “highly diluted paint” is the main secret of working with Vallejo acrylic. Paint straight from the bottle is too thick for most applications and varying degrees of thinning are essential for realistic painting. As mentioned above, I use only distilled water for dilution. In order to have a guide, I add a certain number of drops of water to each drop of paint. Thus, we have a “dilution ratio”, where the first number indicates the ratio of the proportions of paint to the proportions of water (for example, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, etc.). The volume of water will be different for each situation. Below are the three main paint dilution ratios with descriptions of their respective uses:
1:1 is the minimum ratio used to apply the base color. It has a high degree of hiding power.
1:2 thin coat of paint. Used when working with an airbrush, for lining and working out small details. A thin but opaque layer of paint.
1:5 minimum for highlights and shadows. A transparent layer through which the base color is visible.
It should be noted that the above examples are neither the only correct nor ideal. Only practice and experience will allow you to acquire skills and develop your own style.
When you start painting, pay attention to the fact that the paint will begin to dry on the palette. Once you see this, add the required amount of water or paint to maintain the desired consistency and dilution ratio. This is very important, so keep your eyes open. By adding a small amount of Vallejo #587 Slow Dry, you can delay the drying process of the paint and thereby increase the time to work.
Preparing the figurine
Once the figure is assembled and ready to be painted, it is time to lay the foundation for a proper paint job by applying primer and laying down the base color. This stage is simple and should not cause complications.
It would be correct to prime all figures, both metal and epoxy. Despite the fact that priming epoxy figures is optional, it allows you to identify any imperfections that are invisible on unpainted material. The primer also gives smooth surface, convenient for applying paint. It is necessary to prime in one step, preferably from an airbrush, covering the surface with the same thin layer paints. Then leave the figurine to dry for 24 hours. Vallejo makes its own primer, No. 919 Foundation White. I personally don't use it, but if you like white primers, then this is for you.
Once the primer has dried, it is time to apply the base color (BC) or colors. As an OC, try to choose intermediate tones, which will give you enough freedom to work with highlights and shadows to maintain the right balance between them. Use a wide brush, as flat as possible, to apply several thin coats of paint (thin ratio 1:1). Leave the figurine to dry for 3 hours before working on it again.
Paint overlay
Before we move on to learning any painting techniques, we need to learn how to apply diluted paint correctly. This is the so-called “brush control”, the most important thing you need to know when working with any type of paint. When it comes to diluted acrylic paint, control is a particularly important factor. When you dip your brush into heavily diluted paint, the bristles absorb too much paint. This surplus is a rake around the nearest corner, a problem familiar to many modellers. You will see how the paint torrent spreads on a carefully painted surface only when the brush touches a primed surface or a partially painted figure.
Next time, after dipping your brush into paint, blot it on a piece of cloth to get rid of excess paint. Don't worry if you see a big splatter of paint on the napkin, the lint will hold enough paint. This operation will allow you to hold only required amount diluted paint, which you can easily apply to the figure. On the other hand, by blotting the brush on a napkin, you will avoid the problem inherent when working with enamels and oils: splitting of the brush tip.
Sometimes you have to brush over the fabric more than once, depending on how thin the paint is. If, while blotting the brush, you stir up the tip of the brush, simply adjust the tip by carefully rolling it over the napkin several times.
The most important thing is that after you get rid of excess paint, test the brush on paper to be sure that it is the same consistency that you need. Depending on the result, you can add either more water, or more paint. Don't forget to test the brush again on paper. Many modellers skip this step and ruin the figure.
Painting exercises
I don’t encourage anyone to take my word for it, be sure to try it yourself! On the palette, place a drop of paint in three cells and add water to obtain the proportions described above. Now try dipping your brush into the paint, getting rid of the excess on a napkin and drawing a few thin lines on work surface. Be careful how much control you have over the brush and the end result. Try to achieve even, uniform lines, removing excess water as necessary. Experiment and observe the results that paint of different consistencies gives. Remember to wash your brushes every time before using another paint and test the brush on paper before applying paint to the figure.
Paint Application Methods
Now that you know how to dilute paint and apply it to a figurine, let's look at different methods painting.
There are many ways to paint miniatures, each with its own technique. Meanwhile, the most important part of any method is smooth transition from one shade to another. This is what allows us to achieve the greatest realism. The transition from one shade to another is called “Blur” and serves one purpose: to blur the boundaries of neighboring tones, making the transition from one to another softer. In the case of oils or enamels, this occurs through diffusion: the physical mixing of two shades at the point of their contact (diagram 1a).
With acrylics such as Vallejo, washout is primarily a visual effect rather than a physical diffusion process (Diagram 1b). Acrylic dries too quickly and does not allow paint to mix as easily as oil or enamels. This fact is the main difference between the use of acrylic and other types of paints. In principle, in rare cases, by increasing the drying period, the diffusion method is also possible when working with acrylic. On the other hand, acrylic is acrylic and the blurring effect should be achieved by visual effect. This effect is achieved using the two methods below.
Layering
Layering is the sequential application of layers of paint in a specific location. Paint can be:
Opaque: used when there is a need to uniformly cover the surface with one color. This is best achieved by applying several thin layers of paint diluted in a ratio of 1:1 or 1:2. Used for applying base color and painting patterns and details.
Transparent: used when you want to gradually achieve some effect using one paint, while the lower layers are visible through the transparent top layers of paint. Used for toning, highlighting, darkening and contouring. Dilution ratio 1:5 and higher.
Gradation
Gradation is the sequential application of increasingly smaller transparent layers of paint. This is done in order to achieve the visual effect of “blurring” the next layer in the previous one. The secret is that each subsequent layer is a little lighter or darker than the previous one. Mainly to this method resort when brightening or darkening. Dilution ratio 1:5 or higher, depending on the situation.
Chiaroscuro
The theory of transmitting the play of light and shadows is too extensive a subject that cannot be fully covered within the framework of this article. For those interested in this topic, I advise you to consult sources in which this topic perfectly revealed. For example, the book “Building and Painting Scale Figures” by Sheperd Paine, chapter 3. In the meantime, we will focus on the practical side of the issue, which you should already have a rough idea of. Highlighting and darkening a figure is possible using a combination of two techniques, gradation and layering, in one simple process.
Highlighting
Usually the most prominent areas on the figure are highlighted, where the light falls most. When working with acrylic, highlights are done first. The reason is that it is easier to paint over and retouch mistakes made during highlighting with dark paint.
Diagram No. 4: highlights
The highlighting mixture is prepared by adding a small amount of lighter paint to the OC, diluting it properly (minimum 1:5). First, paint of a given brightness is applied to the most large plot surface corresponding to the lower border of the light zone. Then, adding a small amount of brightener to the previous mixture, we paint a slightly smaller area, the process is repeated until the intended result is achieved. Depending on the place on the figure and the intended effect, the degree of highlighting can vary from applying one, a little more light tone, to the imposition of many increasingly lighter shades, up to clean paint, which you use for highlighting.
Blackout.
As the name implies, those places where the light falls least or where you need to slightly emphasize the shape are darkened. Darkening is done after highlighting is completed.
Diagram No. 5: Blackouts
The scheme for working with shadows is similar to lightening, only in this case, more and more are added to the OCs. dark colors, in order to create a shadow gradation. Working on shadows requires very thinned paint and usually no more than three layers are applied, depending on the required depth of shadows. Remember that the paint must be very diluted. This will allow you to gradually create an increasingly deeper shadow, instead of applying one, but thick layer, which can lead to painting over not only the details, but also the base color. Start with a ratio of 1:8 or higher and be sure to remove excess paint in several passes using a rag or napkin.
Remember that the basis for working on chiaroscuro is your personal style, experience and knowledge of painting theory. At the same time, good results in acrylic painting can only be achieved by relying on three pillars:
Table No. 1 - Mixtures based on one paint for lightening and darkening
1. Correct selection of colors.
Once again I would like to emphasize that good result achieved correct selection colors to be combined and depends on a suitable base color. This means that to maintain color harmony, unless you are trying to convey some special effect on the figure, the OC should be visible through all layers in dark and highlighted areas. To give you a place to start, I have included a table in the article. It contains mixtures for highlighting and darkening based on the addition of just one additional color. You may want to experiment with the following mixtures to get the hang of it.
2. For both highlighting and darkening, the number of layers of paint depends on the color.
It all depends on the size and shape of the area that is being painted. On a large, flat area, a smooth transition between shades is necessary, as is the application of more layers of paint. In small and deep areas, such as folds or wrinkles, the transitions between light and shadow will be sharper, and will be conveyed with just a few layers of paint.
3. Correct application of light and shade on the entire surface of the figure.
Even if you only apply a few layers, it requires precision and patience. You always need to know when to stop. Each time before painting, carefully examine the figure under zenithally incident light. This will allow you to identify all the convex and flat places that form the chiaroscuro. Then all you have to do is highlight them.
| Main color | LIGHT | SHADOW |
|---|---|---|
| 922 US Uniform Green | 909 Vermillion Red | 856 Ocher Brown |
| 952 Lemon Yellow | 851 Deep Orange | 948 Golden Yellow |
| 980 Black Green | 908 Carmine Red | 983 Earth |
| 975 Military Green | 851 Deep Orange | 992 Neutral Gray |
| 850 Vallejo Olive | 911 Light Orange | 951 White |
| 980 Black Green | 909 Vermillion Red | 862 Black Gray |
| 850 Vallejo Olive | 911 Light Orange | 830 Field Gray |
| 915 Deep Yellow | 915 Deep Yellow | 886 Green Gray |
| 975 Military Green | 851 Deep Orange | 979 Dark Green |
| 915 Deep Yellow | 844 Deep Sky Blue | 886 Green Gray |
| 951 White | 951 White | 971 Green Gray |
| 981 Orange Brown | 965 Prussian Blue | 830 Field Gray |
| 981 Orange Brown | 965 Prussian Blue | 871 Leather Brown |
| 915 Deep Yellow | 901 Pastel Blue | 977 Desert Yellow |
| 940 Saddle Brown | 898 Dark Sea Blue | 822 Black Brown |
| 940 Saddle Brown | 901 pastel blue | 921 English Uniform |
| 981 Orange Brown | 951 White | 917 Beige |
| 985 Hull Red | 899 Dark Prussian Blue | 871 Chocolate Brown |
| 875 Beige Brown | 846 Mahogany Brown | 988 Khaki |
| 917 Beige | 929 Light Brown | 976 Buff |
| 984 Brown | 872 Chocolate Brown | 941 Burnt Amber |
| 984 Brown | 872 Chocolate Brown | |
| 875 Beige Brown | 875 Beige Brown | |
| 822 Black Brown | 822 Black Brown | |
| 908 Carmine Red | 843 Cork Brown | |
| 956 Light Orange | 847 Dark Sand | |
| 926 Red | 826 Medium brown |
Additional tricks
Once the basic chiaroscuro has been applied, it's time for a few finishing touches, which will correct some details and soften the contrasts between shades. Acrylic allows for transparency and vibrancy of color, making it an ideal paint for shading, lining and edging.
Toning.
When painting with acrylic, sometimes it seems that the chiaroscuro appears frozen. In this case, a slight correction in color or a slight change in tone is necessary. In such cases, modelers resort to tinting, which is nothing more than applying a layer of highly diluted transparent paint. Toning softens the sharp contrast between tones. To tint, dilute the paint in a ratio of 1:12 and do not forget to blot the brush.
Outlining.
Outlining is the application of a thin, dark, opaque line to separate different areas and highlight details (seams, pockets, flaps, etc.). A thin line is drawn with the darkest color for this area. The paint is diluted in a ratio of 1:2, followed by adding more and more paint to gradually achieve the desired depth.
Edging.
Although edging is not as widely known as contouring, it can achieve great effects if you know how to use it. The method is similar to contouring and consists of applying light lines along the contour of the parts. This makes the details stand out even more. The diluted paint is brought to a ratio of 1:2, which allows you to gradually achieve the desired effect.
Conclusion
If you choose only one painting technique that gives good results quickly and even with crooked hands...
This spills.
With washes you can paint a miniature inhumanly quickly. My record is 23 minutes per model.
Twenty-three minutes, Karl!
If you are a beginner or just want to paint normally and quickly “on the table”, master the washes.
EDUCATION AND TERMS
The word "shedding" refers to either shades or glazes - special types paints (more liquid and transparent), or various “flowing” painting techniques.
To avoid confusion, I will say this:
- "Shades" and "glazes"- These are special types of paint that are usually used for pouring techniques. At GW they will be called shade and glaze. Other manufacturers usually call shades wash.
- "Spilling"- This is one of the “washing techniques” of painting.
Then we will look at the "washing techniques": Shading, Shading, Toning and Lining. For each technique, I’ll tell you how to do it, what it looks like with examples, and in what situations to use it.
And at the end of the article I will show examples of works painted primarily using pouring techniques.
WHAT DO YOU NEED
- We need more gold.
Shades and glazes
I use GW shades and glazes. I really like it: the colors are good, they apply perfectly.
- The most necessary: black (Nuln Oil), blue (Drakenhof Nightshade), brown (Agrax Earthshade)
- Often needed: blue-green (Coelia Greenshade), sepia (Seraphim Sepia), red-brown (Reikland Fleshshade), marsh (Athonia Camoshade), violet (Druchii Violet)
- Rarely needed: red (Carroburg Crimson), yellow (Cassandora Yellow), green (Biel-Tan Green), orange (Fuegan Orange), and all glazes (Lamenters Yellow, Waywatcher Green, Guilliman Blue, Bloodletter)
However, regular paints diluted to a shade/glaze consistency do not behave the same as real shades and glazes. They spread, form spots and puddles.
If you paint on a table and don’t pretend to be an artist, forget about this hemorrhoid from the very beginning. Just buy GW shades and glazes and sleep well. They are much more convenient for pouring techniques than thinned paints.
Medium
Shades and glazes most often need to be diluted, not with water but with a medium. A medium is a colorless liquid that makes paint more transparent, almost without changing density, fluidity and surface tension. I'm using GW Lahmian Medium:
If you dilute the paint with water, it will behave differently on the model: it will spread and dry in puddles (the pigment settles along the edges of the spot). If you dilute it with a medium, the paint will be easier to control, and it will dry evenly, without puddles.
Medium is now your “Water 2.0”, you need a lot of it, if possible, buy 2-3 cans at once.
This is enough for a gaming girl. If you want to experiment, buy Vallekhov’s Matt Medium and Gloss Medium and play with them too. Sometimes they find a use for me.
Brushes
Flowing techniques do not kill brushes (unlike, for example, drybrush), so additional brushes are not needed. Use the regular ones you use for painting. Most often, “1” and “0” are sufficient; if you paint large models, then “2” will probably come in handy.
The airbrush is not suitable for pouring techniques. If shades are sprayed, they lay down in an even thin layer, darken the surface, and such a shadow does not appear in the depressions of the relief.
TECHNIQUE 1: SPILLING (wash / washing / washing / glazing)
difficulty - low
Classic version of the technique. First, paint the surface in a base color with regular paint (maximum opacity, for GW this is Base / Foundation). Now for the shading: take a lot of shade on the brush and spread it over the entire surface. The paint will mainly flow into the recesses, draw a relief, and tint the entire surface.
The shade dries slowly. Immediately after you have generously filled the surface with shade, you can redistribute it with a damp brush, removing stains or unnecessary accumulations. If you overfilled, you can collect the excess with a brush.
If you have chosen the base color correctly and applied the wash correctly, you’re done. No need to highlight. This is the fastest painting technique, for which you don’t even have to be careful.
If you messed up when painting the base colors, got in somewhere, smeared them, the stain will take care of everything and soften your mistakes.
Take a lighter base color. To get a good result with a wash, you need to use a light basecoat color, on top of which you put the shade. Lighter than what you usually use. If you use a medium color as the base color, the miniature will turn out very dark. If you previously painted with layering from dark to light, you will have to reorganize your brain (at first it’s unusual, it seems that you made a mistake with the base color, but then it turns out fine).
Light soil. If you are mainly going to paint with stains, prime in light color(white, light beige, light gray).
Dilute. You can put the shade undiluted, straight from the jar. It's faster, but looks a bit messy. If you are not in a hurry, mix the shade with the medium (about half and half) and apply 2-3 layers. If the mixture of shade and medium is too thick, you can add a drop of water.
Let dry. Wait until the layer is completely dry before adding the next one. Otherwise, you will tear off a piece of the undried layer, and it will be very difficult to fix it.
* Pre-spill. If you prime a miniature with a light primer (white, light gray, beige), then it is useful to go over the entire miniature with a diluted dark shade. Such a wash will draw the relief, and all the details will be clearly visible to you. It will be easier to paint.
* Pouring on the ground. A completely cheating option is to prime it in such a color that you don’t need to put a base color on part of the miniature. Just cover the soil with shade desired color, and say "done".
* Shading on highlights. A more complicated version of the technique is to first lighten the surface with regular layering (layers), and then shed it. The pouring will connect the layers and soften sharp transitions.
So, with washes you can: outline the relief after priming (to make painting easier), completely paint the model (over a light primer or light base colors), soften the transitions during layering and quickly shade the recesses.
TECHNIQUE 2: SHADING
difficulty - high
The option is more complicated. Dilute the shade with a thinner medium, approximately 1:4 - 1:8. Apply this almost transparent mixture not to the entire surface, but only to the place that needs to be shaded. There should be just a little shade on the brush, at the tip.
One layer is usually not enough. Apply 2-3-4 layers until the shadow is dark enough. Make your brush strokes so that each new layer overlaps a little, then the boundary between the layers will be blurred, resulting in a relatively smooth transition.
Read the article if you want to get a better understanding of this technique. There I analyze the face in detail, with the names of the colors and explanations of where exactly I put the shadows.
Same rules: lighten the base color, dilute it properly, and let the previous layer dry before adding the next one.
You can do “almost blending” with shading without having great painting skills or high precision in working with a brush.
TECHNIQUE 3: TONING (glazing / glazing)
difficulty - high
Toning is not shading at all; the meaning of the technique is different. If pouring darkens the surface and draws a relief, then tinting changes the shade. You hardly need any equipment for a gaming game.
First application - color effects: blush on the cheeks or nose, skin tones, colored highlights/shadows on armor.
Take the glaze and dilute it strongly with the medium, 1:6 or more. Take a little bit of this glaze onto your brush and brush it over the napkin. Almost all of the glaze will remain on the napkin, and the brush will only be slightly moistened with the remnants of the glaze. Use this wet brush to make strokes where you need to tint. Most likely you will need 2-3 layers.
If you do not dump excess paint onto a napkin, then instead of soft toning you will get a sloppy stain.
Second application - restore color: if you lighten the surface too much and it turns out whitish and faded, then tinting will restore the color and remove excess highlights.
To restore the color, dilute the glaze not so much, 1:2 - 1:6, and this time you do not need to wipe the brush on a napkin. Simply take a small amount of glaze onto your brush and apply it over the entire surface. There should not be a lot of glaze on the brush, otherwise you risk not tinting, but causing stains.
Toning is “cheap blending”. Toning softens the transitions between layers that are underneath.
TECHNIQUE 4: LINING
difficulty - medium
Lining is the drawing of recessed lines or joints between surfaces. If you have a steady hand, lining can be done with regular paints, but the technique is easier to perform with shades.
Lining visually separates the areas of the miniature, making it easier to view. Lining hides inaccuracies in painting: if you slightly “climb” somewhere with a neighboring color, the shade will settle into the junction of the areas and hide the mistake.
Take a little shade on a thin brush (zero or one with a good sharp tip). Gently move the tip of the brush along the indentation line or along the joint between surfaces.
A little shade on the brush. There should be little shade on the brush, otherwise it will flood. It's better to draw the line a little at a time and add more paint to the brush as needed.
Paint with the tip of a brush. When shading or shading, you can apply a little pressure to the brush so that it is slightly flattened across the surface of the miniature. You can’t do this when laning: if you smear the shade, it won’t work thin line. Therefore, guide along the indentation only with the tip of the brush.
Don't dilute. For lining, use undiluted shade. Otherwise, you will be tortured to carefully draw a thin line several times.
WORK EXAMPLES
Several works where washes are 70-90% of the painting technique. Each one is painted very quickly, without any claims to quality, just units for the table.
Shaswasthya Squad: 23 minutes per model. Everything except the light sources was painted with washes based on the base colors, without layering.
Hassassin Squad: 43 minutes per model. Everything except the light sources and visors was painted with washes based on the base colors or even on the ground, without layering.
Saito Togan: 2 hours. Mainly spills white ground, except for armor and katana.
SUMMARY
Dripping is the fastest and easiest painting technique. Once you get the hang of it, you can paint a large squad/small army in a day or two.
If you are a beginner: shading will hide your mistakes and will not require high precision from you in working with the brush. If you are currently painting worse than the examples at the end of this article, take up the stains. The painting in the photo is very simple and quick, you can do the same with washes.
If you are more experienced: take shading, toning and lining. These are the techniques that level up gave me as a quality. All of them are “cheap blending”, they greatly increase the quality of painting, but are not particularly complex.
Happy painting!
Dmitry Bogdanov
P.S.
Beginners - is everything clear? Have questions?
Experienced - what else can you tell me about pouring?
WRITE A COUPLE LINES IN THE COMMENTS!
Last week I decided to take on a never-before-seen activity - painting miniatures. From the outside, this probably doesn’t seem like anything special. But in fact, for me this is a significant event. As a person who understood absolutely nothing about drawing and who received A's at school solely for diligence, I was sure that I would not succeed. But practice has shown that I worried in vain.
So, after reading numerous tips, on Friday I went to the store for necessary supplies. I was going to buy primer, varnish and brushes. My friends promised to give me the paints for free.
I chose black primer. This color appeared in all the articles and painting instructions, so I had no doubts. White and gray colors, but the vast majority of authors spoke about black. I bought it. I took matte varnish, because... I read somewhere that if you use a glossy one, the miniatures will become “sweaty” due to the shine. Varnish and primer became the most expensive purchases - each bottle costs just over 300 rubles.
I took several brushes: 00, 0 and 2 and some others. I found “Black River” on display, but they seemed very scary. Therefore, I took “Gallery” brand brushes, which were a little more expensive, 40-50 rubles each. I also bought myself a palette (60 rubles) and paint solvent (40 rubles). In total, about 900 rubles were spent on purchases.
Then I went to my friends for paints. I was given about ten cans of Decola brand gloss acrylic paint, as well as several tubes of metallic paint. I was a little upset because... I would like to get matte ones, but, as you know, bleach like cottage cheese is available for free :) I probably had all of them at my disposal required colors: orange, red, green, blue, purple, gray, brown, black. Plus metallics: silver, bronze, copper, gold.
Arriving home, I began to figure out how I could prime the figures. First of all, I threw a test batch - a flamethrower and an ultralisk into a plate of water diluted with cleaning solution. It says everywhere that miniatures need to be degreased, and I chose the easiest method.
Then I took one of the parcel boxes and cut off the lid and cut out the front. It turned out to be a device for priming: I planned to put the figures inside, and then spray paint from a bottle on them. In order not to create a stink in the house, he went out into the entrance.
I put an ultralisk, a flamethrower and a Prostoss caterpillar in the box and turned on the camera. And my friend saw100500 grabbed the balloon and began spraying it on the figures, after shaking it for about a minute. It seemed to me that he did not maintain the recommended distance of 20-30 cm, but, as it turned out, there was nothing wrong with that.
The primer, by the way, really stinks. Even by the second batch, when we were priming the infantryman and the hydralisk, we started thinking about cotton-gauze bandages. Although, then, I simply moved with the box to the balcony. It turned out to be much more convenient there - you can open the window to get rid of the smell, and there is simply more light.
The next day the miniatures were dry and I took up the brush. It probably would have been worth looking at photos of painted figures online first, but I didn't do that. I decided to paint the first one myself, I’ll paint it as I come up with it.
My first figure was the Jim Raynor faction flamethrower. It was originally red, so I ended up painting it red. And immediately encountered an incomprehensible phenomenon. The paint did not apply well to the primer. I don't even know what's going on here. Maybe the paints I got were different or I chose the wrong primer. Or, for example, I took the wrong brush (00), but the red color did not completely apply to the miniature. Every time I brushed the brush, the black background of the primer showed through. No matter how hard I tried to re-paint particularly difficult areas, nothing worked. There was some black showing through on the figure in places, and I just decided to ignore it. I painted the gas cylinders gray and painted the visor the same color.
Then I immediately took on the infantryman. I also painted it red, experiencing the same problems with the primer showing through. Then I painted the rifle in the infantryman's hands gray. I also painted the visor of the helmet with it and, for beauty’s sake, put more dots on the knee pads and on the back of the spacesuit. I placed the finished miniatures in the same box and varnished them. The process is about the same as with the primer, only the bottle is different.
For my taste, the first miniatures came out rather mediocre. Due to the black color showing through, they turned out to be dirty. But still, I was satisfied with my work. After all, when you put the original figure and the painted one side by side, look and compare “before” and “after”, you understand that the painted one is better, even if the coloring is not perfect.
The second party for me was the Protoss: “caterpillar” and dragoon. They were originally orange, so I started painting them orange. I started with the caterpillar. The paint applied to it couldn't have been worse. Black spots constantly appeared from under the orange color. I painted and painted and painted and painted and painted, but it didn’t get any better. The figurine looked simply terrible. The same thing happened with the dragoon. It turned out dirty orange, spotted and completely ugly.
After the figures were dry, I tried painting them again. This time the color applied better, there was less black, but it still showed through. Then I let the miniatures dry again and then painted them a third time. Now the caterpillar is more or less complete. When I put blue spots on it (I saw the same ones somewhere in photos on the Internet), it began to look less shameful. But, alas, it was not possible to paint the dragoon properly. So he remained a bit dirty.
In the third step, I started painting the ultralisk and hydralisk. Ultralisk was surprisingly easy for me. I was worried in advance that it would turn out like with the protoss, but the brown and purple paints went on surprisingly well. Probably the whole point is that they are quite dark and if the black backing has appeared somewhere, it is not so noticeable. In addition to brown (the body) and purple (the shell on the head and back), I also used a metallic color to paint the tusks.
Then I took up the hydraulic pump. I painted it in the same colors: brown body, purple shell inserts and metal fang-limbs. For beauty, I added red dots for eyes and smeared metallic paint where the jaw should be. The hydralisk turned out very well, but, unfortunately, it came out a little dark. I wish it was lighter, otherwise it's brown and purple colors practically merge.
After that, I conveyor-painted several infantrymen and flamethrowers. I used the same colors as before, they were easy to paint.
The next step was painting the ghosts. These miniatures are quite small, but this did not stop them from being painted properly. I painted the uniform red, covered the space suit and arms with gray, but did not touch the rifle on my shoulders, it remained black.
Then I painted the vehicles: goliaths, tanks and vultures. And again I ran into problems. The Goliaths have come out yet, nothing, because. I painted them gray and only made the cockpit and inserts red, but I painted the motorcycle vultures and tanks red-gray and they turned out very dirty, like the Protoss dragoon. I tried to paint with a second layer, but it didn’t work out. The result, of course, is that the miniatures look good, but very sloppy.
Here are my first results: 5 infantry, 2 flamethrowers, 2 ghosts, 2 vultures, 2 tanks, 2 goliaths, 1 hydralisk, 1 ultralisk, 1 dragoon, 1 caterpillar. There are 19 figures in total. I didn't paint them for long; in total I probably spent two or three hours. Quite acceptable time. True, the results are not very good. I rate the infantry and hydralisk as a C, the ultralisk as a four minus (because it turned out to be too dark), and the caterpillar and goliaths as a C minus. But dragoons, tanks and vultures - alas, deserve only a "pair". They are too dirty.
And now - a few questions for the experts.
I degreased only the first two miniatures in soapy water. The rest were primed like this. In my opinion, there are no differences. Is it okay if I don’t “bathe” the rest of the figures?
I painted the miniatures with a 00 brush. Is this normal? Maybe it would be better to use another?
Finally, the most important question: how to make sure that the paint lays down in an even layer and the primer does not bleed through from under it? Otherwise, out of grief, I was already thinking about priming the Protoss orange.
One more question - how to paint “flying” figures? They are on stands that cannot be removed (glued). So far I have only thought of wrapping the bases with paper on the bottom and removing it after priming. Maybe there are other options?
In general, I realized that painting is not difficult at all. I think in the foreseeable future I'll finish painting Raynor's army, and then I'll think about it, or end up with the figures from Starcraft, or I'll go to Memoirs.
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