Layering/Blending questions

[Malsqueek]

So,

I'm starting to really like doing blending and layers on my miniatures to give more texture to large flat areas, however, I notice that my blending tends to look pretty chunky from color to color.

Are there any good equipment/technique tips that the good folks (and the bad ones) on this forum can give me?

[Brandubh]

A good all around page that way have stuff to help you:

http://www.paintingclinic.com/MainClinic.dwt.htm

-Patrick

[KenStorm989]

You definately want to thin your paints, some people use an agent called flow improver...it comes from many different companies and in many different names, but you add it to your paint and it thins it out and keeps it "wet" longer so you have more time to "blend". I personally just use water to thin my paints, its just what i prefer, but alot of your "serious" painters swear by the flow improver. Google Liquitex thats one of the brand names you hear alot of. Also YouTube search for Awesomepaintjob.com he is an Amazing painter, and has alot of tips and tricks on what he uses.

[ddot]

One thing worth trying is to do your layering and wash/glaze the area to smooth the transitions.

[Slinkdawg]

I will find you some info or write a longer post later if I have time, but I really like the 2 brush blend technique since I learned it.

Basically, base coat with a lighter color. For the darker color, you lay it down in the shaded areas (thinned down a bit) and use a second brush with some spit to blend out towards the lighter color.

Probably more to it than that, but it is great when you want to put in some good blending and shading.

[ddot]

I will find you some info or write a longer post later if I have time, but I really like the 2 brush blend technique since I learned it.

Basically, base coat with a lighter color. For the darker color, you lay it down in the shaded areas (thinned down a bit) and use a second brush with some spit to blend out towards the lighter color.

Probably more to it than that, but it is great when you want to put in some good blending and shading.

I tried that technique, it never really worked for me. I always ended up with too dry a brush and got NO blending done, or too wet a brush and smeared or (worse) washed the paint I was trying to blend.

When I tried it with spit, it was a little better... I never washed the paint, but still didn't get good blends, plus got to spend a lot more time watching paint dry.

Which led to the question... why am I doing this again? :angryfire

[AntiZombie]

Do the technique above but after you put in the shadow put a thin line of the base coat next to the shadow ( watered down to about skim milk consistency) and feather it gently into the shadow. It takes some practice but it works. Then highlight the same way ( btw I always prime black but thats just me) takes a while to paint this way so patience is key

[the imp]

I mostly use glazes that I mix from thinned down paint and matte medium. If it's just transparent enough to tint the basecoat, you're doing it right.

[SKushon]

Avoiding "Chunky" lines, Demarkation lines, lines that allow you to see the color transition from one color to another can be accomplished in a many ways. Here are a few common ones:

0) If by chunky you mean that the paint surface is not smooth, then. You MUST wait for your layers to dry completely before continuing, otherwise you will have uneven and chunky surfaces.

1) Your color transitions may be too steep. Like you go from red directly to orange, and it looks chunky. You need to mix the red and the orange. Adding layer after layer, slowly adding more orange. In this fashion you can build up to your orange color.

2) Translucency - A paint can be thinned with a matte medium so that it does not separate, but becomes more and more and more transparent (yet it is not a wash because of the medium). GW paints are awesome for translucency because they suck at coverage. P3 are very hard to work with using this technique because they have awesome coverage and therefore must be thinned ad nauseum. However, once suitably thin and not separated, multiple layers of the VERY thin orange can be put on the red, in smaller and smaller areas. This will allow the red to show very well in areas only covered once, but the orange will only completely cover once you have put 5 or 6 coats down.

3) Wet blending. You need a blending medium like slo-dri, NOT a flow improver, or flow aid. They are two different things, one improves flow and prevents separation, the other extends drying times. By adding a blending medium you allow your self to actually mix the colors on the model itself. It is easily the hardest technique to master, but once you have mastered it you are good. It can also be the fastest method because depending on how you dry your layers in the above methods (I use a hair dryer to speed things up). It can be very fast because you are working the paint while it is wet. So, you can blend the whole surface in one go without waiting any drying time.

Those are my thoughts.

[Malsqueek]

Skushion,

You have perfectly identified my problem with #1. I think I may need to invest in a wet palette, because I find myself re-blending the same "steps" three or four times for any given color, which gives inconsistencies, and also makes it really tough to gently blend colors.

For #2, does that mean that you are using the "end shade" as a glaze and applying it 7-8-9 times to the same areas, then highlighting?

[SKushon]

For #2 what you need to imagine is the following.

You have a red surface that you intend to highlight. You take some orange paint, and you dilute it extensive with a mixture of Matte medium and water (the matte medium prevents pigment separation). That orange paint/medium/water mixture has very little pigmentation in it when you put only one layer of paint down.

So, when you cover the red surface with it. . . depending on the level of dilution. It still might look almost entirely red or maybe just a brighter red. The more coats you must down the more orange covers the model.

Since every layer you put down creates a different color between your original red and your orange you create a smooth color transition.

[Malsqueek]

Sweet. I have some matte medium from an "interference particulate" project I was playing with a few months ago. I'll try that out on my last Sorrow and see how it works.