5 replies to this topic

[Captain jOE]

Ok, wierd title but I didn't know what else to do .

So I'm taking the next step with my painting and getting some flow aid and drying retarders for my painting. And I was wondering. What are some good painting "gunk" mix recipes that I can try to start with? I know it's kind of a, "whatever you like best" topic, but I'd like someplace to start. Also, any advice on what to do and NOT to do with this stuff would be appreciated.

Also, I'm gonna paint this convverted Goldar the Barbarian. (WIP pic mind you, I still have to ad wraps around where the axe head meets the shaft)




I'm basing him off of this character from Fire Emblem 7.



I wanted to achieve similar skin tones, maybe whiter, but still maintaining the brown leathery look. I'm working with GW paints here, just for reference. Any advice or recipes?

I was definitely thinking about using brown shadows over the red/pink that I normally do. I was thinking for very deep shadows are use GW scorched brown or GW dark flesh. Then I would work from GW bestial brown mixing through GW elf flesh with a final highlight using a little GW bleached bone mixed with GW elf flesh.

Finally, I have like 0 blue paints since my room mate, Kuro Cleanbrush. moved out. So I need to by blue paints. With GW changing their paint line soon, I'm looking into buying some Reaper Master Series paints. So what blue triad would best achieve a rich, darker blue like on the Fire Emblem character above?

Thanks in advance for any advice that you guys (and gals ) can offer.

[psyberwolfe1]

As for Gunk mixing: it entirely depends on your flow improver. If your flow improver is Liquitex then what you actually have is something that conditions water. For myself I thin my drying retarder with half flow conditioned water. I've even done drying retarder with plain water.

The blue on the loincloth can be achieved using the Ultramarine triad. As for the Flesh tones I would use Reaper's Tanned Skin Triad.

[Captain jOE]

As for Gunk mixing: it entirely depends on your flow improver. If your flow improver is Liquitex then what you actually have is something that conditions water. For myself I thin my drying retarder with half flow conditioned water. I've even done drying retarder with plain water.

The blue on the loincloth can be achieved using the Ultramarine triad. As for the Flesh tones I would use Reaper's Tanned Skin Triad.

Ok, thanks. I was probably going to grab reapers flow improver to use with liquitex slow dri (unless that's a big no no) simply because I'm going to be placing an order soonish.

And those triads are pretty much just what I need. So thank you ! I had been poking around the paint section, but I wanted the opinion of someone who is a bit more familiar with the range before I bought anything.

I wanted to use paints I have, but some of those flesh tones look too good to pass up. Oh well looks like I'm spending more money than I want to once again.

[Kuro Cleanbrush]

Yeah, I'm sorry I had to take all my blue paints with me, but I really need them for my dwarf army (and, actually, just about everything else I paint. Apparently, I'm very fond of blue, lol.) But I plan on picking up a lot of Reaper paints too and will probably buy a 54 color Build Your Own Paint Set when I'm at Reapercon.

That's awesome that you're looking into some new painting techniques! I figure that I'll probably remain somewhat stubborn (at least for a while) and refuse to wet-blend, but you'll have to show me what you've learned when I come back in May.

[warhorseminis]

I use Liquitex Slo-Dry retarder all the time but have not yet tried it with Reaper's flow improver. If all else fails, the Slo Dry works just fine when you use plain water to thin your paints.

A couple of things to remember when wet-blending - don't use too much retarder. Thin your paint with water and then add retarder according to the instructions on the bottle. Too much not only takes forever to dry but it can weaken the paint, causing it to rub off easily. It's also a good idea to mix a base color, shadow and highlight all with retarder and have them ready to go as you paint so you can get good blends. Retarder extends drying time but not by a whole lot so don't think you have forever.

I mix my paints in the palettes with the little wells in them and keep toothpicks handy because the stuff can separate pretty quickly. I also have clean dry brushes on hand to act as mop brushes if I get too much paint on the miniature. A dry mop brush also helps with blends that decide to be stubborn. Usually darker paint is stronger than lighter stuff so you're going to want to blend your shades carefully, otherwise you'll overpower your base and highlight colors.

Last but not least, it takes a little practice to get the hang of it but it's not overly difficult and you get some really cool effects. A good place to start is something like a cloak or robe which is relatively straight and has good folds to guide you with highlights and shadows.

Well, that's all I can think of at the moment. Good luck with your project!

Cheers,
Kath

[Captain jOE]

I use Liquitex Slo-Dry retarder all the time but have not yet tried it with Reaper's flow improver. If all else fails, the Slo Dry works just fine when you use plain water to thin your paints.

A couple of things to remember when wet-blending - don't use too much retarder. Thin your paint with water and then add retarder according to the instructions on the bottle. Too much not only takes forever to dry but it can weaken the paint, causing it to rub off easily. It's also a good idea to mix a base color, shadow and highlight all with retarder and have them ready to go as you paint so you can get good blends. Retarder extends drying time but not by a whole lot so don't think you have forever.

I mix my paints in the palettes with the little wells in them and keep toothpicks handy because the stuff can separate pretty quickly. I also have clean dry brushes on hand to act as mop brushes if I get too much paint on the miniature. A dry mop brush also helps with blends that decide to be stubborn. Usually darker paint is stronger than lighter stuff so you're going to want to blend your shades carefully, otherwise you'll overpower your base and highlight colors.

Last but not least, it takes a little practice to get the hang of it but it's not overly difficult and you get some really cool effects. A good place to start is something like a cloak or robe which is relatively straight and has good folds to guide you with highlights and shadows.

Well, that's all I can think of at the moment. Good luck with your project!

Cheers,
Kath

That's very helpful advice, thanks a lot. :)