Why Devlan Mud?

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**Perkustin**

Two words seem to frequently pop up on dakka and those are 'Devlan Mud'. Why is it the be all and end all of paints? Should i go out and get some? Can anyone post obvious pictures of when it has been used to good effect?

**Billinator**

I'm afraid i don't have any pictures at hand, but i can tell you this; Most people use it for shadow-effects. And it can be used with most colors you choose, IIRC.

**DODcrazy**

Well it's name is exactly how it looks. It's a wash that simulates dirt and mud very well, and since it's a brown it's a natural tone that can be used for other things. Yes you should get some.

**Aduro**

Couple reasons;

1.) It's a good shade of brown that works not only for Mud effects but for general shading on most colors as well. Same reason Army Painter dip comes in brown and people love the MinWax dip and those are most all brown.

B.) It's made from an as yet unknown source of pure awesome that is condensed and then liquefied. Just How awesome you ask? People on the PP forums, where GW is routinely mocked, recommend it.

**yeenoghu**

Because it is slightly warm, slightly colorful, and not too brash to have problems blending in with anything. In short, it a good easy lukewarm blend-all paint.

Just try watering it and dip something. Its not like its awesome or like some magic paint that just makes stuff great, its just a really good neutral kind of blend to save some time and give a bit of a wash without a risk of oversaturating it or clashing too much with whatever is underneath. It's just nice and easy to use. I used to use a tiny dab of black, red, brown, eedy beedy bit of light green/yellow and lots and lots of watering for the same effect with much much more time blapping this and that together.

The paint guys just made a really good neutral kind of blend that can easy wash any undercoat.

**Vulcan**

With Devlan Mud, it is possible to take a mini with just the base colors blocked in, give it a quick glaze over everything, and your shading is pretty much all done for you. It makes a quicky tabletop-quality paint job look much better than it really is.

It does have it's limitations, of course. Whites, it just makes look dirty, which is fine for some things, not so much for others. Blacks, dark blues, and purples pretty much shrug it off, you might get some darkening but nothing spectacular. But... it's still one of the fastest ways to produce a 'tabletop plus' standard mini with very little effort.

**Hückleberry**

Here are some of my bloodletters with everything covered in Devlan Mud.

**loranafaeriequeen**

I'm just as fond of gryhphon sepia as I am devilin mud.

**Perkustin**

Those bloodletters look nice bro! Think i will invest in some. Cheers everyone!

**Hückleberry**

Thanks for the compliment! post some pics after you use the mud.

**Ouze**

loranafaeriequeen wrote:I'm just as fond of gryhphon sepia as I am devilin mud.

When I want a brown shade that's a little subdued, but not too much, I do 50/50 Gryphonne Sepia and Devlan Mud. Sometimes Sepia's not dark enough, and Devlan too overpowering.

**brother_zach**

Its a great, quick and easy way to get basic dirt and grime. I have a bottle of it and have tried it on several occasions, but always end up adding more dirt and grime to anything worth gritting up.

**Tacobake**

For example you could prime, basecoat, paint, dry brush and highlight.

Or you could just paint it nicely like in grade 7 and then apply Devlan Mud.

Now there are other washes but Devlan Mud gives you that shadow/ lighting effect.

It really is that amazing.

**jonolikespie**

This is why

**brother_zach**

jonolikespie wrote:This is why

not quite.

**funkyRatDemon**

It simply makes every aspect of painting that much better

Here is a unit of my Undead IG, which takes full advantage of Devlan Mud

Devlan Mud = 100x greater then any of the old GW Inks

**sparkywtf**

Guy at the FLGS recommends it for EVERYTHING.

I on the otherhand don't use it as often. I find it a tad too dark for skin tone, not quiet the "tanned" look I am going for.

That being said, it is still used a bit.

**H.B.M.C.**

They don't call it 'Liquid Talent' for nothing.

Even I've used it.

**rodgers37**

I've painted like no more than 5 models, and i've used Devlan mud

It wins

**Kroothawk**

It's like Quickshade, only quicker and without the hassle (turpentine cleaner, glossy finish). I also use Ogryn Flesh (my Tyranids), Badab Black (making everything dirty and shaded without changing colour tone too much), and Gryphonne Sepia (rust, aged paper).

**Brother Tobias**

Heya, check out my sig orc tabletop guide.
Devlan mud is a key component to the skin tone that i use for my orc scheme. i enjoy the dark grubby and dirty looking orcs.
majority of the model is washed in mud then highlighted up again through the orginal colour and then lighter versions of it.

Hope it helps or some of you find it interesting

Brother Tobias.

**legoburner**

Clean model on the right, same washed with devlan mud on the left:

1:144 scale

**Tacobake**

Yes, *coughs* and not to derail the thread. If you wondering WHY it is just so amazing think of it as a little bottle of liquid science that takes advantage of the porousness of the paint and primer. You could probably even look at it under a microscope if you had something decent say like at school.

It really is that amazing.

**Billinator**

One thing i'd like to add, though, is that i wouldn't just add the main colors to the miniature, then add the Devlan Mud, and call it a day. It needs more colors, if you want a good result. If you know what you're doing, it's often improoves the mini's to have multiple layers.

On the other hand, it gets alot more time consuming, and painting a full army with multiple layers is going to take alot of time. But you'll get much better at painting - that is; if one has got the patience...

**muffinlove**

it will make your life a lot better....lets just leave it at that

**brother_zach**

Billinator wrote:One thing i'd like to add, though, is that i wouldn't just add the main colors to the miniature, then add the Devlan Mud, and call it a day. It needs more colors, if you want a good result. If you know what you're doing, it's often improoves the mini's to have multiple layers.

On the other hand, it gets alot more time consuming, and painting a full army with multiple layers is going to take alot of time. But you'll get much better at painting - that is; if one has got the patience...

Agreed. Though I do own a bottle of Devlan Mud, I'd much rather layer colors to achieve a pleasent effect,

**bbb**

My Malifaux Ramos crew base coated

My Malifaux Ramos crew after Delvan Mud

I do go back and highlight after the wash, but I love the quick results.

**Ifurita**

Here's a quick article I wrote to test out the effects of various washes

http://kan.org/michael/mkp/citadelwashes.php

**Platuan4th**

I could've sworn Devlan Miracle was its official name...

**idget**

On my Tau, Blood Angels and Deathwing, I have always painted on base colours, given it a wash of Devlan Mud then relayer on the initial colour, highlight and call it done!
I have every single wash GW has made and so I do use some washes in other circumstances like Gryphonne Sepia on Assault Marine helmets an on purity seals, Ogryn Flesh on skin tones and Mordian Blue over Mithril Silver to paint power weapons. But all of those washes are more for single issues than anything else, unlike Devlan Mud, which is almost a universal shader.
I'll simplfy this entire post into a few words. Get some right now