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So I have just tried my hand at painting camo and it came out quite nice, but alot of the depth is lost. I want to know what to do to bring it back. What I mean is that all the little details aren't as readily visible. Like the pockets don't show up as clearly, nor do the fold of his pants. So should I use a wash? If so what mix of water or PVA or both? Or is there another way? I am a little lost here and I did such a good job (in my opinion) I dont want to mess around without some direction.

Well, your description is very vague. Maybe if you showed us a pic,it will help us help you.

dont have m camera handy right now. will post a pic later today. But what I mean is say you have a white primed mini, the put a black wash over it all the details sorta pop out more. I m looking for a way to do that but without removing or messing up the camo.

Well that's exactly the effect you were after, now the models are well hidden enough that you can't make out things like pockets

I do know what you mean, as I've tried my hand at basic camo on kommanos, but don't personally have a solution. Good luck

Well, just wash the model, and when it's dry, repaint the camo spots, while leaving the wash in the recesses.

Gorkamorka wrote:Well that's exactly the effect you were after, now the models are well hidden enough that you can't make out things like pockets

I do know what you mean, as I've tried my hand at basic camo on kommanos, but don't personally have a solution. Good luck

Quite right.

The point of camouflage is to conceal patterns and details which help the eye lock onto and recognise the target.

The best way to do cammo on a small model is to exaggerate it. Don't make it look like cammo, make it look like what people think cammo looks like.

For example, the average size of the blobs of colour in British Army DPM cammo is roughly 100mm long. Convert that to 28mm scale and you get blobs under 2mm. You have to paint larger blobs or the eye won't pick them up on the model.

Practise on card and develop a good style before you start on figures.

If you want to pick out some details then I would recommend picking a basecoat, drybrushing and/or washing that to give a reasonable base, and then paint the disruptive pattern over the top. Camo is designed to disguise the detail of a person/model anyway, so don't worry too much if it gets a bit hard to distinguish details.

Just remember to distribute your disruptive patches over the whole model. Don't just paint random blobs in the middle of armour plates because that won't disguise the overall outline of the model.

Two examples of my own camo schemes:

Now the problem I found painting camo at this scale or smaller is the paint itself. Most people tend to just use the paint right out of the bottle which can leave a thick look especially when using lighter colors such as white or some blues. Also what most people do not understand about painting camo on minitures is how the camo pattern needs to follow the shape of the clothing of person wearing it. For example, the bend of a the leg or crook of the arm the camo pattern needs to follow the lines.

A tan streak that is going down from the bicept threw the inside of the elbow and into the forearm the line will be broken up into three or four different angles all pointing the same general direction. Also, camo patterns will not follow the same direction from the pant leg onto the cargo pocket. This is because it is two different pieces of cloth sewn together to the camo patterns will not line up. If you have a hard time understanding how this shift in patterns look like get a cheap pair of BDUs and look at them as you sit, stand, and bend your body around.

I will post a picture of the WWII German Rain camo pattern I did on a IG Sgt as a test. It came out great but it was way too time consuming for entire army.

Also, there is another trick I have used before. If you are doing a two tone pattern I just used a thin coat of pure paint. When that was dry I used a 25% watered down of the paint and painted over it overlaping the color. It gave it a nice blending or working up to that color. This was great on larger, flat surfaces such a armor and helmets. Also, do not be afraid to leave the armor just one color and the uniform with the camo that way the miniture is not to busy.

I use stippling whenever I paint camouflage. Here's an example:

Ok as promised here is that IG Camo test paint job. The lighting was horrible but that was back when I still lived in an apartment making next to nothing.