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Great read on the breakdown of paint and what the various things mean and do. I'm going to give a go at using the medium & water for the gold and see what happens.

Theoretically I shouldn't have to thin the gold; but I just don't get a good even spread if I don't thin it. The areas I'm having to thin it are for medium-ish plate like things. Tops of gold mauls or larger flat sections of shield or helmet.

I'll give a go tonight with various mixes and see what happens.

This may just be me, but I like to think you can also thin your paints with nothing. Eg using them straight from the pot (shock horror!!) but I do this sometimes. The thinning is done by reducing the amount of paint on the brush. I find doing this with golds works well. I use this technique with vallejo metallics. Glorious gold, followed by polished gold over a base of bright bronze metallic for a nice tmm gold style.


Must add that it's not a drybrush, just a controlled amount of paint.

DrCrook wrote:
Great read on the breakdown of paint and what the various things mean and do. I'm going to give a go at using the medium & water for the gold and see what happens.

Theoretically I shouldn't have to thin the gold; but I just don't get a good even spread if I don't thin it. The areas I'm having to thin it are for medium-ish plate like things. Tops of gold mauls or larger flat sections of shield or helmet.

I'll give a go tonight with various mixes and see what happens.

The issue with metallics is that the transparent nature of the medium makes the "metallic effect" that much worse. So, I'd advise thinning as little as is possible to get passable results. Like I said, the real trick is just to use better metallic paints. Also, Vallejo does make a Metallic Medium, but really it's all just pretty close to strictly inferior to using the vastly better quality Metal Color paints. The Metal Colors are airbrush thin, the pigment in super fine and coverage (as far as I can tell) is nearly 100% in one thin coat. They even do pretty well when "tinted" with some inks.

If you look in my gallery, the "bronze" on that Necron is actually just a mix of Gold and Copper Metal Colors, mixed with some of Badgers Metalsmith "Ores" (basically glossy inks). And it is one coat, covers very well.

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
This may just be me, but I like to think you can also thin your paints with nothing. Eg using them straight from the pot (shock horror!!) but I do this sometimes. The thinning is done by reducing the amount of paint on the brush. I find doing this with golds works well. I use this technique with vallejo metallics. Glorious gold, followed by polished gold over a base of bright bronze metallic for a nice tmm gold style.


Must add that it's not a drybrush, just a controlled amount of paint.

Pretty much. I very rarely dilute paints; at most it's whatever moisture is on the brush and whatever seeps in through the parchment paper of my wet palette. But that's just a combination of style and preference for the way I paint. I still advise people know how to dilute paints. Gotta know the rules to understand when and how to bend, break, or completely ignore them!

As for metallics, I do second the "don't dilute them if you can" notion. Because the metallic nature of the paint lies in the pigments, dilution means pigment spread which means the metallic paint just isn't functioning as well as intended. And as mentioned, not all brands are equal, although I will confess to a preference of S75 over Vallejo's metallics.

I usually advise against GW paints in almost all regards, with the exception of their Lahmian Medium, their washes, and the contrast paints. Largely in part because their pot design is terrible; S75 and VMC have an equivalent range of colors, with higher pigment content (so better coverage, and more flexibility in dilution increments), and dropper bottles are the bees knees (just make sure you get non-rusting agitators for S75 paints).

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
you basically explained what I was too lazy to explain.

I mean, someone had to, right?