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Hey guys.

I was skimming my Forces of Warmachine: Khador book... inside there, they have a couple nice painting tutorials, but I'm having some trouble grasping some of the concepts within, so I though I'd bring my questions here.



The image on the left is the base coat. Step 2, which is the image on the right, is described thus:

"Use Sanguine Base for the first layer of shading. Apply the paint thin and blend it into the recesses and shadows".

This is all very well and good, but I really have no idea how to properly execute that. In the past, every time I've tried to achieve a gradienting effect like this on a model, but it always either ends up too heavy-handed (meaning, a blob of color with a clear edge between the 'shade' color and the brighter base color), or it pools strangely and dries unevenly. The closest thing I've found to simulate this effect might be Citadel's washes, but when you brush that stuff on, you can clearly see the edge or boundary between "area that got washed" and "area that did not get washed".

I'm hoping to get some advice as to proper shading technique so I could duplicate something like the above. I've tried feathering paints out with a wet brush, but the problem I always have is that as I introduce even a tiny bit of water to the paint, it starts to run and get a bit out of hand, and I have trouble controlling it.

Anyone have sage advice?

It looks to me like a very careful application of a drybrush of some black paint. Basically take the smallest brush you've got, dab it into some thinned paint, then wipe all the paint off of it with a napkin. There should be almost no paint on the brush. Lightly apply said brush to the edges of your model.

You need to use thinned paints.

It might help if you add some Matte Medium (vallejo or liquitex).

But basically you need to really add a LOT of water to the pallet. P3 paints hold up to thinning tremendously well.

You want tinted water almost. The next important step is managing how much paint is on the brush. If you have too much it will just run all over the place, into crevasses, and ruin the affect. I'm now very used to this technique and just wipe the brush on the side of my pallet, but a paper-towel is always easy.
You can practice this technique with just plain water, if it runs everywhere but where you want it - then you have too much on the brush.

Finally you need to 'pull' the paint in the proper direction. For that shoulder for example, you would have been pulling the brush from right-to-left into the shading area.

Matte medium helps if really thin paints scare you or you are just not interested in practicing that technique.

In addition to the above (excellent advice), it's also easier to do if you're not great at the thinning technique, in multiple stages - the more intermediate mixes, the easier it is to get the effect to be subtle.

You can get the same effect useing a wet pallet and useing the red {always water it down } a purple ? or black. well the reds still wet on the mini add the purple along the edge of the plate blending it along the plate with the red and then extreame high light the edge again with the red.

jamsessionein wrote:The closest thing I've found to simulate this effect might be Citadel's washes, but when you brush that stuff on, you can clearly see the edge or boundary between "area that got washed" and "area that did not get washed".

The washes are designed to flow and pool more heavily in recesses. The point is to cover the entire plate and let the wash establish reasonably natural shading, which can be selectively painted over to keep things from getting too dark. If you apply a wash to half of a plate, you're always going to have a stark boundary. That said, you'll never achieve the effect pictured just by washing. Others can help with your current question. Just thought I'd chime in with general advice, in case you've been using washes like paint, exclusively, which would be a shame, as they're terribly useful if used properly.

i can't believe nobody has chimed in with the actual technique that the PP studio uses...
for the most part, they paint with the two-brush blending technique...
starting at the midtone, which you see majority of the color on the armor plate, they add the darker tone where they want it, and then take a brush that has been kept moist in their mouth and pull the paint out towards the lighter sections...
in your pics, it's two main progressively darker shades, with the darkest shade being pulled out a little less than the previous layer (although i'm sure there were one or two more layers than what they say in the book)...

you can find some videos of Ron Kruzie demonstrating the technique at the Privateer booth at GenCon on YouTube...

cheers
jah