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I see mention all the time in painting tutorials, to do blending, but never seen a description of how to do it.

So, any suggestions?

Both for paint and wash, how do you get a nice even blend on the model?


If there is already a thread for this I apologize for starting a new one, the search function is currently broken.

I do the "Pull / Push" stuff. Really diluted paint pushed (or pulled) to where I want the most concentration of pigments.

http://px40k.blogspot.com/2011/06/mcvey-two-brush-blending.html - this looks like a more efficient technique though. Once you've learned how to juggle two brushes

What makes blending difficult is acrylic paint dries too quickly, you need it to stay wet so you can smooth the colours/shades together.

The easiest way to do this is to use acrylic medium/retarder, which you can mix with your paint (on the palette) to keep it wet for a bit longer.

Another way is to paint in a very humid environment, such as a steamy bathroom. It might sound a bit insane but the humidity makes it pretty much impossible for paint to dry out, you would be amazed at the kind of blends you can achieve (Just don't try to spray in a humid environment).

Another alternative is to use Oil based paint. Olis are very good for blending, they stay wet for a long time, they have great coverage, and they naturally smooth out better than acrylic. They are also very tough.

Don't let people scare you away from Oils, you can use them over the top of acrylics without issues (not so much the other way around). after varnishing it is impossible to tell which is which. Only downside is they are harder to clean up and will ruin natural brushes quickly.

I've found that retarder make the type of acrylics we use act kinda weird and "lumpy". YMMV

Thin the paint a lot (about the viscosity of 2% milk) and just add more of a lighter shade to your darkest color as you go. If you have any detail to add over the blend, writing, glyphs, etc, you can use them to camouflage the more visible transitions.

My base color for my Eldar is a blend of dark to light blue, complimented by a blend of dark to light orange. I'll post pics once I get my site paid for again (hopefully later today)...



Ghidorah

pixelpusher wrote:YMMV

It does.

Acrylic Retarder is amazing, particularly so for getting a nice smooth consistency. I never make a brush-stroke without it. And I don't know anything about lumpy paint.

What brand of retarder did you use, and with what paints?

Liquitex Slow-Dri. Made weird stuff with my Vallejo Model Colors. I might've gotten the ratio wrong or something?

I think Liquitex has quite a lot of acrylic resin in it to act as a binder so your paint doesn't become diluted, perhaps that's why it went lumpy.

I use Windsor & Newton Galeria Fluid Retarder. It has very little resin so it will dilute paint, but it behaves slightly better than water. Aside from blending you can also create some really nice wash effects with it.

Read here:

http://www.mainlymedieval.com/ozpainters/viewtopic.php?t=49

Best explanation of the theory behind blending, that I have found.