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Hey guys,

So I've heard all about the importance of thinning paints to get a smooth/even surface, but have a lot of trouble pre-mixing paints with water. I always feel like I'm wasting paint in the process, especially if I just have a little to paint at a time (I've been working on just one model while learning the hobby, not wanting to make the same mistakes on a whole squad).

What I've been doing instead is dipping my brush in water (sometimes drying it a little if a big bead latches on), then dipping the tip in the paint pot. When I go to paint the model, the water and paint seem to flow together well enough and my coats have been smooth, though a little thicker than a strictly 1:1 or 1.5:1 (paint:water) pre-mix.

Is there something wrong with this practice or any big red flags you can already see down the line?

start using a paint palette. You'll want to get away from painting directly from Pots. Anything will do. A trick I learned is to use cd jewel cases. They are cheap and you get them anywhere and they work well. Put a brush load ( big drop) of paint from the pot onto the palette and thin it there so you can see the consistency you are getting before your brush hits the model.Usually half a brush load of water is enough to "loosen up" the paint.
You can also get plastic palettes at art stores. My favorite palettes are porcelain flower shaped ones because they are so easy to clean.

Hope that helps.

As the previous poster said, get a pallet, they are dirt cheap.

As for problems with your current practice, there are several:

* You want to keep your paint as airtight as possible. Every open the pot you lose some moisture. Leaving the pot open is even worse. The best thing you can do is move the paints to a bottle with a built in dropper for a cap. You can find them at craft stores for dirt cheap. You will lose a bit of paint transferring them, but save way more over time due to not having paint dry on the edges of the pot.
* you are going to be getting inconsistent mixing, which if you ever really get into shading is going to cause some serious problems, especially on larger areas. This wont be so obvious with just a layer or two, but if you put on 5, 10, or more layers the uneveness of the paint will become increasingly apparent. Ever seen the power weapon effects GW uses in the pictures? If you tried to do something like that you would end up with streaks, hills, and valleys in the color due to inconsistent mixing.
* You will likely wear out your brushes faster, as the super thin paint will get sucked directly up into the top of the brush.
* You can't mix paints
* you are going to contaminate your colors. No matter how careful you are you are most likely bringing in small amounts of pigment.

Just get a pallet. You will save paint, save time, save money, and have much better results.

riplikash wrote:As the previous poster said, get a pallet, they are dirt cheap.

As for problems with your current practice, there are several:

* You want to keep your paint as airtight as possible. Every open the pot you lose some moisture. Leaving the pot open is even worse. The best thing you can do is move the paints to a bottle with a built in dropper for a cap. You can find them at craft stores for dirt cheap. You will lose a bit of paint transferring them, but save way more over time due to not having paint dry on the edges of the pot.
* you are going to be getting inconsistent mixing, which if you ever really get into shading is going to cause some serious problems, especially on larger areas. This wont be so obvious with just a layer or two, but if you put on 5, 10, or more layers the uneveness of the paint will become increasingly apparent. Ever seen the power weapon effects GW uses in the pictures? If you tried to do something like that you would end up with streaks, hills, and valleys in the color due to inconsistent mixing.
* You will likely wear out your brushes faster, as the super thin paint will get sucked directly up into the top of the brush.
* You can't mix paints
* you are going to contaminate your colors. No matter how careful you are you are most likely bringing in small amounts of pigment.

Just get a pallet. You will save paint, save time, save money, and have much better results.

Thanks, I'll start breaking myself of the habit next time I have a painting session. I hadn't considered the mixing colors and gradient issues, thanks for pointing those out especially.

I actually have a few pallets, so I'm set to go there, but I'll have to look out for those bottles. I have a Vallejo set of paints but haven't used them yet.

riplikash wrote:Just get a pallet. You will save paint, save time, save money, and have much better results.

QFT, a pallet is the way to go, especially, when you use Vallejo paints, as they are only usable like this.

Cheers,


IK-Painter

Get a sponge, some parchment paper (it's next to foil) and a closeable food container that seals well, I like rubbermaid. A wet pallet isn't hard to use and is infinitely better than standard pallets especially if you start out using one from the get go.

I use a pallet for some of my paints as well. But, the pallet I use is an old baby food jar lid. I also sometimes use old blister packs for pallets as well.

Ive used an old tile as my pallet for ages, i experimented with a wet palette but it was more trouble than it was worth

I got a ceramic pallet from an art supply store. Basically the same as a tile but with recessed spots to hold the paint instead of just smearing it all around. Ceramic cleans up a lot easier than plastic, too.