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hey all,

I thought it would be fun to get a thread going about painting (or modeling) tips that you thought were bunk when you first learned them, but turned out to be solid advice.

for example, a tip I picked up on youtube (APJ, I think) was that silver colors (boltgun metal, steel, chrome, etc.) look better (brighter, smoother) when painted over a black base color and golds look better over browns. when I first heard this, I didn't get it and wrote it off. I'd never had problems putting boltgun metal over any color before, so whatever. a few months later I tried it out on a whim and, much to my chagrin, realized that a black/brown base color really does make a difference. now, I make a point of painting all my metallics over a black or brown base color.

so, what tips have you incorporated into your painting lexicon that, when you first heard them, you either didn't understand or thought were bogus or just plain wrong?

i agree, those two are good tips, but for the Gold it's mostly about easy coverage...
most metals show stronger over a dark base, but Gold has a harder time covering straight Black than Silver does...
Brown, as a first coat over a Black primer, requires less layers for solid coverage...

i actually use Brown as a first layer for my Yellows, and sometimes my Reds as well...
for some reason, every Dark Brown i've ever used seems to cover Black so easily...
it saves a lot of hassle for getting those light tones over Black...

my tip is not to poopoo drybrushing...
as painters start out, they use it heavily, and turn out rough, chalky paintjobs...
then they move away from drybrushing to achieve smooth results...
selective drybrushing, for the right subjects such as fur and stone, is a great tool...
alternating washes and drydrushing on bases with any kind of texture is quick, and looks great...
same goes for fur...
the trick is just to incorporate each layer with a wash, even playing with different tones like Purple and Green when drybrushing with Browns or Greys...

just play around, like Bob Ross, and paint happy skulls...

cheers
jah