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I'm thinking of trying to paint something so it looks transparent (with a solid base). You know, like gun scopes or crystals. Is there a good guide for this?

The only thing I can think of is reflections. Know Idea how do do something look transparent unless you are really damn good at free hand. You can do the classic reflection with the light reflecting. You know like with SM eyes, gems/crystals or lights? Other than that I would use some straight up clear plastic from a plastic container. You could also use, I don't know what its called, but that resin used for making water effects.

If you are doing a small area, then painting the item with a thick layer (or several thin layers) of gloss varnish will do a pretty good job, assuming the rest of the model is matte.

If you are doing large windows or something like that, it might be impossible. I have thought of painting "windows" with a graduated tint of blue to white and gloss surface. I don't see how it is feasible to paint an opaque surface to look genuinely transparent.

Gloss varnish and the lense flare painting trick is what I usually do. Paint a white dot and then shades of a color from dark to light on the opposite side to represent the light dissipating.