Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hello, I am new to the world of painting and I was wondering if there was some technique that will accomplish the reverse of drybrushing. in other words, when you drybrush you end up with paint on the highest points of a model. Is there any way to get paint on the lowest parts of a model that doesn't simply require an extremely fine brush and a lot of time?

Case in point, I basecoat my model black, now I can either carefully paint around the black in the recesses, or just throw paint on, drybrush on some highlights, then put the black back in the lowest parts.

Washes (or Shades on the GW range) are the best way of doing this.

Thin down black paint with water, paint all over the model. Then re-apply the prevoius colour in all areas but the recesses.

Yep, you want a wash. While they're just heavily watered down paint at their absolute simplest, they work much, much better with the addition of mediums to tweak their behavior.

A surfactant (flow improver like Flo-Aid, but even a touch of dish soap works, in a pinch) helps them flow and pool properly, directing the pigment into recesses for more even and directed shading. Acrylic medium (usually matte, but any would work) helps keep the pigment in suspension (avoids clumping, which leaves a chalky, uneven finish) and lets the mix properly bond to the model's surface, while keeping the opacity low. I like to add a bit of drying retarder, as well, for working on larger areas. If the wash dries too quickly, it can develop tide marks - a longer dry time lets me cover the entire surface, working wet into wet, to avoid that. Water, of course, is still a major ingredient, as that's what gives the wash its thin consistency.

Plenty of hobby paint companies have lines of washes formulated with varying ratios of the above ingredients, ready to slap onto your models (some right out of the pot, others work better with a little additional thinning). I've used Citadel, Vallejo, and Army Painter washes, all successfully, and now mix my own, as well, using both acrylic paint and ink. Washes really are great tools for the painter, whether used as some quick "liquid skill" for a novice's tabletop army or subtle glazes and filters for an expert's masterpiece display model.

Yup.