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So I've been painting for about a month now, and here are a couple of my recently finished Space Marines


Basically, what I'd like to ask is: What am i doing wrong?
I start out with a black primer, then basecoat brown. I add several coats of tan, then go to yellow. After that, I use a brown/sepia wash and this is where my problems start. The yellow gets dirtied from the wash and I try to clean it up with more yellow, but that quite often wipes out the wash. If I try cleaning it up with a cotton swab but the cotton gets stuck to the dried up wash and the transition between the wash and yellow isn't smooth at all. Has anyone else experienced this issue with acrylic washes? Then I move on to basecoating the black, brown, red, and metallic parts of the model. Finally comes edge and other highlights.

I believe I have a fairly standard method of painting, but I was wondering if there was anything that is obvious from my paintjob that I'm doing wrong.

The thing that leaps out to me is the thickness of the paint. Instead of using it from the pot/bottle, mix it with a little water before applying, at a consistency where it gives decent coverage but doesn't show brushstrokes and dries evenly. This is just something that will come with practice, so don't panic if it seems daunting.

As for the 'dirtying' of the yellow, if that's not what you want (and frankly, going for dirty yellow can be fine, just add some simple weathering effects and say it was deliberate ) then some things to try are:
-Thinning the wash and applying less so that it simply tints rather than pools in the area.
-Apply it directly to the recessed areas with a thin brush rather than putting it everywhere.

Hope that helps!

You could try a lighter wash. Sepia or fleshtone. But any unwanted wash marks can always be erased by simply painting over them. I think youre thinking you should have a smooth transition into the dark shade but washes dont give this. This is acheived by layering up your highlights