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Just a quick question-

I hear from every where that you should apply multiple thin coats when painting.
Now I am putting that into practice but I was wondering, how thin is thin?

Any tips on how much I should be thinning the paints?

Duncan from Warhammer TV shows that but I can't really see how thinned down the the paints are.

It kind of depends what you're trying to achieve. If you're going for a simple table top standard model you just want to thin the paints enough that they don't clog the details. If you're trying to do blending, you want them a lot thinner.

Have you seen this video by Duncan? Pay close attention to how the paint spreads on the model, how much coverage he gets with each stroke of the brush, that's kind of what you're targeting if you're just starting out. If you're applying your basecoats you can probably get away being slightly thicker than he's showing in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9bDoIMCSfk

If you're trying to do blending then you want to go a lot thinner, this was a really nice tutorial I saw recently that someone posted on Dakka...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVEHpedTct4

As you start improving and want to try more advanced techniques it's often better to start going thinner.

ive found its something that you really learn by eye then becomes muscle memory. just keep practicing and you'll figure it out. sometimes you'll over thin and it'll go everywhere..tough, just try again. eventually you'll get it down.

You want your paint to be about as thin as milk. The ideal here is that it goes on the model and spreads without leaving any brush lines, but not 'pooling' on the surface either.

Thanks for the replies guys.

Will definitely check out the stuff that you've suggested!

I agree, with all the guys above. Practice makes perfect - always good to have a few test minis that you can compare at the end.

I learnt the hard way by trying to paint yellow - about the only way you can get a decent colour is through this approach. (Unless you buy an airbrush )

Feel free to show us some of your pics.

The main trick with thin layers is not to have the brush overloaded. Wick excess off by pulling the brush back on a piece of tissue, rotating it to keep the point.

It depends on the paint, too. Some of the GW paints do not require much water at all. Make sure they're well shaken. I usually just dip the very tip of my brush in water. Too much water and it's runny, and you'll end up achieving an effect like a shade. Meanwhile, some paints are thicker and need more water.

For instance, ceramite white will obscure details. You have to be patient with this one. I usually layer on grey before i do white. Also, white primer will go on "thick" too. Meanwhile, black primer is really hard to screw up.

You just have to get a feel for what you're working with. The best advice is to just err on the side of caution until you get comfortable. Just remember, this is art, not throwing paint on a fence it's supposed to take a little time...

Nice tips here, wish someone had told me this early on . Best thing you can do, and to make it even easier using a "wet palette" lets you get the paint thinned on the palette and keep using it without rushing. P3 makes a great one:

https://www.amazon.com/Privateer-Press-Formula-Palette-Model/dp/B001F8OLZQ

I'm_Alpharius wrote:
I agree, with all the guys above. Practice makes perfect - always good to have a few test minis that you can compare at the end.

I learnt the hard way by trying to paint yellow - about the only way you can get a decent colour is through this approach. (Unless you buy an airbrush )

Depends on the yellow and the basecoat. I usually go with an opaque mustard yellow under any other yellow color, it saves heaps of time (several layers fewer overall). Most mustard yellow colors are fairly opaque.

If you thin your paints a bit so the paint flows smoother, its easier to get a smoother coat on the model.
However, there are other factors that are just as important.
Such as being neat with the paint, only applying it where it should be, not touching it too much when it is drying so it dries uneven, not taking too much on the brush so it pools in areas.
As a beginner though, the most important thing to focus on is getting the right paint at the right place whether its thinned or not. You can paint a good looking tabletop figure with just thinning it slightly and with some highlight layering. However if you want to do blending between colors you have to thin a lot but that is a intermediate technique that can come later.

Hi guys, recently I've begun thinning my paints, but with medium instead of water. I've gotten some results, but not as good as I had hoped. Am I better off thinning with water, and leaving medium for making glazes/washes?

 Rygnan wrote:
Hi guys, recently I've begun thinning my paints, but with medium instead of water. I've gotten some results, but not as good as I had hoped. Am I better off thinning with water, and leaving medium for making glazes/washes?

Depends on the details of the medium, but generally the idea is that clear medium is for thinning the color of paint without changing its other properties. Medium is just acrylic paint without the pigment, add enough and you'll end up with a transparent wash with the same thickness as regular paint.

Im just getting back into painting and Duncans videos have helped me a lot, but one thing ive picked up that is not mentioned is washing your brush, a lot. Coming from being a dumb kid who applied paint like it would add an extra armour save, I forget to wash my brush often, but it makes such a difference to how easy the brush and paint is to control.

Going back to the paint on the pallette a 4th or 5th time means the original paint on the brush is starting to dry (yes im slow, still learning). So now i give it a quick swish in the water to clean it out before the paint starts to dry on the brush, usually after the 3rd application. It sounds like a step too far but it has really helped my brush control and my edge highlighting is now actually on the edge

Use your thumb nail to test out your paints and learn what consistency they need to be.

If you touch your brush to your thumb nail and paint starts to go all over the place, you have too much paint on your brush and it is too thin.

When you "paint" your thumbnail, for regular layers, the layers should be somewhat translucent. You sholud still be able to see your thumb nail under the paint but just barely. The paint should also stay where you put it. If you are glazing, the paint should be thin enough that you still see a lot of your thumb nail and only a very slight tint of the paint, but again, the paint should stay where you put it.

I find the only way to get this right is using a wet palette and a size "0" or "1" Brush. I use W&N Series 7 Regular brushes, but you don't have to.

Also, look up "Painting Buddha" on Youtube and watch how Ben paints. It's amazing.

You can always cut the medium with water (and make sure to have added some sort of flow-aid to the water, and to use distilled water if possible.), and for blending, add a slow dry medium to it too.

For glazing, try a glazing medium+ water+flow aid.

The important thing is to reduce the surface tension of the paint so that it flows nicely, but not everywhere.