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Made in pl
Imperial Agent Provocateur




Poland

I have dysgraphia and I have some problems with paints getting in places they shouldn't be.

I'm wondering if there are any painting styles that are inherently messy?

Does anyone know any examples?

I know that I tried painting with watercolours and was quite pleased with the results except for the part where they didn't stick well to miniatures. I wonder how I could replicate it with acrylic paints.

I remember being quite pleased with this mess, except for the part where varnish has melted watercolour or watercolour didn't cover:



   
Made in ca
Speed Drybrushing





t.dot

Take a look at some grittier Blanchitsu or grimdark Inq28 styles (you can probably Google them for reference images). Both (IMO) are inherently less about "neatness" and more about establishing a gritty tone that seems to invite messiness.

   
Made in gb
Dakka Veteran





I don't know the name of the style but you can paint everything on a model the same as if it's all the same material like rock or ceramic. So you don't need to worry about picking out details, just add colour in places of interest like eyes and weapons. Think rock golem space marines with glowing red eyes
   
Made in us
The Marine Standing Behind Marneus Calgar





Upstate, New York

Camouflage is pretty forgiving with the mess

   
Made in pl
Imperial Agent Provocateur




Poland

 DV8 wrote:
Take a look at some grittier Blanchitsu or grimdark Inq28 styles (you can probably Google them for reference images). Both (IMO) are inherently less about "neatness" and more about establishing a gritty tone that seems to invite messiness.

Do you know any specific creators that exemplify that substyle of Blanchitsu? Vast majority of Blanchitsu painters I saw are extremely skilled at painting small, precise detail, including doing freehanded patterns and small paintings on miniatures.
Like, they may talk about how Blanchitsu isn't about neatness and precision but I really don't see it in their miniatures. They are like: "In opposition to Eavy Metal our painting isn't neat." *freehands a perfect checkboard on a dozen of models*

I suspect that the key to messy painting would be something that encourages colour to blend into each other and stuff - at least that's how it worked with painting miniature with watercolour but I'm not quite sure how to do it with acrylics.

   
Made in gb
Thane of Dol Guldur





Bodt

Drybrushing and oil washes will be good techniques to focus on. Pick duller schemes with few to no starkly contrasting colours. With a little work you could probably work out a quite nice looking scheme.

In fact, working with oils in general might be something for you to try. Acrylics dry very fast so any mistakes require quite specific clean up. Oils on the other hand have a very long drying time, and any mistakes can usually just be blended out. There is a learning curve but no more than working with acrylics

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/04/08 06:45:58


Heresy World Eaters/Emperors Children

Instagram: nagrakali_love_songs 
   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut





What about airbrushing? If you look at Green stuff worlds use of candy inks, colour shift paint sand so on you can get some great all over results with a few paints. But it depends what your painting. Some paints need a larger model to look good.
   
Made in gb
Executing Exarch





London, UK

 Aszubaruzah Surn wrote:
 DV8 wrote:
Take a look at some grittier Blanchitsu or grimdark Inq28 styles (you can probably Google them for reference images). Both (IMO) are inherently less about "neatness" and more about establishing a gritty tone that seems to invite messiness.

Do you know any specific creators that exemplify that substyle of Blanchitsu? Vast majority of Blanchitsu painters I saw are extremely skilled at painting small, precise detail, including doing freehanded patterns and small paintings on miniatures.
Like, they may talk about how Blanchitsu isn't about neatness and precision but I really don't see it in their miniatures. They are like: "In opposition to Eavy Metal our painting isn't neat." *freehands a perfect checkboard on a dozen of models*

I suspect that the key to messy painting would be something that encourages colour to blend into each other and stuff - at least that's how it worked with painting miniature with watercolour but I'm not quite sure how to do it with acrylics.


You have to keep in mind that there are still highly skilled people painting in the blanchitsu style. Neatness and precision isn't done to the extent of the 'Eavy Metal style, but it is still a controlled application of paint to the model. You don't need checkerboards, start slow and work on achieving the effects and atmosphere that comes with the style, then consider moving into more detailed work if you want to. Plus, the great thing about painting in the style is that if you make mistakes, applying believable weathering and damage is a valid way of covering them up and look good in the process.

Give oils a go, they have longer working times than acrylics and you can achieve some excellent results relatively easily.

I've spoilered a couple of my attempts at Blanchitsu. They're both very quick paint jobs but both have modelled and manufactured textures to bring the minis to life and the limited palette helps keep things uniform. Hope they serve as a bit of inspiration in their simplicity, nothing on those minis needed precision in the sense of the eavy metal style.
Spoiler:



   
Made in gb
Stalwart Ultramarine Tactical Marine





Stevenage, UK

I'd say that a careful use of weathering and battle damage techniques could well be a solution to the areas that you're unhappy with.

As a rule with "dirtying things up" the general idea tends to be "less is more" and knowing where to start is often a barrier, but if you've got sections of a model you're less pleased with then get some mud, armour chips, dust, rust, oil spills or whatever else on there and cover them up.

Rik
   
Made in ca
Veteran Wolf Guard Squad Leader






I think you always need to be careful when painting, but there are certainly ways to paint quickly, which look gritty and messy.

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Made in no
Longtime Dakkanaut






 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
Drybrushing and oil washes will be good techniques to focus on. Pick duller schemes with few to no starkly contrasting colours. With a little work you could probably work out a quite nice looking scheme.

In fact, working with oils in general might be something for you to try. Acrylics dry very fast so any mistakes require quite specific clean up. Oils on the other hand have a very long drying time, and any mistakes can usually just be blended out. There is a learning curve but no more than working with acrylics



I agree on the oil paint. Non diluted standard oil takes about 5-7 days to properly dry up. It significantly inceases the overall time it will take for a model to be finished, but if you see a point that has a colour it is not ment to have whitin the first 4 days, just dampen a hairbrush with paint thinner (yes you can get ordorless thinner) and wipe the paint of.

Dry brushing is a very messy style, but super on textured surfaces, but you get the colour allso where you do not want to have it. If you want to drybrush, that is allways the first step you have to start with after the basecoat is on.

darkswordminiatures.com
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Collects: Wild West Exodus, SW Armada/Legion. Adeptus Titanicus, Dust1947. 
   
Made in gb
Esteemed Veteran Space Marine






Northumberland

I'd also add that, depending on funds available to you, an airbrush may be helpful. They're often perceived as 'skilled' painters tools, but in reality anyone can pick the skillset up. The benefit for you may be in the way airbrushes are a 'stand-off' kind of tool - you don't need to be touching the model as with a brush. You can achieve some very pleasing models just from zenithal effects, ink tints and a wash (None of which require more than just spray the overall model from different angles - macro work not micro detailing). Combine those with some drybrushing and oil paints and you may have a combination that allows you to circumvent your condition and still enjoy the hobby. I hope that helps give you some direction

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Made in fi
Buttons Should Be Brass, Not Gold!






I'm in a similar situation to the OP. Significant eye damage has taken my precision painting skills to a very large degree. Here are the things I recommend:

• Superior workspace lighting helps to see small detail a lot
• You might want to test mangifying tools to see if you can work with them. They tend to reduce depth perception so can be very much a hit or miss thing
• For mechanical/armoured models with larger flat surfaces, oil paints are superb and dont require much precision to use
• For more organic/furry etc models, try looking into using contrast paints. When used on light colour primed models, I find the results can look very nice and you can work with quite broad strokes
• For archieving certain colour patterns etc, masking tapes, masking liquids and transfers can help a lot!
• For edge highlights and such, AK weathering pencils are a good way to do panel lines and other distinct raised edges with greater precision than brush painting. Once you feel comfortable using them, you can even try leveling up by creating gradients with the pencils by adding water (the pencils work a bit like watercolourable crayons)
• For making small text scribbles for scrolls and the like, I sometimes like to use a thin technical pen instead of using a brush. You can get technical pens as thin as 0.03mm! I draw just lines with some dots and pretend its small text

Don't get discouraged, there are many different painting strategies you can use to develop a painting style that suits your abilities. Just get over the mindset that models need to look like GW box art, there are no rules saying that all miniatures in existence must be edge highlighted and shaded, or that you need to use OSL or NMM or advanced techniques. Even a tolerable paint job will look decent when your whole army is painted, the big picture is more important than the details.

This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2021/04/08 15:27:31


 
   
Made in no
Longtime Dakkanaut






Airbrush is VERY situational.
On 28mm figs that has multiple "sections" to paint, AB will not help out outside of acting as a primer/basecoat tool. For mono colored armorclad figs, monster size figs and vehicles, AB can do all but the detail work.
The bigger model you are working on, the better usage the AB in general will have.

Allso, AB requires a fair amount of space for a spray booth(a booth is a must, the paint dust WILL get everywhere), and you will be cleaning the AB more then you will be actualy colouring with it.
I tryed AB, and sold it again after a few months, it could not preform equal to my hairbrush, setup time was not worth it, nor did it do things a rattlecan not allready did do for me.

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gamersgrass.com
Collects: Wild West Exodus, SW Armada/Legion. Adeptus Titanicus, Dust1947. 
   
Made in gb
Esteemed Veteran Space Marine






Northumberland

@FrozenDwarf, with respect, I have to disagree. I regularly paint 28mm historical figures with an airbrush, and not just for primer. While I do take your point that it's easier on larger figures or vehicles, you can get around any intricacies by masking off sections with Masking Putty, tape or a latex mask (All of which I tend to use).

For example:

Spoiler:


It's not wonderfully complex, but for something that was 90% done by an airbrush it's alright. With the exception of the leather straps (Which I could have masked off), brass fittings (optional) and the little red squares on the thigh guards (optional), everything else was done with an airbrush, using latex or putty to mask off everything but the areas I wanted painted. And it's 28mm.

Sure, it was far easier painting my latest airplane on a larger scale, but an airbrush still has it's use at this scale - it just requires a different approach. And for the OP, using putty in particular is great because it is moldable, non-setting and doesn't need brush skills to apply (which latex masks do). Just slow and steady pushing/prodding it into place. If it goes over, no problem, pull it back in your own time because it won't set or dry in place. Then when you're happy spray up, and repeat the process for the next colour or layer.

My point is that if the OP's objective is to get into painting and overcome their circumstances, then an airbrush is a tool which can *help*. There's no reason to pidgeonhole yourself into categories of what is and isn't possible if you're committed to engaging in the hobby. A bit of planning and some masking putty that they can take their time with in applying and the effect can be achieved even on small models.

Now with 100% more blog: 'Beyond the Wall'

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Made in pl
Imperial Agent Provocateur




Poland

 FrozenDwarf wrote:
 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
Drybrushing and oil washes will be good techniques to focus on. Pick duller schemes with few to no starkly contrasting colours. With a little work you could probably work out a quite nice looking scheme.

In fact, working with oils in general might be something for you to try. Acrylics dry very fast so any mistakes require quite specific clean up. Oils on the other hand have a very long drying time, and any mistakes can usually just be blended out. There is a learning curve but no more than working with acrylics



I agree on the oil paint. Non diluted standard oil takes about 5-7 days to properly dry up. It significantly inceases the overall time it will take for a model to be finished, but if you see a point that has a colour it is not ment to have whitin the first 4 days, just dampen a hairbrush with paint thinner (yes you can get ordorless thinner) and wipe the paint of.

Dry brushing is a very messy style, but super on textured surfaces, but you get the colour allso where you do not want to have it. If you want to drybrush, that is allways the first step you have to start with after the basecoat is on.

So it's mainly a question of type of paint type? I don't exactly see myself getting into oils - they sound more like something for advanced hobbyist that is willing to invest a ton of time. I have an old citadel mega paint set, back from 2003 and a few new paints and I'm basically at stage where I'm wondering if I should try sell it and stick to drawing or if there's any way I could make use of it. I have a bunch of boxes of 1/72 miniatures and two packs of green stuff for conversions.

What is procedure for cleaning up mistakes with acrylic paint?

I guess I should try to use more muddy colours. When I started out last year I was using watercolours but from what I see I also used a colour scheme that was highly conductive to messy work. IIRC I also painted the miniatures with watercolours in one go.

Spoiler:


Like these two muddy boys in the middle-right.

When I restored my paint set, I started using more striking colours.

First I've done the archer and even managed to freehand a checkboard on his underskirt and some buttons and stuff.

But then I've done the powered armour guy and it was a disaster. Lost hours of work because I botched free-hand on three places and there were also other problems.

 Warpig1815 wrote:
@FrozenDwarf, with respect, I have to disagree. I regularly paint 28mm historical figures with an airbrush, and not just for primer. While I do take your point that it's easier on larger figures or vehicles, you can get around any intricacies by masking off sections with Masking Putty, tape or a latex mask (All of which I tend to use).

Airbrush is way too expensive/bothersome for me. Wait, wouldn't masking tapes also work with normal brush? Though I'm not sure if it would work for 1/72 miniatures.
I usually paint /convert 1/72 miniatures.

Not sure if masking tape could help with stuff like this:
Spoiler:


I already made an error of not making them muddy enough XD .


 Tyranid Horde wrote:
You have to keep in mind that there are still highly skilled people painting in the blanchitsu style. Neatness and precision isn't done to the extent of the 'Eavy Metal style, but it is still a controlled application of paint to the model. You don't need checkerboards, start slow and work on achieving the effects and atmosphere that comes with the style, then consider moving into more detailed work if you want to. Plus, the great thing about painting in the style is that if you make mistakes, applying believable weathering and damage is a valid way of covering them up and look good in the process.

Give oils a go, they have longer working times than acrylics and you can achieve some excellent results relatively easily.

I've spoilered a couple of my attempts at Blanchitsu. They're both very quick paint jobs but both have modelled and manufactured textures to bring the minis to life and the limited palette helps keep things uniform. Hope they serve as a bit of inspiration in their simplicity, nothing on those minis needed precision in the sense of the eavy metal style.

I'm not very fond of 'Eavy Metal style, I'm actually sort of allergic to it, particularly to edge highlights. I'm mostly interested in blanchitsu lately, and also Oldhammer - but back in 1st edition blanchitsu and 'Eavy Metal was the same, so it's sort of similar.

   
Made in gb
Esteemed Veteran Space Marine






Northumberland

Aszubaruzah Surn wrote:
 Warpig1815 wrote:
@FrozenDwarf, with respect, I have to disagree. I regularly paint 28mm historical figures with an airbrush, and not just for primer. While I do take your point that it's easier on larger figures or vehicles, you can get around any intricacies by masking off sections with Masking Putty, tape or a latex mask (All of which I tend to use).

Airbrush is way too expensive/bothersome for me. Wait, wouldn't masking tapes also work with normal brush? Though I'm not sure if it would work for 1/72 miniatures.
I usually paint /convert 1/72 miniatures.

Not sure if masking tape could help with stuff like this:
Spoiler:


I already made an error of not making them muddy enough XD.


That's no problem, it was just an option I thought I'd draw your attention to. You can certainly mask and paint by brush. People tend to mask and spray more because brush control is assumed - but obviously you're having some bother with that. But you can just apply the same solution for airbrush 'mess' to your brush painting. I'd suggest that a masking putty is perhaps better for you, because a latex mask is painted on (And regardless of application, I find that the latex, when removed, leaves little tabs of paint at the edges which are annoying to remove).

I use Mig Masking Putty, which is about £15 a tin, but there's enough putty to cover a 1:48 aircraft, and more than enough to do a whole batch of minis. It's reusable, leaves no residue, doesn't harden on the model and I guess you only need to replace it after years of use when it's absorbed a whole bunch of paint residues. Might be worth a shot



Now with 100% more blog: 'Beyond the Wall'

Numine Et Arcu
 
   
 
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