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Made in us
Lone Wolf Sentinel Pilot






Texas

So I am trying this for the first time on some mini's on some ultramarines. I did a grey primer on the model, then black from underneath and white from strait over. Then I airbrushed an blue ink onto the model. it seems to have worked but is really dark. I know I need to use a translucent paint for this to work. Should I just thin the ink? My other idea was to water down Vallejo ultramarine blue (its not Game Air though), so lots of flow improver and water until it looks like a glaze. Suggestions?

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Made in ca
Fireknife Shas'el






I don't think you need to use translucent paint, or even very thin paint. You want the model to be Ultramarine Blue, if you thin down your paint too much, it will not be the right color. Preshading relies on the fact that most paints are somewhat transparent - that's why a model primed white is brighter looking than one primed black, regardless of what basecoat is used over the primer.

Preshading is supposed to take advantage of this, but it's still a subtle effect - great for mini photography with lots of lights, less noticeable at a distance on the tabletop than strong highlights. Using an ink or shade is probably going to always result in a dark model. The black shade won't pick up much pigment coverage. Stick to the base coat you'd normally use for that model - a single smooth coat should do the trick.

You might need to experiment with colors other than black and white as well. Yellow might serve as a better zenithal than white, and purple might be a better shade than black. It's really going to depend on paint chemistry/physical properties that aren't going to be readily apparent without trying them out.

   
Made in us
Contagious Dreadnought of Nurgle






I have only tried undershading once, on my poxwalkers. I just primed it grey and white as you did and then painted it as usual. The results were good, but normally I just spray on a zenithal highlight using 2-3 tones of my base color; i.e. I prime black, spray the whole thing my darkest tone, then zenithal highlight with a lighter tone to give it some shading. For me, this produces more obvious results for about the same amount of work.

 
   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut





You should look at Sorastros videos guides.

he uses such effects, well quite effectively (and good for learning on blending too!)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu5Pmz1wY-NWCYy21vikKAg

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Made in au
Grizzled Space Wolves Great Wolf





You don't need to use an ink or a transparent. The effect will be stronger if you do, but when you airbrush you build up the colour gradually even if you're using what would normally be an opaque paint.

So just do your black and white preshade and then gradually build up the blue you want. Thin coats built up by lightly spraying them on until you have the effect you want.
   
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Three Color Minimum





Denver, CO

All paint is translucent if you apply it thin enough. Fortunately for you, that's exactly what airbrushes are good at. Airbrush paint is designed for this purpose and it generally needs minimal thinning. Brush-on paint (including cheap craft paint) can be thinned enough to work fine in an airbrush. Tap water mixed with Flow Aid should be the first thinner you use because Flow Aid is a surfactant, meaning it weakens the molecular bonds in the water which reduces viscosity. If you apply too much water/ flow aid mix to your paint, it'll look blotchy because there aren't enough binders to hold the paint together. For this reason, you should also thin with an acrylic airbrush thinner. People have a tendency to get really attached to a certain brand, but it's not necessary. So long as it's an acrylic thinner, it'll work fine.

How much should you thin? The classic answer is "until it looks like milk". When I first started airbrushing I wanted to strangle whoever came up with this because paint doesn't look like milk! What you should do is put a little 2% milk into a clear glass and swirl it around. Watch how the milk on the sides then slides back down into the glass. You want your paint to look just like that when you swirl it around in the cup of your airbrush (meaning you should mix very small amounts of paint in the cup or it'll go flying everywhere). Leave the milk on your painting table as you work and refer back to it as needed. As I'm thinning, I alternate between water & flow aid mix and acrylic thinner so I can maintain viscosity without breaking the binder. You can thin as much as you want, diluting the paint to the point where there's only a hint of color (this is called a glaze or a juice).

Thinning is only part of the battle. Pigments for airbrush paints are ground finer than hobby or craft paints. As a result they will always spray better at low pressures, regardless of how much you thin them. Hobby and craft brush-on paints require some experimentation with regards to both thinning and pressure because the pigment size varies, sometimes considerably, between brands and even colors from the same brand. Inks are the easiest to spray because the pigments are soluble in water, so they contain no suspended solids (which is what makes ink different from paint). Because of this variety, I prefer to set my compressor to about 25 to 30 psi. This is very high and actually painting at this pressure will likely yield disastrous results. I use this much pressure to blast out clogs and for general cleaning. To reduce the pressure, I use an inline micro air control (MAC) valve and a sheet of paper. This allows me to adjust the PSI at the airbrush and then test it by spraying the paper before the model. In this way, PSI can be easily customized for both the properties of the paint and the part of the model that I'm painting.

In addition to thinning and pressure, you also need to consider nozzle size. Coarse pigments will gum up small nozzles very quickly and you'll end up in a world of frustration. For cheap craft paints, use about a .5mm nozzle. For airbrush paints, use about a .35mm nozzle. For hobby paints (like GW), start with about a .35mm with a slightly higher pressure; increase the nozzle size to about a .5mm if necessary. For inks, use about a .21mm nozzle. You can, of course, spray inks out of any size nozzle, but the advantage of inks is that they can give you exceptionally fine control at very low pressures. Meaning you can airbrush very small areas with minimal overspray.

Because of this variability, it's easiest to use airbrush paints exclusively. But easier doesn't mean better. Non-airbrush paints may be cheaper, more readily available, or they may be a color that you just can't find in an airbrush paint. When you're still learning airbrushing, I recommend using non-airbrush paints for larger areas (like base colors) and airbrush paints & inks for highlights or small areas.

Depending on the brand of airbrush you use, you can often get nozzles / needles of different sizes for use in the same airbrush. It's not necessary to buy a different airbrush for each nozzle size. It is worth mentioning that airbrushes, like most tools, are purpose-built. They generally have some things that they're very good at, some things that they're okay at, and some things that they suck at. It's important that you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your airbrush and adjust accordingly. I won't go into more detail here as I'll just end up derailing my own post. If you want more information on airbrushes, let me know.

With regards to your current problem, just because you highlighted the model once with white doesn't mean you can't do it again (and again and again and again...). If your ink is too dark, that's awesome! It means you've successfully applied your shadow color. Zenithally highlight the model again with white and then apply a lighter midtone. Then spray white again (leaving some midtone showing) and apply your highlight. This should work fine for troops. For monsters or vehicles with larger areas, you may want to do this more times for a smoother blend over a larger area. There's also nothing saying you have to apply a highlight color over the white. You could spray white, then violet, spray white again, then yellow, and finally red. This would be a great way to pick out details on a centerpiece model. Airbrushes are legendary for their ability to make subtle, almost liquid transitions in color. Those transitions are created by layering, meaning you build up a color to an extreme, and then push it back down with another color on top. Repeating the process over and over will create a depth in the color that can't be replicated straight out of a bottle.

By understanding the relationships between your airbrush, paint, and compressor you'll be free to paint whatever you want however you want. There will be some frustration, experimentation, and practice up front, but after that airbrushing will become second nature. Once it becomes second nature, you'll be able to focus on your art, which is pure fun.







This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/12/08 14:53:24


“I do not know anything about Art with a capital A. What I do know about is my art. Because it concerns me. I do not speak for others. So I do not speak for things which profess to speak for others. My art, however, speaks for me. It lights my way.”
— Mark Z. Danielewski
 
   
Made in us
Lone Wolf Sentinel Pilot






Texas



With regards to your current problem, just because you highlighted the model once with white doesn't mean you can't do it again (and again and again and again...). If your ink is too dark, that's awesome! It means you've successfully applied your shadow color. Zenithally highlight the model again with white and then apply a lighter midtone. Then spray white again (leaving some midtone showing) and apply your highlight. This should work fine for troops. For monsters or vehicles with larger areas, you may want to do this more times for a smoother blend over a larger area. There's also nothing saying you have to apply a highlight color over the white. You could spray white, then violet, spray white again, then yellow, and finally red. This would be a great way to pick out details on a centerpiece model. Airbrushes are legendary for their ability to make subtle, almost liquid transitions in color. Those transitions are created by layering, meaning you build up a color to an extreme, and then push it back down with another color on top. Repeating the process over and over will create a depth in the color that can't be replicated straight out of a bottle.



Ok So leave the model as is.
Spray another white primer from above? or just a white paint thinned down?
Then do a glaze spray of ultramarine blue?

Thanks for the detail post, im adding it to my notes doc.


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Made in us
Three Color Minimum





Denver, CO

 Dynas wrote:

Ok So leave the model as is.
Spray another white primer from above? or just a white paint thinned down?
Then do a glaze spray of ultramarine blue?



Spray something white from above. It can be paint or primer. I typically use paint because white paint is cheap. The ultramarine blue could be used for one or two highlights, depending on the final look you want. If you get it to the consistency of milk, it'll spray fine (meaning you've created an airbrush-compatible paint, not a glaze). You could then spray white again, thin the ultramarine blue all the way to a glaze, and spray it over the white. The thinner the paint, the more white will show through. Or you could go straight for the glaze over white for more contrast with the existing ink. Try a few different techniques on test models until you like the result.

Happy airbrushing.

“I do not know anything about Art with a capital A. What I do know about is my art. Because it concerns me. I do not speak for others. So I do not speak for things which profess to speak for others. My art, however, speaks for me. It lights my way.”
— Mark Z. Danielewski
 
   
Made in us
Sure Space Wolves Land Raider Pilot





NYC

If the model is too dark you simply used to much black. Blue 4:1 with Black would of given you enough shadow contrast.

Pure WHITE vs BLACK pre-shade is a ton of contrast. IMO pre-shade is better for tanks and such.

If it's too dark, embrace it. You should take the models all the way through your process THEN make a critique.
   
 
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