CoolMiniOrNot - Making your own Inks

Making your own Inks Beginner Return to article index	Rating: 5.89 Votes: 9 Views: 9640	By: Tahn
Category: General Subcategory: Misc		Date: 2006-07-15 10:26:47

Have you ever found that Games Workshop or your paint supplier doesn't have the colour Ink that you need, or that you inconviently can't visit your store to buy the one you need? Fear not! I have been testing how to overcome this problem, only using the most basic 'ingredients'. What you will need: - The colour paint that you want your Ink to be - Varnish - Washing-up liquid soap - Water - A retired brush I came up with this after I had spent the week wondering how I could get myself an Orange Ink; some thing that Games Workshop doesn't sell. Then it hit me, Surely there must be some way we could make up a 'Substitute Ink' sort of thing. I experimented around with it in my head and came up with some sort of plan. Method: 1. Since I am after an Orange Ink, my base colour will be Blazing Orange. Simply add 3 brush loads onto an old tile or similar... 2. Next up, add around 2 brushloads of water into the paint, mix in well. 3. Then, Add one full brushload of Varnish. I am using Games Workshop's 'Ardcoat (Gloss Varnish), but you can feel free to experiment with different brand names and types of Varnish. Mix this in well. 4. The final part is quite tricky. Normally with Inks, it is wise to add Soap liquid to give the ink an even coat on the model, giving it a better finish quality. Add some into the mixture, you will notice that it will 'repel' the colour. This will not be apparent after you stir it in. Adding too much can prove to be kind of destuctive to your Ink, it appears bubbly and obviously contains too much soap for it to pigment right. Only add the tiniest amount, you'll know if you have done it right if you see no bubbles. The final result should be similar to Ink, being lower in consistency than Milk. I think the outcome is quite nice, but wouldn't say perfect, I still have work to do in finding the best result. Please leave me some C+C, don't go too harsh though, after all it's only my first article. UPDATE I will soon be experimenting with a better version of this article, I have new Ingredients on the way. PLease comment on the current version though.

MatiasBGDC 30 October 07		Rating: 4 honestly... yo can get the same hue from mixing red and yellow inks... its just easier.
frenchkid 22 August 06		Rating: 10 the difference with ink is that their are no pigments anymore. In paints the pigments stay whole and are binded together by the medium. In ink the pigments are meant to disolve, Which explains that fact that it is pretty hard reproducing inks with paints.
roboBOT 06 August 06		Rating: 5 Mathieu is right. Citadel inks are not made from the same stuff as their paints and varnishes. Try mixing pigment, glycerine, and water and see how that works.
Tahn 05 August 06		Well, I'm going to delete this article soon enough and then make it part of a brand new suitable one, where this product finds a certain use...
mathieu 25 July 06		Rating: 5 I hope it doesn't come out too harsh, it certainly isn't meant this way... but this trick to make washes has been known and afaik widely used for quite a few years now . And as has already been mentioned, there are more effective ways to achieve the same effect. That said, this trick gives you washes, not inks. Inks (I use Daler-Rowney FW) don't feel like they're just diluted paint with soap/flow-aid. They don't look like it either. Seems to me that inks really are differently formulated/pigmented and that you'll need more than a nifty trick to make some
Tahn 18 July 06		Well, I will be testing out a new formulae on Thursday. Some new stuff has arrived, and it will work better than ever. And just to prove it, I will be painting a mini to prove if it comes out like slime.
Pfreck 18 July 06		Rating: 8 Nice article dude, only you can also mix red-ink with yellow-ink to make orange ink though
matty1001 18 July 06		Rating: 9 Good instructions, very clear and easy to follow. Instead of adding washing up liquid why not try adding PVA glue? It helps the ink seep into the recesses of the model and gives a slightly varnished finish.
Tony Manero 18 July 06		Rating: 4 i tried it on an old plastic saurus just to test it... it is slimy and too shiny, it looks like toxic mud or alien slime.... i'll use it for this effect but definitly not ink
NightLife 18 July 06		Rating: 6 Wouldn't some flow-aid be a better choice than soap. Or even some future floor wash?

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