Discussion - how to paint super smooth? Glazing for base coats?

[StarFyre]

Hello,

I am asking as for my next 3 projects, I wish to make them my very best works to date. I want the conversions/sculpts AND paint jobs to be as good as I can do so now, before I reach painting stage, it\'s time to discuss/research everything I need.

Smooth painting - we all want to do it, but most have issues at attaining it to the level we want.

My question is, what is needed? what ratios of water to paint? is it just the brush? can\'t be, etc....

Examples:

http://allanc.art.free.fr/Raskhal%20peinture.htm

http://www.coolminiornot.com/87716

http://www.coolminiornot.com/85294

Ok, there are tons of examples but using those.

Vincent Hudon and Jeremie told me that layers are what\'s needed. Many, many thin layers.

Vincent pointed to my carnosaur and said that the base skintone itself needed help, but the stripes of colour we excellent, cause he could tell they were done with many thin glazes (they were, while the rest was just painted on)....

Does this mean we all need to use glazes as the base coat for each model? So, anywhere from 20 to 60 layers for a surface?

Is this the direction that is needed? What ratio of water to paint to people suggest?

Regards,

Sanjay

 

[Ritual]

Don\'t forget the about the surface! You need to make sure the surface you paint on is smooth if you want the paint to look smooth. Use fine-grit wet-and-dry paper (600 is good) and, if necessary, a thin layer of diluted milliput or magic sculpt to take care of pitting or other casting irregularities.

 

[DrEvilmonki]

Check out THIS ARTICLE

That is the technique he used for that model. I used it on my Belakor and found it insanely useful (but fairly time consuming). I would assume that practise would make it quicker.

 

[green stuff]

Message original : StarFyre
Does this mean we all need to use glazes as the base coat for each model? So, anywhere from 20 to 60 layers for a surface?

Short answer : no.

Longer answer : it all depends what you\'re painting (rock, wood, flesh, metal, cloth, ...) and how realistic you want the result to be.

Plus look around you, not everything has a polished miror smooth surface.

A smooth paint surface is important, but transitions will always depend on what you want the final result to be. For example, if you want your paintjob to simulate harsh sunlight, then you won\'t have the wide spectrum transitions everybody usually attempts to do; you\'ll have to mark your shadows. Another example would be with textured surfaces where you take advantage of the variations that your paintbrush can make to build up textural details.

Finally, if you wet blend then you can get a smooth surface with a lot less than 10 layers and still have deep shadows and clear highlights. But it\'s mainly a question of how confortable you are with such and such technic and what you want to achieve.

 

[stefanhws]

Hi Sanjay,

I think there are several things which make a surface smooth and good looking.
So the main points are:
- The miniature
It must be clean - so check that there is no dust and other things on the miniature before doing the base coat
- The basecoat
The basecoat must be smooth. So use a good spray. Shake it enought before use and test the distance which is needed. If the distance is to far the paitn can try before it is on you miniatur. Sometimes realy hard to find a good one. ;-)
You can use as well several (2-5) thin layers of paint 1:10 ratio. I do this with 25 or 28mm scale miniatures because the details are so tiny that a spray colour is to thick. I paint the bigger surfaces about 4 or 5 times so that the colour covers the surface. Smal details only one or two times.
- The painting itself.
Yes thin your paint and use several layes. A very good result i always got with the feathering technique. Looks always smooth in my case. It is not only the ratio of water and paint. But depending on the colour you use start with 1:3 or 1:5 and increase then the amount of water for the next layer. I don\'t count the layers anymore. Somethimes a part only needs 5 or 10 other parts need more then 20 or 30 layers before i think it\'s okay.
- the brushes
If i layer on a surface with a bigger size, for instance on legs or flat carpets i don\'t use the point of the prush i use the side of the brush to put the paint smooth on the surface. I use a flat brush for realy big surfaces on bigger miniatures which spread the colour very smooth.
- Photos
use a Photobox, enought light and a good camara. Best thing is to read the arikels on CMON.
- The most important point is
paint paint paint :-D

HTH
Cheers Stefan

 

[matty1001]

^They make things sound so easy!

 

[StarFyre]

so i\'m not talking about blending

about shadows, etc.

I am referring to the paint itself.

In general, all surfaces on those good minis are smooth. Then on top of that, the areas that are blended are awesome.

Sanjay

 

[green stuff]

Then what Anders said with milliput and thin paint, but no need to do 60 layers .