ArchArad's Corner (WIPs and Painting Goodness!)

[MAXXxxx]

Raphael 8404 and WnN7 normal for me.
For layering and highligthing I find the WnN better because of the spring it has.
For washes/glazes and in general shading I find the raph. better because of it's softness.

Sizes 0 to 2. Anything larger is too large for me anything smaller has it's problems too.
One of them is that the paint dries too much before I reach the surface. It could be fixed with retarder or some other medium, but I use only water.

 

[ArchArad]

More painting! More painting! (please ignore the lack of progress on my wip) lol

BTW, nice progresson the bust. It has been nice to find your wip.

There's been a lot of painting I promise!

Nice to see you here KruleBear - welcome to the conversation. I hope you'll enjoy it.

 

[ArchArad]

Zab - I only use the Brush Cleaner once when I've finished painting for the day. In other words, for the final clean up. Do you think that's still too much?

MAXXxxx - the Raphaels were a bit cheaper than the W&N series 7 and from the research I'd done looked like they'd suit my painting style. I mainly use water only to thin paints. I occasionally add flow improver when I'm doing very thin layers. I also find that the GW shades and some of their metallics thin better with Lahmian Medium added.

 

[Gino2dope]

I mainly use w&n serie 7 en the ones by Andrea with the red handles. I recently bought some Da Vinci's and they are good too. W&N en da Vinci i use 0 and 3/0. Andrea 0, 3/0 and 5/0. Today I have ordered some Da Vinci Maestro's as I've heard on Painting Budah that they are very nice too and a litle bit cheaper then W&N. Curious about the feel of these. I also have one hand made brush from a Russian friend, but I don't use it as I'm scared it will wear out and I won't have the brush anymore as it was given to me by a friend. i know, it's a sentimentiel thing, but hey...

Cheers,

Gino(2dope)

 

[ArchArad]

W&N en da Vinci i use 0 and 3/0. Andrea 0, 3/0 and 5/0...I also have one hand made brush from a Russian friend, but I don't use it as I'm scared it will wear out and I won't have the brush anymore as it was given to me by a friend. i know, it's a sentimentiel thing, but hey...

Cheers,

Gino(2dope)

Those seem smaller brush sizes than a lot of people seem to use - do you prefer the control they give you Gino? I'm still playing around with brush sizes (that's why I got a range this time) - I'm sure I'll eventually have my favourites. Although it is really annoying that the sizes don't correspond between the brands!

A handmade brush from a friend is a great gift! It seems a pity not to use it, but I get where you're coming from. Maybe you could reserve it for one particular thing (eg eyes) and that way you get to use it, but only rarely.

 

[Darthmarsh]

i have found that I only really need a W&N series 7 (long tip) size 1 brush for pretty much everything, Base coats, pupils and everything in between. I do have loads of other brushes but they are mostly used for dry brushing, huge layers, blood effect etc. I guess it all comes down to what you feel comfortable using.

 

[ArchArad]

i have found that I only really need a W&N series 7 (long tip) size 1 brush for pretty much everything.

How long do you find your brushes last you? Do you do anything specific to look after them?

 

[Darthmarsh]

To be honest if I was a brush I'd hate me. I have never cleaned then, done anything to protect them. I regularly leave them out of their cover and most of th time I don't even rinse them properly. Still my last W&N has lasted 8 months and doesn't look like it will fail anytime soon

 

[Gino2dope]

Hi Archarad,

I used to paint with very, very thin glazes. The Andrea brushes don't have a big reservoir, so I couldn't "overload" it. As I'm now learning the wet on wet blending and loading brush technique I find that I'm using the Andrea brushes less and less. It seems that for these techniques the paint need to be thinned less, at least that's how it works for me. As for painting eyes : i use a needle of an airbrush and oilpaint to paint the iris, lens, etc... The airbrush needle can rest on the back of my hand which gives more stability so I use these instead of regular needles. I hope all my rambling seems at least a bit clear. if not, please don't hesitate to ask for an explanation.

Cheers,

Gino(2dope)

 

[ArchArad]

Darthmarsh - To be honest that is great to hear because some of the advice on brush cleaning/care out there seems more than slightly extreme.

Gino - Completely followed what you're saying.

 

[Zab]

Zab - I only use the Brush Cleaner once when I've finished painting for the day. In other words, for the final clean up. Do you think that's still too much?

Maybe a bit. I have heard that the soap can dry out the bristles causing them to spread and lose their shape. It depends on how dirty they get and how well you rinse them. Try the two water pot method and see what you think

 

[MagmaPainter]

I picked up my first W&N series 7 brush recently and I think it's worth every penny. I only started really getting into painting minis in the last 8 months or so, and was using some dick blick red sable brushs, They are Ok but they don't keep there shape very well after some time, and they don't clean up that well either to. I found that I wasn't rinsing my brush's enough when I paint, and that was one reason I would get the paint drying just a little to much in the brush, (especially if you're working with very thin paint and glazes) that would lead to splayed hairs and what not. The W&N keeps it's point great and cleans very well, i just rinse it very often then at the end of the day will hit it with a little Brush cleaner rinse then lick it to get a nice point and hang it upside down.

And I have heard that if the bristles get dried out you can restore it with a little hair conditioner, I have't tried that yet. Has anyone given that a go to see if it works?

 

[Gino2dope]

I must admit that I have never in my life used a brush cleaner or anything. Just plain demineralized water and I have some pencil I'm using for some years. What I think is the trick is to hit the brush well against the side of my glass water container. Has anyone ever used an ultrasonic cleaner for their brushes. it works perfectly for the airbrush, bit I'm curious what effect it would have on the hair of brushes.

Take care,

Gino(2dope)

 

[ArchArad]

Zab - Watch this space. I'll give it a try over the weekend and let you know.

Magma Painter - Nice of you to drop in, feel free to make yourself at home. I probably don't rinse my brushes as often as I should and I'm also not overly careful about paint getting near the ferrule. We'll see how well the Raphaels survive me.

Gino - The water quality where I live is pretty good, so I don't worry with distilled water.

 

[ArchArad]

Proof of Progress

Okay, so I've been working on the bust for about 2-3 hours every night and she's coming along. I've changed the tone to more of a pink/red which I am happier with. The shadows haven't come out well on the pics, but I can always adjust them later if I have to - I think it's more important to get the basic light and dark in and then I can fiddle.

So here are some pics for you:

View attachment 41267 View attachment 41268 View attachment 41269

Happy painting! :brushwave:
Shelagh

 

[MAXXxxx]

hmm compared to the pic on page 3 I don't really see a difference. If you want to have this skintone you'd have to push the shadows a lot darker.

Also because of the too many glazes it begins to get glossy, which can interfere with future work. you could try applying 1 layer of matt varnish (spray for example), hopefully it will help.

 

[BloodASmedium]

TThat's exactly how painting is done.it's basic highlight and or shades once the blocking in is done the. You can glaze or 2 brush blend in at the seams..it's a back and fourth fight I've been doing this at least 25 years and I've never had anything go on the first go it's more how you explained it so Ide say by how it sounds and how it looks your right on rrack.btw I like the reddish pink much more.again things are and will always change throughout the course of a project.

 

[ArchArad]

MAXXxxx - I'll keep an eye on the gloss, otherwise I matt spray the whole model when I'm done. I'm happier with the tone, hopefully I'll be able to update with some clearer pictures as I go along. The shadows do probably need some darkening, but I'm trying not to make them too harsh.

BloodASmedium - I'm happy with how it's going and I'm glad you also like the change.

 

[YetiSA]

As you know, I'm also taking my first tentative steps in glazing. A couple of things that I've found so far that you might be interested in.
That glazing gloss can actually cause problems while you're working because it's difficult to judge what the shading actually looks like. I've found that a little matte medium every now and then (a suggestion you made to me I believe) helps a lot.
Getting the right colour difference between what's on the model and what's on your brush can be tricky. Too little difference and it barely changes as you paint. Too much and you loose the smoothness. This is what I've been battling with at the moment.

 

[ArchArad]

Hey Bevan! *pounce* *hugs* <- guys this is my good friend who is largely responsible for me painting and being here.

As I said to MAXXxxx, my paint is behaving itself at the moment. But I'll definitely not be shy if I need to matt it down. Your glazing work is coming along very nicely Bev - you're a much more careful and controlled painter than I am (in style I mean) and your Guild Ball minis have been looking great.