Chalky Paints?

[klaircarroll]

Sorry I'm very new to miniature painting and I don't have enough expendable to purchase Reaper, Citidel, or other quality paints of similar prices. I did just buy Palmar acrylic paints off amazon and they apply very chalky and dry, making my mini very dull looking. Because of this my last mini looks awful so bad I'm almost too discouraged to finish him. Could this issue be because of the paints? Or a very absorbent primer? Has anyone experienced similar issues. Thank you.

 

[Flow]

I am fairly new myself, so take my advice with that weight; that said, my guess is it is probably due to the paints. I did google around and found this old thread:

http://warhammer.org.uk/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=86966

Almost the exact same complaint, though a different brand. The group consensus seems to be that it is the paints that are to blame.

Einion (a resident expert here) has often recommended Jo Sonja brand acrylics as a less expensive alternative that can yield good results.

Also, I used this set when I first started:

http://www.amazon.com/Liquitex-Basics-Acrylic-Paints-Colors/dp/B000JESVA8

40 bucks for 36 colors is not bad, really. I've just started using P3, and while I do find them to be better, I also feel that the Liquitex paints were certainly "okay". I painted the hill troll and bone devil in my gallery using the liquitex paints, and I like to think they came out "not terrible". Certainly their quality (or lack thereof) were more on my skill than the Liquitex paints I used.

 

[klaircarroll]

View attachment 17758thanks for the advice I painted a different figure with paints kids use form Walmart and actually got better looking results If you can see from this picture (though neither looks especially great) Thor just looks dull and nasty

 

[QuietiManes]

It could be at least partially because Thor isn't finished yet, he also seems to be missing the shiny clear coat that The Thing has. Both would cause your issues.

Also, yellows and reds are the most problematic colours in paints. They often can't cover for crap. So, you might need to do a couple extra coats (layers) OR pick (mix) a slightly darker shade, to achieve the vibrancy and opacity you're after. I.E. a yellow a touch toward the orange side, a red a touch toward the purple side.

 

[QuietiManes]

Oh, another option is to do a layer of orange/brown under the yellow or a purple/brown/orange under the red.

And another option, which is quite popular, is to use an ink to deepen AND shade the colour. In this way you'll shade the crevices and the chalky, light areas will be deepened but still remain as the highlights (without the chalk). Of course, this does come at the expense of having to buy a couple bottles of ink, but the ease of use and the results are pretty nice.

 

[PegaZus]

I'm pulling from my unreliable memory here, but I think the chalkiness is typically caused by watering down too far. Which, unfortunately, I believe one has to do to get the craft paints down to a thin enough consistency for minis. The different paint components start separating easier. Mini paints usually have extra pigment, which probably explains the added cost.

The kid paints worked better because they were possibly thinner to begin with, and may have had a bit more pigment.

That's what the voices in my head tell me, and they nearly are almost always right. They told me to say that.

 

[klaircarroll]

I think your right these paints that i bought are very watered down which may make them look so dull but even without thinning them down they are very chalky. but the kids paints were thicker but mixed quite well its interesting

 

[ced1106]

If you search on the Reaper forums, someone painted a Bones ogre with craft paints plus flow aid, etc., and had some good results.

IMO, craft paints make a the difficulty of being a new painter that much more difficult. I started with craft paints as well, but, the short of it is that I should have spent the money on a Reaper Learn to Paint Kit, which is what I eventually did, anyway. Sure, you only have eight hobby paints in a kit. But these paints will get you pretty far, including a good color assortment, at least with fantasy miniatures painting. I started with the Beginning Skin and Cloth kit, then went to Intermediate Armor. Each kit is $26, which may seem much, but you get quite a bit in a kit. Reaper will be releasing their new Bones Learn to Paint Kits at the end of the month. I wish more companies would put out such kits.

 

[skraaal]

To save you googling too much, there are 3 main reasons for chalky looking painting;

* You have have not created a smooth transition. For example if your shading from blue to black, you'll need your shadow color, your mid-tone color and your highlight color. If you have an abrupt transition from mid-tone to highlight for example, you'll end up with the chalky effect. This is the most common cause for chalky appearing painting.

* You have diluted your paints too much, although this generally only happens with very poor quality paints. Diluting your paints generally is a very good thing to do even if your diluting them to a ration of 10 parts water : one part paint, so this would be the least likely reason for your chalkiness.

* The paints themselves are a bad batch.

For miniature painting, I would personally suggest using brands such as Games-Workshop, Reaper, P3 (privateer press) or Acrylicos Vallejo for painting miniatures as well as good quality artists oil paints. You can use other acrylic water based paints such as Jo Sonja's Artists' Colours but unless you feel competent in mixing your own colors up, then the pre-sorted shades offered by the other companies that I've mentioned are the better option.

I hope this helps, happy painting and merry Christmas!

Axel.