\"consistency like cream\" what does that mean exactly?

[StarFyre]

Hi All,

still struggling for couple years now to get head around this blending thing...

I\'ve lucked out on a couple minis (not on CMON gallery) and got a smooth gradient of sorts, but i can\'t redo that if my life depended on it.

From emails i got back from the Painting Clinic, and emails back and forth with Vincent Hudon, I know thinning paints is key...at least one of them. However, I keep reading/hearing thin paints like cream. BUt the cream i am thinking off, is quite thick. LIke stuff they put on cakes? My paints are much more watered down...more like a pure liquid.

What consistency do people mean?

Sanjay

 

[Wolf_Fang]

i think of it this way.... consistancy of milk

 

[Naukhel]

They mean the kind of cream you put in coffee. Milk, cream, about that thick.

Pour a bit of each, and a bit of water, compare, and mix your paints to aim for milk or cream.

Whipped cream is too thick.

Clotted cream: Way past the mark.

Cheese curds: You have gone too far, and are now clinically dead.

 

[Medved]

mr forgeworld guy! put it this way, make your paints as watery as gw inks, then leave it on the palette for a few moments. thats the thickness i use for my display stuff. you have to make sure you dont put too much on the brush or it will run all over the mini like an ink wash.

you will soon learn which colours are heavily pigmented and which are not. with the base colour you can use a thicker consistency (think paint from the pot mixed with ink) to cover better without losing detail

 

[supervike]

I understand your frustration Starfrye.

I think I understand the thinning principal, but how does one ever finish a painting? It seems I try using some of these thin mixes (10-1, 7-1, etc) and it takes FOREVER to get the appropriate coverage.
By the time I hit my 5-6 layer, I grow impatient and thicken the paint (which only ends up ruining my minis...but HEY! I hate waiting).

Any thoughts on that?

 

[THuff]

I guess the mix you use depends on the brand of paint you are using. With Vallejo Game Color I don\'t ever need to go more than 2-1 water to paint. They are thin enough that 1-1 is good for basecoats and you still might need a couple of coats depending on the color. Model Color might need 3-1 since it is a bit thicker. I only use really thin,(5-1 or more) for washes when I need to blend together layers that have to much of a contrast line.

The best explanation I can come up with is that it should puddle like water, but not be transparent unless you are wanting a wash or glaze. When you put your paint on the brush, touch the tip to a napkin or something to drain away the excess water and you will be left with a good thinned paint that will not pool up on your mini.


Important tip....when using thinned paints it is easier for the brush to soak paint into the ferrule. Remember to rinse your brush more often to keep it from building up at the top and ruining your point.
-Terry

Mageworks

My Gallery

 

[Wolf_Fang]

Originally posted by supervike
I understand your frustration Starfrye.

I think I understand the thinning principal, but how does one ever finish a painting? It seems I try using some of these thin mixes (10-1, 7-1, etc) and it takes FOREVER to get the appropriate coverage.
By the time I hit my 5-6 layer, I grow impatient and thicken the paint (which only ends up ruining my minis...but HEY! I hate waiting).

Any thoughts on that?

paint your main shades then do the thin layers where the 2 meet to tie them together

also if its something large you can paint the 1 area white then the colour and blend them while they still wet :bouncy: (cant do ether myselfe lol)

 

[freakinacage]

basically the thinner the better but you need more layers and therefore patience. hence my problem. and i echo medved\'s call of \'forgeworldguy\'!

 

[Einion]

Bloody \'eck, either I had a major Parkinson\'s moment and forgot to post my reply yesterday or something really weird happened and it dissapeared ???

Anyway here it is...

Hi Sanjay, first do remember that these sorts of recommendations are only a guide and slight variations might not matter in some cases. Also your personal way of painting might work with paint a smidgen thicker, or thinner, than another person\'s.

Originally posted by StarFyre
From emails i got back from the Painting Clinic, and emails back and forth with Vincent Hudon, I know thinning paints is key...at least one of them. However, I keep reading/hearing thin paints like cream. BUt the cream i am thinking off, is quite thick.

Ah, here\'s a reason I think people should be as specific as possible with this sort of thing (bearing in mind cultural differences too - remembers when some Americans ask, \"Cream and sugar?\" they don\'t mean cream, they mean milk! Took me ages to get my head around that.)

Depending on the paint you\'re starting with it might already be about the consistency of cream (single cream or pouring cream as we\'d call it here). You want it a LOT thinner than this for subtle colour effects like layering and blending - from about the consistency of \'normal\' milk to literally nothing more than dirty water for the most subtle effects.

Einion

 

[tzor]

Originally posted by Einion
Ah, here\'s a reason I think people should be as specific as possible with this sort of thing (bearing in mind cultural differences too - remembers when some Americans ask, \"Cream and sugar?\" they don\'t mean cream, they mean milk! Took me ages to get my head around that.)

Well it depends on the drink. With tea it is commonly egular milk. With coffee it is a bizzare mix called \"Half and half,\" which contains regular milk and some cream.

On the other hand, a lot of people refer to an equally strange liquid known as \"skim milk\" as just \"milk.\" This liquid, which looks like opaque water with a odd blue sheen, is clearly a cruel hoax on the word \"milk.\"

It becomes odd that most cows in the United States have literally been breed to produce skim milk, the milk getting it\'s normal consistancy only after pasturization.

 

[Ogrebane]

I have to agree with the patience thing. I havent quite got my head around blending yet as I have no patience. Ive tried wet blending a few times but have only been successful on large flat areas. practice practice practice.

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by tzor
On the other hand, a lot of people refer to an equally strange liquid known as \"skim milk\" as just \"milk.\" This liquid, which looks like opaque water with a odd blue sheen, is clearly a cruel hoax on the word \"milk.\"

LOL That is so true, that and \'non-fat milk\' is like water with a just a little milk splashed in it <shudder>

Originally posted by tzor
It becomes odd that most cows in the United States have literally been breed to produce skim milk, the milk getting it\'s normal consistancy only after pasturization.

Your dairy cattle certainly seem geared to produce less fat than is \'normal\' - your milk, and hence your butter, are generally but pale comparisons to what the Brits and Irish consider them to be. You can even get specialist milks in the UK in a few places from Guernsey or Jersey cows and the cream layer on top is thicker than a finger!

Originally posted by tzor
With coffee it is a bizzare mix called \"Half and half,\" which contains regular milk and some cream.

I suspect that half and half is just an attempt to produce something like what the rest of the world would agree was milk from your weedy low-fat stuff, which, I certainly think coffee really needs. Nothing like coffee with low-fat milk to water it down, ugh.

Einion

 

[StarFyre]

hehe

Einion - i don\'t like to follow my own style of painting, cause by doing that, i\'ll never be able to blend, shade, etc

hehe

I don\'t drink tea or coffee..hehe and for milk, only take no fat skim (I work out a lot so try to eat healthy hehe )

Sanjay