Feathering paints

[Temujin Pasha]

So I've been trying to use the glazing technique to no avail, I'm getting some Coat D'Arms paints in the next few days, but in the meantime I'm using my crappy Revells to do try some feathering, where you blend over a dry basecoat...and again Im having trouble, the edges of the paint seem to dry to quickly! Does the paint need to be thin or thick for this technique?

 

[Shawn R. L.]

Sometimes wetting the entire area first then going back with the paint can help things blend smoothly.

 

[Temujin Pasha]

So the paint is thin as in glazing?

 

[Einion]

...where you blend over a dry basecoat...and again Im having trouble, the edges of the paint seem to dry to quickly!

If it's not particularly dry where you are, as in humidity, then this is probably down to the paint. However this is a fairly common frustration with new users even with other (better) paints; acrylics and vinyl paints do dry very quickly.

So the paint is thin as in glazing?

Usually, yes. Because you're new to painting like this it might be best to wait for better paints to practice with, using paints like the Revell ones you might just be wasting your time - what I mean is they might be so unsuitable that someone who's glazed for years might not be able to work with them properly.

Einion

 

[Temujin Pasha]

Thanks for the advice, I just searched google and found a thread on Privateer Press forums on feathering, and there was a link to a video, I also found a P3 Paint demo on youtube with feathering in and he was using paint basically at full viscosity! But the blend was so smooth, I dont understand this if the paint needs to be at glazing 'thinness'

 

[Temujin Pasha]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkkzU6GqNpg

http://privateerpressforums.com/showthread.php?4534-two-brush-painting-meathod

 

[Valander]

Thanks for the advice, I just searched google and found a thread on Privateer Press forums on feathering, and there was a link to a video, I also found a P3 Paint demo on youtube with feathering in and he was using paint basically at full viscosity! But the blend was so smooth, I dont understand this if the paint needs to be at glazing 'thinness'

Ah yes, that's the "two-brush" method. Basically, you lay the highlight down (with paint only very slightly thinned, sometimes I use a little bit of retarder instead of water) and then quickly pull the edges around with a second, damp brush.

It takes some practice, but once you get used to it, you'll find yourself wanting to use it on absolutely everything.

When doing this, you want to work in fairly small sections, especially if you're not using any retarder. Many who do this technique keep the second brush gripped in their mouth, kinda like a pirate might hold a knife, and will quickly lick the brush before they move it to do the blending. It's kinda weird, but you're not really doing much other than pushing/pulling the paint around to make it thinner in some places (where you want your transitions to be smooth).

 

[Temujin Pasha]

Ah yes thats the method! I have the How To Paint Citadel Minis book and they call it feathering/blending in there. How smooth can you get the transitions? As smooth as wet blending or glazing/layering?

 

[Avelorn]

My two cents:

On showcase work I sometimes use the feathering technique if I accidentally put too much paint on the mini ie. if the brush is more wet then damp. I also use it with washes or when I blend quickly for armywork (I use wetblending for blending large areas). Otherwise there is normally no time to do feathering as the acrylic paint is dry before I put on the next stroke. If you're not after speed there are more dangers then benefits in starting to mucking about too much with the paint when it's on the mini, as you risk messing up the surface and creating horrible marks when pulling halfdried paint.

 

[Trevor]

Like Avelorn I've found myself combining different techniques when the paint doesn't do exactly what I was wanting - overbrushing, feathering, blending etc, depending upon what the paint is doing. One thing that helps is having a palette with the various shades you are using on it, that way you can go back and forward in the colour range as necessary.
Something else I've found very useful is the foundation paints, because they can be thinned a lot, but maintain coverage, even adding just a spot of a foundation to your mix can really help it cover and avoid tide marks or chalkiness, on the flip side its more opaque making blending harder...

 

[Valander]

Ah yes thats the method! I have the How To Paint Citadel Minis book and they call it feathering/blending in there. How smooth can you get the transitions? As smooth as wet blending or glazing/layering?

With practice, you can get pretty darn smooth. I'd say probably equal to glazing (at least, at my hand), and only marginally less so than wet blending. Wet blending will still give you the best blends, but it's probably the hardest technique to get down well. The good thing about the two-brush method is that it is doable even on smaller areas, where wet-blending or glazing isn't as practical--I even use it on teeth for crying out loud.

It's not a magic bullet, though. Like any technique, it requires practice and your first attempts won't be perfect. It is, I think, a useful technique to have in your toolbox, though, and can complement other techniques rather well. Unlike wet blending, it gives you a little more time to work on the model, since you can conceivably do the steps in different painting sessions. It's a little harder to do on large, smooth areas, and there I usually go for either wet blending or glazing/juicing.

Edit: And, just to make Supervike happy, I do still use my tweening technique every now and then. That's a weird hybrid of layering and glazing. Basically, you get your two colors down, then thin each to a glaze on your palette and glaze color 1 up towards color 2, let that dry, then glaze color 2 down towards color 1. You basically wind up with very sharp lines at first, and soften the line via the glazing of the two colors.

 

[Einion]

I think bottom line it's something that's already been said - every different technique has some use, some places where it's the best or one of the best ways of painting something. You at least need to try the different techniques to see what suits you, what works best in a particular situation.

Plus of course some things work better with certain paints (down to the level of individual colours, not just range compared with range), which is one of the hardest things to get a handle on.

If you're not after speed there are more dangers then benefits in starting to mucking about too much with the paint when it's on the mini, as you risk messing up the surface and creating horrible marks when pulling halfdried paint.

God yeah, nothing worse!

Einion