How do you measure out paints?
- Thread starter RodOdom
- Start date
Duende
New member
I\'m with Eric....
I\'m unconventional. I rarely use a color straight out of a bottle. I typically pick two or three colors, drip a bit into the same \"dip\" on the palette, and run a brush through where the two colors meet, and swirl \'em until I get the color that \"feels\" right.
It\'s probably the main reason I\'ve never entered any of Zaphod\'s Golden Toadstools. He wants a technical write-up with the submissions, and how can I write what I did up when I barely even know how I did it myself??
I\'m unconventional. I rarely use a color straight out of a bottle. I typically pick two or three colors, drip a bit into the same \"dip\" on the palette, and run a brush through where the two colors meet, and swirl \'em until I get the color that \"feels\" right.
It\'s probably the main reason I\'ve never entered any of Zaphod\'s Golden Toadstools. He wants a technical write-up with the submissions, and how can I write what I did up when I barely even know how I did it myself??
BloodiedFangs
New member
heh, good to know i\'m not alone in the \"mix til it looks right\" school...tho it does make it hard to explain to people exactly how you paint (but then again, i can barely explain how i layer...i don\'t know how, i just do)
(but then again, i can barely explain how i layer...i don\'t know how, i just do)For thick paints like GW that don\'t come in a dropper bottle like Vallejo, you can use a toothpick. Just dip the toothpick into the fliptop bottle of a GW colour, and you\'ll get two or three small and nicely measured drops off it. The drops are much smaller than those from a dropper bottle, so you could end up using less paint. However, I transfer all my GW paints into dropper bottles. Those cheap plastic dropper bottles are so much easier to use, with much less mess.
If you\'ve not seen it, RodOdom, then do take a look >>here<<. It\'s an excellent starting point to mixing your colours using GW primaries, although in my experience, I don\'t believe it\'s too accurate. I thought I could get away with buying 3 or 4 less colours - forget it, it\'s best to buy the additional colours.
The drops are much smaller than those from a dropper bottle, so you could end up using less paint. However, I transfer all my GW paints into dropper bottles. Those cheap plastic dropper bottles are so much easier to use, with much less mess.If you\'ve not seen it, RodOdom, then do take a look >>here<<. It\'s an excellent starting point to mixing your colours using GW primaries, although in my experience, I don\'t believe it\'s too accurate. I thought I could get away with buying 3 or 4 less colours - forget it, it\'s best to buy the additional colours.
I used to use spare brush protectors as a poor man\'s eyedropper--stick one end into the paint, stopper the other end with your fingertip, and physics does the rest. A chopped-down straw will work just as well.
Vallejo bottles, or something like them, are /the/ way to go, though, as far as precision goes. I also dropped two bucks at Michael\'s on a half-dozen eyedroppers, particularly for measuring out thinner water.
Vallejo bottles, or something like them, are /the/ way to go, though, as far as precision goes. I also dropped two bucks at Michael\'s on a half-dozen eyedroppers, particularly for measuring out thinner water.
Being somewhat unconventional, I don\'t use gaming paints. I use a line of acrylic craft paints called \"Americana\". Some say the pigment of gaming paints is finer, but I\'ve generally had no problems with these (only a couple of colours are a bit grainy--but will generally smooth out with a good mix of water). They\'re much cheaper than gaming paints. I get 2 oz. of paint for about two bucks. So I have quite a wide range of colours.
But all that to say this: these Americana paints come in a bottle that has a little hole in the flip-top lid for squeezing a bit of paint out. So that\'s what I do. Squeeze a bit out, thin it with the appropriate amount of water from a dropper for what sort of painting I\'m doing and that\'s that. When I mix colours, I\'m with the \"by feel\" school.
But all that to say this: these Americana paints come in a bottle that has a little hole in the flip-top lid for squeezing a bit of paint out. So that\'s what I do. Squeeze a bit out, thin it with the appropriate amount of water from a dropper for what sort of painting I\'m doing and that\'s that. When I mix colours, I\'m with the \"by feel\" school.
Oh yeah!
I thought I recognized the name--I have a couple bottles of the Delta in my supplies. I also have some metallics by DecoArt & FolkArt. The DecoArt makes a line of something called \"Patio Paint\" which is, apparently, weatherproof (might go some way to keeping the paint on oft handled minis). Anyway, this line has a couple of really nice colours. The Deep Waterfall Blue is great for making dark blue-grey cloaks, capes, and that sorta\' thing.
A
aphillipsonuk
Guest
I have an accurate measuring system...
A Dollop - Always twice the amount you actually needed. This measure is always used when choosing the first paint in a mix, and thus necessitating Dollops to be used for all other colours to be added resulting in a \"swamp\" of paint.
A Spurt - the amount expended when over excited at starting a new mini and squeezing the Vallejo bottle too hard.
A Sblodge - Equivalent to the amount recovered from your brush after dipping it into the dark paint bottle and realising its touched the bottom, and you have paint half way up the ferrule.
A Spittle - Equivalent to the average amount of saliva exchanged when french kissing.
A Drip - English equivalent to a weak nerd or geek.
A Gnats **** - the amout you would use to basecoat amale gnats genitalia
A Smidgen - a less well endowed Gnat...
There is also the \'Puddle\' which is a measure usually used to describe an accidental upturning of a brand new bottle of paint all over the capet... (or if my wife sees it its referred to as an \"argument of paint\")
Hope that helps....
Alan
PS wonder if thats why my painting sucks?
A Dollop - Always twice the amount you actually needed. This measure is always used when choosing the first paint in a mix, and thus necessitating Dollops to be used for all other colours to be added resulting in a \"swamp\" of paint.
A Spurt - the amount expended when over excited at starting a new mini and squeezing the Vallejo bottle too hard.
A Sblodge - Equivalent to the amount recovered from your brush after dipping it into the dark paint bottle and realising its touched the bottom, and you have paint half way up the ferrule.
A Spittle - Equivalent to the average amount of saliva exchanged when french kissing.
A Drip - English equivalent to a weak nerd or geek.
A Gnats **** - the amout you would use to basecoat amale gnats genitalia
A Smidgen - a less well endowed Gnat...
There is also the \'Puddle\' which is a measure usually used to describe an accidental upturning of a brand new bottle of paint all over the capet... (or if my wife sees it its referred to as an \"argument of paint\")
Hope that helps....
Alan
PS wonder if thats why my painting sucks?
You forgot the explosion of color....
Thats when said Vallejo bottle is clogged and, rather than take the time to find a wire and unclog it, you just squeeze harder and harder, until the stopper pops out and paint literally explodes out of the bottle like a shotgun blast.
The stopper can usually be found 10 feet away form the painting table, leaving little \"Dollops\" across the carpet where it bounced.
This method can result in an even larger \"argument of paint\" than the puddle.
lol
