boubi said:
Right, recommending a palette isn't as straightforward as you might think unfortunately. Partly because there are so many viable palettes of any given size (more than a dozen for an average number of paints) and personal preferences can play a big part in what you'll get on well with.
That said, I'll give my usual recommended starter palette in the next post and tell you the reason for each pick; that way you can judge a bit for yourself whether the choices make sense to you. There are plenty of options if they don't.
boubi said:
2. Which odorless solvent?
Just about any one will do, but I'd definitely recommend not getting one from an artists' supplier if you can avoid it. For example, as good as W&N's Sansodor is it's just one of the available low-odour solvents, in a small expensive bottle. So if you can, head to the hardware store or paint shop.
Do test any OMS you're looking at by wafting the open container carefully under your nose, see what you think of the smell and its strength. If you're satisfied on that front go for it.
BTW, even though this kind of thing is materially safer than regular white spirits or turps it's still a good idea to keep the jar or tin on the table capped when you're not actively using it.
boubi said:
Yes.
Oh you want something more specific? ^__^ It depends a bit on how you intend to mix. Just about anything smooth and non-absorbent can work as a palette and for the time being if you're just going to be mixing very tiny amounts blister plastic will actually do.
Other things you might try include the back of a white plate or a sheet of acetate. If you have one of those white welled palettes they actually work really well with oils, as long as you're sure to wipe up the residual paint before it has dried.
For something a little more permanent, white or light grey glazed ceramic tiles make excellent smaller palettes. Also sheet Perspex or similar works great.
A small piece of glass is arguably the best palette for oils because it's so flat, easy to clean and hard-wearing... can't beat the price either! Even when dry oil paint can easily be removed from glass with a single-edged razor, just push it across the surface and the paint will come cleanly away. Also, you can place the glass on papers of different colours if you want to change the background colour to judge your mixes against (neutral grey is the best overall).
boubi said:
4. Special brush? I only have aquarelle 8404 raphael brushes
They'll do perfectly for detailed painting in oils. But by all means get yourself a few smaller synthetics for playing around with the medium - including mixing, they'll withstand this no problem. For working on larger areas filberts are great, usually work much better than a regular flat, and synthetics are usually the cheapest option for them but see what's available locally.
One of the things that oils are particularly good for is stippling, both to apply the paint as well as as a removal technique (which give about the same result). No sable or Kolinsky brush will take this kind of abuse without damage but a synthetic or small bristle brush will take this kind of abuse.
boubi said:
Not necessary but you can use them if you want/need.
If you have problems with matt drying I'd recommend you steer clear of using matt overcoats if you can - there are other ways to help ensure a matter finish - however if you're used to something like Dullcote anyway then it is fine to use over oil paint.
boubi said:
one more question, i read online that oil paint on acrylic base is a good technique. But need to put some varnish on the acrylic.
Nope. Don't know where you read that but it would be atypical to say the least - I can't think of a single oil user who doesn't normally apply them directly onto the hobby paint basecoat.
You can use oil paint on top of Dullcoate or another matt varnish, so if your undercoat colour wasn't as matt as you'd like you could shoot it with something to help the oils go on more evenly, but that's about all I can think of as to why you might want to do this (with the exception of canvas painting, but that's a different ballgame).
boubi said:
Also to make the oil dry, the fastest is to put in oven for resin and metal mini only... How do you do it for plastic mini?
You could make a hot box, using a low-power incandescent bulb that wouldn't get the temp too high, have to experiment though as thinner sections can be sensitive to temps well below the melting point!
boubi said:
In a way, if you use oil paint, do you have to wait long time between paint jobs on the same minis?
If you don't speed-dry the paint yes, you won't reliably be able to work on the same area the following day. Even in the very thin coats that we would typically apply oils might not be dry enough to paint over after 24 hours, it could take as long as three or four days in some cases.
Drying time does depend on colours though (individual pigments make for slower- or faster-drying oils), and to a degree on the paint brand because some have no additives while others have driers added to make the drying time a little more uniform across the range.
boubi said:
i can find oil colors easily here (china shanghai)
Out of curiosity, more than one or two Chinese brands?
Einion
)
