Trouble with brush moisture

[redarmy27]

When many painters start out, they tend to put on too much paint. As I\'ve matured painting-wise, I\'ve learned it\'s much better to go thin and then build up. After reading through some articles, viewing some tutorials, and even watching some of the Miniature Mentor, I\'ve learned that you can get your paint mix right then use a paper towel to wick off the moisture before your brush ever touches the mini.

Well I was trying last night and I seem to almost get it but not quite. I\'m using a white primer coat, but it seems that \"pools\" or \"spots\" of paint appear. I\'m guessing I have to remove more paint from my brush with the paper towel still?

Here are some pics (click on them to view at complete size):




Anyone have any tips on this? You guys and gals are great

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by redarmy27
I\'m guessing I have to remove more paint from my brush with the paper towel still?

Sounds like it, yes.

Einion

 

[redarmy27]

Thanks, Einion. I included pics just after you posted. I\'ll keep trying. Sheesh, this is finicky business! Anyone else have any tips or techniques they use?

 

[arogers907]

I don\'t know if your brush is dry enough or not. If you have paint pooling on the mini, probably.

However, from your pics I think you\'re not using enough layers for your base coats. I\'d bet you\'ll be pleased with the results a couple more layers will give you.

-Andy

 

[redarmy27]

Thanks, I had that thought in the shower tonight. I\'ll give it a try at some point tomorrow. Thanks for the heads up! If anyone else has anything to add, feel free to do so.

 

[Sukigod]

I agree with arogers907. Looks like one more coat should do it. Red\'s a particularly finicky color to cover over white to start with. You can always do an ink or wash layer overthis to help smooth things out even more.

Looking good and good luck!

 

[Rogan]

On the GW website, there once was the advice to give it a wash (with water and soap) before actually painting it, because they use some yucky stuff to prevent their miniatures from getting dusty.
But I\'m not quite sure if they applied their stuff on metal stuff as well Oo

 

[Einion]

Reds and greens in hobby paints can have a problem with coverage - being made from pigments that are often semitransparent - and that looks like it\'s the case here for both colours.

Definitely need some more paint to provide a uniform base to work from. If I were working with these two paints I would have undercoated first in an opaque green and an opaque red or red earth.

Originally posted by Rogan
On the GW website, there once was the advice to give it a wash (with water and soap) before actually painting it, because they use some yucky stuff to prevent their miniatures from getting dusty.
But I\'m not quite sure if they applied their stuff on metal stuff as well Oo

All figures should ideally be washed prior to priming to remove mould release and of course there are oils from our skin since we handle them so much during cleanup.

Einion

 

[Aliengod3]

It sounds like you need to remove some more moisture but you may also need to apple a view more layers of paint. Remember that if not enough paint is applied the surface you are painting will look uneven.

 

[minifreak]

All of the above is good advice. Keep on applying thin coats to get a good even basecoat. Don\'t panic I have regulary applied seven or eight coats to get a good looking red. As they said red is one of the trickiest to paint along with white, yellow and green.

 

[redarmy27]

Sounds good. Thanks for the advice all. I guess that\'s the beauty of using thin layers, I can simply add more!

 

[gohkm]

Ideally, your brush should be dry to the point where it\'s almost like a drybrushing. Any more paint than that and you might get pooling or streaking.

As it has been regularly said, many, many, many layers in this manner.

 

[Thunderhawker]

Originally posted by gohkm
Ideally, your brush should be dry to the point where it\'s almost like a drybrushing.

A little bit of an extreme comparison, but essentially correct. Your paint should dry in just a few seconds after being applied, and you can further speed this by gently blowing on the painted area. For basecoating, a little pooling is okay so long as you have enough layers on top of each other and you don\'t have a texture build up. If texture begins to accumulate in your paint add more water to the paint.

Also, try using a coffee filter in lieu of a paper towel. You dont pick up any stry bits of paper that way. Nothing is more frustrating than bits of of debris in your paint.

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by Thunderhawker

Originally posted by gohkm
Ideally, your brush should be dry to the point where it\'s almost like a drybrushing.

A little bit of an extreme comparison, but essentially correct. Your paint should dry in just a few seconds after being applied, and you can further speed this by gently blowing on the painted area. For basecoating, a little pooling is okay so long as you have enough layers on top of each other and you don\'t have a texture build up. If texture begins to accumulate in your paint add more water to the paint.

Solid-gold details.

For removing excess moisture from a brush I normally use a scrap of denim instead of paper. I load the brush lightly with paint between rinses and wipe off excess often just on a corner of the palette paper, but the denim is handy for wicking off more if necessary.

Einion

 

[silverdragonn]

Personally, I thin my paints to a 1:1 ratio for a basecoat. It takes a couple of layers to put on, but it gets even and total coverage.

It\'s when the actual layering comes in that I thin it further. But for basecoating, I\'m more concerned about getting an even tone.

 

[redarmy27]

Thanks for the tips, I\'ll give them a whirl tonight since I picked up some more minis to occupy me for the long weekend.

What I\'ve come to realize is that while one can master any other difficult technique out there, if they don\'t have this basic yet challenging portion of mini painting down, then all their efforts at learning any of the advanced skills are in vain. For being such a fundamental skill of mini painting, I\'m suprised I haven\'t found much out on other sites I\'ve scoured across.

Thanks for the tips and keep them coming, I\'m sure someone else could us this thread!

 

[gohkm]

Didn\'t one of the professional painters recommend thinning paint to around 1:20 (paint:water) for the glaze-method of painting as well?

I\'ve not tried a dilution factor that great before. But you might get some fantastic results from that.

 

[Thunderhawker]

4 or 5:1 is usually enough, though you will develop your own personal preference over time. This however will vary wildly from paint to paint. Foundation paints for instance, will require much more thinning since they contain significantly more pigment than standard citadel colors.

@Einion: Thank you, I am trying to become more a student of the craft. Since I am giving demos at one of my local game stores (which I am thrilled to have been asked to do), I have been making an effort also to more clearly state my and others\' methods.

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by gohkm
Didn\'t one of the professional painters recommend thinning paint to around 1:20 (paint:water) for the glaze-method of painting as well?

For subtle layering/glazing you can definitely dilute to about that level, although most people I think won\'t normally go quite that thin. Doing the subtlest touches I will often be using something close to dirty water.

Originally posted by Thunderhawker
@Einion: Thank you, I am trying to become more a student of the craft. Since I am giving demos at one of my local game stores (which I am thrilled to have been asked to do), I have been making an effort also to more clearly state my and others\' methods.

Einion

 

[redarmy27]

I got it! Yes! I got it!!! Holy man o geez! I love it now. I\'m getting some good blending going! I\'ll post pics here when I feel it\'s ready enough.

I got the consitency right, then brush it on my paper towel, then lick the brush a bit and wham o! It dries not even two seconds after I apply it. It\'s working wonderfully! I can\'t even tell you how happy I am!!