Question about applying a wash

[lakespeed]

I've got something I need to hand paint and I want to show the intricate detail and panelling.

Am I better off applying a thin black wash in the lines first, then wipe, then brush paint, or should I brush paint then apply a wash & wipe?

[photoguy]

Paint, Wash, Wipe.

I just read an article somewhere about using tempra paint for washes. Looked pretty straight forward. Goes over acrylic or oil, and removed the excess with a damp towel. No thinners, no solvents - no chance of damaging your paint scheme. Keep it simple.

Also, I've been experimenting with color washes - instead of just "black" to bring out details. Try complimentary colors; go back to your old color theory and find a color wheel.
Gray subject - tan/brown wash looks good.
Red subject - try a thin green wash
Yellow subject - go with a violet

You get a nice "painterly" color finish that brings out the detail, without dulling down the color of your subject. This is especially useful for figure work. Dang, I knew all that time in art school was worth something

[lakespeed]

Thanks.

I'm going to use a deep red basecoat (Humbrol Enamel) then I'll try a very thin darker green wash and wipe over that. Just in the panel lines and such.

It's something I want to do right the first time so I don't have to start over.....again.

Painting is my weak spot.

[Rogviler]

It's really hard to beat this method. I like the idea of using Future as a buffer in case you do screw up.

My weak spot is right at the base of my neck.

-Rog

[TER-OR]

I do everything that guy does, but I use a watercolor wash. No paint thinner to deal with. Use the transparent watercolors in the tiny tubes. A little detergent will help break the surface tension.

I also use an ink-in-Future glaze for things like vents and low areas. You'll be amazed how well that works. The glaze is not removed, but Future will suck into recesses and gaps, while washes often dry away from them - the pigments are carried via capillary action. This is why I like the ink in Future - it's not a pigment. It does follow gravity, though, so orientation is important.

[Mr. Badwrench]

I'll have to try the ink in Future wash pretty soon.

[lakespeed]

Thanks for all the advice guys. It has really pointed me in the right direction.

It took me doing a crappy job on the first attempt for the light bulb to kick on.

I figured out I needed to let it dry for a couple minutes before wiping clean. Plus with the panel lines being very thin and shallow I should have made my paint + thinner mix a little less thin. I had a little difficulty with it being dark enough to show.

http://pic40.picturetrail.com/VOL359/22 ... 881118.jpg

It's a bit hard to see because of the image size so you can view a much bigger picture here:

http://resinilluminati.com/attachment.p ... 1261318514

[Mark Yungblut]

Thanks.

I'm going to use a deep red basecoat (Humbrol Enamel) then I'll try a very thin darker green wash and wipe over that. Just in the panel lines and such.

It's something I want to do right the first time so I don't have to start over.....again.

Painting is my weak spot.

Question? Why would you want to do a Green wash? Frankly I think most modellers blow it by not taking into account that a panel line should be a darker shade of the base color or at the very least in the same color range. SO I would use Alizerine Crimson (either oils and turps, or tube artisit's water colors).

One of the best finished aircraft I saw at the IPMS nats was one where the modeler had used washeds that were darker shades of the base color and he chaged the washes to compliment the camo pattern on the aircraft. That model won a gold.

Either way go with the future barrier.

Mark

[Mark Yungblut]

Thanks.

I'm going to use a deep red basecoat (Humbrol Enamel) then I'll try a very thin darker green wash and wipe over that. Just in the panel lines and such.

It's something I want to do right the first time so I don't have to start over.....again.

Painting is my weak spot.

Question? Why would you want to do a Green wash? Frankly I think most modellers blow it by not taking into account that a panel line should be a darker shade of the base color or at the very least in the same color range. SO I would use Alizerine Crimson (either oils and turps, or tube artisit's water colors).

One of the best finished aircraft I saw at the IPMS nats was one where the modeler had used washeds that were darker shades of the base color and he chaged the washes to compliment the camo pattern on the aircraft. That model won a gold.

Either way go with the future barrier.

Mark

[Lt. Z0mBe]

Thanks.

I'm going to use a deep red basecoat (Humbrol Enamel) then I'll try a very thin darker green wash and wipe over that. Just in the panel lines and such.

It's something I want to do right the first time so I don't have to start over.....again.

Painting is my weak spot.

Question? Why would you want to do a Green wash? Frankly I think most modellers blow it by not taking into account that a panel line should be a darker shade of the base color or at the very least in the same color range. SO I would use Alizerine Crimson (either oils and turps, or tube artisit's water colors).

One of the best finished aircraft I saw at the IPMS nats was one where the modeler had used washeds that were darker shades of the base color and he chaged the washes to compliment the camo pattern on the aircraft. That model won a gold.

Either way go with the future barrier.

Mark

I have to second that question. It stands to reason (to me, anyway) to have the darker wash ready off the model tested and apply it as opposed to trying to effect the basecoat with a complimentary color. If too much is applied, you now have to contend with wiping green wash off of your red model. The final nail in the argument, ( I am no art major, mind you), is when the basecoat is not a pure red or blue or yellow. The supposed complimentary color is going to, instead of darken the area in the case of red basecoats, give it a brown color as opposed to a deep, blood red.

Additionally, with some colors (deep blues, greens, blacks) the panel line or recess may actually be a grey color on the "real" X-wing.

That's my two quatloos.

Kenny

[lakespeed]

To answer your questions all at once, I took the advice of photoguy and used green. Just for the heck of it.

I thinned it out and ran it right through the panel lines and it came out pretty good. I think if I experiment a bit more with various darker shades as well like you guys suggested and a bit more practice.......

Anyhow it achieved what I was looking for and that was to make the panel lines stand out to give a little weathering and depth so those who look at the kit to buy it can see the detail that is there.

[photoguy]

Using a complimentary color to add shadow detail (i.e. panel lines) is as old as painting itself. Go get an art book and look as some of the "old masters" works. It is a technique that has been used for hundreds of years to obtain a very realistically shaded subject, without dulling down the color with black or gray.

At art school, we were not allowed to use black in any of our painting classes until the last year. Black is so easily overused, and really dulls down your work really quickly. Don't mix your paint with black, but use black sparingly to accent just the smallest of details or really "black" areas of your project to give that little "pop" to finish it off.

[Lt. Z0mBe]

Using a complimentary color to add shadow detail (i.e. panel lines) is as old as painting itself. Go get an art book and look as some of the "old masters" works. It is a technique that has been used for hundreds of years to obtain a very realistically shaded subject, without dulling down the color with black or gray.

At art school, we were not allowed to use black in any of our painting classes until the last year. Black is so easily overused, and really dulls down your work really quickly. Don't mix your paint with black, but use black sparingly to accent just the smallest of details or really "black" areas of your project to give that little "pop" to finish it off.

I agree with the use of complimentary colors 1000-percent. I use them in preshading AND in making washes. I stay away from black as a wash in general. But, I just don't see the logic in applying a wash that is only a complimentary color to darken recesses. A more controllable, more subtle result can be had by creating the desired wash color off of the model using the base color plus the complimentary color, thinning it and then applying it.

If you apply a complimentary color wash and overshoot, your recesses are going to be little green lines (in the red basecoat example) as though they're filled with space algae (if there is such a thing, lol). Or, if you're not quite correct in your estimation of how "pure" your red basecoat is, and you apply a green wash, your recesses aren't going to be dark red. They're going to be rust or puky brown instead.

You reference the old masters and I have read some art books. I don't know if you would consider pedestrian topics like Bob Ross as "old masters," but his name is top-of-mind as is Shep Paine with modeling. They both extensively teach complimentary, secondary and tertiary colors. The thing is, though, is they mix and then apply, and then blend at the edges. In blending of the two arts (no pun intended), Paine and Verlinden teach the technique with figures (and some vehicles) of painting the vertical sides of a figure the base color and using complimentary colors to darken the underside, but the complimentary colors are added to the basecoat color off of the figure/model, mixed applied to the figure/model, and then blended at the edges. The same methodology is applied for their treatment of washes; mix the darkened wash using the base coat color and the complimentary color, thin and then apply to the sealed figure. If the wash is a little dark, you can wipe it away or repair it with another, basecoat wash or even the airbrush if it's preferable. If a green wash over a red basecoat goes south, your only option may be the airbrush if the recess is really deep or you've managed to etch your glosscoat.

That's four quatloos' worth of thoughts.

Kenny

[lakespeed]

If you apply a complimentary color wash and overshoot, your recesses are going to be little green lines (in the red basecoat example) as though they're filled with space algae (if there is such a thing, lol). Or, if you're not quite correct in your estimation of how "pure" your red basecoat is, and you apply a green wash, your recesses aren't going to be dark red. They're going to be rust or puky brown instead.

I guess my main goal was to "weather" the recesses enough so that they would stand out in a picture.

Since I did some of the paneling in a red-brown, I had thought of using that to shade as well but I was worried that it wouldn't have enough contrast.

I guess what I really need to do is whip out a kit and just practice some different techniques and color combinations on them.

[TER-OR]

Payne's Gray is a good option, though some are a bit too blue.

Also, the transparent colors will be very helpful as they don't have ground pigment. They will merely tint over your base color.

Another option is to use a black marker over a base color, then airbrush faded and darker colors over that. As long as you don't go TOO heavy, the black marker (like a fine Sharpie) will just be tinted by the overcolors. I do this a lot for base panel lines.

[lakespeed]

Another option is to use a black marker over a base color, then airbrush faded and darker colors over that. As long as you don't go TOO heavy, the black marker (like a fine Sharpie) will just be tinted by the overcolors. I do this a lot for base panel lines.

I was considering this, well something similar actually.

I was considering using the wash first, then painting over that but since I was hand brushing I didn't think I'd be able to keep the coats thin enough.

I think I'm just going to experiment a bit. Thanks for all the tips guys, you've given me some great suggestions.