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Help! I can't paint!! |
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Magnus
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Post subject: Help! I can't paint!!  Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 3:08 pm |
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| Brood Brother |
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Joined: Sun Nov 14, 2004 2:30 pm
Posts: 462
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Ok, so I recently started a new project: a little SM army just to "re-warm" myself to Epic painting.
I was proceeding very, very slowly with my tac marines stands, but painting epic infantry is hazardous to health as terminal boredom can set in, so I started a few Rhinos and Predators alongside.
To my horror, I cannot, for the life of me, adequately lay a homogeneous layer of paint on the tanks. The paint is too thin and comes up "splotchy", unable to cover the white undercoat. And I'm using a dark green (snot green, I think), not a yellow or something. If I try to wait for it to "solidify" a little, it becomes too thick and I get the "gummy look of death". There's no middle ground.
Now, my paint bottle is old, so maybe the paint is "spoiled"... though I cannot see why.
So, is it my utter lack of painting skills showing through, or do GW colors suck even more than I remembered?
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Legion 4
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Post subject: Help! I can't paint!! Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 3:23 pm |
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| Brood Brother |
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Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2003 5:13 pm
Posts: 36984
Location: Ohio - USA
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Not really a fan of G/W paints but have some. After I spray a base coat, usually a dark color and then if need be paint over with a thinned color and after that is dry, a wash. If the paint comes out splotchy, a wash brings it together and it looks a bit weathered. I only use tactical colors so a less than even race car type paint job is not what I'm look for. Been around a lot of AFVs and they ain't pretty ! 
_________________
Legion 4 "Cry Havoc, and let slip the Dogs of War !" ... "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
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primarch
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Post subject: Help! I can't paint!! Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 3:56 pm |
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| Brood Brother |
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Joined: Fri Feb 14, 2003 12:46 am
Posts: 27069
Location: Edmond, Oklahoma USA
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Hi!
Actually I still own GW paints circa 1992 and they're still good.
They have told me however more recent paints... stink....
Primarch
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Lextar
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Post subject: Help! I can't paint!! Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 4:34 pm |
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| Brood Brother |
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Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2004 6:21 pm
Posts: 1272
Location: UK/Suffolk
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I got an old bottle of snot green, and it is very watery too. I use GW paint religeously, coz I seem to have so many.
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MaksimSmelchak
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Post subject: Help! I can't paint!! Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 5:45 pm |
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| Brood Brother |
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Joined: Sun Feb 16, 2003 4:43 pm
Posts: 7258
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
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Hi Magnus,
*** Can you drybrush? ***
Drybrushing is really the key. PRactice it until you get it right.
Until then, washes and inks do wonders for 6mm.
One of the most common mistakes that newer painters make is to not thin down their paint. A thinner layer may take a little more work, but is infinitely more repairable if you make a misake and more forgiving to apply.
Use a palette and water down the paint on your brush to keep it thin enough. If the paint begins to gum up then you need more water.
Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.
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vanvlak
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Post subject: Help! I can't paint!! Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 5:51 pm |
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| Brood Brother |
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Joined: Fri Oct 31, 2003 7:52 am
Posts: 10348
Location: Malta
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The old GW paints are ok, the new ones tend to dry out here in Malta, no matter how well you clean them. the latest pots are better, though.
For these thin blotchy greens - I usually get that too. The only solutions are:
1 - shake the paint well
2 - as Maksim pointed out, thin the paint slightly with water
3 - apply a thin coat
4 - apply another
5 - and another
6 - unitl it becomes a uniform coat of the colour you want. But use thinned paint, unless you want instant ablative armour!
Greens are wearisome for me too, and I've found out that
1 - a uniform undercoat (i.e. without any missed metallic areas) helps and
2 - black might be better than white - if it's absolutely matt.
Again seconding Maksim, a wash and a drybrush make miracles. 
_________________
Back from oblivion (again)?
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primarch
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Post subject: Help! I can't paint!! Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 7:01 pm |
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| Brood Brother |
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Joined: Fri Feb 14, 2003 12:46 am
Posts: 27069
Location: Edmond, Oklahoma USA
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| Quote (MaksimSmelchak @ 21 2005 Aug.,12:45) | Hi Magnus,
*** Can you drybrush? ***
Drybrushing is really the key. PRactice it until you get it right.
Until then, washes and inks do wonders for 6mm.
One of the most common mistakes that newer painters make is to not thin down their paint. A thinner layer may take a little more work, but is infinitely more repairable if you make a misake and more forgiving to apply.
Use a palette and water down the paint on your brush to keep it thin enough. If the paint begins to gum up then you need more water.
Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak. |
Hi!
Yes, this is true. Watering down is definitely a skill to master.
Primarch
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Magnus
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Post subject: Help! I can't paint!! Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 7:08 pm |
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| Brood Brother |
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Joined: Sun Nov 14, 2004 2:30 pm
Posts: 462
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I DO water down the paints. The problem here is not excessive thickness; I got that because I was getting desperate with the thinness of the paint and exceeded in the opposite direction.
As for the rest, the general idea here is to apply the base coat, then a dark wash, then highlight with a mixture of drybrush (for tracks and the like) and careful hand-made highlighting for smooth surfaces. My pet peeve is that apparently I have to apply 3+ consecutive coats just to get an uniform base color.... this would take ages! 
Oh well. Time for the brake fluid.... just got myself 6 different shades of Vallejo greens. Hopefully they will work better.....
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ortron
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Post subject: Help! I can't paint!! Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2005 2:51 pm |
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| Brood Brother |
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Joined: Sun Aug 07, 2005 1:48 pm
Posts: 681
Location: Australia
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With regard to GW paints, some colours seem to be particularly bad at covering, or require a particular base coat. Yellows for example, i find only looks good if the area is prepainted white, while dark angles green looks dodgy on anything lighter than black. Metals also look much better on black. Reds can be a pain to. But some of the blues & greys leave a good solid colour/coat almost every time.
Of course this is just my opinion and you may totaly disagree. But remember with any colour 2 light coats nearly always looks better than 1 heavy coat, making sure their is sufficient drying time. And drybrushing is also extreamly usefull for this scale! good work whoever suggested that.
Goodnight
ORTRON
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nealhunt
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Post subject: Help! I can't paint!! Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2005 3:26 pm |
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| Purestrain |
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Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2003 10:52 pm
Posts: 9617
Location: Nashville, TN, USA
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I rarely find a need for more than 2 coats to get an even color. Many times a slightly splotchy base coat looks fine after it is inked/washed.
But everyone just has to experiment until they find something that works with their style. Good luck.
_________________
Neal
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Magnus
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Post subject: Help! I can't paint!! Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2005 5:52 pm |
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| Brood Brother |
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Joined: Sun Nov 14, 2004 2:30 pm
Posts: 462
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I found out what better suits my style: a different brand. I got myself 6 greens from the Vallejo range..oh boy, they're so much better that comparing them to GW's ones is not even funny.
The infantry, rhino and predators are now being "upgraded" to a base coat of "military green", to be followed by a medium-light drybrush of "german camo green" and a light drybrush of "light green". Then it will be time for the browns and the final blending by a thinned-down wash of some suitable yellow-brown.
I've also set my eyes on the "Russian uniform grey" which is giving me ideas for some IG companies....
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Dwarf Supreme
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Post subject: Help! I can't paint!! Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2005 5:59 pm |
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| Brood Brother |
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Joined: Fri May 20, 2005 8:45 pm
Posts: 11147
Location: Canton, CT, USA
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Tamiya makes some good paint, too.
_________________
"I don't believe in destiny or the guiding hand of fate." N. Peart
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Tas
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Post subject: Help! I can't paint!! Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 7:42 am |
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| Brood Brother |
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Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2003 10:01 am
Posts: 7823
Location: Sydney, NSW
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Reds and yellows are my problems. ?Then again I dont use them for anything but detail (they aint tactical!) so I dont really have this problem. ?Once you get the wash and drybrush done you cant see the initial layer anyway! 
_________________
Tas
My General blog: http://tasmancave.blogspot.com/
My VSF Blog: http://pauljamesog.blogspot.com/
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Magnus
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Post subject: Help! I can't paint!! Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 10:49 am |
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| Brood Brother |
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Joined: Sun Nov 14, 2004 2:30 pm
Posts: 462
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On a related note, I visited the web site for the vallejo product line. They recommend a 1:1 color:water ratio for the base coat, with three layers for optimal spread, and a 1:5 ratio for washing-highlightning. I think that's just a tad extreme.... then again, they're probably thinking about much bigger scales.
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CyberShadow
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Post subject: Help! I can't paint!! Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 12:17 pm |
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| Swarm Tyrant |
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Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 6:22 pm
Posts: 9348
Location: Singapore
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I am not sure. Vallejo have a higher pigmentation than GW paints, and benefit from much thinner coats. I switched to Vallejo about a year ago and prefer them.
_________________ https://www.cybershadow.ninja - A brief look into my twisted world, including wargames and beyond. https://www.net-armageddon.org - The official NetEA (Epic Armageddon) site and resource.
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