| Articles - Using Thinned Acryllic Paint
Updated: April, 2004 Who will find this article useful? |
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Anyone who wants to be able to use thin paint built up in progressive layers to achieve a smooth clean finish. This technique is an advanced technique that is the foundation for creating show-quality paint jobs. Note that I said "The foundation." This technique, combined with an awareness of "light-sourcing" is what is used by many contemporary miniature painters to accomplish smooth, realistically painted miniatures. Ever heard of NMM (Non-Metallic Metal)? Thinned paint is necessary to achieve good results with NMM. |
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| Definitions/Concepts: | |
| Thin Paint | Paint that has been diluted with water, blending medium, faux glaze medium, flow-aid, flow-extender, or anything else that someone has suggested you use to improve your paints performance. |
| Synthetic vs. Sable | Use brushes that you can afford AND maintain. There are several significant difference between Sable and Synthetic brushes. Sable brushes provide more "give" when applied to the surface (miniature); Synthetic brushes provide more bounce. Synthetic brushes have a tendency to "curl". While careful care may stave this off, it is rare to prevent it completely. Curling is usually caused by one of two things; brush age, or residual paint on the bristles (the residual paint constricts as it dries). Good Synthetic brushes are CHEAPER than Good Sable brushes, but if you take care of your Sable brush(es), they will last longer and perform better. I use Synthetic for fast blocking-in (figures) or drybrushing (bases or terrain). I use Sable for any painting that requires fine control. |
| NMM | Non-Metallic Metal (Another way of saying really cool highlights & layers used to make things look like reflective/polished metal) |
| Fuzzy Primer | Primer that looks fuzzy or feels "crumbly" to the touch. When you apply your paint, the paint soaks IN to the primer and the "fuzz" maintains the primers original color... or at least hints at it. |
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First, a note about my writing style. When I'm not at work, my writing style is conversational. Don't expect this article to be organized in a completely logical manner. I'll try to be as organized as possible, but I'll also include some asides. If I get enough feedback, I'll probably make a "checklist" or "cheat sheet" that avoids the chatter of my conversational style. Assumptions: I'm going to assume that you have your miniature cleaned of all mould lines,assembled, and primed. DO NOT attempt these techniques if you have excessive mould lines or if your primer does not evenly or consistently coat your figure. Fuzzy Primer is the antithesis of this technique. There are ways to compensate, but this is my first draft of this article and I want to pretend that it's a perfect world where primer problems don't exist. Of course, you may not use primer; for the purposes of this article that is o.k. What consistency should you thin your paint to? As thin as you can get it WITHOUT disrupting it's ability to evenly pigment your surface. As thin as you can get it WITHOUT losing control. For explanations about what that means, read on... Thin and even: Load your brush with your newly thinned paint, Paint a dash/line on a white piece of paper. Did your paint dry splotchy? Is the paint coverage uneven? It's too thin. No? read on... Keeping Control: Load your brush with your newly thinned paint, Paint a smooth circle, Did the surface tension of the paint break and allow the paint to run or expand past your intended target? Yes? It's too thin. No? read on... Did you get a smooth surface on your circle? Yes? Great! No? Did you "Float" your paint as you made the circle? Floating? when was that mentioned? It wasn't. Floating is one of the techniques that you should try out during or after reading this article. It's not the ONLY way to get a smooth circle, but it's one way. Floating - What is it & Why should I care? Floating is used to keep your paint wet and fluid until the suspended pigment settles smoothly on the surface you are covering. When I use "floating" to describe a technique, there is an implication that the entire surface shares ONE single surface tension. Obviously, this technique won't get you all of the way. What it will do is get you familiar with your brand(s) of paint. Play around on your paper by floating shapes that share a single surface tension. If I'm not floating, what am I doing? Sinking? Sorry... I had to put at least ONE bad joke in here. Ok, Floating isn't gonna get that cloak painted... I need something else! Similar to my simplistic example of "paint a circle".... now we are going to fold a piece of paper like an accordian. Test your newly thinned paint by drawing it along the edge of the paper. Is it travelling into the folds? Yes? Too thin No? Probably just right (remember that paper is a little bit more absorbtive than primer. Again, play around on your paper. Try various consistencies of paint to see HOW FAR they travel down the folds. It's not that I can't do this, it's just that I can't seem to keep the paint smooth!!! There are several ways to deal with this. One is a trick, the others are techniques that you get better at with time. Technique one: Let each layer dry completely. If you don't let the paint dry, you'll create an un-even surface/blemish when your paint brush breaks through the wet paint's dry surface. Technique two: Test your paint before applying it to the figure. This let's you verify that you didn't do something silly like over-thin it, make it clumpy, make it grainy, or not thin it enough!. Trick: dullcoat your figure at major milestones. Some sealer's are actually clear primers. As such, thin coats of dull-coat protect your investment (of time), and essentially give you a fresh start with a smooth surface.... or at least a re-juvinated one. Additional info about thinning paint Although this information is implied above, I'm spelling it out again to increase the odds of it staying with you! As you thin paint, you run into the risk of altering it's chemical composition. If you do thin the paint too much, it's pigment will not distribute evenly on the surface you are covering. Additionally, there is some potential that the change in chemical composition will create clumps or grains that mar your painting surface. Finally, when you use flow improvers and/or extenders, the time it takes each layer to dry may be considerably longer than you are used to. Finally, if you found any of this article useful OR useless, drop me a line. Either way, it will help me improve this article. Thank You! |
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