Technique Toolbox: Pre-Brushing & Washing
April 1, 2014 by elromanozo
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Not generally a fan of drybrushing unless I am looking for the grainy effect for some reason, i.e. when emulating dust on a miniature.
However I can see how you could paint an “army” realtively quickly using this technique. And in any event, another great video from you Romain twas a pleasure to watch.
Thanks a lot !
With proper drybrushing, you can give an “airbrushed” quality to your surfaces and miniatures… But only if you are patient and scrupulously use very dry brushes. I’ve filmed a dry-brushing tutorial besides this one, you’ll see.
I’m quite new to miniature painting, so I’m soaking up everything you are doing like a soggy tissue, he, he. I was really challenged by what you have done in this episode. I have used the dry brush technique but only at the end of the process. How novel and effective to use at the start. I’m certainly going to test this. I have about 400 Greek miniatures to paint through (probably a ten year project at my speed). I’m trying to find an approach that I’m happy with before I make my final technique commitment – this just might… Read more »
Thanks for the references ! I had indeed heard of Chris Kuksi before, but i’m happy to see he still produces works of art. Do wait for my tutorials on more “conventional” techniques (dry brushing, Foundry system, ‘eavy metal, etc.) before making up your mind… But test out techniques and experiment on a miniature before comitting to anything ! The only advice you’ll ever need is : experiment, experiment, experiment. There is a time for listening to how other people do things, but the main thing that will make you progress is painting, painting, painting. Find out for yourself what… Read more »
Just wow. Have never heard of this technique before and must admit at the start of the video I didn’t believe it would be one to add to my toolbox. Already planning to try this out. Just goes to show you’ve always got more to learn when it comes to painting miniatures.
Thanks ! 🙂
I’m still learning a lot myself. Every new miniature is something of a challenge, and one learns more with each one of them.
It’s the same in every other aspect of life. And a good thing too, otherwise, I think we’d get bored to death.
Hi Romain, another fab tutorial.
Obviously using this method removes the need for a basecoat, so would you say this method is better when you want a darker look to your mini, or say for tinted dark armour? If you really want the colours to ‘pop’ best to prime white and basecoat as per the first tutorial?
Thank you, and thanks to everyone for their kind words ! 🙂
Yes, a darker primer will darken your miniature quite a lot, even with more traditional basecoating techniques…
I voluntarily did not dry-brush too much because I wanted a darker look, and I wanted to keep it simple and short without too many successive brushings, so it remained very dark.
It’s entirely possible to experiment with that technique and with different colours and tones instead of black.
There is a “proper” dry-brushing tutorial in this series as well, by the way… to be aired.
Don’t try to drybrush with a damp brush. It just doesn’t work. You can either:
a) buy more brushes. Cheap watercolor brushes (squirrel or even synthetic) are okay for this.
b) don’t clean the brush unnecessarily. You can get away with this as long as you’re working with close colors like moving from light gray to white, but it tends to ruin brushes even faster than regular drybrushing.
“Wet-brushing” has its place, but you have to know what you’re doing.
Exactly what I’ve been saying ! 🙂
Except I’m not against cleaning the brush every now and then. It’s all about knowing how to properly dry it.
I find it easier, faster and safer to just switch to fresh brush. One mistake with a damp brush and you’ve got streaks all over your model. I hate correcting mistakes. Another thing is that with drybrushing it may take several strokes to get a visible effect. I often use a different hold when drybrushing, holding the brush between two fingers and flicking back and forth rapidly (do take a couple of slow test strokes first, though). Don’t press harder, brush more. Once you get the hang of it, you can use drybrushing to create variations even on flat surfaces,… Read more »
Apparently I failed to include a pic… blah, go here:
http://www.smallcuts.net/photo/photo_view.jsp?id=12559
Interesting example of applying dry-brushing “straight”…
Not at all the subject of this tutorial, though. This was pre-bruhsing, not just dry-brushing. I also wasn’t applying the technique on terrain : in this series of tutorials, we’re only painting single miniatures, and always the same (for purposes of technique comparison).
There’s a dry-brushing tutorial that you might find interesting, to be aired. It’s much closer to what you do.
I’ve learned a lot about painting already, even though this is only the second tutorial!
Would using a diluted paint instead of a wash result in a similar effect? I was just wondering, simply because there are so many different shades of paint compared with the number of washes out there.
I guess that I could always just tweak the colour of a wash with a little paint; up until now, I’ve been too scared to try it, but it can obviously be done.
Romain is now my new hero – love these tutorials!
Thanks ! That’s why I’m here ! 🙂 Pre-mixed washes are a very recent invention. And THEY ARE just diluted paint… They just add solvent instead of water so it doesn’t dry in the pot. Some brands add special solvents so as to make the wash less/more surfactant, whether they want the final product to go into the creases of your miniature or to spread evenly and tint the surfaces. But don’t let that fool you. Same pigments, same results. Washes are new weapons in the painter’s arsenal, and they can be used in a variety of ways (and master… Read more »
Having tried to learn how to paint from youtube I have found these toolbox videos to be the most useful by far! Hopefully I will be paint things I am actually proud to admit I have painted 😀
Thanks ! It’s very gratifying. Don’t hesitate to show us the resuilts !
I am going to try out this technique on one of my warmachine casters, the High Reclaimer. Will try to post some pics when it is done 🙂
Thank you. Very informative. I will try this in the very near future. I am really enjoying your series here.
A friend of mine used this technique to get a Nurgle Chaos army ready for a fantasy tournament last year. The end result was really very impressive for something that was painted in such a short space of time.
Wow… this is the technique I have been searching for all these years… It has solved a problem of how to create navy blue for no matter the technique I have used navy blue on uniforms has always gone too light or looked too flat..thanks for an inspirational tutorial.
Glad I could help ! 🙂
If I’m understanding the tutorial correctly (I have the artistic sense of a one eyed bat), this seems like a good contrast / compliment to the guide GW used in painting Eldar Iyanden Craftworld models. – Was that perhaps the White Dwarf Romain was referring to? In that one, if I remember right, it was just simply, spraying the model White, then using their Cassandora Yellow Shade (aka a wash) in a few layers over it, with an edge highlight of white. This makes a similar technique seem a lot more viable for black undercoating and the prebrushing certainly makes… Read more »
Not that technique, and not that magazine either… It’s another use of dry-brush. It’s quite different from “straight” dry-brush AND from this pre-brushing technique. It’s a bit of a mix. I do have a good idea of what you’re talking about, and there’s a tutorial coming in the Technique Toolbox on just that ‘eavy metal technique. See also my other dry brush tutorial in Technique Toolbox (to be aired) and my other other dry brush tutorial on an orcish banner, right here on Beasts of War. It’s not about artistic sense, it’s about the subtle differences in how to use… Read more »
I intuitively used the prebrushing technique on the very first miniatures I painted. They were Citadel’s Vespero’s Vendetta with their billowing red cloaks.
The more experienced wargamers in my gaming club looked at me going and thought I was going insane. “Why are you painting black and white if you want those cloaks to be red?!” Of course the end result looked quite fine. 🙂
Bravo ! Experimenting and thinking outside the box is how we make progress.