Scotty's Painting log

[scottshoemaker]

I finally got an airbrush.  So the Orks are on the block to get painted.  Rather than go over the typical stuff I'll be showing my progress (to keep me motivated) and my experiments.  I can't seem to find info on some ideas that pop into my head so as I try stuff out I'll post my findings.  Hopefully I can post some short videos too.

 

My goal is too use the airbrush as much as possible for all stages of the the painting, mainly because I'm lazy.

[Romans832]

Keep it up stud, love following your work

[scottshoemaker]

So here's my first test panel.

 

I like the crusty red.  The slop looks about right.  I don't like the rust drybrushed on.  It blends too well with the red.  I have some pigments I'm going to try to get streaks and pooling.

[scottshoemaker]

I few insights.   I use Photoshop and it occured to me that I may be able to do all the toneality prior to applying the red.  Red and yellow tend to be somewhat translucent, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Update: If you poke around on Youtube you'll find this technique in more detail.  I guess I'm behind the curve.

 

I started with the overall shading and highlighting.  I worked up from black, light grey for the midtones, pure white for the highlights.

 

At that point I figures I may as well run a black wash for some definition.

 

 

 

Then red on top.  This red is an even coat across the entire piece.

 

 

The image is lacking contrast but the pretone idea worked.  From here I'll seal it up and add some weathering.

I need to balance detail with time, so for now I'll keep it simple.

[JMGraham]

 

I like the crusty red.  The slop looks about right.  I don't like the rust drybrushed on.  It blends too well with the red.  I have some pigments I'm going to try to get streaks and pooling.

 

Hmmm... the rust actually looks great, and so does the red. Maybe you just need to darken up the edges of the rust, to differentiate it from the red better? If you want subtle, id try adding thin lines of watered-down brown ink around the outside of the rust patches until it looks right. If you want to go less subtle, maybe sponge on some black or very dark brown, and then paint the rust over those dark spots, leaving some darkness showing at the edges. Kind of like how many folks do chipped paint.

 

For the second post, with the method, why not do the wash after the red, instead of before the red? It'll up your contrast a bit more, and won't change the amount of time spent.

 

Man, I've got to get an airbrush!

[Gunnerson]

I really like your rust effect! I have had some success using squig orange from GW and combining it with rust pigment mixed with Vallejo Medium.

[scottshoemaker]

Hmmm... the rust actually looks great, and so does the red. Maybe you just need to darken up the edges of the rust, to differentiate it from the red better? If you want subtle, id try adding thin lines of watered-down brown ink around the outside of the rust patches until it looks right. If you want to go less subtle, maybe sponge on some black or very dark brown, and then paint the rust over those dark spots, leaving some darkness showing at the edges. Kind of like how many folks do chipped paint.

 

For the second post, with the method, why not do the wash after the red, instead of before the red? It'll up your contrast a bit more, and won't change the amount of time spent.

 

Man, I've got to get an airbrush!

The image isn't great, I haven't actually applied any weathering yet, just the shading/highlighting.  I need to one more highlight, seal it up then do a brown wash for a dirty shade.   Then I'll do some worn metal to the edges (I've narrowed that down to either silver pen with a glaze or a graphite powder rub,whichever is faster) and play with a rusty pigment wash.

[scottshoemaker]

First Tip:   I should know better on this one. When using an iphone for pics, Place something neutral grey to focus on in your image.  This will get you the right tonality. 

 

Second Tip: I've been thinning everything I'm putting in the airbrush 50/50 with Airbrush thinner.  That's my starting point.  I'm using Vallejo Air for paints and Vallejo Washes, with Vallejo Thinner.  It's easier to add more thinner if need be.  I'm using no oil based products due to the stiky toxic factor.  I'm not removed enough from the rest of the house.  I know the effects can be cool but that's just not an option.  Plus I'm lazy and don't want to deal with the cleanup.

Right.  I picked up some Vallejo Oiled Earth wash to crud up the piece.

 

I sprayed it on a relatively even coat.  I then ran straight thinner through the brush and "chased" the wash around to force it off the centers and high spots.  I let gravity help me here.

 

I like the crudness now.  I'll highlight then add a rusty wash.  Crossed fingers that works. 

[PourSpelur]

Looks fantastic! Are you going to try the graphite? I'd love to see the results.

[scottshoemaker]

Looks fantastic! Are you going to try the graphite? I'd love to see the results.

I picked up a tube tube of graphite in the lube section for $2, and a soft pencil.  I'll play with these for effect and post the results.

[scottshoemaker]

Putting rust pigment through an airbrush didn't get get the result I wanted.  Just an even coat that only dulled the piece. 

But I have another plan.

 

Anyway,  I tested using graphite for metal effects.  I picked up Graphite Powder at the hardware store, check the lubricant section:

 

I also picked up a really soft pencil:

 

I ordered up one of these as well:

 

And the results:

 

The pencil is really good for picking up a sharp edge, the powder is pretty good when rubbed on with a Q-Tip.  I found that it can polished a bit after application.  The sharpie is really bright, I used it like a highlight on the handle. Combined with washes and a bit of rust it doesn't look bad.

I think it would look best to show wear on handles and such.

[scottshoemaker]

Right.  I sealed up the model with floor polish to protect it and used some GW Typhus Corrosion around the base.  The Corrosion Paint is wicked cool as it dries rough and gritty.  I think it's great on it's own or as a base for further weathering.

 

Holy crap, the floor polish is super glossy. So much so that it worried me.

Here's what I used:

 

Straight through the airbrush.  $6.  On Dr Faust's Painting Clinic he made Magic Wash Quick Shade with it.  That's gonna get tested.

 

Anyway I matte finished the piece and did a graphite rub on the edges.  An interesting effect but not right for orks.  Chaos?

 

 

I buffed the graphite on with a makeup sponge, and used the soft pencil to pickup the edges

 

I've got some rust effects stuff coming, I think the rust as a base with the graphite on wear spots like handles would look better.

[fluger]

This is fascinating.  I like seeing your trials and errors.  

[MidoriMan]

There's this stuff I stumbled upon in a craft store called "Americana Staining/Antiquing Medium." What I've found is that it gave acrylic paints/inks similar properties to an oil wash, only much thicker. I recommend you get a bottle to experiment with. It's interesting.

[Brick Bungalow]

Loving the graphite. Have you experimented at all with pastel chalk for shading really light areas?

[scottshoemaker]

I'm currently keeping my focus on achieving a good, crusty red with weathering for my orks.  I'm sure I'll check out other things as I go.

 

Here the result of spraying on this formula:

4 parts water

1 part floor polish

5 parts brown wash

 

 

It's  just ok, but too subtle for what I want to do.

 

I think what I need to is a tone base (grey shades only) Preshade around rivets and panel lines with wash and micron pen. Then put down the Typhus Corrosion on key edges and places I want the paint to lift.  I'll then put down some chipping medium on the Corrosion.  Coat the whole thing in red and chip the paint.  Then I'll figure which rust looks best. in the chipped areas.  In between the stages I'll seal with "Future"

 

By the way I picked up the plastic turntable seen in the pic so I can spin my piece around with touching it.  $4 at TAP in PDX.

[scottshoemaker]

I wanted easy rust, so I picked up this off Amazon for $12:

 

 

Paint on the metal paint, let dry, then paint on the acid glaze and wait.  Easy enough...

 

The metal paint goes on about a mid tone grey, hard to see in these pics but nothing exciting

 

Here's the acid glaze, just looks wet...

 

Next morning the change was slight, so I hit it again and got this:

 

I don't like it on the surface panel, but it's not bad in the cracks on the lower part.  I think the trick is put the paint and the glaze on relativitly thick.  I'll try a combined arms approach today and see how it looks with all the ideas combined.

[scottshoemaker]

So I redid the whole deal to get a better idea of this rust stuff:

 

The rust itself took two coats of the acid to get this effect.  I think it's ok for a model, but not a gaming piece.  I could add powders to it and weather it more, but honestly that's more effort than I want to put in for this project.  I'll just go with a simpler solution.

[scottshoemaker]

I went with a pigment method for this rust test.  I put down a coat of Typhus corrosion.  I then mixed 1:1 acrylic matt varnish and airbrush thinner as a binder and added dark rust pigment till I got a thick paint, or thin paste.  This I dappled on the Corrosion with on old brush.  I then mixed up as second batch with a lighter color and when right over the previous rust.  I then sealed the whole deal in two coats of matt varnish.

 

A bit much, but absolutley better.

 

 

On a side note I wanted to see if I could put on a layer of dust on.

Here's my stuff:

 

Mixed so it coats the side of the cup

 

I masked the top of the piece:

 

I put the spray on with nice even light coats, keeping it heavier on the bottom.

 

 

Not bad at all and it doesn't kill the rust effect.

 

I'll be at Ordo tommorrow night if anyone wants to see the test pieces.

[scottshoemaker]

Current state of the painting:

 

I was on the fence about adding more contrast to the rivets, but lazy wins out.  I still have lots to do on my orks so I need to strike a balance.

[scottshoemaker]

Moar contrast!

[Justjokin]

Ah, you have arrived!  Nice work with the airbrush.  Going for more contrast in the pre-shading before you put a candy paint over it delivers great results.  It just takes bravery and commitment!  

[scottshoemaker]

Finished with Trukk 1.  I ended up doing some brush work to get the shading I wanted.  I almost forgot the whitewalls!

 

[PourSpelur]

I want the full-sized version of that!

Looks great;)

[scottshoemaker]

Second trukk done: The rusty metal on the tires doesn't show up in the pics, much too subtle.  I used a different method on the next one though...