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Post by bruce on Dec 21, 2015 4:23:41 GMT
I am looking for some opinions from you guys on painting thin lines. I hate doing crossbelts in particular, but I want to get better on lines in general. On H&R figures this is pretty much a free hand detail and even smaller than other manufacturers. Is there a brush that works particularly well for this? A technique? Or do I just need to practice a lot! Bruce
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Post by ooiittee on Dec 21, 2015 6:28:34 GMT
I suppose I can talk a little to technique. It comes down to enamel or acrylic paints as they differ greatly. Acrylic water based paints tend to have a smaller margin between, to much paint on the brush that leads to bleeding and, to little that it starts to dry and transfer from brush to figure is impeded. To this end a shift to enamels is a good move. (Note that I use acrylics and love them but of this is your goal you need to look at all areas).
Brush tips are where the detail is needed here it has less to do with a smaller brush and more to do with a finer maintained tip. Alot of people don't know why a brush starts to split at the tip. I assume we take care cleaning, never rubbing the bottom of the jar and gently wiping the liquid off on a soft surface. But the most damage we do to our brushes is when we paint with them. Any paint that gets into where the brissles met the handle will dry and set the bristles in odd alignment to the others.
So first steps for me would be consider my paints and how my brushes are being maintained.
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Post by tim on Dec 21, 2015 6:29:36 GMT
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Post by ooiittee on Dec 21, 2015 6:31:13 GMT
Agree on the pens Tim. I have had good effects using them also. But as you say no whites.
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Post by Richard on Dec 22, 2015 11:55:00 GMT
Army painter insane detail brush they are all I use .
Richard
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Post by bruce on Dec 29, 2015 20:12:47 GMT
Belated thanks guys, hope you are enjoying the holidays! Just now getting time to resume painting and ordering some more brushes based on your recommendations. I have some Sakura pens, I need to remember I have them and go to them for more detail. I have found some other paint pens in white online, I will report back when I try them.
Oolittee, thanks for the tutorial, I never knew how brushes got wrecked. I thought I was taking care of them, but I guess thorough and careful cleaning are more important than I thought. Also, I have only been using acrylics, will go back to enamels for those finishing touches.
I am thinking about entering the contest! Thanks, Bruce
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Post by tim on Dec 29, 2015 22:58:54 GMT
Looking forward to the report on the white pens Bruce.
Tim
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Post by bruce on Jan 1, 2016 3:54:21 GMT
Got the first white pen, a Heritage A-Line Alcohol marker. The tip is just right but the color, brick white, which looks like regular white on the outside color indicator, is actually almost brown and barely shows up on my figures. No good.
Based on ooiittee's comments about using enamel instead of water based paint, I bought some oil paint, Windsor & Newton zinc white, and a cheap 3/0 round brush. He was right and this actually did pretty well on doing cross belts. It is quite thick and makes line painting with a brush easier. You can "wash" the brush out without solvents using some washing up liquid (no water). Just swish the brush around in it and wipe on a towel several times and its clean.
More pens arriving next week. Bruce
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Post by rct75001 on Jan 1, 2016 8:05:44 GMT
Bruce - I use Humbrol White enamel for my fine lines - seems to work quite well and dries in an hour or so.
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Post by ooiittee on Jan 6, 2016 1:52:46 GMT
Do you find the oil paints don't dry Bruce? It always feels tacky to me. Enamels work better albeit lack the gluggyness of oil.
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Post by bruce on Jan 6, 2016 3:36:39 GMT
Yup, the drying time is long. I usually have a lot of other stuff to work on so I set the oil paint guys aside overnight and they were fine the next day. I like the texture of the oil paint for working with, but the drying time is a factor. Not sure how they will take the matte sealer either so I am not rushing to do that. Next try will be the enamel, still awaiting Army Painter Insane detail and Psycho brushes as well as Rosemary. I am careful not to have too much paint on the brush, maybe these will give me the best combo with the enamel you recommended. The pens seem like a great quickie fix, but I think they may be better for spotting and darker lines that can be a little less precise. They also may damage the base paint underneath when doing lines if you aren't careful.
Some of the white paint pens have arrived from Sharpie. These are oil as well, thick looking tips, but held at the right angle I made some decent lines with both medium and fine, as well as some sloppy ones. Probably not for me. Strangely, the white extra fine Sharpie has a great looking tip, and draws some decent lines on paper, but holds water based paint, which, as you have pointed out, is harder to use for this. Its hard to control the amount of paint getting on the tip, and its inconsistent for me.
Bottom line is that I just have a hard time with this on the HR figures. I have been inspired to improve my skills by the work I see on the forum so I need to practice. Still thinking about entering the contest with a couple of different selections, one of which includes cross belts, so the motivation is there. Thanks to all for the help. Bruce
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Post by bruce on Feb 5, 2016 15:52:35 GMT
Final verdict on the pens: I did not find any that worked really well for cross belts. As you must "draw" a straight line with them across the sometimes bumpy texture of the front part of the uniform, I find the pens do not cover as consistently as a brush. They are useful for other things, but there are apparently no short cuts for me on the cross belts. Bruce
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Post by tim on Feb 5, 2016 16:00:57 GMT
I think is a sad fact of life with the white pens that they have to be very fluid to work in the pen and that means cutting back on pigment so coverage is poor
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Post by profjohn on Feb 28, 2016 7:19:12 GMT
I found a sable 24 x 0 brush in an art shop. It is a delicate thing but does the job. I also use a 5 x 0 but generally I find a well maintained 0 is ok for most things.
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