I finished another batch of Saxons this morning. They were slightly disappointing in quality in the end, I'm not sure why - maybe because I'm getting lazy or impatient. In particular I was unhappy with the faces and bare legs - the usual wash and highlight that I use leading to a rather messy result. I think the reason may be that in the wash mixture that I use, my current white glue is not dissolving properly (the WH guide to painting suggests you mix ink, water, a drop of flesh paint and some white glue). Any suggestions welcome.
I'm now up to 74 spear wielding peasants, 8 skirmishers and 16 heavy infantry plus a General and standard bearer piece. About 800 points worth.
But to get to 2000 points, an awful lot more are needed!
The idea behind adding white glue & co is to break up the surface tension of the water used to dilute the paint. As you know, water has surface tension, which causes (among other effects) it to "curl up" where it meets another medium, or when it is forced into a small crevice or gap (as e.g. the relief on a figure). This has the effect of 'pulling up' any pigment grains in the wash which will lead to ugly rings around the low points and other unsightly effects instead of a nice distribution of pigment in the low spots.
ReplyDeleteIf you break up the surface tension, the water will flow much more unrestrictedly and will end up in the 'throughs' of the figure, along with the pigment, thus resulting in the wanted effect.
Other often cited agents to reduce surface tension or simple dish washing detergent, special 'flow enhancer' solutions from the likes of [Winsor & Newton](http://www.winsornewton.com) -- which are basically fancy detergents -- and some brands of floor polishing wax (the famed [Future Floor Wax](http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html) being one).
However, I find that no matter how much you break down surface tension, the results stay largely a hit and miss affair for me, so I have moved away from using washes regularly quite some time ago.
Good to hear painting is still going!
ReplyDeleteCurrently, I'm painting up some more fantasy units, for the game I would like to organize in a few weeks -- maybe we should start agreeing on a date.
From my GW-junkie days (mostly 1988 - 1994), I still have a ton of unpainted Citadel miniatures. My vow to myself was that I would not buy anything new before everything is painted, and magically, I've been succeeding in this for the past 2 years or so.
Since I started painting again some 4 weeks ago, I finished The Skaven Screaming Bell, pulled by 2 Rat Ogres; 12 Barbarians; an Air Elemental; 2 Minotaurs; 3 1/200 SF buildings; 4 25mm huts; 5 Space Marines; and some other loose figures. A bit of everything right now, but there's slow progress. Also, I've taken the stance that I paint what I feel like at that point, not feeling any pressure because of 'projects that have to be finished'.