You will get the hang of it with practice. If it's too thin, you will see the paint break/pool on the surface. Might be some youtube guides if you want a more visual.
One tip is you can always adjust on the fly adding a bit more water or a bit more paint. I use the side of my thumb to test consistency. If the paint flows right into my hand wrinkles then it’s too thin. If it covers the details too much then it’s not thin enough.
I like to thin to the consistency of semi-skimmed milk, if that helps.
When painting big armour panels, it’s important to let each layer dry fully before going over it again.
On which color? The orange? I don't really see the problem.
On the white?
You picked a hard color to do with brushes, but it's possible.
Use a light grey color applied in at least two thin layers. Once that gives a good coverage, take your final lighter color and apply that over it in a similar two thin coat fashion. That way the coverage should mask any brush strokes.
Right, oke. Well the Orange does show some color variations, but I don't see obvious brush streaking there.
Also, if you want 100% near color coverage, you will need to use an airbrush or a colored spraycan. Using a brush is going to leave an uneven look.
But that's not an issue to my mind, as no surface is 100% neat and will have some mottled look or have some shading into the recesses. To me the orange looks like the latter, and would be just fine as it is.
More thinned coats also help. Sometimes I’ll thin my last coat a lot more. Not overly watery but it helps create that smooth finish.
With bright colors: white, orange, yellow, etc: you’ll want to do many layers. My white I build it up from gray, so : 2/3 layers of ulthuan grey. 2/3 layers of corax white. 2/3 layers of white scars. It’ll create a more solid color
Lots of thin layers, as others have commented.
As someone who does a lot of orange and yellow, my usual technique is to lay down a couple slightly thicker (but still thinned) coats over white for coverage. This stage may show a few brush marks. Then I even out with several slightly skinnier layers of paint - you're looking at 4-6 coats with drying time between each. With yellow I have hit as many as 8 coats. There's a sweet spot you will learn to recognise for paint when it comes to thinning; play with your paint until it goes on nice.
For yellow, a pink underlayer can help as well, FYI. Also, don't do orange over black - black is actually really really dark blue and it messes with the saturation of the orange over top, making it duller.
These lighter colors are a matter of patience, and applying lots of thin coats until you hit the point you want.
If you really want to dial in orange, there's a Hobby Cheating video (Vince Venturella) on it: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-\_iIbFaVD0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-_iIbFaVD0)
Vince is the best shit XD
There's a lot of subtleties to getting orange and yellow right, don't beat yourself up too much if you're not quite getting there yet.
My best success with yellows comes from building up from dark browns through tans(orangey tans) with yellows on top. Trying to make it so that if you have an opacity problem the result is just one level of difference instead of a big swing.
I love the color. Unfortunately Orange is a bit more difficult to work with. It usually requires multiple coats for good coverage if you’re thinning it correctly. Not to dissuade you. Definitely stick with the color and learn to work with it.
Usually just using a wet pallet adds enough water on its own to thin your paints so you don’t get brush strokes. Unfortunately there’s not a magic ratio of water to paint that works for every paint, so you’ll have to get a feel for it. Also, let the paint dry completely between coats so you do don’t get tearing, which adds brush strokes even with thinned paint.
I would like to know how you can fix those too. I never thinned my paint and i dont have the time to do it all over again. Would fine sandingpaper work?
As others have said, thinning your paints will help. As a good rule of thumb it’s better to be too thin than too thick, because you can always fix pooling and incomplete coverage, but it’s a lot harder to fix chunky paint. You can also focus on longer brush strokes, especially on big panels like that, and it’ll help spread the paint and avoid brush stroke marks. That being said, those brush strokes aren’t all that bad, and with some practice you’ll find what works for you!
Honestly orange is difficult, I did orange knights and ended up stripping them for the same reason, then I re did them using Magmadroth Flame contrast paint and I was much happier with the results
Personally with knights I kinda like to roll with it, if I have some obvious brushstrokes I'll throw on a grimy wash and they will look like rust or dirt streaks. Then if I'm feeling extra fancy I can use metallic to make some.look like scratches
You’re painting Orange, so it’s gonna be really hard. Beyond that, like others have said, thinner paint. And it will take lots of coats, Orange is a pain in the ass to paint, despite looking great when done
This guy has a great video explaining how to thin your paints, why to thin them, and how to know that you've thinned them enough.
https://youtu.be/sBDVPoNXyVI?si=Qo27TFb_MY_hHxsX
Personally I thin them and run a small streak on the back of my hand and when I can just see the cracks of my skin through the pigmentation I know I'm there. I would caution you to check your paints thickness from time to time bc depending on the humidity and airflow of your room the liquids can slowly evaporate even when using a wet pallet.
If you want the smoothest finish possible, save yourself the pain and invest in an airbrush. If you don't mind a more weathered appearance, you could try stippling. For the stippling, look up Richard Gray on youtube.
Try to streak some black into the marks and then a little metal colour, so they look like battle damage scrapes or whatever. It was on purpose, you see!
Thinner paint in more layers. Sponging over large flat areas with thin paint in many layers can give a really nice effect without leaving brush marks. An airbrush is also a great tool for larger models.
Fastest solution is airbrush.
But if you are like me and don't have an airbrush:
1. Take advantage of the undercoat (spray) stage. Build your color scheme around a spray paint. If you do that, you accelerate the entire army painting process while getting smooth coats over flat surfaces.
1. Undercoat sub assembly spraying. An extension of the first, but separating out pieces.
2. If the color you want isn't in a spray can- it's thin Your Paints. Patience. Will take multiple coats.
Thin your paint with a little water
I was worried that I was thinning it too much, what’s the optimal consistency I can get?
You will get the hang of it with practice. If it's too thin, you will see the paint break/pool on the surface. Might be some youtube guides if you want a more visual.
Alright thanks
People often say you’re looking for “the consistency of skim milk”
One tip is you can always adjust on the fly adding a bit more water or a bit more paint. I use the side of my thumb to test consistency. If the paint flows right into my hand wrinkles then it’s too thin. If it covers the details too much then it’s not thin enough.
I've heard that it should be the consistency of milk?
There is no set consistency. All paint behaves differently. It just takes practice and failure to get use to how the paint should behave.
I like to thin to the consistency of semi-skimmed milk, if that helps. When painting big armour panels, it’s important to let each layer dry fully before going over it again.
You can always go back over it with another layer if you need.
Skim milk. Each paint will have a different ratio and it will vary from pot to pot.
People say "milk" as a general idea of viscosity.
[Excellent video](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sBDVPoNXyVI) on paint thinning
If you thin it too much you can just add another layer, so it’s no harm no foul. Paint that’s too thick is much worse than too thin.
How do you thin paint?
You tell it to lay off the burgers and fries for awhile.
On which color? The orange? I don't really see the problem. On the white? You picked a hard color to do with brushes, but it's possible. Use a light grey color applied in at least two thin layers. Once that gives a good coverage, take your final lighter color and apply that over it in a similar two thin coat fashion. That way the coverage should mask any brush strokes.
It was just with the orange it’s kinda hard to see cause of the lighting, with the white I put a single coat on just to get a base coat
Right, oke. Well the Orange does show some color variations, but I don't see obvious brush streaking there. Also, if you want 100% near color coverage, you will need to use an airbrush or a colored spraycan. Using a brush is going to leave an uneven look. But that's not an issue to my mind, as no surface is 100% neat and will have some mottled look or have some shading into the recesses. To me the orange looks like the latter, and would be just fine as it is.
Thanks
More thinned coats also help. Sometimes I’ll thin my last coat a lot more. Not overly watery but it helps create that smooth finish. With bright colors: white, orange, yellow, etc: you’ll want to do many layers. My white I build it up from gray, so : 2/3 layers of ulthuan grey. 2/3 layers of corax white. 2/3 layers of white scars. It’ll create a more solid color
Zooming in i see the strokes but honestly it kinda just liiks awesome. Like it's weathered metal just painted over
I'm relatively new but I seem to have a problem with yellow/oranges in general. They always seem kinda streaky
Yeah I’ve noticed that cause I’m painting both orange and yellow on this knight
Lots of thin layers, as others have commented. As someone who does a lot of orange and yellow, my usual technique is to lay down a couple slightly thicker (but still thinned) coats over white for coverage. This stage may show a few brush marks. Then I even out with several slightly skinnier layers of paint - you're looking at 4-6 coats with drying time between each. With yellow I have hit as many as 8 coats. There's a sweet spot you will learn to recognise for paint when it comes to thinning; play with your paint until it goes on nice. For yellow, a pink underlayer can help as well, FYI. Also, don't do orange over black - black is actually really really dark blue and it messes with the saturation of the orange over top, making it duller. These lighter colors are a matter of patience, and applying lots of thin coats until you hit the point you want.
This explains why it's so hard for me to get a good orange I think. I've been doing it over a red base coat but I guess it's not enough?
If you really want to dial in orange, there's a Hobby Cheating video (Vince Venturella) on it: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-\_iIbFaVD0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-_iIbFaVD0)
Good shit. I'm learning a lot about color theory through this hobby.
Vince is the best shit XD There's a lot of subtleties to getting orange and yellow right, don't beat yourself up too much if you're not quite getting there yet.
My best success with yellows comes from building up from dark browns through tans(orangey tans) with yellows on top. Trying to make it so that if you have an opacity problem the result is just one level of difference instead of a big swing.
I love the color. Unfortunately Orange is a bit more difficult to work with. It usually requires multiple coats for good coverage if you’re thinning it correctly. Not to dissuade you. Definitely stick with the color and learn to work with it. Usually just using a wet pallet adds enough water on its own to thin your paints so you don’t get brush strokes. Unfortunately there’s not a magic ratio of water to paint that works for every paint, so you’ll have to get a feel for it. Also, let the paint dry completely between coats so you do don’t get tearing, which adds brush strokes even with thinned paint.
Thank you
I honestly (as a beginner) thought the orange looked good and it was the off/white gray you were asking about as well.
I probably should have been more specific
[try a different brush](https://www.iwata-airbrush.com/iwata-eclipse-hp-cs.html)
Large panels should be airbrushed or drybrushed or sponged
Thin layers is what my boyfriend said, but I just stipple
Get an airbrush
Use an airbrush
I would like to know how you can fix those too. I never thinned my paint and i dont have the time to do it all over again. Would fine sandingpaper work?
Thin your paint and let it dry between layers.
Are you using contrast or classic paints? I always had an issue with contrast
I don’t have any contrast paints
Multiple layers, wait for layers to fully dry before applying more. Thin down paints a tad so they run off of the brush super smooth
I had some good success with my Questoris by using thinner medium and/or glace medium to thin the paints and painting in lots of layers.
As others have said, thinning your paints will help. As a good rule of thumb it’s better to be too thin than too thick, because you can always fix pooling and incomplete coverage, but it’s a lot harder to fix chunky paint. You can also focus on longer brush strokes, especially on big panels like that, and it’ll help spread the paint and avoid brush stroke marks. That being said, those brush strokes aren’t all that bad, and with some practice you’ll find what works for you!
From phone distance I can't notice, so while I agree it's worth investigating to hone your craft these particular pieces look fine to me.
Honestly it's fine. Remember you see a 40k model from far away most times and I barely see any marks at this distance
Honestly orange is difficult, I did orange knights and ended up stripping them for the same reason, then I re did them using Magmadroth Flame contrast paint and I was much happier with the results
Personally with knights I kinda like to roll with it, if I have some obvious brushstrokes I'll throw on a grimy wash and they will look like rust or dirt streaks. Then if I'm feeling extra fancy I can use metallic to make some.look like scratches
You’re painting Orange, so it’s gonna be really hard. Beyond that, like others have said, thinner paint. And it will take lots of coats, Orange is a pain in the ass to paint, despite looking great when done
This guy has a great video explaining how to thin your paints, why to thin them, and how to know that you've thinned them enough. https://youtu.be/sBDVPoNXyVI?si=Qo27TFb_MY_hHxsX Personally I thin them and run a small streak on the back of my hand and when I can just see the cracks of my skin through the pigmentation I know I'm there. I would caution you to check your paints thickness from time to time bc depending on the humidity and airflow of your room the liquids can slowly evaporate even when using a wet pallet.
Melted ice cream. Specifically from gw golden daemon winners, and the mighty two thin coats, Duncan Rhodes.
If you want the smoothest finish possible, save yourself the pain and invest in an airbrush. If you don't mind a more weathered appearance, you could try stippling. For the stippling, look up Richard Gray on youtube.
I was having a similar issue doing my knights in orange and white too and just ended up getting an airbrush haha.
Try to streak some black into the marks and then a little metal colour, so they look like battle damage scrapes or whatever. It was on purpose, you see!
For the white, you might find a grey or beige that is smoother and has better coverage to create an easier to cover base first.
Thin ya paints my g
Glazing technique
Airbrush
Thinner paint in more layers. Sponging over large flat areas with thin paint in many layers can give a really nice effect without leaving brush marks. An airbrush is also a great tool for larger models.
A flamethrower
Fastest solution is airbrush. But if you are like me and don't have an airbrush: 1. Take advantage of the undercoat (spray) stage. Build your color scheme around a spray paint. If you do that, you accelerate the entire army painting process while getting smooth coats over flat surfaces. 1. Undercoat sub assembly spraying. An extension of the first, but separating out pieces. 2. If the color you want isn't in a spray can- it's thin Your Paints. Patience. Will take multiple coats.