Airbrush/Glazing compatibility?

[GTTechnics]

This may be a strange question, but it's been on my mind. I've become pretty comfortable using my airbrush for blends, but I've realized that I really need to improve my glazing ability to take my blends to the next level. After watching more than a couple of tutorials (mostly involving capes naturally), I've noticed that nobody seems to start with an airbrush blended surface. Painters that normally do anything possible with an airbrush instead start with a single color and glaze from there. Is there something to this? Does making a foundation blend to glaze over simply complicate or lengthen the process, or are the tutorials that I've been watching just trying to keep the lessons simple? Or in other words, are these for the most part either/or techniques or do people go back and forth between the two on the same part?
Thanks.

 

[Demihuman]

I am a little confused by your question. I use my AB to do a lot of basecoating and add basic highlights and shadows. If I have a large smooth feature, like a cloak I will paint that with the AB doing shadows and high lights and call that feature finished. If I am painting space marines I will do the whole thing with the AB and then come back and fix-up high lights and shadows to get them how I want them. I have better control with a paint brush so that is what I finish with. Occasionally I will go back an add an AB effect to a painted mini like if i want to do OSL or dust or something.

Certainly you can do whatever you like.

Check out this video:

http://tutofig.com/2013/05/video-painting-mohawk/

 

[Zab]

I have used my AB for base coats and initial highlights and then gone back to finish with the brush. If you are asking if you can glaze with the AB the answer is yes. I have only ever seen it done with the ghost tints from badger minitaire but I'm sure there are other ways. Go to Les' blog: awesome paint job, he does the glazing with yellow and red.

 

[GTTechnics]

I had a feeling this was going to be a confusing question. Here is a cape I did-

While I did more to the cape, the green stayed essentially the same as it sits here, all airbrush work. Now I realize that while this looks okay, it doesn't have the depth I need, and using a lot of thin layers for shadowing and highlighting is likely the best way to go for that. What I'm asking is, is the point that it's at in this picture a reasonable point to jump off and do layering, or is it better to start building the layers from a solid green? I know I can do whatever I want, but I've just noticed a trend of the latter online, and I've been having trouble with the former (but I'm new to it, so that may be just a given).

 

[Demihuman]

That looks pretty good to me but I would be very tempted to hit it with a much lighter highlight from the air bursh. I would try an off white mixed with your light green. Like the color of the dark vengeance terminator team mixed with your green hight light. Go slow and just hit the places you want highlighted. If that looks good maybe try a pass with just the off-white.

 

[MAXXxxx]

What I'm asking is, is the point that it's at in this picture a reasonable point to jump off and do layering, or is it better to start building the layers from a solid green? I know I can do whatever I want, but I've just noticed a trend of the latter online, and I've been having trouble with the former (but I'm new to it, so that may be just a given).

yes you can, and to be honest a lot of people who have access to an AB do it. And there is at least 3 tutorials I know where it's done (1 by MMentor (The violinist), 1 from figurines-tv.com(2 videos for a reddish cape, probably there are some others too) and 1by paintingbuddha(Volomir's parts)).

I think most start from a solid green base for 2 reasons:
- no access to AB or not enough experience controlling it (so it's for basecoating at max)
- if you use an AB for most of the shading, but doing the extra few steps with a brush it's noticeably different. The 'texture' of a shade done with an AB looks different than one done with a brush.

 

[airhead]

You've discovered the problem with using an AB and photoing minis. Very hard to make the level of contrast necessary.

Airbrushes tend to paint away from the light. While minis tend to be painted toward the light. That is with the airbrush I tend to start with a white base, then paint more and darker layers as I go, leaving the white as the highlight. With brushes, just the opposite. Paint the shadow color first then work up toward the light.

Another problem is that I'm lazy. Changing 5 to 7 colors in an airbrush to shoot a cape is a lot of work when I could just get a brush and to the same thing in about half the time - let alone cleanup...

As to the cape you've got, great for table top army. For the next level, you need a darker wash now to do the recesses (shadow) areas and an intermediate color between your highlight and the cape plus what you've got for a highlight, then a final highlight.

In all cases, I assume you'll come back and do the raised areas separately. (the insignia and trim).

 

[GTTechnics]

It's actually already finished. I just used it as an example. The maroon strip and DA icon was done with glazing. I now definitely think it would look better with dark shadows in the green via glazing-

I've been watching mostly youtube tutorials (ichiban, buypainted, APJ) that focus mainly on tabletop standard, and hot lead, which doesn't have any airbrush stuff. I'll have to check out miniature mentor and painting buddha soon. The figurines-tv site doesn't appear to have much in english, but I might be able to glean some info from it anyways.

 

[MAXXxxx]

well if you are careful you can still add the deep shadows if you want.

figurines-tv: yep mostly french and spanish, but there are still some that are good to watch, and some info can be gotten even without knowing the language.
from the other 2 I'd recommend the paintingbuddha now. While I love the MM videos, but most of them is watching paint dry. Quite often there is not enough explanation and sometimes something that could be shown in 5 minutes is shown for 30 minutes or so, to have the episode length I assume.

 

[GTTechnics]

So here's the follow up. I glazed it a bit. I might have gotten a bit carried away, but as I stated before, I'm really new to glazing. Had I not had to avoid the details I think I might have done a bit better, but I still think it's improved over just the airbrush. I did find that I liked using a bigger brush for glazing. I felt like it gave me more control over the paint flow. I might have to work on the white DA symbol a bit more. View attachment 23068

 

[Demihuman]

Yeah more work on the white. I think if you take your white and add just a bit of your glazing shadow color you can go in and clean it up pretty easily. The issue then is that it might start to look a little over worked but that is probably something to worry about on the next mini. What about some dark washes on the metals?

 

[airhead]

I like the shadows. Even on the white.

I always wondered about their jet pack exhaust. Exhaust and capes just never seemed like a good idea.