Been awhile...

[the kid]

I haven't painted in quite a long time, really i couldnt keep up with the cost of maintaining the hobby for a while, but now im starting again and i must say some techniques are absolutely new to me...

The best technique that i want to pick up is the wear or weathering done on armour and metal and what have you with the dots. The small specks that make the armourment or metal look battle scarred. I was just wondering if someone could help me out and give me some advice as to how to reach this technique. Is it microbrushing because ive tried that and i cant get the same effect. I have also tried the sponge idea and the blister pack holder idea.

much appreciated.

 

[Einion]

Hiya, welcome back to the hobby! What are you having difficulty matching, the basic patterns or the 3D look to the chipping?

People do armour chipping in different ways, but the most common methods to apply the basic chip colour are what you've mentioned, to simply paint it carefully with a fine brush or to use sponge/foam dipped in paint and dabbed onto the surface. Either way takes a bit of practice; as with most things it can take some tries before it looks quite right. It can help to work from references of real chipped paint on construction machinery or old barrels for example, copy the specific patterns you see.

Both methods can be combined as well of course - so you do some basic sponging and then modify some of it, maybe add some more chips here and there, by brush. Not everyone does it but it's fairly common these days to then highlight and shadow some or all of the chips.

Einion

 

[Dribble Joy]

Remember that weathering is generally intended to make something look realistic. If you go over board with highlighting/shading on chips and scratches it will just look a little daft.

You might want to have a look at the Forge World Model Masterclass book. It's got loads of techniques (basic and advanced) for weathering.

 

[freakinacage]

ultrawerks has some good articles