Help underpainting metals... maybe

[Kalidane]

So I wanted to try something new and underpaint with a very light blue/grey before laying silver over it. I was hoping that in underpainting/basing in this way well that there would be some result but the metal appears to be completely opaque as it really had no effect.

The colour remains visible in the 'etched' areas. Well except for where I couldn't paint within the lines...

Given that this is meant a test piece for an army method I don't want to go to town on it but I'd still like to avoid glazing and washing.

Is there some way to inject a touch of colour to the silver? The awesome highlighting is actual light reflection not painting...

 

[MAXXxxx]

well, you could always mix the color with the silver to get a colored metal.

or thinning the metal so, that some color underneath shows through.

 

[freakinacage]

best way to alter metal subtly like that, you are better off using some glazes. thin the paint down that you want to tint it with and then paint it but make sure you don;t overload the brush

 

[funnymouth]

There is a fantastic tutorial on glazing metals by automaton in the articles section. As for underpainting, it goes work! If you were to compare this blade to a blade painted over red, you would definitely notice a subtle difference in color. It won't make colored metal, but it will alter the hue. Make sure you're applying your metallic paint in t
Very thin layers.
If you want a slightly colored metallic, I recommend adding an ink. Very little of it is needed and the ink pigmentation won't alter the luster of the metal. For a colored met ( e.g. Cherry red for a car). Mix your desired color with a pearlesent paint or powder. Works wonders.

 

[Kalidane]

Looking at 3 other test pieces form the same batch I see the underpainting was a bit thin and I'm sure the silver was quite heavy so I'll fix that up and try some more. I've discovered a theoretical flaw in my plan - I wanted magic-shiny metal with glowing-ish highlights but when the base metal is the highest it's a little hard to highlight. Sooo I'll try and use matt vs gloss to get highlights out of it. Hopefully this will give me the colour and highlights.



I've recently done a bunch of work glazing metals and that is the main reason I have for wanting to be difficult and try something different -