Im just wondering on how different people approach blending. What kind of technique do you use, when i went to GD i talked to a guy from gw and he used a completely different method to blend than i did. The way i taught myself to blend was to use extender and to almost layer color so that the blend into one another. I was just wondering how you did it :]
How do YOU blend?
- Thread starter Dimiotrix
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DennisMech
New member
I just do very very wet and thin layering, it looks fine, and I find real blending to be a pain in the bum to look at all passable.
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U4-Welcome
Guest
Same as Dennis, plain layering, and I go back over the transitions with glazes to smooth them out if need be. Works, but might be a bit longer than a well-executer wet-blending, I dunno.
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rik
Guest
I try as hard as i can, but at the moment wet blending just seems to be beyond what i can do. I\'ve tried the old retarder/flow improver/extender mix but i still can\'t seem to make the transition of colours as smooth than if i simply did lots of layers. One day i\'ll crack it but for now (and my gaming minis) its layer upon layer of marginally different shades to get that smooth blend.
I say stick with what you know and get really good at it, then when you feel that layering is holding you back get on the wet blending wagon and join us poor souls!
I know plenty of guys (including guys in eavy metal for GW) who never mastered the wet blending technique and yet still make their minis look flawless.
Just my thoughts.
Rik.
I say stick with what you know and get really good at it, then when you feel that layering is holding you back get on the wet blending wagon and join us poor souls!
I know plenty of guys (including guys in eavy metal for GW) who never mastered the wet blending technique and yet still make their minis look flawless.
Just my thoughts.
Rik.
Valander
New member
Tweening
For me, I tried the wet-blending thing, and I got ok with it, but it\'s really, really time consuming, and takes a lot of patience. I pretty much decided I could get similar effects, with much less headaches, just doing a bunch of layers.
Recently, though, I\'ve started playing with a technique that I like to call \"tweening.\" Partly because it\'s such a fun word, and partly because it concentrates on doing blocks of the basic colors, shadows, and highlights, and then working the areas in between them to make them smooth (a lot of computer animators call this process \"tweening\").
Check out this article on PlanetFigure for a really good discussion on it.
Apparently, Theirry (a former Rackham painter, goes by Arkaal here on CMON) uses this technique as well. I\'m definitely nowhere near his level yet, but my initial work with this technique has been really encouraging, and it\'s definitely something I\'m gonna spend more time on.
For me, I tried the wet-blending thing, and I got ok with it, but it\'s really, really time consuming, and takes a lot of patience. I pretty much decided I could get similar effects, with much less headaches, just doing a bunch of layers.
Recently, though, I\'ve started playing with a technique that I like to call \"tweening.\" Partly because it\'s such a fun word, and partly because it concentrates on doing blocks of the basic colors, shadows, and highlights, and then working the areas in between them to make them smooth (a lot of computer animators call this process \"tweening\").
Check out this article on PlanetFigure for a really good discussion on it.
Apparently, Theirry (a former Rackham painter, goes by Arkaal here on CMON) uses this technique as well. I\'m definitely nowhere near his level yet, but my initial work with this technique has been really encouraging, and it\'s definitely something I\'m gonna spend more time on.
I apply the layer of colour that I want to the model (the two colours I want to blend) and wait for them to dry, them with slightly watered down versions of the same two colours, put them along the lines where the two colours meet and blend furiously and quickly as hell so that you are not left with damn annoying tide marks where the paint has dried in the wrong place cos you didn\'t move it fast enough!
I really wouldn\'t suggest this method to anyone its tricky and a very hit and miss affair!
I really wouldn\'t suggest this method to anyone its tricky and a very hit and miss affair!
I\'m a layering man myself.
I did once do wet blending back in the mists of time when Duran Duran were massively popular and I was a teenager, I used a microscope GW brushes and paint without any extenders, or fancy stuff on a Ultramarine terminator. It took me literally weeks, but then I had a lot of free time back then. Its flawless, no sign of a brushstroke anywhere, but its also kind of lifeless, the ones I did with layering look much better.
It would be interesting to give it another go, see if I can do better now, but really I don\'t have the time, takes me long enough as it is.
I did once do wet blending back in the mists of time when Duran Duran were massively popular and I was a teenager, I used a microscope GW brushes and paint without any extenders, or fancy stuff on a Ultramarine terminator. It took me literally weeks, but then I had a lot of free time back then. Its flawless, no sign of a brushstroke anywhere, but its also kind of lifeless, the ones I did with layering look much better.
It would be interesting to give it another go, see if I can do better now, but really I don\'t have the time, takes me long enough as it is.
taking suggestions...
I agree with yrret.....I blend poorly.
I was trying layering but starting with my darkest shade color and working everything up with progressively lighter shades.
I think I am going to switch over to Valenders \"tweening\" it makes good sence, and gives you visual clues of the shades to come. Plus it really is fun to say.
I agree with yrret.....I blend poorly.
I was trying layering but starting with my darkest shade color and working everything up with progressively lighter shades.
I think I am going to switch over to Valenders \"tweening\" it makes good sence, and gives you visual clues of the shades to come. Plus it really is fun to say.
I don\'t blend or layer anything anymore. If I do, my minis look worse than before if that is even possible I tried layering techniques for several months on several different minis, and I went as far as doing a blend with 120 layers (I counted). It still sucked.
So, I don\'t do it anymore.
I tried layering techniques for several months on several different minis, and I went as far as doing a blend with 120 layers (I counted). It still sucked.So, I don\'t do it anymore.
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U4-Welcome
Guest
120 layers ? Man, I seldom do more than 10. Then after the glazes, it\'s really smooth enough... By the way, how did you do those layers ? Like mix 1:60 color A and B, then 2:60, and so on until 60:60 and then back until 60:1 ?As I said,
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