Looking for info on starting with Pigments...

[Oldskool454]

I have heard of Pigments for a long time and never really actually seen them in stores I go to. I have always been amazed at some of the effects that using them can achieve, like some of the in house painters from the old Confrontation line as an example.

I was looking for a good "Getting Started" kind of guide for using pigments in miniature painting and what brands of stuff is best for beginners etc.

I did look through all the stickied threads but didn't see anything specific to pigments.

 

[Einion]

First thing I would suggest is not getting pigments. Instead I'd recommend getting pastels, for a few reasons. The first is that they're available in a much wider array of colours - hundreds in some ranges - and they're very cheap to play around with.

You can grind or pare off as much powder as you need very easily and quickly and then apply them in just the same ways you can with pigments - dust on dry, make into a paste and apply wet, applied by brush or colour shaper, and usually work with water and spirits about equally. Pastels already have some binder in them in order for them to keep their shape but you can mix the dust with more binder if desired (e.g. PVA), or with paint, to make thicker accretions and for mud-like effects.

Einion

 

[PegaZus]

Here's one tank tread tutorial.

 

[kathrynloch]

Do you want pigments for weathering effects or "painting with pigments"?

 

[Oldskool454]

I think "painting with pigments". I just know that many of the miniatures I have seen that are really impressive with vibrant colors and such end up having been done with pigments so I thought I would look into them.

 

[kathrynloch]

Well, I've got a tutorial that will get you started on Chest of Colors. The horse in my avatar was painted with pigments - at least the black spots, I built up the color from yellow, to brown, to black. The white is several layers of acrylic glazes and washes. But check out the article and let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Einion]

I think "painting with pigments". I just know that many of the miniatures I have seen that are really impressive with vibrant colors and such end up having been done with pigments so I thought I would look into them.

If you're not sure where and how pigments have been used from something the artist has written I'd be careful about assuming they were used extensively - mentioning vibrant colours in particular would not tend to immediately suggest pigments.

Pigments and pastel dust are most commonly used just for weathering and maybe some subtle colour effects, any wider use than that is more common at much larger scales than minis (including garage kits which are huge).

Einion

 

[kathrynloch]

I know you think I'm nuts Einion but you really can get vibrant color from pigment. My thundertusk has a lot more pop than folks expect. When I can, I'll get some regular blue pigment and paint a bright cloak for you. hehe!

But I do have to question the OP as to what he's actually looking at. As far as I was aware, I was the only person, and maybe a few others, using pigments to paint with extensively (at least in the miniature hobby - model horse hobby is an entirely different subject). With minis, the vast majority, as you say Einion, use them solely for weathering.

 

[Einion]

I'm aware that pigments are available in very bright colours (my palette would be PY110, PY35, PR108, PR122, PB15:3, PB29, PG7, PV23 etc.) :glasses-cool: But those sold for modelling purposes are generally a much more restricted colour range, and can even be just earth colours plus black.

Einion

 

[Einion]

Safety note

All pigments should be handled with care, as even the ones classed as non toxic (such as Titanium White, which is safe enough to use in food and cosmetics) could still be an inhalation hazard.

But many of the colourful ones should really not be used as dry powders, it's too risky.

Einion

 

[finn17]

Nice tutorial Kat

 

[skraaal]

All pigments should be handled with care, as even the ones classed as non toxic (such as Titanium White, which is safe enough to use in food and cosmetics) could still be an inhalation hazard.

But many of the colourful ones should really not be used as dry powders, it's too risky.

Einion

When you say too risky - do you mean due to inhalation hazards?

 

[kathrynloch]

Nice tutorial Kat

Thanks finn!!!

 

[Einion]

When you say too risky - do you mean due to inhalation hazards?

Yes, some pigments (including a few of the commonest ones used in paints) are really too toxic to be used in powder form in a domestic environment.

Einion

 

[Dryad]

Hope its ok if I jump on here with a question for Einion. I have done a little, stress little, experimentation with ground pastels really just rust weathering. I'm more familar using them in fine art applications. But I'm very interested to hear how you would use them with pva, would that be for mixing to create mud effects and the like?

 

[Einion]

Hope its ok if I jump on here with a question for Einion. I have done a little, stress little, experimentation with ground pastels really just rust weathering. I'm more familar using them in fine art applications. But I'm very interested to hear how you would use them with pva, would that be for mixing to create mud effects and the like?

Yep. For smaller-scale effects like spatter, mud clinging to the bottom of a cloak or to boots this works great. For heavier mud effects I make up a muddy mixture of Polyfilla, paint and maybe some glue or acrylic medium.

You can also wet the powder with watered-down PVA (or anything else that'll act as a binder) so that it's just bound together, for subtler effects that will stay put a little better than if you'd used water alone.

Einion

 

[Dryad]

Sounds great! I'll have to go get experimenting with that.

 

[Moradin]

I did some experiments with pigments and they do quite some superb effects just like Kath has shown in her tutorial. I even tried to make my own paint color with acrylic and oil mediums and it works marvelously, sometimes the color is a bit too strong:hypnotized: . The only drawback is that it can be quite messy if you lose some pigments on unprotected areas of your workbench or on the model, they are hard to remove without staining the area (unless using a vacuum cleaner).

As Einion said, quite a few colors are toxic, mainly the very bright ones: cadmium red, cadmium yellow, cobalt violet, cobalt blue, vermillion (made with mercury), etc... The more earth-toned colors are less toxic to not toxic, but for all color it is preferable to get the Chemical Safety Cards for information first. You do not want to have a child or a cat touching those loose toxic pigments and spread them around the house (or worst, eating it).

But apart of its messiness (depends a lot on who is handling the pigments!), it is an interesting and fun way to color a model. Try with earth-toned colors first, so that you will get your handling experience from them. They are relatively cheap, have little to no toxicity and are sold in smaller quantities than the brighter pigments (which some are quite costly!). Wearing a mask is a must, even if it is to keep you from breathing out the pigment all around the workbench! :shock:

 

[Oldskool454]

Well I must have been miss informed then. I just recall being impressed with some of the original in-house painting of the original Confrontation minis back in the day and I thought I read that they had used pigments to get the crazy rainbows of colors in their skin effects and such. It does sound like it's more trouble than it is worth for a casual hobby sort of application either way though. Thanks for all the info though!

 

[Einion]

Maybe it was a translation issue? Or they could have been talking informally, saying pigment when they were just referring to the paint; artists do this kind of thing all the time, e.g. when they talk about the hue of something, when in fact they mean its colour (a seemingly trivial but important distinction).

Einion