Painting tutorials over at Pbase

[Badaab]

Hey folks,

Since I\'m kind of back around, I thought I\'d drop a line on the forum concerning my site, and more specifically, my painting tutorials. For those interested, the address is here

Currently, I have a pair of tutorials that deal with caucasian flesh tones, but I\'m working on one for painting up gemstones, and also one for hair and fur (requests from over at the Bolter and Chainsword). If you have ideas, comments, even new ideas for tutorials you might like to see, or whatever, drop a line here and we\'ll see what develops.

Joe

 

[supervike]

cool!

Hey Joe,

Excellent site and great tutorials. It is very nice to see step by step photos, especially when they are as clear and descriptive as yours.

I\'ll definately be bookmarking that site for a reference.

 

[Calavera]

Hey... great job on those Step by steps.. they\'ll help me alot \'cause my next single model will probably include some flesh.. so my GW flesh paints will get used for real now

 

[DennisMech]

Just in the nick of time!

I\'d recently not been pleased with my flesh painting, I was trying to find a tutorial that I liked, so it\'s great that you posted this! I\'ve been meaning to buy some Future Floor Finish to add to my washes, where would I buy it, and would the people get me the right thing if I just asked for Future Floor Finish?

 

[Badaab]

FFF

DennisMech:

Places like Wal-Mart (aka the Satan of Retail), K-Mart, or even Home Depot or Lowe\'s should stock Future Floor Finish (aka FFF). If you\'re in the UK or Europe, I\'ve heard the same product goes by the name \"Klear.\"
Although, if you can avoid one of the chain stores I listed above and support a local business, please go for it. I only suggest this because certain retail giants might promote things like firearm proliferation (K-Mart), low wages and no benefits for employees (Wal-Mart), or they might support a political party you\'re not too fond of (Lowe\'s and Home Depot both made huge contributions to the GOP, which might have resulted in the Dept. of Homeland Security recommending you stock up on plastic sheeting and duct tape awhile back... or I might be overly cynical).

Joe

 

[DennisMech]

If I can, I will.

I hate the corporate giants as much as you, if I can, I\'ll support a small business. Yes yes, come to the church of Michael Moore! But if I\'m forced to dive into Wall-Mart\'s stench filled bowel, I will. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Kelly Kim]

Ugh. Stay away from the future floor wax. It has crap longterm adhesion, resulting in some models having their paint literally lift off the model if even slightly rubbed.

My suggestion is to go down to an art supplies store and get the stuff actually made for artists and specifically formulated for acrylic paints. Whatever the brand name, the stuff is commonly referred to as Flow Release. Comes in fairly large bottles (smallest one I found was about the size of a pop can, and in two years, I havent even used a sixth of the bottle), and it works great. You mix one part flow release to 9 or ten parts water, and pour it into a spare paint jar or squeeze bottle (you might find a Vallejo-esque bottle in the ceramics section of the art supplies store).

I used the floor wax mix for some time long ago, but found that the flow release was much much better. I had a few models have parts of their paintjob flake off with the floor wax, but never with the flow release. Just make sure you mix enough water into the flow release, otherwise any paints or inks you mix it with on your palatte will take forever to dry.

Kelly Kim
Sorcerer Studios

 

[frenchkid]

What exactly id futur floor wax ( or flow release) supose to do ??? I still pretty much don\'t use any kind of stuff in my paints a part from water. I recently bought some liquitex \'slow dry\' but sill have to use it.

 

[Kelly Kim]

You use it to \"cut\" your paints and inks instead of just water. If you find that your inks end up leaving watermarks (those annoying little rings like those in your bathtub when it dries after you drain it) or your paints dry funny, you use flow release to soften the surface tension of the paint or ink (at least, I THINK that\'s the theory). Whatever the reality is, all I know is that it makes my inks much more predictable and easily controlled, as well as paints. In fact, if I thin my paints with flow release, I can use them just like an ink for washes, glazes, etc.

Hope that helps.

Kelly Kim
Sorcerer Studios

 

[DennisMech]

Originally posted by Kelly Kim
My suggestion is to go down to an art supplies store and get the stuff actually made for artists ... commonly referred to as Flow Release.

What are you saying about artists?

I have an art store that carries all this kind of stuff just down the road. I\'ll go pic some up tomorrow! ...after I put on my trenchcoat and dark glasses...

 

[frenchkid]

That might explain why my glazez never work, I\'ll go pick up some of that magical stuff has soon has I can. Thanks for your help.

 

[Digamma]

As far as i know the glaze medium made by vallejo produces the same effect. But i found that really clean water (i\'m using destilled water) is just as important to prevent pooling.

Regards,
Digamma

 

[Dr. Bob]

Originally posted by Kelly Kim
Ugh. Stay away from the future floor wax. It has crap longterm adhesion, resulting in some models having their paint literally lift off the model if even slightly rubbed.

Yikes! First time I\'ve heard of this.

I\'ve been using a 1:4 Future mix to help my washes stay in the creases. I don\'t see how this would \"destabilize\" the acrylic painting.

Kelly, how were you using the Future exactly?

 

[Badaab]

FFF

Future Floor Finish shouldn\'t change the properties of your dried paint. If it does, you\'re probably not using it correctly. I know a few dozen historical gamers who use the stuff purely as a long-term sealant for their minis... Flaking paint, if this happens to you, can generally be remedied with a coat of spray sealant. I\'d recommend Testor\'s Dull Cote spray (#1260).
Joe

 

[Kelly Kim]

The reason I tend to warn people about the Future Floor Wax mix is that I actually had a client or two email us about problems with their models. After fixing them (for free of course), I came to the conclusion that the FFW mix was to blame, since at the time I was only using it to cut my inks for washes, and all the paint flaking problems were in the recesses of the models.

I don\'t know the exact science of FFW, nor do I really care all that much anymore. I\'ve since switched over the the Flow Release, which is just as economical (at least hereabouts in the Great White North), and I\'ve never had ANY problems with it (again though, I\'ll warn you to make sure you dilute it enough as per the instructions, otherwise it may stay tacky for a long time).

Sealant does help protect a model\'s paintjob from the top down, but it helps if the paint and ink actually adheres to the model.

In any case, I\'m just talking from my own personal experiences. Some of you obviously have had no problems whatsoever with the FFW, but since I have, I would be remiss to not present the other side of the FFW coin. I stick by what I\'ve said about the Flow Release... this stuff is actually formulated for use with acrylic paints and inks by chemists and artists. To say that stuff made to make your kitchen floor shine works just as well is like using cooking oil instead of motor oil in your car. It *might* work, but why risk it?

Kelly Kim
Sorcerer Studios