using metallic paint

[menace]

I\'m hoping some of you whizz kids can help me obtain some sort of natural, progressive shading with metallic paint!!

I\'ve just returned to painting minis after a 20 year break and things have changed a little... a lot... but call me stuck in the mud, i do prefer metallic to this nmm craze, sorry but it looks a little cartoonish except at the top level.

I have tried many techniques, mixing, inking, drybrushing and all but if there was some proven method i could be enlightened to i would be eternally grateful,

Regards,

An ol\' metalhead (Deep Purple Rock)

ps i hope to post my first finished mini next month

 

[vincegamer]

Blending.
Treat metallic paints like any other paint. Use a dark basecoat and work your way to a light highlight.
I find for most silvers, boltgun metal then mithril/boltgun mix then I finish with Vallejo Silver.
For bronze or gold start with Tin Bitz and work your way to gold or copper.
You can darken a metalic paint by adding black but you cannot brighten a metallic paint by adding white.

No trick really. Metallics are just another set of colors.

 

[marineboy]

I agree with vincegamer, the Vallejo metals are nice.

Thin your metals. I use flow enhancer to even out the strokes and Vallejo glaze medium to keep the metal flake from falling out of suspension -- keep mixing the paint on the palette keep your paint evenly blended.

 

[menace]

thanks, i\'ll give it a go tomorrow... any idea how to dull the lustre???

 

[Modderrhu]

Completely agree with vince. Just a couple of things to add;
- when you thin the metallics, they can appear to be lighter than they really are. Continue, almost mindlessly, with the colour progression, the thinned paints are just trying to confuse you. So if boltgun metal looks like mithril silver on the palette, do not believe its lies! It remains boltgun metal.
- and don\'t be side-tracked with rust and fancy washes yet. Clean metal always looks good, though not always in context.

Edit: To dull the lustre, you could always mix an appropriate grey in.

 

[funnymouth]

all of the above advice is great. i try to do as many layers as possible (minimum 3). in gw land thats
boltgun -> chainmail -> mithril
blend between each step to produce a smooth, realistic transition. very thin ink washes can generate an interesting effect that you should be aware of. blue works well to get a steel type color - though ive done several different colors for some strange effects. if used thick enough to be a glaze a colored metallic effect can be created (e.g. fleck paint on a car). as mentioned before - the key is to treat them like any other paint.

 

[Spacemunkie]

Metallics done by a master:

Jakob Neilsen\'s site

Go to the Tutorials section. I know this one is always trotted out, but it is really good.

If you want to dull down metallics, wash/glaze with paint instead of ink. Dullcote-ing them down works too.

 

[mickc22]

More or less what everyone else has said, however do be careful when thinning, different brands behave differently, you can thin Vallejo more than GW metallics, using a glaze medium instead of water will keep the particles in suspension
you could try using a matt medium to dull the lustre down, should do the trick

*cheap blatant plug*
\"..all the above mentioned Vallejo products are available in the Paragon Miniatures eBay store, see sig for link\"

 

[Orchid Noir]

I have to agree with the treat \'em like paint sentiment.
Also, though, feathering is your friend, don\'t over thin, and don\'t be afraid of looking towards \"non-mini\" paints for good coverage, thin body, and great color.
Look into airbrush metallics, these have to have great coverage in thin applications, fine pigment (don\'t want to clog that tip), and easy clean up. I love them.

Wendy - totally un-repentant metallics lover

 

[menace]

a rockin\' big thanx to all and a special one for the j.nielsen link, metal metal metal magnificent:flip: all i need now is a steady hand