Glazes: prelude

or somesuch...

I'm making good progress on my company master. All of the shading is done and most of the highlighting is as well - at least on the main body, that is.

Every once in a while, I notice myself in a painting rut - using the same old techniques, and the same old colors. Other times, I'll be stuck on some perfectionist rampage and insist on highlighting every detail - sometimes ones I can't even see. I have been making an effort to shake things up when I notice this so I don't get bored and put the brushes down.

I was staring at my unfinished rhino a few days ago and started having this overwhelming dread at the prospect of two-brush blending every highlight on the model. It was downright sickening.

I really like two-brush blending, its a sweet technique. Unfortunately, it takes forever. So long, in fact, that often the paint I mixed begins to dry out. I usually try to add water or more drying retarder, but I end up changing the consistency of the paint and, often, spending way to much time mixing paint. By this point, the highlights are too boxy and I have to go back with a glaze of the base coat to touch up lines.

So, I put the Rhino down and hit the internet. Dunno exactly what I was looking for on Brushtralls, but I found something. This article on glazes saved my life. No joke. I was reading it and the note about using the same techniques as the cloth on armor. An idea formed. I painted up a scrap model and did a quick test with my Dark Angel colors.

It. Was. Awesome.

It looked just as good as my feeble two-brush blending (haven't quite mastered it yet) and took half the time. I quickly finished the Rhino with the new technique and moved on to my company master in record time.

I have found, that glazes are great, but once you add in a little two-brush blending on more complex colors it gets better. And there I was, a new technique and out of my rut.