Dry Brushing for Dummies (was: KV paintjob)

> Thanks for the input!

No worries. Thanks for the jpeg.

> Drybrushing: I have tried this, but failed utterly. I guess that I have

> heavy a hand or use too thick of paints (even if I thin them

A-HA! No, you have it all wrong! For Drybrushing, you want THICK paint.
Really, Really thick. "Take a brush, dip it in paint, then without cleaning
it, wait
for a few days, then scrape most of the paint off" -type thick. OK, I
exaggerate, but not much, and have had good effects from exactly this
technique.

Here's what I do: Take a fairly large brush, maybe size 1, 2 or 3. Dip it in
some thick grey acrylic paint. If neccessary, dip in a bit of sprue to get the
gooiest stuff from the
bottom of the bottle, or (better) use the semi-solid scum that's coating
the inside of the bottletop. Now get a piece of packing foam or cloth, or even
the bottom of a model. Paint this, until you're getting only a moderate very
uneven discolouration on the highpoints rather than a smooth coat. You want
almost no paint to be left on the brush, so don't put too much on in the first
place.

Your dry brush is now ready to go, and by using many light strokes, you can
get a professional appearance.

For the heavy-handed (LIKE ME), do the same, but wait till you only get
a slight discolouration, removing 99% rather than 97% of the paint. You can
then slap it all over the model, just brush it over the whole thing without
worrying too much where it goes, with fast strokes like you were attempting to
remove dust
from it. It may take 20-30 strokes to get a visible effect, but you'll
get one if you haven't removed ALL the paint. This brings up all the detail,
and even gives highlights.

I'd try this with a brush with no paint on it first (as in, try to get it all
off *without using thinner*), then gradually increase the amount till you get
the effect you want. Thinner is your enemy, the brush should be really, really
*dry*.

Dry-brushing is really, really easy following these directions. It's far
easier than trying to get a thin, even undercoat, about as easy as......

> Washes: I do even worse with washes.

With washes, I just thin the paint by 20:1 or more, then slap it all over, a
100% cover, before I do the detailing. I usually use a cheap artists Sepia ink
for this, diluted 2:1 with water, though I have been known to use more
advanced
techniques, even *gasp" coloured washes. Red/Orange really brings up
yellow for example, while sepia just makes it look dirty.