Painting flowing fabric

Flowing fabric refers to things such as; cloaks, capes, dresses and flags, to name just a few. I've been trying to both get faster and better when painting those parts of miniatures.

There are a number of common techniques that I come across regularly including, layering, stippling, wet blending and glazing.

Having tried some of those, I have tended towards glazing.

To be clear, I am not an expert at painting cloaks etc., I still need a lot more practice, but this is what I have achieved so far and the process I have used.

1. Prime the miniature

I normally use black, but for this technique, some brighter colours may be easier to apply over a white or grey primer.

2. Take a photo of the model before I start.

Use a single light source from the front and off to the side of the area I intend to paint. This becomes the reference to see which areas are in shadow and which are in the light.

3. Cover in the base colour.

This is the colour that I want the end result to look like. In most cases cloaks do not have any fine detail to obscure, so the paint can be applied in a relatively thick coat.

4. Select the paints.

I tend to use three colours and black. A dark, base and highlight colour.

5. Paint in the deepest shadows.

Typically I mix a little black in with the darker shade colour. This is watered down to a normal layer consistency. I paint this at the bottom of the deepest folds.

6. Paint the edge shadows.

This is commonly a thinned down darker shade colour mixed with the base colour. It is painted on the shadow side of each fold. The reference photo can be useful for this stage.

7. Start the highlights.

This uses a mix of the highlight colour with the base colour. Paint over the crown of all the folds.

8. Let that paint dry.

It needs to be dry enough that the next stage will not take all the paint off but it can sometimes help if the paint is not fully dry.

9. Glazing

This is not one step but the same process applied with different shades of the colour.

The glaze is a very wet, translucent, mix of paint. Before applying, soak up some of the water from the brush on a cloth or paper towel. I find getting the consistency right is a little difficult, but the aim is that the colour applies thinly but does not flow down and pool in the recesses.

In my case there will be four boundaries, the colours to glaze are as follows:

• Deepest black to side shadow - glaze with the side shadow colour, pushing the paint towards the deepest shadow.
• Shadow to semi-highlight - glaze in the base colour pushing the paint towards the shadow.
• Semi-highlight to lit side - glaze in the base colour pulling the paint towards the highlight.
• Lit side to deepest shadow - This is not necessary for sharp creases. It's for more sweeping folds. Glaze in the base colour mixed with the darker shade. Pushing towards the deep shadow.

It takes me a few attempts to get a smooth gradient. Sometimes I do better than others. This is where I need to practice.

Lastly. Depending on the colour, I'll add a highlight to the very top of the folds and glaze this to blend it towards the base colour. For sharper folds I use less glazing.

Some of my efforts are better than others, but I think I'm improving.

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Not sure how to paint miniature tanks

I am still undecided how to paint model vehicles. Particularly the sorts of tanks and APC's that are used for grim dark future tabletop games.

The process I used the previous time that I painted tanks, was not entirely to my satisfaction. To find better ideas, I've been watching YouTube videos. Most are in some way similar to what I had already been doing, however they gave me some ideas.

For the most recent vehicles I did the following.

I started by airbrushing the base colour. I tried using a gradient on each side, but the wash obscured that, so for this process, it was a waste of time.

I painted in some of the details, before using a couple of washes. The undercarriage, wheels and tracks are washed in black. The undercarriage is in shadow, so it did not need anything else.

Behind airbrushed, front sepia wash

The sepia wash on the panels brings out the contrast however, it also makes it look a little too yellow, not surprising. Pushing the wash about with a brush to get rid of the tide marks was not as effective as I had hoped. The result at this stage was still a little mottled. It gets fixed by the next stage.

An alternative I saw on one video was to use a cotton bud to clean off the outer surfaces of the panels more thoroughly. I did a test panel and that looked tidier and nowhere near as yellow. Something I may consider for future use.

Front washed, behind dry brushed over

For these models, I used a large dry brush to reinstate the base colour to the panels. The tip I got from several YouTube channels, and the change I made from my previous process, was to leave a little more paint on the dry brush and apply it in a circular motion. I think this worked well. It covered the panels while still leaving enough contract.

The light over painting of the edges of the tracks from the dry brushing, in this colour, is a good dusty effect. In a different body colour, I might have to repaint some of the tracks or use another dirt colour to replace it.

Adding in the final finishing touches is the quick bit to do. This included re-instating the colour on some of the pipes, edge highlighting a couple of areas and a touch of silver dry brushing to the edges of the tracks and other areas that would get worn.

With a darker base colour I would have probably done some edge highlighting of the panels with a dry brush, but I didn't think that would be noticeable with this sand colour.

As these are for tabletop use and are not display models, the final stage was to spray with a matt clear coat. I painted these over a number of weekends and evenings, so I am not sure exactly how long they took. I feel the process is a little more time consuming than it needs to be.

I'm happy with the end result. 

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Reference videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9BmFT-tfV8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvsFy0eK298

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShNRW82j3nE

Models:

https://www.myminifactory.com/profile/WarZoneMiniature/store

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Miniature paint schemes reference

Many years ago, I wrote reminders in a little lined book. This contained the proportions of each paint I had used to create a specific colour and notes on what painting techniques achieved a particular result.

I can afford to buy more paints now, so I rarely mix a colour from scratch, therefore I don't need to keep a record of that, but what colours and techniques I have used for specific models and results is still handy. This page will become a reminder of those and an index to other more detailed articles.

I'll refer back here, as I used to with my little book. It will be handy when creating additions to an army or just to produce something similar.

Power armour - green

Base: Russian green (71.017) airbrush.

Wash: black

Dry brush edge highlights: Goblin green (72.030)

Gecko skin - blue scales

Base: Royal Blue (70.809)

Wash: Sepia (73.300)

Dry brush: Sky blue (70.961)

Saurian skin - greenish yellow scales

Base: Beasty brown (72.043)

Wash: Black

Dry brush: Gold yellow (72.007)

Reptile - green scales

Base: Olive green (71.007) airbrush or black primer

Dry brush: Goblin green (72.030)

Green reptile skin and steel plate

Steel plate

Base: Silver metallic.

Wash: Black.

Dry brush: Silver or silver highlight.

Suit of armour

Suit of Armour

Base: Black primer

Dry brush: Silver metallic.

This technique covers a lot of surface very quickly.

Reptile - green with brownish scales

Base: Olive green (71.007) airbrush

Dry brush: Beasty brown (72.043)

Cast Iron

Base: Gunmetal metallic.

Dry brush: Silver metallic.

Cast iron, dark bronze and green with brownish scales

Dark Bronze

Base: Bronze metallic (70.998).

Wash: Ancient copper shade (Vallejo 77.144 from the true metallic metal set.)

Dry brush: Bronze metallic.

Reptile - green with reddish scales

Base: Olive green (71.007) airbrush

Dry brush: Gory red (72.011)

Dry brush edge highlight: Orange fire (72.008)

Red reptile skin

Washes

See the separate page.

Dry Brushing

For edge highlighting, see the separate page.

Bases

See the separate page for how I prefer to base my armies.

Gold Visors

See the separate page for how I have done gold visors.

Vehicles

See the separate page for some ideas of how I paint tanks and APC's.

Cloaks and flowing fabric

See the separate page.

Paints

I nearly exclusively use acrylics. Oil based paints irritate my sinuses, so with all the jobs I do I try to select water based paints. From a modelling perspective, I like the very fast drying time of acrylic paints. Although, obviously that makes blending colours more difficult than with oils.

I mainly use paints from the various Vallejo acrylic ranges. Model Colour, Game Colour, Game Air and Model Air.

Unless otherwise stated, the part numbers listed refer to Vallejo paints.

I also have a very small number of AK Interactive paints. I find the pigments in these dry a little thicker, which gives them good coverage but they are more prone to hide fine details. I bear that in mind when using them. I'm unlikely to replace them when they run out.

Years ago I used Citadel paints, but I have not tried them recently.

I'm sure there are plenty of other good paint ranges, but as I like the Vallejo that I have, there is no point in me trying alternatives.

Primer

See the separate page for a review of primers.

Clear Coat

See the separate page for matt clear coat reviews.

Brushes

See the separate page for a review of the brushes I have tried.

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I wash a lot

When painting a miniature army I use whatever techniques get the desired effect as efficiently as possible. For flowing fabric, flags and where I am prepared to spend more time, building up layers of highlights or glazing with thinned out colour, gives much more control to get a smoother effect. It takes a lot longer for me, so not ideal for painting an army. I find that the popular contract painting technique of zenithal highlight and thin translucent layers is great for bright gaudy characters, but that is rarely the result I am after.

I like a lived in look. For me I get that by applying a wash. I use this in different ways depending on what result and what colour I am working with. I thought it was time I wrote myself a reminder.

Applying washes

Thinning

I usually use Vallejo washes. I have a range of colours but I nearly always end up using black or sepia. The big pots I have can be used for dipping. They are slightly thick so I sometimes thin them for some uses. The disadvantage is that when thinned this are more prone to leave an uneven bitty finish so if possible I don't thin them. My alternative is to use a wash made from normal acrylic paint and water.

After mixing the pigment, usually by shaking the pot, I find it has lots of bubbles. To avoid picking those up on the brush and transferring them to the model, I use a pipette to decant some into a divot in a plastic pallet.

100% wash

Where possible I use undiluted wash because it tends to dry more evenly.

I use this when I am applying directly into crevices in a well defined model where there is a good chance of avoiding getting it in the wrong places or where I am aiming for a darker colour.

It goes on very dark but dries lighter, so it can be difficult to judge the effect until the wash has dried fully, which takes many hours.

25% water to wash

This lets the wash flow but has just enough adherence to leave some pigment in the crevices.

I use this to accentuate contrast, particularly where a model has fine engraved markings.

It can be difficult to get it to dry evenly on flatter surfaces, so I make sure I push it around to where it's wanted and often soak up excess.

On some models I find that acrylic paint mixed with water is often an easier way to get the contrast with less risk of spoiling some other part of the model. The trouble with this is that this wash does not settle as well as the dedicated washes.

50% water to wash

This leave more of an uneven dull mark all over the surface, rather than dark crevices.

I use this on brighter colours and large surface areas. It's more for a dirty look and a hint at shadow. Useful for some terrain pieces.

Before and after

Application

When applying washes, I rarely cover the entire model, I direct the wash just to where I want it then push it about. I find it essential to pull and push the wash about with a brush to get it to settle where I want it and avoid too many unsightly tide marks.

I'm not usually being too careful because the whole point is to get a random natural result that I would find difficult to emulate if I was using other techniques.

Where I am aiming for a relatively dark result, I'll apply the wash lightly all over the area and heavily in the crevices.

On flat panels, mainly for vehicles, I use a brush or cotton bud to clean off the panels leaving the wash in the crevices with barely a smear on the surface.

For bright colours I apply the wash carefully only in the recesses and folds. Red I can use a thin sepia or black wash, yellow I use a sepia wash. Blue I have been disappointed with. I am still working on a good technique for this. At the moment I have reverted to glazing rather than using a wash.

For metallics, especially bright ones, like silver and gold, I give them a complete wash all over the area where the metallic paint is. This dulls them down a bit and gets shadows in the folds and crevices where otherwise they tend to appear flat. The matched washes from the Vallejo True Metallic ranges work very nicely. I even mix and match the gold and copper washes with bronze and brass base coats to give different shades of metallics.

Dry Brush

In nearly all applications on miniatures, I use dry brushing after washing.

Reinstate the colour - I use the original base colour as a dry brush all over the surfaces. This quickly disguises tide marks and brightens the model.

Edge highlighting - usually I use a very light shade of the original colour or a very light grey or even white. Just picking up the edges. This is often after reinstating the colour, as noted above.

Conclusion

It's difficult to describe these techniques. The explanations mean something to me but they may not translate well into anything that could be used to direct others. That was not the point. There are plenty of excellent tutorials on YouTube. This is just a reminder for me.

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Dry brush for edge highlights

I'm sure there are lots of reasons to use dry brushing. It's a technique I like to use for highlighting texture on fur and hair and for edge highlighting.

I can remember the first time I successfully used dry brushing. That was for fur, well over 30 years ago. It was on a troop of Ork Wargs. I was so pleased with the results. It is when my painting results changed from "just colour on tin lead" to "these look nice."

I have had good results with metallic colours. Silver dry brushed on to black and copper dry brushed on to brown. I now think I have the technique sorted for edge highlighting with dry brushing.

The edges of the containers and barrels are highlighted

I've written these notes as a reminder to myself.

Edge Highlight Colour

I find that I need to use a lighter brighter colour than I expect.

Edge and curved surface highlighting

Light grey on black, white on light grey, very pale green on dark green etc. If in doubt, regardless of the base colour, I might use light grey or white.

I like my models to have a lived in look. I often use a black or sepia wash and then add highlights. A similar technique to edge highlighting can be used to add a little brightness to curved surfaces such as shoulder pauldrons and the pipes in the above picture.

Brush

I've tried specialist dry brushing brushes, but I find those too large for miniatures and their round shape make them difficult to direct the brush to the specific edge that I want to hit.

What I do use and my favourite is a makeup brush designed for eyeshadow. They have soft flat bristles about 8 to 10mm wide.

These are great for most edge highlighting, from small scatter terrain down to delicate miniatures. Being flat I have two choices of direction. The wider is good for long edges and by dragging the brush with the narrow face forward the brushes can get into fairly small spaces. In that rotated position they have a long enough stoke to deposit sufficient paint.

In tight spots where I need to avoid getting paint on adjacent surfaces, I use a 3mm angled shader brush. Again a flat bristle brush. This gives me lots of control and I can be very specific about which edge is highlighted.

Paint Loading

This I find a bit trial and error every time.

For cleaning I use a sponge with just a finger or two dipped in water to dampen it. I also use this to slightly dampen the bristles before I start loading the paint.

Most of the time I use undiluted paint for dry brushing. I find that if the paint is watered down, it smears rather than it catching the edges.

I like to get paint on all sides of the tip of the brush and then wipe nearly all of it off on a cotton cloth. If I can see paint depositing on the cloth, there's usually still too much paint on the brush. That's not a perfect guide, just a starting point.

My first stoke will be very light to see how easily the paint applies and either add or remove paint, as I feel. It varies by colour. Some paints work with very little effort and others need constant care to get the amount of paint on the brush just right.

Technique

I lightly drag the brush over the edge I want to highlight and can usually see the layer build up as a fine line. As the paint gets used I need to apply a little more pressure on each stroke.

The more I've use the technique, the more control I've gained about where I get the colour.

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Less is more painting miniatures

I did not have enough time to complete any complex models ready for the game today, so I opted to paint a unit of Prime Strikers from Puppetswar Miniatures. As it happens, I ended up using a different army, so they didn't get to the table, but they were ready.

Very Quick Process

The order was significant in making sure there was minimal time wasted.

• Prime with black from a rattle can - this had been done weeks ago
• Airbrush army dull green all over
• Dark grey paint in the folds behind the knees and between the legs
• Black wash all over
• Dry overnight
  
  
• Dry brush in light green to highlight some of the edges - using an 8mm flat makeup brush
• Paint the eye lenses in yellow - using a 00 short bristle sable brush (W&N s7 miniature)
• Tidy up the yellow - edge in black wherever I had gone over with the yellow
• Paint in any details I want, could be; missile caps, belt buckles, sergeant's pauldrons, banners etc.
• Paint all the weapons black
• Dry brush the edges of the weapons in light grey - using a 3mm wide flat angled shader brush
• Base using grass flock which sticks to thickly applied brown paint
• Paint the edge of the base in black
• Dry overnight
  
  
• Clear matt spray varnish

I am very pleased with the finished result even though very few of the details have been painted in. This is a very good example of "less is more."

I don't know exactly how long it took for this unit of 11 troops, but I spent a few hours on each of two days and 15 mins to varnish this morning.

Where a model has well defined edges, I prefer the subtle result from dry brushing rather than my attempts at hand painting edge highlight lines. I will use individually painted edge highlighting where the alternative would not work.

Some models by their design are complicated and time consuming, no matter what paint scheme is selected.

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Paint brush review for miniatures

I have recently had trouble with a couple of brand new sable hair brushes from very well respected brands. They split into a fork, almost immediately that I started using them.

I'd recently watched a video about how these brushes were made and I realise that a significant part of the manufacturing process is the quality control at the end to weed out those that are just not going to stay in shape. That's the reason for buying a more expensive sable hair brush rather than a more budget version.

This is mainly a review of sable brushes for painting miniature plastic figures using acrylic paint. Most of my painting with these brushes is on resin 3D printed 28mm to 32mm figures.

Criteria

My main requirements for a brush for miniature painting is that it has a tip that stays in a sharp point while holding enough paint to work with. The feel, often referred to as spring of the bristles, is also a significant factor.

I have plenty of budget brushes which work well but they frequently need care during use to maintain the point. The spring varies but none of the synthetic bristles have quite the feel of a sable hair brush.

The Brushes

Based on other people's recommendations, I've bought a number of different brand's sable hair brushes from their series most commonly used for miniature painting. I've ended up with a few different types because my experience of them is not as consistent as the reviews would imply.

For me, they all have a better feel to the spring of the bristles than a synthetic brush. My main issue with synthetic brushes is that they invariably end up with a curl at the end. Some sooner than others.

Brushes come in different lengths and style of bristles, flat, round, long, standard, short and a host of speciality variations. For miniature painting, like most people, I find it is the standard length round bristle brush that gets used the most. There is also a shorter length that appears to have evolved specifically for miniature painting.

It is the normal dimension bristles that I use for getting most of the paint on a miniature. I find the shorter versions are better suited to small details because they do not hold enough paint for larger areas. When I do this it is typically with a size 00 Winsor and Newton Series 7 miniature. There are a lot of small details on miniatures, so I do use this brush a lot and I am very pleased with it. The series 7 miniature is not to be confused with the series 7 (not-miniature) that the rest of this testing refers to.

Brush Care

I won't go into detail on this subject, but all the brushes have been well looked after. In use, I try to avoid getting paint beyond the belly. This minimises the paint that gets in to the ferrule which over time, in my experience, is the ultimate demise of most brushes.

Testing

As an initial test, I decided to try out the same paint task with all of the respected brands brushes that I owned in a size zero. Not a long test, a few details on two figures with each brush.

I've then gone on to use them over time and revisited this article to add additional notes.

The Results

To set the record straight at the start, all of these brushes have a good feel when used. They are just not as consistent as I would like when it comes to holding their points.

All of the split hairs shown could be reshaped and the brush was then usable again until the next time. Some split again sooner than others.

Da Vinci Maestro series 10

• Bristles: Sable
• Initial experience: Stray hairs almost immediately.
• Extended use: I was pleased with this brush and found myself selecting it for getting the initial layers on to a miniature where they had lots of detail to work round. Perhaps not my first choice, but I'd buy series 10's again.

Da Vinci Maestro series 10

This series has a very slightly shorter bristle than the others I tested. A good compromise size between the very small miniature brushes that hold too little paint and the standard size. It might suit those wanting only one brush.

Artis Opus series S

• Bristles: Sable
• Initial experience: Good point but a stray hair after a short while. Easily sorted.
• Extended use: I found this brush competent and was my go to brush for medium details. It's point split only if I had been using it for a prolonged period and far less than the others I'm using. I like them so much that I've bought more of the series S brushes. 

Artis Opus series S

Winsor and Newton series 7

• Bristles: Sable
• Initial experience: A stray hair and split into a fork after using for a short while.
• Extended use: This brush was probably my most disappointing. Winsor and Newton have a good reputation. I now have several series 7 brushes and they all split dramatically and far too frequently. I now only use them for painting larger areas. I'm unlikely to buy any more series 7 brushes.

Winsor and Newton series 7

As mentioned earlier, the "series 7" and the "series 7 miniature" are two different product ranges. I still like the series 7 miniature for my very detailed work.

Raphael series 8404

• Bristles: Sable
• Initial experience: Nice point but split into a slight fork after being used for a short while.
• Extended use: With the brush I'm testing I have found that it splits into a fork more often than the other brushes I'm using. It is also the largest size 0 brush of those that I am testing. I find I select this brush less often than the others, that's probably because of the size. With other choices that I prefer, I am unlikely to buy any more of the 8404's.

Raphael series 8404

After I had used this a few times, when dry, the bristles on this 8404 brush separated. It does not hold it's point while being stored. The point forms again when wet.

My biggest complaint with the Raphael brushes that I received, was the sticker. 

Sticker on the Raphael brushes

The sticker was difficult to remove and I could only get rid of the residue with WD40.

I bought these from the same stockist and at the same time as other brushes, only the Raphael had the stickers on.

Rosemary and Co series 401

• Bristles: Sable blend.
• Initial experience: This is the only brush in the test which included some synthetic hairs in the mix. Guess what, the end curled! It also developed a fork.
• Extended use: It's a nice brush to use. I have to work round the curl but that can sometime be in my favour. I don't use it for the ultimate detail but it does everything else well. That said, I can't see myself buying any more series 401 brushes.

Rosemary and Co series 401

Rosemary and Co series 401

When dry the bristles on all the series 401's, that I have, separate and do not hold their point. The point forms again when wet.

Conclusion

My expectations are too great!

All of them needed to be cleaned and reshaped from time to time while in use. Some more than others. Despite the limitations I encountered,  my observation is that sable hair brushes form and retain their point with less irritations compared to brushes with other types of bristle and release the paint with a comfortable spring.

Based on the individual brushes that I have, I will mainly be using brushes from the Artis Opus series S range in the future.

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