Pre-shading panel lines (?)

Your pre-shading should be in a dark contrast color to the final color.  After pre-shading, you do spray over it with the final color, but only with thin light coats.  Being very careful not to completely cover the pre-shading, you build up the final color until the effect you want is achieved.  Takes patience & practice.  Personally, I prefer post-shading.

Regards,  Rick

Here is a easy 'pre-shading' technique I came up with building a 1/144 Me 262. Its a Testor's flat black enamel wash.

Basically it is more effective under lighter, thinly applied colors like light grey ect. I'm a die-hard OOC (out of can) modeler so this is less effective for my techniques.

Preshading is a waste of time!

That is if you don't follow the rest of the necessary steps and methods when applying the covering colors. Too many Newbies will go through with the preshading the panel lines then totally cover them while applying the paint scheme. Thus the effort and effect is nullified.

One has to remember to let the preshading be exposed, only lightly covering it, with thin translucent application of the scheme colors. Pretend it is a clear area and you want to keep overspray of that area to a minimum.

Preshading/Postshading is a personal call. So many over emphasized the panel line effects even when their reference material clearly shows that no such effect was present.  What was subtle or barely noticeable in real, should be absent in scale. When you consider scale effect....take this Nasa F-18, my friend John Vojtech points out the "Panel Lines" and unpainted fasteners on this pod.

Note his finger and the size of the lines in relation to it. Now reduce both his finger and the lines down to say 1:32, 1:48 or even 1:72, they'd be nearly impossible to see. Now the reason these line are so highly contrasted is is because there is a black rubber or sealant used on each seam to prevent moisture and dirt from penetrating.

Now when you step back the lines and there are a lot of panels on this aircraft, the lines where they meet and/or overlap each other becomes less and less noticeable. In scale effect consider the distance you are standing or the distance of your eye from the object. You'd have to be in the same proximity of the model as you are to the real aircraft for much of the detail to be visible.

Even this tire and wore C-2, you don't see a whole lot of grossly exaggerated panel lines.

I'm not saying you shouldn't preshade, just do it right and where it needs to be done.

What was subtle or barely noticeable in real, should be absent in scale. When you consider scale effect....take this Nasa F-18, my friend John Vojtech points out the "Panel Lines" and unpainted fasteners on this pod.

Woah you mean John has time away from the hobby bench? That guy is a model building machine, detail is in his DNA! Anyhow I am always impressed with his work, regardless of the over stated panel lines.

For the rest of us a bit of 'artistic license' allows each build to become a expression unique to each individual, myself 'cooler than OOB' is the goal and as always OOC (out of can)

Nasa F-18 ...acronyms are expressed as capitals BTW

What is "out of can?"   Is that related to the flush sound I hear as I leave a certain room in the house?

It's probably in the faq somewhere but I'm to lazy to look it up.

Thanks, Chris

'OOC' is a acronym I have made up. 'Out of Can' refers to canned spray paint, you know 'spray bombs'

Sometimes it goes on a little thick, so all my 'pre-shading' of the panel lines has gone to waste....

.

.

.

.

Ha ha joke joke.... with care and practice it goes on like glass!

This subject probably would garner more varied responses in the Painting Forum, but anyway...

Gotta "Ditto" Hawk... Too many times I've seen them WAY overdone, and have even been guilty of it myself... If you're building your model to be looked at with the Mk I Eyeball, it's best (IMHO) to give them a wash in a contrasting color and leave it at that, rather than shade them so heavily that they look like they're a scale half or three quarter-inch GAP rather than a butt-jointed seam...

Some panels need it, here & there, like the joints of engine cowls on say, a P-51 or a Corsair's cowl-flaps, as well as hinged areas like flight control surfaces and the like, but generally, I limit it to post-shading with pastels (on raised lines, that is) to impart an indicator that a line is there, however, I'm just not very good at it yet, and have a tenedency to be a bit heavy-handed...

For models with recessed lines though, I really don't see a need to emphasize them with pre-shading... they are as Hawk stated, a waste of time (and paint) for beginners and even experienced modelers like me, although I've seen some of the "Master" Modelers pull it off quite well, with subtle but distinct shading in just the right places... I've yet to master that technique, since I seldom listen to the voice that said "STOP!" on the last pass, lol...

I guess that's where we get into the grey area that blends "Artist" and "Modeler" together... Of course, if your technique is done with photographing your model as the primary reason for your shading and coloring techniques, then we're into another area entirely, that being the technique of taking a 3-D object and making into a 2-D object, but painted and shaded in such a way as to turn it back into a 3-D object...

 BTW, I'm a firm believer in "Post-shading" with pastels rather than paint... Used as a weathering technique, it's way more controllable than pre-shading, and if you're relatively new to the hobby, or even if you're just wanting to try something different,  you can fix it if you screw the pooch...

Man, I over-thought that one... Percs are kickin' in  guess...

I agree that pre shading is a waste of time.

Scale appearances are always first in my mind when considering the final look of a model. If I couldn't see the panel line when standing 72 feet away from the subject in real life, it isn't going to be represented in my 1/72 rendition of the subject.

If I do any shading, I always do post shading. I find it easier to control and remember that in real life:

The grime goes on top of the paint, NOT under it.

I too prefer post shading.. If you want to ahieve those shading like those pro pre shade...

Try use carbon black powder on panel lines after painted yr model.

How to get carbon black powder? Buy it or get some charcoal and grind it until it become in fine powdery form. They have very strong staining effect so careful when used. Lightly apply will easily achieved the shading effect. 

Pre shading is ONLY a waste of time if done incorrectly.  A great model is going to have a combination of pre-shading AND post shading along with numerous shading variations in the base coat.  This is one of the main reasons why you simply cannot achieve professional results using 1-D rattle-can finishes (By the way that is the accepted term for using spray cans for painting models.)

This is one of the main reasons why you simply cannot achieve professional results using 1-D rattle-can finishes (By the way that is the accepted term for using spray cans for painting models.)

Ahh my trophy case begs to differ fine sir,

Check out 'Great Scale Modeling 2008' Showcase on Page 74 'Dave Straub's magnificent NC-4 flying boat' Also consider many top car models finished in high gloss are 1-D rattle can finishes. Wet sanded between paint layers for a ultra clean mirror look and shine, don't forget the wax to finish it off like a pro!

I make fun of using rattle cans as most here gasp at the thought, even the layer of Krylon 'lawn green' on Mini-Me allows the pre-shaded panel lines to be highlighted further. Granted they are scribed way out of scale for 1/144, yet the paint build up adjusted for this. Who am I to say? let the contest judges decide if its cool or not.

No argument from me.  None of your examples are 1-D finishes.  Multiple coats with wet sanding in between and subtle shadings and patterns are hardly 1-D.  However,  Plunking the model on a stick and spraying it one color with a spray can is not going to cut it.

UH OH the preshade debate again i'm pro preshade, pro postshade pro oil wash and use oil paints to streak the finish..... so i'ts a kinda moot subject for me......As far as scale effect goes and what you can and can't see on the real ones, well i have only one opinion regarding that......real ones are not made out of plastic and put together with glue...

Model what you want when you want and how you want.....cause it's fun

Model building is like painting.

With painting, at one end of the scale you have the ultra realists, with an almost photo like quality to their work, at the other end the impressionists, with a more interpretational view of the subject.

Both are valid approaches, and both seek to introduce an element of emotion into their depictions, the latter more so than the former. However both are interpretations.

Like Julez I use pre-shading, post shading, oil washes, filters and dot washes, as my approach leans more towards the impressionistic approach.

Go with what works for you.

The trick with pre-shading, is only pre-shade under lighter colours, where the pre-shade can show through, and apply your paint in thin layers so that you can build up the effect slowly.

Karl

Harshman II

Try use carbon black powder on panel lines after painted yr model.

How to get carbon black powder? Buy it or get some charcoal and grind it until it become in fine powdery form. They have very strong staining effect so careful when used. Lightly apply will easily achieved the shading effect. 

Artist's charcoal and sandpaper works too... Also, the soot from a lighted candle works really well ... Just hold a piece of glass or metal closely over a lit candle and let the soot from the burning wick build up on it...

EDIT: Forgot the obvious one... Burning a piece of sprue will give you plenty of soot as well...

Bingo.  They've hit the nail on the head.

Interesting debate love to see all of the Ideas on panel lines. I have tried preshading and didnt like it . I like post shading using a lighter color in the middle of the panel. I like brown washes in recessed lines I feel black is to much. I you are not confident with your airbrushing skills preshade. I will use tamiya clear smoke to darken areas. Under an airplane is dirty I use post it notes to put clear smoke aft of the panel lines looks good.  Go to an aircraft museum and look at a plane that has sat in the weather that is what you want to your subject to look like.

Ive used both techniques. In my opinion the preshading is harder only because it requires very contolled applications of the color coats afterwards. But the effect can be very nice when done correctly.

I more often use a wash after all my painting is complete. I usually use a slightly darker shade of the color I've painted to keep the effect subtle.

The real trick in pre-shading is to make sure you let the paint dry before you decide whether or not you're done with the color coat over the top.  You'll think you've got the preshading covered and then after the paint dries you see that you're not quite there yet.  Many thin coats over the top.  I keep the color in the airbrush cup for maybe an hour or more while covering the pre-shading.