What is dot weathering?

It recreates fading.It involves dots of different artist oils.You place different colors like blues,ochres,whites on a surface dampened with spirits,then drag a moistened brush over the dots,mixing the colors until the proper effect is achived.Takes some practice.

Use the search feature,enter oil dot filtering,you should find some tutorials here

Thedoog has done some great work with this method, he has had a couple of articles in the mag covering this.

Click the switch to see the original toot.

Thanks, Steve, for posting that link--save me the trouble of finding it again, lol.

"Dot Filtering" began in the "Spanish School" of Armor modeling. The Spanish modelers who filled the pages of the awesome "Armor" magazine really made this their "style". It's a direct opposite of the "Nordic" style which uses more harsh gradients of blacks and whites to effect shadows and chromatic tones. I got it from an "inside source" who told me that the guys who came up with it conceived of it as being a chromatic palette of barely-perceptible primary colors that would theoretically have been bounced off of and reflected from various items and landscapes in the bright, hot Spanish sun. This was the concept behind it.

The technique is effected by adding small "dots" of oils of primary colors--red, white, blue, yellow. These colors, when combined, blend and combine into the secondary colors of orange, green, etc. The dots are to be diluted by the application of thinner until they dissolve into a very thin sheen of transparent color over the base coat. This gives an impression of light dancing off the model, reflecting off of environmental objects around the tank. It's really not meant to "fade" a tank, per se -- although some modelers, including myself, sometimes use it with weathering colors-- raw umber, yellow ochre, etc -- to fade and dirty a tank.

To add to what Karl has mentioned, dot "filters" are versatile and can produce a wide range of effects depending on when and how you use them. The choice/selection of colors comes down to three factors: 1) the color(s) of the base coat you are working with (different colors are needed for multi-color camo schemes, monochrome schemes, whitewash schemes, etc.), 2) the desired effect (color shift, weathering, streaking, etc.), and 3) the types of paints you work with (enamels, acryilics, oils).

There's no one set way of using them...the best approach IMHO is to experiment with the fundamentals and find the combination that works for you and the effects you wish to produce. Filters, when done a certain way, can be "stacked" to produce layered effects and results that you can't get any other way.

Karl could you tell if this model was dot filtered?

http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/detailfs?userid={F9F3E062-FE3B-4434-9898-193F749A47C4}&AlbumId={1E33698B-187E-431E-8D62-1239417E6791}&GroupId={F66D4D38-AC26-45DC-9459-1F627FD57A3D}&vs=l&ndx=57&albumid={1E33698B-187E-431E-8D62-1239417E6791}&groupid={F66D4D38-AC26-45DC-9459-1F627FD57A3D}

sorry for the long link.

Pinch hitting for Karl....you can see the "shading" or hues and some weathering streaks. If it was done with plain filters such as the MIG filters and their effects or was it done with dot filters is difficult to say for sure but due to the variation in hues I think it is done with dots.

As my buddies stated try it. Take some scrap material and try it. It can become one of many tools in the finish arsenal!!

Rounds Complete!!

modeler#1

Karl could you tell if this model was dot filtered?

http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/detailfs?userid={F9F3E062-FE3B-4434-9898-193F749A47C4}&AlbumId={1E33698B-187E-431E-8D62-1239417E6791}&GroupId={F66D4D38-AC26-45DC-9459-1F627FD57A3D}&vs=l&ndx=57&albumid={1E33698B-187E-431E-8D62-1239417E6791}&groupid={F66D4D38-AC26-45DC-9459-1F627FD57A3D}

sorry for the long link.

Understand that the whole "dot" method does not have to be accomplished STRICTLY with dots. I've managed to get the same effect with careful combining of colors on a plastic palette with a wet brush. Mainly out of laziness. lol but it can work very similarly.

One thing to note as well, is that the technique was originally done by drawing all the colors downward to effect subtle streaks. I've used it to pool and puddle the colors though, like a filter. The best thing that I can tell ANYONE here is to experiment and find your own methods and results; after all, how do think the guys who discovered these little miracles discovered them? The way that YOU do the technique is a major factor in garnering your own, uniquely-identifiable "style" as a modeler.

After a second look at that link, I noticed that you could scroll through the photos like a blog, and I found this:

Photo of oil palette

As I suspected, not "dots", but Mike's usual way of color modulation using different oils on a wet brush, blended on the model. Similar, but not technically the Spanish School "Dot method".

Would you recommend using the dot method on surfaces littered with bolts or is it mostly suitalble for plane surfaces?

/Bultenibo aka Tony

You said the brush had to be wet.should i use water or oil paint thiner and if the later where would I get it 

modeler#1

You said the brush had to be wet.should i use water or oil paint thiner and if the later where would I get it 

As for where you'd get it? Does Canada sell it?

bultenibo

Would you recommend using the dot method on surfaces littered with bolts or is it mostly suitalble for plane surfaces?

/Bultenibo aka Tony

Here are two photos of a recent build where I used the dot method for the first time. I was trying to achieve colour variations due to the monochrome colour and a streaking effect. I did this over a gloss coat instead of a flat coat since it was my first attempt.

In the first photo you can hopefully see the colour variation on the side skirts:

In this photo if you look at the front of the side skirt you can see some streaking:

As everyone has said before, just try it, experiment with it and most of all have fun with it. I was very hesitant to try it and after I had, I was kicking myself for never trying it before.

Karl, mentioned being careful with the brush strokes around the bolts. If you look at the wheels in the two photos, that is what happens when you are not careful with your strokes, you get oil paint all over the wheels. Ironically I actually liked the result of my "carelessness".

John

Great results John!

And this was the first time you used the dot method?

I've got to try it out. Since I tend to stick to monocrome tanks I need to get some color variations some way or the other, and I'm getting bored of the drybrushing...

I also think the wheels turned out just fine! It looks like some serious dirt has gathered at the center of the wheels, as it usually do.

/Bultenibo

Say I wanted to whitewash my model. could I instead use different variations of white rather than the blue,yellow,red? (I'm talking about the color of oil paint)

modeler#1

Say I wanted to whitewash my model. could I instead use different variations of white rather than the blue,yellow,red? (I'm talking about the color of oil paint)

My opinion is, no--you would only wind up fading your model unrealistically. Additionally, given the tendency of white oil paint to fade and absorb into base coats after a while, your model would gradually darken. As a rule, don't use pure white oil paint to fade, tint, or color any part where the white color is supposed to be the dominant color. ESPECIALLY over acrylics.