How do you get a smooth coat on a figure without brush marks?

The consistancy of the paint is important.  When it is right, it evens out nicely.  Too thick or too thin and it will either pool or form ridges.  Each brand is different and a lot of people swear by Vallejo, but I've never tried it.  They make a few colors I might get to try but I generally only use Model Master, Testors, or the rare Humbol.  I'm a college student and I'm cash strapped (perpetually broke in other words) so I use what I can get.  A decent brush is necessary too but most rough finishes for me were fixed with a little thinning. 

I told you on my thread, but Ill repost it here for your reference

 

 

"For the arm, I used something I learnt from zen when I was on another forum with him, THIN YOUR PAINT, better to do many coats instead of one thick streaky one. I put the paint on, and let it spread itself, on small things like that, then touch up the other areas and make sure it isnt to thick. 

One thing I learnt on my own, use gently, soft strokes, dont force the brush, carress the piece with the brush, like your dusting off ancient artifacts on an archiological dig, be carefull and be gentle, and you wont have brush marks, the whole piece (figure) is hand painted, I dont AB my figures"

 

With the brush, have you ever made a cake, this is how I learned it.  If you put the iceing on by forcing it, you will pull the cake appart, the same goes for a kit, if you force the brush you will leave brush marks and streaks and such.  So be gentle, I rarley use the whole brush, I just use the tip now.

 I also dont use alot of paint.  I have some junk brushes for odd stuff that I dont care about (like 200 of them, ther crap but why waste them) the bristles are white/clear I use so little paint that when I wash them off they are clear and white again.

What mixes of paint and paint thinners do you use?

well I use model masters paint, so I use a tooth pick to mix, and I just put thinner in so that I when I mix it (after letting it sit for a day or so) I dont get any clumped up paint, and that it drips nicley off of the toothpick, it isnt any real %of thinner, just try untill its as thin as you need, but go slowly, I have over thinned before, its a real hastle

Smeagol is right only use the tip of the brush(2~3mm).

Too thin a brush or too thick a brush also matter.

Myself never use anything below a 00 brush, why a good brush will keep the tip, use a 10/0 brush that spreads and it will be like using a 0 brush.

Myself for fine details prefer calligraphy brushes or pin-striping brushes(same thing really).

I learned a lot from calligraphy using nips and brushes.

IMHO, few people today truly master their brushes and rather reach for an AB.

Just my view.

Greetings Will,

    Simply put, 2 thin coats of acrylic. I personally use Polly Scale with Model Master Acrylic thinner in the super cool, easy to use dropper bottle.

Until my Airbrush went crap on me I sprayed 2 light coats waiting at least an hour or two inbetween.

SST

I have to agree with Zen, way to many people grab the AB to paint, they would rather spend the time doing a ton of masking, then pick up a brush.  I cant tell you how much I love handpainting my kits.  I just use the AB to cover large areas and do stuff that would take forever with a brush.

 

This approach works for me:

 1) Use quality brushes. Buy the best sable brushes you can afford, and look after them well. Do this even if it means buying fewer kits. You can always spend more time on the ones you can afford. Use flat brushes to apply the main colours, and pointed ones to do the detail work. You don't need many - a 5mm and 10mm flat, and a #0. #2 and #4 pointed ones will do just fine for 54mm and larger figures.

2) Airbrush the main colours. If you have an airbrush, why make life difficult for yourself? The main reason you use them is to avoid brushmarks. Nobody's suggesting you should use it for detail work.

3) Consider airbrushing a few coats of matt varnish over the figure. This even out the paint job, and helps any brushmarks disappear. You can always restore any surfaces that need to be shiny with a coat or two of Future. Generally, I paint the main colours before I do the face and other flesh bits, which, I know, is against conventional wisdom, but it does make this approach possible.

But thinning your paint to the required consistency will get you at least 80% of the way.

Cheers,

Chris.

 Hello Will,

 That's good advice. It really is not as important the types of paints you use as is the proper thinning. If you have or are planning on getting a decent set of brushes remember to "TAKE CARE OF YOUR BRUSHES" A good set of brushes will last a long time if they're taken care of. Even an airbrush needs taken care of and cleaned after every use.

 Best Regards,

Yea, I might not completly clean all my brushes and AB, but I clean my good ones.  And I give my AB a spray of thinner through it for a good min or so of straight thinner to keep it all flowing, and wipe off the needle.  (that doesnt go for the outside, which is starting to become caked in paint)

Thick paint leaves brush strokes.  Thin your paint.  Most bottle colors are ready to use straight out of the bottle, but there are exceptions.   Easy does it with the thinner; it usually doesn't take a whole lot.

 

 

I'm not sure how it works with ither types of paint, but with acrylics at least it isn't a disaster if I overthin, which I do alot because I'm still getting the hang of this.  I dont want to add more paint, becuase I dont need that much and I dont want to waste it.  So I just leave the container of too thin paint sitting out, maybe under a fan for a few minutes and the alchohol or water will start to evaporate and I'll be fine.  I really prefer brush painting but it just takes practice to learn the right consistency to not leave brush marks.  Experiment and youll get what works for you. 

I used to worry about wasting paint as well. I'd be really chincy with it. What a pain!

Nowadays I always mix plenty and usually have lots left over after the task is completed. It was just too much of a PITA to mix more when I needed it. Just my 2 cents.

SST

I paint exclusively with artist's oils. After a good primer coat of enamel white, I start applying "base coat" layers. 

The secret is to use a clean, dry bush after applying the color, to blend and feather the area you have just covered. The clean, dry brush will nicely blend all of the pigment, and remove any excess. If the brush builds up with color, simply wipe it on a clean, dry cloth.

This will work nicely with even the most stubborn colors (dark blues and reds).

Some great info in this thread...hope people keep posting tips and techniques...

With the discussion of hand painting details, I painted the markings on these 2 planes:

1/48 scale Arii P47 :

http://www.armor.se/forum/uploaded/buddho/20075245926_MVC-007F.JPG

The roundels and stars were airbrushed and the numbers, letters and cowl art are handpainted.

1/48 scale Arii Me 109G-6:

http://www.armor.se/forum/uploaded/buddho/200742462035_109%201.JPG

All markings on this one are brushed on.

I'd suggest you look online somewhere to track down Windsor Newton Kolinsky sable brushes.

Get a size 2, size 1 and size 0, this should run ya about $24-30 depending on source and sales.

The same site you purchase these things from should also sell a brush cleaning soap, and a brush re-forming solution. An additional $10 on these two things will assure that the brushes last at least 10+ years. (I've got 20+ year old brushes in my collection that look as though I got 'em yesterday...it's all in the care you give them)

Use a good quality, highly pigmented acrylic paint. I've never seen good results with any of the enamels out there. I would suggest Vallejo Model Color to you as I am very familiar with it's characteristics in terms of figure painting.

There are a few hard 'n fast rules when it comes to messing with Vallejo's;

1) Thin them down.
2) Shake the things til your arm is numb.
3) Use distilled water, or a bit of their own thinner, to thin the paints down.
4) Paint multiple layers of the color you want to use to get nice smooth coats. (3-4 is pretty good usually, but I see people putting in excess of 60 layers to get nice subtle transitions on a fig. Vallejo can be thinned to the point that you feel like you're painting with dirty water...but it still retains it's color lucidity.)

So long you follow those simple rules, you should be on the road to producing great figures asap!

-Mike

See, this is one thing I dont agree with.  I use these crappy little plastic handled brushes you can get in the dollar store for 20 for a buck, and they work PERFECTLY fine.  I went out once and bought a fine tip Tamiya brush once, well, it isnt so fine tip now, just from wear and tear (and yes, I cleaned it after each use)

I dont see spending 20$ for a brush being worth the money

If at all possible, buy brushes in a shop, in person. Individual brushes vary, even between the same brand and the same size and style. You've got to be sure that the brush you buy will keep its shape, and you can't do this on-line. Even if you trust the on-line retailer, there's no certainty that the individual packer who handles your order will know, or care, enough to ensure this.

Plus, it helps keep your LHS/ local art supply store in business!

Cheers,

Chris.

smeagol the vile wrote:

See, this is one thing I dont agree with.  I use these crappy little plastic handled brushes you can get in the dollar store for 20 for a buck, and they work PERFECTLY fine.  I went out once and bought a fine tip Tamiya brush once, well, it isnt so fine tip now, just from wear and tear (and yes, I cleaned it after each use) I dont see spending 20$ for a brush being worth the money

Sorry, but using cheapo brushes is like running a top of the line stereo system throch an in dash speaker from a 1969 Volkwagen. Brushes are not the place to try to economize. About the only thing those brushes are good for is stirring paint.

Well they work perfectly fine for me.

You might think they work fine for you because you haven't used the others yet, pard... Tell ya what, If you have a Hobby Lobby in your area, Smeag, try there.  In the artists' section the brushes come in all sizes and shapes, and for considerably less than 20 bucks and go on and off sale all the time, usually 30 to 50%...  Grumbacher's are about the most popular, but you pay a bit for the name as well... Look at all of them, and closely... check the points carefully..   True, a good red sable 0 will run about 8-10 bucks, but you don't really need red sable, but your DO need the point.  The brush point is what you're paying for, rather than the material.  Stay away from the 000 and 000000 types.  They hold so little paint they're about useless... A well-defined point with a body that will hold a nice amount of paint in it's bristles is what you're after...

I promise ya, after you get past the initial distrust of using things "for artists", you'll never go back..