Dot filtering question

My advice is: Don't bother. "Dot filtering" is simply another formulaic fad, similar to the overdone "pre-shading," "post-shading," and the latest, "color modulation," which have given us nothing but cartoons and caricatures of real objects rather than scale models.

More advice: Don't follow someone else's "cookbook" approach to painting your models. They will all turn out looking like their models, rather than the real objects they are supposed to portray. Real objects, whether they be tanks, ships, cars, or aircraft, do not weather in accordance with a formula. Rather, study photos of the real thing and develop your own techniques to acheive a realistic look. Also remember that subtlety and understatement is the key to achieving an accurate weathered look. If you think your model needs more weathering, stop; it's already weathered enough.

Originality notwithstanding, you need not seal Tamiya acrylics before dot filtering or washes, I have built 3 models using that exact combination.

Beware that the filters and washes will greatly darken your base coat.  I myself have decided that the spectral multi color approach does not work for me, and I confine myself to using dots of a similar color to the underlying paint.  For me, reds, blues and greens simply overpower the base coat and I do not like the effect.

 

Agreee totally that less is more for effects.  This is exponentially related to the "starkness" of the technique.  Mud is often overdone, as is chipping and rusting.  A little goes a very long way.    

BraniffBuff wrote:

My advice is: Don't bother. "Dot filtering" is simply another formulaic fad, similar to the overdone "pre-shading," "post-shading," and the latest, "color modulation," which have given us nothing but cartoons and caricatures of real objects rather than scale models.

 

Wow - someone that agrees with me that the "new" techniques make models look cartoonish!  I thought I was the only one!