Using ink to highlight panels...Who else does it?

What kind of ink do you use? This is an interesting idea to me, but I've not tried it. I think the word you're looking for is accentuate.

What techniquie do you use to wash the ink and to remove the excess? With the type of ink you use, what colors are available? I'd like to know more.


madda

Dear Josh
I use pen refill ink (parker, pelikan etc) or china/sketch ink....Black color.
Also I use a rapidograph or a fine marker (Rotring or Sanford Uniball micro) to draw/ ink the cavity of the panel. Now it looks a bit overdone. Wipe it by following the slipstream using either a cotton swab or clean finger.....You can then use a cotton swab soaked in decal solution to wipe the rest according to your liking. The ink will start glowing but do not panic once mr softer has dried / evaporated order will be restored. I found out it works nicely for control surfaces joins and panels with a bit of skill you can do rivetting too but my eyes are a bit poor for that and any other kind of wash...). the nice thing is that it does not influence the color whether it is acrylic or enamel and can be done straight on the surface. You can seal with varnish offcourse but honestly i do not ever do it.

ps thanks for the spelling. Hereby you are appointed my official royal dictionary carrier. You can carry this title of nobility to your seal with pride.......lol

Well, I'm gonna give this a try with my next aircraft...

I've used the Citadel inks for several years now, with great results. It's alot cheaper than mixing my own, too.

demono69

QUOTE: Originally posted by thyamis Dear Josh I use pen refill ink (parker, pelikan etc) or china/sketch ink....Black color. Also I use a rapidograph or a fine marker (Rotring or Sanford Uniball micro) to draw/ ink the cavity of the panel. Now it looks a bit overdone. Wipe it by following the slipstream using either a cotton swab or clean finger.....You can then use a cotton swab soaked in decal solution to wipe the rest according to your liking. The ink will start glowing but do not panic once mr softer has dried / evaporated order will be restored. I found out it works nicely for control surfaces joins and panels with a bit of skill you can do rivetting too but my eyes are a bit poor for that and any other kind of wash...). the nice thing is that it does not influence the color whether it is acrylic or enamel and can be done straight on the surface. You can seal with varnish offcourse but honestly i do not ever do it. ps thanks for the spelling. Hereby you are appointed my official royal dictionary carrier. You can carry this title of nobility to your seal with pride.......lol

Hehe, thanks for the Title!

I have a bunch of Rotring very fine line art pens around here, I'll dig them out and see what I can do. I'm getting somewhat close to finishing my F-18 and could do some testing there. Wish me luck!

madda

I messed around it with a .30 rotring and found that it didn't work...until I realized that I was using natural ink, which had microscopic particles in it (Sennelier, excellent with a brush though), so I went to the art store, found a palette of synthetic inks, and "en voiture, Simone"; moreover, you have very little to clean around recessed lines compared with brush work; another thing, Spanish modellers seem to use sepia, but you have to know that you have a number of sepias, as much as brands, so check whatever you prefer; I also have a soft spot for "terre de Cassel" which slightly lighter than sepia.

one of the other guys on this forum (sorry i cant remember who it is) uses the flannel grey ink...it's hard to find but makes nice subtle lines, not as stark as black...a guy at my hobby shop uses india ink and it looks great!

i recent tried to use a razor point pen on panel lines, but i did it before i painted in an attempt to "pre-shade".
i don't know if the ink is the wrong sort, or if the whole idea (using a fine tip pen) was hare-brained, but when i attempted to paint over it, the paint 'activated' the ink (or perhaps it does not dry in 24 hours) and the ink "bloomed" thru coat after coat of paint.
i thought i would have to use 2 bottles of flat white to cover a 1/48 Wildcat!!

i am not sure why this failed so dismally, and the method you describe works so well.
suppose it's the type of ink?
the paint & thinner (airbrushed Tamiya Acrylic) ?

it will be a while before i go down this road again!!

ed.

sorry to hear that.....
the idea is that you do it once the paint has dried. It is used for weathering.
a lot of people as i ve seen use ink for washes. if you use ink directly over plastic what happened to you is a normal reaction unless the paint is permanent. If you recollect my previous topic i do say that the ink reacts with all solvents, so it is used once paint has dried, and use decal solution to be on the safe side.(or if you use enamels use acrylic thinner and vice versa).
Unless it sealed afterwards the wash ink eventually fades away if you touch the model all the time. It is more like a dirt or grease applied rather than actual paint job.
PS We always experiment on old scrappy models anyway......LOL

ive never used ink to highlite panels before, but i have used ink from a regular ball point pen to color clear parts, just dab a little of the ink on the part and rub in. works great,and yes i have used the tamiya clear paint.this was somthing i was doing before i knew of the clear paints.

thyamis,
so could the ink be put on over future and then sealed w/ a nother coat of future?

ed.

i can not tell really. in fact i did not know what future is untill i found you guys.
The way i do it is that i simply apply ink as a wash once paint has dried right on the paint surface.(2-3 days after). I use it on flat colors mainly.
i suggest you experiment in a scrap model and share with us!!!
if i got you first in tha i will post it for all.
you willl find a few other topics on the subject though.
India and Siena inks are used by these people.
Propably they work best but in my hamlet art stores are as rare as iceburgs in the desert so i use plain inks instead....lol. the trick is to find a suitable ink tha it will not adhere to the surface right away and will not flow for ever either. Sorry if my english are a bit vague but i started a year ago.

Where are you from thyamis? For only starting to learn English a year ago, you're doing quite well. I hear that it's a very hard language to learn. The next model that I build that has recessed panel lines I'm going to try this. My F-18 has raised panel lines, so I don't think it'll be much good. It might work nicely as a wash around raised details though. I need to hit my art supply store to look for some colored inks.


madda

thanks for the kind words madda. am from athens greece..i will try and improve though. I reckon that this forum is a good practising ground. So if you see any mistakes attack me ruthlessy.

by the way how you highlight raised panels? I bought a spitfire wit raised lines so thats new ground for me believe it or not.

correction. not athens really. a village an hour away....athens is the olympic city so i;d better support them...lol. I had the inspiration for using drybrushing to highlight raised lines got it right?

I've heard of a few different ways. I think I'm going to use a drafting pencil with a fairly soft lead. I think drybrushing might work, but it might gunk up the rest of the model, the panel lines don't stand out much. I've heard of people preshading them, painting the model, then lightly sanding over the top paint to expose the darker line underneath, that might be a good way as well. I hate raised panel lines, but this model was a gift, so what can ya do?

How far from Thermopalae are ya? Did I spell that right? Amazing battle there, the Spartans were some hard people for sure.

madda

Thermopylae (means Gates of Fire) is about 200km away.
Its an awsome place even though after 2500 years the nearby river has moved the coast line a few miles further (the narrows are wider now ).
returning to models i will do that. i won't rescribe the raised lines to recessed.