Ink for miniatures

[Pants]

I need to find some ink for washing my mini and I have some ink for pens at home. Now my question is, do I need some special kind of ink for washing or can I use any ink? The closest LGS around me is about 45 minutes away, so I'm hoping that I won't need special mini ink as opposed to ink I can get at Hobby Lobby.

 

[Darius101]

Ink? We got some ideas on that

you could always use an old fashioned (now anyway)mehtod with just your acrylic paint.

I used to take one drop of paint and two drops of water until it was somewhat thin. Then paint on as a wash. This will allow you to create depth in the mini. and you want it to be somewhat light as it is easier to add than to take away.

The difference with using the 'special' water soluable ink is that you can do a technique called glazing. I would not use pen ink unless you have something to really thin it down with. It may also have a longer or shorter drying time which will affect your work.

The ink your looking for should be water soluable and I think they sell this ink at craft stores much cheaper and in bigger bottle at craft stores. I used to use air brush inks before they came out with Citadel inks. (1989 or so)
You could also get two bottles of the color you want to use for ink washing/glazing and thin one down to the desired consistancy.

Good luck let me know how it turns out,
Darius

 

[Pants]

I tried washing with thinned paint, but the effect has been of sporadic quality at best. The LotR Cave Troll and my Beholder turned out great with the effect, but my smaller minis haven't come out quite as good. I have found the faces to be the hardest part to do. The detail in 'em is a pain in the arse.

 

[D'karr]

I tried washing with thinned paint, but the effect has been of sporadic quality at best. The LotR Cave Troll and my Beholder turned out great with the effect, but my smaller minis haven't come out quite as good. I have found the faces to be the hardest part to do. The detail in 'em is a pain in the arse.

I wouldn't necessarily use inks to do washes, which seems to be what you are describing.

Inks have a very high degree of pigmentation and usually end up giving a glossy look. Not necessarily what you would want for faces.

I've found that painting faces is easy if you invert the process.

Let me explain.

Paint the base color that you want the face to have. Let's say "Dwarven Flesh".

Then apply a coat of "Flesh Wash". This is the very dark brown wash. You could also thin out a color such as "Snakebite Leather" and use it as a wash.

This will make the face look dirty. It coats all the grooves in the face.


Make sure the wash is dry. Then apply a lighter color of flesh (let's say "Elf Flesh") using a dry brushing technique. You could also use the same color you used as a base and add a bit of white to lighten it.

This will give you a face that has the nooks and crannies in a darker color but the high areas in a lighter color.

Then paint your eyes as normal.

Good luck.

 

[kengar]

For faces, I usually paint a darker color, followed by a lighter, followed by a diluted ink wash. i.e. Bronzed Flesh, Elf Flesh, Flesh Ink (ink is 2-3:1 water to ink). This brings out the details and blends the two skin colors together somewhat. Then I paint the eyes.

If I've done it right, the ink also darkens the eye sockets slightly, accetning the eyes after I paint them in.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that the lighter paint is only on the prominent or "lit" areas of the face (cheekbones, forehead, etc.).

 

[Darius101]

Those are the same tehnques I use for the faces.
You have to be careful when painting and lightening a face with white. If you add to much white it will look chalky.

Darius
Paitrix - Face Painiting Tips

 

[D'karr]

I'm sorry, my comment might have been misunderstood.

Don't apply white directly to the mini for highlighting. Mix white and your base color to get a lighter highlight color, then apply it by dry brushing.

Applying white directly will make a Kabuki out of you...

 

[Darius101]

No I understood your comment ....
White isn't always the best thing to add to a color to lighten it.

Later,
Darius

 

[KnowTheToe]

I tried washing with thinned paint, but the effect has been of sporadic quality at best.

Thinning paints with water can get you inconsistant results and can leave drop like spots. I forget what I use and everything is packed for my move, but there is a thinner/extender for acrylic paints at Michaels and some other product. The combination of these two thin the paint, but hold the pigmentation together so you don't get spotting. They also stop your paint from drying as quicklt on your pallet or model. Some form of extender is necessary for wet blending colors.

 

[D'karr]

Thinning paints with water can get you inconsistant results and can leave drop like spots. I forget what I use and everything is packed for my move, but there is a thinner/extender for acrylic paints at Michaels and some other product. The combination of these two thin the paint, but hold the pigmentation together so you don't get spotting. They also stop your paint from drying as quicklt on your pallet or model. Some form of extender is necessary for wet blending colors.

You can also make your own.

A mixture of 5:1 distilled water and of "Future" wax will give you a great thinner for acrylic paint. It does wonders for blending. Make sure that the 5 parts is water, not "wax".

This "wax" is not really wax but an acrylic based gloss.

A bottle of "Future" wax will last you for several elven lifetimes.