Hi everyone :)
I recently ran out of Agrax Earthshade and found myself critically low on Nuln Oil and, after an appropriate amount of wailing and gnashing of teeth, I decided that rather than replenish my supplies I'd have a go at making replacements myself. Over the last few weeks I've done some research into suggested approaches and conducted some small scale experiments, but this is my first go at making large batch washes. I thought I'd share with you my process and the outcome.
Method
The method for making the washes is actually pretty simple, although it will require a little trial and error to get it perfect. The base for each is 1 part acrylic matt medium to 3 parts distilled/de-ionised water. You're looking for about the consistency of a branded wash, without the colour of course! As I was making a larger batch, I added a single drop of washing up liquid to each pot to act as flow aid. This isn't technically necessary but does help the consistency and how it works on the miniature.
If you're making smaller batches of wash you can put a few drops of washing up liquid into a dropper bottle with some of the distilled water and add to your washes from there. That helps you regulate the amount of washing up liquid because you really do only need a tiny amount.
Once you've got the base for the wash it's time to add the colour. Unfortunately this is where trial and error can't really be avoided, as the type of colour (paint or ink) and the level of pigment it contains will affect this. One thing to note is that black ink will essentially always require less colour due to the nature of the pigments.
This is one place I would recommend varying from my method, and a way in which I will do things differently next time. The paints did work as a way of colouring the washes, but were not as good as using inks. The brown in particular, which I picked up because it was cheaper and I intended to use it in large batches, required a lot to be added to produce the colour I wanted and that really started to change the consistency of the wash.
Using this method you do end up with a very slight milkiness to the wash, but it dries clear so it's not something you have to worry about!
I have found that the best way to test the colour and consistency of the washes is to try them out on a miniature. If you still have some of your preferred branded wash available it's a good idea to try them out next to each other so you can get a clear idea of how similar they are. Don't be afraid to add more of anything at this stage if it's not quite what you were hoping for. I tested my washes on an old 3D print of some stalagmites. Here you can see the piece which I painted using only zenithal priming and the washes I had made. Final Thoughts
I mentioned above that part of the point of me making these was to save some money. Buying all the ingredients for these isn't necessarily cheap in itself - I spent about £15 - but what I have here will keep me making my own washes for a very long time. In the long run it will definitely prove to be a good investment. I'm also going to be looking in to getting some different inks so that I can make washes of lots of different colours!
I've included some amazon links here (they're actually affiliate links so I would get a tiny amount if you bought something using the links, at no extra cost to you). They're here to make things easier if you want to see what's out there and check out prices. I have no particular attachment to those items other than I've used them and they've worked well. I hope it goes without saying that I don't guarantee anything regarding them! Finally, old takeaway pots work really well for this, but if you use them don't make the mistake of trying to mix the wash by shaking the pot. At least the pots I used were not waterproof and made for a very messy time! I really hope you've found this interesting and helpful, and that you have fun if you decide to make your own washes. Let me know how you get on! Goblin Squire :)
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