Hi everyone :)
I thought that today I would talk a little about some of the more unusual tools I use when I am building and painting miniatures. While debate rages about what the best brand of paint is, and who make the best paintbrushes, everyone agrees that both are vital to the mini painting process. I use a few things in my painting which are a little unusual, and I thought I would share those tips with you. This is going to be the start of a series, because I don't want to try and cram so much into a single post that it becomes unmanageable. Some of the things I use I bought because there are cheaper alternatives out there than the specialist miniature stuff, and some I found because there simply weren't tools for miniatures which did what I wanted. Today we're starting in the world of make up.
There is actually quite a bit of crossover between the worlds of make up and miniature painting, and I have to thank my wife who is an amazing artist in many media (including make up) for pointing this out to me. You do have to be a little careful, though, because the make up world is prone to high big-brand pricing in the same way miniature painting is.
My first tip here is relatively well known, but I think it's worth repeating anyway. Make up brushes can make very good drybrushes. One of my go-to drybrushes is actually an eyeshadow brush, and they're fundamentally designed with similar properties in mind. The bristles of the brush are densely packed, they have a defined edge and they snap back well. The brush I have cost around £3 (it was actually part of a multi-pack, but is very similar to this brush) and I actually prefer it to my GW drybrush. A wide variety of these brushes exist, and if you're looking for even denser bristles, check out this one.
A £3 eyeshadow brush/drybrush
My second tip from the world of make up is one I haven't seen anyone else suggesting, although I'm sure there's someone out there who is! It's to use a silicone liner brush to create accurate circles. This one is a little more expensive (the one I use was £11.99), but I've found it really useful for all sorts of things from polka dots to eyeballs.
Dots on bandana painted using silicone liner brush
The key with this tool is that it doesn't have bristles like a traditional brush. Instead, it has a single silicone tip which can't splay or divide while you're using it. The tip is a little flexible, so it may take a little practice to get perfect circles, but the nature of the tip makes it significantly easier than using a traditional brush.
As I mentioned, this can be a fantastic tool for painting eyeballs. A quick dab of colour using this tool and you have a great looking eye for your miniature. I hope that you've found this post interesting and informative, I'm planning to post another in this series for each of the next two weeks, so do check back to see what I'm up to! Goblin Squire :)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
Categories
All
|