"Softening" highlights that are too stark?

[Rhoderic]

You lot have given me inferiority complex (really! I mean it! ), so I've decided to eschew drybrushing and do "real" highlights for my Hyboria project. It's going so-so. Despite using four layers of highlights (which to me is a damn lot), the contrast is turning out too stark sometimes. So, now I need you lot to teach me how to soften the contrast a bit. Glazes? Feathering? I've experimented with glazes in the past, and the results haven't been that good. Since then, I've acquired a bottle of Vallejo's Glaze Medium, which I haven't tried yet. Feathering is something I've never done, but it sounds hard.

[Orctrader]

I have used a glaze on occasion to tone down a highlight, but it's quite rare.  Personally I thin my paints quite a lot so when the highlights are being applied the first layer or two actually allow the colour below to "show through."  I think with my "style" this gradual build-up is what prevents highlights becoming too stark.

Of course, if the "shade" difference between base - mid-tone - highlight are wrong to begin with...

Any chance of posting some examples?

[Rhoderic]

Don't have a camera at the moment, and anyway, I was sort of hoping to save the photos (once I take them) for the Lead Painter's League. Sorry 'bout that.

[Hammers]

Glazes could do the trick but you need to use inks and they have to be incredibly thinned.

[Aaron]

I sometimes misjudge my colors and end up with this. The solution (for me) is to mix the two colors together and put a thin layer or three along the "fault line".

[Rhoderic]

Glazes could do the trick but you need to use inks and they have to be incredibly thinned.

Would there be any point mixing the ink with varnish or glaze medium or something, to help "carry" the ink and make sure it doesn't just flow where I don't want it?

I want to be as sure as possible about what to do, before I start applying any glazes.

[Hammers]

Glazes could do the trick but you need to use inks and they have to be incredibly thinned.

Would there be any point mixing the ink with varnish or glaze medium or something, to help "carry" the ink and make sure it doesn't just flow where I don't want it?

I want to be as sure as possible about what to do, before I start applying any glazes.

I never tried that.

[audrey]

I used glazes on this figures boots below. Sorry the photo does not show the boots that well.

I highlight his boots using 3 progressions of greys, roughly an 80%, 60% and 50% grey. So when they were painted the boots were close to a light grey color over all.

Then what I did was thin down some black ink using magic wash. Magic wash is a 1:4 mix of water and future floor wax. I can't remember the amount I thinned the ink down. It was something like 1 drop of black ink to 30 or 40 drops of magic wash. The wash almost looked entirely clear. Then I proceeded to put the wash on the boots. Each coat of the wash dries rather quickly. Each wash is subtle, but you can see the difference over time. After about 10+ coats the boots looked black with highlights. I feel it gives more depth to the boots and looks less stark than grey straight on black.



-Audrey

[Rhoderic]

Ahh, screw it. I think I'll just strip the figures and start again. Too many colours turned out all wrong. I hope the lessons learned will let me get it right second time around

I hope the "event horizon" for the LPL isn't too near

[Rhoderic]

Oh god, I've stripped and repainted the figures so many times I'm going insane! They're soaking in paint stripper for the third time now. Someone please stop me before I go off my rocker completely and my neighbours find me curled up in a fetal position gibbering "They don't turn out good enough! They just don't turn out good enough!" ::

[twrchtrwyth]

Oh god, I've stripped and repainted the figures so many times I'm going insane! They're soaking in paint stripper for the third time now. Someone please stop me before I go off my rocker completely and my neighbours find me curled up in a fetal position gibbering "They don't turn out good enough! They just don't turn out good enough!" ::

Are you in the same room as your paint stripper, could be the fumes. ::

[JollyBob]

It may be a little too late for me to suggest this, given that you've already stripped them, but it was someone told me that a very thin wash of your medium tone over everything will help deaden the contrast.

It ceratinly works on flesh tones, but I've not tried it on bolder colours. Might be worth a go if it happens again?  :

[Hammers]

I used glazes on this figures boots below. Sorry the photo does not show the boots that well.

I highlight his boots using 3 progressions of greys, roughly an 80%, 60% and 50% grey. So when they were painted the boots were close to a light grey color over all.

 I feel it gives more depth to the boots and looks less stark than grey straight on black.

-Audrey

A good method, Audrey, I use it myself when I try saving blacks which have turned out too grey.

[Plynkes]

It does sound like a good method. But ten coats for a pair of boots? Life's too bleedin' short for that kind of malarkey.

If you catch Plynkes up to that kind of thing then I fear he will have developed some kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder. In my right mind I could never go to those lengths just on account of some boots.

[Rhoderic]

It may be a little too late for me to suggest this, given that you've already stripped them, but it was someone told me that a very thin wash of your medium tone over everything will help deaden the contrast.

It ceratinly works on flesh tones, but I've not tried it on bolder colours. Might be worth a go if it happens again?  :

I tried something like it while painting these miniatures last time around. The problem is that even this takes a little practice to get right, and when you get it wrong you'll have ruined the whole surface. Anyway, I don't want to rely on this technique as a crutch. It's better that I learn how to get it right from the start.

...some kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder...

Yes, you called?