"Softening" highlights that are too stark?

[Orctrader]

Oh god, I've stripped and repainted the figures so many times I'm going insane!

May I speak frankly?

Don't do this - ever.  You will actually delay your improvement.

Paint a figure - completely, because lots of half-painted stuff will depress too - and finish it.  Resist the temptation to strip and repaint and instead, varnish it and take photos.  Then paint another figure - from scratch and finish it.  Then another, and another...  

I look back at stuff I painted a couple of years ago and am really pleased the way I have progressed.  I never stripped anything.  And if I had I suspect I would still be whgere I was two years ago.

[audrey]

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.

 :: , yeah well it isn't that bad. Since the wash is so thin you can quickly do a coat then get back to working on another figure, 3-5 minutes later you do the next coat, then back to working on something else. So it can go pretty quickly while working on other figures or stuff.

-A

[Rhoderic]

Oh god, I've stripped and repainted the figures so many times I'm going insane!

May I speak frankly?

Don't do this - ever.  You will actually delay your improvement.

Paint a figure - completely, because lots of half-painted stuff will depress too - and finish it.  Resist the temptation to strip and repaint and instead, varnish it and take photos.  Then paint another figure - from scratch and finish it.  Then another, and another...  

I look back at stuff I painted a couple of years ago and am really pleased the way I have progressed.  I never stripped anything.  And if I had I suspect I would still be whgere I was two years ago.

Well actually, I did paint them "completely", with the exception of shield designs on those figures that had shields (the figures in question are Black Tree's fantasy Saracens, by the way). Each time, most surfaces got four layers of highlights (over a basecoat and ink wash). The second try was my failed attempt at underpainting, but I still did all the shading and highlighting, only in monochrome that time around.

I do think I've gotten better with each try. Keep in mind that prior to this, I had had little experience with layering, I was strictly an inks-and-drybrushes kind of painter, saving "regular" highlights only for small detail, and even then only one layer. From my point of view, I'm getting a lot of much-needed practice in by stripping and re-painting these figures.

This time around, I'm skipping the inks, they make the shading too dark. And I probably won't strip them again, I'm starting to feel bloody exhausted :sleep:  :sleep:  :sleep:

[JollyBob]

This time around, I'm skipping the inks, they make the shading too dark. And I probably won't strip them again, I'm starting to feel bloody exhausted :sleep:  :sleep:  :sleep:

I was actually just about to say that. I used to use inks all the time because GW said you should. Then someone pointed out that it made the contrast too heavy so I only use them very sparingly these days.

I can't guarantee I always get it right, mind, but I'm happier with the results.