blending acrylic's.

[desertrat]

Hi, after years of doing armour, i recently purchased a nice little figure kit, 
 could not resist her, fnar fnar.   my question is, how do you blend acrylic paints? i've got tank crews etc sorted, but this is a bit different, any advice will be most appreciated,  

[TRM]

Great looking figure! As for blending, this should be not too much similar to what you are doing on military figures...just different colors and skin tones. One good thing to remember is water is your friend! Keep the paint wet and the brush clean. Essentially you are making washes and applying them over the base colors. You highlighting color can be anything you want, but it is easier to keep in the same range...meaning if you are using lets say green, use the same green to make the base colors, mid tones and highlights. Add any colors to lighten the green to make the lighter shades. Apply the various tones in thin layers building up over a number of applications. Acrylics, as you know dry quickly, and you can keep on painting after a few minutes of dry time.

Have a look online for "wet pallets". This will help keep the paint from drying too on the pallet while you paint. Also have a look for a glaze medium. I use Vallejo's brand when I am using Vallejo paints. It smooths out the paint a little better than water alone. So for one drop of paint, add one drop of glaze and one drop of water. This will give you a good translucent coat for your layers.

[dennis]

Hi DR, I couldn't have put it better than TRM. I also add Vallejo Matt Varnish to the paint, water glaze mixture, I find this good for clothing, Trial and error mate is your route ahead, but a wet palette is a great aid to prolonging the use time of acrylics. Good luck.

[dierk]

If, like me, you are blessed with short arms and deep pockets you can make your own wet pallet: take a plastic container, like a tupperware box with lid, cover the floor of the container with kitchen roll, soak the paper with water (destilled it you have it handy, but not essential) cover paper with a bit of baking paper, put your paint on the baking paper, done.
Nice figure BTW.

[desertrat]

cheers chaps,brilliant advice, i wil keep you all posted. the wet pallet seems the way to go, and yes dierk, i'am from yorkshire so tight as a camels ar....hole in a sand storm springs to mind.

[pt109]

Ou la la.....nice figure. Une Bonne Fille!