Librarium Online Forums banner

SM armor question

2K views 37 replies 15 participants last post by  catbarf 
#1 ·
Are washes/inks useful at all when you paint Space Marines, save for occasional fleshy bits? I've never heard of anyone using them on armor so far.
 
#3 ·
I use them quite a lot on my imperial fists. I start off with a white undercoat and then use Iyanden dark sun. A (really) watered down wash of chestnut ink gets into all the recesses before I coat it again with yellow. Then I give it a yellow wash before I give it the final highlights.
 
#4 ·
It speeds up the task, I don't like using washes on power armour myself though. Watered down paints stop you from getting that horrible localized shinyness that inks give, as [I assume] does varnish. It really depends on the look you are going for; many people will ink the armour, others will not.
 
#12 ·
Basically you mix anything up with water (to make it thinner) including washes.

That's because pure washes are also quite colour-intensive. For example: undiluted black ink will not just emphasize the recesses etc but also darken the whole colour.
Of course, there might be cases where this is wanted, but generally you take quite some water with your inks/washes (at least as much water as ink/wash, but that's up to your preferences)

As for other people mentioning mixing colours with water: that's to make some homemade washes... or why spend money on blue/red/whatever ink when you just have to take a tiny drop of colour and mix it up with lots of water (and here I really mean lots :) at least 1 to 10 colour:water for making homemade ink, rather 1:20)

A lot of people just have 1 or two actual inks/washes for stuff they really need often and improvise the rest (I have for example just black ink and flesh wash at home, the rest will be made up as needed ;Y )
 
#36 ·
I just wanted to point out that this is erroneous information. Ink is definitely not dilluted paint. It is a highly pigmented liquid. Wash is more of a term for technique. Basically when you use a medium that is watered down enough that it runs freely over the model. It should go to the recesses. With washes you want to be careful and wick most of the fluid off your brush to keep it from pooling. Another similar idea is glazing. Again similar kind of technique though usually you have a thicker glazing medium mixed in that is a bit thicker than ink but still thinner than paint. It also tends to be quite a bit transparent where paint is opaque. (same goes for ink being transparent).

I personally prefer watered down ink over watered down paint because it goes on with a much stronger vibrance. I agree with what others have said though that ink is great for the early stages of painting to help define the shadowed areas of the model. While it can be a convenient trick for a decent looking quick paintjob it is rarely a definitive solution to a well crafted paintjob. Going back over much of the area inked and building up highlights will generally give you a better overall look.

Cheers,

-Mike
 
#18 ·
Use Johnsons Klear floor polish and water and uink to wash SM armour. I prefer 40& Klear floor polish, 40% water and 20% ink. It makes them a more uniform effect and stops localised shinyness in the recesses by breaking the surface tension.
 
#23 ·
I use Inks on my marines

I just wanted to say that I use inks on my marines. If you want an example you can take a look at the picture to the left. If you want to see a better picture then take al ook at my profile as the full avatar appears there.

I should point out that I don't use inks after the basecoating stage and that you need to use a matt finish sealant to get rid of the shine that they can leave behind. But they are great for picking out detail.

Don't ever be inclined to save time by not painting properly. No wash or ink lining will ever do a better job than you and a brush with some patience...
 
#25 ·
Nice Army

Heh, yes that's shouting. What a nice army.

I was really envious for a moment then I realised that I have more tanks than you do in your picture. Please don't spoil this by telling me about the rest or I shall be green with envy again...

I have to say it again.

That is a really cohesive, clean and balanced army! Nice work.

Oh and you don't use paint when you ink stuff. Or at least I don't. I sometimes thin paint with inks but that's just a person habit really.
 
#26 ·
:) the army was done for the Second Tyranic War Capaign weekend at warhammer world last summer (our entire task force took ultra marines) and included many participants off this board including Karmoon (dont mention eldar titans to him). Rork (part of the winning Eldar task force), Macewind, Franksi, Krakgrenade, and I am sure others, I hate ultras and promptly sold the army after the event, hence the tanks there were what I needed for 1500 points + 750 point CP with the assurance I would be fighting nids of some flavour (admittedly the stealer cult list with the warhound titan in the final battle was a bit of a nause)
so no more blue tanks for me :) (the real thing that will bug you though is if you look closely you will notice that every tank with the exception of the whirlwind has forgeworld extra armour)

as to how, the army is basecoated UM blue (using an airbrush) then washed with blue ink, then repainted with um blue, blending the highlights with white

you can use ink washes as a final coate but you need to be very carefull with that approach
 
#27 · (Edited)
I'm thinking of posting a picture of my first (yes) SM model, to get some feedback... I was gonna do it now, but just prior to taking the picture i dropped the model and broke the backpack off. So now I have to spend some time finding glue to put it back on. Patience! :)

EDIT: Here we go! Sorry for what might seem as weird placement in the pictures, I had to resize them before i uploaded them. Also, sorry for the bad quality. Combination of crappy camera and crappy cameraman.
http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc70/Necromancist/DSCF0929.jpg
http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc70/Necromancist/DSCF0927.jpg
http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc70/Necromancist/DSCF0901.jpg
 
#28 ·
Ink is not wash!

Ok, I have a few comment's, hopefully helpful. First, I think your painting could really benefit from some inking. In my understanding, ink is ink, and a wash is watered down paint. Ink is not diluted color, and it is not wash, although many people use the term 'ink wash' which I think only leads to confusion. If it says ink on the bottle, then it is not a wash. If it says wash on the bottle, then it is not an ink.

I think your model could use some ink. A dark blue would look best IMO, and heres how you could do it:

1. Basecoat with UM blue
2. Ink the whole model with >undiluted< dark blue ink, making sure that all recesses, cracks and crevices are filled.
3. Let ink dry completly. This may take up to half an hour.
4. Drybrush back over model with UM blue
5. Paint details (ie. Shoulders, chest eagle, bolter, etc.) in desited color.
6. Anything painted gold looks better with >diluted< drown ink.

Hope this helps
 
#29 · (Edited)
Yeah, I know I needed inks. But I haven't really been too eager to use them because, as you might have guessed by now, I haven't been sure what is what and how to use them. Now that I do, I'll buy some inks as fast as possible and get to work. Assembling a whole army might take some time, though - I'm planning on brushing (hehe) up on my painting skills before I take on commanders and tanks.

About the inks, though; I've understood they are quite thin. so what do I do to keep them from running? This especially applies to painting inks on details.
 
#30 ·
Also, you might consider hanging some white paper in the background, and using sunlight, not the flash. The pictures will come out better, and you'll get more useful comments 8Y
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top