Introduction to Miniature Painting, Lesson 3

by | Nov 4, 2014

Our 10-part introduction to miniature painting continues this week with our last session.  Our students are starting to churn out some really nice stuff for the club!  By the time this is over, they will have lots of practice under their belts - enough to get some of those nice Wargate commissions!

Lesson 3 - Ink Washes

An ink is a heavy pigment in a thin medium that has the consistency of water.  Since ink contains heavy pigment, it tends to gather in the recesses of the model, shading it (making it darker). There are numerous techniques to using inks, but today we're just going to introduce them into our repertoire by examining a very basic technique:  washing.

Are those dogs?
To perform an ink wash on a model, simply brush the ink over the entire model.  It will shade the figure, as well as provide a color hue.  Even though ink gathers in the recessed portions of the model, a color tint can will left on the raised portions as well depending on how many coats of ink were applied.  You can also apply ink to only certain portions of a model, shading it and changing the hue as needed.

On one set of models, we used a light ink over the entire model, followed by a darker ink over the main body.  This produced a nice, natural transition in tone for the simple models we were using.  By leaving the face, paws and tail alone during the application of the dark coat we see an instant and very fetching effect occur.

You can darken an ink by applying it in multiple layers.  Like all paints, make sure the first layer is dry before applying the second.  The lighter rats below were simply inked a second time, leaving the face, paws and tail alone as before.  The natural looking gradient is very easy to achieve, and with time and practice this will become second nature.

No such luck.  Those are giant rats - because of course they are.
Like all the models we're painting during this class, we'll be showing the completed project off in our Gallery section ASAP.  Lots of great stuff coming up for the galleries, for all categories.  We've got a lot to show off, so our next photo session is going to be swamped!

One last thing:  this is the Wargate's three-hundredth post!  March 13th, 2010 we launched this new blog, and it's been an absolute pleasure to have been with  you this long.  In just a few months, we'll be a full five years old at this location, with this name.  I want to send a huge, heartfelt thank you to all our Gatekeepers for all for your hard work and support for the last four and a half years.

It looks like we'll be around for quite some time, barring any incidents involving monsters or swords (or other implements of destruction).  With so many things coming up, we're not going to just evaporate - the Wargate is only growing stronger.  So, with that I'll just say one more thing:  it's good to feel loved!