Why you should try oil washes for your miniatures
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- čas přidán 15. 06. 2024
- Here's a quick tutorial of the most essential miniature painting techniques I use on any squad or larger sized project, the oil wash. It's become a lot more popular in the last couple of years, and for good reason! I literally could not tell you where my Nuln Oil is these days. Plus, oil tubes don't spill!
The Kommandos I painted for this video are going to the FLGS' fundraiser for Kids Kupboard, a non-profit dedicated to ending child hunger in my area of Alaska. If you want to help out, you can donate at the link below.
Kids Kupboard: / kidskupboard
Links to Products I use (these are Amazon affiliate links):
Starter airbrush: www.amazon.com/dp/B001TO578Q/
Oil paints I use for washes: www.amazon.com//dp/B002E9GUZ4/
Cheap brushes for oils: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
Makeup sponges for oils: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
Makeup brushes for drybrushing: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...
Music: www.bensound.com/royalty-free...
Linktree: linktr.ee/manningthefort
Instagram: / manningthefortminis
TikTok: / manningthefort
Facebook: / manningthefortminis
0:00 Intro
0:45 Mythbusting Oil Paints
2:25 How I Use Oil Washes
5:23 Cleaning up the wash
8:40 Reveal - Hry
As someone who has just recently started using the oil washes on my BT box, I agree. Been painting for a year and a half and have been needlessly intimidated by oil washes, but they are far superior
It's a leap...of faith 😆
What colour do you wash those templars?
i personally use a dark wash with burn umber and a little black
@@hrvojegrgic-akovic5552 cool I'll try that out sometime
Even though I already know about oils and this technique, I still watched it because I like to soak up everything to do with oil painting. Really enjoy the process of being messy and little care in a way when using them.
Thanks for watching! I often do the same. There all all sorts of little tricks to pick up.
Not long heard of this technique , always been a Nuln Oil guy myself . Your video really sums it up in a well presented neat package and answers all questions before I can ask them
My Amazon basket has a few more bits in it now and you got yourself a new subscriber !
I'm glad it helped! Like any new technique, iteration is key to getting the feel you really want, but many months later, the thumbnail still holds true ;)
This has been my go to for a year now. I can get armies done super fast and gets the details out. I’ve used it from blending to washes
For sure. This video was just scratching the surface if what oils can do for a mini painter.
It's enjoyable to watch the oil washing techniques being rediscovered. This is closer to how miniatures used to be painted decades ago, before acrylic paints were more common. Oils and enamels fell out of favor quickly since acrylics are far easier to clean up and involve less potentially toxic chemicals. However, it seems few people experimented with combining acrylics and some oil techniques such as recess shading washes.
There are quite a few things that the fantasy/sci-fi miniatures community has lost that I feel like a lot of scale modelers never did. It is indeed very interesting to see some of that coming back in recent years. There was some effort to get low surface tension washes even 20 years ago. I remember asking my mom to borrow the bottle of floor wax as a kid to mix my own washes. Then there are the days of dipping minis in wood stain. We don't talk about that...
I have a painting advice playlist, and I tried to add this video three times while watching it. Excellent video. Concise, to the point, and useful.
Thanks! I'm glad you found it useful.
This way a great video, I'll try to make some oil washes in the future. Just getting back into the hobby 🙂
Very good video, thanks.
I saw this alot at ninjons channel, but your toturial convinced me to give it a try soon. Keep on the good work.
Thanks! It takes a little getting used to like any technique, but it really has become a staple of most of my painting projects.
Exactly what I was looking for! I have around 40 "soldiers" for Frostgrave and have been looking for a cheaper and better alternative to washes,...I just never liked the shading! It was always lacking, and I want to paint them Fast! TY for the great Video.
Oils are the best I wish I had used it so many years ago its so easy.
Oh yes! Oil paint is the best, so rich in color
I need to give oils a try sometime. Maybe on the next project.
Also it's fun to come across this video a year later and see that your goal of 500 subscribers has been surpassed several times over.
I know, right? I couldn't be happier with the response.
Abteilung 502 oil paints are purposely made for modelling and will dry much faster than artists oil paints. A tip for using artist oil paints to help them dry a bit quicker is to squeeze the amount that you need out of the tube onto a piece of old cardboard box, this draws some of the oil out of the paint, the oil is what keeps the oil paint fluid.
Can u recommend a thinner to use with for 40K miniatures
@@tomhall3666 You thin oil paints with linseed oil or turpentine.
Panel liner for gundam kits works really well on tanks and vehicles that have been gloss varnished
IIRC, panel liner is often basically an enamel wash, which I agree can be very effective for weathering, especially on large models.
I painted with oil when I was child (paints), what I can say about is that in 10-20 years you will loose intensity quite much, so I guess that shadows will become lights someday ( much time)
but maybe some product can restore that
Great stuff, man. Congrats on 500 subs! Super cool to see your channel grow and it’s definitely deserved.
You ever use streak and grime? Any opinions on whether I should start oils first or streak and grime first??? Thanks brotha
Thanks! When I first started experimenting with non-acrylics, I used a lot of Streaking Grime. I still use it, but I find oils give a little more control. The advantage to Grime is it's easier to use straight out of the jar. I'll probably do a video at some point about it.
Enjoyed the video! Ironically I paint using oils on my GSC but haven't used a oil wash
There are times I don't use an oil wash, either. Thinking about it, one of those times was a Kastelan I painted with mostly oils.
I'm thankful for this tbh.
Citadel and GSW paints were always too pricey for me, so I'm pretty stoked to learn about inexpensive alternatives. Plus, getting more for less is always good. :>
In today's market, there are definitely companies who give better value than Citadel. Pro Acryl, Vallejo, Molotow, and Ammo by Mig are a few that come to mind.
I use Vallejo for paints and oils for washes.
8:54 very close to 500 subscribers :) good to see you've surpassed that mate, great stuff
I’m going to try this but definitely think I would tone down with a Matte varnish at the end for my own minis. I know that’s personal preference though and I know this satin finish is preferable for a lot of people!
For sure. There are plenty of instances where I have used a matte varnish, especially if I'm working with NMM on things like my Marvel minis.
I've been kinda migrating to my oil paints for a few months now. been using washes for over a year but recently I've been grabbing oils for other things as well. Going to fill up a whole jar of mineral spirits so I have more options.
Great video - liked!
Thank you!
I love the smell of mineral spirits, I shall never get the odourless ones
Very nice video!
Will you record a video on how to paint with contrast paints?
Thanks! I have a video where I made my own Contrast Paints, and am currently working on a follow-up. In general, I think they're a great tool, though the "one thick coat" marketing they used to launch them is far from the best way to use them. If you're sticking to all GW stuff, I highly recommend picking up some Contrast Medium to thin them down a bit and give you more control.
@@MTFTabletop thank you for that piece of advice.
With the one thick coat it is really hit and miss depending on the color. Do you recommend using the medium and using multiple coats?
Looks great! Do you varnish before oil washing? I've been using oil wash to panel line my space marines and have been gloss varnishing, pin washing, then matte varnishing as I saw some recommendations to do that
Sometimes. A gloss varnish can help things flow, so depending on your goal it can be helpful. I tend to like the wash sticking to other places and dirtying things up a bit. That said, some paint layers (namely Contrast) can be more fragile and can come up if you do what I did early on and dab/wipe the oil wash off too hard, so a varnish can also help there.
Great video. I am learning about this stuff at the moment and not tried it yet. One question, if you are using a Contrast/Speed Paint shouldn't you put a layer of varnish on the model before applying the oil wash?
It's not strictly necessary for Contrast. That said, a layer of gloss varnish is never going to hurt between acrylic and oil layers.
I’m about to switch to oils from enamels so thanks for the video!
Glad it was helpful!
Because oil paints use linseed (flax seed) oil which is litteraly a food product you can easily cleanup your brushes and pallets with dish soap (like dawn) just like you would clean your hands if you had olive oil on them or something. I do it all the time and it works perfect, super easy and non toxic. My biggest gripe with using oils for washes is having to wait days for them to dry before being able to paint over them with a varnish and move on to the next step in the build this is why I prefer to use tamiya panel Liner whenever I can because they dry so quick. Of course you cant use these in all scenarios but I use them whenever I can.
Great video.. you made no mention on the quality or brands or if that matters... was wondering your thoughts on the Micheals Artist Loft Brand of oil paints or the stick to the winsor & newton
I've used some cheap ones I got from Amazon, and they can work, though I have noticed they have a tendency to get somewhat grainy when diluted. Since I made this video, I've used tons of oil washes and barely put a dent in my Winsor and Newton tubes.
Look better than I thought but oil paint is expensive in my country.
Gonna stick to my homemade shades in the meantime, believe it or not I have 0 experience mixing paints and they totally look like the ones from GW.
Understandable. I am a big believer in homemade alternatives. Quite a few of my videos highlight using DIY equivalent to Contrast Paint.
I managed to score a pretty good sized can of odorless mineral spirits for like $.07! It was on clearance and marked .97 but rang up wrong I guess. I'll be able to make oil washes for decades haha
That's almost suspiciously cheap. I'd definitely test it before committing it to a model you care about 😉
Great video, Can I ask what are the orcs are mounted to whilst you paint them?
Thanks! I often use corks from liquor bottles with some poster tac to hold them on.
Thank you! Do you varnish over your acrylics before doing the wash? Looking around, people seem dead set that it's a necessary step, but I really don't want to have to do multiple varnish steps.
A lot of the time, no, I do not find it necessary. The exception is if I've been using a lot of contrast paint, inks, or other more "fragile" layers.
Can you make a list of primers, paints, etc that you use and where to find them? (Eg could you pick them up a hardware store or dollar store or do you need to find a place more specific?)
Some I have in the Amazon links, at least for the oils. For more general painting videos, I can try to start doing it more in the video. My go-to primer is currently Vallejo black through an airbrush, then some white ink sprayed from above to cheat myself some easy highlights.
The robot at 0:34 is the best.!
3:1 contrast medium + black templar contrast is a better shade than nuln oil too.
Agreed. I definitely use Contrast for some things, and thinning it is absolutely the way to go with most of them, imo.
What makes this better than aggrax or the other shade paints? Been mixing this 50:50 with lahmian and getting similar results without the mixing or cleanup
nice , thank you :) Subb'ed
I use both, particularly Nuln Oil Gloss for metallic finishes. But general weathering, especially on vehicles, there is absolutely no substitute for oil and enamel washes. Acrylics simply cannot compare.
Metallics do pose a different kind of challenge at times, though a lot of the time I'm ok with dulling the sheen a bit. I have been known to gloss varnish to bring the shine back on occasion.
A couple of questions from a newbie:
What is the primary reason for preferring oil washes over acrylics? It seems like more work (having to use the makeup sponges to remove some after applying it), so wondered why it's worth it?
How do you dispose of the leftover wash with the mineral spirits when you're done? How do you dispose of the mineral spirits used to clean your brushes?
Oils generally blend far more easily, many of the techniques used to blend acrylics are almost to emulate how oils blend, though they dry far more quickly than oils. Still, this results in very smooth transitions between the shade and underlying color without the pooling or "coffee staining" acrylic washes might leave
Wait till you see a white oil wash at work then youll understand.....
If you want to decrease the drying time and a bit of the glossiness put the oil paints that your going to use on a piece of cardboard about an hour before you use them and it will leach out some of the linseed oil to make them dry quicker and to a more flat sheen even when using them as a wash
I read a comment by an actual oil painter saying that's a bad idea.
May you be applying the "oil wash" over the Acrylic paint directly? or do you recommend a Varnish first before the "oil wash"?
@@anorien23 Thank you for the insight and advice.
Great video. On the suggested 10-pack of oils -- do you use all those colors? Do you create the normal wash colors by either using the oils as is (eg. red, green, blue) or mixing (eg. purple)?
A little bit of both. The one I use most is a mix of brown with a little black. I have also bought some colors I use a fair bit to save time.
@@MTFTabletop Makes sense. Do you find acrylic washes useful at all now or do you embrace oil wash all the time?
When I use acrylic washes it's in a much more Contrast-style over zenithal. For shading washes it's almost always oils these days.
Hey, I have been using oil washes and I love them...but recently I thought about what if I want to strip the paint from some models in the future? Models with acrylics were absolutely no problem with solvents like super clean (wich I had to import:D). But gett acrylics AND oils off isn't gonna be that easy huh?
You know, I don't think I've stripped a model I used an oil wash on, but it would stand to reason that it might be more difficult since oils dry tougher than acrylics.
BUT - HIS BACKPACK!!!!!
Where can i store an unused wash? Plexiglass jar can be suitable or it will be melted by spirit?
I’m in, let’s go
Hi. Thank you for this video. Can you tell me if this method it's also good for ultramarines and for their vehicles? I'm looking for a fast method to arrive to a similar result... tks
It can definitely work for Ultramarines. It's just a question of what color wash best suits the look you're going for.
@@MTFTabletopvery well. Thank you again for your reply.
Do you varnish your minis before oil washing them?
And Thx.
When you started removing the wash did you apply any spirit/thinner to the sponge?
It depends. With these, I don't think I did, because I went back in pretty quickly to remove it, but there are times I will, depending on how much I want to clean up the model and how long the oil has sat on the model.
@@MTFTabletop thanks for the reply. Im hoping to try some differently techniques this week
What is the difference between white spirit and odorless mineral spirits sprit please?
Hi could u recommend a brand and model of thinner to use on 40K minis?
Is all white spirit the same? I can use the stuff from regular stores and not have to buy a brand that's for miniatures specifically, can't I?
I would say the stuff you buy from art stores is probably best. Miniature brands are going to be overpriced, generally. For basic washes, I use odorless mineral spirits I bought from the hardware store.
Oils are SO much easier to use, I love em. But yes, definitely don't lick your brushes
I completed my 1st ork model using inks and oil washes & got over 100 likes on a mini painting group on facebook. In my opinion it works better with inks than contrast paints. Contrast paints have an issue if you move them when they're wet & i think that's a factor.
odorless spirits? I was painting models with mineral spirits and enamel paint back in the early 90s when that was the paint they sold for models! smells good to me, lol.
Do you highlight over top of this oil wash?
What did you use for the Ork skin?
A version of my homemade Contrast paint. There's another video about that on the channel, and I have a second in the works. In this case, I used a mix of olive green ink and a little brown. If you're not into DIY paint mixing, Plaguebearer Flesh is fairly close.
Was mineral applied to the sponges, or were they dry?
Honestly, this was long enough ago that I don't remember. I've done it both ways. There are a lot of variables, including how much paint you want to remove, how thin the wash was to start with, and how dry it is.
Where did you get the painting handles from!?
The ones I use most are corks from liquor bottles my wife gathered up for me when she was a bartender.
no mineral spirits on the sponge when removing?
Hi i am currently trying to work on this technique and have a couple of problems.
First of all i cant find any true mineral spirits here in Germany- i have something called terpentine replacement. And it works kinda but also doesnt. It stinks a lot and and when i rub with the q tips and some of that fluid on the tips it is hard to get the oil off again. So i rub harder and rub off layers of acrylic.
So my first Q would be- do you have any experience if very clean mineral spirits is less aggressive to acrylics?
And do you use your oil wash also on contrast colours of citadel?
Outside of the U.S., mineral spirits may go under the name white spirits. They are sometimes marketed as a turpentine substitute, but I am not 100% sure if that's what you have. The stuff I use is marketed as odorless, though it does have a bit of a smell. You could try looking for the brand name Gamsol. That's artist grade mineral spirits. If it's not cleaning up the oil it could be that what you have is something different or it could be that the oil has sat for too long.
I have used mineral spirits to clean up an oil wash when using Contrast. In fact, the minis in this video have Contrast in a few places. When using more fragile acrylics like that, I tend to dab at them more than actually rub.
@@MTFTabletop Thy!
Only downside to oil washes is the spirit you use to thin it can cause cancer right? So I am hesitant to using it.
So many times the oil wash strips the paint below it. Cause I'm doing something wrong. Can you help? Lol. Even when I put a gloss over it it Still rips through the paint.
I use wood stainer, you get a good cover and alot for only 3$
I used to use wood stain back in the 90s/early 2000s. Oil washes provide a little more control 😉
General question, does it matter what oil paints I get? Or any general oil paint is good?
I tend to use cheaper ones for washes. There can be a difference in pigment quality and dry time if you spend more. A tube is going to last a loooong time for washes. I still have quite a bit left in the tubes that I used to make this video well over a year ago.
@@MTFTabletop I see a lot of youtube painters using Winsor and Newton. Would that be considered a cheap brand?
Also, what general colors is worth getting? I assume brown, black and maybe red/orange ( if I want some rust effect) are the basics?
Thank you so much for answering
The W&N Winton line is their baseline, and I use it a lot. I definitely recommend black and a couple browns. Purple and/or crimson can be really good for washing human skin. I bought a couple Abteilung 502 oils as well, and I'm very happy with their Copper oxide. Makes nice verdigris.
is this possible with resin minis? i am just worried about mineral spirits damaging the model - or do the acrylics protect them completely?
I haven't had any problems with resin minis.
@@MTFTabletop thanks!
I have a question about using oil paints for a wash. Every example I've seen of this shows them using artists paints, but my question is does Testers work the same?
I have to admit I'm not familiar with Testor's oils. The stuff I used growing up was all enamel.
@@MTFTabletop
Your answer tells me it prolly won't work. Good enough for me!
is it possible to dry brush over oil paint?
It is, but you either need to wait for it to fully cure (time depends on a lot of variables, but at least a couple hours) or varnish over the oils.
another type of container that does not work - paper dixy cups with the wax lining , I mix all kinds of stuff in there - well the mineral spirits work it's way out.
Oof. Yeah, I could see that being a problem.
Why does my oil don’t break down they stick to the brush and doesn’t dilute
When I tried to remove the excess oil, the acrylic paint came off as well=/.
Try mixing your oils with shellite to help them dry quicker. (Shellite is a fast evaporating thinner used for mirror finish and funnily enough in lighter fluids)
I'll have to look into that!
Did I understand correctly: You are mixing it with bottle-mineral water?
With mineral spirits. Depending on your country, they may be called white spirits.
Oil paint being dangerous to creepy brush lickers is a benefit.
What is the difference between making an "Oil Wash" or purchasing a pre-made "Enamel Wash"?
Oils and enamels behave similarly in some ways. One big difference I've noticed is that oils have more of a tendency to stain the underlying paint when you leave them on. I've cleaned off an enamel wash like Streaking Grime weeks after applying it. As a part of that, I find that oils often end up going on very smoothly. I do still use enamel washes for some weathering, especially through an airbrush on large models.
@@MTFTabletop thank you.
Around 8.20 you say you can varnish them after about an hour after washing and keep on painting - is that really the case? Won't that cause any issues? Have you actually tried that? Checked google and it says that oil paints set and cure through oxidation, aka being exposed to air - I guess varnish isn't really air tight, but it sure doesn't help with that...
I have tried that multiple times. I usually let it sit for 30 minutes to an hour first beforehand. Ideally, oils are the last thing I do for the day so it gets extra time, but if folks are in a hurry it is possible to go faster.
@@MTFTabletop I see, thanks :3 Guess there were no durability issues with those faster-than-overnight varnished models? No peeling, no weird stuff going on? Long drying time is one big reason I havent tried oils yet (that, and the fumes of solvents, but that I can somewhat mitigate), figured leaving them over night should be enough but sometimes I just get... too impatient for that xP
@@benjimlem1284 I haven't had any durability issues, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have doubts when I first tried oils. I grew up with the lie that oil paints never fully cure. I took my notes from Marco Frisoni on the use of oil paints, especially mixing them with acrylics. He has yet to steer me wrong.
@@MTFTabletop Neat-o, thanks :3 A 'proper' oil painting surely takes wayyy longer to cure considering how THICC the layer is, what we apply can't take nearly that long. Guess Ill just have to try and experiment a bit (when it gets warmer here so I can use my exhaust box again) ;)
Huzzah
It's no wonder oils are better citadel paints are essentially toys.
My biggest problem with them is that the white spirits strip the paint off.
Still too shiny for me, I tried them recently on my Grimdark Black Templars, and immediately went back to traditional acrylic layering/stippling for a very matte and dusty finish. I guess I could spray a matte varnish after the oil, but it would dull the metallics, and it's an additional step I don't want to bother with. Now I'll try pigments, as I think the finish is more appropriate for what I'm looking to achieve.
Fair enough. I do find that some oils seem to have different finishes, even after thinned. Mineral spirits tend to dampen down glossiness, but I still see it at times. For my vids, especially earlier on, I would sometimes shoot before everything had time to fully set up, so the recesses in particular can look a little glossy.
Depending on the effect you want, things like Ammo by Mig enamels tend to dry very matte.
You can use brush on varnish to avoid the mettalics problem. I won't ever go back to spraying varnish, brush on is almost as fast (faster if you count spray prep-rime), you you can pick and choose where it goes (gloss here, satin here, matte here etc...), non worries of weather or frosting and I've found that Vallejo Satin varnish doesn't dull Metallica. Win, win, win, win.
Aren’t pickles really low in nutritional value though?
Wow nice, do you stream your painting on twitch or love sessions? My girlfriend and I like to watch way better model painters while we paint our models. Would like to see your full prosses3
I haven't so far. It's something I might do in the future, but my filming setup is real basic, so it would involve some upgrades.
counterpoint: Nuln oil tastes better.
Bump
But if you don’t have nuln oil you lose out on a tasty beverage!
Counterpoint: Now you can drink all your nuln oil since you won't need it for painting any more.
Wait did I see a back pack fly off ??
Nvm I dint anything it was imagination.
Use brushes u don't care about... Yes, but no. clean them with curd soap. I do paintings in oil for more than 25y now and some of my weaseltail brushes have the same age. Yes, brushes die over time, by losing "hair" or of heavy use what makes them shorter, but especially the fine brushes can have a long life, even u use them with turpentine. Warm water, curd soap and a bit love, than u don't need to buy crap brushes for such works.
Ivory black what a poetically contradictive name
The problem with oils on models is they are glossy and they do NOT harden despite what you've said. The polymer remains much more flexible than with acrylics. That makes the finish durable, but also a bit tacky attracting dust that's really hard to get rid of. There's no way around these attributes. Thinner helps a bit, but the fact is they will remain glossy regardless of what you do. The higher viscosity also pushes the pigment away from the details making them inferior for shading. Their only advantage is they are easy to mix. They are good for certain effects but simply can not replace acrylic washes. For 2d painting they are the best. For 3d models they suck.
I haven't experienced the issues you're describing. In fact, I find oils tend to cure very matte. It just takes longer. I also find them amazing for shading and picking out details. I still use them on the majority of models I paint.
Don’t forget to varnish 😭
Nuln shall pass
🤣
Confusing video as it never seems to actually give a reason why to try this.
Gave plenty of reasons not to though (special supplies, no lick/toxic, deal w/mineral spirits, extra time to make/mix, careful not to wipe off acrylic layers, trickier w/Contrast, long wait or varnish before you can finish etc...)
But other than applying it more liberally because you'll spong highlights back off (and couldn't you just do that with normal washes too?), you never said what's better about it. What are the actual benefits?
With Acrylic washes, cleaning up higher areas is tricky to impossible due to dry times. Beyond that, once you get some experience with oils, feathering shading becomes a lot easier than with acrylics. I didn't really go deep into it, but oil washes are also waaay cheaper over time. You have given me some good things to think about for part two. Thank you.
@@MTFTabletop Gotcha. So the "Why" is that with oil wash the long dry time means you can dab off all the highlights. Whereas with a normal wash you'd typically re-paint/layer those highlights back on?
@@sethpeterson8261 That's a big part of it for sure. The way they flow by capillary action is also unmatched in basically any acrylic wash I've used.
@@MTFTabletop Cool. Thanks for answering
@@sethpeterson8261 Also oils are a lot better quality pigment-wise. You can get pretty incredible results if you experiment with different colors...putting some magenta in the mix works wonders for skintones f.e.
Why use one product when you can use two different things and have to wait much longer to finish the same step!
It is not a myth, sir; oil paints never fully dry, not even those on paintings that were made during the Renaissance. You can paint over acrylics with oil paints, but not the other way around. This isn't just a fact in the art world, talk to a professional house painter. Latex won't adhere well or for long to an old alkyd paint that was used last.
what kind of varnish do you use before washing?