A good clarification for folk new to mediums. Thanks Adam. One of my favorite mediums is actually contrast medium, and not for thinning contrast paints, just as a medium to thin paints for glazing and such. Something else I’ve found is that using air brush thinner to thin metallic paints works well, as opposed to using water.
As someone trying to get into wargame, I would love to see a how to play one page rules video. Maybe even a battle report, but with pauses to explain how the game is being played. Love your videos, man!
I love Glaze medium. Not only does it help with the flow of my paint. but it seems to keep the brush having paint dry on it( so it comes off it smoothly). But the big win is when I get a little paint somewhere I didn't want, I have a few more seconds to wipe or brush it off without it drying on me.
I use Winsor and Newton artists' Acrylic Flow Improver. A 75ml bottle doesn't cost much and last me years! Acrylic medium also comes in large quantities for artist use, which usually works out a lot cheaper than small pots of branded miniature paint.
WN is a really nice (if a little pricy in some instances) art brand and has a lot of great crossover with mini painting brands. Another good one is Golden. I use a lot of Golden paints and additives and they’re high quality and fantastic.
In the last 2 years, I have gotten completely away from water except for my rinse cup (which I put a little Dawn into, so even that isn't just water) and my wet palette. I use Liquitex Flow Aid as a brush wetting agent, Cuttlefish Colors Merlin's Magic Medium for thinning my paints and making glazes (this stuff is AMAZING) and Golden Airbrush Medium for thinning for the airbrush. And when I need to change the consistency/saturation of my speedpaints and washes, I use Army Painter Speedpaint Meduim or Wash Medium. Other additives I keep on hand are Liquitex Drying Retarder, Liquitex Matte Medium and Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver.
I’m glad you made this video because is hard to find one place to do an amazing overview. As you said before sometimes youtubers assume that the viewer has some knowledge of what they are talking about. That said I’ve used alcohol as a thinner because I used Tamiya Paints and they are alcohol based acrylic paints.
One thing Vince mentioned in his videos about flow improver that you didn't here is that it can be used to paint much finer lines and details! The lower surface tension means it sticks to itself and goes on thinner. Very handy and about the only thing that could have convinced me to buy it. I mostly use water but I have some airbrush medium for mixing with artist paint to get it to go through the airbrush nice.
This video brought me back to 1992 when I went to college for art school. Great review for those that want to learn or to someone getting back to old school. Thanks buddy. Enjoyed the video!
This video is really helpful as I'm two years into the hobby and I think it's time for me to move beyond thinning all my paints with water. The dry Minnesota air has really been keeping me from having success with wet blending too.
Some experimentation with these is also good. I find Army Painter Warpaints Mixing Medium tends to make my paints chalky. My favorite is Privateer Press's P3 Medium but it can be hard to get. In a side-by-side comparison you can see most paints turn chalky with the Army Painter one while P3's has a silky look I like and generally helps things build up with nice gradation. Vallejo's Glaze Medium, on the other hand, slows the drying down and can make for nicer wet blending. You'd think all three would be the same, but it definitely pays to play around with them. If you're a 3D printer as well as painter, finding a good basic mini to paint over and over with a variety of approaches and brands is a good way to compare to find what works for you. Or, that's a great reason to keep your misprints. I keep my misprints to try different things in different areas before using them on a successfully printed mini.
If you read the directions on the bottles of Liquitex FloAid and SloDri, you mix 1oz of FloAid with 20oz of (distilled) water. SloDri is mixed 1:1 with water (but I don't have a bottle to confirm. I just know that I mixed 1oz Floaid, 20oz water and 4 & 4 oz of SloDri in a bottle and use that to thin my paints. I then add 3 more oz of water to make 32oz of solution just to fill up the bottle. I get very smooth blends this way. I also find Liquitex glaze medium is pretty glossy, i usually mix 1:1 with matte medium to offset that a bit and take that 1:4 -1:8 with water to make it really thin. I glaze a lot so it seems to work...
Hoping to get some feedback on this. I recently took the plunge into 3D printed minis. My plan has been to prime and/or base coat with an alcohol based acrylic. Reason being - we want to cure our resin and keep it stable in the long run. People + internet research has yielded something like 3 days for the model and 3 days for the 1st coat of paint to cure. DEFINITELY do your own research. My point is - slightly thinned alcohol based flat acrylic can be applied somewhat thickly and quickly, then as a unified coating, it has a tendency to shrink down nicely. I use whatever thinner is offered by the primer's maker specifically BECAUSE it has other ingredients besides just one kind of alcohol in them AND because some college and some professional chemical training has taught me that chemicals that have reacted tend to arrest, which would seem to be the goal. Examining my 3D printed model after that has revealed that, depending on the model's orientation during printing, certain surface angles will show more or less of the grain of the printing process, which may call for more primer or base coat. And I'm coming at this realizing that some people literally sand their printed minis, but I don't. I look for surface additives that I can layer selectively. I should also mention that I would not use this process for army painting unless I was willing to leave a lot of defects in the playable models, but I don't print or have printed large numbers of units, although I understand some do.
Couldnt have found this video at a better time, im working on a lot different painting projects and each needs me to learn new methods of working with and manipulating my paints. Im gona have a lot of fun experimenting with these
A clear natural dish drop for breaking the surface tension with paint and inks. Another is using Pledge One Go (or Long Life self-shining floor polish at Bunnings in Australia) mixed in as a drop that also gives a great rock hard finish. Even though it is a gloss it can always be hit with a matt over the top. Never had a miniature chip after adding that.
As a whole, I only use Vallejo Glaze Medium. However, for washes specifically, I use Army Painter Strong Tone (a wash) as an additive (along with Glaze Medium and water) to make my own washes better.
When I got into painting, Citadel paints were still just making their way to the US, and not in great quantities, so pre-mixed washes weren't readily available. An old historical gamer taught me to make a wash by mixing your paint with water and the tiniest bit of dishwashing soap. It breaks the water tension and allows it to flow without any trouble. I still use it to this day. I put a little soap in a bottle of water and keep it nearby to use whenever I'm thinning paints or making washes.
Great video topic Adam, I use mostly medium in my painting now, before just drops of water, but that use to split the paint and weaken the pigment, but medium keeps the consistency. One of my hobby bugbears is greenstuff, trying just fill holes and gaps i find really awkward, but i see people sculpting with it to perfection. So a beginners guide to green stuff would be awesome. Love your videos 😉👏👌
I use white glue to fill cracks quite often, for small cracks it works well. Manipulate it into the crack with a hobby knife point or pin / tootpick, wipe the excess off with a finger and let cure. Sand to smooth. Wood glue works well for this too, and has a lot less shrinkage so you usually only have to do one coat. For holes, Crayola Model Magic works great and its CHEAP !!
I sculpt with greenstuff but hate trying to fill gaps/holes with it. I prefer milliput but I'm pretty sure it was in one of the Tabletop Minions Awards videos that Uncle Atom features a gap filling putty. Since you've got the greenstuff though, it's worth trying out different ratios in the mix and see if that works for you. If you start by using less blue, that should make the mix squish into the gaps better but will harden slower. If it's a smoothing problem, wait until the putty is almost cured (45-60 minutes for me depending on ambient temperature) before you smooth the surface out. It'll move less per pass this way resists tool marks better.
Always a great topic. Was always confused on all these things, when I first started out. Still a relatively new painter, but the one I've had good success with is Daler Rowney Flow aid. I use An 80/20 mix; Distilled Water to flow aid, and it has worked quite well for me. Golden Satin Glaze with about the same proportions works great for me as well
I've found it does depend on what paints your using (which you reiterated multiple times :). the Scalecolor artist I use can be thinned really far w/ water at both glaze and wash level. However, the non-artist paints I have do better w/ different mediums. You also just explained why some of my attempts to stretch the paint with water hasn't worked well :) lol. Thank you for this information! Excellent video! thank you for making it.
My basic recipes are: - For Arcyl painting surfaces, instead of water: {Liquitex: Matte Medium (F)} + {Liquitex: Flow-Aid (E)} in a ratio 80/20 . I keep this one pre-mixed in a dropper bottle next to the water pot. - For Airbrushing: {Vallejo Airbrush Thinner} + {Vallejo Airbrush Flow improver} as needed, since airbrush is more of an experimentation thingie for me. - If I dare to make a "Wash/Speedpaint/Contrast...": {Liquitex: Matte Medium (F)} + {Liquitex: Flow-Aid (E)} in a ratio 50/50 mixed with an ink. I rarely do this one due to its difficulty and "try and error" Thanks for the nice overview!
I bought a small space marine paint kit to practice the paints, washes and that fun painting stuff to see what I like doing. I am thinking about mixing brands with certain effects. All else fails I'll check out painting miniature videos on here and ask the art supply store for certain ways or how to do for certain look for my boys.
Great video, I'm so glad CZcams put one of your videos in my feed. If you're going to be at NOVA again this year you should come check out the 40k narrative.
This was great! I personally like to use one or two drops of the vallejo flow improver when preparing and mixing paint for brush painting. It helps the paint move and stay smooth. Doesn't slow down drying time very much.
I build and paint Gundam, so major of my work is with air brush. And I’ve found that the additive should be added when you run into a problem and the additive should help. Flow improver if the paint won’t spray, thinner if the paint goes on the part too thick. Ect…
Ive heard multiple people recommend using varnish between stages to essentialy create a save point before a wash or something like that. But if you screw up a stage after the varnish how do you remove it? Alcohol? What if you use oil after? Will mineral spirits be safe with varnish? What varnishes/clear coats are recommended for what. No one seams to talk about that. Love to see a video on it.
Earlier on in my hobby journey I just used water if I wanted to modify something on the fly. Now with The Army Painter providing a bottle of medium, I've enjoyed using that to modify my paints whether it be a small amount or a large amount. It works so much better and its so easy to use! I know it's been a while since your previous series on airbrushing basics. Would it be worthwhile to make an updated "Airbrushing 101" style video? That was always an intimidating aspect of painting for me until I finally dove in.
Contrast medium is the only additive I've used so far. The issues you described about washes on flat surfaces have been almost exactly my experience with that. This video should help me with that.
Great advice! premixed airbrush paints have been a game changer for me. As much as I like Vallejo primer, it needs a lot of thinner, in my opinion. I've switched to Army Painter, except for my white primer. Thanks for the video!
i use Liquites Fluid Flat Mediium, Gloss medium and Master's Touch Flow Medium (it's cheaper and does the same as Liquitex). Also a 1:100 dish detergent:water mix to pre wet the surface for some really cool streaking effects or to just get some wild blends.
Monument’s Glaze and Wash medium has been invaluable for thinning Pro Acryl paints for me. I’ve even been able to use the goopy gel-like consistency to add body back if a paint has become too liquid. Army Painter Speedpaint Medium has also been great for thinning Speed/contrast paints, washes, and even making opaque paints behave more like a Speed Paint. Those are definitely the two most useful I’ve tried.
Great video sir. Always helpful, you have a way of explaining things that is easy to understand for a grunt. Some of the other content creators get to sciencey for me.
Very informative. Your local art stores are a good source of additives and advice too. An explanation of layer/wash/glaze/pin wash hasn't been done for a while and these terms could use an airing. Thanks
Retarder with a small brush for painting eyes gives much more control. Flow aid to Reaper Liners plus a drop of Matt varnish to kill the shine. Matt is also great with inks for zenithal because it gives a better adhesion for the next layer of paint. Lathium medium seems to be the best for thinning and keeping the paint smooth. Monument glaze medium for glazes, gloss medium for glossy bits, and whenever they restock it, Newish for weathering / staining effects.
I usually end up using speedpaint by army painter more than anything else. If I do use anything it's just speed paint medium, though I do use holy white speedpaint to try and lighten up certain paints. It doesn't always work but it's nice when it does. I also use runic gray in place of something like nuln oil to shade metallics and darken crevices sometimes since it has a "blue" tinge to it that I like. If I had to give any advice for new people in the hobby, it's to just have fun. I barely look at rules or lore when making stuff and just build and paint whatever I think looks neat or feel will fit narratively into one of my armies. Of course everyone is different, but just messing around and enjoying yourself is how I like to hobby. Thanks for the video and God bless you all, and your little army peeps.
I'd like to share a tip with any new painters using GW paints. I stick to these out of habit, really. I've been using them since around 1991. If you have a bottle where the paint inside has started to dry up, mixing in the GW medium can save the paint. Add it a little at a time and stir it in. As it loosens up, start shaking tbe closed bottle as normal. This can save you having to buy a brand new bottle of paint.
Your partner in crime, Vincy V, made an HC video topic on mediums, and he showed how they work! Though tbh, r results for some of them looked pretty similar. HC 135 to be exact.
I don't use acrylics much these days, but I did like thinning with inks. Also goobertown tought me how to make my own contrast paint. I prefer other serfactants to dish soap for obvious reasons.
Thanks so much for this video - it's answered a lot of questions I've had and been too lazy to research. Now I can use that bottle of Speedpaint Medium that's just been sitting in my rack!
As always an excellent video "Tio Adam"! Hope you get better with the cough thingie. And I also use Army Painter products. Very good stuff. Anyway have a safe and nice weekend
I've found that a 1:1:1 speedpaint + speedpaint medium + water works surprisingly well for dialing them back a little more into the "slop on one coat" situation they're generally advertised as, but without as much pooling to clean up afterward.
Great topic! Understanding how paints work, the science behind all of it, it really helps average joe make progress. It’s technique driven. I’m not an artist, but I can paint minis because I know these kinds of things. I started using mediums about a year ago, and think they make a huge difference in a thinner paint working well. I used glazing medium in opaque paints that I use to clean up speed paint mistakes. Got my first airbrush last year and flow aid is a must. Thanks for the tip on white paints in an airbrush and Thanks for another great video!
For airbrush I've been using the Vallejo airbrush thinner for ages and always had issues with paint drying on the tip. Then I saw a video explaining the difference between airbrush thinner and flow improver and got a bottle of their flow improver. Long story short: the flow improver contains paint retarder, so you don't get dry tips and is meant for thinning down thicker paints. Airbrush thinner is meant for stuff that is already quite fluid, like inks.
I’m totally here for a hobby lecture. You can never stop learning. Even as a veteran painter. I brain fart on a lot of this. One video topic I’d love to hear you opine on in more detail is how to help keep newer war game players/painters from suffering burnout
I do have to give acrylics this. The names of additives for them do mostly make sense. Oils though... meglip, damar crystal? Yeah just adds to the magic.
Perhaps a video on game scale. Not figure scale, but game scale. I imagine most wargaming get into the hobby playing skirmish level games where the figures are 1:1 in what they represent. But some games can be for example battalion, brigade or even division and army level. That has an effect on the scale of the figures and how they are based. Also affects the rules, tactics and levels of abstraction.
Might be a short one and slightly covered in this... but explaining different brands have different names for similar products (speed paint and contrast paints or how the one company called a thing a wash but it was more of a glaze) its getting easier to tell more ive been in the hobby but starting was confusing sometimes... maybe also inks vs washes vs glazes
Cool video, I've not really seen anything on this topic this before. My suggestion for a beginners video would be generalised tactics that can be applied across various games. There are loads of videos that talk about painting/glazing etc but I've not really seen any general advice that covers strategic thinking i.e. why you might want to specialise in one kind of troop in a wargame vs being an all-rounder, why movement is important vs big shooty guns etc. Not sure how easy that would be to write but it's something I've not seen
You mentioned you liked the Secret Weapon washes. If you want to try to recreate them, i believe they were based on Les Bursley's wash recipe, posted here on CZcams, Dakkadakka, and elsewhere.
Another reason why painting up models for skirmish games or board games, you can experiment without worrying about your army looking different. That’s how my love of thinned down Ratling Grime started. :)
For Vallejo paint I do find their Vallejo Thinner and Airbrush Flow Improver work great together, however for GW paints the Vallejo thinner doesnt work so well. The Tamiya X-20A works fantastic with GW paint. The Tamiya X-20A smells like a solvent to me. If I am airbrushing Vallejo Model or Game color = water, vallejo thinner, vallejo flow improver. If airbrushing GW paint = Tamiya X-20A, water, and a bit of flow improver.
I have really started to enjoy adding inks to the pain on my wet palette. If I want to thin down the paint, but really pop up the color - a drop of that color ink seems to really do the trick. Just watch out for paints with multiple pigments - you might not get the color you want.
I prefer using larges instead of mediums. In fact I used wetting agent and flow improver on a project, I can't say why, but it took over 30 hours for it to dry. It was really weird.
Tip for the airbrushers out there: Don't buy expensive needle lubricants. Go to your local pharmacy section and grab a bottle of mineral oil. Just lightly coat the needle everytime you clean the AB. It will help protect any seals, paint flow, and trigger smoothness. It's just a couple of bucks and will last several lifetimes. Its useful because it's non reactive to water or petrolium based paints and will never cause issues like fisheyes and other topcoat failures. It's also completely non-toxic... you can drink the stuff if you've recently eaten too much cheese and are a bit bound up.
Please continue with the “tell” or lecture portion of your videos in addition to the show portion. I very much like your relaxed tempo. I don’t play, I paint, but enjoy watching your videos. Ti find them very informative and kind of relaxing (I paint to relieve stress)
So one thing I do for my Night Lords in 30k is mix kantor blue (gw) Deep Blue (army painter) and tellesar blue (contrast) along with water as needed. Gives me a slightly unique blue hue.
A great overview as always. I've been digging through the back catalogue of videos and want to know if the older "Pa-chow: Hobby Hero" shirt will ever make a comeback or if I'm looking in the wrong place for it?
What is a good topic for a video? How would you introduce a new player, whom like to play the game, but they have the tendency to thow with stuf when they lose.... Probably throw the figures and terrain... 😂 What are the best ideas you have? 😅🎉
I had a friend that when he would win would say ef you to my models, so after about 3 times of this, I won and did the same back to him he got super pissed off and we haven't played since, i was sorta over his bs and was ok with it
I use water to thin acrylic paints, I rarely use medium mainly for weathering. However, I've been using them with shade and contrast paints, they've been useful in recent years. I might use something other than water for thinning paints, will still use water to clean paint off my brush. 🖌
Can you please do a video on how to approach 40K in bite size obtainable steps. Essentially on how to dip your toes into the hobby without biting off more then you can chew. I have a younger cousin new to the hobby an he’s struggling where to even start an I remember being there myself. Figured you’d figure out a good approach on how to enter the hobby comfortably an aswell without committing to much until you’re absolutely certain this “army” or part of the hobby is for you.
Second KillTeam. A GW employee steered me toward KT from the beginning - I didn’t listen, thinking they were just trying to sell more stuff. Little did I know then - they were genuinely trying to help (I know, surprise!) - if I had listened to them, instead of going full hog - I’d have all my painting done and be playing actual games by now.
GW built the new Combat Patrol system as 40k 'lite'.. No list building. You buy that box and play against other boxes. Set rules for that box and you learn the basics of 40k. Seems like a good place to start. Kill Team is fun, but a different game altogether.. And many Combat Patrols are similar #s of models
Main rule book, a combat patrol, look at the combat patrol for the recommended paint scheme buy just those paints, buy a 0,1, and 2 mid priced synthetic hair brush ( you are looking for a nice point to the bristles) they'll be good first brushes that's OK to get abused. If you get a boxed set you basically get 2 combat patrols some terrain, dice and main rule book in one package. Also a good place to start but more limited on which factions you get.
Hi Uncle A. This is a very good video for beginners, but I feel it misses one crucial point. There are different types of paint, and the appropriate additives need to be used with the appropriate paints. Using water based thinners with lacquer based paints, for example, is a recipe for trouble. I understand that this video is aimed at people who generally use water based acrylics but many beginners may just buy paints like Tamiya at the hobby store without realising their different properties. Hope to catch you on Twitch later 👍 🙂
Here to bump those numbers since I didn't have time before the Friday morning stream ;) Seriously though fantastic video, got my chemistry loving gf to tell me to go back and restart the video for her lol
This video was a great explanation and breakdown. Thank you so much. It is much appreciated. Also, quick question do your hands get tired throughout the video?
In this video Adam tries to log off... I'm a terrible painter (in terms of the way I do things, I try to do things the cheapest, easiest, simplest, as quick as possible way). I don't generally use additives besides thinner for airbrushing and water for brush painting - I find it too much of a faff to find out what works. Where I've picked up Contrast Paint I do use GWs medium to thin it (would love to find a cheaper alternative). I love Vallejo's glaze medium, it gets rid of the tide mark problem, it's made glazing on highlights much better. Never found the need for anything else.
A good clarification for folk new to mediums. Thanks Adam. One of my favorite mediums is actually contrast medium, and not for thinning contrast paints, just as a medium to thin paints for glazing and such. Something else I’ve found is that using air brush thinner to thin metallic paints works well, as opposed to using water.
I’ve been using Speedpaint Medium to make glazes recently - I started when I worked on my NOVA Open display piece. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the additional tips, Alex! I’m going to try that trick with metallics.
excellent! thank you for sharing!
Some great tips which I'll use. Cheers! 👍
As someone trying to get into wargame, I would love to see a how to play one page rules video. Maybe even a battle report, but with pauses to explain how the game is being played. Love your videos, man!
Ditto. What First Impression said.
I love Glaze medium. Not only does it help with the flow of my paint. but it seems to keep the brush having paint dry on it( so it comes off it smoothly). But the big win is when I get a little paint somewhere I didn't want, I have a few more seconds to wipe or brush it off without it drying on me.
I use Winsor and Newton artists' Acrylic Flow Improver. A 75ml bottle doesn't cost much and last me years!
Acrylic medium also comes in large quantities for artist use, which usually works out a lot cheaper than small pots of branded miniature paint.
WN is a really nice (if a little pricy in some instances) art brand and has a lot of great crossover with mini painting brands. Another good one is Golden. I use a lot of Golden paints and additives and they’re high quality and fantastic.
In the last 2 years, I have gotten completely away from water except for my rinse cup (which I put a little Dawn into, so even that isn't just water) and my wet palette. I use Liquitex Flow Aid as a brush wetting agent, Cuttlefish Colors Merlin's Magic Medium for thinning my paints and making glazes (this stuff is AMAZING) and Golden Airbrush Medium for thinning for the airbrush. And when I need to change the consistency/saturation of my speedpaints and washes, I use Army Painter Speedpaint Meduim or Wash Medium. Other additives I keep on hand are Liquitex Drying Retarder, Liquitex Matte Medium and Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver.
Can confirm, Merlin’s Magic Medium is some of the best all-purpose medium on the mini-painting market!
Great timing as I'm about to step into this for the first time since um 2002.
Get better soon
Thank you for the explanation. I've often wondered if there was a difference between them all.
I’m glad you made this video because is hard to find one place to do an amazing overview.
As you said before sometimes youtubers assume that the viewer has some knowledge of what they are talking about.
That said I’ve used alcohol as a thinner because I used Tamiya Paints and they are alcohol based acrylic paints.
One thing Vince mentioned in his videos about flow improver that you didn't here is that it can be used to paint much finer lines and details! The lower surface tension means it sticks to itself and goes on thinner. Very handy and about the only thing that could have convinced me to buy it. I mostly use water but I have some airbrush medium for mixing with artist paint to get it to go through the airbrush nice.
This video brought me back to 1992 when I went to college for art school. Great review for those that want to learn or to someone getting back to old school. Thanks buddy. Enjoyed the video!
This video is really helpful as I'm two years into the hobby and I think it's time for me to move beyond thinning all my paints with water. The dry Minnesota air has really been keeping me from having success with wet blending too.
Some experimentation with these is also good. I find Army Painter Warpaints Mixing Medium tends to make my paints chalky. My favorite is Privateer Press's P3 Medium but it can be hard to get. In a side-by-side comparison you can see most paints turn chalky with the Army Painter one while P3's has a silky look I like and generally helps things build up with nice gradation. Vallejo's Glaze Medium, on the other hand, slows the drying down and can make for nicer wet blending. You'd think all three would be the same, but it definitely pays to play around with them. If you're a 3D printer as well as painter, finding a good basic mini to paint over and over with a variety of approaches and brands is a good way to compare to find what works for you. Or, that's a great reason to keep your misprints. I keep my misprints to try different things in different areas before using them on a successfully printed mini.
I have actually added a few drops of Army Painter speed paints to like colour standard paints and it works quite amazingly!
If you read the directions on the bottles of Liquitex FloAid and SloDri, you mix 1oz of FloAid with 20oz of (distilled) water. SloDri is mixed 1:1 with water (but I don't have a bottle to confirm. I just know that I mixed 1oz Floaid, 20oz water and 4 & 4 oz of SloDri in a bottle and use that to thin my paints. I then add 3 more oz of water to make 32oz of solution just to fill up the bottle. I get very smooth blends this way. I also find Liquitex glaze medium is pretty glossy, i usually mix 1:1 with matte medium to offset that a bit and take that 1:4 -1:8 with water to make it really thin. I glaze a lot so it seems to work...
Hoping to get some feedback on this. I recently took the plunge into 3D printed minis. My plan has been to prime and/or base coat with an alcohol based acrylic. Reason being - we want to cure our resin and keep it stable in the long run. People + internet research has yielded something like 3 days for the model and 3 days for the 1st coat of paint to cure. DEFINITELY do your own research. My point is - slightly thinned alcohol based flat acrylic can be applied somewhat thickly and quickly, then as a unified coating, it has a tendency to shrink down nicely. I use whatever thinner is offered by the primer's maker specifically BECAUSE it has other ingredients besides just one kind of alcohol in them AND because some college and some professional chemical training has taught me that chemicals that have reacted tend to arrest, which would seem to be the goal. Examining my 3D printed model after that has revealed that, depending on the model's orientation during printing, certain surface angles will show more or less of the grain of the printing process, which may call for more primer or base coat. And I'm coming at this realizing that some people literally sand their printed minis, but I don't. I look for surface additives that I can layer selectively. I should also mention that I would not use this process for army painting unless I was willing to leave a lot of defects in the playable models, but I don't print or have printed large numbers of units, although I understand some do.
I use Army Painters Airbrush medium to thin paint for regular brush work. Its just better then water and makes it flow better in a controlled way.
Couldnt have found this video at a better time, im working on a lot different painting projects and each needs me to learn new methods of working with and manipulating my paints. Im gona have a lot of fun experimenting with these
A clear natural dish drop for breaking the surface tension with paint and inks. Another is using Pledge One Go (or Long Life self-shining floor polish at Bunnings in Australia) mixed in as a drop that also gives a great rock hard finish. Even though it is a gloss it can always be hit with a matt over the top. Never had a miniature chip after adding that.
As a whole, I only use Vallejo Glaze Medium.
However, for washes specifically, I use Army Painter Strong Tone (a wash) as an additive (along with Glaze Medium and water) to make my own washes better.
When I got into painting, Citadel paints were still just making their way to the US, and not in great quantities, so pre-mixed washes weren't readily available. An old historical gamer taught me to make a wash by mixing your paint with water and the tiniest bit of dishwashing soap. It breaks the water tension and allows it to flow without any trouble. I still use it to this day. I put a little soap in a bottle of water and keep it nearby to use whenever I'm thinning paints or making washes.
Nice video! I mostly make my own medium (water, matte medium, dish soap), but I do use a drying retarder on occasion.
Great video topic Adam, I use mostly medium in my painting now, before just drops of water, but that use to split the paint and weaken the pigment, but medium keeps the consistency. One of my hobby bugbears is greenstuff, trying just fill holes and gaps i find really awkward, but i see people sculpting with it to perfection. So a beginners guide to green stuff would be awesome. Love your videos 😉👏👌
I use white glue to fill cracks quite often, for small cracks it works well. Manipulate it into the crack with a hobby knife point or pin / tootpick, wipe the excess off with a finger and let cure. Sand to smooth. Wood glue works well for this too, and has a lot less shrinkage so you usually only have to do one coat. For holes, Crayola Model Magic works great and its CHEAP !!
I sculpt with greenstuff but hate trying to fill gaps/holes with it. I prefer milliput but I'm pretty sure it was in one of the Tabletop Minions Awards videos that Uncle Atom features a gap filling putty.
Since you've got the greenstuff though, it's worth trying out different ratios in the mix and see if that works for you. If you start by using less blue, that should make the mix squish into the gaps better but will harden slower. If it's a smoothing problem, wait until the putty is almost cured (45-60 minutes for me depending on ambient temperature) before you smooth the surface out. It'll move less per pass this way resists tool marks better.
Always a great topic. Was always confused on all these things, when I first started out. Still a relatively new painter, but the one I've had good success with is Daler Rowney Flow aid. I use An 80/20 mix; Distilled Water to flow aid, and it has worked quite well for me. Golden Satin Glaze with about the same proportions works great for me as well
I've found it does depend on what paints your using (which you reiterated multiple times :). the Scalecolor artist I use can be thinned really far w/ water at both glaze and wash level. However, the non-artist paints I have do better w/ different mediums. You also just explained why some of my attempts to stretch the paint with water hasn't worked well :) lol. Thank you for this information! Excellent video! thank you for making it.
My basic recipes are:
- For Arcyl painting surfaces, instead of water: {Liquitex: Matte Medium (F)} + {Liquitex: Flow-Aid (E)} in a ratio 80/20 . I keep this one pre-mixed in a dropper bottle next to the water pot.
- For Airbrushing: {Vallejo Airbrush Thinner} + {Vallejo Airbrush Flow improver} as needed, since airbrush is more of an experimentation thingie for me.
- If I dare to make a "Wash/Speedpaint/Contrast...": {Liquitex: Matte Medium (F)} + {Liquitex: Flow-Aid (E)} in a ratio 50/50 mixed with an ink. I rarely do this one due to its difficulty and "try and error"
Thanks for the nice overview!
I’ve been barely sick with a weird “almost-cold” for over a week now too. Lots of people have had it. Who knows, get mostly better soon!
Great video; it Neatly summed up what it took me many years to pick up.
As an actual scientist, I adore the stock footage at 5:13. Dude is very dubious about mixing the same color of food color
I bought a small space marine paint kit to practice the paints, washes and that fun painting stuff to see what I like doing. I am thinking about mixing brands with certain effects.
All else fails I'll check out painting miniature videos on here and ask the art supply store for certain ways or how to do for certain look for my boys.
Great video, I'm so glad CZcams put one of your videos in my feed. If you're going to be at NOVA again this year you should come check out the 40k narrative.
This was great! I personally like to use one or two drops of the vallejo flow improver when preparing and mixing paint for brush painting. It helps the paint move and stay smooth. Doesn't slow down drying time very much.
I build and paint Gundam, so major of my work is with air brush. And I’ve found that the additive should be added when you run into a problem and the additive should help. Flow improver if the paint won’t spray, thinner if the paint goes on the part too thick. Ect…
I know it's way too expensive but I really love Citadel Lahmian Medium. It flows so incredibly well and is always consistent with results.
Ive heard multiple people recommend using varnish between stages to essentialy create a save point before a wash or something like that. But if you screw up a stage after the varnish how do you remove it? Alcohol? What if you use oil after? Will mineral spirits be safe with varnish? What varnishes/clear coats are recommended for what. No one seams to talk about that. Love to see a video on it.
Earlier on in my hobby journey I just used water if I wanted to modify something on the fly. Now with The Army Painter providing a bottle of medium, I've enjoyed using that to modify my paints whether it be a small amount or a large amount. It works so much better and its so easy to use!
I know it's been a while since your previous series on airbrushing basics. Would it be worthwhile to make an updated "Airbrushing 101" style video? That was always an intimidating aspect of painting for me until I finally dove in.
Contrast medium is the only additive I've used so far. The issues you described about washes on flat surfaces have been almost exactly my experience with that. This video should help me with that.
Great advice! premixed airbrush paints have been a game changer for me. As much as I like Vallejo primer, it needs a lot of thinner, in my opinion. I've switched to Army Painter, except for my white primer. Thanks for the video!
i use Liquites Fluid Flat Mediium, Gloss medium and Master's Touch Flow Medium (it's cheaper and does the same as Liquitex). Also a 1:100 dish detergent:water mix to pre wet the surface for some really cool streaking effects or to just get some wild blends.
Monument’s Glaze and Wash medium has been invaluable for thinning Pro Acryl paints for me. I’ve even been able to use the goopy gel-like consistency to add body back if a paint has become too liquid. Army Painter Speedpaint Medium has also been great for thinning Speed/contrast paints, washes, and even making opaque paints behave more like a Speed Paint.
Those are definitely the two most useful I’ve tried.
Awesome video, answers to questions people want to ask but feel uncomfortable so they dont
Great video sir. Always helpful, you have a way of explaining things that is easy to understand for a grunt. Some of the other content creators get to sciencey for me.
Very informative. Your local art stores are a good source of additives and advice too. An explanation of layer/wash/glaze/pin wash hasn't been done for a while and these terms could use an airing. Thanks
Retarder with a small brush for painting eyes gives much more control. Flow aid to Reaper Liners plus a drop of Matt varnish to kill the shine. Matt is also great with inks for zenithal because it gives a better adhesion for the next layer of paint. Lathium medium seems to be the best for thinning and keeping the paint smooth. Monument glaze medium for glazes, gloss medium for glossy bits, and whenever they restock it, Newish for weathering / staining effects.
Really great video! One of my favorite products is the Daler-Rowney flow enhancer, especially used with metallic paints.
What a great overview for anyone new to, or especially maybe using these things without actual understanding of what they're good for
I usually end up using speedpaint by army painter more than anything else. If I do use anything it's just speed paint medium, though I do use holy white speedpaint to try and lighten up certain paints. It doesn't always work but it's nice when it does. I also use runic gray in place of something like nuln oil to shade metallics and darken crevices sometimes since it has a "blue" tinge to it that I like. If I had to give any advice for new people in the hobby, it's to just have fun. I barely look at rules or lore when making stuff and just build and paint whatever I think looks neat or feel will fit narratively into one of my armies. Of course everyone is different, but just messing around and enjoying yourself is how I like to hobby. Thanks for the video and God bless you all, and your little army peeps.
I'd like to share a tip with any new painters using GW paints. I stick to these out of habit, really. I've been using them since around 1991. If you have a bottle where the paint inside has started to dry up, mixing in the GW medium can save the paint. Add it a little at a time and stir it in. As it loosens up, start shaking tbe closed bottle as normal. This can save you having to buy a brand new bottle of paint.
Your partner in crime, Vincy V, made an HC video topic on mediums, and he showed how they work! Though tbh, r results for some of them looked pretty similar. HC 135 to be exact.
I don't use acrylics much these days, but I did like thinning with inks. Also goobertown tought me how to make my own contrast paint. I prefer other serfactants to dish soap for obvious reasons.
Thanks so much for this video - it's answered a lot of questions I've had and been too lazy to research. Now I can use that bottle of Speedpaint Medium that's just been sitting in my rack!
As always an excellent video "Tio Adam"! Hope you get better with the cough thingie. And I also use Army Painter products. Very good stuff. Anyway have a safe and nice weekend
This is a FANTASTIC topic. Thanks for taking it on! The lab coat was a nice touch. 😊
I've found that a 1:1:1 speedpaint + speedpaint medium + water works surprisingly well for dialing them back a little more into the "slop on one coat" situation they're generally advertised as, but without as much pooling to clean up afterward.
Nice! been looking for a simple language no BS description of additives for a while, this is great. Thanks a bunch.
Great topic! Understanding how paints work, the science behind all of it, it really helps average joe make progress. It’s technique driven. I’m not an artist, but I can paint minis because I know these kinds of things. I started using mediums about a year ago, and think they make a huge difference in a thinner paint working well. I used glazing medium in opaque paints that I use to clean up speed paint mistakes. Got my first airbrush last year and flow aid is a must. Thanks for the tip on white paints in an airbrush and Thanks for another great video!
For airbrush I've been using the Vallejo airbrush thinner for ages and always had issues with paint drying on the tip. Then I saw a video explaining the difference between airbrush thinner and flow improver and got a bottle of their flow improver.
Long story short: the flow improver contains paint retarder, so you don't get dry tips and is meant for thinning down thicker paints. Airbrush thinner is meant for stuff that is already quite fluid, like inks.
I’m totally here for a hobby lecture. You can never stop learning. Even as a veteran painter. I brain fart on a lot of this.
One video topic I’d love to hear you opine on in more detail is how to help keep newer war game players/painters from suffering burnout
I use the heck out of the Water+ from Instar Paint. It’s got surfactant and dry retardant properties and works across every paint I’ve tried it with.
Great video! I’m not a new painter but I’m also not a great one either, so a video explaining what these products are is very helpful.
I do have to give acrylics this. The names of additives for them do mostly make sense. Oils though... meglip, damar crystal? Yeah just adds to the magic.
Perhaps a video on game scale. Not figure scale, but game scale. I imagine most wargaming get into the hobby playing skirmish level games where the figures are 1:1 in what they represent. But some games can be for example battalion, brigade or even division and army level. That has an effect on the scale of the figures and how they are based. Also affects the rules, tactics and levels of abstraction.
Thank you!!! This is great reference and clarification on what does what.
Might be a short one and slightly covered in this... but explaining different brands have different names for similar products (speed paint and contrast paints or how the one company called a thing a wash but it was more of a glaze) its getting easier to tell more ive been in the hobby but starting was confusing sometimes... maybe also inks vs washes vs glazes
Cool video, I've not really seen anything on this topic this before. My suggestion for a beginners video would be generalised tactics that can be applied across various games. There are loads of videos that talk about painting/glazing etc but I've not really seen any general advice that covers strategic thinking i.e. why you might want to specialise in one kind of troop in a wargame vs being an all-rounder, why movement is important vs big shooty guns etc. Not sure how easy that would be to write but it's something I've not seen
I’m a generally terrible strategist, so I’d have to ask someone smarter than me. I’ll think on that. Thanks for watching!
This is a great topic, and a very clear explanation of these materials. Thank you!
You mentioned you liked the Secret Weapon washes. If you want to try to recreate them, i believe they were based on Les Bursley's wash recipe, posted here on CZcams, Dakkadakka, and elsewhere.
I have been using Vallejos Glaze medium for a while and like it
Another reason why painting up models for skirmish games or board games, you can experiment without worrying about your army looking different. That’s how my love of thinned down Ratling Grime started. :)
Great Video! I have been looking for a good medium. Will pick up the Fanatics line of retarders and mediums.
Great topic! This is something I have found challenging so thanks for this video!!
For Vallejo paint I do find their Vallejo Thinner and Airbrush Flow Improver work great together, however for GW paints the Vallejo thinner doesnt work so well. The Tamiya X-20A works fantastic with GW paint. The Tamiya X-20A smells like a solvent to me.
If I am airbrushing Vallejo Model or Game color = water, vallejo thinner, vallejo flow improver. If airbrushing GW paint = Tamiya X-20A, water, and a bit of flow improver.
I have really started to enjoy adding inks to the pain on my wet palette. If I want to thin down the paint, but really pop up the color - a drop of that color ink seems to really do the trick. Just watch out for paints with multiple pigments - you might not get the color you want.
I prefer using larges instead of mediums. In fact I used wetting agent and flow improver on a project, I can't say why, but it took over 30 hours for it to dry. It was really weird.
Tip for the airbrushers out there: Don't buy expensive needle lubricants. Go to your local pharmacy section and grab a bottle of mineral oil. Just lightly coat the needle everytime you clean the AB. It will help protect any seals, paint flow, and trigger smoothness. It's just a couple of bucks and will last several lifetimes. Its useful because it's non reactive to water or petrolium based paints and will never cause issues like fisheyes and other topcoat failures. It's also completely non-toxic... you can drink the stuff if you've recently eaten too much cheese and are a bit bound up.
Love the video, great info. I truly appreciate this kind of approach to material. Thanks!!😁
Please continue with the “tell” or lecture portion of your videos in addition to the show portion. I very much like your relaxed tempo. I don’t play, I paint, but enjoy watching your videos. Ti find them very informative and kind of relaxing (I paint to relieve stress)
This is really useful. Thank you for the video!
So one thing I do for my Night Lords in 30k is mix kantor blue (gw) Deep Blue (army painter) and tellesar blue (contrast) along with water as needed. Gives me a slightly unique blue hue.
Experimentation like that is fun and can have great results. Thanks for watching!
love it. Thanks Uncle!
A great overview as always. I've been digging through the back catalogue of videos and want to know if the older "Pa-chow: Hobby Hero" shirt will ever make a comeback or if I'm looking in the wrong place for it?
Thanks! This video was super helpful
Golden brand wetting agent. Thanks good topic.
A video about chipping medium would be great.
I use the army painter quick wash medium sometimes, but not to make washes lol
What is a good topic for a video?
How would you introduce a new player, whom like to play the game, but they have the tendency to thow with stuf when they lose.... Probably throw the figures and terrain... 😂
What are the best ideas you have? 😅🎉
I had a friend that when he would win would say ef you to my models, so after about 3 times of this, I won and did the same back to him he got super pissed off and we haven't played since, i was sorta over his bs and was ok with it
I use water to thin acrylic paints, I rarely use medium mainly for weathering. However, I've been using them with shade and contrast paints, they've been useful in recent years. I might use something other than water for thinning paints, will still use water to clean paint off my brush. 🖌
I find water is best for rinsing out your brushes, for sure. Thanks for watching!
@@tabletopminions All good, and thank you for today's video. It's helpful.
Can you please do a video on how to approach 40K in bite size obtainable steps. Essentially on how to dip your toes into the hobby without biting off more then you can chew. I have a younger cousin new to the hobby an he’s struggling where to even start an I remember being there myself. Figured you’d figure out a good approach on how to enter the hobby comfortably an aswell without committing to much until you’re absolutely certain this “army” or part of the hobby is for you.
Uncle Adam isn’t exclusively nor particularly a huge “40K fan”.
He likes steering gamers towards a lot of independent games too.
Without trying to sound off putting, of you are set on the idea of 40k, I would start with a kill team as a bite size way to get started
Second KillTeam. A GW employee steered me toward KT from the beginning - I didn’t listen, thinking they were just trying to sell more stuff. Little did I know then - they were genuinely trying to help (I know, surprise!) - if I had listened to them, instead of going full hog - I’d have all my painting done and be playing actual games by now.
GW built the new Combat Patrol system as 40k 'lite'.. No list building. You buy that box and play against other boxes. Set rules for that box and you learn the basics of 40k. Seems like a good place to start. Kill Team is fun, but a different game altogether.. And many Combat Patrols are similar #s of models
Main rule book, a combat patrol, look at the combat patrol for the recommended paint scheme buy just those paints, buy a 0,1, and 2 mid priced synthetic hair brush ( you are looking for a nice point to the bristles) they'll be good first brushes that's OK to get abused.
If you get a boxed set you basically get 2 combat patrols some terrain, dice and main rule book in one package. Also a good place to start but more limited on which factions you get.
Great vid, thanks "Doc"
Hi Uncle A. This is a very good video for beginners, but I feel it misses one crucial point. There are different types of paint, and the appropriate additives need to be used with the appropriate paints. Using water based thinners with lacquer based paints, for example, is a recipe for trouble. I understand that this video is aimed at people who generally use water based acrylics but many beginners may just buy paints like Tamiya at the hobby store without realising their different properties. Hope to catch you on Twitch later 👍 🙂
I only tend to use water but I have got some contrast medium which I want to use a bit more instead of
Really great and informative. Thx for the upload! *top*
Here to bump those numbers since I didn't have time before the Friday morning stream ;)
Seriously though fantastic video, got my chemistry loving gf to tell me to go back and restart the video for her lol
This video was a great explanation and breakdown. Thank you so much. It is much appreciated. Also, quick question do your hands get tired throughout the video?
Nope - been talking like that my entire life, so I guess I’ve built up strong arm muscles. Thanks for watching.
Retarder is also good for when you’re painting in a dryer, hotter climate to stop your paint from drying in the bristles of your brush.
Also true - living in Wisconsin, that’s not something I usually have to worry about. Thanks for watching!
There's a pearlescent medium that you can use to make your own metallic paint.
In this video Adam tries to log off... I'm a terrible painter (in terms of the way I do things, I try to do things the cheapest, easiest, simplest, as quick as possible way). I don't generally use additives besides thinner for airbrushing and water for brush painting - I find it too much of a faff to find out what works. Where I've picked up Contrast Paint I do use GWs medium to thin it (would love to find a cheaper alternative). I love Vallejo's glaze medium, it gets rid of the tide mark problem, it's made glazing on highlights much better. Never found the need for anything else.
I mostly use Golden or Liquitex paint additives. Works well and cheaper than hobby brands.
This was a great explanation 👍
Your voice sounds actually great here
You should definitely make a video of paint drying. 😸