Reply To: Painting tutorials, tips, tricks…

Here’s the technique for basic drybrushing for metals (mail, swords, etc.):

Paint area black (be sure to dilute the paint enough, otherwise it might cover some detail like mail). Multiple light coats are better than one heavy coat. The brush to use is a very dry brush (not a good one – this technique ruins brushes – so use an old worn out one, the more worn out, the better). Dip the brush a bit in the paint (not too much paint – you’ll see why). Now, wipe most of the paint off on a paper towel, a piece of cotton fabric (it’s the ideal for the serious painter – no fuzz or anything comes off it), or the like. Now that most of the paint has been wiped off the brush, lightly run the brush over the parts you want metallic. Again, it’s way easier to add more paint than remove it, so go light. It may take a little practice, but it’s one of the easier technique that gives really dramatic results. The effect is to have the black show through the mail which acts as a shadow and the metallics are the highlight rather than painting it all straight metallic and relying on the figure itself for shadows. It’s the same idea with helms and swords – any recesses are darker than higher points giving much more depth. If you want to go fancier, try out some of the stuff from the metallics tutorial I posted above or you can mix and match and experiment with all the methods, like putting a few washes on something you’ve dry brushed or add some highlights with a lighter metallic color. It’s all up to you.

I mentioned earlier what I use for my metallics and why, but it’s really a matter of taste. Just figure out what works for you.