Which do you prefer - watercolor washes to bring out the details or oil washes thinned with mineral spirits? I’ve used watercolor with success on armor but am considering trying oil next time. Is there any advantage to oil i.e. do you get better settling around details, better contrast, etc. What do you think?
Jim [:)]
I perfer oils. They’re easily blended into the base coat and stay workable for hours. Use artist quality turpentine to thin the oils. If using enamels I would recommend using a clear, flat laquer over the base coat to keep the turps from attacking it. Wait at least 2 days for the laquer to cure and harden. Personally, I don’t use a clear coat, but I let the paint cure for a week before touching it. Lately I’ve just been using the oils straight from the tube for shadows and using a clean brush, a rag and Q-tips to to blend and remove the oils to bring out highlights and add heavy nice dark shadows.
I used the technique on this little project.
Notice the heavy shadows and the bright highlights from drybrushing 5 runs of progressively lighter shades of the base color. I mixed 1 part of Lamp Black oil to 3 parts Raw Umber oil. If you have any questions, ask away.
Jim
I haven’t summoned the nerve to use oils yet.
I figure at least with water colours if I screw it up I can wash them off.
The other benefit of watercolours is they dry a lot faster than oils.
Karl