Value for money
Of course, you can’t be an art blog without a too clever pun that may go completely over the top of your heads of your audience because they don’t know what the truck you are talking about.
Definitions
Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more
noun
1.
the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something.
"your support is of great value"
1 (Art)
Value deals with the lightness or darkness of a colour"in its cape its value should be decreased"
So what am I on about…?
Priming and putting base colours onto a model and…
SMS Paints
The Scale Model Suppliers, SMS is an Australian brand but… they aren’t exactly 100% friendly for miniature hobbyists, but just like how some people encourage the use of oil paints. Just like how I recommend getting an airbrush, I recommend these and getting out of your comfort zone for some of the same reasons.
Priming
If I am priming up anything these days, I exclusively prime with SMS paints. Why? Well because they are Acrylic Lacquers
What are Acrylic Lacquers? (straight from the SMS website)
But why are Acrylic Lacquers named as such? The binders that suspend the pigment in place are a thermoplastic polymer, a clear plastic resin otherwise known as Acrylic. That plus the fact there are multiple different types of lacquer paints out there, using the term Acrylic Lacquer also instantly indicates to the user what type of paint it is and how best to handle it.
Okay, so what does that mean?!
Acrylic is the standard paint we use in miniature painting, but because of the solution or as the SMS website suggests calling it the solvent it is suspended in, it’s no good for hand brush its only good for airbrushing.
The benefits
Lacquers are by far the smoothest colours I have ever applied, ever. That is ever, full stop, no if no buts no maybes, if you want a smooth coat with zero chalkiness regardless of pigment choice, use a lacquer paint. Along with that, there are a few other things. Lacquers bind to the model in question like nothing else, in lamens terms which means it’s not going to rub off. Of course, most primers will do this however as far as I understand it, lacquers bite into the plastic and bind with it so it becomes a part of not just a strong seal. And finally, the thing that people forget. Instant drying.
Most airbrushing will dry almost instantly perhaps with the exception of priming paint. However, as a commission painter time is money and I don’t have the time for something to dry off. And being able to almost instantly able to shift to grey and white knowing your going to have perfect results without chalkiness unlike some other brands… You know you will have value for money in no time.
The secret benefit?
Well…
There are three colours people hate to paint. White, Yellow and Orange, usually in that order. Why?
Coverage
This is a term in miniature painting that means both has a defined meaning and is nebulous at the same time. Coverage means how well something covers, this sometimes refers to opacity at other times it refers to how many coats you will have to put on to a model. Usually, these things are connected at other times that is not the case.
Yellow was recently celebrated by Games-Workshop for their brilliant new formula for Imperial Fist yellow for its amazing coverage over white. You want to know what will get you yellow over anything?
Yellow, that’s how you say hello in paint
Just plain old yellow.
Yes but its just a base… now now hold up. Remember what I said about it biting in and becoming part of the model? Well, that opens up all sorts of avenues for you. One of the primary reasons that white, yellow and orange are such a problem is correcting errors is quite difficult. With the lacer the usual tricks of simply rubbing off the other paint while still wet it wouldn’t be a problem. Adding, a coat of varnish and cue tip you can still remove a great deal of errors even after its dry.
So why is that so important?!
It opens the door to new techniques and styles. My misses is very fond of finger dabbing to get very interesting results, which has quite a naturalistic look
That looks like Lana Craft Treasure Hunter from that show State Archives
She is just starting her painting journey with miniatures but she is an accomplished artist in other fields. So if you are like this is pretty good for an 11th model. Damn Straight it is because she is my woman and I am proud of her. More seriously, if you wondering how to get that kind of result on your 11th mini, just try things!
Conclusion
Stepping outside of your comfort zone is always difficult. It is hard to find a good middle ground between, just a foot out and leaping off a cliff. However, I believe that Acrylic Lacquers are a much easier jump than oils which is a whole new process of subtractive painting one, I hope to get to one day. It’s just load up an airbrush, be in a very well-ventilated area and wear proper protection. Other than that, it is just normal priming with an airbrush. A good middle ground in my opinion.
But between now and you get out of your comfort zone. You know what you can do?
Keep those brushes wet
Til next time friends