Tutorial - How to paint metals with printer's ink

posted by Andrea, MXP, Big Orang-Utang

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MASSIVEVOODOO!!! :D
Hey Ho junglelovers (excuse me, but I'm a Ramones fan): D
I share a small tutorial to paint in alternative way the metals on our figures. .. and I think that this is the worse English that you read on massivevoodoo... : D

Well, I try to explain, with this easy step-by-step, my way of painting metals with the printer's inks.
I have taken as example the painting of a helmet, but the procedure is also equal for the armors or others metal's objects.

The printer's inks can be mixed to oil's colors and the enamels, they has a pigment very concentrated and extrafine. The printer's ink can be diluted with an all thinner for oil's colors ... and with small quantities of printer's ink you paint an big surface.

Step 1: 

Normal procedure... primer first... 

Step 2: 

I prepare an acrylic base... for painting the golden helmet of my knight,

simply I use an acrylic color ...like Ochre

..Printer's Ink..

Step 3: 

When the base is dry I prepare my colors... 

I withdraw a small quantity of gold and silver from the wrappings and I dilute her on my palette.

The oil's color that I use for the shades is cassel Earth

For convenience I prepare before many different tonalities that serve me for my painting job

(shades / lights.. from left to right in photo)

 Step 4:

  Start to paint!.... I divide the surface that I will paint in 3 sectors.

in the sector 1 (low) I paint with a darker tonality (more Cassel Earth + Gold)

in the sector 2 (middle) I paint with a middle tonality (Gold)

in the sector 3 (tall) I paint with a clear tonality (Gold + Silver)

Step 5:

 Now, with a clean brush to hard bristles I blend the 3 tonalities in the zones pointed out by the arrows . Practically I blend the sector 3 with 2... and with another clean brush the sector 1 with 2. All this when the colors are wet!

Step 6:

I get this result...

A good base on which to subsequently work the lights and the shades.

Normally I wait 24 hours ...until the colors are dry.

Step 7: 

After I add more lights and more shadows in this way:

1- Add few color with a little brush

2- Blending the color with another brush ( court - hard bristles )

IMPORTANT: don't put too much color! Better, put small quantity of color because if you put more color the blending are difficult...and you risk to compromise all work.

For the lights you follow the same procedure .... when you have ended to paint light and shadows, allow the colors to dry.

Finally! Delineating all the small particulars with extreme lights and shadows (exemple: rivets, edges , and/or cuts and hits,etc..) and finish your work!
When the color are completely dry... the finish is opaque.
If necessary, you paint over with a small quantity of X19Smoke or another Glossy Varnish.




ATTENTION : The printer's Inks are toxic, and if possible you use a set of brush for painting only with Printer's Inks. Use any oil thinners to clean your brushes.

This is not a only way to paint with Printer's Ink.
Many painters paint the metals (shadows and lights) normally with acrylic , and use a printer's Ink only to finish the extreme lights or shadows. This is possible, but not a good idea to paint acrylic on the dry printer's ink base.

Other miniatures that I've painted in this way :





thanks for view and .... HAPPY PAINTING!

Andrea -mXp-