Pigments on the Cheap

Naagruz

Naagruz

Member
Want to branch out & try something outside of the cozy bubble that is acrylic paint?
Pigments, old as cavemen, were recently were "found" by GW & released as "weathering powders" by FW. They can provide amazing natural effects like dust, rust, & verdigris, but who wants to work with a limited palette & pay £2.6 ($4.14) a bottle?

If you want to have some fun & not spend all your beer money, I highly recommend NuPastels by Prismacolor. Not only will they save you about $3/color, but the range of colors gives you flexibility that you can't find in traditional military/railroading pigments. Additionally, NuPastels are designed to be used dry & wet. They come in sticks, so they don't eat up much bench space:

To get the pastel into a more brush-friendly form, you can use a hobby knife to scratch off the amount you need. You don't want to go at it like you plan to cut a section, just run the blade gently along the pastel:

After you get a tiny pile of pigment, you can apply dry with a brush & then fix with turps or alcohol. Spraying your fixer through an airbrush is best, but not necessary. Heck, play with it & see what works for you. ;)
 

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Naagruz

Naagruz

Member
Using pigments wet is also a fantastic way to add detail to your work.
Pigments dry ultra flat, so they are a natural go to for rust or verdigris. Basically, you just add turps or white spirits to your pigment dust & create a wash:

Then apply just like a regular wash. Pigments in solution with turps don't have the issues that you run into with acrylic washes. They flow great & don't typically leave tide marks. You can clean up excess easily with a damp brush or even a stiffer dry brush.

This was done using both dry & wet pigment from NuPastels:


Enjoy! :grin:
 

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Aiteal

Aiteal

Member
Excellent info Ardyer, I must give this a try when I start my Nurgle warband.
Is that the robot from the Skragg mini-game?
 
ardyer

ardyer

Member
Aiteal":mmap3gpl said:
Excellent info Ardyer, I must give this a try when I start my Nurgle warband.
Is that the robot from the Skragg mini-game?
Click to expand...

Sure, I'll take credit for Naagruz's work ;)
 
Naagruz

Naagruz

Member
I'll give Ardyer all the credit as well. :grin:

Yes, the robot is from The Crude, the Mad, & the Rusty.
 
Aiteal

Aiteal

Member
ardyer":18o1ojnr said:
Aiteal":18o1ojnr said:
Excellent info Ardyer, I must give this a try when I start my Nurgle warband.
Is that the robot from the Skragg mini-game?
Click to expand...

Sure, I'll take credit for Naagruz's work ;)
Click to expand...

dohh
replying to two threads in a row is clearly too much for me :)
 

Harry

Moderator
Brilliant. Incredible results in that photo. Just talk us through the flakey paint at the bottom. What combo of techniques was used to pull off that fantastic result?
 
Naagruz

Naagruz

Member
ardyer":e69pebi2 said:
Can you recommend any particular colors for verdigris?
Click to expand...
I like the three pictured here. Basically white, turquoise, & lt. greenish blue. It helps to keep in mind that, like rust, verdigris is a spectrum of colors.

Harry":e69pebi2 said:
Brilliant. Incredible results in that photo. Just talk us through the flakey paint at the bottom. What combo of techniques was used to pull off that fantastic result?
Click to expand...
It's kind of detailed, so I'll have to knock out another tutorial for that one. ;)
In a nutshell, you basecoat rust brown/orange, run Dorland's Wax Medium over the area, then selectively build up areas over the wax with Ranger's Crackle paint. Once the crackle dries, you nick out chunks with an Xacto, apply your top color followed by dry pigment/pigment wash.
Phlegmforlorn":e69pebi2 said:
Looks great! If you can do your wash with it, can you do pigmented varnish? ;)
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You can throw pigment into anything; heck, paint is basically just pigment+medium. I'd just check to make sure it's soluble first so you don't get odd chunks. That being said, I've used all sorts of things with NuPastels & haven't had a problem yet.
 

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aggro84

aggro84

Member
I had heard of this somewhere before but not with the turpentine wash.
I will have to give this a try!

Thanks for the information.

I would love to see more examples!

:grin:
 

Magos Explorator

Member
I like to varnish my miniatures when I'm done. Can you varnish over these without losing the effect? Or would it be better to varnish the mini first and then apply the turpentine and pigment?
 
ardyer

ardyer

Member
Magos Explorator":1yo18eyp said:
I like to varnish my miniatures when I'm done. Can you varnish over these without losing the effect? Or would it be better to varnish the mini first and then apply the turpentine and pigment?
Click to expand...

Personally, I find you tend to loose the effect when they are applied dry. I usually vanish, then apply pigments, then apply fixer.

I've not tried the wet methods enough to comment on that.
 

Harry

Moderator
Naagruz":3gscsvpk said:
ardyer":3gscsvpk said:
Can you recommend any particular colors for verdigris?
Click to expand...
I like the three pictured here. Basically white, turquoise, & lt. greenish blue. It helps to keep in mind that, like rust, verdigris is a spectrum of colors.
Another incredible result.

Harry":3gscsvpk said:
Brilliant. Incredible results in that photo. Just talk us through the flakey paint at the bottom. What combo of techniques was used to pull off that fantastic result?
Click to expand...
It's kind of detailed, so I'll have to knock out another tutorial for that one. ;)
In a nutshell, you basecoat rust brown/orange, run Dorland's Wax Medium over the area, then selectively build up areas over the wax with Ranger's Crackle paint. Once the crackle dries, you nick out chunks with an Xacto, apply your top color followed by dry pigment/pigment wash.
Click to expand...
Ohhh ... straight forwad then. :?

You have some wicked skills.
Any tutorials on the above techniques would be hugely appreciated.
 
Asslessman

Asslessman

Member
Narrgruz, you just convinced me, next Week-end I'm heading to my nearest art shop and definitely trying these... thanks a lot for sharing this to help paint "out of the box"
 
Naagruz

Naagruz

Member
Citadel Collector":31snq2z7 said:
These seem to be a US product - what would be the equivalent I would be able to pick up in the UK?
Click to expand...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prismacolor-Nup ... B000N2ZXLG
Amazon UK has them, but the win is really in finding a local art store where you can pick individual colors.

Magos Explorator":31snq2z7 said:
I like to varnish my miniatures when I'm done. Can you varnish over these without losing the effect? Or would it be better to varnish the mini first and then apply the turpentine and pigment?
Click to expand...
Varnish/lacquer typically diminishes the effect that pigments produce. I'd recommend spray lacquer prior to pigments or just use a brush on lacquer.
Additionally, you want to be careful about how you apply pigment washes if you are working with oils or enamel paints. Too much turp piled on can remove those paints. I actually use an acrylic matte over oils/enamels as a protective coat when working with pigment washes in those areas.
 
Citadel Collector

Citadel Collector

Moderator
Naagruz":3u7rho02 said:
Citadel Collector":3u7rho02 said:
These seem to be a US product - what would be the equivalent I would be able to pick up in the UK?
Click to expand...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prismacolor-Nup ... B000N2ZXLG
Amazon UK has them, but the win is really in finding a local art store where you can pick individual colors.
Click to expand...

I suppose what I mean is, is there something spcial about this particular brand or are there lots of similar products from other manufacturers? I'd like to be able to walk into the local Hobbycraft and browse...

Of course Naarguz, you being based in the US, I wouldnt expect you to know the answer to this... :)
 
Naagruz

Naagruz

Member
Citadel Collector":1d5p9t39 said:
Naagruz":1d5p9t39 said:
Citadel Collector":1d5p9t39 said:
These seem to be a US product - what would be the equivalent I would be able to pick up in the UK?
Click to expand...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prismacolor-Nup ... B000N2ZXLG
Amazon UK has them, but the win is really in finding a local art store where you can pick individual colors.
Click to expand...

I suppose what I mean is, is there something spcial about this particular brand or are there lots of similar products from other manufacturers? I'd like to be able to walk into the local Hobbycraft and browse...

Of course Naarguz, you being based in the US, I wouldnt expect you to know the answer to this... :)
Click to expand...
You actually can use other chalk pastels, but I'd recommend playing with them a bit before using them on minis. Some brands may not go into solution easily or have issues with clumping.
 
zoggin-eck

zoggin-eck

Member
Pretty much any decent art store should have a range of pastels sold individually.

Actually, any art student should have boxes of them, since they end up on every flippin' equipment list. Right next to those kneadable erasers I never used! :)
 
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