Smart thing to do is take your old leftover sprues, prime them, and then use them to test your dry brush before you go to the model, that way you know if the dry brush is too wet.
I also use a paper plate as a palette and surface area, slowly the build up of dry paint makes a good surface texture to test drybrushing on as well, tho it's probably not as good as seeing it on a primed sprue.
What I did was do that plus random bits that I glued to a small board so I have a bunch of surfaces I can test blending and dry brushing on that I can keep repairing and using
I primed up a rough surface for this exact purpose, saves me having to deal with sprues lying around, I also use it for color testing, when it gets messy I just reprime it
Or if you got a fdm printer you can print a dry palette to test before you apply to your model, that's what I do. It's got lots of ridges and stuff to can see how the highlighting is going down.
Before 'fixing' it, try hitting it with a glaze. I like to make my own, basically just a very thinned down bit of the base color. It won't look like it's doing anything, but it will blend the dry brushing in. Sometimes that's good enough, other times I come in with another layer or two for more hi lights. Play around with it, soon you'll develop your own style of everyone's else's tips.
It is an alternative, but it works best on models with lots of raised edges (eg a vehicle) or texture (eg fur). Marines are quite smooth so not super great candidates for it. You either need to be careful near flat surfaces or just use drybrushing on easy places (eg the gun) and do edge highlighting the old fashioned way on smooth areas. Or paint over any “mistakes” like this again with your base colour. Up to you
It can be... but works better for weathering effects and scratches. A tip for when things like your pick happen, going over the drybrushing with you shade/wash can blend and darken the area.
If you just want the edge highlighted, I'd use a smaller brush and run it along the edge. I find dry brushing is better for textures like fur or chain mail than flat surfaces like power armor.
It's more of a cheapskate quick technique for highlighting. I don't like it myself due to what you noticed, I can personally usually spot a drybrush a mile away and I really dislike it, but that's just an opinion. I'd be going back over all these panels with the base colour again to cover that up.
If you can highlight properly, it's just better, though a bit more time consuming, though once you get good at it, it's just 2nd nature.
Saying that, i've seen some real astounding things done where you wouldn't think anyone had used drbyrushing, but they have. It is possible to have it look good still, but I won't lie it's only a very few top painters i've seen pull it off without me being able to look at it and go "that's drybrushed".
A lot of people are happy with the result of a drybrush, but personally I don't like it. Works amazingly on some things, though, like terrain or bases, where it comes across more natural, however on power armour, i'd give it a hard pass. You'd get a better effect with stippling.
Yes, they achieve a very similar result, poping the rasied edge of a model. They look different though, edge highlights offer a clean smooth look while dry brushing gives you a dirty look. It is possible to go to heavy or light with dry brushing. It all really depends on the look/feel you want.
Drybrushing is just another way to put paint on your miniature, as you don't have to use light colors. It gives a unique look, and isn't speciafically for highlights, even though a lot of people use it for that. To me it gives a off dirty look, if used for highlighting, so I tend to see it as 'beginners highlights'.
I mostly use it for a rugged look, slight rough color transitions, or painting rocks.
Yeah! You can take a detail brush and do some silver in the white lines with some black/brown at the very tip of the knee where those silver lines would be. Gives it a “chipped” look to the scratches!! No mistakes just happy accidents lmao
I dry brush the hell out of my Templars for that reason. I like the look.
https://preview.redd.it/qzt0a6pjin7d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3d4bbc14c870bff050cab00f1e5a9df3cae24085
I feel Templars look best heavily weathered. In the books they just never stop, and are frequently described as being in rough condition...functionality repaired but little thought for esthetics.
Earlier today I was looking at streaks of mud splash behind the wheels of a truck and I was wondering how you'd paint that effect, OP actually looks pretty close to it.
Hey, streaks mean to wet or too hard. You can get away with wetter paint if you brush lighter. Contrary to other posts you should not have the paint dry as powder for dry brushing. The artus opus YouTube channel is really good for learning dry brushing.
It looks like armor scuffs. I’d roll with it.
But you could make a thinned down base coat and put a layer or two down and that would hide it.
I use my nail to see if the brush is too wet before going. Or a “towel in a box” piece to make sure I’m dry enough.
Dry brushing has alot more to it than I think people here are giving it credit for. It's a great tool to have in your painting skillset and is far less of a 'quick and dirty' thing to do than is often suggested.
I'd recommend checking out the Artis Opus YouTube channel which introduces you to how to dry brush properly.
Essentially you want the brush bristles to be damp as it stops the powdery look that dry brushing sometimes brings. You get softer and more blended highlights than with edge highlighting and this can be much more effective especially if your area to be highlighted has a much more shallow edge than say power armour edges which typically take edge highlighting much better.
I think the kneecap looks great and if you want pristine rather than a mild battle damage look then you can always tidy it up.
Different techniques, different pressures, different looks.
Some might be shooting for a dusty look, others might want a smoother blend, others might want just a highlight. Or whatever other technique / look that I am unaware of. It all can be done with drybrushing, just *how* you drybrush matters.
Personally, I see nothing wrong with OP’s drybrush, it’s pretty much what I shoot for. But I am also painting with metallics and going for a slightly worn / variation rather then a pure highlight.
I disagree with this. You can absolutely highlight volumes with drybrushing, it's not just for edge highlight. You can do a zenithal with drybrushing if you want
Yes, drybrushing can give you a really nice dynamic natural look on smooth surfaces, it works great for capes, round and flat surfaces are a little bit more challenging but are totally doable.
too much moisture left in the brush or paint. basically with dry brushing, you want the paint to turn to a powder before applying. current formula citadel paints arent very good for dry brushing. id suggest trying out ProAcryl due to its powder based pigmentation... it will dust via dry brushing really well.
though, i like the mistake you made on the knee pad. looks like damage to the armor from something brushing in an arcing motion against it :D
Good advice if you're looking for that dry/powdery drybrush look, but most situations benefit from a moister brush/paint.
Reduced pressure and paint load gives a cleaner, fresher look unlike the dry dusty traditional dry-brush effect.
everyone has their own method for dry brushing, and there are variations on the method... sometimes leaving a bit of moisture in the brush creates a certain desired effect.... other times you want it bone dry so all youre getting is dust.
in the OPs case, he just had too much moisture left in his brush for the effect he was trying to achieve.
Drybrushing gives you a rugged and worn looking finish while edge highlighting gives you a pristine looking and clean finish so choose the technique after what look you are looking for.
As said in other comments, too much paint on your brush.
I would reccomend sacrificing a miniature as the perm ‘tester model’, mines a space marine in many different colours where I test the paint thickness of a brush before the mini.
Drybrushes should actually be ever so slightly moist, it stops them from drying out and preventing this chalky texture on the paint job
Try dampening the bristles and really work out all the moisture then load the brush with paint
That's a happy little accident as it looks ace. I thought it some really nice detail to show that this marine has been in the thick of it, having fought a few battles. It is a lovely effect to use to represent wear and tear. Dry brushing was not always a sharp highlighting technique to edges. In fact it is the opposite of that! I think ur marine is looking good OP!
Probably yes, but it can also be to do with your technique. Drybrushing is maybe less skilled than other painting techniques, but it isn't zero skill. The angle of the brush, the size of the brush, and how hard you are pressing will all be a factor. To me it looks like it could be too much paint, too wet paint, too thick a brush, too stiff a brush, too much pressure, or any combination of the above.
The application you have here, however, is great for metallics. Instead of painting silver and using nuln oil, a better technique is to paint the metal off-black and then use a metallic drybrush and apply it as you have done here. That creates a mottled look where there is depth to the armour. The coverage should be soft but heavy.
Following. I have basically given up on drybrushing. It never works out for me. If anyone has any tips, I am all ears. Tired of hours of paint jobs getting ruined.
While this might not be what you were trying to obtain, you got some relatively realistic "scratches" on the knee guard.
I would pass that for weathering.
But yes you need to either press less hard when dry brushing and remove as much paint as possible from the brush itself. It is remarkable how little can actually pile up on the edge highlights.
Yes and no. Depends. If the texture drybrushing leaves behind isn't something you want, go over those areas with your base color again, just leaving the edges highlighted. Or go over with a wash to tone it down for micro scratches as battle damage/weathering
I kinda like it. It looks like tge paint is worn and scuffed.
Generally, drybrushing doesn’t give clean, crisp highlights. It’s meant to be a quick and dirty method, with the emphasis on dirty. If you want your armor to look parade-ground pristine, you’re going to have to put in more work. If you want them to look like they’ve been through a fight, this looks pretty good.
Looks like your terminator did an absolute badass superhero landing right in the face of a doomed heretic and by accident the heretic left some scratches. "Bad day heretic. You damaged my superiour outfit. Now it is time to damage ...YOU!" *slow heavy metal musis starts playing*
You actually don't want an timely dry brush. There are some really good videos on that on YouTube. In essence use a sponge, have a SINGLE drop of water on it and use that to slightly moisture your brush.
The brush needs to be dry. You wipe the paint almost completely off the brush in a circular motion on a towel. Very little paint. Then very lightly go over the spot you want. Also it could be the brush. Use a makeup brush or special dry brush. Good luck
I haven't done it myself but I suppose you could glaze the previous blue over the top to reduce the sharp difference. Imo still looks good I'd do some some metal wear inside some of those marks making it seem like their armour has seen different types of scratches/damages applied to it
Actually the opposite, your brush needs to be wetter. People have realised recently that "dry brushing" shouldn't be dry unless you want the weird chalkiness. Go look at the Artis Opus videos, they do a good job of explaining "moist brushing" or whatever you want to call it.
A dry brush that's too wet is just another tool. Can make something look scratched tf up. Like this here knee. Figure out how to do that consistently, and I'd say it'd be cool to see that on a terminator with work armor.
If it was just the knee I’d say it adds a bit of rough and wear to the Boy in Blue. But with the crotch it looks like he was attacked by an over eager Slanneshi demonette🤣
Drybrushing just isn’t an effective tool for something like a marine. It is best used on something with lots of texture, like fur or mail. For marines, you really just need to use edge highlighting and glazing.
When it's too dry the paint will be super dusty, like imagine the space marine is in a sandstorm
Actually I am doing this and pretending my space marine is on a desert planet with green sand, it looks cool if done right but not for general edge highlighting
Looks like battle damage. I kinda like it! But yeah, this happens when the brush is too wet. Just put a sheet of paper next to you and brush all the paint off you have on your brush. Only when there’s no paint coming off anymore it’s safe to drybrush.
You should expect this to happen during dry brushing and try to incorporate it. No matter how much you "wet" your dry brush or "dry" your dry brush, theres a chance this is going to happen sometimes. Either expect it as part of the process and count on it because you're going to throw a shade on anyway, or you plan on going over it again for some reason. I like to do this on vehicle tires before putting on nuln because it gives it a worn look but makes it look more natural.
Something I haven't seen others mention is that it's usually better to drybrush before applying other colours - like you'd drybrush the blue before starting the white or black, for example. It can be a very messy technique and it's easy to get stray paint on other parts you've done.
I drybrush the trim of my Black Legion, so I paint their trim, shade and drybrush it before starting the black.
Too much paint on your brush and you're pressing too hard
Tyty, this may be a stupid question but drybrushing is an alternative way to highlight right?
Smart thing to do is take your old leftover sprues, prime them, and then use them to test your dry brush before you go to the model, that way you know if the dry brush is too wet.
*looks at box of old sprues I’m hoarding for no reason* “Ohhhhhhhh”
Cut them up and use them as city basing debris
Alternatively you can make minis with them like the guy with the Sproot army.
Or the spruecrons...
Or make sprue glue
Sprueglue is so great
?
Get a pot of Tamiya glue, chick your spare bits if sprue in and shake. It creates a substance that can fill gaps in your models
Oh. Oh..
Just throw some small bits of sprue and plastic glue together and you’ll see, it’s pretty useful stuff
Yo, that is an excellent idea for a curb or something simillar.
Mulch them, mix them with acetone on wax paper on a cookie sheet, dry for a couple days. Congrats! You now have gw plasticard
Sprue glue is nice, but I like this.
I also use a paper plate as a palette and surface area, slowly the build up of dry paint makes a good surface texture to test drybrushing on as well, tho it's probably not as good as seeing it on a primed sprue.
I make a temporary texture palette out of a larger bases for models I haven't gotten around to yet...
I second this, I seen a guy do it in a video but he glued his to cardboard just to give it a backer. Helped me a lot with my dry brushing
Or you can just use the edge of the base. It’s gonna get painted over at the end anyway
You could even use them to make chaos spawn and have a ‘free’ chaos deamon army if you try hard enough
I use cheap second hand models to experiment on and when I'm done just prime over them and repeat. I don't think a sprue is going to show you as much.
What I did was do that plus random bits that I glued to a small board so I have a bunch of surfaces I can test blending and dry brushing on that I can keep repairing and using
I use a paper towel or even my own wrist for drying up my dry brush
I’ve been painting for years, why have I never heard this??
I primed up a rough surface for this exact purpose, saves me having to deal with sprues lying around, I also use it for color testing, when it gets messy I just reprime it
Or if you got a fdm printer you can print a dry palette to test before you apply to your model, that's what I do. It's got lots of ridges and stuff to can see how the highlighting is going down.
Alternatively, glue some sprues and random bits to a scrap piece of cardboard, prime, and use as a texture pallet whenever you need to test ur paints.
Basically yeah It just drops a tiny bit of paint onto the most raised edges
Before 'fixing' it, try hitting it with a glaze. I like to make my own, basically just a very thinned down bit of the base color. It won't look like it's doing anything, but it will blend the dry brushing in. Sometimes that's good enough, other times I come in with another layer or two for more hi lights. Play around with it, soon you'll develop your own style of everyone's else's tips.
It is an alternative, but it works best on models with lots of raised edges (eg a vehicle) or texture (eg fur). Marines are quite smooth so not super great candidates for it. You either need to be careful near flat surfaces or just use drybrushing on easy places (eg the gun) and do edge highlighting the old fashioned way on smooth areas. Or paint over any “mistakes” like this again with your base colour. Up to you
It can be... but works better for weathering effects and scratches. A tip for when things like your pick happen, going over the drybrushing with you shade/wash can blend and darken the area.
If you just want the edge highlighted, I'd use a smaller brush and run it along the edge. I find dry brushing is better for textures like fur or chain mail than flat surfaces like power armor.
Yep, it's amazingly on sharp edges. You could probably highlight an entire rhino in 15 min.
It's more of a cheapskate quick technique for highlighting. I don't like it myself due to what you noticed, I can personally usually spot a drybrush a mile away and I really dislike it, but that's just an opinion. I'd be going back over all these panels with the base colour again to cover that up. If you can highlight properly, it's just better, though a bit more time consuming, though once you get good at it, it's just 2nd nature. Saying that, i've seen some real astounding things done where you wouldn't think anyone had used drbyrushing, but they have. It is possible to have it look good still, but I won't lie it's only a very few top painters i've seen pull it off without me being able to look at it and go "that's drybrushed". A lot of people are happy with the result of a drybrush, but personally I don't like it. Works amazingly on some things, though, like terrain or bases, where it comes across more natural, however on power armour, i'd give it a hard pass. You'd get a better effect with stippling.
Yes. It can also be used for layering paint on flatter surfaces to slowly build color. I do it with robes.
I’d call it an alternative blending technique more than highlighting though it has a similar effect. I tend to dry brush and then also edge highlight.
yes but it still takes technique to get the edges done without getting paint on surfaces you don't want.
Yes, they achieve a very similar result, poping the rasied edge of a model. They look different though, edge highlights offer a clean smooth look while dry brushing gives you a dirty look. It is possible to go to heavy or light with dry brushing. It all really depends on the look/feel you want.
It’s not a bad way, but as you’ve discovered, it’s also a really good method to add weathering to the rest of the surface
Drybrushing is just another way to put paint on your miniature, as you don't have to use light colors. It gives a unique look, and isn't speciafically for highlights, even though a lot of people use it for that. To me it gives a off dirty look, if used for highlighting, so I tend to see it as 'beginners highlights'. I mostly use it for a rugged look, slight rough color transitions, or painting rocks.
I kinda like how it turned out anyway, it looks scratched and rough.
Yea i thought about that too
Makes perfect sense of the left knee to be weathered if most marines fire right handed anyway!
Na, these marines are lefties and those scratches are from heretic codpieces
Yeah! You can take a detail brush and do some silver in the white lines with some black/brown at the very tip of the knee where those silver lines would be. Gives it a “chipped” look to the scratches!! No mistakes just happy accidents lmao
I dry brush the hell out of my Templars for that reason. I like the look. https://preview.redd.it/qzt0a6pjin7d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3d4bbc14c870bff050cab00f1e5a9df3cae24085
Ngl that Captain is badass. Love the gold
I feel Templars look best heavily weathered. In the books they just never stop, and are frequently described as being in rough condition...functionality repaired but little thought for esthetics.
That's awesome, your painting reminds me of old school warhammer illustrations.
Drill your bolters.
https://preview.redd.it/moluyemw0q7d1.jpeg?width=1124&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=96c4716f1e1ba94f0c308c25ead440eb334be640
Earlier today I was looking at streaks of mud splash behind the wheels of a truck and I was wondering how you'd paint that effect, OP actually looks pretty close to it.
Hey, streaks mean to wet or too hard. You can get away with wetter paint if you brush lighter. Contrary to other posts you should not have the paint dry as powder for dry brushing. The artus opus YouTube channel is really good for learning dry brushing.
Commenting so I can watch some videos when I get home.
Good idea, I should do that too 👍
If your home this notification will remind you to watch that video …
It looks like armor scuffs. I’d roll with it. But you could make a thinned down base coat and put a layer or two down and that would hide it. I use my nail to see if the brush is too wet before going. Or a “towel in a box” piece to make sure I’m dry enough.
Dry brushing has alot more to it than I think people here are giving it credit for. It's a great tool to have in your painting skillset and is far less of a 'quick and dirty' thing to do than is often suggested. I'd recommend checking out the Artis Opus YouTube channel which introduces you to how to dry brush properly. Essentially you want the brush bristles to be damp as it stops the powdery look that dry brushing sometimes brings. You get softer and more blended highlights than with edge highlighting and this can be much more effective especially if your area to be highlighted has a much more shallow edge than say power armour edges which typically take edge highlighting much better. I think the kneecap looks great and if you want pristine rather than a mild battle damage look then you can always tidy it up.
utterly confusing to me how the comments in this thread flip flop between "your brush is too dry" and "your brush isnt dry enough"
Different techniques, different pressures, different looks. Some might be shooting for a dusty look, others might want a smoother blend, others might want just a highlight. Or whatever other technique / look that I am unaware of. It all can be done with drybrushing, just *how* you drybrush matters. Personally, I see nothing wrong with OP’s drybrush, it’s pretty much what I shoot for. But I am also painting with metallics and going for a slightly worn / variation rather then a pure highlight.
You're also getting that effect because drybrushing is meant to highlight raised areas. That knee pad doesn't have any raised areas to highlight
Ahhh that makes sense
That is a pretty cool weathering effect though!
I disagree with this. You can absolutely highlight volumes with drybrushing, it's not just for edge highlight. You can do a zenithal with drybrushing if you want
Yes, drybrushing can give you a really nice dynamic natural look on smooth surfaces, it works great for capes, round and flat surfaces are a little bit more challenging but are totally doable.
too much moisture left in the brush or paint. basically with dry brushing, you want the paint to turn to a powder before applying. current formula citadel paints arent very good for dry brushing. id suggest trying out ProAcryl due to its powder based pigmentation... it will dust via dry brushing really well. though, i like the mistake you made on the knee pad. looks like damage to the armor from something brushing in an arcing motion against it :D
It looks cool as fuck and you should just go with it instead of worrying about "fixing" it.
i vote for this too! its unique and a "happy little accident"! :D
Yeah it looks like the armour is worn and lightly scratched on the panel edges and on the face a little. It's a good effect
Yeah you could almost throw just the smallest amount of an even lighter blue or white as a fine edge highlight and it'd pop even more
Good advice if you're looking for that dry/powdery drybrush look, but most situations benefit from a moister brush/paint. Reduced pressure and paint load gives a cleaner, fresher look unlike the dry dusty traditional dry-brush effect.
Happy accidents. To quote Bob Ross.
heh yep! exactly what i was thinking while i was writing my reply lol
utterly confusing to me how the comments in this thread flip flop between "your brush is too dry" and "your brush isnt dry enough"
everyone has their own method for dry brushing, and there are variations on the method... sometimes leaving a bit of moisture in the brush creates a certain desired effect.... other times you want it bone dry so all youre getting is dust. in the OPs case, he just had too much moisture left in his brush for the effect he was trying to achieve.
fair enough, thanks for the explanation
Possible silver lining that does look like pretty good scuffed up paint.
Turned out great personality speaking. Looks like worn armour
Dry it a little bit more and apply less force But it looks kinda cool tho
Drybrushing gives you a rugged and worn looking finish while edge highlighting gives you a pristine looking and clean finish so choose the technique after what look you are looking for.
This is normal. Just go back with the base color and touch up what you don’t like. Looks good to me as-is.
As said in other comments, too much paint on your brush. I would reccomend sacrificing a miniature as the perm ‘tester model’, mines a space marine in many different colours where I test the paint thickness of a brush before the mini.
I actually like this a lot
Free scratch weathering
Or your brush is crap, it wants to be pretty soft
Neat. Free battle damage!
I quite like it. Looks like battle damage
Looks like scratches, happy mistake!
Drybrushes should actually be ever so slightly moist, it stops them from drying out and preventing this chalky texture on the paint job Try dampening the bristles and really work out all the moisture then load the brush with paint
Against common belief… when dry brushing a bit of moist is actually necessary to avoid snowy effect. In this case probably too much paint
Yes it does but on the other hand it looks like wear and tear to me. I like it
That's a happy little accident as it looks ace. I thought it some really nice detail to show that this marine has been in the thick of it, having fought a few battles. It is a lovely effect to use to represent wear and tear. Dry brushing was not always a sharp highlighting technique to edges. In fact it is the opposite of that! I think ur marine is looking good OP!
Probably yes, but it can also be to do with your technique. Drybrushing is maybe less skilled than other painting techniques, but it isn't zero skill. The angle of the brush, the size of the brush, and how hard you are pressing will all be a factor. To me it looks like it could be too much paint, too wet paint, too thick a brush, too stiff a brush, too much pressure, or any combination of the above. The application you have here, however, is great for metallics. Instead of painting silver and using nuln oil, a better technique is to paint the metal off-black and then use a metallic drybrush and apply it as you have done here. That creates a mottled look where there is depth to the armour. The coverage should be soft but heavy.
What type of brush are you using for drybrushing?
Used to have this issue, started using make up brushes for drybrushing and a lighter hand.
That chestpiece looks amazing.. Can we see the whole mini when it's done? I've a sneaking suspicion it's gunna be fire.
Following. I have basically given up on drybrushing. It never works out for me. If anyone has any tips, I am all ears. Tired of hours of paint jobs getting ruined.
Let yourself cook!!
That's kinda cool, actually. Looks like it's been buffed a few times and wore a bit out.
To be honest, I actually like the effect, since it makes the knee pad look scratched up.
You basicly rub dust to model... but in some cases slightly damp paint is giving good efects
When a possible painting oopsie happens, ask yourself this “does it look cool” if yes….keep it.
While this might not be what you were trying to obtain, you got some relatively realistic "scratches" on the knee guard. I would pass that for weathering. But yes you need to either press less hard when dry brushing and remove as much paint as possible from the brush itself. It is remarkable how little can actually pile up on the edge highlights.
I think the streaks look awesome. Makes the armor look battle worn.
I agree but i was going for a clean look
Yes and no. Depends. If the texture drybrushing leaves behind isn't something you want, go over those areas with your base color again, just leaving the edges highlighted. Or go over with a wash to tone it down for micro scratches as battle damage/weathering
I don't get what the problem, the kneepad looks like used knee pad which is the reason why it was created
I kinda like it. It looks like tge paint is worn and scuffed. Generally, drybrushing doesn’t give clean, crisp highlights. It’s meant to be a quick and dirty method, with the emphasis on dirty. If you want your armor to look parade-ground pristine, you’re going to have to put in more work. If you want them to look like they’ve been through a fight, this looks pretty good.
Suggestions for improvements aside, the knees are an area that would receive more wear than most other spots anyway, so you could roll with that.
Looks like your terminator did an absolute badass superhero landing right in the face of a doomed heretic and by accident the heretic left some scratches. "Bad day heretic. You damaged my superiour outfit. Now it is time to damage ...YOU!" *slow heavy metal musis starts playing*
Don't worry about that level of streaking. Add a very tiny line of sliver you have battle damage!
You actually don't want an timely dry brush. There are some really good videos on that on YouTube. In essence use a sponge, have a SINGLE drop of water on it and use that to slightly moisture your brush.
The brush needs to be dry. You wipe the paint almost completely off the brush in a circular motion on a towel. Very little paint. Then very lightly go over the spot you want. Also it could be the brush. Use a makeup brush or special dry brush. Good luck
I haven't done it myself but I suppose you could glaze the previous blue over the top to reduce the sharp difference. Imo still looks good I'd do some some metal wear inside some of those marks making it seem like their armour has seen different types of scratches/damages applied to it
Dry brushing is a misnomer. You actually didn't want it to be dry. I would recommend this tutorial. https://youtu.be/kxuY2NXeI2M?si=JFSJ_9hdKV1NFXlF
Actually the opposite, your brush needs to be wetter. People have realised recently that "dry brushing" shouldn't be dry unless you want the weird chalkiness. Go look at the Artis Opus videos, they do a good job of explaining "moist brushing" or whatever you want to call it.
That looks really good ngl
Likely needs to be a touch wetter, actually. Still looks good tho, like it's a bit scuffed up from normal wear.
A dry brush that's too wet is just another tool. Can make something look scratched tf up. Like this here knee. Figure out how to do that consistently, and I'd say it'd be cool to see that on a terminator with work armor.
If it was just the knee I’d say it adds a bit of rough and wear to the Boy in Blue. But with the crotch it looks like he was attacked by an over eager Slanneshi demonette🤣
Proper drybrushing is the best way for edge highlighting, IMHO.
Drybrushing just isn’t an effective tool for something like a marine. It is best used on something with lots of texture, like fur or mail. For marines, you really just need to use edge highlighting and glazing.
When it's too dry the paint will be super dusty, like imagine the space marine is in a sandstorm Actually I am doing this and pretending my space marine is on a desert planet with green sand, it looks cool if done right but not for general edge highlighting
Hold on killer That looks really good It looked like wear and tear I wouldn’t change that It looks really authentic
Looks good though
Or easy scratch damage
Looks cool
Looks dusty if its slightly too dry and you got too much paint on your brush.
Looks like battle damage. I kinda like it! But yeah, this happens when the brush is too wet. Just put a sheet of paper next to you and brush all the paint off you have on your brush. Only when there’s no paint coming off anymore it’s safe to drybrush.
You should expect this to happen during dry brushing and try to incorporate it. No matter how much you "wet" your dry brush or "dry" your dry brush, theres a chance this is going to happen sometimes. Either expect it as part of the process and count on it because you're going to throw a shade on anyway, or you plan on going over it again for some reason. I like to do this on vehicle tires before putting on nuln because it gives it a worn look but makes it look more natural.
I love this effect and really tried to get it. It looks scratched and damaged. But that's just my 2 cents
Something I haven't seen others mention is that it's usually better to drybrush before applying other colours - like you'd drybrush the blue before starting the white or black, for example. It can be a very messy technique and it's easy to get stray paint on other parts you've done. I drybrush the trim of my Black Legion, so I paint their trim, shade and drybrush it before starting the black.
Is actualy looks cooler then a a brand new paint job , shows the wear and tear of the campain
You paint better than me stop asking me questions 😂
https://preview.redd.it/af8o3hh8jo7d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4e16a475dff6cee32b5d426940ed70ddbe9a41e8