Painting soft-edged camouflage patterns

[Kiwi]

Hi. I would like to know how to create a subtle camouflage pattern like this where one color blends slowly into another. I don't have an airbrush and can't use spraypaint.

Thanks for your help!

 

[urumomo]

Drybrush the boundaries together .
Like you do your makeup before you go out on the town

 

[Kiwi]

Drybrush the boundaries together .
Like you do your makeup before you go out on the town

What do you mean exactly? I am not sure I understand.

 

[urumomo]

Paint the colors and then when that paint is dry use a dry brush , minimal paint , to blend the borders together .
Like if it's yellow next to green , use a dry brush with that yellow to encroach over into the green and then the green over onto the yellow . So there isn't a definitive border between the 2 colors .
I don't know how else to explain it . I can show you - but I'm in Texas .

 

[urumomo]

Search YouTube for " blending paint colors "
The bulk will probably be concerning painting on canvass but that will give you a decent overview .

 

[Kiwi]

Thanks everyone. I have made a little test on a scrap piece of plastic (a lot larger than my 6mm model).

1. I drew thins lines of chocolate brown and green to give me an idea where the lines will be.

2. I mixed half of dark yellow with half of chocolate brown, remove most of the paint on a towel and then took a drybrush and push gently from one side of the chocolate brown line to the other.

3. Then, I mixed half of dark yellow with half of green, remove most of the paint on a towel and then took a drybrush and push gently from one side of the green line to the other.

4. Finally, with the same brush, I took a little bit of dark yellow paint, remove most on a towel and then gently push the brush over all the surface of the green and brown lines.

Here is what I have done with my technique. What do you think?

 

[Kiwi]

After painting my first 6mm Jagdpanzer for about one hour and a half, here is the result. Big difference between the before and after picture. I am not finished yet. I still need to paint the tracks and paint some little details .

Ugly



Way better

 

[Marktastrophe]

Thats looking good. You may have a better time blending the paint on the kit with a makeup applicator.
The Tamiya "Weathering Master" effects come with little sponge brushes, and you can buy some of those...but if you are near somewhere that sells makeup, you can get the same thing for less that way.

something along these lines:

 

[Kiwi]

Thanks for the info. I will check that.

What I was doing is that, after painting the model dark yellow, I added the brown and green camouflage. Then, with a cheap paintbrush, I just drybrushed my model with a little bit of dark yellow (same colour that I used at the beginning). Finally, I drybrushed my models with Vallejo Iraki Sand.

When do you suggest using the sponge brush? When I am applying the camouflage or after?

 

[Marktastrophe]

Thanks for the info. I will check that.

What I was doing is that, after painting the model dark yellow, I added the brown and green camouflage. Then, with a cheap paintbrush, I just drybrushed my model with a little bit of dark yellow (same colour that I used at the beginning). Finally, I drybrushed my models with Vallejo Iraki Sand.

When do you suggest using the sponge brush? When I am applying the camouflage or after?

I would use the sponge to do the dry brush blending, it looks much smoother dragging the color out with a sponge vs with bristles.

 

[blakeh1]

Great results!

I might also add that oil paints might allow you to blend and get those soft edges a little easier

another option if using acrylics is the "glazing" technique

You can use something like Vallejo Glaze Medium

it lets you do very thin, translucent layers and blending