Trovarion: Forget smoothness, contrast is the key! Ninjon: You want to be better? Get that extra smooth finish! Me: I don't know what I'm doing but I'm having fun!

@dhxmg

2 жыл бұрын

Usually it depends on what you want the final result to be. Material, colour, texture etc also play a role. Ultimately, have fun, and if you want to push it, look at reference (traditional/digital painting and photos are great for this) and try to figure out what you need to do to imitate the effect, and if you need a smooth blend or a high contrast. Or both, because life is never easy.

@SparkSovereign

2 жыл бұрын

Neither of them are wrong; composition is more important than application (smoothest blends in the world can't save a lack of contrast), and smoothness isn't always the optimal result, but it is a very useful tool to have in your arsenal. Technique and theory are both important and will make you a better painter. And if you're having fun you're doing it right too! Art is expression, everything else is secondary.

@ghazevedo

2 жыл бұрын

@@SparkSovereign One example that smoothness isn't most important is Netflix/Riotgames Arcane. Man, I am in love with that art style, so much detail and contrast yet they make it like you can see brush strokes.

@SparkSovereign

2 жыл бұрын

@@ghazevedo for sure! Very painterly looks are gorgeous, I love them. And anyone who's looked closely at paintings in an art museum can confirm that "good" and "smooth" are very different criteria; rough is a powerful tool too! But it's better to make things rough because you *want* them to be rather than because you *can't* do it any other way; learn the rules before you break them, in other words.

@maqywhaq

2 жыл бұрын

Smoothness is more of a gauge of technical capacity, but being technically able doesn't mean you're a good painter. Contrast, composition and rendering of textures will get you further than focusing on smoothness alone, but if you can make the texture/contrast transition well, it can add a whole lot of polish. The trouble is knowing when to be smooth and when to be harsh. That balance is down to style and composition though and more of an expression of you as a painter(in Ninjon's example, the sculpt is a flowing canvas that simplifies the details and would be a difficult candidate for pushing the contrast/readability style. If that was the route he went with on this sculpt, it'd end up a bit more cell shaded like a Borderlands style, not impossible, but it'd very much be a stylistic choice than working with what you've got kind of deal). TLDR: smooth is good, but not if it's costing you readability.

I'm still perfecting this whole blending thing even after 12 or 14 years of painting, so videos like yours that explain it as clearly as you do here are always welcome, Jon!

I would like to add a game changer technique I learned from Ben Komets. He called it loaded brush technique, which is a variant of wet blending. First load your brush with a color like dark blue. Then pickup the highlight color (much thicker) with the same brush (still loaded) just with the tip. Start at the highlight position and gently place the color from the tip while you unload the rest of the color in a swiping motion towards the shadows. As you have both colors on your brush there is no licking or changing colors in between which really helps to blend both colors. Unfortunately it is hard to get the consistency right.

@sun0

2 жыл бұрын

Didn't he already cover that in a different video

@thomasgross8289

2 жыл бұрын

It's not a new method but a good skill

@Meglin1461

2 жыл бұрын

Honestly, I find this the easiest of all blending techniques, I don't know why more people don't do it

@kimcorwin1705

2 жыл бұрын

I was trying that with my zombicide invader xeno with acrylic ink, pledge and acrylic paint. It was pretty random but when I got it to work it looked awesome.

@davecolwell725

2 жыл бұрын

I like this technique but I don’t find it gives me enough control for my liking. It’s good for setting a good base line to work from. Haven’t used it for ages so might have to try it again some time.

Hey, "Brush liker" technique is really "Quick one/two swish brush in water and quick swipe dry brush on paper" technique. I like doing it as it is really fast and works well with glazing.

@x31omega

2 жыл бұрын

Licker

@Blackchance

2 жыл бұрын

This also works well if you have a damp sponge nearby -- you can wipe the brush on your sponge rather than your tongue, but it's a similar effect, minus the viscosity that spit provides, of course, but I've never found it to be a problem.

@robsonez

2 жыл бұрын

It's not. Not even close

I haven't looked at a painting video in 10 years and I don't know why youtube algorithms decided to bless me with one of your videos a few days ago, but this last couple of days I've binge-watched so many of your videos and it has made me want to paint again. How you narrate explaining technique and errors or traps as you paint helps make it seem so simple. I love the mantra of "slay the gray". I am a little ashamed that I have nearly 20k points of Tyranids unpainted and some of your speed painting videos have shown me that it is well within my reach to paint a significant number of them. I am gonna bust out my stuff from the garage and get back to slaying the gray. My wife is gonna be annoyed as she's been threatening to sell them.KZread blending tutorial emoji lol. Keep up the great work.

@heliosretro4545

2 жыл бұрын

Good luck with your painting soldier, what scheme you gonna do?

@DarkerSavant

2 жыл бұрын

@@heliosretro4545 I have no idea at the moment, but as I think about it right now a chameleon color scheme that matches the terrain base or if they are tackling a space marine or such. It's gonna be a challenge but allow me to also do more than one color of paint in the army.

@heliosretro4545

2 жыл бұрын

@@DarkerSavant as you have 20k points, I would make a suggestion: divide your non-centerpiece units into sections of 2000 points, and then paint each section a different, basic scheme. If you want to go through fast, a chameleon scheme may take a while to get 20,000 points painted up. This allows you to paint in a multitude of colours without getting too bored with it, but also lets you easily tackle all those troops with a 3 color scheme. Using the chameleon scheme for all of your centerpiece models would allow the entire army to be interchangeable and allow the colour scheme to be consistent through HQs and big monsters.

My daughter and I have been reading these since you first recommended them to us way back when. She's almost seven and loves it. We're going to do our very first D&D campaign with the fart quest module. Super excited.

I think this is the first time I've seen one of the hobby channels I love using Cuttlefish Colors - neat! I backed their Kickstarter and use at least some of their paints nearly every time I paint. They have some of the prettiest blues.

That "brush licker blending" is what Vince calls void blending.

Thanks for the video. Recently I've moved to oil paints for my details and blending duties after laying down acrylic basecoats. The extra working time allows for more patience during the process.

One of my new favourite techniques for blending lately is using texture: stippling, scratches etc after doing a quick sketch of the various tones and highlights

These are the best explanation of these techniques I’ve ever heard. Thanks Jon.

I think it's called spit blending, tattoo artists do it as well with inks (and maybe water paints) on paper to get gradients.

Cool to see you using cuttlefish paint I love that stuff and Ryan's a super great dude

Good, valuable information on the blending methods and quality content as usual, Jon. But I would argue that volumetric highlighting and highlight placement to achieve contrast is much more important than smooth blends overall. I definitely fell into this trap many times where I achieved a smooth blend but the contrast was not nearly high enough. And I think it's the number one mistake that people make, especially as a beginner. So personally I like to remind myself that I always should aim for contrast first, smooth blends second.

My miniature painting journey is similar to yours, and from watching your videos, I've learned so much. My confidence has really improved, and I can't thank you enough. Stay awesome Ninjon!

Let's give a huge shout out to Cephalopod Studios for making this far with only 3 guys and a dream. Still blows my mind how good the paints are.

You have a way with explaining and demonstrating a lot of these techniques that really make stuff click in my head.

It's called spit shading Jon! It's a technique used by tattoo artists when they create their flash artwork!

Thank you for mentioning the cadmium as a PSA. Working with oils I use it extremely sparingly once I heard how dangerous it was.

@nstiles42

2 жыл бұрын

It’s not dangerous. Cadmium is dangerous, cadmium paint has the cadmium bonded and is safe to lick. However, it is dangerous to get in your lungs still, so cadmium paint through an airbrush does warrant a warning.

Thank you so much for your work. Your Tutoriales are so high quality and so on Point. I paint for years and many of the tutorials are nothing new for me, but it is so good explained. Absolute brilliant

the tip about not getting your brush too moist while wet blending was a game changer for me. so thank you for that!.

I am loving your videos and thanks for the code to finally get mt phrozen sonic 8k mini!! I can't wait for it to get here, this is a great year so far, great videos and I finaly buy my house and now an awesome new resin 3d printer

@harrisonlorens3585

2 жыл бұрын

Congrats on the house, man. Huge deal.

@AVspectre

2 жыл бұрын

Sounds exciting! Enjoy!

That brush licking method you mentioned. So far in my 30years of mini painting I have only seen 1 guy using it and all the time I thought he was the only person in the world who does that. Didn't know that other people use that method too.

I simply can't comprehend how anyone ever thought licking paint off their brush was something they should do. It's nasty and harmful. Use a damp cloth or sponge (heck you did it in the drybrushing challenge). Not only are artist acrylics dangerous, but you don't even know what mix of pigment is in your hobby paints. I'm glad you aren't recommending it, but it so bewildering to see that people actually do this.

@alecmiller5296

2 жыл бұрын

Paint yummy 🤤

Blending seems to be one of the hardest techniques for me to feel comfortable with, thanks for the great tips!

Excited to be able to follow your masterclass. Really looking forward to Miniac's Mini's ...

Thank you for this video, and the outtakes made me nearly spit my drink across the room

The kiddo and I just finished the three fart quest books together. Downloading the game this weekend. I'm crossing my fingers and hope this opens him up to tabletop games.

For those who want a more... hygenic solution for the "paint-licker" technique, buy a cheap envelope moistener! They're cheap and you can replace the sponge when it gets a little too much of a certain color.

@robsonez

2 жыл бұрын

Unless you fill the moistener bucket with spit it's not really the same. Saliva has a different viscosity to water and changes how the paint behaves.

@oldgold5848

Жыл бұрын

@@robsonez maybe mix some gum Arabic into the water?

Thanks Jon! As always, highest level of hobby education! Got your tee recently, love it!

watched nearly every blending vid there is and honestly the example secnarios in this vid are REALY helpful. Big thanks

You are a fantastic painter. And just as good teaching how to paint. Very entertaining. Thank you.

Great video Jon, enjoy the humor and your honesty. Would have loved to hear the live feed while painting the eyes 😁

I needed this video like 10 years ago.

Thanks for making this vid, I will have to try these techniques out.

Great video. My 6 year old son loves reading Fart Quest togeather we just finsihed the Dragon's Dookie they're great books.

This is the best explanation on branding I’ve ever seen on KZread. Thanks for the video bro! 😇

Great work on that model dude. Looks superb! Excellent tips and advice as always.

This is a fantastic breakdown! Wet blending and glazing has been a game changer for me.

That was really super helpful, thank you so much Jon.

Fabulous tutorial and fun to watch as always Ninjon. Oh I have share it on my Facebook account page too.

Your minute 12 made me laugh a lot. I love that you keep it funny and light hearted.

Nothing made me feel better about my painting skill as much as watching you struggle with the eyes

Im glad you mentioned brush licker blending haha. I've been doing this lately. It works pretty well I mean basically it's like feathering brush locker style. Mostly I use it when there a paint I know dries super fast.

It'd be also worth mentioning that your environment will limit what you can do. I live in Australia and the very dry climate here makes wet blending acrylics very difficult to do. The paint dries so quickly I'm almost fighting with it, and that takes a lot of the enjoyment out of it. I do enjoy layering and feathering. The mini slowly comes to life with each stroke.

@AVspectre

2 жыл бұрын

I live in a very dry climate and I am hoping to try oils to allow for more working time. Just picked up some thinner/cleaner for it. :)

@AvoidTheCadaver

2 жыл бұрын

@@AVspectre I've been considering oil paint as well and have been watching lot sof videos about it

Thanks for the video Jon

Eyyyyy Wet Blending! I actually started doing that when I tried my hand at doing fire, I looked up how to layer the paints to have a nice fire effect and didn't like how it had hard lines between each one, so I decided that I'd just mix the two colours still wet on the mini as I transitioned and literally stumbled into Wet Blending. When I showed it off right after I got a bunch of people amazed at how I worked it out on my own into what is apparently one of the harder techniques. and because I found it organically, it's actually super intuitive for me now. I rarely use it because just I don't feel I need to layer on paints for most things, I actually enjoy that more vibrant cel-shaded style that is informed by the early 90's paint styles and it looks very striking. but when I do break out the technique it tends to look great, just needs to be used in the right place. Funnily given you talk about doing things slightly different literally right after Wet Blending, mine is done differently than yours, I wash after the first paint, then start blending immediately with the second. no intermediary wash/wipe. I feel it helps me get more control out of my gradient, but apparently I'm also insane when it comes to painting. I don't thin, I don't palette, I paint direct from the pot as the paint came in. I reason that if the paint was meant to be thinned, it would come that way. it works for my style, but I'm very much not someone to emulate lol

I learned feathering as two brush blending. When you keep one brush on hand just to draw out the initial paint application.

Always look forward to your vids man

Some super useful tips in this vid. good job sir.

A well made and concise guide, thank you!

I love you videos Jon, but the outtakes at the end are always my favorite 😆 🤣

fav mini painting channel and the best much love :)

Best intro yet. 10/10 adding P&P to my workflow

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Needed this video!

Excellent video!

Jon, you need to look into Createx 4050 UVLS. This may be the alternative to Brush Licker blending. It's a thicker clear medium I use for candy paint jobs in the automotive industry. Its more of a carrier for Pigments and Inks and lays super flat and thin but starts rather viscous. Either way thanks for sharing such a powerful technique with us paint peasants!

i love the little skits at the beginning lol

Hey Jon, love the vid, love that you had to come up with half a step cause you can't stop guzzling paint ;) Jokes aside, blending is something i need to work on, thanks for the comparison

I love the brush licker blending name. Classic!

Thankyou for this rundown... it's super helpful😎 Also, it's good to know I can upgrade from pot-licker to brush-licker in one simple move... just gotta ignore those nasty binders, fillers and pigments, yay.

Daryll always brings a chuckle to my life. Keep it up Jon.

I love “briar Ninjon” so so much lmao, makes my day

Great script. I love the design of this model too

Another option for wet blending is just to use two brushes, one for each color!

Can’t wait to watch your master class!

Thank you so much Jon. Maybe this is your best video from a didactic point of view. I will absolute recommend it for people that ask for blending.

10:15 isn't that just ..... one kind of feathering? I mean, sure, you can lick the brush. Or use one loaded with a bit of water. Or quickly rinse the one you're using, usually that's fast enough.

@williamowens5144

2 жыл бұрын

I use a second brush, but yeah, it's feathering.

@manoloaguirre7159

2 жыл бұрын

I thought the same... the licking is just one quick, slightly gross way to do feathering. I reckon Vincey V would call it "voiding", which is a bit less moist -fdlfdlfdlsssss- way to call it.

Great stuff friend 👏 👍

Thank you , Jon . 🐺

Amazing video! Thanks man! :)

In the soldering world we typically have a small piece of damp sponge in a tray, like a wet pallet, to do a quick cleaning of the tip before re tinning it. You could maybe use the same setup instead of putting brush in your mouth. Or a quick wipe on a wet pallet?

P and p sounds like a great idea get yourself some good lights maybe a TV dinner type tray and your set

Wet blending is pretty tough to get right but once you have it down it’s amazing I personally use airbrush flow Improver to give me some more time while I paint

LoL, Feathering, he's licking the brush the whole time!!!! ahahahah

For eyes , doll painters prefer almost flat surfaces and pencils with in between layers of setting spray then you can also add transparent nail polish or simething like that to finish the shiny effect, it should apply to all kinds of eyes

Nice explanation of the 5.5 ways to blend Jon :) Always enjoy your videos so finally decided to show you some Patreon love - good luck with the Golden Demon at Adepticon

I can't breathe lol "the most productive 2 hrs"

amazing video

I find wet blending pretty difficult but recently discovered glazing to be easier and works well enough to remove layer lines. I use a glaze medium (may not make a difference). I only able capable of using my airbrush on large pieces but need to practice smaller. Cheers Ninjon!

Brush licker blending reminds me a lot like Two Brush Blending, where one brush applied the paint and the second brush did all the feathering work after living in your mouth until needed. same result for less paint eaten

I watched the whole video. Can't remember much it just blended together.

NINJON!! The goodest boii! 🥰🐶

Keep it up Jon, we love your videos and all your knowledge. One more thing, we need more drinking contain with Scott 😀

Something that really helped me, and its not really a technique but it wasn't something I really thought about when I started. That's shaking your paints. I don't have one of those fancy machines and I used to just shake my paints for a few seconds and then off I went. Nowadays I shake em for a minute or two before I start and the consistency of the paint is far better which makes watering them down give much cleaner looking result on the mini.

P n P = So True!!! Taking minis into the loo with me from now on!

Used to be a brush licker but now keep a tiny pot of water right next to my pallet that I use to quickly dilute my brush and then feather our the colour. Sometimes I forget a gob a brush but I consume much less acrylic paint now.

Good stuff.

Hey Jon, idk if youre gonna see this but your content is what helped me with painting my first miniatures. You gave me alot of great advice and helped me start my painting journey!

@Ninjon

2 жыл бұрын

That’s great to hear Kevin, go forth and slay the gray!

studying this!

Will be getting fart quest for my son! Thank you 🙏

Quick question, is there a reason you didn't use the nozzle cap for your airbrush? The thought occurred to me around ~4:20 into the video when you used the sponge to backflow. Do you feel you have better control that way? Easier to manage dry tip? Did you lose the nozzle piece? lol. I love your videos, keep being awesome sir!

@bingus5404

2 жыл бұрын

the cap makes the airflow more directional kind of like how a cap on a spray can does, you can get a wider and more diffused spray pattern by taking it off - this is super helpful on problem paints like white and yellows

I'm so glad you're doing the masterclass for the warrior figure! I'm new to mini painting and need all the help I can get. You are very good at explaining and your voice is not hard to listen to haha Oh and all of these techniques seem so much easier on these larger figures. I made the mistake of trying to start learning to paint on a tiny 25mm Reaper figure and OMG if it wasn't for my magnifying light he'd be all one color lol Why are they so small? Everyone on KZread seems to have larger figures. Anyway, I'm 38 and have bad eyes, so this prob isn't the best hobby but it's fun. I don't even play table top games... I just like painting and making dioramas.

Thanks for another great video Jon, my bleding is feeling powered up.... but before we move on, what can you tell us about that cuttlefish you got there?

I just got the first book for my youngest, and got the mini's for him to paint, obviously after I have had a go at painting them. Also brush licking blending, its the future....

Paint licker blending got me thinking about pot likker. Now I'm gonna have to make some blackeyed peas, and cornbread. Maybe some greens, too.

I imagine P&P would require you to sit backwards on the can so you can stabilize your arms on the tank. Need to clean your brush, reach down and flush!

@thomasgross8289

2 жыл бұрын

Might wanna flush then rinse or its gonna be a shity paint job

@astrozombiac3535

2 жыл бұрын

@@thomasgross8289 Not a method of painting for brush lickers

I just want to take a sec to appreciate the color palette you chose for the mini!

your flannel wearing matey is a genius...... P.P. absolutely amazing.

You're a legend!!!!!!!!!!!!