I decided to try using white primer this time and test a few other techniques. I have used black primer for the majority of my figures. For one group of American War of Independence figures, I tried white primer, but I found that white doesn't hide missed spots well like black does. However, ancient figures use brighter colors, so I decided to give white primer a go. This would set off my Macedonians from my other DBA armies.
Overall, I am pleased with the look, but I still missed spots at the seams of colors. I need to be a bit more sloppy next time on the initial colors used.
I also decided to try my hand at an ink wash. I haven't used washes much since black primer provides a dark undercoat. I frankly hate the idea of brushing a wash on newly painted minis since I have had some bad luck with the technique in the past. With white primer, I needed to add shading effectively, particulary for the white linen armor of the Phalangites.
Checking out several websites, I found examples of painters using Higgins brand black ink without dilution as well as several different dilution methods. I experimented with four figures using different dilution levels:
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| Wash of undiluted Higgins Ink |
I then tried three dilution approaches. From right to left, I used,
- 50% ink/50% water
- 50% ink/30% water/20% alcohol
- 30% ink/50% water/20% alcohol
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| Ink washes with progressive dilution |
These pikemen, too, needed some clean-up work. I'm glad that I tested out the dilution levels on single figures instead of rushing forward.
I decided to stick with the weakest solution and use a lighter touch on the brush. I mainly aimed to improve the contrast of the pteruges on the linothorax. A sample is shown below,
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| Phalangites painted with a 50% Water/30% Ink/20% Alcohol wash |
I'll share photos of the based figures in future posts.
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