Nick Turtles get washed

[D-Nizzy]

So far my time spent indoors during Hurricane Sandy, I used a series of paint washes to bring out the details on these awesome figures.



















It's a pretty good way to spend the day if you can't leave the house... Thanks for looking!

[Zany Orange Dude]

That's awesome dude!

[D-Nizzy]

Originally Posted by Zany Orange Dude

That's awesome dude!

Thanks! I'm glad I still have power and didn't have to paint these guys in the dark...

[Powder]

Very nice & subtle. Just enough wash to bring out the sculpt detail without making the thing look dirty. Good job.

[Wes]

Nice work -- very subtle. What colors did you use for the washes?

[TurtleTitan97]

These are awesome!

[Derrico13]

Nice work!

[Metropoliskid41]

Those turned out awesome, great work!

[Roseangelo]

I love this look.

I don't suppose you'd be willing to do a tutorial on how to do this? Or point in the direction of a good existing one?

[Eiko]

Wow very nice.

[TheCanadiandrome]

Very good work

[Zulithe]

Awesome man! These are some of the best I have seen. A lot of painters overdo the paints and it doesn't look natural to me. These are great.

[Plasticplayhouse]

that is what a proper wash is suppose to look like

[D-Nizzy]

Thanks everyone. I was really trying to avoid the "Turtles who rolled in sewage" look. I'll try to give a thorough description of how to DIY and hopefully answer everyone's questions.

Paint wash is one of the easiest painting techniques, but it can take some practice to master. I'd recommend practicing on some figures you don't care about very much.

These Turtle figures are ideal for paint washes because they have a ton of texture, make sure whatever you end up practicing on has a lot of detail as well. As I said before, the basic technique is really simple, using a paint brush, apply the desired color of paint to your figure, then quickly wipe away the excess before the paint dries. It is important that your paint is fairly thin, but not too runny. You want it to seep into the nooks on the figure, but not run out of control. You can experiment with watering-down the paint.

You can use a papertowel to wipe off the paint, sometimes I'll just use my finger, since a papertowel can be too absorbent and pull the paint from the recesses (where you want it.) Again, it's all about practice. Work in small stretches or the paint will dry before you can wipe it away. Wait until your wash is dry before switching to different colors.

And, on avoiding dirty-turtle syndrome; the key is color. The figures that look "dirty" are typically washed with black paint only. The black creates a very extreme contrast and can make the details too prominent. Sometimes this look is what you want (like with the Mirage figures.) Also, as you apply paint, some of the wash is going to alter the color of the figure a little. So just using black wash will muddy most colors.

For my figures, I mixed a paint that was a little bit darker than the surface I was going to cover. For the front of their shells I mixed a dark brownish-orange, for their skin, I mixed a different version of dark green for each turtle. The only time I used black, was a very small amount around their eyes and around their bandanas.

Mixing paint is probably the best skill a customizer can master. Once you know how to do it well, you can create whatever color you need. ANY color you can imagine can be mixed with red, yellow, blue, black, and white. These are the only paints in my kit (apart from metallic silver and gold.)

Please ask if there is anything I can clarify, hope that helps point you in the right direction.
(The paint I use for action figure customs is Testor's Model Master ACRYLICS. It's really important to use acrylics, oil based paints won't ever dry on most plastic figures.)

[D-Nizzy]

Originally Posted by Plasticplayhouse

that is what a proper wash is suppose to look like

Thanks man, judging from your work, you've clearly mastered the art as well.

[sykosis]

I love this technique I want my turtles to look like this, especially mikey's weapons

[Wes]

Originally Posted by D-Nizzy

As I said before, the basic technique is really simple, using a paint brush, apply the desired color of paint to your figure, then quickly wipe away the excess before the paint dries. ... Also, as you apply paint, some of the wash is going to alter the color of the figure a little. So just using black wash will muddy most colors.

Interesting -- so you wipe it off, too. I've always read that with a properly applied wash, no wiping is necessary... but I've never been able to pull it off without having to do some wiping. That said, I've been experimenting with different painting techniques and wiping is key to some of them.

But for the most part -- at least when I wipe the figures -- the base plastic color is pretty much the same. (I get some staining on really soft, pliable plastics, but otherwise it comes right up.) Of course, I've been experimenting with letting the paint dry and then taking it up with an alcohol wipe, so maybe that makes a difference. Hmmm.

[D-Nizzy]

Yeah, I find I have a lot more control if I wipe away the excess paint before it dries. I can assess what the result is going to look like, and either apply more wash or wipe it all off and reapply if it's too heavy. There are a bunch of ways to do it, this is the technique that works best for me.

[koenne]

These look way better than the originals , love them!

[Shredder74]

I'm doing the same kind of light wash to my figures, and i must say that yours is very good job,really inspiring.