Dry brushing

[Waspie]

Over the past few days reading through the threads I see a few references to 'dry brushing' in the context of painting! What exactly is dry brushing? Is it designed to achieve a specific effect?

 

[Andy T]

It's worth checking out YouTube as it's a technique that's harder to describe than you'd think Artist Opus is one channel that springs to mind.

But basically you put a small amount of paint on a brush then remove as much as you can on a paper towel or similar so there's hardly anything left on the bristles. Then lightly brush over the area and what little paint there is tends to catch on edges and raised details, highlighting them.


No doubt someone will come along with a much better explanation and different effects it can produce but that's the very basics of the idea.

 

[Scratchbuilder]

Dry brushing - this is a method of lightly drawing a brush with very little paint on it over parts of the model to highlight details. This is normally carried out using a flat paint brush.
Method - Fold up some kitchen tissue, and then dip the brush into the paint you wish to use as the highlighter (light grey/aluminium), then wipe most of the paint off the brush onto the kitchen towel until you see very little paint rubbing off on the tissue. Then gently brush over the item you want to detail and you will see the detail start to come out.
It takes a little bit of practice, but once you have the idea, then the world is yours...
HTH
Mike.

 

[Scratchbuilder]

It's worth checking out YouTube as it's a technique that's harder to describe than you'd think Artist Opus is one channel that springs to mind.

But basically you put a small amount of paint on a brush then remove as much as you can on a paper towel or similar so there's hardly anything left on the bristles. Then lightly brush over the area and what little paint there is tends to catch on edges and raised details, highlighting them.


No doubt someone will come along with a much better explanation but that's the very basics of the idea.

Just clicked on 'post reply' as you did - great minds....

 

[Waspie]

Thanks guys. I know what you're on about now. I have seen it done on YT, usually watch the techniques etc with the sound muted. I just love the detail people achieve on the videos. I guess I'll have to put my ear phones on and risk SWIMBO's interruptions!!

 

[BarryW]

There is another option for dry brushing.

I never use paint. 90% of my dry brushing is done with Uschi Metal Powder. Bear in mind that this is to bring out detail and nothing quite brings it out better than a metallic sheen on raised detail. Naturally you dont do this on areas that are not painted metal as it really gives a great worn painted metal look.

In other areas a normal dry pigment is used by me. Consider that with dry brushing you don’t want the paint carrier, just the pigment element, why not go direct to weathering pigments!

 

[john]

I’ve just done a bit of dry brushing, first time in a long while, only I think I did it wrong at first, I put the handle in the paint lol, well it has been a while

it does bring out detail and worth persisting with it.

 

[Waspie]

There is another option for dry brushing.

I never use paint. 90% of my dry brushing is done with Uschi Metal Powder. Bear in mind that this is to bring out detail and nothing quite brings it out better than a metallic sheen on raised detail. Naturally you dont do this on areas that are not painted metal as it really gives a great worn painted metal look.

In other areas a normal dry pigment is used by me. Consider that with dry brushing you don’t want the paint carrier, just the pigment element, why not go direct to weathering pigments!

Would I be correct in assuming when you say, "I never use paint" you are referring purely to dry brushing and not to painting the subject, train boat or plane!!!
I watched a chap on YT use a pencil to add detail to a machine gun on a AFV.
Sorry if I appear thick but I work on the premise - ;never assume'. Better to clarify!!
Doug

 

[BarryW]

Would I be correct in assuming when you say, "I never use paint" you are referring purely to dry brushing and not to painting the subject, train boat or plane!!!
I watched a chap on YT use a pencil to add detail to a machine gun on a AFV.
Sorry if I appear thick but I work on the premise - ;never assume'. Better to clarify!!
Doug

I don’t use paint for dry brushing. Yes. Quite right about clarifying!

 

[Waspie]

I don’t use paint for dry brushing. Yes. Quite right about clarifying!

Thanks Barry.

 

[Tim Marlow]

It’s well described by Mike above.
Couple of hints and tips though……
Only load the tips of the brush using “full fat” paint. Don’t thin it, you will not get the effect you are after.
Once the brush is loaded rub it backwards and forwards over a textured kitchen towel. It’s ready to go when it highlights the texture but doesn’t paint the whole thing.
It is much easier to do this with oil paint or enamel paint than it is with acrylics. They are slower drying. Acrylic paint dries extremely quickly when the majority is removed from the brush. Unless you work really quickly you will be left with a truly dry brush…….which won’t paint anything
Drybrushing can ruin a decent brush, so use an older worn brush just for that purpose.
The brush you are using also needs to be dry to start with. Any hint of cleaning agent or solvent will cause the paint to smear, which again is not what you are after.
Drybrushing is a great way to bring out texture such as rivets and furs, and brings out the edges on models.

Im sure I’ve missed things, so ask away if you need to Doug.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Missed one……dry brushing works best on a matt surface. The paint won’t really come off the brush if the model is satin or gloss coated.

 

[Jakko]

It is much easier to do this with oil paint or enamel paint than it is with acrylics. They are slower drying. Acrylic paint dries extremely quickly when the majority is removed from the brush. Unless you work really quickly you will be left with a truly dry brush…….

Also, not all acrylics are suitable for drybrushing in the first place. Tamiya’s, for example, are generally very hard to drybrush with unless the paint is very fresh — trying it with a bottle that you’re opened months or years before is almost certainly going to be mostly futile. You’ll get some paint on the model, but it’s not going to look very good and you will have to keep putting paint on the brush a lot. Vallejo or Army Painter, on the other hand, drybrush pretty well. Thinking about it, the thicker kinds of water-based acrylics work better than alcohol-based ones or thinner water-based ones, I would say. That thickness factor is largely because the thinner ones tend to smear out a bit when you do, in much the same way as when trying to drybrush with a brush that was already moist, as Tim explained.

 

[eddiesolo]

The crusty-rusty I am doing is a mixture of airbrush, sponging and dry-brush.

As the guys have mentioned, a brush with paint on and then you go back and forth on some kitchen roll etc to remove the excess, leaving behind a small amount of paint. You then gently paint this over a surface, ideal for highlighting areas.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Basically, if you dust it over your thumb pad and it just highlights the thumbprint it’s ready to use……