Hi all
We’re gettIng into scale colour here LOL. As Andy has asked, here is my take on this from a brush painted special effect perspective. If you want to replicate zenithal lighting or other sprayed effects, well that is a horse of a different colour........
The neutral grey wash will tone down and desaturate the colours quite nicely. It is mimicking atmospheric pollutants such as dust and smoke that you would look through when viewing an object from distance. This is what is commonly termed a “filter”. You paint it on in a controlled fashion without flooding the area. It then adjusts the tone of the underlying paint in a controlled fashion, like using a filter in photography. If I were doing this I would use a glaze medium to make the filter. This slows drying time and enhances transparency so making it easier to get the paint on in an even fashion. This effect will not work well using a light colour for the filter because of the white component in light paint. White is opaque so will give harsh transitions. The best filters are made from dark paint or ink thinned sufficiently to give the required effect.
Adding neutral grey to a colour will desaturate the base colour and mimic the same effect. However, you must be careful with this because you may get unwanted effects. Yellow brown could turn green, or red brown take on a purple hue, depending upon pigment interaction between the colours. Practice this first off the model.
Of course, these effects just mimic atmospheric pollutants. If you want to show actual faded, stained, or discoloured paint then dry brushing high areas with a paler desaturated version of the base colour, or using spots of appropriate coloured paint is the way to go. Personally I would do this with artists oils. They are easy to correct when you get paint where you don’t need it, they are very finely pigmented so give very nice fine transitions, and they are slow drying which enables far finer drybrushed and faded effects than acrylics. Naples yellow light is fantastic for fading out Dunklegelb for example..... Prepare the oils by squeezing a blob out onto a square of box cardboard and allow the oil to leach out. This will enhance drying speed and minimise glossiness of the paint. Doing this I’ve never had oils dry glossy on me. You smooth out the transitions using a brush that is barely damp with thinner. Don’t use decorating grade white spirit for this, by the way, it’s harsh and may remove the underlying paint....great for cleaning brushes, but not for working with paint....get some Sansodor or similar, much less aggressive and smells better.
These techniques work for me. Take as much or as little as you want from it, and if in doubt, just push paint around and try it....you can always put it right if you don’t like it...
I apologise if I’ve got any artists terms wrong or been unclear in my reply, but as always, if you are unsure what I mean, please ask....
Hope this is of use!
