Saturday, November 26, 2016

Tutorial: How to Paint Chipped Paint

How to Paint Chipped Paint

I am a fan of weathering, so much so that it's a pretty well known fact that  I tend to go crazy with it once I start adding in rust, dirt or scratches. There are a lot of things you can do with giving something a little wear and tear and it's all super fun.

This tutorial goes out to Twitter follower LizardinCrimson, who asked if I had a tutorial on how I do my chipped paint while I was working on the Iron Golem from Super Dungeon Explore. For this tutorial, I'll be going over how I did the scratched paint surfaces on that model, but not the beaten and scratched steel).


The model I will be using is a Space Marine Shoulder Pad from Games Workshop.

List o' Paints!

Vallejo Model Color Black
Vallejo Model Color White
Citadel Leadbelcher
Citadel Ironbreaker

A couple of notes before we get started:
  • Make sure you thin your paint. Painting straight out of the pot will eventually clog details with successive layers. Multiple thin layers always win vs. a single thick coat.
  • Now I mix my paint with water on a wet palette. But I've also had success with Liquitex Matte Medium and water. There are other additives you can try as well, you've just got to play with it and see what works for you.
  • I prime my minis with Games Workshop's Corax White, but you could use a different brand. Be wary of Rustoleum and Krylon, I've had mixed results. Sometimes the chemicals in the spray react to the plastic of the mini.  
  • A nice point on your brush is required for this one, you need to be able to lay the paint exactly where you want it. 
Step #1
Prep the Surface

First up, we need a surface to beat to hell. Here we have a fully painted shoulder pad from a space marine model I use for testing.

Step #2
Apply Scratches - Vallejo Black

With the shoulder pad ready, I start applying scratches with Black. Try to keep in mind where the most wear would be and where attacks would be coming from. Also keep in mind that the height difference of the shoulder trim and inlay surface, as bladed weapons will ride up onto the higher edge and not gouge the surface close to the trim.  

Step #3
Scratch Highlights - Vallejo White

Next up we take White and start highlighting the lower edge of the scratches. This is important and you always want to highlight the lower edge, as that's where your eye believes the light will hit. 

Step #4
More Scratches - Vallejo Black

Now I start adding more scratches on top of the old ones. I also start adding little dings by randomly dotting the surface with the tip of my brush.

Step #5
More Scratch Highlights - Vallejo White

With the new scratches on the surface, I highlight those as well. 

Step #6
Larger Dings - Vallejo Black

Next I start making larger areas of missing paint, keeping in mind where attacks would be coming from and how the paint would chip off. Randomly make clumps of dots and work them in with the previous scratches. Its best to leave some of the surface color showing in the middle of the area as well to give the effect more realism. 

Step #7
Fill Larger Dings - Citadel Leadbelcher

The larger areas are going to be worn down to the metal, so with that in mind I take Leadbelcher and fill the black area, leaving a black line near the top to act as a shadow under the remaining paint. 

Step #8
Highlight the Metal Surface - Citadel Ironbreaker

Next up, I highlight the metal surface with some Ironbreaker. But rather than a normal highlight over the entire surface, I stipple it a bit to give it a hammered look. Usually I'll go over it twice with thinner coats to help give it more variation. 

Step #9
Highlight the Large Dings - Vallejo White

Finally, we highlight the lower edge of the large ding areas. We don't want the entire edge to be a solid line of white though, so using the tip of the brush we will dot and line along the edge to give it a bit of variation as well. 

And that's it! A freshly dinged up and weathered painted surface. If you wanted to you can go a bit further and start adding in some rust and pitting to the exposed metal, or you can add more scratches to the metal surface by putting a line of black through it and then highlighting it as well. Sometimes I like to go over the metal with a brown wash to give it some color. But that's for you to decide.

Until next time, you can catch me on Twitter and Instagram.