Thinning inks/washes

[Jellitin]

Can somebody tell me a good way to thin out washes and inks? Because all I've heard is that thinning them is good, but never how to do it. So can an esteemed member of the B&C community please edumicate me?

[Tamwulf]

Think about what a wash and an ink does.

 

A wash is a very thinned type of paint to begin with. I.e., it's already thinned with a "flow extender". A flow extender breaks the surface tension of the liquid making it flow easier. You use a wash to enhance the color underneath it. When a wash dries, it's a translucent coating that allows the color underneath it to show through. Most washes are already thinned to allow them to flow fairly evenly. You want the wash to stick to an area, not pool into any cracks and crevasses. Adding anything to a wash will dilute it, and cause you to add more layers of wash. So what to use to dilute a wash? Plain old water. Just remember, the more water you add, the more the wash will be diluted and will require more layers to achieve the effect you are after.

 

Inks are extremely pigment enriched colors that are very thin- they do not have the "flow retarders" that a regular paint has. A flow retarder is what makes your paint stay/stick to where you paint it. An ink likes to flow all over the place and pool into cracks/crevasses. They also dry very slowly, with a gloss shine and can cover the layer beneath it. Ink typically has a very high surface tension- which causes the ink to pool up and form air bubbles. You have to add something to the ink to prevent this. The cheap route is, believe it or not, a small drop of dish soap. After that, you can use Future Floor Polish. This is a commercial product in the USA, but any kind of acrylic liquid polish will work. It takes a very small amount- like 1:10+ After this, you can step up to various artist "flow extenders" which are basically fancy versions of Future Floor Polish. Don't use water with an ink. It will dilute the ink and add more surface tension- meaning it won't "flow" and will pool up, forming little air bubbles.

 

Here are some more advance ink/wash ideas:

 

Add enough water and surface tension breakers to an ink, and you will create a wash.

 

Can't find a pre-made ink/wash in the color you want? Take your base color, add water, add a flow extender, and you have a wash. Making an ink? Get your wash going, then take a small drop of a contrasting color of ink and add this to your wash.

[Jellitin]

Thanks for the response! That was really helpful!