A whole host of questions regarding inks

[Evil Eye]

A medium I know a lot of people really like for mini painting is inks. I've not used them all that much (I have a pot of Vallejo magenta ink, a largish "pump spray bottle" of purple artist ink from a manufacturer I can't remember and that's it) but I know a lot of people really, really love them. I'm tempted to give them a try myself, but I have quite a few questions regarding them before I leap in and buy yet more bottles of stuff for my shed.

 

First things first- how do they behave differently from other translucent paints- washes, clear paint, Contrast etc? I was always under the impression that washes were basically inks (hence the reason GW replaced their inks with the wash line) but I assume that's not the case. I'm guessing they're more "tacky" than washes, in the sense they stay where you put them rather than running or pooling.

 

Secondly, what are good brands? Vallejo does good stuff mostly, and I've heard good things about FW inks (not Forge World, just FW)- are good quality artist's inks that aren't specifically meant for modelling worthwhile?

 

Thirdly, how do they handle through an airbrush? What PSI should I set my compressor at to spray them? I know they can be airbrushed, but I'm fairly inexperienced with it for things other than basic painting (and generally I prefer alcohol based paints as they tend to clog far less, behave better and have more impressive finishes available than their aqueous friends).

 

Fourthly, I had an idea for mixing clear medium (be it Tamiya, FW/Citadel or otherwise) with ink to make clear paints not normally available, and hard to reproduce with conventional mixing- magenta springs to mind. Good idea, or will it just stuff up the medium? Or is it completely redundant anyway?

 

Finally, I am aware of the existence of Indian ink, which is available from art shops and is both waterproof (good for modelling) and EXTREMELY black. Whilst this would obviously discount it from glazes and tints, I wonder if for getting really stark black shading (for cel-shaded/anime/toon style miniatures, or whatever) it could be ideal. Is this a good idea?

 

Thanks!

[thewarriorhunter]

I've used them a little bit so here are my quick answers. I'm by no means an expert but they are a very cool tool.

 

1 - When brushed they behave like a very thin paint, but I wouldn't call them a wash or contrast. They've got very high pigmentation and can be thinned down if needed. Straight from the pot I get very rich coverage.

 

2 - I've only used FW but they came highly recommended. I've heard good things about Vallejo inks and have a bottle of a green ink that I haven't had a chance to use yet.

 

3 - My AB experience is limited but they spray really well. PSI will depend on your compressor but I've seen some amazing shading done with FW Paynes Gray on mechanicum terrain.

 

4 - No idea but FW has a really nice purple, they may have a magenta.

 

5 - No idea.

[Marshal Vespasian]

For the armour of my imperial fists I thin down a yellow ink mixed with yellow contrast a lot with flow improver and shoot it through the airbrush to get a glaze. Be aware of glossy finish due to the medium though.

[Imren]

Among acrylic inks I have tested I liked Daler Rowney's inks and Scale75 inktensity range.

 

You will need to thin them down, they are very heavily pigmented.

 

You do two things with inks, you either glaze by thinning with glaze medium (thicker acrylic binder, lahmian medium works for this) or you wash with them for washing you thin them with water or acryilc thinner and a drop of flow improver.

 

When you want to paint with inks you need to be wary of the underneath layer. So you will have to do a preshade/prehighlight with your primers and then paint with inks. The method is somewhat alike contrast paint painting but with more control when it comes to shading and highlighting and also the ink itself doesn't do the "automatic shading highlighting for you, no control that with your primer/baselayer preshade sketch.

[Firedrake Cordova]

First things first- how do they behave differently from other translucent paints- washes, clear paint, Contrast etc? I was always under the impression that washes were basically inks (hence the reason GW replaced their inks with the wash line) but I assume that's not the case. I'm guessing they're more "tacky" than washes, in the sense they stay where you put them rather than running or pooling.

Washes are designed to move towards the recesses, ideally leaving the raised parts without anything on them (as is Contrast).  Clear paint and inks are more supposed to stay where you put them and give an even coat, although inks are way more pigmented IIRC.  Obviously, you can alter these properties with additives such as flow improver, etc.

 

Secondly, what are good brands? Vallejo does good stuff mostly, and I've heard good things about FW inks (not Forge World, just FW)- are good quality artist's inks that aren't specifically meant for modelling worthwhile?

Beyond the miniature paint companies, you've got Daler-Rowney FW, Liquitex, and Winsor & Newton as the obvious high-quality artists' supply companies.

 

Thirdly, how do they handle through an airbrush? What PSI should I set my compressor at to spray them? I know they can be airbrushed, but I'm fairly inexperienced with it for things other than basic painting (and generally I prefer alcohol based paints as they tend to clog far less, behave better and have more impressive finishes available than their aqueous friends).

They're very thin, so you'll be looking to drop the pressure down, most likely.  You'll still be wanting to add some flow improver to stop them drying on the needle tip and clogging unless you're using a larger needle (0.4mm or so).  Otherwise, just use them to glaze with as you normally would - a little practice and you should work it out.

Edited March 16, 2020 by Firedrake Cordova

[Evil Eye]

So slight update: I got myself a bit of Indian ink to mess around with, and whilst I haven't tried any of the traditional inky things with it, as a basic black paint it is excellent. Covers in two coats, perfect consistency out of the bottle and it is so BLACK. Makes Abaddon Black look grey by comparison. I'd highly recommend getting some if you can, it's really, really good.

[Evil Eye]

Sorry to dredge this old thread up from the grave, but I thought this was worth the necromancy.

 

First off: Indian ink. Don't. I discovered to my chagrin that it isn't waterproof when dry on non-porous surfaces (such as primer) and paint will just wash it off! Whoops!

 

Secondly, I have been experimenting with FW Acrylic Inks and I love them. I only have black, red and sepia so far (Blanchitsu ahoy!) but they are brilliant. I've taken to using the black for preshading over grey primer through an airbrush and it is delightful.

[thewarriorhunter]

Glad to hear. I picked up a couple Vallejo inks and they have been really nice to work with as well.

[Captain Coolpants]

Kris from way of the brush (ex miniwargaming staff) said if you use regular inks on models, to spray with a sealer or lacquer before doing the next layer.

[Fajita Fan]

I've tried art store inks with matte medium and water to make my own black wash and it was still suuuuuuper shiny like oil stains.  

[Arkhanist]

A medium I know a lot of people really like for mini painting is inks. I've not used them all that much (I have a pot of Vallejo magenta ink, a largish "pump spray bottle" of purple artist ink from a manufacturer I can't remember and that's it) but I know a lot of people really, really love them. I'm tempted to give them a try myself, but I have quite a few questions regarding them before I leap in and buy yet more bottles of stuff for my shed.

 

First things first- how do they behave differently from other translucent paints- washes, clear paint, Contrast etc? I was always under the impression that washes were basically inks (hence the reason GW replaced their inks with the wash line) but I assume that's not the case. I'm guessing they're more "tacky" than washes, in the sense they stay where you put them rather than running or pooling.

 

Secondly, what are good brands? Vallejo does good stuff mostly, and I've heard good things about FW inks (not Forge World, just FW)- are good quality artist's inks that aren't specifically meant for modelling worthwhile?

 

Thirdly, how do they handle through an airbrush? What PSI should I set my compressor at to spray them? I know they can be airbrushed, but I'm fairly inexperienced with it for things other than basic painting (and generally I prefer alcohol based paints as they tend to clog far less, behave better and have more impressive finishes available than their aqueous friends).

 

Fourthly, I had an idea for mixing clear medium (be it Tamiya, FW/Citadel or otherwise) with ink to make clear paints not normally available, and hard to reproduce with conventional mixing- magenta springs to mind. Good idea, or will it just stuff up the medium? Or is it completely redundant anyway?

 

Finally, I am aware of the existence of Indian ink, which is available from art shops and is both waterproof (good for modelling) and EXTREMELY black. Whilst this would obviously discount it from glazes and tints, I wonder if for getting really stark black shading (for cel-shaded/anime/toon style miniatures, or whatever) it could be ideal. Is this a good idea?

 

Thanks!

I use daler rowney acrylic inks though my airbrush to paint my Blood Angels. Grey primer, then spray targeted black ink to add the shadows, and white ink for the zenithal highlight. White ink is great stuff for this, because of the pigment density, yet it's very thin so sprays easily and dries quickly (unless you spray a lot in one spot too quickly. Don't do that). It's my favourite way to zenithal highlight.

 

Once the pre-shade is done, I use magenta to tint the shaded areas, and finally an all over coat of red. These two inks are quite translucent, so the pre-shading shows through enough to add a really nice effect. They dry mostly matt, but do need a varnish coat either way as inks can be pretty fragile when you're doing subsequent layers simply because they go on so thinly.

 

The main difference between an ink and a wash is as stated; a wash goes to the recesses of the model, while inks go on more of a layer where you put them, and inks have more pigment so have more colour saturation - you can use an ink as a base for a glaze or a wash effect, it depends what you mix them with, as well as water of course.

 

The coloured inks I have work very much like a 'candy' spray coat out the bottle; they're already somewhat translucent, you just need to dilute to get the level of translucency vs saturation that suits the task.

 

I don't use inks with a brush that much, mainly pin shading lines when I don't want a usual acrylic wash spilling over and staining other nearby areas (the scalecolor inktensity inks are excellent for this). This can also be a very nice effect with white ink for plasma effects, i.e. you paint the high coils blue, and use white ink to add the 'hot' inner area.

Edited August 9, 2020 by Arkhanist

[Lovecraft0110]

Hi, @Evil Eye,

 

I would recommend giving Ammo Shaders a try. I have a video on how to use them if you're interested:

 

https://youtu.be/7TtDcre6p6M

[Bat33.1]

Airbrushing FW inks work well the white is amazing, super smooth and great coverage they do need lots of flow improver rather than thinner or water to work well. Probably 50/50 flow improver to ink and you can go even higher on flow improver if you need to and airbrush really well through a 0.3mm Iwata needle. They are an acrylic ink to so water proof but with the thin coats you put down with ink a varnish upon completion is recommended if you are using the figs for gaming

[thewarriorhunter]

Interesting that the FW white worked for you. I was complaining about that color with another hobby buddy the other night because that white was terrible for both of us. I tried air and hand brushing and both ways it was less than stellar.