EJ DeVivo Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 Im practicing my pre-shading technique on an old kit, and you for the life of me I cant airbrush the darn lines straight at all.. see some of you guys have it down perfectly straight. HOW!!! I totally go off the lines when Im preshading so can you guys give me some tips on how to make it look nice? Thanks!! EJ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest hawaiiandelight1989 Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 I have tried pre-shading but after the final coat...there seems to be no perceptable difference in the color variation. I am not an expert so any help would greatly be appreciated. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Supertom Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 Hi EJ, I've been preshading for two years now so I'm still fairly rookie at this, but I've found that you don't actually have to have nice, straight lines. Just preshade the lines roughly. The idea of preshading is to highlight the panel lines, then "fill in" the top coat in between the lines first before a final, complete brush-over. So we're talking about thicker coats on the unshaded areas and lighter coats over the shaded lines to bring out the detail. I'm not sure if I've articulated it right, but you're basically "erasing" your crooked lines when you paint over them. Also, I use light strokes instead of a single stroke to shade my lines. Take a look over at the WW2 Twin Engine Group Build and check out my Fujimi BF-110. The thread's entitled "Here's Mine - Tom's Fujimi Bf-110." I hope that answered your question, and good luck on the preshading! Oh, and I guess practice is important too. Hawaiiandelight, I assume that your "final coat" is the last layer of paint. Try (on a small area first!) putting on some gloss coat. Gloss coats will saturate into the paint and bring out the color tones. Your preshades might just pop out! Or then again you might just be putting on too many layers. Like I said, I'm still learning, but I think I'm finally getting the hang of it. I'll post some more pictures of my Bf-110 tomorrow (my hand's a lot better and I can finally start modeling again). Hope that helps! tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest kevjon Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 I agree with supertom. The lines don't have to be perfectly straight, just get them as straight as you can and try not to make them too wide. Then use a thinner mix of paint than normal and gradually build up the intensity of colour with several light coats until you are satisfied with the effect. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewL Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 I think a simple tip is to look at the spot on the model where you want to end up, not the point where you are spraying now. HTH AndrewL. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paul T Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 I think some guys actually pre-shade by hand painting witha brush. I believe it was Colin who posted a pic. of his F-18 done in this manner. Paul T Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FJ55Mike Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 Paint doesn't fade in straight lines, so I wouldn't worry about preshading with perfectly straight lines. If you're going wildly off path, try bracing your little finger on the unpainted part of the plane. Another thing that might work, is to brace your elbows on your workbench, that should help too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie Cheetah Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 I think some guys actually pre-shade by hand painting witha brush. I believe it was Colin who posted a pic. of his F-18 done in this manner. Paul T That was Tilt that did that actually. I tried it out on a couple of models lately and it works fine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paul T Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 Sorry about that " Tilt" ,although you and Colin are both top notch builders Thankyou Charlie for pointing that out. Paul T Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest hawaiiandelight1989 Posted February 4, 2004 Share Posted February 4, 2004 Thanks for all the tips! I will definitely use them on my Academy Thunderbolt! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Collin Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 No need for straight lines. It's what you do when you shoot the final coats of paint that makes the difference. I normally shoot the color full strength in the center of each panel...then back off and mist the same color over the area and slowly blend in the darker, preshaded panel lines to my liking. Example: Cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Dog1 Posted February 6, 2004 Share Posted February 6, 2004 I have tried the pre-shading and then reverted back to what I use on my armor models, post shading... My 1/32 Wildcat is in the post-shading process right now..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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