I've watched these videos and tried dry brushing with goat hair dry brushes, but I'm still either kicking up paint dust or I have to much water in my brush, every time. Could you make a tutorial of dry brushing exercises we could do? I can't keep doing this to a bunch of models.
I think you deserve all the kudos! It is very rare these days to see a company design a quality product to last. Let alone then teaching you how to make it last longer!
:) thank you. We'd much rather design built-to-last tools and see a repeat sale in 3 years. Ideally from someone who has lovingly used their tool until begrudging retirement... and tells all their friends 😅 We teach in-person at cons, too, on TH-cam we do our best to present the same advice we give out there
im really loving these videos... have recently decided to join the ranks of 40k folks and start painting minis... watching these videos, and many others, learning about brushes and paints and techniques and things before going out to buy stuff do do this with (as i had zero equipment or knowledge beforehand) has really been helpful in shaping my purchase selections in preparation for the journey without making the mistake of buying useless or crap stuff but also not breaking the bank unnecessarily
My granddaughter and I are just starting our journey on painting miniatures. So we have been wading our way through all of the creators out there looking for someone that does a great job of teaching the basics. We cannot tell you how helpful this video was. Nobody has covered the foundation of dry brushing like you have. We are now subscribers and look forward to watching your other videos as we spend time together painting our minis. Thank you
Really great advice! I've been painting and making videos for a couple of years now and have never really delved into brush care, especially with dry brushes this video is super helpful!
More to come buddy :). We'll be doing our best. Perhaps like a lot of the other drybrushing content online we'll start and others will follow, hopefully people take the time to practise and learn it themselves before making the videos though, there's enough misinformation out there on the subject already (about 30 year's worth)😅
Wow. This video is so helpful. I have been cleaning my dry brushes like normal brushes in the past (and since restarting the hobby last year). I wish I could recommend a topic for a follow up video but this channel is already a go to for most of the techniques I want to learn. Thank you so much!
Really great! Just realised that i tend to load my drybrushes from the side and using toon much water to clean it or dampen it.... so, great, now I have to get rid of those bad habits!! Than you! ❤
Hey buddy, you're welcome, you should be on to some *very* significant and easy wins here. Please let us know how it goes, and if you have any issues. Fingers crossed you're going to enjoy some more predictable, smooth, and less frustrating painting on your next session. 🤞🤞
Brilliant brush care video, thanks! Any tips like these to help keep them soft and working well is really welcome, really loved seeing how you load the brush.
great video i always thought about the drybrushes as just oversized normal brushes, but this just showed me that they should be used completely differently
Thank you! One simple pair of rules = Everything to do with the paint: the same Everything to do with the brush: different People *constantly* treat the paint differently, and the brushes the same... When the opposite is true :)
Super video. These basics are worth repeating for those of us who haven't yet developed the "muscle memory" through the regular practice of the techniques.
I bought a set of your dry brushes about 18 months ago and have specifically avoided using then with metallics because I thought they'd be too harsh. After this video I will now try some dry brushing of metallics.
So helpful! I've been spending time meticulously washing and drying each drybrush after every use. This would save a whole load of time! Thanks! And a happy new year too!
You're a man of good habits, simply take a small portion of that time, and put it in mid-session, you'll find your painting becoming smoother, too, which is a huge bonus! You too, man, happy new year!
coming back to mini painting after a semester of canvas painting so this is good timing for me to get back to utilizing drybrushing with the big softies!
I have been watching many painting and drybrushing videos, and this is the first one that mentions a dampening pad. Must make one ASAP, it is a easy DIY project.
Didn't realise how much the loading angle matters, thank you! Honestly I just wanna watch you paint something you're really excited to paint, keep up the good work 🤘
Simple and straightforward explanation. I’ve been holding off dry brushing with nice brushes because slapchopping has destroyed my brushes. Now I know what to change! Saving this video to go back to, thank you 😄
Thank you so much for this video. I just bought a set of your dry brushes after using some no names and cleaning them totally wrong! I’m so glad I watched this before using my AOs. Cheers and happy new year!
Got a hobby session today, kids and wife are heading to the outlaw’s for new year while I am going to be doing a 06:00 shift the next day so staying at home. Airbrushed the main bits , now some dry brush highlights with your guidance on the iPad
Great stuff as always with your tutorials. Keep up the good work informing all levels of painters from beginner to accomplished. Happy new Year to all.
Id love to see a video to the each method of combining finished results to a coherent scheme, like varnishing alternatives if you use different styles like drybrushing / or things like contrast or speedpaints which have varying finishes etc!
Finally a comprehensive how to look after your brush vid. Iv been waiting for this. Thanks for saving my new series D’s. Haven’t used them coz the last “cheaper” set lost its use. Would also like to see how you use the smaller brushes. As there is a lot of large area vids but are there methods or places for the smaller brushes (unless Iv missed it ) Happy new year
Our pleasure buddy, we'll probably do another (big one) at some point in the future to cover all bases, mid-session cleaning, what to do specifically if you forget your brushes overnight, etc, but you're armed with the most important stuff from this one, go forth and enjoy, they'll last forever :). I do use the smaller brushes less, but they sure come in handy when I do, the terminator shown in this video and the green stormcast (both videos came out within the last year) use them a little... But I've been planning content for a 'How to paint small details' generic video for a while, and they'll make an appearance there for sure. They're also making an appearance in the Death Korps of Krieg video we're working on currently, looooove those minis. Best 40k drop from GW in a long time, IMO. You too man, have a great one 🍻
Our pleasure! Perhaps it's time for the real deal now? :). If you're looking for a single brush to test out our Medium/Medium + are both fantastic for infantry
Excellent video, I have lost quite a few brushes to what I now know are my own unoptimized painting habits. Hopefully, your lesson here can clear all that up.
Thanks, you wouldn't believe how far the loading goes to preservation with quality brushes, *ON not IN* and you're on an instant 400% life expectancy multiplier, as well as improving quality of painting.
'have more paints than they use so we shouldn't be worried about wasting the ones we really like at all". Such wise words and I wish I had heard it earlier. I frequently "waste" paint on my wet pallette but always use a dimple pallette for drybrushing. Perhaps I need to embrace a flat plate more. Really useful vid.
I taught myself how to drybrush a long time ago, through trial and error. I taught myself how to paint and build models, actually. But there weren't many resources for teaching this sort of thing in the 80's, and as a poor kid I had to hack up old paintbrushes to make my own drybrushes. And although I eventually learned how to do it on my own without destroying my brush or messing up my work - still using hacked up brushes because that what I'm used to - I now realize that I've been doing it all wrong, and the hard way as well. I'll have to see about getting a hold of some actual drybrushes, so I can use the right tool for the job for once. Dampening and texture pads.... Hmm, who'd have known those were things? Thank you for the tips on how to prep and load a drybrush correctly....an actual drybrush, that is.
actual drybrushes are nice! But if you want something much much cheaper, some makeup brushes can work really well. The short stubby ones specifically. If you know anyone that does makeup they might even be willing to give you ones they are going to bin :]
Great video. Short, sweet and lots of handy tips (brush tips too!). I'd love a similar quick video for texture palette care. Parts of my small one have a diminished texture where paint has built up, but yours seem to remain very texturey.
Great idea, thank you! A quick tip would be to not avoid getting anything 'new' stuck on your palette, PVA, superglue, bits of masking tape, anything. If anything is 'too much' scrape it off, and it'll be fine with a re-prime. My lines of paint I put out are part of it, too. They end up making their own washboard, along with the washes, contrast, pva, primer, tufts, and glues
This was incredibly helpful. Would love another video on normal brush care (how do we minimize the paint sneaking into the ferrule) and how and when do we use brush soaps? Keep up the great work!
My main questions would be; how do we control how much paint soaks up the bristles, is it due to too much water or not rinsing the brush enough? How can you identify when a brush is too far gone/can still be fixed? Is soap used to clean dried paint/pigment or just for keeping a fine point on the brush?
You are the personal savior of my cheap bad treated brushes. I just bought a set of 3 new Army Painter brushes not the most expensive ones but I was concerned about the durability same as another cheaper set that I just got. Cheers and happy painting new year
great video, I struggle with loading my brush correctly and paint consistency so videos like this are really helpful. cleaning dry brushes is really helpful as I tend to over clean lol. thanks again for the video
Our pleasure, buddy! If you have any specific questions please pop them through in another comment (not a reply) so they don't get missed :). For an 'over-cleaner': You're diligent already, that's good, just take that post-session care, and bring the time mid-session in much smaller blocks. Sequence: 1.) Take paint (just the tip, care, don't 'push it in' to the brush), 2.) Test on palette, if you're doing traditional drybrushing not stippling or basecoating you test here until it stops streaking while using medium pressure (this is very clear/easy to observe) 3.) Final last test on back of thumb next to mini - if it picks out wrinkles in skin not recesses you're good to go 4.) Drybrush mini, careful at first, build with confidence (read: more pressure/speed) as you observe no streaking (and less paint is on the brush) *5.) IMPORTANT! - When paint stops leaving the brush - dip brush in dampening pad, quickly repeat 2-4 :) 6.) Now take more paint if you need, you use the dampening pad to reawaken the paint, instead of adding more and more and more, the work after doing this will be super soft and smooth, as well as having happy brushes. Enjoy!
Your videos are what encouraged me to get painting my 3000+ points of Necrons using drybrushing with Rakarth Flesh and my wife's old make-up brushes! I would love to see some batch/army painting videos - especially if they throw back to your comission army painting days that you mention on the Painting Phase! Thanks again for the excellent content.
I started painting models back in the early eighties. Back then, the only model paints were enamels, thinned and cleaned using white spirits. This ruined brushes, they only kept nice tips for a short while. I then cut the ruined brushes down to do some dry brushing - it was not a happy experience. I started up again a few years ago and was amazed at how much better the acrylics are (and water smells a lot better than the old white spirits). Until I stumbled upon your channel, I was dry brushing the same way using brushes that I somehow managed to keep (buried in an old toolbox). I am slowly getting better at dry brushing, but my old muscles still remember the old "scrub as hard as you can" method I used 40 years ago! Having the right tools certainly helps, and your videos are definitely showing me where I need to improve. I do still have quite a way to go though.
i remember the first models of anything i ever got. was as a young kid i got a model of the excelsior class and miranda ship from star trek. spent ages putting them together, only to try and paint them as instructed with the accompanying enamel paints, and for them to not cover at all, just bead up on the surface, take forever to dry and somehow still feel tacky a month later, and the brushes be uncleanable and immediately ruined.. and get the paint all over my hands, and having to pumice stone them clean. the impracticality of enamel paint basically ruined the experience for me.
Happy New year to everybody! Great Video, even though I don't own any of your brush sets, the basics are great to know and universally applicable. I think a series of video explaining the differences of qualities and attributes, why you should buy certain types over others. And then basic technics and maintainance like this for every type.
If we can give one tip... Force the good habit of cleaning on your palette, back to dampening pad to reawaken paint, palette, then mini. THEN if you need more paint carefully take some more. It takes some work at first, but once it's there it's there... Because you realise you just started drybrushing very smooth (which happens to be the same as cleaning well :))
I like the fact that you give people advices on maintenaing a product that you sell. You could have not done it and sell more brushes. I think it shows the care that you have for your products and your costumers. As always a very good video, keep it up. (English is not my first language i apologise for any mistake)
Great video as always! As requested my suggestion for a future video would be comparing how pressure impacts the drybrush effect and smoothness E.g. different pressures/loading compared on the same piece etc.
On the subject of not wasting money buying new paints I definitely feel that one. Though too be fair, sometimes I've been really glad I tried something new. My recent discovery actually applies directly to dry-brushing. For the holidays I gifted myself some of Ammo of Mig's DIO Drybrush paints that I've been wanting to try for a while (recommended by a friend who's a scale modeler rather than a gamer) and good God they are the best paints I've ever dry brushed with; cheaper than GW dry paints by a fair bit, almost four times the paint (like 40 mil I think), and a gel consistency rather than whatever GW is using. Also the gel has a longer drying time so I find they go way longer before I start getting that "powdery" look dry brushing can sometimes give. So yeah, I agree with the general sentiment of not buying more paint for fun, but now and then it can be a big help for finding something that plays into your work-flow better.
This was your most practical, informative video ever! Literally, so many of the “things” you pointed out are questions that I find myself asking. The ring around the brush, loading it, cleaning it. etc. Are you going to be covering all this in your class at Adepticon? I really need to improve my drybrushing technique and want to spend some time in a class with you…
Thank you so much! People's questions have completely informed the content, so I'm glad the 2000-3000 people think-tank-con-cooperative did the work! We will cover it in every class :). Please let me know you're the guy from this comment when you attend, it'll be nice to meet you!
@ LOL, right now, the Adepticon website has your class listed as “TBD” and the cost at $1000. I’m assuming you’ll have it updated before registration goes live in 2 weeks…
*They'll :') Hopefully! We actually finally got an email this morning after waiting a frustrating few months. I'm hoping the experience goes better than LVO, where our classes were completely mishandled, (and deadlines were missed, we are teaching 0 classes) we've been assured it won't happen again 🤞 Prices will be pleasantly surprising in comparison to $1000usd ;)
I think a video that goes into detail about which brushes are best for certain paints/techniques would be a good idea. Dry brushing aside, it can be hard knowing which brush to use for each situation. Obviously cameras and the scale of the minis can make brushes appear way bigger than they are, but sometimes you see people painting the finest details with brushes way bigger than I would have expected. Some paints, like contrast or speed paints, can also require specific brushes and methods to my understanding.
thank you mr byron. these tips I share with my community, they are scared about drybrushing and damaging brushes, this takes the fear away. I am using goat hair brushes but will upgrade to artis opus soon as I drybrush a lot. This is because I am over 40 and my eyes cant see detail. a black prime, dark grey heavy drybrush, light grey drybrush and a final light white makes all the details pop! perhaps thats a video right there.
Thank you Byron this couldn’t have come at a better time! I was just gifted the Series D set for Christmas and was defo side loading 😅 I wonder if you could do a video on explaining the uses of both series S and Series M and also how to take care of those brushes, I seen your podcast with peachy and you said you mainly use Size three, 2, 1 and 00 - what would be the uses for 000 and in the sets :) please keep the content coming your videos are incredible!
Great advise as always. I’d live a similar video on normal brushes. How you clean them for daily use. Then more intense cleaning with the paint purger. How often you do it etc.
Dry brushing is one of the new things I'd like to try having just come back to the hobby. Video idea where to start your dry brushing journey. You dont want to mess up a model, can you test/practise on other things? Thanks for all your content, it's amazing how far it's all come since the 90's.
Excellent little video. There was never enough dry brushing tuts around. We were all fooled into thinking it was a very basic technique. Wonder why that was the case?
I think 3 things: 1.) People first tried it using appropriated 'flats' from fine art, so very restricted tools led to restricted applications 2.) This led to people (GW, the only 'teachers' with reach for 3 decades) thinking it was 'just for bases/beginners' - they taught as such, and no one questioned 3.) No one had obsessively nerded-out on the subject for a decade straight... I'll thank my complete lack of attention regulation genes for this one :D - Byron
@@ArtisOpus Thank you Byron, I've definitely benefitted from using your sage-brush techinques. I would have never attempted half the big items ( like terrain & vehicles) without your advice. All the best in 2025. Regards, Andy
Thank you for the content that you produce for us. The skills that you have demonstrated have helped me/us to break into the drybrushing realm with more confidence and less terror about the skill applications. Whilst I am not yet in any way fully 'expert' in my knowledge, your videos have made the process more understandable and approachable. Keep up the fantastic work. Happy new year may 2025 bring the correct colour of demons to those that seek them.
Oh man I feel bad for the dry brushes I bought. I did my best to learn but I feel there were not videos this clear when I started. Excited to give dry brushing another shot and take care of my brushes!
Just got one of your dry brushes and this gets uploaded 2 days later! Anyway, I've pumped some money into the brushes and paints etc but somehow keep watching youtube video's and concent on social media without actually starting to paint. Maybe a video about the psychology behind- and overcoming the 'fear' of beginning a paintjob is a idea? Would help me alot at least!
This is a wonderful idea. I'll give you the advice I'd put in a video. #1. Black, grey, white #2. Paint a '2d 3d' piece, like a textured wall, not too big, not to small, can be held firmly in one hand easily #3 Take your time but don't be a perfectionist, you're here to learn, and you can worry about colour, volumes, everything else later Take it as an opportunity to learn how the paint and brushes behave Do this 3 times, and you'll be off to an amazing start, shape and colour take the rest of your life to work on, I'm still learning those ;) Good luck, use them, it's fun! Any questions - let us know in another comment, not a reply. They're very easily lost.
Great video as always Byron, very informative. That blob of mephiston and felt tip comment must've been painful to film 😂 Seeing you've covered damn near everything, wonder if you'd change anything if you remade one of your early videos of how to start drybrushing with the star wars AT-ST, given a good few years of experience tips and tricks etc.
Would live to see your thoughts on colour theory, things like coloured undercoats such as pink through to yellow being used under green. Cold blues being used as a cold undertone etc. Great content as always, super accessible. Don't ration your joy!
I love my series D brushes and texture pad, they have changed the way I paint everything. I definitely find red the hardest to get out of the brush it just seems to go on forever.
Mephiston? There's a reason it made an appearance here :D. That's one of the few paints that gives contamination issues. Thanks for the kind comments, we'll never tire of hearing that we've helped people enjoy their hobby :)
Amazing video as always, and you comment about putting water on the brush before using it made me realize why my last dry brushing failed. Will you be doing a video about using brush soaps on your dry brushes?
Great video, and you do a really good job of explaining why* you use the methods you do! I’d love to see a video comparing your dry brushes with the Artify ones that seem to be trending on Amazon, maybe cut them open to see density of bristles or do a durability test! I don’t like seeing how they copied your product even including a dampening pad in the set
Awesome stuff, as always. Thank you for posting these videos! Regarding next vid suggestions, maybe tips on how to reshape slightly beaten up brushes? I've tried lots of solutions and magic gels, but, alas, my brushes still have that hooked tip (definitely good for painting 'around corners', though). Cheers!
Very simple, straight forward and informative video, very nice! :D What about an equally intuitive guide to the thought process behind painting hard to reach spots with drybrushing?
This is a good question, I'll have a think about how to frame that in a tempting way, it's definitely one of the weak points of the technique, but there's some efficient workarounds
Just had a mind blown moment where I've been taking paint from the side to stop chalking up the brush in the middle.... Makes perfect sense why not to now! I recognize my failure and will be sure to correct it! Will you be putting up the video of that purple daemon you teased months ago on Instagram? I saw a cheeky appearance in this video and reminded me how good it looked.
a suggestion for one of your next videos: is it possible to paint a timber framed house, like the old germans, just with drybrush? A fieldstone foundation, the dark woodwork, the plaster (maybe with weathering) and the shingle roof?
Thank you for the video. I'm new to painting and haven't started yet with dry brushing. A suggestion for a future video, I'm not sure if it's even possible, if not I apologise. I am planning on completing some tyranid figures (could be applied to any biological natural hardened surface), for the body I was going to do black with a grey dry brush highlight layered up, but for the armour I was thinking to try and finish with a gloss varnish or even start with a black gloss with then a dark blue hint for a highlight, followed by a gloss varnish, to try to mimic the effect of say a natural hard shell (like a beetle etc.), thar shines when the soft tissue doesn't. The only thing is I don't know if gloss paint and gloss varnish can be, or is the right type of paint to be applied via a dry brushing way. Just a suggestion for a future video
Been enjoying your content and when I get to see you at NOVA! One question that might be worth exploring is the advantages of a dedicated texture pallet does versus a flat surface or even just a paper towel that I used starting out in drybrushing
Hey buddy :).This is a good point, I use mine for so much more than 'just testing'. Thanks for the suggestion! I'll see you at Nova, bring your work, bring your brushes, I'll look forward to seeing you!
I'd really like to see you paint a complete 28mm figure that isn't a space Marine or storm cast. Something with less flat surfaces and use only the dry brushes, with stippling etc. Would be interesting to see how far you could take it.
I bought the dry brush set and loved it, been slowly getting better with my necrons I'm painting using only dry brushing, my only issue is at the minute is picking the right colours without having to buy more colours, as I started with a darker silver so when I came to the end highlight it wasn't there so switch it for a lighter one and went over the model again.
I didn't realize that washing can be done with just more drybrushing :) Could you do a video covering fully drybrushing some standard small mini like clanrat or something similar in size?
Of course :). Can you be more specific? We actually have a clanrat video (it's drybrush and then contrast - 'Slapchop' style. Do you want to see areas started and finished with drybrushing? (without contrast, so 100% drybrush)
@@ArtisOpus Yes, exactly! I'd like to see how you deal with small spaces with drybrushing. I was trying to do so but it seems impossible for me. It don't have to be a clanrat but any human sized mini apart from space marine which is quite flat.
This is a fantastic question! Be extra careful to start with proper loading (not side-loading, no cowboy stuff), and don't be alarmed if a few more bristles shed, this happens mostly at the start. They're actually best when broken in, and they will break in and shape according to use, so just do whatever you imagine you will mostly do in the future, nothing different. Enjoy :)
Useful stuff. I feel that people might be hesitant to pay for premium quality brushes due to past use of cheaper brands and developing bad habits. If it's worth anything I bought my first D series about 4 years ago and it still is in good condition. Hopefully this will help people keep their brushes at their finest.
You must have been dilligent with it, Darren! Bring it to the next con and we can take a picture with our honourable long-serving tools! Mine's close to retirement actually, it's been a very good period but it's almost too short to use after 3-4 years of traffic. He'll be missed 🫡🫡🫡
Appreciate the extremely explicit instructions for using the brushes. Low-level tech like this is so important. I've noticed that a lot of my drybrushing appears chalky, regardless of paint brand or color. Any ideas? Am I using too much water? For cleaning, is using brush soap unnecessary for these? Seems as much, but I want to be sure.
We completely agree, thank you so much! Probably too much [paint or/and water], if you put down thick texture on the base you end up drybrushing the texture it left, and it can be very hard to come back from that. May I ask if you're using ultra-matte brands of primers or paints? Let me know in a separate comment if we miss it. You can use a little soap to clean when brushes feel dry/have paint build up, just don't now add loads of water just because you are using soap (forget the habits of a lifetime! :)).
I like the additional comment about "wasting paint". I just started getting over the mentality of must conserving every single drop of paint after few years into the hobby XD. I am also a loot goblin and, on a sale, bought a few colors of every brand available at my LGS to test out which one I like the most, but otherwise up until now have only ran out of white, and 2 pots of citadel contrasts because I spilled them :( Do you have any tips/tricks/existing videos of dry brushing smaller areas or parts of the model that are harder to reach? I found myself reaching for my regular brush on the details and practicing all sort of layering but some dry brushing ideas would be cool.
This video really helped me put aside some of my anxieties about drybrushing. Previous videos have helped with proper technique, but I've always worried about how to clean them properly and prevent damaging my nicer brushes, so I would avoid using them. I never would have thought that drybrushing = cleaning! So simple! Now I don't need to "ration my joy" and will definitely be using my favorite dry brushes more often. Some dry brushes are flat or angled. Am I right in assuming that the same principles for loading and cleaning apply with these?
Could you do some footage at some point of cleaning or resurrecting smaller drybrushes? I've got your set and the larger ones are still useful, but the medium to small ones are a real challenge to clean. :)
At last, someone who can actually explain dry brushing in a way I can understand! How do you go about deciding things such as what to dry brush and how much dry brushing to use so that it looks like highlighted or worn surfaces rather than just looking like more shading? Also how do you stop the paint going onto parts that you don't want to dry brush for example if your just trying to pick out texture or slight detail?
Thanks for the tips. I started yesterday with my first dry brush for a zombie army. I was pretty devastated bc after couple of minis the brush got hard from the paint. I see, I just loaded to much paint in it. Your tips are like, will test em today. Thanks
Awesome - thank you! I am so guilty of loading from the side. I must not have paid close enough attention to your previous videos. Ha ha! I have a couple drybrushes from when I first started painting this summer that got a little away from me with loading paint - and now the bristles on those are fairly stiff. (I've moved on to new ones - but would still like to save these for dry brushing metallics and whatnot). Is there a preferred way to restore a heavily neglected drybrush? These are cheap ones - so not opposed to trimming them if I have to.
I’ve been meaning to search for this content and it just popped up. Thanks! I seem to never get the water amount right and pretty sure have wrecked every dry brush I’ve ever owned. Any advice to bring a brush back to life if a person wasn’t following this advice before watching this?
I think one of the most daunting things is picking a model and picking the paint and then going at it "without screwing it up". This is one of biggest challenges I had to overcome when painting my rank and file dudes, and I still haven't painted a large model because of it. I think it'd be cool if you'd pick a random model (large, preferably) from your collection and throw random paints into a bag and then just showcase how you'd go about painting it _as if_ you already had a scheme planned. I think this would go a long way in showing how hard it is to actually screw up a model.
Idea for a video I'd like to see, you may have already done it but, how to wet blend? I've found small tutorials online that are mostly about using it in the particular situation like power sword glow but not a how to.
So... Did you learn anything from this video? Let us know below! 👇👇
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Love the video! Any word on the egg handles?
je n'ai pas pu aller au bout la voix et la diction sont insupportable, pourquoi ne pas enregistrer un humain ?
It was good reinforcement for things I’ve picked up from watching other videos on the channel!
That's from TH-cam, not us! I most definitely recorded this myself, using my own voice😅
I've watched these videos and tried dry brushing with goat hair dry brushes, but I'm still either kicking up paint dust or I have to much water in my brush, every time. Could you make a tutorial of dry brushing exercises we could do? I can't keep doing this to a bunch of models.
I think you deserve all the kudos! It is very rare these days to see a company design a quality product to last. Let alone then teaching you how to make it last longer!
:) thank you. We'd much rather design built-to-last tools and see a repeat sale in 3 years. Ideally from someone who has lovingly used their tool until begrudging retirement... and tells all their friends 😅
We teach in-person at cons, too, on TH-cam we do our best to present the same advice we give out there
im really loving these videos... have recently decided to join the ranks of 40k folks and start painting minis... watching these videos, and many others, learning about brushes and paints and techniques and things before going out to buy stuff do do this with (as i had zero equipment or knowledge beforehand) has really been helpful in shaping my purchase selections in preparation for the journey without making the mistake of buying useless or crap stuff but also not breaking the bank unnecessarily
My granddaughter and I are just starting our journey on painting miniatures. So we have been wading our way through all of the creators out there looking for someone that does a great job of teaching the basics. We cannot tell you how helpful this video was. Nobody has covered the foundation of dry brushing like you have. We are now subscribers and look forward to watching your other videos as we spend time together painting our minis. Thank you
Really great advice! I've been painting and making videos for a couple of years now and have never really delved into brush care, especially with dry brushes this video is super helpful!
Our pleasure buddy, hopefully with this one the cleaning and the using can start going hand-in-hand.
Keep up the good work with the dioramas!
I found your comment that “cleaning and dry brushing are just the same” to be so insightful! Blew my mind, honestly
I needed this info a long time ago. No one else talks about this.
More to come buddy :). We'll be doing our best.
Perhaps like a lot of the other drybrushing content online we'll start and others will follow, hopefully people take the time to practise and learn it themselves before making the videos though, there's enough misinformation out there on the subject already (about 30 year's worth)😅
One of the best technique explanations EVER for miniature painting. Clear, concise and explanations that make sense. Thanks, Byron
I know you've touched on this before, but it's great to have a dedicated video clearly explaining the what and why.
Wow. This video is so helpful. I have been cleaning my dry brushes like normal brushes in the past (and since restarting the hobby last year). I wish I could recommend a topic for a follow up video but this channel is already a go to for most of the techniques I want to learn. Thank you so much!
Really great! Just realised that i tend to load my drybrushes from the side and using toon much water to clean it or dampen it.... so, great, now I have to get rid of those bad habits!! Than you! ❤
Hey buddy, you're welcome, you should be on to some *very* significant and easy wins here. Please let us know how it goes, and if you have any issues.
Fingers crossed you're going to enjoy some more predictable, smooth, and less frustrating painting on your next session. 🤞🤞
Brilliant brush care video, thanks! Any tips like these to help keep them soft and working well is really welcome, really loved seeing how you load the brush.
great video
i always thought about the drybrushes as just oversized normal brushes, but this just showed me that they should be used completely differently
Thank you!
One simple pair of rules =
Everything to do with the paint: the same
Everything to do with the brush: different
People *constantly* treat the paint differently, and the brushes the same... When the opposite is true :)
Super video. These basics are worth repeating for those of us who haven't yet developed the "muscle memory" through the regular practice of the techniques.
Definitely this... It only takes a little 'forcing it' to make the habit permanent, especially when you realise it also makes your painting better :D
I bought a set of your dry brushes about 18 months ago and have specifically avoided using then with metallics because I thought they'd be too harsh. After this video I will now try some dry brushing of metallics.
So helpful! I've been spending time meticulously washing and drying each drybrush after every use. This would save a whole load of time! Thanks! And a happy new year too!
You're a man of good habits, simply take a small portion of that time, and put it in mid-session, you'll find your painting becoming smoother, too, which is a huge bonus!
You too, man, happy new year!
coming back to mini painting after a semester of canvas painting so this is good timing for me to get back to utilizing drybrushing with the big softies!
Welcome back! They do have a special feel to them, enjoy!
Just got my first set for Christmas!! 3 M series and 2 dry brushes- great timing on the vid!!
Wonderful, you got a creator mixed one? Enjoy!
This was so perfectly timed for me. Thank you!!!
Our pleasure, enjoy!
I have been watching many painting and drybrushing videos, and this is the first one that mentions a dampening pad. Must make one ASAP, it is a easy DIY project.
Welcome to the future :)
Didn't realise how much the loading angle matters, thank you! Honestly I just wanna watch you paint something you're really excited to paint, keep up the good work 🤘
Simple and straightforward explanation. I’ve been holding off dry brushing with nice brushes because slapchopping has destroyed my brushes. Now I know what to change! Saving this video to go back to, thank you 😄
Thank you so much for this video. I just bought a set of your dry brushes after using some no names and cleaning them totally wrong! I’m so glad I watched this before using my AOs. Cheers and happy new year!
Always helpful and I learned something new. Much appreciated, you are doing the lord’s work for us drybrushers!
Got a hobby session today, kids and wife are heading to the outlaw’s for new year while I am going to be doing a 06:00 shift the next day so staying at home. Airbrushed the main bits , now some dry brush highlights with your guidance on the iPad
My man, this comment will ring true for a lot of us. You enjoy your session, I'm proud to be accompanying :D
Great stuff as always with your tutorials. Keep up the good work informing all levels of painters from beginner to accomplished.
Happy new Year to all.
Id love to see a video to the each method of combining finished results to a coherent scheme, like varnishing alternatives if you use different styles like drybrushing / or things like contrast or speedpaints which have varying finishes etc!
Finally a comprehensive how to look after your brush vid. Iv been waiting for this. Thanks for saving my new series D’s. Haven’t used them coz the last “cheaper” set lost its use.
Would also like to see how you use the smaller brushes. As there is a lot of large area vids but are there methods or places for the smaller brushes (unless Iv missed it )
Happy new year
Our pleasure buddy, we'll probably do another (big one) at some point in the future to cover all bases, mid-session cleaning, what to do specifically if you forget your brushes overnight, etc, but you're armed with the most important stuff from this one, go forth and enjoy, they'll last forever :).
I do use the smaller brushes less, but they sure come in handy when I do, the terminator shown in this video and the green stormcast (both videos came out within the last year) use them a little... But I've been planning content for a 'How to paint small details' generic video for a while, and they'll make an appearance there for sure.
They're also making an appearance in the Death Korps of Krieg video we're working on currently, looooove those minis. Best 40k drop from GW in a long time, IMO.
You too man, have a great one 🍻
This was really helpful, thank you. I've been doing it all wrong but luckily with cheap brushes. I feel far more confident now 😊
Our pleasure! Perhaps it's time for the real deal now? :). If you're looking for a single brush to test out our Medium/Medium + are both fantastic for infantry
@@ArtisOpus well, if you insist ;)
Excellent video, I have lost quite a few brushes to what I now know are my own unoptimized painting habits. Hopefully, your lesson here can clear all that up.
Thanks, you wouldn't believe how far the loading goes to preservation with quality brushes, *ON not IN* and you're on an instant 400% life expectancy multiplier, as well as improving quality of painting.
Nice work dude 👍👍
Thanks, man - happy new year!
'have more paints than they use so we shouldn't be worried about wasting the ones we really like at all". Such wise words and I wish I had heard it earlier. I frequently "waste" paint on my wet pallette but always use a dimple pallette for drybrushing. Perhaps I need to embrace a flat plate more. Really useful vid.
Great timing for this one Byron. Was just thinking out to clean my dry brush.
I taught myself how to drybrush a long time ago, through trial and error. I taught myself how to paint and build models, actually.
But there weren't many resources for teaching this sort of thing in the 80's, and as a poor kid I had to hack up old paintbrushes to make my own drybrushes.
And although I eventually learned how to do it on my own without destroying my brush or messing up my work - still using hacked up brushes because that what I'm used to - I now realize that I've been doing it all wrong, and the hard way as well. I'll have to see about getting a hold of some actual drybrushes, so I can use the right tool for the job for once.
Dampening and texture pads.... Hmm, who'd have known those were things?
Thank you for the tips on how to prep and load a drybrush correctly....an actual drybrush, that is.
actual drybrushes are nice!
But if you want something much much cheaper, some makeup brushes can work really well. The short stubby ones specifically. If you know anyone that does makeup they might even be willing to give you ones they are going to bin :]
Really useful and helpful video, glad ive been accidentally doing things right! happy new year to you and the team
Great video, always appreciate your explanations and demonstrations :)
Thank you! If there's anything we've been please let us know, we'll do a follow-up at some point.
Thanks so much Byron, happy new year
Great video. Short, sweet and lots of handy tips (brush tips too!). I'd love a similar quick video for texture palette care. Parts of my small one have a diminished texture where paint has built up, but yours seem to remain very texturey.
Great idea, thank you!
A quick tip would be to not avoid getting anything 'new' stuck on your palette, PVA, superglue, bits of masking tape, anything. If anything is 'too much' scrape it off, and it'll be fine with a re-prime.
My lines of paint I put out are part of it, too. They end up making their own washboard, along with the washes, contrast, pva, primer, tufts, and glues
Gold, Hobby Gold!
Thank you, buddy!
Great video. Been loving my set of dry brushes.
This was incredibly helpful. Would love another video on normal brush care (how do we minimize the paint sneaking into the ferrule) and how and when do we use brush soaps?
Keep up the great work!
We probably are due one of these, any other particular popular questions you can think of?
Cleaning paint out of the ferrule.
My main questions would be;
how do we control how much paint soaks up the bristles, is it due to too much water or not rinsing the brush enough?
How can you identify when a brush is too far gone/can still be fixed?
Is soap used to clean dried paint/pigment or just for keeping a fine point on the brush?
Why only now Byron!? You have been keeping your bestest secrets from us! 😮 ❤
You are the personal savior of my cheap bad treated brushes. I just bought a set of 3 new Army Painter brushes not the most expensive ones but I was concerned about the durability same as another cheaper set that I just got. Cheers and happy painting new year
great video, I struggle with loading my brush correctly and paint consistency so videos like this are really helpful. cleaning dry brushes is really helpful as I tend to over clean lol. thanks again for the video
Our pleasure, buddy! If you have any specific questions please pop them through in another comment (not a reply) so they don't get missed :).
For an 'over-cleaner': You're diligent already, that's good, just take that post-session care, and bring the time mid-session in much smaller blocks.
Sequence:
1.) Take paint (just the tip, care, don't 'push it in' to the brush),
2.) Test on palette, if you're doing traditional drybrushing not stippling or basecoating you test here until it stops streaking while using medium pressure (this is very clear/easy to observe)
3.) Final last test on back of thumb next to mini - if it picks out wrinkles in skin not recesses you're good to go
4.) Drybrush mini, careful at first, build with confidence (read: more pressure/speed) as you observe no streaking (and less paint is on the brush)
*5.) IMPORTANT! - When paint stops leaving the brush - dip brush in dampening pad, quickly repeat 2-4 :)
6.) Now take more paint if you need, you use the dampening pad to reawaken the paint, instead of adding more and more and more, the work after doing this will be super soft and smooth, as well as having happy brushes.
Enjoy!
I found this very helpful, thank you!
Our pleasure :)
Your videos are what encouraged me to get painting my 3000+ points of Necrons using drybrushing with Rakarth Flesh and my wife's old make-up brushes! I would love to see some batch/army painting videos - especially if they throw back to your comission army painting days that you mention on the Painting Phase! Thanks again for the excellent content.
I’m so glad you made this video!!
I started painting models back in the early eighties. Back then, the only model paints were enamels, thinned and cleaned using white spirits. This ruined brushes, they only kept nice tips for a short while. I then cut the ruined brushes down to do some dry brushing - it was not a happy experience.
I started up again a few years ago and was amazed at how much better the acrylics are (and water smells a lot better than the old white spirits). Until I stumbled upon your channel, I was dry brushing the same way using brushes that I somehow managed to keep (buried in an old toolbox). I am slowly getting better at dry brushing, but my old muscles still remember the old "scrub as hard as you can" method I used 40 years ago!
Having the right tools certainly helps, and your videos are definitely showing me where I need to improve. I do still have quite a way to go though.
i remember the first models of anything i ever got. was as a young kid i got a model of the excelsior class and miranda ship from star trek. spent ages putting them together, only to try and paint them as instructed with the accompanying enamel paints, and for them to not cover at all, just bead up on the surface, take forever to dry and somehow still feel tacky a month later, and the brushes be uncleanable and immediately ruined.. and get the paint all over my hands, and having to pumice stone them clean. the impracticality of enamel paint basically ruined the experience for me.
Happy New year to everybody! Great Video, even though I don't own any of your brush sets, the basics are great to know and universally applicable. I think a series of video explaining the differences of qualities and attributes, why you should buy certain types over others. And then basic technics and maintainance like this for every type.
Good lesson. Now let's apply it.
If we can give one tip... Force the good habit of cleaning on your palette, back to dampening pad to reawaken paint, palette, then mini. THEN if you need more paint carefully take some more.
It takes some work at first, but once it's there it's there... Because you realise you just started drybrushing very smooth (which happens to be the same as cleaning well :))
@@ArtisOpus Thanks for the tip.
Just the tip! You're welcome, good luck :)
thanks for this.. Love the brushes!
Our pleasure, may they serve you well! 🫡🫡
I like the fact that you give people advices on maintenaing a product that you sell. You could have not done it and sell more brushes. I think it shows the care that you have for your products and your costumers. As always a very good video, keep it up. (English is not my first language i apologise for any mistake)
Great! This is very helpful!
Amazing, happy to help!
Great video as always! As requested my suggestion for a future video would be comparing how pressure impacts the drybrush effect and smoothness E.g. different pressures/loading compared on the same piece etc.
LOOOVE this! Fantastic suggestion, thank you so much
On the subject of not wasting money buying new paints I definitely feel that one. Though too be fair, sometimes I've been really glad I tried something new. My recent discovery actually applies directly to dry-brushing. For the holidays I gifted myself some of Ammo of Mig's DIO Drybrush paints that I've been wanting to try for a while (recommended by a friend who's a scale modeler rather than a gamer) and good God they are the best paints I've ever dry brushed with; cheaper than GW dry paints by a fair bit, almost four times the paint (like 40 mil I think), and a gel consistency rather than whatever GW is using. Also the gel has a longer drying time so I find they go way longer before I start getting that "powdery" look dry brushing can sometimes give. So yeah, I agree with the general sentiment of not buying more paint for fun, but now and then it can be a big help for finding something that plays into your work-flow better.
This was your most practical, informative video ever! Literally, so many of the “things” you pointed out are questions that I find myself asking. The ring around the brush, loading it, cleaning it. etc. Are you going to be covering all this in your class at Adepticon? I really need to improve my drybrushing technique and want to spend some time in a class with you…
Thank you so much! People's questions have completely informed the content, so I'm glad the 2000-3000 people think-tank-con-cooperative did the work!
We will cover it in every class :). Please let me know you're the guy from this comment when you attend, it'll be nice to meet you!
@ LOL, right now, the Adepticon website has your class listed as “TBD” and the cost at $1000. I’m assuming you’ll have it updated before registration goes live in 2 weeks…
*They'll :')
Hopefully! We actually finally got an email this morning after waiting a frustrating few months.
I'm hoping the experience goes better than LVO, where our classes were completely mishandled, (and deadlines were missed, we are teaching 0 classes) we've been assured it won't happen again 🤞
Prices will be pleasantly surprising in comparison to $1000usd ;)
I think a video that goes into detail about which brushes are best for certain paints/techniques would be a good idea. Dry brushing aside, it can be hard knowing which brush to use for each situation. Obviously cameras and the scale of the minis can make brushes appear way bigger than they are, but sometimes you see people painting the finest details with brushes way bigger than I would have expected. Some paints, like contrast or speed paints, can also require specific brushes and methods to my understanding.
thank you mr byron. these tips I share with my community, they are scared about drybrushing and damaging brushes, this takes the fear away. I am using goat hair brushes but will upgrade to artis opus soon as I drybrush a lot. This is because I am over 40 and my eyes cant see detail. a black prime, dark grey heavy drybrush, light grey drybrush and a final light white makes all the details pop! perhaps thats a video right there.
Thank you Byron this couldn’t have come at a better time! I was just gifted the Series D set for Christmas and was defo side loading 😅 I wonder if you could do a video on explaining the uses of both series S and Series M and also how to take care of those brushes, I seen your podcast with peachy and you said you mainly use Size three, 2, 1 and 00 - what would be the uses for 000 and in the sets :) please keep the content coming your videos are incredible!
Great advise as always. I’d live a similar video on normal brushes. How you clean them for daily use. Then more intense cleaning with the paint purger. How often you do it etc.
Dry brushing is one of the new things I'd like to try having just come back to the hobby. Video idea where to start your dry brushing journey. You dont want to mess up a model, can you test/practise on other things? Thanks for all your content, it's amazing how far it's all come since the 90's.
Lots of great tips, especially cleaning and loading. Am I missing the equivalent post for non dry brushing brushes?
We have one from a few years back that James did, we may well do an update this year though :)
Fascinating video.
I would be interested in how you dry brush more fragile models such as resin. Tips/tricks.
Excellent little video. There was never enough dry brushing tuts around. We were all fooled into thinking it was a very basic technique. Wonder why that was the case?
I think 3 things:
1.) People first tried it using appropriated 'flats' from fine art, so very restricted tools led to restricted applications
2.) This led to people (GW, the only 'teachers' with reach for 3 decades) thinking it was 'just for bases/beginners' - they taught as such, and no one questioned
3.) No one had obsessively nerded-out on the subject for a decade straight... I'll thank my complete lack of attention regulation genes for this one :D
- Byron
@@ArtisOpus Thank you Byron, I've definitely benefitted from using your sage-brush techinques. I would have never attempted half the big items ( like terrain & vehicles) without your advice. All the best in 2025. Regards, Andy
A really good vid! Could you make a video about what paints are your favorits and what you use the most.
This is a fantastic idea, much like this video we talk about it a lot, but it does deserve it's own exclusive video
@@ArtisOpusLove to see it!!! :)
Thank you for the content that you produce for us. The skills that you have demonstrated have helped me/us to break into the drybrushing realm with more confidence and less terror about the skill applications. Whilst I am not yet in any way fully 'expert' in my knowledge, your videos have made the process more understandable and approachable. Keep up the fantastic work. Happy new year may 2025 bring the correct colour of demons to those that seek them.
Oh man I feel bad for the dry brushes I bought. I did my best to learn but I feel there were not videos this clear when I started. Excited to give dry brushing another shot and take care of my brushes!
Just got one of your dry brushes and this gets uploaded 2 days later! Anyway, I've pumped some money into the brushes and paints etc but somehow keep watching youtube video's and concent on social media without actually starting to paint. Maybe a video about the psychology behind- and overcoming the 'fear' of beginning a paintjob is a idea? Would help me alot at least!
This is a wonderful idea. I'll give you the advice I'd put in a video.
#1. Black, grey, white
#2. Paint a '2d 3d' piece, like a textured wall, not too big, not to small, can be held firmly in one hand easily
#3 Take your time but don't be a perfectionist, you're here to learn, and you can worry about colour, volumes, everything else later
Take it as an opportunity to learn how the paint and brushes behave
Do this 3 times, and you'll be off to an amazing start, shape and colour take the rest of your life to work on, I'm still learning those ;)
Good luck, use them, it's fun!
Any questions - let us know in another comment, not a reply. They're very easily lost.
Great video as always Byron, very informative. That blob of mephiston and felt tip comment must've been painful to film 😂 Seeing you've covered damn near everything, wonder if you'd change anything if you remade one of your early videos of how to start drybrushing with the star wars AT-ST, given a good few years of experience tips and tricks etc.
Would live to see your thoughts on colour theory, things like coloured undercoats such as pink through to yellow being used under green. Cold blues being used as a cold undertone etc.
Great content as always, super accessible. Don't ration your joy!
Cool as always. Happy New Year 🎉
Thanks, you too, buddy! 🍻
I love my series D brushes and texture pad, they have changed the way I paint everything. I definitely find red the hardest to get out of the brush it just seems to go on forever.
Mephiston? There's a reason it made an appearance here :D. That's one of the few paints that gives contamination issues.
Thanks for the kind comments, we'll never tire of hearing that we've helped people enjoy their hobby :)
Would love a video going over brands of paints and what they are each best at. P.s love your channel
Amazing video as always, and you comment about putting water on the brush before using it made me realize why my last dry brushing failed. Will you be doing a video about using brush soaps on your dry brushes?
Great video, and you do a really good job of explaining why* you use the methods you do! I’d love to see a video comparing your dry brushes with the Artify ones that seem to be trending on Amazon, maybe cut them open to see density of bristles or do a durability test! I don’t like seeing how they copied your product even including a dampening pad in the set
Awesome stuff, as always. Thank you for posting these videos! Regarding next vid suggestions, maybe tips on how to reshape slightly beaten up brushes? I've tried lots of solutions and magic gels, but, alas, my brushes still have that hooked tip (definitely good for painting 'around corners', though). Cheers!
Very simple, straight forward and informative video, very nice! :D
What about an equally intuitive guide to the thought process behind painting hard to reach spots with drybrushing?
This is a good question, I'll have a think about how to frame that in a tempting way, it's definitely one of the weak points of the technique, but there's some efficient workarounds
I'd love to see your take on "how to MAKE your own washes/shades."
Just had a mind blown moment where I've been taking paint from the side to stop chalking up the brush in the middle.... Makes perfect sense why not to now! I recognize my failure and will be sure to correct it!
Will you be putting up the video of that purple daemon you teased months ago on Instagram? I saw a cheeky appearance in this video and reminded me how good it looked.
a suggestion for one of your next videos: is it possible to paint a timber framed house, like the old germans, just with drybrush? A fieldstone foundation, the dark woodwork, the plaster (maybe with weathering) and the shingle roof?
Thank you for the video. I'm new to painting and haven't started yet with dry brushing.
A suggestion for a future video, I'm not sure if it's even possible, if not I apologise.
I am planning on completing some tyranid figures (could be applied to any biological natural hardened surface), for the body I was going to do black with a grey dry brush highlight layered up, but for the armour I was thinking to try and finish with a gloss varnish or even start with a black gloss with then a dark blue hint for a highlight, followed by a gloss varnish, to try to mimic the effect of say a natural hard shell (like a beetle etc.), thar shines when the soft tissue doesn't.
The only thing is I don't know if gloss paint and gloss varnish can be, or is the right type of paint to be applied via a dry brushing way.
Just a suggestion for a future video
Question:
Do we not use brush soap?
Been enjoying your content and when I get to see you at NOVA! One question that might be worth exploring is the advantages of a dedicated texture pallet does versus a flat surface or even just a paper towel that I used starting out in drybrushing
Hey buddy :).This is a good point, I use mine for so much more than 'just testing'.
Thanks for the suggestion!
I'll see you at Nova, bring your work, bring your brushes, I'll look forward to seeing you!
I'd really like to see you paint a complete 28mm figure that isn't a space Marine or storm cast. Something with less flat surfaces and use only the dry brushes, with stippling etc. Would be interesting to see how far you could take it.
I bought the dry brush set and loved it, been slowly getting better with my necrons I'm painting using only dry brushing, my only issue is at the minute is picking the right colours without having to buy more colours, as I started with a darker silver so when I came to the end highlight it wasn't there so switch it for a lighter one and went over the model again.
I didn't realize that washing can be done with just more drybrushing :) Could you do a video covering fully drybrushing some standard small mini like clanrat or something similar in size?
Of course :). Can you be more specific? We actually have a clanrat video (it's drybrush and then contrast - 'Slapchop' style.
Do you want to see areas started and finished with drybrushing? (without contrast, so 100% drybrush)
@@ArtisOpus Yes, exactly! I'd like to see how you deal with small spaces with drybrushing. I was trying to do so but it seems impossible for me. It don't have to be a clanrat but any human sized mini apart from space marine which is quite flat.
Any tips for new brushes and anything to break them in ?
This is a fantastic question!
Be extra careful to start with proper loading (not side-loading, no cowboy stuff), and don't be alarmed if a few more bristles shed, this happens mostly at the start.
They're actually best when broken in, and they will break in and shape according to use, so just do whatever you imagine you will mostly do in the future, nothing different.
Enjoy :)
Useful stuff. I feel that people might be hesitant to pay for premium quality brushes due to past use of cheaper brands and developing bad habits. If it's worth anything I bought my first D series about 4 years ago and it still is in good condition. Hopefully this will help people keep their brushes at their finest.
Edit. Just checked receipt. 27th December 2020
You must have been dilligent with it, Darren! Bring it to the next con and we can take a picture with our honourable long-serving tools!
Mine's close to retirement actually, it's been a very good period but it's almost too short to use after 3-4 years of traffic.
He'll be missed 🫡🫡🫡
@@darrenj3720 Woah Mamma, maybe he needs framing when the time comes! 🫡
Appreciate the extremely explicit instructions for using the brushes. Low-level tech like this is so important.
I've noticed that a lot of my drybrushing appears chalky, regardless of paint brand or color. Any ideas? Am I using too much water?
For cleaning, is using brush soap unnecessary for these? Seems as much, but I want to be sure.
We completely agree, thank you so much!
Probably too much [paint or/and water], if you put down thick texture on the base you end up drybrushing the texture it left, and it can be very hard to come back from that.
May I ask if you're using ultra-matte brands of primers or paints? Let me know in a separate comment if we miss it.
You can use a little soap to clean when brushes feel dry/have paint build up, just don't now add loads of water just because you are using soap (forget the habits of a lifetime! :)).
@@ArtisOpus I don't think so? I mostly use Pro Acryl paint and sometimes PA primer.
I like the additional comment about "wasting paint". I just started getting over the mentality of must conserving every single drop of paint after few years into the hobby XD. I am also a loot goblin and, on a sale, bought a few colors of every brand available at my LGS to test out which one I like the most, but otherwise up until now have only ran out of white, and 2 pots of citadel contrasts because I spilled them :(
Do you have any tips/tricks/existing videos of dry brushing smaller areas or parts of the model that are harder to reach? I found myself reaching for my regular brush on the details and practicing all sort of layering but some dry brushing ideas would be cool.
yes this is what I needed. As a follow up video perhaps how to save an abused drybrush? Asking for a friend.
We can absolutely do this :)
This video really helped me put aside some of my anxieties about drybrushing. Previous videos have helped with proper technique, but I've always worried about how to clean them properly and prevent damaging my nicer brushes, so I would avoid using them. I never would have thought that drybrushing = cleaning! So simple! Now I don't need to "ration my joy" and will definitely be using my favorite dry brushes more often. Some dry brushes are flat or angled. Am I right in assuming that the same principles for loading and cleaning apply with these?
Could you do some footage at some point of cleaning or resurrecting smaller drybrushes? I've got your set and the larger ones are still useful, but the medium to small ones are a real challenge to clean. :)
At last, someone who can actually explain dry brushing in a way I can understand! How do you go about deciding things such as what to dry brush and how much dry brushing to use so that it looks like highlighted or worn surfaces rather than just looking like more shading? Also how do you stop the paint going onto parts that you don't want to dry brush for example if your just trying to pick out texture or slight detail?
Thanks for the tips. I started yesterday with my first dry brush for a zombie army. I was pretty devastated bc after couple of minis the brush got hard from the paint. I see, I just loaded to much paint in it. Your tips are like, will test em today. Thanks
Awesome - thank you! I am so guilty of loading from the side. I must not have paid close enough attention to your previous videos. Ha ha!
I have a couple drybrushes from when I first started painting this summer that got a little away from me with loading paint - and now the bristles on those are fairly stiff. (I've moved on to new ones - but would still like to save these for dry brushing metallics and whatnot). Is there a preferred way to restore a heavily neglected drybrush? These are cheap ones - so not opposed to trimming them if I have to.
I’ve been meaning to search for this content and it just popped up. Thanks! I seem to never get the water amount right and pretty sure have wrecked every dry brush I’ve ever owned. Any advice to bring a brush back to life if a person wasn’t following this advice before watching this?
I think one of the most daunting things is picking a model and picking the paint and then going at it "without screwing it up". This is one of biggest challenges I had to overcome when painting my rank and file dudes, and I still haven't painted a large model because of it. I think it'd be cool if you'd pick a random model (large, preferably) from your collection and throw random paints into a bag and then just showcase how you'd go about painting it _as if_ you already had a scheme planned. I think this would go a long way in showing how hard it is to actually screw up a model.
Idea for a video I'd like to see, you may have already done it but, how to wet blend? I've found small tutorials online that are mostly about using it in the particular situation like power sword glow but not a how to.
Good video B. Recommended video: how to get a smooth drybrush on caucasian flesh when it covers most of the model. Like dwarf slayers / fyreslayers