"Is the dip making figures less vibrant?" Topic

My own 'experiments' with trying to get the dip right suggests yes.

Looking in my local store – I see WWII bolt action looking too dark and I am starting to notice some web AAR's in which you look at the army and say 'that's been dipped'.

I use full inking / dip as the lazy way to get a figure shaded and make block painting look better, but then i want to put some highlights back in and that can look too severe against the grimy dip background – I found this very notable recently on some napoleonic Austrians (white uniforms) and I have just done a 28mm Wars of the Roses sample and it looks grimy and dull – rather than lovely!

Anyway, I just wondered whether those at clubs who get to see a lot of collections are noticing whether armies are looking a bit 'earthy' or do I just need to get a better technique?

I hardly ever see dipped figures around here.

To be honest I still find it hilarious that we paint shadows on 3D objects. Now that I've moved to all 15mm and 6mm I find black undercoat with neat block painting and flesh wash turns out very nice figures very fast. No dip needed.

Frankly I'm spending a lot more time and energy getting my terrain upgraded. Nothing ruins a game for me more than a few strips of blue felt playing the part of "river."

Pallet, including the specific color used for the Dip, can make a lot of difference.

Although I don't dip I do use 'magic wash'. I've noticed my WWII Do look dark and the next batch will have more drybrushing and highlighting. The Infinity miniatures I'm working on now are all using lighter colors since they're a more anime themed game.

Since taking to using it (albeit brushed on) I've switched from black undercoat to white, which helps a lot.

I would say "yes." I would also say the Dip method is akin to approaching the problem of shadowing on figures with a sledgehammer. No matter what color dip you use, unless the figure is painted entirely in earthtones, it will not be perfect for all colors. This is why I shade and highlight each color individually with a wash derived as a darker shade for the color I'm putting it on.

Damon.

I dip, then I highlight with the original base color, then highlight normally.

Maybe so… but when I paint, I go for a slightly more drab, desaturated look anyway, so I don't see it as a problem. These Quar are the most "vibrant" figures I have painted in a long time, and they still fall far on the drab side of the scale compared to a lot of what I see.

For me, it's a stylistic choice rather than an unplanned side-effect of the technique I'm using. Also, I very rarely paint figures in parade uniforms – the muskets & lace thing doesn't interest me at all (though I do have some Mounties in my painting queue…). I like my figures to look a bit dirty and worn.

I use washes, but I usually do a highlight pass of the original colour afterward. Otherwise they do look awfully muddy.

"Is the dip making figures less vibrant?"

Yes.

Switching to white primer helped me, too.

If you are using a polyurethane based dip then the "drabness" will only get worse as the carrier will yellow over time.

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Martin Stephenson
The Waving Flag | Twitter | eBay

Crude 'dipping' is just like any other crude painting … it produces poor results. Some enthusiasts don't get that and just assume if they follow some sort of 'orthodox' process they can assume they have impressive results

Phil

I'm using painted on wash/dip (homemade soup recipe) as part of the process only but get a result that still is bright enough after a highlight or two. I think the dipping technique is also a response to needing to get more armies on the table, so you gets what you gets. I find just a good highlight here and there helps a lot and doing it to reds, yellow and faces can do a great job, I find going in with the dip or wash after blocking in the colours and GLOSS vanish first helps to get the dip to not stain the under colour too. Hope this helps.
Cheers happy painting.

Would a soldier who has been in the field for a few weeks actually look "vibrant"? Perhaps we base our image of what they looked like on some of the paintings of battle scenes. Personally I think washes make my figures look more like real, battle weary, men.
The tip about using gloss varnish before dip or wash is a good one, it certainly reduces the darkening effect.

I don't really dip but I do use washes and swear by them. Vibrant is so subjective, there are many who like the toy soldier gloss look which I really dislike. I strive to have my miniatures look realistic which can range from drab (Dark Ages) to wildly colorful(Napoleonic, Franco Prussian War).

I think if the dip is followed by some highlighting it helps a lot. Also, if the trade off is that I get more figures done and on the table, I'll take the less vibrant, finished figures.

I thought one of the reasons to do it was to tone down the vibrantness

Yes, and absolutely. Therefor one must paint with brighter, more robust colors before the dip is applied. Bright pinks and florescent greens will change before your eyes.

I hate to admit it but my painted figures resemble circus clowns before the dip. Beautiful afterwords.

I have found that the dip does unify the figure and that highlighting then runs the risk of undoing that.

The dip does dull colors, but as skipper john says above, it's long been known that brighter shades of paint and (if possible) a white primer will counteract this effect. Unless you like things dark and drab (there's a place for this) if you're dipping over the same base colors you'd otherwise use, you're probably doing it wrong.

Aside from some drybrushing of hair, I don't usually do much highlighting as the whole reason I'm dipping is to take steps out of the process. I simply use brighter colors and a white or light grey primer when possible. If you use bright enough colors, you'll even get a bit of a faux-highlight
effect as the dip settles away from the upward edges of the model.

Dipping is a technique like any other and getting the best from it requires more than just slapping it over your usual paintjob.

I love the whole debate between black and white primer. I can base a figure in either color and then paint it and the so called experts will happily misinterpret what the undercoat is. As to dipping – from what I've seen (and a brief experiment) it essentially ruins what is underneath. And, mind you, I have a vast number of unpainted figures so quicker methods are great in my opinion – but not the "dip", thank you.

I'v experimented extensively with the dip, to almost universally positive results. (Positive meaning both decent paintjobs AND speedy tabletop results.) Using the dip has pushed my color palette more toward warm earth tones, as they pick up the dip better, but I don't necessarily see that as a bad thing.

If you choose the right subjects and use the correct techniques dulling won't be an issue.

I use AP Quickshade (I have no commercial affiliation) and find that it works very well for armies clad in predominantly drab or earth colours, which means the majority from the 1890s on, or irregulars in civilian clothing; even where they wore mostly white. So, for instance, it's fine for almost every troop type in the Mexican Revolution; Zapatistas would look unrealistic in garments of too pure a white. Pathans and many other tribal types should be similarly grungy.

It also works for bright but warm colours, but not so well where green and blue predominate.

As for highlighting, after applying the dip just run a brush dampened with a little thinner over the areas you'd normally highlight conventionally to reveal the original colour, and as long as you've painted with your highlight shade… hey presto! – with no need to open a whole slew of paint pots. You will have to go back over these spots with clear gloss varnish though before matting.

I use bright colors to start with, too bright and the dip tones it down. If too much, then highlight.

Yup. Dipping darkens. Use brighter paint or highlight key colors again. Like others said. Looks good for getting troops on the table. Won't win painting contests. Depends on what you want and how long you want to spend on it.