"White Over Black Undercoat" Topic

A simple how-to-guide for my method of white over black undercoat.

I produced this for a less experienced (painting) friend but maybe some others will find it useful.

link

A very good tutorial, thanks.

It is hard to tell from the photos precisely but it appears that the many layers of this method covers some of the detail (e.g. the sword knot) of the figure. Is this the case?

It is a tutorial designed for less experienced painters and I hope that many will find it useful.

I can see the sword knot quite clearly in the last picture, I painted it gold-ish to go with the sabre handle. I'm not sure what colour it should be for US cavalry of this period.

The pictures will 'embiggen' if you click on them.

Thanks, Jim. Well done tutorial. Like you, I mix techniques to find the best effect that complements the miniature. White drybrush over black is fast.

Inks are also a great option. Washing ink colours over the acrylic white paint can produce almost magical results, particularly on horses.

Thanks Jim. I do white over black, but then use acrylics as they are in the bottle (if not thinned) and after seeing your results, I will start thinking the paint to more of a wash. Cheers.

I enjoyed the tutorial. I had despaired of black undercoat in favor of white in recent years, as I could no longer see the detail without standing directly under a lamp.

Your method appears to combine the best of both undercoats -- black & white.

I like this idea. It's been around a while but I do like that you chose to illustrate it.

I did the tutorial to illustrate the technique to a less experienced chum.

Thanks Jim. In recent years I have experienced the same problem that dBerczerk has encountered. I have been painting miniatures for 36 years and I always considered myself fairly experienced. However, your technique has taught me that there is always something that I can learn. The technique seems so simple now. I don't know how I missed it. Thank you for sharing this with us. I will certainly employ this technique in the near future.

Thank you again,

Kevin

Zenithal priming: Instead of a white drybrush, I'll do an overhead spray. Scroll way down. : link

If I ever get around to it, I'll also try greyscaling with black and white primer on a "personality" miniature…