Painter’s Corner Priming and Overspraying 101
by Zane Solo
Every step
of the painting process is vital to the project. As basic as the priming and
over spraying seems, you can do a lot of really cool tricks that will help you
in the long run on your model. When you
first get a miniature in you need to take a moment and figure out what colors
will look the best in the end and what will help you achieve your vision.
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| The end result of a prime with overspray—a model that has preliminary shading. |
By starting with a black primer you will have
a nice dark shadow throughout the painting process. We will add additional shadow later but this
gives you a starting point and saves you time in the long run.
Lay your models down on a flat surface that you will be able to move, like a piece of cardboard. Hold the primer can at a 45 degree angle and spray the models evenly from one side.
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| Lay your models flat as this as this helps get underneath. |
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| Side to side with firm strokes. Get those underside crevices really good. |
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| Then prime the upper side black. |
Once the primer has dried, sand spray again. You will want to repeat this
process with the models standing up. Now
you will want to choose an over spray.
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| The model gets an ivory spray which makes the subsequent layer lighter. |
The models
that we have used as our example are Orcs, so we decided that a red overspray
would work best. Further down the
process it will help with the rusty or corroded look we are going for on their
armor. If we had chosen to go with a
more clean cut shining metal look, a blue or light gray primer would be
preferable. Using the same technique as
the black primer, over spray your models with the color you have chosen.
Make sure that the black primer is still
visible especially through the cracks and crevices of your models. This creates
a very nice contrast and undertone to your paint job. Priming and over spraying
are a small part of the painting process, but if done correctly can really take
your models to the next level.