Painting Bases

A drybrush, as well as a few paints are required for this step of painting your models. Painting terrain (as well as the model itself) is done in layers. This layering is done by starting with the darkest color, and then moving up until using the lightest color. Using my my stealthsuits as an example:

I want my bases to look like an arid, rocky landscape, so I started with a dark brown for the rocks, and a dark green for the grass. If I had wanted my grass to be dead however, I would have likely started with brown for it as well.

I then moved up to a dark yellow foundation paint for the rocks, and lightened the grass a little with a brighter green.

Then finally I lightly added a khaki color over the rocks to brighten them, and added just a touch of yellow to the top of grass to make it look slightly dead. It is a desert after all!

When using your dry brush, it is important to dip your brush in your paint, and then brush out the majority of the paint onto a paper towel until the amount you want is achieved. This may sound silly, but when working up to a brighter color with a drybrush, we want some of the previous layer to show, so one should use less paint with each layer, lest you lose the layer before it. The harder you press with the brush, and the more paint you leave in it, the thicker the coat. It takes a bit of practice to achieve the thickness of paint you want, but once you master drybrushing, you will find that it is quite easy and useful to use in many situations.