Recipe: 1 part Art Ink of your preferred shade (black for Nuln, brown for Agrax etc) 2 parts of Matt Medium 8 parts of Water (soft water or distilled) squirt of dish washing soap OR flow improver Mix well and mix again.
I've been making Les' Wash Recipe ever since he posted it years ago, and it works wonders. Glad you're keeping up on getting out the word that we can do this so much cheaper!!! New viewer, keep up the good work. **subscribed**
Good recipe, have made similar mixes before. I find that compared to ready-made washes, the home-made stuff performs pretty similarly. Got some inks and mixed up several large dropper bottles to make different shades. Painting on easy mode and dirt cheap too 👍
I tried flown improver in the past. As it's only there to break surface tension, not for any kind of thinning, I found the dish soap worked better. Of course, always do what works best for you. If flow improver gives you better results, then go for it!
I use liquitex flow aid with a ratio of 1 part flow aid to 20 parts water. I make a large batch of it for rinse water etc. Water is distilled don't trust tap water in general for painting due to chemicals added or hardness of it.
I find that homemade shades have the "tea" staining issues often but like you said in the video great for scenery but could be an issue for models. I can't think tea staining be an issue for a channel that is drunk on tea.
Tea staining is just a part of life for me! The staining is why I mostly only use homemade shades for scenery, it either adds some texture, or a quick drybrush and it's hidden well enough.
I find homemade washes are a must for terrain or washing large surfaces, but for minis GW's product is the best (or used to be, the jury is still out on the new formula).
I don't mind the new formula for the shade paints on minis. It stains the surface less than the old ones, which is great for shading, but I did have a find a new way to darken down base layers (but it was a good reason to up my glazing game). Yeah, for scenery, homemade washes are a must, it saves a small fortune!
Matt Medium does a couple of things. Inks can be quite glossy in their finish, so the medium helps to stop your paint job from looking too shiny. It also helps to bind everything together, I've found that without the medium, the ink and water can separate quite quickly. Also, yeah, it helps "thicken" the mix. It binds everything together and stops it from being just black water. Without the medium, when you apply it, the shade will just flow off the model and leave a mess on the table. It's the medium that helps the shade to "pull" into the recesses.
If you use a very glossy ink then possibly, but in my experience, the matt medium dulls down the shine a lot. I find homemade washes are a lot more matt compared to GW washes.
Generally, the matt medium stops a lot of that shine that you can get from the GW shades. If there is a bit of shine, some matt varnish after painting will get rid of it
Are you going to do a black Templar series? That would be amazing even with more than 5 colours. 🙏 ordered my first black templar unit can't wait to get into it
The weights of most water-type liquids are very close to each other, I suspect if you used an equal measure by weight instead of volume, you could simplify the process, as you wouldn't need the shot glass. Just 1 deci-gram (or whatever the hell the rest of the world uses) of ink, 2 of medium, 8 of water, etc...)
The ink and water you could do by weight easy enough. The medium is a lot thicker, and I would guess "weighs" heavier. Maybe I'll experiment and see if it still works by weight, but I've found that measuring by volume is easy enough, and it scales up or down depending on what size object you use to measure really easily without having to do any maths!
$8 you can use on literally anything else is worth the trouble. In the long run, this saves you much more than that. Flow aid makes it even better than it is in this video, too.
Recipe:
1 part Art Ink of your preferred shade (black for Nuln, brown for Agrax etc)
2 parts of Matt Medium
8 parts of Water (soft water or distilled)
squirt of dish washing soap OR flow improver
Mix well and mix again.
I've been making Les' Wash Recipe ever since he posted it years ago, and it works wonders. Glad you're keeping up on getting out the word that we can do this so much cheaper!!!
New viewer, keep up the good work. **subscribed**
Great work 😊😊
Thank you!
Good recipe, have made similar mixes before. I find that compared to ready-made washes, the home-made stuff performs pretty similarly. Got some inks and mixed up several large dropper bottles to make different shades. Painting on easy mode and dirt cheap too 👍
Nice recipe. But you might want to want to use flow improver instead of the dish soap.
I tried flown improver in the past. As it's only there to break surface tension, not for any kind of thinning, I found the dish soap worked better. Of course, always do what works best for you. If flow improver gives you better results, then go for it!
You can replace part of the water with the flow improver for improved surface tension removal. ;)
I use liquitex flow aid with a ratio of 1 part flow aid to 20 parts water. I make a large batch of it for rinse water etc. Water is distilled don't trust tap water in general for painting due to chemicals added or hardness of it.
First time viewer. Great video, also now a subscriber. If you don’t mind me saying, you sound very similar to Andy Sirkis.
Hmm i got more Josh Widdicombe than Andy Sirkis
Thank you! I've never been compared to Andy Serkis before..... but I'll take it! As long as it's isn't Andy Serkis in fill blown Gollum voice.
I do live in the same part of the country that Josh Widdecombe is from.....
I find that homemade shades have the "tea" staining issues often but like you said in the video great for scenery but could be an issue for models. I can't think tea staining be an issue for a channel that is drunk on tea.
Tea staining is just a part of life for me! The staining is why I mostly only use homemade shades for scenery, it either adds some texture, or a quick drybrush and it's hidden well enough.
Homemade Nuln oil for family gathering event
All social events can be improved with some Nuln Oil!
Ive been down this rabit hole myself and i find dishwasher rinse aid works a bit better than dish soap
I find homemade washes are a must for terrain or washing large surfaces, but for minis GW's product is the best (or used to be, the jury is still out on the new formula).
I don't mind the new formula for the shade paints on minis. It stains the surface less than the old ones, which is great for shading, but I did have a find a new way to darken down base layers (but it was a good reason to up my glazing game).
Yeah, for scenery, homemade washes are a must, it saves a small fortune!
Thank you, Why do we need the Matt Medium? thickness?
Matt Medium does a couple of things. Inks can be quite glossy in their finish, so the medium helps to stop your paint job from looking too shiny.
It also helps to bind everything together, I've found that without the medium, the ink and water can separate quite quickly.
Also, yeah, it helps "thicken" the mix. It binds everything together and stops it from being just black water. Without the medium, when you apply it, the shade will just flow off the model and leave a mess on the table. It's the medium that helps the shade to "pull" into the recesses.
@DrunkOnTeaUK Understood, thank you for your time, sharing, and education.
Any time!
Fascinating stuff, but does the DIY stuff give you that wierd oily finish like Nuln Oil?
If you use a very glossy ink then possibly, but in my experience, the matt medium dulls down the shine a lot. I find homemade washes are a lot more matt compared to GW washes.
Generally, the matt medium stops a lot of that shine that you can get from the GW shades. If there is a bit of shine, some matt varnish after painting will get rid of it
Can i replace the matt medium with gloss medium instead?
Yeah, it will just give a shiny gloss look at the end, but if that's the look you want, just swap the matt for gloss medium
Are you going to do a black Templar series? That would be amazing even with more than 5 colours. 🙏 ordered my first black templar unit can't wait to get into it
The weights of most water-type liquids are very close to each other, I suspect if you used an equal measure by weight instead of volume, you could simplify the process, as you wouldn't need the shot glass. Just 1 deci-gram (or whatever the hell the rest of the world uses) of ink, 2 of medium, 8 of water, etc...)
The ink and water you could do by weight easy enough. The medium is a lot thicker, and I would guess "weighs" heavier. Maybe I'll experiment and see if it still works by weight, but I've found that measuring by volume is easy enough, and it scales up or down depending on what size object you use to measure really easily without having to do any maths!
Looks like it behaves more like black templar contrast than null oil
Its not expensive, this is crazy!
Better than paying GW.
$8 you can use on literally anything else is worth the trouble. In the long run, this saves you much more than that. Flow aid makes it even better than it is in this video, too.