Drybrushing problem?

daamn, im such a noob lol. Alright, I'll do the rolling technique instead of shaking it to mix up the paints. Thanks

For reference, I've never done anything like use ball bearings or transfer paints or anything extra like that, and I haven't had problems. I just shake and use paints straight out of the bottle, or grab a little to put on a palette for mixing/thinning.

Don't sweat it so much.

Oh damn, in that case am I screwed lol? I have about 40 paints like that, should I just squirt some paint out and then mix it on the canvas?

It's fine, you'll find what works for you eventually. Shake the bottles and just squeeze out what you need.

People say don't put the metal ball in acrylic paints because the water content will eventually make the balls rust. If that ever happens, just take the ball out and hope the paint isn't full of rust flakes. I've never seen it happen, but that's what I read.

It's not just that, shaking with a metal ball in it causes the paint to oxidize, which can change the composition of the color or cause the paint to dry out in the jar. Those aren't really giant "NEVER, EVER, EVER DO IT"-type things, though. Your paint's not ruined, just has a shorter shelf life than before.

One thing you can do with Vallejo-type bottles to mix them in the bottle with a lower risk of oxidation, whether there's a metal bead in there or not, is roll the bottle between your hands instead of shaking it. I am not even kidding, this is what I was professionally trained to do to prolong the life of my cosmetic paints. Most of which are lacquers or enamels, not acrylics, but still.

Im shaking the paint bottle. I transferred the paint to vallejo bottles, put a metal ball inside, and shake it.

Yeah, I wouldn't do that. I'd leave it in the Citadel jars and stir it with the back of the brush. From there, when I do this, I tap the brush handle onto a $1 paint palette from Walmart to get a few drops of paint onto it, add my thinner there, and then stir with the brush handle again.

Oh wow that looks great! I just got a few new brushes for basecoating, and drybrushing, they should be coming in the mail soon. I think my issue was a combination of tearing the paint before it dries, and the crappy dollar store brushes.

I just have one last thing to ask, is the surface supposed to be super smooth? Like with no brush strokes or anything when it dries? Or is it normal to have a bit of brush stroke showing?

It should be smooth, if there's a texture then you're using too much paint, or tearing up the paint before it dries.

Drybrushing is used to accentuate highspots, add "scrapes" to metal, etc. This is more like "dusting" on paint, you use very little paint and apply it kinda like you're dusting furniture.

In this case though, normal drybrushing would take forever, so I paint large plain areas normally then drybrush the detailed areas like the ribs, abs, anywhere where there's separated muscles, etc.

This is just a dark flesh base with some lighter flesh brushed on top. If you wanted to get crazy, you could lightly drybrush/dust another lighter shade on some high spots, just to create more contrast/depth.

I just realized how dumb it was to talk about this issue without posting a picture, here is what body looks like with all the mini bumps and pimple like things, my dollar store falling apart drybrush brush, and my citadel paints that I transferred over using liquitex flo-aid. http://www.imgur.com/a/jJCtZ , http://www.imgur.com/a/RgVg4 , http://www.imgur.com/a/q1v3D. I saw the video, and I was followed what he was doing, and this was the product, this one I did about 10 minutes ago. Thanks for all the comments btw guys, appreciate it.

Yeah, I don't know how it would get that bad. Remember not to go over the same area a million times. Swipe a few times and move on to give the paint there a chance to dry. If you keep drybrushing over the same area before it dries you'll tear it up.

Yeah, you're going to have to take that off with rubbing alcohol and start over. Out of curiosity, how are you mixing your paint? Are you shaking it or stirring it? With older paints that have sat on the shelf for a while, shaking it can get bubbles in that'll create thinner/balder patches in your app, and then when you try to go over it again to cover that, the friction can pull up the edges, creating scales.

I use the vallejo thinner medium to get it to a nice milk like consistency.

Might be helpful to point out, "milk like" is meant for washes or glazes, not drybrushing or normal painting.

Surprised I didn't see this vid sooner since I use mostly P3 paints https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3yV_OTLurc

Excellent view of what youre trying to accomplish with drybrushing. Since youre covering a large area, you can probably afford to be heavy handed like that guy. For small detail work I use way less paint and a smaller brush.

When I press the link, it says the video is unavailable unfortunately

Weird. Search for "drybrush p3" on youtube.

Oops, sorry for the late comment, I also appreciate all the help. Im trying to paint a torso with regular skin tone color. I first used a darker skin tone, which turned out fine, then I tried to drybrush a lighter skin tone on top of the dried darker skin tone to get a shaded effect. Thats when the issue happens, the drybrushed parts look brushstrokey, but I want it to look smooth. One example is when I try and drybrush a lighter color on the chest muscles, and it turned out pretty bad lol. I also use citadel paints.

Citadel paints are very nice, but they are kind of on the thick side. Have you tried thinning them down a bit with water or Lahmian medium? Thicker paint = thicker coat, which is going to pick up and show more brushstrokes.

I've found drybrushing to be better for highlights to pull out details of the sculpt, like on hair, or for texture effects, like trying to make realistic-looking leather or jeans. Were you trying to do something like that, or for an all-over coat?

Edit: Also, if the paint's pulling the bristles out of the brush, I'd say it's probably 50% crappy brush and 50% way too thick paint.

I love and hate painting! Brushes fall apart if they're crappy or they sit in water or alcohol too long. It could also be the paint your using leaving the lines, always use acrylic model paint. The cheap stuff seems to be pretty thick and the testors and Vallejo is runnier. Honestly the best thing you can do is some practice runs like the doctor prescribed

If your brush is falling apart...yeah, get a different brush lol.

Drybrushing is prone to having the paint dry on the brush and clump up. Before the paint dries on the brush, rinse it, dry it on a lint-free napkin, then keep going.

It's hard to explain, you have to keep practicing until you get a feel for what's going on, so you can adjust your technique.