Hey everyone, I just bought my first kit in several years after taking a long break I thought might be permanent. Now I’m back and will be switching to golden fluid acrylics, I used to use GHSP but it being discontinued was the push I needed to try something new.
I did some practice on a test belly plate and the one thing I couldn’t figure out was how much to thin the paints for layers like mottling and stuff. I know I shouldn’t thin them too much, but how much too much and how much is just enough?
Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated as I anxiously wait for my kit! I’m so excited to finally be back to painting.
Exact amounts are kind of hard to say and depends on what look you’re after. I use Liquitex, but they’re similar. For skin tones, I mix in enough water, and a very small amount of Liquitex Ultra Matte Gel, to be able to see color, but see through it, when I brush it on a clear plastic bottle. I don’t use flow medium. Mottling I do darker because that’s what I do first and it lightens with all the subsequent layers. Practice on the flanges to test the colors.
I use Golden fluid acrylic paints as one of the air dry paints I use. I will try to help as much as I can. One thing about Golden fluid is they are very pigmented so a little can go a long way. I usually use them for washes. I use a drop of paint to about 2-3 drops flow medium and a few drops of water.(I think Golden’s version is called high flow medium or air brush medium. I use Jo Sonja’s. Sometimes the golden brand can have a little bit more tack.)
With washes, you want the bottom of the dish/pallette to run clear. Very watery.
For mottling, I am still kind of struggling. I think you want it be a little bit thicker than a wash. @anjsmiles would probably be able to help you more than I can. She’s pretty knowledgeable about air dry paints!
That’s incredibly useful! Thank you, I do like it quite a bit more than I thought from my quick practice on this old belly plate I have. Looking forward to painting again after a few years.
Here’s an answer from Angie Jones I saw in her group on FB that I am in:
The usual recommendations I found online is not to add more than 30% distilled water to your paint ratio and then to thin further with a medium such as fluid matte medium, Matte gel or flow medium or glazing medium. I find the Jo Sonjas regular glazing medium to be the most fluid and least shiny/tacky of the latter 2 listed. For the most matte mix, Liquitex ULTRA matte gel is by far the most matte and it is very thick so you can usually get away with adding a bit more distilled water to it and the mix will still hold color well. Mediums will make your paint color mix look more milky in the pallet but they will still dry very translucent and true to color.
Here’s her group: it’s called The Reborn Connection for Reborn Doll Painting with mixed media:
Lots of uses for Liquitex Matt Gel. I use it to seal the hair after rooting. I remains flexible when it is dry so it doesn’t crumble over time the ModPodge will.
No worries! I got it and have been able to play around with the paints more comfortably now. Still a massive learning curve but making progress with them!
