Speedpaints/contrast paints don’t like flat surfaces. You can thin it out a little to help, and also work on small sections at a time (arms, legs, torso).
Work the paint around into the crevasses and wick it off flat surfaces before it starts to set.
Worth noting that to thin it you need the contrast medium (at least with contrast I’m less familiar with speed paints) if you use water all the pigment drops out.
https://preview.redd.it/ukvobajx9ijc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fba278e19e51fb9b1d33e03a030a285d346598f0
That's pretty much what mine look like. The one in the right is traditional acrylics. Repainted all 50 with the speedpaints.
I just kinda run with that effect for the most part. Its pretty normal. However it can be minimized be not letting the paint pool up too thick on larger flat surfaces. As your painting keep an eye on the larger surfaces, if you see it starting to pool just soak up the extra with your brush.
Don't try and cover the whole mini in one go, work in sections, from top to bottom. Use the brush to move the paint around when you see it pooling places you don't want it to.
It also helps if you give a light dry brush with white all over. I say light because it is common for new painters to put too much paint on the brush. Just a FYI, speed paints can and do reactivate, so if you hit it with a damp brush early enough, you can remove some of this. Also, use the side of the brush to apply speed paints to flat areas.
There is also a glaze medium from Vallejo that can act as a retarder and slow the drying of the paint. This can allow you to paint it into areas or remove it from others.
With one thinned coat, yes. You might have had to much on the brush and got some pooling.
You can hit it again too even out it a bit. Thinning it with the speed paint medium helps a bit for multi layers too.
I use a big brush for the first coat, that helps.
You can also add a tiny bit (like 1 drop) of matte primer to thicken and even it out.
But I lean into the blotching sometimes for effect.
This guy has a combination of slightly thinned speed paint and then some added matte primer for touches..
https://preview.redd.it/9grbs9200ljc1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=96aad984c60b260abbf1f2bce4651ac41840dc37
In addition to thinning it, I make sure my brush isn't overloaded with paint. Doing light layers and only letting the paint pool in recesses has worked out for me. I love speed paints but you gotta be careful since they can easily be more messy
To an extend, yes, this is unavoidable. It's very hard to make these paints dry evenly. There are however a number of ways to reduce it.
First off, find natural separation points on the model (such as where the legs connect to the torso) and paint the model one section at a time. So, don't get any paint on the torso or left leg until you're satisfied with the right leg, etc.
Secondly, I've had great success with deliberately slobbering too much paint on, then subtracting the excess with your brush, rather than trying to slowly add up to the correct amount of paint. When you start by putting the paint on too thin, the paint starts drying at the edges before you can cover everything evenly. With too much paint, the paint directly touching the model only gets exposed to the air once you start draining the excess, so it's easier to get it to dry evenly. This method definitely wastes more paint, though.
Another great way to reduce the visible unevenness of the paint is to give the model more definition before starting. Rather than priming in white, try priming in grey and giving the model a white dry brush before painting it. The highlights "bleed" through the paint and give the finished piece a more deliberate look, making *unintentional* variation in color less noticeable by emphasizing the *intentional* color variation. Note however, this technique makes some of the brighter colors look pretty terrible, try the effect on some throwaway object first (like a small coin) if in doubt.
I really love speedpaints for certain things, models with lots of detail are amazing with it. Mechs? I've had so so luck painting them with speed paint, i usually end up just just using opaque paints.
Use a little use a little flow improver or contrast medium—not a ton, just a little—and I think you’ll get the effect you’re going for. In all fairness though, the mechs do look good and we’re all apt to be hypercritical of our own work.
Aside from what other posters have mentioned, I usually often drybrush over speedpainted surfaces and use some weathering palettes, maybe do edge highlighting and even light washing depending on colours. This goes a long way to hiding the patchy glaze nature of speedpaint/contrasts by blending the colours better or emphasising what the speedpaint's done to distinguish light and dark. A lot of people will still use old school techniques even if using speedpaint, the two don't need to be mutually exclusive.
Speedpaints/contrast paints don’t like flat surfaces. You can thin it out a little to help, and also work on small sections at a time (arms, legs, torso). Work the paint around into the crevasses and wick it off flat surfaces before it starts to set.
Worth noting that to thin it you need the contrast medium (at least with contrast I’m less familiar with speed paints) if you use water all the pigment drops out.
Speedpaint also has bottles of medium available
https://preview.redd.it/ukvobajx9ijc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fba278e19e51fb9b1d33e03a030a285d346598f0 That's pretty much what mine look like. The one in the right is traditional acrylics. Repainted all 50 with the speedpaints.
I just kinda run with that effect for the most part. Its pretty normal. However it can be minimized be not letting the paint pool up too thick on larger flat surfaces. As your painting keep an eye on the larger surfaces, if you see it starting to pool just soak up the extra with your brush.
Don't try and cover the whole mini in one go, work in sections, from top to bottom. Use the brush to move the paint around when you see it pooling places you don't want it to.
Pretty normal, it's like free camo effects lol
If you have one, running speed paints through an airbrush works well to get better smoothness.
It also helps if you give a light dry brush with white all over. I say light because it is common for new painters to put too much paint on the brush. Just a FYI, speed paints can and do reactivate, so if you hit it with a damp brush early enough, you can remove some of this. Also, use the side of the brush to apply speed paints to flat areas. There is also a glaze medium from Vallejo that can act as a retarder and slow the drying of the paint. This can allow you to paint it into areas or remove it from others.
Speed paints are the best! They have upped my painting game immensely.
Yep, totally normal, as mentioned push the paint around a bit more before it starts to set.
Honestly, I think it looks good. Makes it look more natural.
With one thinned coat, yes. You might have had to much on the brush and got some pooling. You can hit it again too even out it a bit. Thinning it with the speed paint medium helps a bit for multi layers too. I use a big brush for the first coat, that helps. You can also add a tiny bit (like 1 drop) of matte primer to thicken and even it out. But I lean into the blotching sometimes for effect. This guy has a combination of slightly thinned speed paint and then some added matte primer for touches.. https://preview.redd.it/9grbs9200ljc1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=96aad984c60b260abbf1f2bce4651ac41840dc37
In addition to thinning it, I make sure my brush isn't overloaded with paint. Doing light layers and only letting the paint pool in recesses has worked out for me. I love speed paints but you gotta be careful since they can easily be more messy
To an extend, yes, this is unavoidable. It's very hard to make these paints dry evenly. There are however a number of ways to reduce it. First off, find natural separation points on the model (such as where the legs connect to the torso) and paint the model one section at a time. So, don't get any paint on the torso or left leg until you're satisfied with the right leg, etc. Secondly, I've had great success with deliberately slobbering too much paint on, then subtracting the excess with your brush, rather than trying to slowly add up to the correct amount of paint. When you start by putting the paint on too thin, the paint starts drying at the edges before you can cover everything evenly. With too much paint, the paint directly touching the model only gets exposed to the air once you start draining the excess, so it's easier to get it to dry evenly. This method definitely wastes more paint, though. Another great way to reduce the visible unevenness of the paint is to give the model more definition before starting. Rather than priming in white, try priming in grey and giving the model a white dry brush before painting it. The highlights "bleed" through the paint and give the finished piece a more deliberate look, making *unintentional* variation in color less noticeable by emphasizing the *intentional* color variation. Note however, this technique makes some of the brighter colors look pretty terrible, try the effect on some throwaway object first (like a small coin) if in doubt.
I always add a drop or two of water to my speed paints before applying. Helps immensely with getting smooth coverage.
I really love speedpaints for certain things, models with lots of detail are amazing with it. Mechs? I've had so so luck painting them with speed paint, i usually end up just just using opaque paints.
Use a little use a little flow improver or contrast medium—not a ton, just a little—and I think you’ll get the effect you’re going for. In all fairness though, the mechs do look good and we’re all apt to be hypercritical of our own work.
Aside from what other posters have mentioned, I usually often drybrush over speedpainted surfaces and use some weathering palettes, maybe do edge highlighting and even light washing depending on colours. This goes a long way to hiding the patchy glaze nature of speedpaint/contrasts by blending the colours better or emphasising what the speedpaint's done to distinguish light and dark. A lot of people will still use old school techniques even if using speedpaint, the two don't need to be mutually exclusive.