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How to Drybrush

A simple but effective way to add highlights to your models


Drybrushing is one of the quickest and most effective ways to add highlights to your model, however it is also incredibly easy to make a drybrushed model look... well... drybrushed. The following guide will help you understand the principles of drybrushing and how to effectively apply it to your models.

The basic idea behind drybrushing is to apply a very small amount of paint to your brush that is of a lighter colour than the basecoat and then to drag the brush across the texture of the model which will leave paint only on the raised surfaces of the model, effectively and quickly highlighting your model.

It is a great technique for beginners as its easy to apply, however it is also useful for experienced painters in certain circumstances; its a case of understanding the colour and texture of the model.

Drybrushing is normally best applied after you have basecoated the miniature and applied a wash to the crevices - this means you will already have the base colour and shade colour applied to the model which is then ready for highlighting.

It's important to only run the brush in one direction - it really does assist in creating a more believable highlight - you can use a different direction on a different section of the model.

To summarise - load the brush up with paint, remove nearly all of the paint on a paper towel and then lightly brush across the raised texture on the model in one direction. Its really that easy :) Have a go and send your results in to colour of war!

Drybrushing is hard on your brushes so don't forget to use some brush soap - typically with drybrushes I keep some of the soap lather on the brush to allow it to dry in the right shape (you will notice drybrushes end up with loose hairs all over the place as you beat them up against the texture on models!

 

 

 

 

 

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