Liners...how do people here like to use them?

[Gareson]

Just curious as to the various ways that painters in these forums like to employ the various "liners" in the RMS series. How do you all typically use them?

[Ferox]

I like to use them as the darkest elements of my shading blends, especially on demi-metallics. Liners are transparent enough that they seem to go pretty well over related shades -- I wouldn't shade green liner over red unless I was in a hurry and wanted something really flat dark, but red to brown to green liner or red to purple to blue liner are just fine. I also mix a chromatic black from equal parts blue and brown liner.

[Marsya]

I use brown liner the most. Every mini I paint I use it for some darklining, also my eyes start with brown liner as the base. I use brown and grey liner for hard to reach areas where I can't quite reach the brush in easily. Also once in awhile I use them as a wash of course watered down.

[Inarah]

I like the brown liner as a substitute for black paint. I seldom use it to line anything. It just makes a good dark basecoat.

[Kormydigar]

Blue liner serves as the basecoat for steel based metallics. Thinned and added to matte medium it also serves as a glaze to tone down the effect of lighter steel. (RPP Blue Black was my workhorse for this but supply is running out and new pots are now an endangered species.)

 

Grey liner is thinned down to a very weak wash and slathered over an entire white primed mini sometimes to make the tiny details pop out. I make sure it isn't strong enough to leave much tint on most surfaces.

 

Brown liner is used to shade almost everything, either by itself or mixed with another base color.

[MamaGeek]

I'm curious, too. I know Derek Schubert uses them for lining eyes. I've never bought a bottle, so I haven't tried it. I do own brown ink, but only use it mixed with red paint for blood.

[dks]

Brown Liner is my "black" (as it is for @Inarah). It's smooth and dark, but not as stark as pure black. I use it for almost every bit of lining, including eyes (like @Marsya does and like @MamaGeek said I do). When you see the "black" edges of my bases, that's Brown Liner. The female anti-paladin that I painted (linked here) has "black" armor that's really Brown Liner. My monochrome Dicarus Darksword (linked here) goes from Brown Liner to Linen White.

 

I occasionally use Blue Liner or Green Liner or Red Liner to get a near-black for those colors, but generally I prefer to have all of my shadows go to the same "black" (Brown Liner).

 

(Similarly, I prefer to take all highlights up to the same "white" -- usually Linen White, with just a few sparkles of Pure White for bright reflections.)

 

Derek

[Mercius]

Interesting Derek....so say you are working with a leather brown, you would shade it down with brown liner and highlight up adding linen white?

[Gareson]

I appreciate everyone's suggestions here in response to my post...thanks for all the ideas and I welcome more. Also, I am thinking of using liners as washes(as someone suggested in this thread)...in the past I've used inks for this successfully but in the Dark Sword DVD Anne and Jen suggest that inks will tear up your brushes.

[Ferox]

Also, I am thinking of using liners as washes(as someone suggested in this thread)...in the past I've used inks for this successfully but in the Dark Sword DVD Anne and Jen suggest that inks will tear up your brushes.

Liners seem to be a bit thinner and more transparent than standard RMS paints, so they work well as washes. They won't add rich colour as well as inks, but you can get RMS Clears for that. I'm surprised to hear that inks are hard on brushes; what's the mechanism behind that?

[Shortbeard]

Liners seem to be a bit thinner and more transparent than standard RMS paints, so they work well as washes. They won't add rich colour as well as inks, but you can get RMS Clears for that. I'm surprised to hear that inks are hard on brushes; what's the mechanism behind that?

My guess is because the inks are more “liquid” they wick into the ferrule and congeal into brush destroying gunk. Or at least that has been my experience. Even W & N brush restorer seems to have trouble extracting ink.

 

I don’t understand that though as most inks I’ve used will reactivate if you get them wet so I could be way off base but that’s my thoughts on the ink destroys brushes bit.