What are Inks For?!

[@Miniac]

One thing I failed to talk about is what brands of inks I like to use. I'm a big fan of Dahler and Rowney's FW inks. You can find them here: geni.us/k6irT1O A must-have ink for me would be their white ink, which you can also find here: geni.us/WXMd

[@frozenbean]

Have you ever tried the Daler Rowney pearlescent inks on a mini? I've always been curious how that would turn out, like when painting metallic surfaces.

[@ErikFrankhouse]

Miniac been using inks back when I did photorealistic airbrushing at Prior Studios. I love them for minis and great tip on metallics. Side note did you ever produce you custom cutting mat? I need a new one and love the logo.

[@harkejuice]

Sorry I feel I need to point out, ACRYLIC inks are just acrylic paint with super-mega fine pigment sizes. For example, in Liquitex Professional they are NOT dyes and are lightfast and vary in opacity. Liquitex Professional is also very intense and have a great color range which I use in place of washes or Army Painter tones. Give them a try in your airbrush! Dahler and Rowley + Bombay are more or less the same. Look for ACRYLIC if you're looking to use them as a normal wash, regular inks will tend to be more of a glaze than act like a paint. Only Acrylic inks are interchangable (technique wise) with GW / Army Painter stuff. Love your vids! Sorry to be that guy.

[@drifter427]

Saw you mention dry pigments do you have any videos using dry pigment?

[@Miniac]

@@drifter427 yes, many

[@scotty4899]

Literally standing in the paint isle at Michael's watching this video's So informative!! Thank you!!

[@haileystoker9575]

Lmao! Yo same! 😂 No shame

[@shayneunger1457]

Just did the exact same thing 🤣

[@Dan_Murphy]

Haha I literally just went to Michaels to buy some red metallic paint and walked out with some ink to airbrush over the metallic silver spray paint I already have. Hopefully it works out.

[@jilliancrawford7577]

Ngl this is a factor in how I measure a tutorial: can I get the basic info I need to make a choice in the store? I can worry about the nuanced details later; I need to know enough to make a choice of what to buy with what little wifi service I have lol.

[@electricboogie8920]

AYE ME TO 😂

[@changer_of_ways_999]

You can paint anything pretty simply with a black primer, a white sketch, and a good application of inks with some detail touch ups at the end. It's a really simple process. It's basically applying hue, saturation, and value. Value (dark to light) with the black and then white blending. Hue with mixing yellow, magenta, and cyan ink and then saturation by how many layers of ink you apply.

[@rat6302]

4 years later still teaching. I appreciate your insight.

[@Nosferatuklown]

Glow effects are amazing with inks, start with a white or metallic and build up the color vibrancy with inks going darker to the edges (more passes or layers to build up opacity) and lesser towards the center or light source, IMO it cannot be beaten.

[@jonesey1981]

No bullshit I learned more about inks and painting in general from this video than anything you've ever done except maybe Zenithal highlighting. IMPRESSIVE content, even more so than your usual awesomeness. Jesus Christ man, I think i'm peaking, lol. Thank you, I will be highlighting with ink from now on. The speckling with the airbrush really bothered me and you've given me a solution.

[@lostnfound4125]

I agree that this is top shelf content! One thing he didn't mention is that ink can be pulled off during painting, and I have been told by more than one person that they varnish before painting over zenithal inks. Maybe Scott can weigh in on this point.

[@PwnManpower]

@@lostnfound4125 ive just started using inks and havnt experience that, but i wasnt aware of that, so i will also try and look if it peels off during painting, but hopefully Scott can talk about this, since this video was a great guide for using Inks.

[@lostnfound4125]

@@PwnManpower It could be a factor of the quality of inks, as I dont really know the differences between the brands.

[@Abraxis2012]

this 100%

[@andrewstambaugh8030]

If you want an anodized look, use a light metal color, then put ink on top of it (rather than mixing). It comes out much cooler looking than a lightly colored metal and you can see the depth of reflection.

[@Lucassrizzo]

Love the scientific approach with test strips and fancy words like 'viscosity'. Super helpful for those of us preparing to dive in. :)

[@novaenforcer1563]

Love using them for clear plaatic really brings out the magic energy taking form for magix powers or elementals for plastic minis

[@LindyDesignLab]

Before video: I know nothing about inks. After video: Inkspert.

[@AcornFox]

New 40k races: Miniacs and Inksperts

[@zakhoskins6404]

8:24 "Do you guys have ways of using ink that I haven't mentioned here?" Are you wondering if we have anything INKteresting to add to the conversation?

[@fredrikrydberg473]

INKlude your example in your comment now everyone, please!

[@zakhoskins6404]

All puns should be this INKtentionally bad XD

[@wolfkaulen82]

The stupidy of this inkfuriates me...

[@ThePickleJar]

Why are you INKsisting on making these terrible puns?!

[@timandshannon03]

These puns are Inkredibly painful.......You should all be ashamed.........

[@yaoguaife1741]

What's awesome about your tips is that they don't JUST apply to minis. I like listening to these because they give me ideas on how I can improve my workflow in my other painting projects, not just my minis. Thank you for taking the time to break these subjects down and making them easier to understand. I wish I had your videos as opposed to the GW "How to Paint Miniatures for Beginners" book when I got my Necron Battleforce lol

[@j453]

I have a whole set of inks because of your previous recomendations. Is there anyway you could make perhaps a short guide vid focused on useing them in washes? I know others are available I would just love your take on the proccess of mixing up homemade washes. Thanks for all the great vids!

[@zombiehunter5000]

I'm planning to use inks like how GW's contrast paint is marketed. I'll work on a really good zenithal undercoat then slop on the inks as base tone while allowing the highlights beneath to show and "cheat" the gradient effect.

[@coreymorse1347]

Acrylic ink, some matte medium, and flow aid mixed together will give you very close to the exact same thing as contrast paints.

[@Duette-1]

This is how I use Vallejo inks as my main medium. You can easily build up multiple shades for awesome quick contrast too.

[@Ayaforshort]

I accidentally discovered inks. I was drawing a picture with a brush pen that I thought was waterproof. It wasn't. When I wet the paper the ink bled. So to save the piece I just used the ink and water to add shading and highlights and I really started enjoying it. (I have tried making color portraits with acrylics, gouache, acrylic-gouache, and watercolor) only my watercolor actually came out right, but I was frustrated by all the lifting when I wanted to layer. So I loved working with just the black ink because once it dried it stayed and I could slowly build tones. I googled to find a pot of black ink so I didn't have to keep watering down the ink from my brush pen and I discovered Colored!!! Ink!!! For some reason this material just suits my approach to creating art. It's fun and since I naturally think of working light to dark and layering in undertones and base colors (like pink for blush over the cheeks or yellow undertones) I can lightly add these layers gradually WITHOUT DISTURBING THE INK ON THE PAPER. It's really fun but not super forgiving if you make a mistake. Still i love how my pictures turn out. I switched to acrylic gouache because it isn't supposed to move once it dries. But I found that even with designer grade paint. Once you add water, it isn't waterproof anymore and it will lift. The more water you add the more it lifts. So I was stuck with super opaque paint that wasn't suited to layering. More frustrating than fun. So hat is the too long tale of how I got into inkwashing and made portraits that were actually decent!

[@ZeissKrahe]

This video was legit, was always curious about inks but never cared enough to look it up! I'll have to pick some up when I know what colors I need!

[@jilliancrawford7577]

My goodness, this video answered every question I had and every question I could come up with in the future, thank you! I plan on getting some acrylic ink soon just to play around with and learn about and this has helped me to get the most out of said experiments! I'm probably gonna experiment in ways beyond what this tutorial teaches (like what happens if I mix it with corn starch or stained glass varnish), but now I can understand what the results will be when I get them! Thank you!!

[@Olvenskol]

You can make something that is effectively Contrast paint by mixing half ink, half matte medium and adding a hint of flow-improver concentrate (like undiliuted Liquitex). Works just like the GW stuff at half the cost.

[@lovemysi07]

Scott, I have been struggling with inks for a long time. I love the idea of using them, but don't understand the control. Mixing them with paint to thin the paint and increase saturation is great! Also for edge highlight is a fantastic idea. I appreciate that you did the translucent demo. I need to learn how to mix them for washes better, but I know there's others who have recipes for that. Great video! Thank you.

[@victoryspath4116]

Awesome video Scott! Super informative! I've always loved your tutorials for people like me, trying to branch out and understand the landscape of possibilities better. I like the intermediate/advanced painting techniques too, but miss some of the simpler themes, like just understanding the basics of what we're working with and why. You do a great job at explaining these. Thanks for producing this kind of content.

[@BlackMagicCraftOfficial]

A couple months ago I bought some FW white ink from the art store so I could channel my inner Goobz.......I got home excited to use it and found that it was just a brick of hard ink inside the bottle. I was sad panda.

[@Miniac]

RIP

[@Mithlinthar]

My Sylvaneth army had a quite weird colour scheme with a glowy blue leaves and runes. At some point I decided that I would prefer to have more green army. I used a thin (or two) coat of yellow ink, and BAM, my army changed totally in one evening. It was like using a photoshop filter. Useful stuff.

[@ConcealedCourier]

I first got introduced to using inkwash in art college.. no one ever mentioned them before. Been in love with them since.

[@aquamare1452]

I usually use Ink on minis when Im painting a figure that is wearing gold or chain-mail armour OR when painting FIRE texture to give it a "shine"ish

[@Xw3dn3sd4yX]

Extremely informative stuff here! Also, you've earned the award for MOST METAL OUTRO EVERRRRRR.

[@ThePickleJar]

Inks are something I've never tried in all my time in the hobby. Maybe it's time to take the plunge. I've already decided that 2020 is the year I finally get an airbrush, so maybe I'll try inks too. Great video as always dude, keep 'em coming!

[@19Josh92]

Bro its like you read my mind lol. Was searching for a decent vid of inks for a few days. Boom! You delivered. ❤❤

[@_Inferis]

Happened a few times for me to with Miniac videos, quite freaky tbh lol.

[@dannyeccles1894]

It was Rob paints minis that I first saw inks being used to mix with paints, but it's watching your channel that has led me to using white ink for my zenithle priming. And it works sooooo well.

[@zombiehunter5000]

Mixing white ink to base tones is a great tip! Been planning to buy inks in the near future, excited to add this to my repertoire

[@taylord6043]

Thanks so much for making this video Scott, jus noticed I actually by accident bought some inks and I thought I jus through away my money. But now have a solid use for them. Cheers!

[@blueg6demon371]

buddy of mine gave me a set of FW inks for my birthday last year, and i'd been struggling to use them effectively, this will help tons!

[@eldraque4556]

i was looking for a video on mixing acrylic colours, this is very handy, excellent, thank you

[@marcinstangel9277]

Why haven't I found this video earlier..... Great stuff ! Today I've learnt a new thing. Thank you !

[@shawnflanagan4006]

Thanks for the great information as always. I subscribed about a month ago and my model painting has gotten insanely better by following your videos.

[@anthonyp4209]

Great timing. Blick is having a big ink sale right now so grabbed a bunch. Looking forwards to trying them

[@danielangevine1346]

scott - thanks for the tips on the inking!

[@jiml9856]

I like to use inks on things with scales. I just did a beholder by xenothol highlighting then painting with blue ink. Turned out great

[@keshlalish5586]

probably the best video on different use of ink out there. i will definatly try the zenital highlight and metalic color one. same for highlight, not a bad idea it's also less thick

[@Yoshis_Studio]

Nice work my friend....i'd say this is a staple vid for peeps looking for inksperience.

[@giorgiolafratta832]

I was looking for this kind of video for so long. You are a mega mind reader dude. Thanks for this. You probably already know but we can also do our own contrast paints with inks, maybe not really like the GW ones, but just some heavy body washes to save us some money.

[@mindyfranke5279]

Thank you so much for this informative video! Very helpful as I'm just getting into miniature painting and am learning about the different mediums and what they are for.

[@blacktemplar5970]

Loved the podcast the other day and seeing your minis collection was very interesting too...keep it up

[@stephenboulton1114]

I’ve used inks for a while in my painting since I started airbrushing, so for around 6 years now. Adding inktensity to create shadows from my mid tone also to help blend together dark blue and light blue (for example) until I got better and didn’t need it. Like you I’ve also used white ink to ore highlight because it goes on so much better. I’ve used white pre highlight then purple ink as a main colour (sigis base) and yellow ink on sigismund. Inks are awesome.

[@solomonwalker4132]

Liquitex white ink is the most gorgeous perfect colour for tau, very strong coverage, flows so easy I swear the result is smoother than the original plastic

[@LWD-Hidden-Links]

Uncanny! Recently back after 23 years break from minis, dug out old citadel paints (some with the white flip lids!) and a few hours before this vid popped up I wondered "what are inks for?"

[@Gakusangi]

Using Inks for my metallic colors has been a major game changer for me!

[@faisalbhri]

Yaaaaaa 🤘🏻another Miniac video Perfect topic cause I just bought a set of inks

[@jacobstacey6911]

I started painting almost exclusively with inks a few months ago. The dr ph martin line from Hobby Lobby all are really thin and go on pretty clear for the most part. It's really helped me learn how to glaze and blend with glazes. There's some things the inks can't do though, and some colors are harder to control. Also, pure ink in the airbrush is wonderful over zenithal. Smooth, translucent, and can work up huge amount of color transition without much layer bulk.

[@benjamincliman2735]

Thanks so much for this video, I hadn't even heard of inks before this. I was previously using lahmian medium or Vallejo glaze medium to create my own glazes but the result were very inconsistent and frustrating. I picked up a pot today of the daler-rowney FW ink, and will never be using anything else to glaze ever again. It's the perfect consistency to use straight out of the bottle, with no mixing guesswork involved. I apply it with a filbert tip brush to get an even result. I cannot recommend this product more for glazing minis

[@_M_a_r_t_i_n_M]

I use computer printer refill ink in it's four tones as well as a purchased white ink to make basically any 'watercolor' for my regular paper paintings. And I use acrylics for the more textured parts. I have even made three different Iron Gall inks for my writing and painting. One I left some copper in along with the steel BBs... It comes out as a beautiful metallic copperish color. Another is one of the richest blacks I have ever had the pleasure to write with. And when I say black. I mean black. And the other one is one that I made using the BBs that were still mostly covered in vinegar for the black ink and left to react for a few more days before exposing to the gallic acid. It is a nice blackish grey. Great for background color in my zombie drawings/paintings as it gives a nice dark room vibe. I use the computer inks to paint things that should look a lot more flat, like paintings on the wall of a room, or parts of rotting zombies, or distant blood splatters on walls etc... But I use paint for that same thing too if it is part of the main focus of the work,.. There is a lot of use for ink in painting. And computer cartridge refill ink is a nice cheap way to learn to work an airbrush.

[@punishedfink]

I'm playing around with inks and clears to make kandi paint jobs for minitures. I'm using inktastic and I've found I have to fill my air brush pot with a varnish so that the ink is not over powering.

[@MentoliptusBanko]

I recently bought an airbrush and thought of trying inks with it...so now I know more about them and I am sad I didn't use them before. Thanks for the useful video :)

[@MrFiremagnet]

Wow. Just wow. Great video, man. Like always.

[@mattcappelli5822]

Very helpful! I just saw on kujo painting mixing an ink with a wash to really increase the vibrancy. So with this video, I'll definitely be exploring more with inks!

[@martin.dubovszki]

That was great and informative, thanks! :) Now I'm off to paint some bluish metal ultra smurf...

[@Vanye111]

Nice timing. I was just starting to experiment with inks.

[@del132]

I have a series of old GW inks that I forgot about and slid into the back of one of my paint bins. Looks like it's time to dust em off and put em back to work.

[@toddwilliams8128]

I used inks to do a green-blue-purple transition in some sorrows for Malifaux.based and highlighted the blue all over, then used red and yellow inks to transition out.

[@fokin_skaven]

Where are your gloves you absolute madlad!? Your hands will fall off if you spray them with paint, don't you know?

[@james.black981]

The Hand cancer @2.25, oh the horror!! 🤣🤣🇦🇺

[@ZhysaytheBandit]

For colored metallics applied with a brush I have found that Vallejo Metal medium works wicked well with inks. I haven't tried to shoot it through an airbrush because I fear the metal flakes may be too large.

[@jocruzf]

love the music at the end.... such a piece... nice guitar. love your paint, love the music you share with us xd

[@mudawott]

Because of inks' translucency they are amazing for painting clear parts of a model or clear models. Spray down a matte varnish instead of a primer and spray or paint your inks over the top as if it were a wash, maybe even use the waah recipe if your inclined. What you get is an amazing translucent model or feature on a model. If like me you 3d print, this makes clear resins a must have, painting translucent fire, ethereal naiads, ghosts, spell effects, the list goes on.

[@theteafox9675]

Brilliant as always

[@casemeisterT900]

I enjoy using my florescent inks. But I never thought of thinning an acrylic paint with a like colored ink. Mind=blown.

[@Alex-st1kx]

Ditto!!! Scott, holy crap, game changerrrr

[@svellice]

Since I also Paint and draw a lot on Paper I possess several drawing and sketching inks. Some of them aren't lightfast but you can take the ones with true pigments and mix them with acryilic medium (I use Schmincke fluid medium, but any flow enhancer will do I think) and a bit of destilled water sometimes. This works great for glazing, tinting etc. and I don't have to buy extra stuff. The best Idea I had was mixing Dr.ph. Marten's Hydrus Ink (a highly pigmented Watercolour ink, like, really really pigmented) with medium to make a wash. The fluid medium made the ink waterproof, so i could alost use ist like a contrast paint.

[@andraslantos2325]

Great video, very useful, even better than the usual stuff; thaks a lot.

[@Neves1789]

Excellent content as always!

[@Personvids]

He was morbin' before it was cool.

[@NigelMills]

I bought FW inks in June. Love them. Great video. Didn't think about tinting Metallics. Will be trying that soon :)

[@bdogg464]

Just before watching this video i was painting a deadpool red and was adding highlights. I got everything the way i wanted with the color fades and relized the red color turned out more of a brown color. By simply using a red ink i was able to get the color back to the tone it was suppose to be without messing up the highlights i had just gotten the way i wanted.

[@nicholasvinkler1635]

Cool thing mixing inks with different effects medium!! I'll give it a shot soon

[@TheGameCraftDragon]

Great informational video Scott!! I've been using inks for washes and glazes for a long time, I never thought about using them through my airbrush. Will have to try that.

[@BeastnBrushes]

that gradient was soo clean...damn

[@TheCporteous]

Thanks scott, now that song is going to be stuck in my head all day.

[@therealquade]

I am currently in the process of using transparent liquitex inks, with acrylic medium, to attempt to mix my own colors of paint, using digital means to get the ratio of colors just right. i'm only on day 2, but i've been accurately recreating arbitrary RGB Values by using CMYK and white. the downside is that I'm not sure how much medium to use relative to ink, and right now I think i'm using too much medium, as it goes on way too thin and is requiring 3-5 coats, and takes a very long time to dry, possibly because of my choice of the longer dry time acrylic medium.

[@MrNickpeck36]

New fan here, great videos!! I'm finally at the point I'm going to paint the minis I print. I have a mix of FDM and some SLA prints and now need to build up a paint set(s), so many to choose from!

[@jmmartin7766]

Wow-- excellent subject! I was just handed a bunch of "Bombay India Inks" by my artist wife, who no longer wants to use them in her paintings... Wondering how I was going to incorporate them in my craft/mini painting, I stumbled on your video... Thanks, Miniac-- Now I know! 🖒😎

[@h.j.peters.2891]

I really like using my inks as a tinted thinner. when I was painting an ork truck, I mixed black ink with a silver metallic. it went on like a dream and was so fast.

[@twentysides]

I wish I had known about inks when I was getting started painting. Ink glazing over a zenithal prime makes my absolute favorite effects and I'm just getting into that now.

[@padrespeaks]

Inks are great for getting a transitioned black result. Zenithal up from black to grey to white, them dilute paynes grey ink with airbrush thinner at about 10:1. When the transitions are in place, use carbon black ink at the same dilution rate for a couple quick passes and you have a solid black for (in my case) AdMech stygies VIII.

[@timandshannon03]

Fantastic video, very informative! Definitely answer damn near all my noob questions!

[@redrooster7371]

This is really helpful! I already have some inks but still have to make my first experiences.

[@MSnell]

Been slowly collecting the FW inks over time whenever Michaels has a 50% off coupon. At $3.50 a bottle the value is just insane. I definitely learned some new ways to use them thanks to this video.

[@lorelei7754]

My plan as well. I'm new to this hobby, so I started with the black ink. After seeing this video I want to go back for white. Heh.

[@deadlotus4445]

Hobby Lobby a while back put them on clearance and picked up like 40 bottles for stupid cheap. Like $1/bottle. Look for clearance deals!

[@EricWoning]

Saved to 'awesome tips you should encorporate'

[@spooks2240]

Now I can actually use the random inks just sitting in a little stack thanks!

[@Tomcat_Coyote]

I'm using Inks for zenithal undercoats and subtle effects now thanks to you , and they're the best things ever !! :D Using the Amsterdam brand though because the Dahler & Downey's is always out of stock in local art stores -_-

[@DMNKLR_official]

It's almost as though you used my own notes for this video, lol. The big 3 brands I recommend the most are Daler Rowney's FW range, Royal Talens Amsterdam range, and Liquitex Professional range, but DR also have an acrylic watercolor range, too, that's really nice. RT also have one that is much larger and complements the DR ones really well. Oh, and the recipe you used for your wash, is actually the recipe for DIY Contrast. Acrylic inks are so tremendously versatile and useful, the possibilities are almost limitless. Btw, this was yet another fantastic episode, Scot, keep up the great work!

[@BaijoGosum]

Just got a bottle of white ink today. I am going to try using it through an airbrush for some Zenithal priming!

[@dreadpooled]

Always informative! Thank you again for great vid.

[@karlosrolero]

Wow, you mentioned Rodrigo Akore! I met him, he's from my city and was a friend of a friend. He went to the club I go to paint with his friends and saw him paint, and his army. His army is EVEN more impressive up close, he was painting Sylvaneth back then (two years ago I think, can't recall) and close up they were absurdly incredible. His a nice guy, and was cool to meet him before even knowing he was so known as a painter (me knowing it, not the rest of the world lol). He made me start making "veladuras", wich is how he does those effects with acrilics, obviously Im not as good as him, but I see how that can turn into his skill if you train enough.

[@Miniac]

Dude, get a private lesson from that guy.

[@karlosrolero]

@@Miniac I would love to! He gave me some tips and made me improve. He doesnt come much to the city anymore, the friend that presented him to me starter working on Big Child with him as a 3D modeler so they stay on Madrid. It was nice to see his minis, I've never seen many pro minis and to see ones so good!

[@DanteNava]

I'm still a noob, but I've started using it as my paint. I mix it similar to a wash (matte medium, water, and ink) and I've gotten results I'm good with as long as I base coat with white. I'll be trying "real" paint not just apple Barrel mixed with matte medium here soon.

[@urbannpa]

This video helps. I have an A.M.P model(Avatar) that I wanted to paint as if it had been in a battle but didn't want to use model paint in an airbrush.

[@lalozf]

muy buen resumen, gracias

[@ConcealedCourier]

I found them good for camo/decal on lighter base colors. Great for pigment fine tuning.

[@marek011011]

i use black ink and regular paints thinned down to mix my own washes

[@elmirBDS]

I would like to comment on the white ink for zenithal highlighting... I have found out that, if you don't give some inks a proper 24 hour drying time or even a thin coat of varnish in between, the ink can rub off again when using some other washes or the new contrast paints. Just something to be aware off.

[@Miniac]

Yep, very true.

[@jeffrichards5106]

Nice to know what the hell the inks are for, and that you don't need to use them with an airbrush only! Thank you

[@Asri_]

I've been working the opposite direction, using inks with the thickness of acrylic media I want. One important tip for people new to ink, is that if you layer inks, everything gets darker and more saturated. So use a primer or base coat much lighter than the final desired color.

[@nicholascaldwell6079]

Liquitex acrylic ink is good through an airbrush. Schmincke Aero Colour acrylic ink is amazing through an airbrush.

[@SeniorAntonio]

Thank you