First things first for some of our less experienced modeler friends out here.
What is a pigment?
Answer: A pigment in modeling is a powdered colorant, that can be applied dry or mixed with a carrier fluid to build different weathering effects.
Now if you were to go out and start purchasing pigments for normal use, i would say 3 would be at home in any modelers arsenal. A light color ( white/light grey ) a dark color ( black/dark grey ) and a rust color ( light or dark ).
Just so you see why i made this article....Pigments can be expensive...
That's just for one color. The 3 basics would set you back 16.50 ish.
For about £3 more, i can have about 16 different colors consisting of the basics along with more variety for rust, dust, grime, shadow, and other custom shades.
Found these online for £8
Warning: If you are going to buy Pastels....make sure they are CHALK pastels, you do not want oil pastels for this.
I also found these for £10..
16 in the set so that will give me plenty of storage for our new colors.
2 more things you will need, white plain paper so you don't make a mess. and a way to sand the pastels down into powders. you can either take a sheet of sandpaper and set it grit up on the table top, or you can use your dremel with the drum sander attachment.
Guess which one i picked....
Prep: take the sheet of paper and crease it down the middle ( it will make things easier when its transfer time.
Over the center of the sheet of paper is where you want to do your sanding, if you are sanding by hand just go back and forth until you pulverize the entire stick of pastel and you are left with a pile of dust, or pigment....
All that is left is to transfer your new pigment into the containers. Pick up the 2 outer edges of the paper and use it to funnel the pigment into the pots.
Now that you know the method, the rest is easy. some are pretty straight forward.
Reds and oranges for basic rust tones, greys and blacks for shadows, tans and browns for dirt and mud. Once you have the basics, you can start getting creative with the remainder of the pastels. ( you have already gotten your moneys worth out of them so the rest is a bonus if you can make something usable out of them.
you can mix colors that would not normally work on their own, here i took a too orange orange and mixed it with grey to mute it down a bit.
I ended up with 14 colors to start with ( i kept 2 of the containers empty so if i need a custom color in the future i can mix them in there.)
This is whats left of the pastel set....
There is still alot of opportunity in that box, greens and yellows to enhance dioramas, blues to work with snow and ice builds or even water.
This is where you allow your imagination to do its thing.
Just because they are not marketed as a 'Hobby Product' does not mean we cant make them into one.
In a later article i will go over how i use pigments in different ways...
right now i need some coffee.
cya soon
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