Edge coloring: What do you use?

[alfadoc]

I want to start a survey of what you all use for edge coloring. I have tried a few products, but none seem perfect; most markers bleed through too much, colored pencils don't cover well enough. So, what do you think is best?

[46rob]

When I have the time--I use watercolors, but mostly I just use Artist's felt pencils. I bought a set of 100 different colors at Michaels a few years ago, and they work extremely well. they will match most everything, and they don't put out so much color that it bleeds.

[Gil]

Try using watercolor applied with a cotton swab or Q-tip. Colored pencils work well if you wet them also.

-Gil

[SCEtoAux]

I use a set of Prang Fun Pro colored pencils most of the time. I also have a set of watercolor pencils made by Kimberly. Sometimes a plain old No. 2 pencil works too. Sometimes a Sharpie marker. :)

[jleslie48]

sharpie markers are my favorite. they even come in colors now, although they are missing a good grey marker. actually I would love to seem them make a light and dark grey.

We need a write-in campaign to them requesting it. I write them at lease twice a year requesting it.

[rickstef]

i splurged a couple of weeks ago.
and treated myself to the 3 sets of Prismacolor grey markers
Warm Greys
Cool Greys
French Greys

i bought them at Dick Blick online www.dickblick.com

Rick

[Joseph]

charcoal, great for buildings. You don't need to push too much on the edge to color it, so no risk you damage it

[lunarhighway]

I'm quite fond of acrillic paint. Either the kind you can get in big tubes in art supply stores or the kind that was sold by games workshop for painting their metal wargame miniatures.. they're all water mixable, so no fumes or clean up hassle.

a few basic colors will allow you to mix the right color to match the card, and small parts can be painted completely, also add on details made from white card can be blended in... depending on the model i sometimes choose to paint it completely. also you can have metalic and silver colors, which are great for picking out certain details.

so there you go, that's what i use :)

[NOBI]

Hi there,

For me, just a watercolor :)

[Sheila Mertens]

So, what do you think is best?

I hardly ever do edge colouring, it's just that I don't mind seeing some white edges on a model, it's inherent to paper models, for my part. But it's a matter of taste, obviously. The only models I use(d) edge colouring on are the BirdMobile models, there I use(d) medium and dark brown felt pencils on the edges of the individual feathers, thus adding a 'shadowy' effect and creating some 'depth'.

Another idea to avoid white edges altogether is trying to design/build your models with all edges and 'seams' to the rear, back, or underside of the model, so out of sight altogether. But that would only work well when you're designing your own stuff, like I do, or seriously redesign a model, which is seldom worth it.

Regards
Sheila

[Bengt F]

Hi Sheila,

For black areas or edges, I mostly use fine black marker pens. For grey edges, I have a used black marker which is almost completely empty, that gives a slightly smoke-grey colour. If I want a darker shade I apply several strokes until it looks good.
For bright red areas or edges, I also use a fine marker pen. But of course, you have to do it with great care, as there is no way of repairing errors when it bleeds through or spreads over contour lines other than painting them over with a gouache or acrylic paint, which isn´t really desirable.

For lighter colours, I use water colour pencils (on heavy card) and regular water colours (thin paper), applied with the finest possible brushes.
For enhancing white areas, I use white or near-white gouache water colours, depending on the colour of the paper base. I have also tried wax crayons, but the paint tend to come off and stick to other areas, leaving unwanted spots.
I also do a lot of scraping (retouching of black lines and visible edges) with a very pointed scalpel blade (Swann & Morton E 11).

best,
Bengt:)

[damraska]

I use LePlume markers, mostly grays. They're acid free, fade-proof, water resistant, and so on.

-Doug

[missymouse]

i use the craft type acrylics in the small 2 ounce bottles mainly cuz i can get them at the crafts store for $0.99 a bottle and for clean up i use regular old 70% isopropyl alcohol, seems to get alot of the gunk off the bristles but then again i can get a pack of 25 different crafts/art brushes at the craft store to for $5 :)

[Bluenoser]

Yup. Me too. Lots of colors, cheap to buy, easy to clean up with. Actually, I painted entire models with these. Quicker and easier than messing around with repainting on the computer.

[w1xq]

I do what Joseph does and use charcoal pencils. I have a soft, medium and extra soft charcoal pencils. I follow uo with a q-tip to rub the color in to fade it. I build mostly lighthouses and cathedrals and these do best for me. I have used markers and colored penciled. John

[jasco]

Generally I use colored pencils, but occasionally will use watercolors or acrylic. Usually it's whatever is closest to the color I need. Colored pencils are good if you don't mind burnishing the edge a little.

[Darwin]

My preference is watercolor pencils....however, it often boils down to whatever comes closest to matching the color of the model. I have pastels, craft store acrylics, charcoals, watercolors, etc. in the toolbox....about the only thing I haven't tried yet are the tube paints with the ball-point-type applicators, and that's only because it would be too much effort to dig far enough back into the closet to find where the wife stashed them. Got to admit I tend to agree with Sheila, though....the occasional raw edge draws attention to the fact these little masterpieces are paper....if I wanted the look of a plastic kit, I would build in plastic. I mainly worry about coloring in large areas of white, like the reverse side of railings, etc. that aren't colored on the parts pages, or for applying weathering.

[Jim Nunn]

I have used just about every method and what works best for me are good quality watercolors. Watercolor pens are my second choice. The main reason is that I want to exactly match the color of the model and I can do this with watercolors and not be concerned with the paint drying out, just add a little water and the your paint is ready. A couple of hints add a drop or two of liquid soap to the water you are using I’m assuming you are using a small container say the size of a shot glass (The shot glass is also very useful tool when the fits are bad, but I digress). My second hint is mix up your colors out doors on a sunny day. Unless you are using full color spectrum lighting you will end up with a miss matched color when the lighting changes. Lastly purchase some high quality brushes they will make painting go a lot easier.

[Golden Bear]

I guess that I am too lazy. I have a complete set - actually two, from two different manufacturers - of watercolor pens. I find that I can overlay two different types to get the color that I want.

Largely, however, I use different shades of grey for most parts. I pull out the real colors for lighter and brighter things such as tan or brown - occasionally for certain kinds of green.

Golden Bear

[sruch]

Oil Pastels....works great. Works quickly, no drying time, no paint mixing, flat finish.

[lrjanzen]

Anyone ever tried watercolor pencils? I use them for sketching and you can just dip the tips in water then run along an edge.

[rockpaperscissor]

I use acrylic paints. They are cheap and available in a wide range of colors. If you don't want to buy a bunch of colors, a few colors can be be easily mixed to match pretty much any color you may need.

[Larry]

I use Winsor & newton (artists water colour) for large models and Derwent watercolour pencils, I wet the end of the pencil with a paint brush and paint
the model.

[lizzienewell]

I've been using Sharpies but that is because most of my models are black. I've also use Prismacolor pencils if I need closer match.
With markers I've found that it's best to darken the edges before building the model. I put the part upside down and draw around the edges from the back.

[Kevin G]

If I do it at all I use watercolor pencils or sharpie markers.
Actually I don't edge color too much since I find it to be alot of work for such a minimal gain in appearance on the model. Maybe if I ever get close to being as good as some of our expert builders here I might worry about it, but for now that is a lot of wasted time that could be better spent on actually building a model.

[cgutzmer]

When you guys use the water color pencils how do you do it? Dip the pencil tip in water and color the edge or just color the edge with it dry or what?

[rmks2000]

With pencils, I wet the pencil, dab a small brush against it, then use the brush to color the edge. Most of the time I use water color paints (the tube type). I just bought a new set for $10 at Michaels compared to a Prismatic pencil set that would have cost $30. With the paints, you can let the stuff dry and wet it again when you need to. This is especially handy if you had to mix colors to get a certain blend and you can't get back to the build for a few days (or weeks).

[lrjanzen]

I used the edge of the pencil. seems to give me more control. But the brush method used by rmks2000 worked fine too. I would use my 'regular watercolors if I were using a brush. I second rmks2000 on the use of tubes. Pans require you to add H20. You could use tubes right out of the tube. W/N Cotman or Talons Van Gogh are cheap and readily available here in the US.You really only need about 8 colors to do what ever you need to do.

There is no such thing as a "pure" primary(blue, red, yellow) in paints. All "lean one direction or another to a secondary (Orange, green, purple).
Cad red, Aliz Crimson or a Q magenta, cad yellow, lemon yellow, Ultramarine blue, cobalt blue or Pthalo blue, raw sienna burnt sienna.

The Secondary parings are:
Cad red+Cad yellow=Orange
Aliz crimson+Ultramarine=Purple
Lemon Yellow+Cobalt blue=green
To get a black add three primaries

these give you the brightest secondaries. you can use the others to get a duller version of the secondary. The two siennas are thee to provide a means to simulate the earth tones (dirt, grime, tiles, brick etc). They are also very good at knocking down the straight colors. For example you can add Raw Sienna to Cad Yellow to give you a slightly duller version. To get a darker tone mix a secondary then add the third primary to get the tone you want. Burnt Sienna makes an excellent color to use when you want to tone down the darker primaries (blues and reds) and Raw Sienna for the yellows.

PS: If you use pthalo blue BEWARE! this paint is VERY staining (tools, rugs pets). A little will go a long way. it will dominate a mix very quickly.

[nebeltex]

lrjanzen is right about acrylics. one does not need a whole lot of colors. a small collection of inexpensive craft paints can last you a decade (for edges). if you aren't experienced at mixing and matching colors, i'd recommend getting a "color wheel" which is a sort of color mixing calculator (non electronic). it will save a lot of frustration and straighten the learning curve. if a sharpy will work, i'll use one. most important, one good $10.00 brush is better than 100 $.10 brushes.

[Ken Horne]

Hey Gang,

I must disagree with Kevin. I LOVE edge colouring and I feel that it indeed time well spent. I most enjoy watercolours. Painting the edge of a piece in the appropriate shade instantly trasforms the part from looking like I cut it out of card to being a piece of a fine model. The depth it adds and reality it adds is perfect.

I must admit though that I usually now use a trio of grey markers for nearly everything. So quick and easy, and the results are nearly as good. Here is a picture of the ones I use. There are more in the series and I guess I would like more but these three seem to work for me.

Take care,

Kenny

[Kevin G]

I must disagree with Kevin. I LOVE edge colouring and I feel that it indeed time well spent. I most enjoy watercolours. Painting the edge of a piece in the appropriate shade instantly trasforms the part from looking like I cut it out of card to being a piece of a fine model. The depth it adds and reality it adds is perfect.

Just to clarify, I didn't mean that it is a waste of time always. Just with the quality of build that I do I honestly don't feel that coloring the edges is gonna add much realism and I wouldn't exactly call any of my builds a "fine model".:grin: I am getting there though and as my building gets better I too will do all the edge coloring.

[Bengt F]

Kenny,

I agree - edge coloring is a must. Shining white edges spoils the appearance of a fine model.
I use a thin black marker (Sharpie) for deep black areas and water colors or water color pencils for all other areas.
The models would be half finished without them, I think.

Best,
Bengt :wink:

[Ken Horne]

Hi Kevin,

ya I haven't heard too many people clamour over my "Fine" models either lately :-)

I think though that I get a greater deal of satisfacion that I deserve when I have done the edges. Those markers I've shown , sharpies, el cheepo kids markers, watercoulour paints all seem to work for me. I've never had the remotest sucess with watercoulour pencils, or any other pencil I'm afraid. I must be doing something wrong there.

Take care all, and as always, "To Each Their Own"

Kenny

[Fishcarver]

Print it in B &W. Apply a sealer, prime it and paint it.

Works for the Tractor Plant, anyway.........

"Sergei"