Use Paint Washes to Help Details Stand Out in Clay

If you only work in polymer or air dry clay and are not a paint artist, you might not know what a wash is, BUT YOU SHOULD.

Why? Because a paint wash can really bring depth to your creation. It is a well-known fact in the miniature game figures world that a black wash is the easiest way to bring out detail on small mini figures. You can use black washes, too, and I am going to show you how important they can be.

1. Acrylic paint in black or dark browns (of course it depends on your sculpture what color you want to use, but dark colors work best)

2. Water

3. Paint brush

4. Paper towels or a soft cloth

Figures that have already been sculpted/painted ( I have a stylized leaf and a tiny Gandalf head I made while doodling around one day).

Workspace.

Here are the two figures I am using to show this method. One is a simple piece, a green leaf, and we will be using the first technique with it. The other piece, the Gandalf head, has many more tiny lines and details, and we will be using the second technique for it.

I paint the clay, making sure the paint goes into the details. Then I wait until the paint gets mostly dry.

With a soft cloth or paper towel, I go over the surface of the piece, just enough to take off the paint on the raised surfaces. This leaves the details filled in dark.

If the paint doesn't want to come off as much as you want, wet the paper towel a little bit and then wipe off more paint in the same way as before. Do this until you have taken off as much paint as you want.

Then I leave the piece to dry fully. I can do the wash again later if I decide I need to.

*TIP: if you are using air dry clay, you will want to varnish your piece at least one coat before doing this so you don't damage the clay.

This is the method to use for pieces with more details.

You want to thin the paint a little bit with water so that it flows better to fill small details.

I just add water carefully a tiny bit at a time. I have found that super thin is actually not desirable, but neither is straight out of the bottle. Shoot for somewhere in the middle. You can always add more water, but you can't subtract it!

Once your paint is the thickness you want, you are ready to start painting.

With the brush, apply paint over the area you want the details to show up on. Make sure it goes into the details and doesn't miss them. I am starting with Gandalf's hat.

Once the whole hat is covered, I use the damp paper towel to dab off excess paint. When I am happy with the amount of paint, I continue on to another piece of the sculpture.

A lot of the time I paint some on, dab some off, paint some on, dab some off until I think it looks pretty good.

These are the same pieces, just one doesn't have a wash and the other one does.

See the difference?

It is a pretty good way to make details pop. It makes your sculpture much more eye catching and detailed than without.

I hope this was helpful and you can use this information to better your clay.

Here are two more examples. The first, the rose, is a flat piece similar to the leaf.

The second is a more detailed piece. Once again, it is Gandalf. This Gandalf was a Christmas present for someone. He was the first tiny person I made that I tried to make detailed. The wash helped bring out the tiny pieces of his face and give his robes much more drama.

I hope this technique helps you in your clay projects. Go clay today!