Drybrushing, what is it?
Drybrushing is a technique with which you apply highlights or stippling to your model with an almost dry brush; dry paint. With this you can easily bring out the details of the model, without it costing you a lot of effort.
Types of drybrushes
There are various types of drybrushes, such as flat and round drybrushes.
- The flat drybrushes are most suitable for applying edge highlights, for example. This means that you can easily color the sharp edges.
- The round drybrushes are suitable for finding the other details of your models. With this you can easily color all nooks and crannies.
- The large drybrushes are mainly used for terrain and the smallest mostly for details. The vast majority is best done with a medium drybrush.
How do I drybrush?
To drybrush a model you need a model that has been primed and maybe even a basecoat (basecoat in the color you want to paint the model), a drybrush, paint (a lighter color than the basecoat) and a piece of kitchen paper.
- Apply a little paint to your drybrush
- Wipe the drybrush on the kitchen paper until you can hardly see any color coming off
- Sweep the drybrush over the model where you want to apply the color. You will see the edges "light up"
- To make the color stronger you can go over the same piece several times
- If it is too light, repeat the drybrushing with the base coat color and then again with the lighter color until you have the right effect
What should you not do with drybrushing?
There are some no-gos when it comes to drybrushing:
- Don't dip your drybrush in water in between
- If you clean your drybrush, make sure it dries really well otherwise you will never get the right effect
- Use as little paint as possible and as dry as possible (there are even special "drybrush" paints from some brands.
If you have any additional questions, do not hesitate to send us a message via the contact form or send an email to: [email protected]
Below a video from a series we made in collaboration with Magical Tabletop that shows what drybrushing is exactly.