Painting Edges
I am like many veteran painters in that I have thought deeply, and possibly too deeply, about how I paint things. This has ranged from; the chemistry of priming; through the best way to paint bright colours; to the metaphysical nature of the painting process itself.
Having said all that, here are a few thoughts that have been occupying my mind in the last month or so.
A line has two sides
I have effectively given up trying to paint a line in one go. Not really fine lines for black lining and edging, but lines for piping, horse furniture, baldrics, and cross belts. I find it very difficult to produce a brush stroke of consistent width regardless of the quality of the paint or brushes involved.
In the last year or so I have learnt to work within my limitations. I have also learnt to compensate for my lack of control. More importantly, I have recently lowered my expectations and relaxed. After all, painting toy soldiers is meant to be a pleasurable hobby.
My approach is simple. I'm lucky in being able to paint a straight edge so, instead of trying to paint both edges in one brush stroke, I focus on painting one edge at a time. This works for reasonably wide straps; anything more than 1 mm.
For thinner straps, and lines, the second edge is painted with the base colour. I always paint all of the strap, but I only concentrate on one edge. I don't worry if I paint over the second. If I'm having a good day the strap will be perfect. If not, the strap has one clean edge and a slightly ragged second. I then tidy up the second edge with the base colour: again focusing on just one edge.
Other than skill with a paint brush the key thing to learn is which edge to paint first. It should always be the one that would be the hardest to correct. With enough practice the choice can become second nature.
Working this way has greatly reduced the stress of painting straps etc and, to my surprise, I've found I don't have to straighten quite as many edges as before.
Painting small areas
I now paint these in a similar manner. First I focus on the left hand vertical edge, then the right vertical edge painting with downwards brush strokes. A third stroke fills in the centre. Often, with smaller areas, only two strokes are required.
If my brush placement is good I often don't have to "square off" the top edge with the base colour. I tend not worry about the bottom edge and keep the brush moving beyond it. This ensures I can easily "square off" the bottom edge with the base colour.
This has proved to be surprisingly quick. I recently painted the pteruges on a 15 mm Essex phalangite in minutes using this technique. The 14 vertical strips were painted with two strokes each (sometimes I got lucky and only needed one) and I finished the bottom edge of all 14 with two or three strokes with the base colour.
Painting with the belly of a brush
With the above I find focusing my attention on the point of the brush is important at the start, but immediately shifting my attention to the edge of the belly of the brush produces a far straighter edge. Remember I'm aiming to paint just one edge at a time.
I've also found there's a way to paint an edge without using the tip. This is especially useful when painting surfaces are either very curved or stand proud and are easy to reach like the vertical seams in leg armour and scabbards.
Placing the belly of the brush at ninety degrees to the desired edge limits the reach and spread of the brush. All I do is move the brush up or down and the belly leaves a surprisingly clean edge. Having said that, it's important not to apply too much pressure or have too much paint on your brush.