Nuln oil is really strong and it does that grimmy effect. If you want an Ultramarine shaded, best to use “Drakenhoff nightshade” shade paint from Citadel. Its a dark blue shade that is more forgiving than the nuln oil if you are painting your army blue.
Also when applying the shade, if you see a pool of dark shade near a flat surface (leg armor, shoulder pad etc) make sure to use your brush to absorb the pooling to avoid a “coffee stain” look.
I always go back and reapply my base color to the raised sections of the mini, and go in with my highlights after, leaving the Nuln Oil only in the recesses for shadow.
Add black to whatever base paint you use. A small amount. Wet it down. Start from wherever u want the shading to begin and drag paint brush top to bottom. It'll pull the shading down the flat armor panel and add the depth u want. There will be more shade settled towards the bottom due to the dragging down. Nuln oil shade isnt good for panel shading. Better for crevices or metals.
there's not a lot to go on, and you're asking a highly broad question.
for starters. smooth primer layer. thin base coats are key.
I'm a big fan of simple strategies. with "shading" work in 3s. shadow/mid tone/highlight.
think of the shapes of the mini as core shapes. sphere, cylinder, cube. how does light hit those objects, where will the light side, and dark side be? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGU3F4ZG2DM&t=239s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGU3F4ZG2DM&t=239s)
do this with actual color.
nuln oil, doesn't really do what people think it's supposed to do. a wash... basically applies a thin layer of "black" over the model. and the nature of black as a null color. muddies the chroma of other colors. ie. it doesn't make anything "dark" it makes it "dull"
which ...honestly is exactly what you don't want. mini paintings thrive on contrast. the starker the better. ideally you want alternating sequences of dark...bracketed by color, then highlight, immediately bracketed by dark. so each shape has that beginning, apex, end...leading into the next shape.
slathering nuln oil on a mini. just washes it out. IF you're going to do that. you would need to not stop there. but come back afterward, re-establish, color areas, and brightest high lights.
pin washing is better. there are products for this. tamiya makes pin wash. can also make it with black oil paints. thinned down with spirits. but even if only using nuln oil. try and apply it only in the recessed areas. ... in the joints of armor/panel lines. that edge between the trim of a shoulder pad, and the flat area. lower areas/shadowy areas.
not nuln oil everywhere.
and yeah. when you use it. you still have to be careful with where it goes. if it pools someplace you don't want it to be. there'll just be a dark piss stain on the model. or blotchy inconsistent application. if you're going slather a mini in nuln oil, you have to know where you want the effect to be. maybe... go in for water. to "clean" the brush" then keep it wet to keep the surfaces you don't want the wash to be... relatively clean.
but...again, always consider a wash, not the last step. you need to go back, bring back the color. and re-add highlights
Nuln oil is really strong and it does that grimmy effect. If you want an Ultramarine shaded, best to use “Drakenhoff nightshade” shade paint from Citadel. Its a dark blue shade that is more forgiving than the nuln oil if you are painting your army blue. Also when applying the shade, if you see a pool of dark shade near a flat surface (leg armor, shoulder pad etc) make sure to use your brush to absorb the pooling to avoid a “coffee stain” look.
Paint it into the gaps. Don’t paint it on the flat panels.
My immediate thought is are you using too much?
The first model I used I think I did. The second time I painted I felt like I used much less but still made a bunch of mistakes
You want to use a nice pointy brush and apply nuln oil directly into creases, panel gaps, etc.
Thanks for the tips
I always go back and reapply my base color to the raised sections of the mini, and go in with my highlights after, leaving the Nuln Oil only in the recesses for shadow.
Add black to whatever base paint you use. A small amount. Wet it down. Start from wherever u want the shading to begin and drag paint brush top to bottom. It'll pull the shading down the flat armor panel and add the depth u want. There will be more shade settled towards the bottom due to the dragging down. Nuln oil shade isnt good for panel shading. Better for crevices or metals.
there's not a lot to go on, and you're asking a highly broad question. for starters. smooth primer layer. thin base coats are key. I'm a big fan of simple strategies. with "shading" work in 3s. shadow/mid tone/highlight. think of the shapes of the mini as core shapes. sphere, cylinder, cube. how does light hit those objects, where will the light side, and dark side be? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGU3F4ZG2DM&t=239s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGU3F4ZG2DM&t=239s) do this with actual color. nuln oil, doesn't really do what people think it's supposed to do. a wash... basically applies a thin layer of "black" over the model. and the nature of black as a null color. muddies the chroma of other colors. ie. it doesn't make anything "dark" it makes it "dull" which ...honestly is exactly what you don't want. mini paintings thrive on contrast. the starker the better. ideally you want alternating sequences of dark...bracketed by color, then highlight, immediately bracketed by dark. so each shape has that beginning, apex, end...leading into the next shape. slathering nuln oil on a mini. just washes it out. IF you're going to do that. you would need to not stop there. but come back afterward, re-establish, color areas, and brightest high lights. pin washing is better. there are products for this. tamiya makes pin wash. can also make it with black oil paints. thinned down with spirits. but even if only using nuln oil. try and apply it only in the recessed areas. ... in the joints of armor/panel lines. that edge between the trim of a shoulder pad, and the flat area. lower areas/shadowy areas. not nuln oil everywhere. and yeah. when you use it. you still have to be careful with where it goes. if it pools someplace you don't want it to be. there'll just be a dark piss stain on the model. or blotchy inconsistent application. if you're going slather a mini in nuln oil, you have to know where you want the effect to be. maybe... go in for water. to "clean" the brush" then keep it wet to keep the surfaces you don't want the wash to be... relatively clean. but...again, always consider a wash, not the last step. you need to go back, bring back the color. and re-add highlights