Weathering armor and boots (for sandtroopers, etc.)

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Hey guys, I posted these on MEPD. But I thought it might be useful for people here who may want to achieve a similar weathered look for EU characters, etc.

 

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Hey guys, here's a tutorial I created, based on weathering your armor with the "oil / dirt / sand" look that I started a topic on here:

 

http://forum.mepd.net/index.php?showtopic=7274

 

It uses 2 passes of paint, with pretty simple paint mixtures. It creates a great random looking quality.

I figured a written tutorial with pictures would be really long for the detail I wanted, and I was far too lazy to type that much, so I tried to take a crack at making a video tutorial instead.

 

Here's a separate tutorial for weathering boots (watch the armor weathering videos below first)

http://forum.mepd.net/index.php?showtopic=7289

 

Some info / materials / supplies before you start:

 

- I am using Liquitex "Burnt umber" acrylic paint and Amsterdam "black" and "warm grey (I prefer quality acrylic water based artists paints because the pigments and binders are much better than craft paints)

- I use the burnt umber straight out of the tube for the first pass

- the second pass of the "oil / dirt" color is achieved with about 70% burnt umber, 20% black, and 10% warm grey (approx.)

- clean your boots with alcohol, wipe and let dry before painting

- I use natural sponges for the weathering and terry cloth rag (wet with water, then wring it ALL out before using)

- don't use wet sponges for weathering (this waters the paint down, reducing the adhesion)

 

Steps for brown:

- do the "burnt umber pass" first

- make sure to work the paint into the nooks and crannies

- let dry for 5 minutes or so

- wear and bend boots or crinkle the leather per the video to deform the boots

- use twisting and dabbing motions with damp rag to remove paint

- once you are happy with the brown, let it dry overnight (important)

 

Steps for "oil colored / black" paint mixture

- again, use the sponge to dab a light coat of the oil / black mixture

- let it dry for 5 mins

- put on the boots to bend / crinkle like above

- remove most of the black with twisting / dabbing motions to reveal some of the brown

- concentrate on removing most of the black, especially in high spots

- make sure weathering is consistent on both boots and consistent with armor

- let boots dry thoroughly before using

 

Part 1: research, prep, supplies and materials required, etc.

 

Part 2: Burnt umber (brown) first pass

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Part 3: Removing the burnt umber via damp terry cloth towel (twisting and dabbing to remove paint)

 

Part 4: Applying and removing the "oil / black" layer

 

Let me know what you guys think of the video tutorial format. I hope you find this helpful.

 

T.

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Here's one for weathering boots too.

 

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Hey guys, here's a tutorial for how to weather your boots to make them look like they were actually "worn". This uses the techniques in my other "armor weathering" tutorials, which uses a combination of 2 passes of acrylic paint weathering, and a terry cloth to rub the paint off.

 

The paint sticks very well to the leather (I am using leather TKboots from TKboots.com), and they are durable for trooping. Trust me, I make sure my stuff is durable for trooping!

 

Some info / materials / supplies before you start:

 

- I am using Liquitex "Burnt umber" acrylic paint and Amsterdam "black" and "warm grey (I prefer quality acrylic water based artists paints because the pigments and binders are much better than craft paints)

- I use the burnt umber straight out of the tube for the first pass

- the second pass of the "oil / dirt" color is achieved with about 70% burnt umber, 20% black, and 10% warm grey (approx.)

- clean your boots with alcohol, wipe and let dry before painting

- I use natural sponges for the weathering and terry cloth rag (wet with water, then wring it ALL out before using)

- don't use wet sponges for weathering (this waters the paint down, reducing the adhesion)

 

Steps for brown:

- do the "burnt umber pass" first

- make sure to work the paint into the nooks and crannies

- let dry for 5 minutes or so

- wear and bend boots or crinkle the leather per the video to deform the boots

- use twisting and dabbing motions with damp rag to remove paint

- once you are happy with the brown, let it dry overnight (important)

 

Video link

 

Steps for "oil colored / black" paint mixture

- again, use the sponge to dab a light coat of the oil / black mixture

- let it dry for 5 mins

- put on the boots to bend / crinkle like above

- remove most of the black with twisting / dabbing motions to reveal some of the brown

- concentrate on removing most of the black, especially in high spots

- make sure weathering is consistent on both boots and consistent with armor

- let boots dry thoroughly before using

 

Video link

 

Enjoy!

[Billhag]

Terry

Is there nothing that you're NOT bloody good at?

Brilliant, brilliant tutorials mate, loved every second and wanted to see more

 

Makes me want to pull my finger out and get my sandie bloody finished instead of keep putting it off

(been sitting in a box for well over a year )

 

Thank you so much for doing these, I'm sure that they're going to be an inspiration

to many, many troopers

[RogueTrooper[TK]]

EXCELLENT TUTORIAL!

 

But! we all can now blackmail ya with your wife about you bring old motor oil into the house... I keed! I keed!

 

 

EXCELLENT JOB! Terry!

 

Thanks man

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Thanks for the compliments, Billy! Glad you guys like them, I hope they are helpful. You can use the same techniques and modify the paint and application to get different effects. It delivers a really cool organic look!

[Rich330[TK]]

Hi Terry,

Just wanted to say thanks for the tutorials.

I've been looking at ways to weather my ROTJ TK and found this very helpful. The look I'm going for is quite different to the really dirty sandtrooper but I still found your tutorial really useful.

My wife does a bit of painting and I knew she had some acrylic paint knocking around. She even had the same "Amsterdam" brand funnily enough. Not in the right shade but some black for me to do a quick test on a spare bit of plastic with paper towels, a sponge and a scouring pad. I got exactly the results I was looking for.

It was just a case of following the tutorial for the first stage (with the "burnt umber") and just varying the amount I subsequently took off and changing the technique a bit.

I will get hold of some more paint in dark brown (maybe combine it with black) and post pictures when I'm done.

Thanks, man.

Edited October 12, 2011 by Rick330

[PlastoidHero[TK]]

Just what I was looking for Panda! Thinking about weathering my TK at some point. What kind of maintenance do you need to keep up this look? Does paint get rubbed or chipped off when trooping?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

3 hours ago, PlastoidHero said:

Just what I was looking for Panda! Thinking about weathering my TK at some point. What kind of maintenance do you need to keep up this look? Does paint get rubbed or chipped off when trooping?

This is a pretty old thread from 2010.

 

Have a look in the HWT build area as they have weathering. 

 

I used waterbased acrylic paint, yes it can rub off but I just apply a little more.