Acrylic Ink Opaque- Light Brown

A sandy brown for dust and canvas

Light browns form the opposite pole to dark ones on a model: they do not draw shadow but dust, dryness and sun. As soon as a vehicle leaves a made road, this tone appears on the fenders, on the underside of the bed, in the wheel wells and on the crew's boots. In the world of figures it then carries tarpaulins, tents, sacks, ropes and faded canvas.

Applying it blind does not pay off. Dust does not settle evenly everywhere. Watch where the air flows around a moving vehicle and lay the paint from the bottom upwards with fading intensity. Most of it belongs on the edges of the fenders and in front of the step surfaces, least on the vertical sides at eye level.

Canvas and rope: lay an even base on a tarpaulin and deepen the folds with a darker brown. Ropes are brought to life by a light pass with an almost dry brush, which picks the twisted fibers out. The textile parts will then stop blending in with the metal around them.

As a highlight: the tone also serves well as the topmost coat on darker brown surfaces. The transition will be softer if you apply it thinned in several glazes instead of one opaque stroke.

Once dry: the surface takes dry pigments as well as dusting with an airbrush, so the dust effect can be built up further. At the end, unify the whole model with one thin coat of varnish so that the dust layers are not left unprotected.

How much is enough: dust is one of the few effects that are easily overdone. A machine covered in a continuous light deposit stops looking dusty and begins to look as if it had been sprayed all over. Always let part of the original color show through, mainly in the places the crew normally touches.