Acrylic Ink Opaque- Turquoise

Opaque turquoise and the patina of copper

Opaque inks stand halfway between a paint and a glaze. They flow like ink, run into hollows by themselves and leave no brush marks, but they hold so much pigment that they really do cover what is underneath. That is a fundamental difference from the transparent version, and one you notice with the first stroke.

Turquoise has a firm place in modeling. Copper and bronze turn green in the air into the characteristic patina you know from roofing sheet, bells, ship fittings and statues. That is exactly the cast this tone builds most easily. Beyond that it serves for shallow sea water, for glacier crevasses, for the energy discharges of fantasy hardware and for bold stripes of fabric where the eye is meant to rest.

Working with a runny medium: on a vertical surface lay on little and rather go over it twice, or the liquid will run down and leave a lighter patch at the top. On a horizontal surface, by contrast, let the ink flow out by itself; it usually makes a more natural transition than a brush would.

For an airbrush it suits without much thinning; just watch the pressure. A lower pressure manages fine misting around a detail, while a higher pressure spatters a thin medium into cobwebs.

Patina step by step: the metal base first, then a thin coat of this tone into the seams and hollows, and finally the raised places wiped back to a shine. The metal has to stay visible, or the bronze turns into green plastic.

Shifting the shade: a pinch of white turns turquoise into an icy tone for the edges of floes and brash ice, while a drop of dark blue pulls it down into a depth that suits the bottom of a tank. Add any admixture carefully, as a liquid medium takes it up sooner than you would expect.