Are there any examples out there of sofubi toys that were sold with paint washes instead of airbrush jobs?
I’m not at all familiar with the technique. Could this be considered what Grody Shogun does with his mass coverage paints with brushes, rather than airbrush? Or perhaps some of Paul Kaiju’s classic and meticulous paint rubs?
If this is what you're thinking about, RxH used this technique heavily near the end of 2008 and into the next few years.
Yep, that is exactly what I'm talking about. I think there are some Science Patrol figures that used washes/wipes too. If there are any more examples out there please let me know.
I thought a wash was when the paint was nearly water thin and applied with a very wet brush, and a wipe was when it's thicker and applied with a cloth. I've only seen both techniques done with model kits, not on sofubi, but I see that it's been done quite a bit. Thanks, everyone!
Yes, everything posted here looks like it is a paint rub, where you apply an opaque layer of paint and then wipe it away with thinner. This technique is best done with acrylic paint and water, it wont ruin the vinyl paint layers below it and it wont use excess vinyl paint thinner that can cause abrasions to the toy surface. There is also dry brushing, where you brush on a light but opaque coat of paint to the surface details and leave the deeper areas uncovered. Karz works toys use a lot of this and he is probably the best in sofubi at it. There used to be a customizer on the board, Dustin who also did a lot of this. As you said a wash is very thinned paint, again best to use acrylic and water. When the excess liquid dries it will leave light shading in and around crevices and add some organic value changes to the surface. I’ve used it as a finishing technique before. But I think it would be hard to effectively paint a toy with this technique because the result would be very subtle. It’s mostly used for final finishes on things like miniatures and action figures.
I would definitely check out a lot of RealxHead releases. His skeletons show off the rub really well, but some of the newer sculpts, the paint really gets trapped in all the crevices for a really good look.
I can't seem to find the Instagram post (do stories stick around forever?), But James Groman had a shot vid of him doing the paint rub on the fossil pods.
There was a vid of that Maxtoy half dinosaur/robot getting a paint rub but I can't find it,here's Nagata dry brushing at 24:29 and just found this tutorial on rubs
Forgive me for quoting myself here, but I found the brief Instagram video while cleaning up old saved posts. It's TAG doing the painting on Groman's fossil pods: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CeakrK9FeuS/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= There are a few spots of airbrushing, but it's largely rubbed and drybrushed.
I’ve always been a fan of the red rub color way Paul Kaiju has done. Feels like most makers have a signature use for this method
Wonder Goblin did a quick video showcasing the technique with some Vinyl Wonder on a Papa Squatch. This one is cool, because it's sorta the inverse of the typical dark inside the cravases, and instead puts the bright color inside the details of a dark base, creating a 'glowing magma cracks' effect. Gotta love those make-up sponges for smooth wipe-away!
