Painting JINX with only Paintbrushes - How to paint tutorial N’stuff

Overview

This video is a painting tutorial showing how to paint Jinx on a 3D-printed/resin figurine using only paintbrushes (no airbrushing). It uses similar paint-handling techniques—such as extended working time—to achieve smooth blending.

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Artistic Techniques & Creative Concepts

Brush-only workflow

• A brush-only workflow for basecoating and detailing, emphasizing tactile control and spontaneous application rather than masking or airbrush cleanup.

Primer and base layers

• Apply two coats of rattle-can filler primer.
• The primer ended up slightly yellow, which the creator liked aesthetically.
• Build the model by starting with flat acrylic base colors, then refining with shadows/highlights depending on the part.

Eye painting with layered thin paint

• Start with a light gray for the eye whites (instead of bright white).
• Use thinned paint with multiple coats (~2–3) to reach crevices and enable smooth color transitions.
• Technique details:
  • Irises: thin, short strokes angled toward the pupil.
  • Pupil: black.
  • Add a single highlight (with optional later refinement/gloss).

Lips blending via controlled layering

• Upper lip:
  • Uses clean, strong lines.
• Bottom lip:
  • Built using heavily thinned paint in several layers to create a smooth skin-to-lip transition.

Varnish / sealing step (and workaround)

• Intended: seal with satin varnish.
• Used instead: high-gloss rattle-can varnish, which looked more plastic, but it was accepted as a temporary/functional base coat.

“Wet-on-wet”-style blending using acrylic + retarder

• Mix acrylic with brush retarder (and sometimes a wet palette) to slow drying.
• Apply highlights/shadows in sequence while paint stays workable, then smooth transitions.
• Leave subtle visible brush strokes deliberately to avoid a too-perfect/airbrushed look.

Face painting by shape-driven layering

• Uses a consistent shadows → midtones → highlights approach.
• Emphasizes that facial painting is mainly about enhancing existing 3D form, not necessarily harder than other parts.

Texture control for materials

• Different techniques create different surface textures (not all leather should look the same).
• Depending on the effect:
  • Use thinner paint + smooth gradients for cleaner transitions.
  • Or use drier/thicker paint to intentionally leave brush texture for more fabric/leather realism.

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Specific Techniques Highlighted

Leather gauntlet recipe (step-style)

1. Prepare three shades: shadow, midtone, highlight
   • Shadow can optionally include black/red; highlights can optionally include yellow.
2. Add working-time additives:
   • Acrylic thinner + paint retarder
3. Apply in order:
   • Shadows on the inside
   • Midtones quickly
   • Highlights on the opposite side
4. Use a small brush and many small strokes with heavier paint to build texture.
5. Finish with dark brown wash ink (one application) to saturate and make shades pop.

Boots weathering trick

• Instead of repainting for a clean edge, apply:
  • one coat of heavily watered-down black paint
• This restores edges while making spilled/dry-brushed mess look like dirt/wear.

Metallic painting with brush + washes

• Black base coat
• One coat acrylic copper paint (brush-friendly thickness)
• Apply multiple washes (dark brown and near-black)
• Reapply copper for definition using dabbing to create highlight areas

Tattoo painting approach

• Tried using tattoo mediums to thin acrylic (including near-transparent options), but the result was undesirable.
• Redid using:
  • Opaque light baby blue, mixed subtly with flesh tones for natural blending
• After sufficient drying time:
  • Add darker blue details and highlights

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Paintbrush-only Process (Workflow)

1. Start with a fully prepared resin figurine (skipping printing/cleaning/sanding in this build).
2. Apply 2 light primer coats (rattle-can filler primer).
3. Paint base colors using flat acrylic, adding shadows/highlights where appropriate (hair, clothing, leather, etc.).
4. Paint eyes:
   • Light gray base for whites (thinned paint, multiple coats)
   • Iris strokes toward the pupil
   • Black pupil, then highlight and optional glossy finish later
5. Apply temporary/full sealing varnish:
   • Used gloss instead of satin as an accepted base layer.
6. Plan skin style, then start over and repaint using smoother blending:
   • Use acrylic + brush retarder for work time
   • Blend highlights/shadows while leaving slight brush texture intentionally
7. Paint leather/fabric with material-specific texture control (especially gauntlets):
   • 3 shades + wash for saturation
8. Paint metallic parts:
   • Black base → copper coat → dark washes → copper highlight dabs
9. Paint tattoos:
   • Opaque baby blue (subtly mixed with flesh tones)
   • Add darker blue + highlights after drying
10. Paint hair (blue):
    • Same 3-tone approach (shadows/highlights) with retarder/thinner for blending
11. Paint/attach the final hair piece (bangs), then prep for final shots.

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Creators / Contributors Featured

• The main creator/instructor (unidentified by name in the subtitles) provides the only voice and guidance throughout the build.
• The creator also mentions their wife, who helps set up the camera for final shots.