Gesso

I am fairly certain that this will not be news to you painting experts out there (I'm looking at you John, Red, Raymond, bobaferret, and everyone else whose blog I follow), but I have discovered a new kind of primer. Gesso. It is a brush on primer and I love it.

I was reading on another forum recently about painting and modeling in an effort to discern some techniques and such to help me improve my painting. I found a discussion regarding gesso and I was intrigued enough to run out to my local arts and crafts store and by a pot of the stuff.

I'm not a chemist so I'll not even try to explain what gesso is from a component standpoint. I will only say that this is the stuff the artists use to prep their canvases prior to actually putting any paint down. Not only does it stiffen the canvas but it also seals the surface so that the paint doesn't bleed into the material.

Anyway, the stuff also works brilliantly on my Protectorate models. I am sure that some of that is due to the fact that these models have been blessed by Menoth so basically all of you non-Menoth players are screwed. :). What I do is pour some gesso into my little cup, mix in just a bit of water, and then just glop it onto the model. Excess fluid is not an issue as long as you make a point of not putting on too much!! I've got some pictures of my WIP Revenger light warjack to illustrate my point. Observe.....

This is my Revenger with original coat of spray primer on it. A terrible finish.........

Here is the same model with the gesso on it. It might be a bit difficult to make out but a lot of the detail has been obscured by the gesso since I just plopped it on there. Take a close look at the haft of the halberd. No detail to be seen.

And here is the model after drying overnight and having some base color applied. Look at the haft of the halberd and the fingers gripping it. All the detail is visible. The detail is visible on the smoke stack and on the face grille and that is how the gesso dries. I have no idea what happens but the stuff tightens as it dries and reveals all of the detail while leaving a good primer coat with a great tooth to hold the paint you put on there.

Again, I am no expert but I wanted to follow in the footsteps of those who have real skill and share with everyone the little things that help me out. Enjoy!!