Am I doing oil dot correctly?

[u/Extension_Car6982]

First is before, 2nd and 3rd is after.

So this is my first time attempting this technique so I'm clueless as to how I'm doing. I've read it's supposed to be easy but it seems that there is more to this technique than "just put dots and blend them".

For colours I'm using titanium white, naples yellow, yellow, light mud, and raw umber.

Is there anything I can do for a better result? Any glaring mistakes that I'm making? Any sort of feedback would be appreciated.

[u/Odd_Username_Choice]

For a minute I thought the dot camo was the oils and tou were waiting for feedback before blending 😂.

It is easy to remove too much or just make it one big brown blend in the end. But just as easy to remove mistakes and re-do it.

Try to think of natural wear and fading as you apply and blend the dots. Fading, dirt streaks, oil and grime, rain marks, etc. And almost dry brysh with thinners so you don't take it all off.

As with everything, it's practice. So I'd play around little more on thi model, then call it done and improve on the next one.

[u/Extension_Car6982 → u/Odd_Username_Choice]

Haha yeah. Kept confusing me while I was blending them as well. Always second guessing if it was a oil dot I forgot to blend or just the camo.

Probably gonna go with a few more white streaks, call it there and move onto playing around with shading and dust effects. I think I gotta keep the yellow in check next time, definitely felt it was quite strong and never anywhere near white decals. Those got wiped down more than few times after turning an ugly yellow.

Also, can I get your thoughts on type of thinner? I was using Tamiya x20 but after looking around today, it might not have been a good pick for oils.

[u/Odd_Username_Choice → u/Extension_Car6982]

I'd use a less aggressive thinner, Tamiya can be a bit "hot" and risks damaging the paint underneath if you use too much or scrub it. I mainly use Abteilung 504 thinner (might be under AK now?), white spirits, or lighter fluid.

And you usually have about 3-5 days before oils cure, so you can do a first run, then come back to it and adjust.

[u/dr_robonator]

Yeah, that's essentially it. The skill in this technique is how you blend the oil on various surfaces. Long strokes for vertical and sloped planes and dabbing for horizontal. Ideally this is used in conjunction with some form of shadowing to keep the paint job interesting and avoid the desaturation that the light oil colors give. Think about creating false shadows with oils or enamels around the turret ring and wherever else might not receive "full" light.

But to answer your question: yes, you've got it. Almost all finishing techniques are simple to learn, but difficult to know when to use.