Cheap pigments

Engineer Jeff

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Joined
Jan 13, 2011
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16
I hope this is cool to post up here. If its not, let me know. I'm a father of 3 younguns and i gotta save money anyway possible. I figured I would pass this on if its not already known.

After checking out the prices on pigments :-X and experimenting with chaulk shavings and not diggin the results I started looking around for sources to buy pigments for teh cheap. I found a place called earthpigments.com and picked up some of their smaller sized bags in a few different natural colors for next to nothing and got a ton of pigment for the price. So far I've had good results and cant tell the difference between this stuff and any of the commerically packaged pigment.

Anyway.. check em out.

http://www.earthpigments.com
 
thanks for the tip ,, sadly they were out of the set I wanted...arrggghh !

I'm also new to using pigments .
I purchased a box of the(non oil) pastel chalks and worked them to create dust, per Dreamknight's video.
I was able to get some pretty cool weathering effects with them
on a practice model.

on a whim I also purchased a few MIG pigments,,,I noticed quite a difference as soon as I tried them.
hard to explain but the Mig pigments are really strong and forgiving, and I like the way they dried better.

I read one major difference is that the pastel chalks are formed and pressed with a binder,, they are obviously not pure pigments and did not seem to blend as well, per my experiments. perhaps this binder interferes with them in a certain way.Not enough to get some great effects !

I will say that the MIG pigments are the real deal, but I'm on the fence with my current abilitys to achieve the added benefit from them, they are not cheap yet... go a long way.so I don't consider them overly expensive.

I plan to practice some more technique with the sanded/shaved chalks,, before using my more expensive pigments.There is definately a difference, but Ifeel a need need to get my
skills up to snuff before utilizing them to the capacity they are capable of.

from my trials....I compare chalks vs pigments to using a spraycan vs using an airbrush.
great results can be had from both with a little practice and experimentation
 
RocketSilo said:
on a whim I also purchased a few MIG pigments,,,I noticed quite a difference as soon as I tried them.
hard to explain but the Mig pigments are really strong

They are very different, as you noticed. You could cover your model with chalk pastels and then wipe half of it off, and wash the rest of under a water faucet. MIG not so much. Vallejo pigments are somewhere in between, not nearly as easily removed as pastels but not quite as strong as MIG.

I will usually use Vallejo for built up mud and dirt effects and groundwork. I will use the MIG for paint fading and streaking and other effects of that nature.

RocketSilo said:
I read one major difference is that the pastel chalks are formed and pressed with a binder


Yup, that binder is chalk. ;)

Hard chalk pastels wont be as colorfast as something like MIG's pigments or artists pigments, because it's mainly chalk binder and little color pigment. Soft pastels, especially ones that use a chalk substitute for a binder will perform closer to pigments than the chalk type but out of all of the pigment brands I have tried, MIG is by far the strongest.
 
BTW Jeff,

nothing wrong with saving money and experimenting with alternate materials.

If you've seen both of my pigment videos you'll hear me mention twice that I use rubbing alcohol for a pigment fixer. MIG's fixer is like $12.00 for a little bottle. Too rich for my blood.

:eek:
 
Hiya Jeff, nice to see you here on the forum.

Like the guys have said, and I agree, there is a difference in chalks and good pigs. It also depends on what you are using them for. I use mainly rust toned pigs so I prefer the MIG products.

scratchmod
 
You will be amazed if you go to an art store.
All the pigment are there even the metalics ( powdered graphite ).
Sold in larger amounts, Pigments are meant for artists that like to make their own custom paint.
Mig used the idea to use in on models and sold it in small amount for large profits.
So go to an art store and you will be amazed what materials that you will find........Dragomir
 
I have artist pigments and they do work very well for certain things.

Having said that, MIG stuff isn't merely artist pigment in a smaller jar. While they may have been the catalyst for his idea, they were formulated specifically for use in modeling and they behave quite differently in certain applications than the bulk stuff found at artist supply shops.

Pigments are used in many applications, not just art. I work in construction and have dealt with powdered pigments in many forms for tinting concrete, tile grout, plaster etc.

Perhaps I need to make a part three to my video series...
 
When you scrape art store dry pastels the resulting particles are way too large. Try a kitchen store mortar and pestle to grind them to a much smaller particle size.

-Dennis
 

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