It's with super-excitement that i can report that using a cheap blend of acrylic paints for your base coating and layering, even dry brushing actually works just as well as the Citadel Paint buckets.
Let's pause and think about this. 5 dollars for a case of 12 acrylic paints, or 4 dollars for a paint bucket from citadel. hmmm...tough choice.
Now don't get me wrong there are some great things about the citadel paints. So let me list the pros.
1) color is ready to use, no mixing required.
2) it's doesn't dry quickly.
3) It's got a nice natural varnish as well.
And here are the pros of basic Acrylic Paints from Artist's Loft let's say.
1) Super Cheap
2) More control by mixing. allowing you to blend, layer, highlight to your heart's content.
3) SUPER CHEAP!
The fact that you can create a gradient blend is awesome, and again a money saver. However you will need a retardant which costs 10 bucks. and understand how to blend the colors (video to come). As well as enjoy experimenting.
Here's the best part, you can also purchase acrylic metallic paint for 1.50 again opposed to 4 bucks. This gives you a fabulous metallic shine to your swords, armor, etc...
WASHES. Washes are the only thing that I say you should stick with Citadel with. you can try making it yourself but man does that take some finesse, you can try and buy calligraphy ink but the price is pretty much the same. Washes look fantastic, they give your character a lot of...character.
Dry Coating. sigh...this confused the crap out of me. Just take an old crappy brush with coarse bristles, tap tap tap it in the lighter version of your base color, and flick gently the area you want to highlight. Don't spend money on specialized paint or a special brush.
I will be making videos of this which you can see here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDSIaz20xJgSRLSTuSiAwsg/feed?filter=2
But also check out the final product.