A little help with drybrushing?

[Doord]

Title says it all
But I'm quite new to this drybrushing thingy, and it seems to just make an extra edge to you models...
The biggest problem so far is the amount of paint to use while drybrushing, I don't know if I can't get it right (too much paint) or if the models I've been looking at has been painted in a layer above the drybrushing.

Any help is better than none

[vikinboere]

It would help if you could tell us what you are trying to drybrush. Is it a big piece of scenery, a moderate model like a vehicle or dreadnougth or an infantry model.

Also imo don't use to much paint, you can allways give the model a second layer if the first isn't enough but if you use to much you could ruin your model.

Drybrushing isn't good for your brushes, they fall apart really fast once you start to use them for drybrushing. So use a brush that has seen beter days.

I always put a little paint on my brush, wipe most of it off on a small dish and then i "test" it on my left index finger (i'm right handed) If it leaves a "big" stane then there's still to much paint on the brush, if it leaves almost nothing at all perhaps i've wiped off to much (you can still drybrush then, but you will be able to "paint" less cause you barely had any paint on the brush) the soft spot is somewhere in between. That's how i do it.

Sometimes (most of the times to be exact) it's needed to highlight the details again after you've done your drybrushing.

[daddy4count]

You can also use a paper towel... wipe as much of the paint off your brush as you can using the edge of your cup or palette. Then gently wipe it on a clean paper towel until nearly all the paint is gone.

And yes, it should only highlight the edges for you... if it is getting all over everything then you have too much paint. You just want it to roughen up the edges, highlight them.

The alternative is to use a very small brush and trace all the edges you want highlighted. This is a much cleaner look than drybrushing... both have their place but the finished look is very different.

[Doord]

Thanks for the responses, for vikinboere, I'm painting standard infantry and apparantly I'm using waaaay too much paint...
For daddy4count I'll try just highligting, see the result and then consider which technique to use.
Again thanks

[The Infernal Penguin]

Whilst the best way to get better at painting is to paint a lot and try and push yourself, in this case 'less is more' may be what you're looking for.