Wet Blending
Blend two wet colors directly on the model for seamless, smooth transitions.
Wet blending skips the layers entirely: we put two colours on the model while both are still wet and mix them into each other right there on the surface, so the transition isn't built in steps — it simply exists, seamless, the moment the paint dries. The whole technique lives inside a window of roughly a minute — sometimes less in a dry room — before the paint tacks up; retarder and a wet palette stretch it to several. That's why we work one small section at a time with everything staged: speed and preparation, not brush skill, are what make a wet blend succeed.
Best For
Recommended Paint Types
Step-by-Step
Set up both colours thinned to milk, kept wet on a wet palette on a wet palette before you start — once the first stroke goes down, there's no time to mix.
Lay the darker of your shadow colour and highlight colour onto the shadow side of one section small enough to finish wet — a single cloak panel, one blade, generously enough to stay wet.
Immediately lay the lighter colour on the highlight side so the two colours just touch — or slightly overlap — where they meet.
Switch to a second clean brush kept standing by, damp, and stroke gently back and forth along the meeting line, letting the wet paints marry — stop the instant it looks smooth.
If either end lost its identity, touch a little pure colour back into the extreme shadow and extreme highlight while everything is still wet.
If It Goes Wrong
If the paint tacked up mid-blend and left a ridge, stop — never drag half-dry paint; let it dry fully, then smooth the seam with 2–3 glaze coats of the midtone, which rescues almost any failed wet blend.
Variations
Two-brush blending is the gentler on-ramp: one brush carries the paint, a second clean, damp brush follows immediately behind it, feathering the fresh edge into the neighbouring colour. Only one colour is wet at a time, so the timing pressure drops — the damp brush does the marrying that the meeting line does in a full wet blend.
Pro Tips
A wet palette dramatically extends your working time — it keeps the mixed colours open on the palette while you blend on the model.
A drop of drying retarder buys extra blending time — keep it to roughly 10–20% of the paint's volume; overdosed retarder never fully dries. Army Painter's Warpaints Retarder and Stabilizer pair is made for exactly this.
Practice on a spare base or piece of sprue first.
Use a slightly larger brush than you think you need — it holds more paint and covers faster.
Work in a humid environment or mist your palette to slow drying.
Common Mistakes
Working too slowly — the paint dries and you get hard lines.
Using too little paint — you need enough wet paint on the surface to blend.
Over-blending — you end up with a muddy middle tone. Stop when it looks good.
Trying to blend across too large an area at once.