Tutorial: Art On Your Models – Without Freehand

Using decals on your models is something I have covered already (see here), but I want to take it a step further and show you how to get any image, photo or picture you can scan in or download(*) from the internet onto your models.

I used this method to put an anime version of Shadowsun onto a Tau tank:-

but there is much more you can do with it. Always wanted a set of full-colour banners for your Space Marines, but don’t like bits of printer paper fluttering over your models? This technique lets you put your chosen image on a sturdy banner made out of plasticard or greenstuff. I have no doubt there are other applications.

What do you need:-

1. Decal paper and decal film.
2. An image you want to print.
3. A colour printer.

Decal Paper

This comes in two types, clear and white. What’s the difference? Well, your printer won’t print white as it does not have white ink (unless you have access to a very expensive printer). That means that any white in your chosen image will not be printed. For example, in this picture the background will be clear (which is good) but Shadowsun’s hair will also be clear (which is not so good):-



If you do have white in your image you have two choices. One, you can use clear decal paper and put the decal onto a surface that you have painted white. Secondly, you can use white decal paper instead of clear.

In this next picture you can see the image of Shadowsun printed on both clear and white decal paper. I know they both look the same, but that’s because the backing paper is also white in both cases – the decal paper is different in each – trust me!



Your choice of white or clear decal paper has two main consequences; decal thickness and colour intensity.

Decal Thickness

What I found was that the decal produced by clear decal paper is much thinner than that produced by white decal paper. So much so that if you slide a decal printed on white decal paper onto a flat surface, you can see the edges very clearly. This is fine for banners etc, where the edge of the banner is meant to be defined, but not where you are going for a “painted-on” look.

Colour Intensity

On white decal paper your image will remain vibrant, but on clear decal paper, light colours will be lost unless you place it on a very light surface. In short, clear decal paper will not work for light coloured decals placed on a dark background.

In the end, I went ahead with the clear decal paper rather than the white, since I wanted it to look as if the Fire Warriors in this tank had painted their favourite Tau heroine on their ride. Because I was using clear decal paper, and because the image of Shadowsun had lots of light colours (plenty of yellow), I painted the vehicle hatch white.

Note that although decal paper is not cheap (about £2.50 a sheet), given the size of the images you will be printing on it, a single sheet will probably last you a very long time.

Decal Film

This stuff is liquid decal in a bottle. After you have printed your decal, a coat of this painted on will thicken your decal to prevent tearing and protect the ink. Note that you do not need this stuff, but if your decals are large and always ripping when you try to apply them, you need to get some. It’s not expensive.

Tutorial

• Step 1. Pick your image and chose whether you will be using white or clear decal paper based on the colours in the image and the colour of the model you will be putting it on.
• Step 2. Print your image. This is where you need to mess around with the scale settings to get it just right. Do your test printings on normal printer paper – decal paper is expensive!
• Step 3. Apply Liquid Decal Film (if needed).

  

• Step 4. Cut out your image:-

  

• Step 5. Apply the decal to your model. The best thing to do is refer to my tutorial on applying decals here.

The Shadowsun was an experiment, and if I did it again I would use a larger source image and a better printer with the print settings set to best quality and max DPI. This decal was printed at only Normal print settings with 160 DPI. That said, you cannot see any artefacts unless you examine it very closely. I would also print it slightly smaller next time, so that parts of the image do not extend beyond the smooth centre of the hatch. Although Microsol and Microset ensure the decal conforms to and adheres to these depressions in the model, it does not look as good as it could.

(* I will assume you know all about copyright law in your relevant jurisdiction and, being the hoodlums, ne’er-do-wells and general reprobates you all are, will take the appropriate measures to avoid and/or ignore it entirely. Warning: do not avoid and/or ignore copyright law. ::Buffy voice:: It’s wrong.)