Help! Weathering black armor.

[Eldwain]

Hey there all, so I recently finished my first Halo armor. I did an ODST build and it turned out farly good. I was able to do lots of weathering in the form of scratches as you can see below.



Now My Problem is the scratches look cool and all but to give it that battlefield look I want to get it dirty. The only problem is how do you make black armor look dirty. I mean if the armor was any other color I would use some washes of black and brown to give it that look, but with the black armor, it doesn't show up at all.

I did do a photo shoot with my armor were i just actually got it dirty and covered it in mud. but that was just for the photo shoot. I doubt this is the choice method, especially for conventions and commissions.



So I guess im looking for some helpful painting tips on how to make my black armor look dirty without actually getting it dirty. Any help is appreciated, thanks!

 

[drgon47]

I don't see why not. Getting it dirty for real is going to look more natural than something painted on unless you are very good at knowing the physics of how mud splashes. I wonder if you used a clear coat to seal in the existing mud if that would work. Might be worth testing on a throw away piece of foam.

EDIT: Your ODST suit looks awesome!

 

[Eldwain]

I don't see why not. Getting it dirty for real is going to look more natural than something painted on unless you are very good at knowing the physics of how mud splashes. I wonder if you used a clear coat to seal in the existing mud if that would work. Might be worth testing on a throw away piece of foam.

I never thought about clear coating. That might be worth a shot, ill definitely try that on some scraps.

 

[Lockon13]

Well let me know how that turns out for you i my try it on some of my costumes

 

[FlyinPhil]

Using a light brown paint in lieu of a black wash would probably do the trick for you! Again, you'll likely want to use a few scrap pieces to test it out, but it should stand out nicely on a black suit.

 

[Frozensnot]

Adam uses exactly what flyinphil suggests.

I give my pieces a nice mud wash with filtered dirt. Afterwards I put a clear coat over the mud wash once it dries and the dirt stays in its place. Adding real dirt gives a texture to your armor that regular paint can't replicate, which is why I use dirt.

 

[FirstPick]

I used real sand and put a small amount of clear paint in the crevices and then sprinkled sand in it. It dried and now stays in place.

 

[grifandsargert]

look at these video
https://youtu.be/YXzxEqdvuIE
https://youtu.be/VZBLolItvmw

 

[death1ink]

yeah a light brown paint or a tan sand look would go nice. or just wait until it rains and stomp around in a muddy puddle. the seal that with a few layer of clear coat when it dries