How to do a "Betuneado" (Quick Painting Technique)

Introduction:

The "Betuneado" painting technique is a quick way to paint a lot of miniatures in a short time. The results are not awesome but for me are just good enough.

For the technique is necessary "Betún de Judea" that could be translated as Judea Bitumen or Syrian Asphalt. This product is usually use in wood aging. The name of the technique came from the word "Betún" (bitumen) and is like doing/applying bitumen.

The technique also needs a  matt-varnish.

The results are similar to the ones obtained using the dip method were the miniatures are dipped in a product like Minwax PolyShade or whatever other product.

The next pic show a preview of the result

Step 1: White Priming the miniatures

This is rather important, as the white primer will make colours stand out more than other primers and with this technique colours tend to fade a little bit so is good they start being a little bright.

Step 2: Painting the miniatures (without highlights or shadows)

Chose some bright colours and paint the miniature with them. This is a quick technique so forget to mix some colours or applying some darker or brighter colours to do some highlights or shadows.

Step 3: "Betuneado"

Shake well the matt-varnish and open the can. With and old brush or a cheap brush transfer part of the varnish to a place where you could make a mix like a glass jar lid. After there is some varnish in the lid, slightly dip the brush in the Judea Bitumen once and stir the varnish of the lid with it until the mix is homogeneous. I normally put in the lid around 20 drops of varnish and dip the brush only once in the Judea Bitumen. If the resulting mix is too dark add some more varnish and if it is too clear add more judea bitumen. It is good to check out the shade of the mix before applying it to the miniatures, for example, applying some in an old newspaper.

The pic below shows the varnish transferring process

 

In the pic below the brush has been dip in the Judea Bitumen (the glass jar shown above but normally it came in a plastic recipient).

The next photo shows the mix not well mixed yet.

And the homogeneous mix in the next pic.

Now we apply the mix to the miniatures. Use gloves at least in the hand that will hold the miniature and apply the mix in a well ventilated area.

Step 4: Let the mix dry

Well, that's about it, when the miniatures are dry you could add some sand to the bases.

Things to keep in mind:
- The varnish is normally a synthetic one so it is necessary to have a proper solvent to clean the brush.
- Use gloves to cover up your hands in order to avoid get varnish in your skin.
- The synthetic varnish are toxic so use them in well ventilated areas.
- The shadows of this technique are brownish and not all the colours will have good results with this technique, especially in flat areas.
- Pure white have horrible results with this technique.
- After the mix of varnish and Judea Bitumen is dry it is possible to do some highlights with the basecoat colours.

Another Example of the results of the technique:

Hope you have found this entry useful.