wickedartstudio
Mac-Valve Maestro!
I had a little time to to compare the new Illustration paint with Wicked Detail and plain Wicked paint today. Let me begin by saying these are only my opinions based on my own experiences on this particular day. I encourage anyone who is interested in trying the new line to do so and form your own opinion based on your painting habits.
I used Illustration Cerulean Blue, Wicked Detail Cerulean Blue and Wicked Blue for this comparison. In previous posts I've mentioned that I normally use a "home brew" reducer. For the purpose of this comparison I used the Illustration reducer with the Illustration paint and the Wicked reducer with the Wicked Detail and Wicked paint. I used the same Iwata HP-CS for all three paints and my air pressure ranged from about 5 to 25 psi. I tried each paint unreduced through that air pressure range and then reduced 1:1 at 25 psi. I was very impressed with the Illustration paints detail ability, unreduced straight out of the bottle. It was far better than the Wicked Detail and the Wicked concerning ultra fine detail. Reducing the Wicked Detail and the Wicked paint improved the ability to create very fine detail, but the Illustration paint won this comparison by far. At approximately 5 psi, the unreduced Illustration paint pulled a very fine line, although it was inconsistent and skipping somewhat. With some reduction, I believe minute detail could be executed at very low air pressure using this paint. At 10 psi the skipping diminished and the line consistency improved. 15 psi was even better and 25 psi was the sweet spot for my style and techniques. I still experienced some skipping at 25 psi, but it was very minimal.
Unreduced Wicked Detail Cerulean Blue was very inconsitent and spitting at 5 psi. Wicked Detail performed closer to the Illustration paint (with fine detail lines) at 10 psi, but it was still spitting and inconsistent. 15 psi was better, but there was still a lack of control feeling. 25 psi was again the sweet spot for me. Wicked Detail was controllable at 25 psi, but it was more consistent after reducing the paint. I was surprised at the stark difference in hue between the Illustration Cerulean Blue and the Wicked Detail Cerulean Blue as well. The Illustration color is a much darker tone. The Wicked Detail Cerulean Blue and the Wicked Blue are virtually identical in color.
Unreduced Wicked Blue would not spray a line at all at 5 psi. It just spit paint out occasionally. At 10 psi, the Wicked was slightly inconsistent, but it outperformed the Wicked Detail in my opinion. I was very impressed with the smooth consistent detail lines I was able to achieve at 15 psi. The lines were not as fine as the Illustration paint allowed me to spray though. I noticed no difference in sprayabilty when I moved to 25 psi. I was impressed with the Wicked, but I still felt the paint needed to be reduced.
Full saturation and covering ability puts another win in the Illustration paints column. The Illustration paint is more opaque in nature than the Wicked Detail or the Wicked. I was able to fully cover a darker orange color (with a white line going through it) faster and using far less color with the Illustration paint than I could with Wicked Detail or Wicked.
The Illustration paint can be reactivated easily with plain water if you desire to do so. Wicked Detail and Wicked were both reactivated with water as well; however, it was far more difficult to do so.
The Illustration paint, reduced 1:1 with the Illustration reducer, worked flawlessly. My control and confidence improved after reducing the color. Full intensity was easily reached with a few passes even after reduction. Wicked Detail and Wicked appeared to take on more transparent qualities after reducing them. Full saturation was easily achieved, it just required more passes to do so than with the Illustration paint. Reducing Wicked Detail and Wicked 1:1 improved control dramatically, but I was unable to match the very consistent super fine lines created with the Illustration paint.
I was stunned when I tested gradated fading. The Wicked Blue won this comparison hands down. I thought for sure the Illustration paint would get another win in this category based on the detail I achieved compared to the others. Not to mention that it's my understanding the pigments in Wicked Detail are supposed to be finer than those in the Wicked. All three produced nice gradated fades and blends, but the Illustration and Wicked Detail paint were more "grainy" (an inherent charactersitic of water based paints anyway) by comparison. This remained true even after adding transparent base to the mix. The Wicked Blue had a far less "grainy" appearance and even less after adding a few drops of transparent base to the cup.
Tip dry is inherent with water based paints as well and I'm afraid I pick the needle without thinking about it most of the time. Tip dry was present with all three paints, but I have no idea if one was better than the other. As I said before, these are only my opinions, but I hope it helps someone.
Trevor
I used Illustration Cerulean Blue, Wicked Detail Cerulean Blue and Wicked Blue for this comparison. In previous posts I've mentioned that I normally use a "home brew" reducer. For the purpose of this comparison I used the Illustration reducer with the Illustration paint and the Wicked reducer with the Wicked Detail and Wicked paint. I used the same Iwata HP-CS for all three paints and my air pressure ranged from about 5 to 25 psi. I tried each paint unreduced through that air pressure range and then reduced 1:1 at 25 psi. I was very impressed with the Illustration paints detail ability, unreduced straight out of the bottle. It was far better than the Wicked Detail and the Wicked concerning ultra fine detail. Reducing the Wicked Detail and the Wicked paint improved the ability to create very fine detail, but the Illustration paint won this comparison by far. At approximately 5 psi, the unreduced Illustration paint pulled a very fine line, although it was inconsistent and skipping somewhat. With some reduction, I believe minute detail could be executed at very low air pressure using this paint. At 10 psi the skipping diminished and the line consistency improved. 15 psi was even better and 25 psi was the sweet spot for my style and techniques. I still experienced some skipping at 25 psi, but it was very minimal.
Unreduced Wicked Detail Cerulean Blue was very inconsitent and spitting at 5 psi. Wicked Detail performed closer to the Illustration paint (with fine detail lines) at 10 psi, but it was still spitting and inconsistent. 15 psi was better, but there was still a lack of control feeling. 25 psi was again the sweet spot for me. Wicked Detail was controllable at 25 psi, but it was more consistent after reducing the paint. I was surprised at the stark difference in hue between the Illustration Cerulean Blue and the Wicked Detail Cerulean Blue as well. The Illustration color is a much darker tone. The Wicked Detail Cerulean Blue and the Wicked Blue are virtually identical in color.
Unreduced Wicked Blue would not spray a line at all at 5 psi. It just spit paint out occasionally. At 10 psi, the Wicked was slightly inconsistent, but it outperformed the Wicked Detail in my opinion. I was very impressed with the smooth consistent detail lines I was able to achieve at 15 psi. The lines were not as fine as the Illustration paint allowed me to spray though. I noticed no difference in sprayabilty when I moved to 25 psi. I was impressed with the Wicked, but I still felt the paint needed to be reduced.
Full saturation and covering ability puts another win in the Illustration paints column. The Illustration paint is more opaque in nature than the Wicked Detail or the Wicked. I was able to fully cover a darker orange color (with a white line going through it) faster and using far less color with the Illustration paint than I could with Wicked Detail or Wicked.
The Illustration paint can be reactivated easily with plain water if you desire to do so. Wicked Detail and Wicked were both reactivated with water as well; however, it was far more difficult to do so.
The Illustration paint, reduced 1:1 with the Illustration reducer, worked flawlessly. My control and confidence improved after reducing the color. Full intensity was easily reached with a few passes even after reduction. Wicked Detail and Wicked appeared to take on more transparent qualities after reducing them. Full saturation was easily achieved, it just required more passes to do so than with the Illustration paint. Reducing Wicked Detail and Wicked 1:1 improved control dramatically, but I was unable to match the very consistent super fine lines created with the Illustration paint.
I was stunned when I tested gradated fading. The Wicked Blue won this comparison hands down. I thought for sure the Illustration paint would get another win in this category based on the detail I achieved compared to the others. Not to mention that it's my understanding the pigments in Wicked Detail are supposed to be finer than those in the Wicked. All three produced nice gradated fades and blends, but the Illustration and Wicked Detail paint were more "grainy" (an inherent charactersitic of water based paints anyway) by comparison. This remained true even after adding transparent base to the mix. The Wicked Blue had a far less "grainy" appearance and even less after adding a few drops of transparent base to the cup.
Tip dry is inherent with water based paints as well and I'm afraid I pick the needle without thinking about it most of the time. Tip dry was present with all three paints, but I have no idea if one was better than the other. As I said before, these are only my opinions, but I hope it helps someone.
Trevor