Test Tiles

Paul is right that the tiles at the store are inaccurate. They represent the color in a very solid swatch, not airbrushed, and not layered over another color.

For instance, there is a Duncan color called Samoa Taupe. It looked good on the tile, but on the horse it was a bit greenish. You can, however, modify it with some brown and warm it a bit.

I must be honest (since so many people visit here and there is a glaring lack of test tiles) and say that I actually take the chance and use the colors right on a horse. Since I cast my own bodies it is really less of a loss if things go badly. It is rare to have a really bad color if you stick with the horse like colors, it is more often that you don't quite get the effect you want. You may, however, find a really neat effect instead. The Kiln God loves people who take chances and often rewards them with glory.

A tip, for instance, is to always work from light to dark. Never, ever try to paint a light color over a dark color. Even if it looks good in bisque, it will probably show through when the glaze fires on. Also, if you painted a horse and bisqued it, you can squirt the horse with clean water to get a slight glimpse of what color it will be when it is glazed. Don't get it too wet, though... you will need to dry it out before you glaze it.

I use all of the colors on the Mudhen Shopping List and they are really enough variety for most situations. I do mix the colors, and will be glad to send basic recipes if anyone is interested. Bear in mind that your final result depends also upon how light or heavy you are with your airbrush paints. Every layer deepens the color, and you can literally reshade with the same color and get deeper results. (In other words, you could paint a body all over with Butterscotch, and then shade the muscles with Butterscotch, and you could see the depth of color in the shaded areas. It would be faint, but it would be there.)

Good luck!  Joanie