Tutorial: Dirty Boots

So I am in the middle of painting the Devil Dogs, a band of Mercenaries for Warmachine. I wanted these to be a little bit grubbier than standard. They are not a regular force and I don't imagine them taking to much care over a little bit of dirt or rust. I have basecoated the models and I want to now start detailing them. One of the last things I basecaoted was there boots. I didn't really have another colour available that suited the boots. All the standard browns were used elsewhere on the model and I didn't want to have the boots in the same/similar colour as something like the belt. So I ended up doing them black. I usually avoid this colour as I think it really detracts from a model. Black draws the eyes to it. It is also a nightmare to highlight effectively. So with that in mind I decided these needed to be caked in dirt. I don't imagine the battlefields of the Iron Kingdoms to be nice and clean. I doubt many battlefields are... So I found an easy method to do these boots. A little highlight to the black and picking out the details were really all that was needed. Then some dark brown pigment was brushed completely onto the boots. A generous amount so that once I blew the excess off I was still going to get a good effect. So immediately you can see the effect. The black is toned right down and given a very dusty feel. Then on the raised areas of the boot a thicker layer of the pigment sits. This gives a good mud look. On the metal areas you can see the effect too. The metal is dulled down a lot too simply leaving a brown residue. So thats basically it. The lesson is: cover it with brown pigment! Couldn't be easier right? Well you now have to seal the stuff on. Its important to not touch the stuff while doing this and so I recommend that you spray on a varnish. You have to be careful not to do this with too much force however as that can move the pigment around. Also the varnish tends to remove some of the dusty effect, thats why more is better! I haven't found a fixative that won't do this but I am still searching. If you find it has removed too much then simply reapply some pigment. The great thing about the models feet is that you are very very unlikely to ever touch them so the pigment won't come off.