Why does my drybrushing look scratchy or chalky?
Drybrushing looks scratchy or chalky when the brush carries too much paint, or when you use it on a smooth surface. Wipe the brush until almost nothing comes off, then flick it lightly across raised texture such as fur, chainmail, cloth and bone. On flat armour, pick out the edges with a thin layer brush instead.
What drybrushing is for
Games Workshop's Warhammer Colour guide says Dry paints have less medium in them than other paints, which makes them ideal for drybrushing, a technique for quickly highlighting your miniatures. Chainmail, fur and the texture paint on a base are the usual jobs for it. Painters at Warhammer Community, Games Workshop's news site, also drybrush winter fur, wood grain and cloth. Each one is a raised, uneven surface.
Andy, one of those painters, asks before he reaches for a fine brush whether a drybrush could do the same job as a highlight. It only gives a clean result where the surface has texture to catch the paint.
Drybrushing in five steps
- Use a brush kept for this. The Citadel Medium Drybrush and the Warhammer Colour Dry Brush (Small) are two we list.
- Dip only the tips of the bristles in the paint.
- Wipe the brush on card or a tissue until it leaves almost no mark. If it still leaves a clear trail, wipe again.
- Test it on the back of the model or a spare sprue.
- Flick across the raised areas with quick, light strokes. Start with the darker highlight and go brighter in later passes. A second pass is easy to add, but heavy dust is hard to cover.
Why it goes scratchy
| What you see | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Chalky dust over the whole area | Too much paint on the brush | Wipe more paint off and build up in several light passes. |
| Hard stripes where the brush stopped | Strokes dragged in one line | Use light, quick flicks that cross the raised parts. |
| Colour barely shows | Too little paint, or a highlight too close to the colour underneath | Choose a lighter colour than you think you need. If the colour is already light, leave a little more paint on the brush. |
| Ragged, splayed result | A worn brush | Keep one stiff brush for drybrushing only. Games Workshop's synthetic brushes spring back into shape, which suits drybrushing. |
| Flat panels look scuffed | A smooth surface gives the paint nothing to catch | Use edge highlights instead (see below). |
Flat armour: do this instead
A smooth panel gives a drybrush nothing to grip, so it scuffs the face of the plate. Pick out the edges with a Layer paint instead, starting with the sharpest. Paint a thin line along each edge, then add a dot of a brighter colour where two edges meet. Our page on metal armour and edges shows the method step by step.
If you have already drybrushed a flat panel too heavily, paint the base colour back over it in thin coats and start again with far less paint. Our page on fixing a bad paint job covers the other common repairs.
Drybrushes and Dry paints we list
Brushes come in small, medium and large. The Dry paints are made for the job, though a Base paint wiped almost dry works too.
Common questions
Do I need Dry paints for drybrushing?
Not necessarily. Dry paints have less medium, which makes them suited to the job, but Games Workshop's painters also drybrush with Celestra Grey and Screaming Skull. Wipe a Base or Layer paint almost dry and it works.
Can I drybrush a flat armour panel?
Not cleanly. A smooth panel gives the paint nothing to catch, so a drybrush scuffs it. On a first model, edge highlights with a Layer paint give a cleaner result.
What size drybrush should I buy?
A medium brush covers most jobs, including cloth, so start there. Add a small one for chainmail and hands, and a large one for bases and big beasts.
Dry paints and drybrushing: Games Workshop's Warhammer Colour paint guide, read 29 October 2026, and Warhammer Community, 29 June 2022. Examples of drybrushing: Warhammer Community, 18 February 2025, 20 January 2023 and 4 July 2024. Brushes: Warhammer Community, 6 May 2021. Edge highlights: Warhammer Community, 14 July 2023. Prices and stock: this shop, read live. Our own advice: wiping the brush and building up in light passes.