Tips for a noob painter

Shaun

Member
Hello i will be painting Eldar and Dwarves for the most part ... as with all skills in life i am assuming painting minitures has its mistakes and learning processes so as always advise can help people learn faster ... so - are there any words of wisdom for a person new to painting?
 

wint65

Member
The first bit of advice is there is no right way or wrong way to paint miniatures take your time don't rush things


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jon_1066

Member
Shaun":2a970ixb said:
Hello i will be painting Eldar and Dwarves for the most part ... as with all skills in life i am assuming painting minitures has its mistakes and learning processes so as always advise can help people learn faster ... so - are there any words of wisdom for a person new to painting?

Invest in a quality brush. Don't be frightened of spending £10+ on one. Also make sure it is not too small - it is all about the point. Don't use this brush for undercoating or dry brushing whatever you do!

Get some brush cleaner - that will make it last a lot longer.

Experiment with how you want to shade and highlight - washes, blending, dry brushing, etc. In reality you will probably use all of them for various things but don't be afraid to try new stuff out.

Get or make a wet pallet. This will allow you to mix paints more easily.
 

Gallivantes

Member
jon_1066":t4uvjk7b said:
Invest in a quality brush. Don't be frightened of spending £10+ on one. Also make sure it is not too small - it is all about the point. Don't use this brush for undercoating or dry brushing whatever you do!

Get some brush cleaner - that will make it last a lot longer.

Carrying on sage advice about brush discipline, I have heard that when you dip your brush in paint avoid getting paint all the way up in the ferrule. This is the metal cuff that holds the paint bristles. Over time this will build up and force the bristles apart ruining your brush point. I can testify to this, as can my poor brushes.
 

Padre

Member
Don't under any circumstances use enamel paints as I do. They're rubbish and you might find yourself trapped using them out of sheer stubborness for decades. They ruin brushes, need smelly white spirit to clean, and can't do washes.

Gallivantes' ferrule advice is spot on.
 

ardyer

Member
And don't be addressed to try something new and screw it up. It happens, but it's also how your get better.

Oh, and no matter what, thin your paint more [FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY]
 

Fimm McCool

Member
Use a good undercoat and experiment with different colours. For instance, if you want bright, colourful Eldar a white base is your friend. If you're painting primarily 'earthy' colours, metals or want a thin, dark demarcation between areas of colour then undercoat black. If you want to play with washes and inks a 'zenithal' undercoat (spraying grey and then a light, top-down spray of white from a distance to pick out highlights) gives a good base for this. I've also found a brown or grey undercoat a good middle ground to work from and if your figures are mostly one colour (such as marines) undercoating directly in the base colour saves time and effort. I recommend Molotow or Montana spray paints (graffiti artists' favourites) as they give a good matt surface to work from and have great coverage without going on too thick. Shake the cans thoroughly for at least a minute before starting (especially first use) and turn the cans upside down and give a quick burst when you're done to clear the nozzle. A blocked spray nozzle is a pain in the backside. Poundland Grey Primer is also good.

Experiment with different paint ranges as well, some people will prefer one over another depending on what their style is. I personally like Vallejo, Army Painter washes and inks and much of the Foundry paint system. Contrary to the above comment I rarely (if ever) thin paint much more than it comes out of the bottle/pot, that just demonstrates that there are different ways and means of getting nice paint jobs and no 'correct answer'. :)
 

Harry

Moderator
Take the time to clean up models properly ... many a fantastic paint job ruined by a mold line.
Get the undercoat right ... (See Fimm's comments above)
Use good brushes .... don't have to spend a fortune on a decent brush ... much more chance of getting the paint where you want it.
Magnification is a winner .... much more chance of getting the paint where you want it if you can see where you are putting it.
Washes and dry brushing are your friends ... leave all this wet palette blending nonsense to the experts. :grin:
Always thin your paint ... many a fantastic mini lost under thick paint. If I was sorting my advice in rank order this would be at the top of the list ... right behind ....

The most important thing ... paint the minis you love ... much more chance of a decent paint job if you are loving painting the mini.
 
I prefer to thin my paint. You shoudn't thin the paint while it is in the bottle, however, since you cannot "un-thin" the paint again. Instead, put some paint on a palette, add a little water and stir the paint (maybe with a cocktail stick or similar).

Whenever I apply paint to a miniature, I continually clean the brush - not just whenever I am done with one color, but every time I have applied maybe five brush strokes or so. The purpose of this is to prevent paint from drying on the brush and always keeping the brush dry [EDIT: keeping it wet, of course :) ], which makes it easier to apply a nice, even and smooth coat of paint. This is especially important when highlighting larger surfaces.

To improve your painting techniques, you might want to take a close look at a photograph of a well painted miniature and then try and copy the exact look of that paintjob. That way one might find out that some paintjobs aren't all that difficult as one thinks at first glance.
 
I disagree with pretty much everything every body has already said!

Which illustrates the idea that you have to do it your way.

I use cheap brushes, £2.80 for 3, from hobby craft.
I dont undercoat, I just paint the base colour straight on.

I tend to paint on the base colour.
Paint on a wash of dark browny black.
Touch up the base colour.
Carefully paint black into the recesses. I use a technique called "feathering". This is where you paint a line on, then clean your brush, then blend the wet paint over the top of the colour underneath, so it goes from dark to light in a gradient. Needs patience but is not hard to do.

I then paint on a lighter tone on the highlights using feathering.

Then do the details.

Also, no matter how good your PJ it wont look good until you do the bases. As James Holloway says "bases and faces".
 

Fimm McCool

Member
Harry":glzzx71k said:
ramshackle_curtis":glzzx71k said:
As James Holloway says "bases and faces".
He stole that ... Dave Andrews said that. :grin:

A lot of people have said that through the years... all of them right. The human brain is trained to read faces first in order to identify individuals and emotions. That means that even looking at miniatures, even non-human miniatures, the eye is drawn to the face first. The base acts as your background and frame, ask any professional artist about the importance of framing correctly.

LilBroGrendel":glzzx71k said:
Whenever I apply paint to a miniature, I continually clean the brush - not just whenever I am done with one color, but every time I have applied maybe five brush strokes or so.

This too. I like to dip my brush in tea... deliberately! The warmer water seems to help the paint flow and I like to think that the tea gives a warming, sepia tint to my work... those things could both be my imagination though!
 

Snickit

Member
Two questions, is the tea "tea" tea or is it "herbal" tea?

Also, does this mean you have a spare cup of tea at your side when painting (here's one for the pot) or do you use the same cuppa that you're drinking?
 

Padre

Member
Fimm McCool":1s28mkqh said:
... I like to dip my brush in tea... deliberately! The warmer water seems to help the paint flow and I like to think that the tea gives a warming, sepia tint to my work... those things could both be my imagination though!

Have you tried other substances? Like Rum or wine (mulled if you like it hot, which some do)? Beer or milk? There could be a whole range of effect to be achieved. Rum for pirate figures, milk for rotting zombies.
 

Fimm McCool

Member
Snickit":2te32qnc said:
Two questions, is the tea "tea" tea or is it "herbal" tea?

Also, does this mean you have a spare cup of tea at your side when painting (here's one for the pot) or do you use the same cuppa that you're drinking?

The tea is definitely tea- usually Lapsang Souchong at that time of the evening. I don't consider anything herbal to be 'tea', merely an infusion.
It's the same cup I'm drinking, although because I like my tea superheated I've usually finished drinking it before it gets used as paint water.
 

Suthers

Member
One thing I'd say is to think carefully about the order in which you paint different parts of the model. There are different ideas on this, but I've always found it best to paint from in to out (i.e. skin, inner layers of clothing, outer layers of clothing and then any accessories) that way you tend to have to worry less about getting paint where you don't want it because you are reaching into awkward parts of the model past bits you've already painted. The one exception to this is that it's almost always best to paint areas that you intend to drybrush first as this tends to be messy no matter how careful you are, so best to get it done initially.
 

Badaab

Member
The number one piece of advice I can offer is this: be neat and simple to start.
To elaborate on this, just practice brush control, it'll go a long way in providing a strong foundation for things as your skills improve. People will speak about things like drybrushing, washes, etc.- and why that's good and all, if you're not putting the correct color in the correct place, it makes mistakes harder to recover from. Neat, tidy basecoats are important, and you can always go back and work the models again at a later date.
You will make mistakes, you will be angry about them, and you will ruin models. Don't worry, we've all done it. Something to remember though is- these are your models, and its your investment of time. Other people really shouldn't be dictating your process, your color choice, or how much time you invest in your miniatures. Your process will grow into something that's your own as you gain experience.
When you're ready to tackle something more advanced, I remember getting the following advice when I was about 15 from a US Golden Demon winner that was a local: pick a miniature you love, and spend as much time as you can on it making things perfect.
Hopefully this helps, and I look forward to seeing your efforts!
 

Mophus

Member
As many other members mentioned already and just to underline the importance :):

- always thin your paints. I've never seen a paint which is ready out of the pot. That's marketing bullshit.
- use quality brushes. A good tip is more important for details than a small size.
- use quality acryl paints. Shake them well. I prefer drop bottles.
- use brush soap/cleaner
- use a wet palette

Using thinned paints and a wet palette were milestones for my painting results.
 
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