I'm trying to paint some Mechs for my BattleTech game right now and am worried about doing an absolutely terrible job of it. If you guys find any great online resources for learning how to paint minis, please pass that along!
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I'm trying to paint some Mechs for my BattleTech game right now and am worried about doing an absolutely terrible job of it. If you guys find any great online resources for learning how to paint minis, please pass that along!
Will do. Also, for those that are interested. It sounds like many of the deals from Reaper from this Kickstarter will be available in their pledge manager. You might even be able to buy into the same stuff at the same price.
http://weeklyad.michaels.com/stores/3059/coupons
Check that out for 45% off brushes...
I wrote a few getting started tutorials a couple of years ago on my Warhammer 40k blog if you guys are interested. I have a paint and brush guide on there too that gives a brief overview. Feel free to check it out:
http://warmaster40k.com/category/tutorials/
if you want to do a lot of guys in a short amount of time, dipping may be the way to go. I have a quick guide for that too:
http://warmaster40k.com/2009/06/06/f...-dipping-orks/
If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I've done numerous minis.
A few quick tips: Be sure you thin your paint. Painting right out of the pot will never give good results unless you are applying a pre-mixed wash. I always prime before base coating. I recommend spray priming to give a nice thin coat for the paint to bond to. To prime, buy the cheapest Walmart spray paint that you can find. You want the spray paint to be really thin. Choose white, gray, or black to prime with depending on what the top coat needs to look like. Gray is usually the best to go for followed by black. White should only be used in rare occasions.
When thinning your paint, mix up a one gallon jug of water with one or two drops of dish soap. The dish soap will act as a cheap flow aid, which will let the paint lay on the model easier. It breaks the surface tension of the water so it can get into the cracks easier. This is especially important for washes.
The easiest way to get good results is a 5 step process. 1) Prime 2) Even base coat 3) Wash 4) Highlight 5) light wash again. A base coat is not always only one color. A base coat is usually 3-4 different colors in the various areas of interest on the model. For instance, an Ork may have green skin, brown leather, metallic metal bits, and red armor. Each areas gets its respective color. The base coat should go on in 3-4 coats, not in one or two. If you base coat the entire thing in one coat, then it is too thick. A wash consists of thinned paint with extra flow aid. Washing the entire model shades the recesses and gives continuity to the paint job. I usually dab extra wash in the deep portions of the model, such as the eyes, clothing recesses, and joints. A highlight uses the same consistancy of the base coat with a bit lighter shade. I usually do one shade lighter and then another shade lighter on the very high points such as the tip of an axe or the very top fold of a piece of clothing. The final wash is mixed very thin and is used to pull the entire model together, to give consistency to the paint job. It should be twice as thin or more than the initial wash.
Finally, pick out the details such as the eyes, fingers, buckles, etc at the end. This is where you can spend a lot of time giving the model a lot of detail.
I usually like to spray my models with matte clear coat to give them extra durability, but that is optional. There are a lot of other techniques such as inking (which can give incredible depth to the model), free hand designs, base terrain, working with metallics, making your own wash, and such that you will learn over time.
Definitely let me know if you have any questions and I can try to help you out. I've done a ton of research and have painted quite often.
I found some good videos for painting a while ago. One that is extremely in-depth and may be a bit too much for a novice is a series called Miniature Mentor. Also, Privateer Press published a great beginning DVD.
Thanks. I will bookmark your page. I am thinking of going with a cheap set of brushes from somewhere and maybe a halfway decent one or two. That way I can try them out and use them for dry brushing later. Also, you mentioned not preferring black primer, but I have been reading that many rank it black>white>gray.
Have you tried Greybrushing? (read about it here: http://www.enworld.org/forum/media-l...pbell-way.html)
I would love for your to let me know what you think about the Bones line, since it seems many people say you don't need to prime it.
Wow...240 miniatures for the 100 level. I had a wedding to go to and was unable to add more. I wanted to throw in another 20 for some other stuff and it sounds I might be able to once the new manager is released since vampire level donators are grandfathered in. That said, I figure I won't start painting for a while.
You will be able to modify your pledge (what add ons you pick and even increasing, but not decreasing your pledge) when their pledge manager goes out. The email said it could take two weeks and would be up for about 30 days.Quote:
Originally Posted by taggart6
Black is good, I use it quite a bit. The reason I rank gray higher for beginners is because gray is easier to cover with a base coat. White is pretty hard to deal with because pigments such as yellow and red have a hard time covering it and sometime end up looking far too bright. I actually use black the most, but I do a black airbrush coat then a monochromatic coat using the airbrush. This works great for units that are mainly one color like Space Marines. Black gives the deepest color depth IMO, but it is a little harder to do just right than a medium gray. Definitely try both though, depending on your paint scheme black may be better.Quote:
Originally Posted by SewerUrchin
Usually a novice painter gets frustrated with black and they end up putting on a thick coat to cover it. When I brush coat over black, it usually takes 5-6 coats to get smooth coverage. Since I bought my airbrush it only takes 1-2 coats. I can prime and totally base a squad of 10 space marines in about 15 minutes with my air brush. Doing it by hand would take 2+ hours :)
You have to think about your paint scheme too. That Cthulu model, I would do black since he has a lot of deep crevices and will be a darker scheme. Something like a wizard would be good to do in gray due to the clothing and skin tones. Skeletons are good for white. Prime white, wash with black/charcoal, and finish the armor and bits. As you can see it is totally contextual.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SewerUrchin
Dear lord was that thread helpfull. Greybrushing sounds like a solid way to go.
I agree, that whole thread was simply captivating, but then it ends so abruptly. :(Quote:
Originally Posted by taggart6
I feel like I'm missing something in regards to the "greybrushing" though. Why does he prime black then paint black before drybrushing the grey/white on there? Is that extra "paint it black" step necessary? What purpose does it serve?
I had my brother pick up some Bones models while he was out today. I've got some images, but I'll post them in the morning. First impression was that they are smaller than I was expecting, but he only brought home a pack of Orc Archers and a pack of Zombies. Both would be traditionally smaller units, so I'm sure the other models can get quite big. The material is very strange for a model. I've never seen models that use such a bendy plastic. I can literally hold the base of the model and bend the head of the zombie all the way to the ground. I shot a short video of this demonstration that I'll post tomorrow.
I started painting the orcs tonight. Immediately I realized that you can not apply paint directly out of the package, at least with the ones I have. There is some sort of mold release chemical on the surface. The paint runs and pulls together. I applied a rub of isopropyl alcohol with a "dry brush" quite liberally and there was a drastic difference. The paint held very well after the rub. You definitely have to at least rub them down with alcohol. For the larger models that I will be spending time with, I will definitely rub them down AND spray prime them to ensure good adhesion.
Unlike what some of the other reviews have stated, there is noticeable flashing left over from the mold (aka mold lines.) They are not any worse than, say, GW models but it is still there. The bad part is that since the model is made out of a rubbery material, my normal method of removing the lines with a reversed rub down the mold line with a modeling knife doesn't work. There is no easy way that I could find to remove them other than directly cutting them with the modeling knife, which can be very tough to do correctly. I removed the noticeable bits on the head and arms, but didn't get too into cleaning them since these are just practice pieces.
I'll post some images of the process tomorrow. I may do a full write up on my website once I'm finished. I figured out a really good way of applying a handle to these models so I don't have to touch them while painting. It includes a hot glue stick, a lighter, and a piece of card board. I'll show more tomorrow :)
They way I read it, he does an initial black prime with spray paint but then goes over the nooks and crannies with black paint and a fine brush to make sure he really gets it all in there. After that, he does heavy to medium drybrushing with grey paint and then medium to light with white as the last step.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kamakazie
I like how this guy mounts his minis on to old paint bottles when he paints. I think I shall do the same. Notice that with his painting hand he uses the thumb and forefinger to hold the brush while the the other fingers hold the model. The greybrushing thread suggested this as well for stable hands. Nice to see how it works.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZgXZk74oUI
As for gray brushing, it seems like he doesn't do a wash. Instead he seems to build up his paint, dark to light. That's a great way to do it. For me, the wash covers all the nooks and crannies. A wash is easier for me because it shades the regions less harshly than dry brushing. Dry brushing is a bit harder to do than simply laying on a wash. Definitely try both and see what works best for you. I don't like to spend much time priming though. I may try his technique for fun to see how it turns out.
What is a wash exactly? Right now my plan consisted of spraying on primer + basecoat then painting right on top of that. Is this not the way to go?
That's the basic way to do it, but a wash is simply paint that is watered down more than usual. It usually has some sort of flow aid in it as well, such as a very small amount of dish soap or future floor polish, to break the surface tension of the water and allow the wash to prefer the lower regions of the model when applied. The steps would be like this: Prime -> Base coat -> paint all the major colors on the model -> wash -> highlight and detail.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kamakazie
A BIG note, washes can be kind of tough to mix correctly. I HIGHLY recommend buying a premixed wash for your first few minis. GW makes fantastic washes such as Badab Black. However, GW recently changed from calling them "washes" to calling them shades. I haven't used their new line, but it should work much the same as their old line. Pick a brown/sepia and a black wash, as they are the most often used. Reaper also makes great washes. You may still need to water them down a bit, you'll just have to experiment.
Check out this quick tutorial from GW to see how washes work:
https://www.games-workshop.com/gws/c...e=true&start=5
Thankfully I'm not going to need to worry about flesh tones with what I plan on painting. Here's an example of one of the Mechs I'll have to try to replicate:
http://www.sharkyforums.com/images/i.../2012/08/1.jpg
I'll check my FLGS for some pre-mixed washes to see what I can find.
Thankfully I'm not going to need to worry about flesh tones with what I plan on painting. Here's an example of one of the Mechs I'll have to try to replicate:
http://www.sharkyforums.com/images/i.../2012/08/1.jpg
I'll check my FLGS for some pre-mixed washes to see what I can find.
I found these videos helpful.
A wash:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlJVubeExvk
Drybrushing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FggeD...eature=related
I really like the drybushing followed by a wash in the first video. A shame the guy didn't do more paint tutorials.
Kama, a wash would make all those lines on that robot really pop. It is crying for a wash!
I need to get mine to even look like that in the first place! Mine is currently 100% black.Quote:
Originally Posted by Timman_24
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...ket-board-game
Last day to get in on Airborne in your pocket. A lot of stretch rewards, and looks like a fun game, and can merge play with D-Day Dice.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...tidal-wave-dcm
This one is by a small company that is run by a good guy. The free game with it looks good too.
The models look good, but the graphics used in the kickstarter look very low rent.Quote:
Originally Posted by SewerUrchin
I can understand that thought. They have a decent track record though (albeit not a long one). I am looking forward to it. Just debating whether to go prepaint or not since I have the Reaper stuff coming too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Timman_24