Painting minis?

[Marc17]

I use various model paints. Craft acrylics will work but aren't the best. I do go to the art store to buy big bottles of my black and white. You usually don't want pure white, but rather an off white. After you paint, look into doing a dark wash and dry brushing. Simple techniques that are really good about hiding imperfections and making details pop.

As for rattle cans and reaper Bones: I dislike rattle cans anyway. Needs some good technique. Just half a second too long or a pass too many and it seem details get clogged up and drips happen. I prefer to just brush paint primer. I've also heard the sticky thing is due to the Bones breaking agent (from mold casting) and they need to be washed with soap first as it is not just primer it reacts to. Otherwise, you might check eBay for Reaper Bones auctions people might have up for sale. Large batch of minis but probably still pretty cheap for what you get. (I haven't searched for some time though. I have all the Bones KS editions and maybe 2% painted.)

 

[MGibster]

I'm going to say something negative about Reaper right now. Their Bones (white) line isn't great for new painters. The Bones white lines is inexpensive, sure, but the models often lack details, which I think a beginner should see because they need the practice. The larger Bones white models, like Cthulhu, aren't bad, but the smaller, PC sized ones often lack detail.

 

[Fenris-77]

I use a mix of GW and Vallejo paints, with some army painter stuff tossed in. You really do need good quality acrylics for mini work just to ensure that the coverage will be ok. Cheaper paints will give you fits when you try to cover darker colours with red or yellow for example. Better quality paints with more pigment make things easier. A lot also depends on what kind of technique you're using. If you want strong blocking and a dip then pigment density and coverage are key, but if you're going to do a ton of soft layering you cand look into other products.

 

[Koloth]

In addition to paints, minis and brushes, get an X-acto knife set and a few of those diamond coated mini files. Most minis can benefit from some cleanup out of the package. Mold lines and such.

One of those 'Third Hand' set of adjustable clamps can really help.

2nd the warning about spray primer and white Bones minis.

For 3D printed minis, I have good luck with Rustoleum 2X primer, especially on filament prints. Don't use the normal 2X paint colors as primer. It claims it is primer but doesn't work as well as the black and gray. Several light coats are far better then one heavy runny coat.

A sheet of 100 grit sandpaper is great for clean up of the undersides of mini bases.

Unless you have a dedicated yours only paint station, get a nice large sheet of cardboard to use as a table protector. You WILL spill paint, stick super glue to some thing, and oops with the x-acto knife. Especially if you share the table with others. The cardboard can go a long way to maintaining domestic tranquility.

 

[soviet]

A wet palette. The army painter one is great, they're really cheap. It's just a bit of wet foam with a sheet of special paper on it that allow some of the moisture underneath to stop the paint from drying out. It's a game changer that lets you just concentrate on painting without having to constantly battle the paint itself.

 

[Clint_L]

We've got a few threads about miniature painting. My favorite is this one, but I'm biased. Let's start with the basics.

What do you need? You need paint, brushes, and some miniatures. For paint, the most common brands among hobbyist here in the United States are going to be Citadel, Army Painter, and Vallejo. Any one of those paint brands is fine. As you gain more experience, you might find you like some colors in one brand more than you do in others, but just to start out with, these are fine. You should be able to find them in a nearby hobby shop or through an online vendor. I would maybe avoid Citadel because they're a bit on the pricy side. They're fine paints, but expensive for what you get. You might also find paints brands like AK Interactive, Two Thin Coats, or Pro Acryl in your area. Those paints are fine as well.

Do not go overboard on purchasing paint. i.e. Don't buy every single color out there. Start small with a limited palette of colors. Army Painter does sell some decent starter sets, so that might be a good place to start. But you could just buy a few colors you want to use with whatever miniature you have in mind to paint.

As far as brushes go, I don't have any specific recommendations for brand. Since you're just starting out, I'd go for the cheaper brushes first. You can hit up any store that sells art supplies, like Michael's (if you're in the US), where you can find inexpensive brushes in the sizes you want. I typically purchase a variety pack of smaller brushes and use them until they die. Brushes are going to be more expensive at your local hobby shop and I don't usually think it's worth the premium you pay.

When it comes to miniatures, get the ones you think it'd be fun to paint.

Reaper Miniatures has been my go to for fantasy miniatures for nearly thirty years. They have a wide variety of miniatures and you'll likely find one that's pretty close to whatever D&D character you happen to have. Do they make the best models? No. But when it comes to quality and price, I think they provide more value than most other producers. You might find their models at your local store but you'll definitely find them online.

WizKids is another company whose products you're likely to find at your local game store but you'll find them online as well. While these models are reasonably priced, I just don't care for most of them. I do like some of their monsters, like the Beholder, and their dragons, but for regular PC type miniatures I avoid them like the plague.

Citadel Miniatures (Games Workshop) are the gold standard for high production, quality models, but they are overpriced. I say that as someone with a fairly extensive Warhammer 40k collection. $40 for a single miniature is probably a bit much to ask a new person to spend. I'd avoid them for now unless you can find some used models for a good price.

I would add that Games Workshop miniatures are high quality but also have a very particular aesthetic; most aren’t great for D&D if that’s what you are painting for. Dungeons and Lasers makes similarly quality miniatures with a more traditional fantasy aesthetic, but their range is still a bit limited. Both brands also involve assembling the miniature before you can paint.

I concur that Reaper is your best bet for traditional fantasy miniatures, but stay away from Bones White unless it’s a large miniature, and don’t use spray primer on those. But most of their best miniatures are now available on Bones Black or better, and prime just fine.

I also recommend black primer for most miniatures as it helps keep edges sharper and is a great base coat for metal.

Also..,Army Painter speed paints work really well with a sequence of black primer>heavy white dry brush (basically a base coat but keeping it out of crevices)>speed paints.

 

[aramis erak]

Hello, friends. I have not painted minis since I was in high school (a very, very long time ago). I'm thinking about trying my hand at it again, but I am unsure about the best way to start. I'm figuring I'll just grab a basic paint set, some brushes, and some minis. I don't even know what kind of paint to buy (acrylic) or where to find good tutorials (Youtube? Books?) Any advice and suggestions will be cheerfully accepted.

I found in the past that Delta Ceramcoat are pretty good water based acrylics. They paint well, and last on all but the super flexible plastics. The 3.5oz bottle for the same price as a 0.3 oz GW pot is why I tried; I liked them better than GW when last I painted minis (been a decade). Still, been looking at the prices and for getting back into it, they're good value for money... and available even in communities where more gamer-focused brands aren't.

Good brushes are worth the extra, even if using the nasty cheap Testors brand enamels.

Remember to wash the mold release off before priming...

When doing groups of near identical figs, secure them to a cheap hardware store paint stir stick... poster tack is good for such, as is double stick foam tape... and paint in groups.

Remember that the major paints for minis are enamels and acrylics.
All enamels use a noxious solvent, smell bad while painting and drying, and should be done in well ventilated spaces. Also, enamels really need a good primer. Further, unless primed, enamels will damage most plastic minis.

Most acrylics use water as their solvent, and thus washes are easy to do - but keep in mind that distilled water is preferable to tap water. Also: strong isopropyl/isopropanol is pretty good for UNDOING acrylics.

A few brands are latex-acrylics. GW used to be, but supposedly discontinued it. Latex-Arcylic is more durable than standard acrylics, but harder to strip, harder to use, and often wind up wasted in the pot/bottle as a rubbbery mess. And they kill brushes if the brush isn't cleaned frequently.

If using a clear coat, remember to go light, but multiple coats.

I found when mixing, it was nice to have insulin syringes to measure with...

 

[Staffan]

I strongly recommend getting paints using dropper bottles over pots. It makes it much easier to get precise amounts than trying to use a brush as a measuring instrument. However, you may also want to get a "pokey tool" – basically a t-pin or something similar for clearing out paint that gets clogged in the nozzle.

Also, as an alternative to a wet palette (particularly if you're using speed/contrast paints which can be a bit finicky if mixed with water), consider getting a silicone fidget popper. The original idea of them is, I think, basically to provide the same sensory experience as popping bubble wrap, but in a reusable way. So they're basically a bunch of small wells of silicone that you can push from below to easily get dried paint out. Army Painter has recently made a variant that's supposed to be more adjusted to painters' needs, but I'm not so sure about it. Their variant has ten large wells, but I like the small wells on my fidget popper as most of my painting are of individual character models rather than armies.

Another thing to keep in mind: you will often see professional or semi-professional painters display miniatures online that look absolutely gorgeous, with subtle layering and shading to the point where you basically can't tell one layer from another. They might also have delicately painted eyes with clear irises and pupils, and sometimes even visible makeup. You will also see these pictures blown up to the size of your computer screen. Some people may look at these and think that's some sort of expected standard. Nothing could be farther from the truth. For most of us, the use case of a painted model is a tiny thing that's about 3 cm tall and which you'll usually be looking at on a tabletop that's maybe a meter away from your eyes. Don't sweat the small stuff (like gnomes). Personally, I usually don't even paint eyes unless they are particularly large, because the brain is pretty good at filling in that sort of thing on its own. If you're using speed paints and don't paint eyes but instead let the shape of the model combined with the speed paint magic suggest eyes, the viewer's brain will likely go along with it and accept that of course there are supposed to be eyes on there. But if you do paint eyes and get them wrong, which is incredibly easy, the brain will object to them in some sort of uncanny valley situation.

Also, the only way of getting better at painting is to actually paint. You'll learn what works for you and what doesn't. And even a mediocre paint job looks a lot more cool than unpainted minis.

 

[GothmogIV]

Thanks to all for this great advice. I'm going to start small with a beginner's paint set and a BIG mini to practice on. There is actually a great store near my home--a business I have been visiting, in its three different locations and three different owernships--since the early 80s.

 

[Clint_L]

Thanks to all for this great advice. I'm going to start small with a beginner's paint set and a BIG mini to practice on. There is actually a great store near my home--a business I have been visiting, in its three different locations and three different owernships--since the early 80s.

Big monsters are fantastic for practicing on!

With human-like miniatures we tend to sweat the details. With a shambling mound, earth elemental or whatever it’s a lot easier to go to town and get a result you’ll be happy with even as a beginner.

I recommend black primer, then a base coat where you don’t worry about getting right into every nook and cranny (ie let the black emphasize the shadows) and then throw on a few highlights to taste. Maybe a light drybush over rougher textures.