Advice on painting tatoos and stripes on mini's

[Stone Angel]

Just wondered if anyone had any advice on painting tatoo's on mini's. What colors, certain technique stuff like that. Also I bought reapers sabre tooth tiger and I tried to paint the stripes and it didn't turn out to well so I was looking for some help.

Thanks

The Seraph of Earth and Stone

 

[kengar]

I've only done tattoos a couple of times, but here's the advice I followed.

Start simple. Use a fine point art pen (0.5mm). Black or dark blue is best. Begin with basic geometric designs, etc. Practice them on paper first until you know what shape etc. your after.

After you ink the design onto the mini, do a couple layers of thinned flesh tone washes. Thin enough to see the design through, but it makes the tattoo look like it's under a few layers of skin instead of painted on top.

www.paintingclinic.com has some tutorials. Check them out too.

Not sure what the best method for tiger stripes would be.

 

[tetsujin28]

I kind of go about it like a jeweler. I use a big, lit magnifying glass, and very fine brushes. With art pens, it's very important to be sure that the ink won't run when hit with top coat, which even some "permanent" inks will do. The best things is to primer a small spot of any fig, then ink with the pen, then spray on a little top coat. If it doesn't run, you're in business: prime the whole figure, and have fun (the tiny amount of additional primer and top coat won't conceal any detail).

On a general note, the bigger the figure, the more complicated your designs can be without looking muddy at a distance. Remember that most figures are observed at a distance of 2 1/2 feet or more, so that's the level of detail I aim for.

Stripes are really difficult. I've tried doing multicoloured hair on some figures, and it's very finicky. One of the best painters I know doesn't even bother. He paints the figure a base colour, then uses washes and drybrushing for stripes.