advice on painting tattoos/warpaint

[kengar]

I am working on a wilderness-based campaign and want lots of barbarian humanoid minis for encounters. One of the things I'd like to do that I've not tried before is put some tattoos and warpaint on the orcs, goblin and wild elf figures that I'll be using (The gnolls have too much fur for tattoos, but they're wild-looking enough! ). Does anyone have any general advice or techniques to use for doing this? Or possibly a link to a site with basic instructions on painting tattoos, etc. on minis? Thanks.

 

[Tewligan]

Use REALLY thinned-down paint or inks for the tattoos. You'll need to do a couple of layers because it's so thin, but you'll get a lumpy mess if you try to use paint that's not thinned. Use a small brush (duh). Simple shapes generally look best - really fiddly, complex stuff doesn't stand out unless you're looking really closely. Things like triangles, stripes, simple patterns - more barbaric, as well.

 

[Painfully]

I would use the finest point pigmented ink pens you can find. Size should be 005 on top of the cap and they are made by Sakura or Zig. Make sure it says pigmented ink. You can find these pens in any good art store, and they come in colors of black, red, blue, and green.

Practice on paper first until you have your tattoo perfected and can draw it easily and quickly. Then, go ahead and try it on your mini.

Once you've drawn your tatto, be sure to give it a wash over the tatoo of a flesh color so that the tattoo looks like it's under the skin, and not just sitting on top of the surface. It will dull down the color a bit, but it will seem more real than if it sits on top of the skin.

As always, practice, practice, practice. It's the short and the long answer to every mini question I seem to read. Good luck!

 

[Tanager]

Re: Pigment ink pens.

Staedtler makes a good line of pigment ink pens called 'pigment liners'. Additionally i once had one with a brush tip, don't remember the brand for certain, it might have been Pentel though.

Just remember, if you use the point .005, the tip is very fragile, you barely want to stroke the surface with the tip or you risk bending/crushing it.

 

[KnowTheToe]

Pens are the only way I can get consistant markings. I have tried with brushes but my stroke width varies.

 

[Domni]

Casting my vote for pens as well
I use Micron Pigma pens bought at Michaels craftstore..about $2 a pen. Use the 005 size, make sure the paint is completely dry before using the pen or it may clog the tip. After the pen is completely dry, a layer of flesh highlights softens the tat making it look as if it's part of the skin instead of drawn on top