How to... ( miniatures)?

[orbitalfreak]

edit: who wants to bet PC hit the wrong button

Heh, yeah. I was quite curious when I logged on and saw a minis painting thread stickied to the top of General Discussion! The Art/Mini/Map forum, I could understand, but not General.

To make me somewhat useful in this thread, "Practice, practice, practice." "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." And any other saying like that, listen to them. There's a reason those phrases have been around a long time, so don't just ignore them.

 

[Desdichado]

Gosh I wish this were true!

I guess we will have to just disagree.

Expensive paint and expensive brushes are worth it and they certainly are better quality. I cannot believe anyone who has tried Vallejo brushes and Windsor & Newton brushes would disagree. I have never had a Vallejo "pot" dry up and I have owned some for at least three years. I am even arguing they make painting easier and more enjoyable, because you will achieve nicer results more quickly.

By all means experiment with paints and use what makes sense for you - I bet you become a Vallejo customer

I've never used Vallejo, but I've used plenty of other miniatures paints, and have not at all been impressed with them.

Now, about craft acrylics -- it is true that some brands are better than others. Ceramcoat and Americana, I've found to be the best, AppleBarrell probably the worst. But I've had good luck with all the brands from time to time. Except the miniatures paints I used to use! I also prefer not to get expensive brushes, because drybrushing and other miniature painting techniques tend to be rough on them anyway. I'd rather replace my brushes once or twice a year than buy really expensive ones. And in practice, I'm not finding I replace them that often. Of course, I'm not painting as frequently as I used to either...

I'd also echo the practice refrain -- the best technical knowledge in the world will only get you so far. You've got to get out there and paint a big handful of minis before you get to the point that you consider yourself really good. If you really like your minis, you might want to investigate paint stripping techniques next, so you can repaint them after you've got some experience!

 

[NewJeffCT]

Well, a lot of good advice, and links to some of the great painters out there and their tutorials. (The person that gave links to "hot lead" and "we got game/jen" gave links to two of the best mini painters in the world, IMO...)

But, a little piece of advice when priming: make sure the area is well ventilated, but also make sure you allow for a longer time for the primer to dry if it is humid. You can start painting within 60 minutes or so of priming, but a good bit of advice is to prime once and let the primer dry overnight. Then, put on a second coat of primer the next day and let it sit overnight again. (and, a way to take advantage of both white and black primer is to first prime in black and then a light coat in white the next day) You can prime a miniature in a few minutes with a spray primer (a minute or two to shake the can vigourously, a few seconds to coat the mini, then a few seconds to make sure you clean the nozzle)

And, make sure you you a flat sealer (or matte or clear coat). Any sort of gloss or semi-gloss sealer/finish will give the miniature an unearthly shine to it. A shining miniature isn't bad if you have a knight in shining armor... but, you don't want a shiny rogue or wizard most of the time, I'd guess.

 

[Piratecat]

Sigh... I tried to move this just as the boards slowed down, and first it got accidentally closed. I managed to open it before everything stopped dead in the water, but... stickied?

Heh - NOW I'll slide it over to the right forum, and my apologies.

 

[NewJeffCT]

Sigh... I tried to move this just as the boards slowed down, and first it got accidentally closed. I managed to open it before everything stopped dead in the water, but... stickied?

Heh - NOW I'll slide it over to the right forum, and my apologies.

By the way, forgive my ignorance, but what does it mean if something is "stickied"?

 

[pogre]

And, make sure you you a flat sealer (or matte or clear coat). Any sort of gloss or semi-gloss sealer/finish will give the miniature an unearthly shine to it. A shining miniature isn't bad if you have a knight in shining armor... but, you don't want a shiny rogue or wizard most of the time, I'd guess.

I like to start with a coat of gloss to give a little more protection - I then follow this with three to four coats of model master flat. Looks completely matte and natural usually.

 

[Desdichado]

I agree -- glossy coats protect better, even though they look worse. A glossy coat, with a matte coat on top of it, is usually the best route.

 

[KnowTheToe]

I agree -- glossy coats protect better, even though they look worse. A glossy coat, with a matte coat on top of it, is usually the best route.

Darn straight it is. If you are making a display piece just skip the glossy because it does seem to mar some of the detail even whne covered.

 

[KnowTheToe]

I don't usually use the gloss but I use 8-10 layers of the dull coat. I spray a layer after I am done painting each section of the mini. This allows me to whipe hair color paint off of the face (or anything else) without marring the face by using a clean wet brush.

 

[tetsujin28]

Geez, you guys use a lot of coat! I've never used more than one layer, myself.

I tend to use semi-gloss. A neat and subtle trick is to use matte finish, and then hand-paint gloss over things that should be shiny, like magic weapons, black leather, etc.

Coat brands: doesn't seem to matter much. Again, I use Krylon, due to its price and even coating.

GW makes a great white paint-on primer called, IIRC, Smelly Primer. It goes on thin, it's easy to get a complete coat, and dries within 15 minutes or so. It also doesn't require ventilation and a lot of room, like spray primers do.