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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Desdichado" data-source="post: 1103832" data-attributes="member: 2205">Expensive "miniature" paints are a waste of money.  Not only are they not better quality, the pots they come in are prone to allowing the paint to dry out quickly and become useless.I buy all my paints from craft stores -- the acrylic kind like AppleBarrell, Folkard or Americana.  You get a lot more for your money, you have a lot more options, and the packaging is way better.  Not only that, I've always had consistently good results with the paint.  I've also bought fairly cheap brush sets, but I replace them fairly regularly.Some other advice?  Prime the minis first.  Black is my favorite color, since if you miss any small areas, you don't really notice them.  You often have to re-undercoat lighter areas with white if you do, though.After you paint a fairly large area with a certain color, get a darker color and thin the paint with water considerably.  With a larger brush, apply the thinned paint and let it flow into the cracks, crevices and detail of the mini.  Let it dry.  This will create the illusion of shadow.  Go back lightly over the area with the main color again to get the true color back, but make sure and leave the darker shadows in the recesses of the mini.  Go back again, even more lightly, with a lighter version of the main color to get highlights.Use static grass, flock or "railroad ballast" to give the base of your mini some texture and color.  A mini looks unfinished without the base done as well.If you're going to use the mini for play, be sure and spray it with some kind of clear coat that will protect the paint from chipping and flaking; although a good coat of primer will help alleviate a lot of that as well.Be sure and have a very fine brush -- 00 or smaller -- for fine detail like eyes, jewelry, tattoos, etc.Anything else?  I paint a fair amount, and although it can get tedious if I do too much at once, I've been at it for several years.  I'm hardly competition winning in quality, but I've got the best looking minis around locally, for what it's worth.I don't really use them for D&D though -- I play Blood Bowl, and I also just collect minis because I like'em.</blockquote>

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