Painting minis; getting started

[MGibster]

I'm actually happy with how he's turning out. No where near perfect, but a very good try in my opinion.

There's no such thing as perfection and you'll likely always feel as though there's something else that can be done to make it better. Sometimes you just gotta say, "I'm satisfied with this."

 

[MGibster]

Here’s an update: I’ve decided the pants are done. I went for a distressed leather look by painting some scratches on the surface and then using a wash to blend it all together. It’s the first time I tried this technique, and I look forward to trying again in the future.

 

[Aeson]

So Krylon spray primer is a BAD idea. Days later the minis are sticky. Perhaps I should have gotten a spray primer that's meant for miniatures? I went cheap and it bit me in the

 

[Sacrosanct]

So Krylon spray primer is a BAD idea. Days later the minis are sticky. Perhaps I should have gotten a spray primer that's meant for miniatures? I went cheap and it bit me in the

Any aerosol spray primer would do that because the chemicals in the propellants is what causes that stickiness.

 

[MGibster]

And I’m getting closer to calling this done. Not sure how I feel about the skull on his club, it’s too brown, but I need to work on his shaft (heh heh) his forearms, and the human he’s carrying. And I still need to finish the base as well.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

So Krylon spray primer is a BAD idea. Days later the minis are sticky. Perhaps I should have gotten a spray primer that's meant for miniatures? I went cheap and it bit me in the

Yeah, spray-on primers are not a good fit for plastic minis. I've got a couple of minis that are tacky to the touch a couple of years after I primed them. Doesn't happen in every case, it must depend on how much propellent winds up on the mini.

And just to repeat what mgibster said up thread - thin coats of paint are the best. Most tutorials I've watched say to thin your paints to a consistency like milk. I suspect you're thinking what I thought when I first heard that phrase "WTF? Isn't that just water?" But it works. And, if you thin too much, that's ok, you can always do another layer.

 

[Aeson]

The set the minotaur is in has griffins. I spray primed a couple of them and they're sticking to any surface I put them on. I think I'll just use brush on primer for now. I'm having better results with it.

 

[MGibster]

So Krylon spray primer is a BAD idea. Days later the minis are sticky. Perhaps I should have gotten a spray primer that's meant for miniatures? I went cheap and it bit me in the

It depends on what the minis are made out of, but I really don't know the difference between the kinds of plastic used by each company. I have some Reaper Bones minis that are still tacky to the touch after having been painted for a few years now. But the plastic and resin models I have from Games Workshop and other companies never get that tacky feeling with canned primer.

 

[Mad_Jack]

My experience is that once you get the hang of dry brushing and using washes to even the most basic degree you will end up with results you never though were possible from your level of skill.

Any time I teach someone to paint minis, I always tell them to ignore all the fancy painting techniques they see in the videos and focus on mastering the basics first - especially since mastering brush control is the basic stepping stone towards learning to do all those other techniques. I teach people how to paint straight and curved lines well enough that they can make the lines the same thickness all the way through on a piece of paper before they ever touch a figure...
Some people try to dismiss things like drybrushing and washes because they're basic techniques, but anybody that's ever had a freshly-grilled burger knows that basic can be done exceptionally well.

I hate eyes so much I save them for last before deciding if they are even necessary. Sometimes the shading of a flesh wash on a small mini does enough to suggest the presence of eyes and that is good enough for me.

I'm primarily a display painter rather than painting for gaming, so it's the opposite for me - I spend more time on the faces than any other part of the figure, and if I can, I'll paint in the reflections of light in their eyes.

I just wanted to share a pic of the first minis I painted back in spring of 2020 (though the pic is from later). I figured lizardfolk would be a good and easy place to start, and sometimes I get the urge to strip and repaint them with the skills I have acquired since, but I also like looking at how far my work as come.

View attachment 261606

Ral Partha 11-444 troglodyte and 11-475 lizardman... Nice.

(Yeah, I'm that guy with the complete encyclopedic knowledge of every fantasy mini ever produced rattling around in his head, lol. I collect the RP Official AD&D 2nd Ed. 11-XXX series figures and box sets...)

I go back to the old Testors Enamels and brushes days, and was painting for more than five years before starting to dot in the eyes with a sharpened toothpick and another five before I discovered drybrushing, lol. Most of my early work looks like a five-year-old colored them with crayons.

The dwarf in this pic is from the old TSR Monks, Bards and Thieves set, and is probably the earliest mini I painted that I still have.

 

[el-remmen]

All those white spots are driving me nuts

Consider thinning the paint a bit, it will help it get in the recesses. But yes, brush on black primer is your friend.