Painting minis?

[GothmogIV]

Hello, friends. I have not painted minis since I was in high school (a very, very long time ago). I'm thinking about trying my hand at it again, but I am unsure about the best way to start. I'm figuring I'll just grab a basic paint set, some brushes, and some minis. I don't even know what kind of paint to buy (acrylic) or where to find good tutorials (Youtube? Books?) Any advice and suggestions will be cheerfully accepted.

 

[Retreater]

I like the Army Painter brand - their "Fanatic" line of acrylics is very good. The starter set comes with a tutorial brochure and a brush. (Without getting too in depth, there are "new" types of paints called Contrast or Speed Paint. They can give medium+ results with less effort - but they have their own techniques.)

I like the following YouTubers: Squidmar, Goobertown, and Duncan Rhodes.
Be patient with yourself, thin your paints, remember that any bad mini can be cleaned and redone, and have fun!

 

[MGibster]

We've got a few threads about miniature painting. My favorite is this one, but I'm biased. Let's start with the basics.

What do you need? You need paint, brushes, and some miniatures. For paint, the most common brands among hobbyist here in the United States are going to be Citadel, Army Painter, and Vallejo. Any one of those paint brands is fine. As you gain more experience, you might find you like some colors in one brand more than you do in others, but just to start out with, these are fine. You should be able to find them in a nearby hobby shop or through an online vendor. I would maybe avoid Citadel because they're a bit on the pricy side. They're fine paints, but expensive for what you get. You might also find paints brands like AK Interactive, Two Thin Coats, or Pro Acryl in your area. Those paints are fine as well.

Do not go overboard on purchasing paint. i.e. Don't buy every single color out there. Start small with a limited palette of colors. Army Painter does sell some decent starter sets, so that might be a good place to start. But you could just buy a few colors you want to use with whatever miniature you have in mind to paint.

As far as brushes go, I don't have any specific recommendations for brand. Since you're just starting out, I'd go for the cheaper brushes first. You can hit up any store that sells art supplies, like Michael's (if you're in the US), where you can find inexpensive brushes in the sizes you want. I typically purchase a variety pack of smaller brushes and use them until they die. Brushes are going to be more expensive at your local hobby shop and I don't usually think it's worth the premium you pay.

When it comes to miniatures, get the ones you think it'd be fun to paint.

Reaper Miniatures has been my go to for fantasy miniatures for nearly thirty years. They have a wide variety of miniatures and you'll likely find one that's pretty close to whatever D&D character you happen to have. Do they make the best models? No. But when it comes to quality and price, I think they provide more value than most other producers. You might find their models at your local store but you'll definitely find them online.

WizKids is another company whose products you're likely to find at your local game store but you'll find them online as well. While these models are reasonably priced, I just don't care for most of them. I do like some of their monsters, like the Beholder, and their dragons, but for regular PC type miniatures I avoid them like the plague.

Citadel Miniatures (Games Workshop) are the gold standard for high production, quality models, but they are overpriced. I say that as someone with a fairly extensive Warhammer 40k collection. $40 for a single miniature is probably a bit much to ask a new person to spend. I'd avoid them for now unless you can find some used models for a good price.

 

[jdrakeh]

I'm in pretty much the same boat as you. I just recently returned to painting minis. I've taken to building small forces for Frostgrave. My current force is Fafhrd (assistant) and The Grey Mouser (wizard), accompanied by a small contingent of warrior women (from Fafhrd's matriarchal clan, IIRC). I'm basing everything in Valejo white brush-on primer, then painting the minis with a combination of Army Painter Speed Paints and their regular acrylics (the latter mostly for armor and weapons).

My friend, a pro-paint level hobbyist, uses the "slap chop" technique on most of his minis and is teaching me how to do that well (currently I do it er... not well). There are also a number of guides to slap chop online (some useful, some useless).

People to follow on Facebook include Midwest Miniatures Guy and Alyssa Fayden for WiP minis and dioramas. Their Facebook accounts are useful for seeing the painting process in progress (I.e. at different stages of completion). Alyssa also does some insane (pun intended) Call of Cthulhu game prep, which is very entertaining. For, example, for GenCon she built and painted a life-size model of the simulacrum from Horror on the Orient Express!

 

[Sacrosanct]

I'll keep this brief. I started painting in the early 80s but am just an amateur and have never even attempted to be professional at it. But I like it. Professional quality isn't needed unless want to be judged--certainly isn't needed if you plan on playing with the minis. If it looks good from 3 feet away, you're golden.

1. Never use spray can primer on plastic minis. You'll end up with a sticky and tacky mini no matter how many times you paint it as the aerosol reacts to the plastic. Instead, manually paint primer or use an airbrush

2. It's ok to overpaint the whites of the eyes too much, because you just touch up with flesh paint at the very end. It's easier to paint flesh up to the eye than it is to keep the white eye part within the eye itself. So don't worry about that

3. The one style I think is worth it, especially if you're painting multiples of the same mini, is the slapchop method. Speed paints work great with this.

4. Use lighted magnifying glasses. Maybe I'm old, but I really cherish these now.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Links:

Slap chop explained

Recommended paints:
Army Painter Dropper style paints
Citadel (although I'm not a fan of their pots)
Reaper Paints (dropper style)
Vallejo Paints (dropper style) A bit cheaper, but good quality

Minis
Reaper Miniatures (my most recommended as the bones lines are inexpensive)
Wizkids Nolzer (pre primed which is nice)

Speed paint overview (Goobertown channel is highly recommended)

Recommended Channels
Goobertown
Dr. Faust
Lyla Mev

 

[jdrakeh]

1. Never use spray can primer on plastic minis. You'll end up with a sticky and tacky mini no matter how many times you paint it as the aerosol reacts to the plastic. Instead, manually paint primer or use an airbrush

Krylon makes a rattle can primer specifically formulated for plastic that works well on plastic minis (it doesn't produce the "tacky" effect mentioned), BUT I think it's currently only available in black (great for vehicles, not great for figures in my limited experience).

 

[Sacrosanct]

Krylon makes a rattle can primer specifically formulated for plastic that works well on plastic minis (it doesn't produce the "tacky" effect mentioned), BUT I think it's currently only available in black (great for vehicles, not great for figures in my limited experience).

I used that on my Bones minis from the Bones V kickstarter. Maybe it was the plastic type they used, but they all came out tacky. I was quite...miffed. Thus I recommend no one use spray can primer at all, as a general rule.

 

[jdrakeh]

I used that on my Bones minis from the Bones V kickstarter. Maybe it was the plastic type they used, but they all came out tacky. I was quite...miffed. Thus I recommend no one use spray can primer at all, as a general rule.

I've been told by those who sell Bones minis that they aren't made of regular casting plastic. They're a mix of plastic and latex (hence the flexible nature of said mins), so I suspect that was the issue. Bones Black are made of regular casting plastic, however. I've never had an issue with rattle can primer on metal, Bones Black minis, or non-Bones plastic minis (that said, I like brush-on primer better).

 

[MGibster]

Professional quality isn't needed unless want to be judged--certainly isn't needed if you plan on playing with the minis. If it looks good from 3 feet away, you're golden.

This I feel is the single most important bit of advice. Do not judge your work based on what you see in magazines or from professional painters. Your painted miniature looks better than your unpainted miniature and this is especially true when you have a large number of models on the table.

Never use spray can primer on plastic minis. You'll end up with a sticky and tacky mini no matter how many times you paint it as the aerosol reacts to the plastic. Instead, manually paint primer or use an airbrush

I have only witnessed this phenomenon with Reaper Bones (white Bones at that) miniatures. I haven't had this problem with Bones (Black), Citadel, Modiphius, Monument Hobbies, Privateer Press, etc., etc. Just Reaper Bones which are made of some odd, soft plastic. If the model is made of a hard plastic, you should be fine with rattle cans.

It's ok to overpaint the whites of the eyes too much, because you just touch up with flesh paint at the very end. It's easier to paint flesh up to the eye than it is to keep the white eye part within the eye itself. So don't worry about that

It is. Though I encourage people to try, it's even okay not to paint the eyes. Most people probably aren't going to notice from three feet away.

The one style I think is worth it, especially if you're painting multiples of the same mini, is the slapchop method. Speed paints work great with this.

I have mixed feelings about slapchop. But it's not a bad place to start. You can really learn about layering and dry brushing which will carry over to most other techniques you use.

Use lighted magnifying glasses. Maybe I'm old, but I really cherish these now.

You and me both. :-( I'm going to have to do something because a lot of tiny details are lost on me.