Sanackranib
First Post
I've seen stuff from people who paint better then I do but I don't know any of them. I have reached a platau in my art and still want to improve my skill. what should I do?
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who out there paints
- Thread starter Sanackranib
- Start date
what exactly is your plateau?
And what do you mean by painting? minis? portraits? landscape? medium?
and what exactly are you striving for?
The best advice i can give you is just to look at pictures you like and try to immitate them. Look over books that "teaches" you how to paint. and the best thing to do- is watch the guy with the fro on PBS- who paints with oil. He is damn good- and so calm.
"And remember, there is no such thing as a mistake, just happy accidents..."
And what do you mean by painting? minis? portraits? landscape? medium?
and what exactly are you striving for?
The best advice i can give you is just to look at pictures you like and try to immitate them. Look over books that "teaches" you how to paint. and the best thing to do- is watch the guy with the fro on PBS- who paints with oil. He is damn good- and so calm.
"And remember, there is no such thing as a mistake, just happy accidents..."
Sanackranib
First Post
paint
mini's, I do paint them from pictures. I have just reached the point where I'm not getting any better. what am I striving for - excelence
mini's, I do paint them from pictures. I have just reached the point where I'm not getting any better. what am I striving for - excelence
alsih2o
First Post
this may seem silly, but it works.
go find a "little old lady" ceramic shop, one that pours slip in molds for pieces. ask to sign up for lessons. most of the techniques used on those pieces and minis are almost exactly the same.
some brands of paints even host classes by teachers who are special trained by the distributors. it seems scammish, and they do hawk their product, but what i learned in 2 of them boosted me well along.
go find a "little old lady" ceramic shop, one that pours slip in molds for pieces. ask to sign up for lessons. most of the techniques used on those pieces and minis are almost exactly the same.
some brands of paints even host classes by teachers who are special trained by the distributors. it seems scammish, and they do hawk their product, but what i learned in 2 of them boosted me well along.
Sanackranib
First Post
paint
sounds just "hokey" enough to do some real good. thanks
sounds just "hokey" enough to do some real good. thanks
1) color combination- certain colors just make others look nice (not complementary- those clash) like blue and white, black and silver, orange and red, yellow and green. These color combos, i found makes the color bleed into each other- and the lighter of the two always looks like a hi-lite of the darker one.
2) water down/ dry brush- i know this is the first thing you learn- but water down- and water down often. The more colors/ layers the better. Same with dry brush- layers and layers of it- respectively lighter colors make it look brighter and brighter.
3) thin layers with lots of it. Most water based paints let you see through to the lower layers. So if you plan ahead- you can get the right tone of colors by blending them.
4) base coat- your primer should reflect the type of character you are painting. I use white for "good char" who I feel needs to glow- and eminate goodness. Black primer for evil characetrs. the primer (white/black) brightens and dulls the upper layers (respectively).
5) really small brushes- the details are great if you can cocentrate and hold your hand steady enough to paint them. Most of the time, i leave a lot out because i don't have the patience to get it all...
KnowTheToe
First Post
I have the same problem. I can't get better without some instruction. I have no training in art and am rather untalanted at it. That being said, I paint minis pretty darn well, but can't pick up the subleties to improve through looking at pictures. My eye is not trained to truely understand what I am looking at.
I searched all of the local game stores until I found one that had painting classes. I have taken one and it REALLY improved my painting and now I go to the store every couple of weeks to meet people and paint and buy new supplies.
Two things that you can do, buy Winsor & Newton Series 7 Brushes, they are excellent and will allow you to do things the average brush cannot, and buy Winsor & Newton brown ink. It coats beautifully without mucking up everything on the fig. For the brushes go to http://www.italianartstore.com and go to Michael's Craftstore for the ink. In Michaels you have to buy a whole set of artist incs for about $25 and the rest are no good for minis, or they need to be watered down.
I searched all of the local game stores until I found one that had painting classes. I have taken one and it REALLY improved my painting and now I go to the store every couple of weeks to meet people and paint and buy new supplies.
Two things that you can do, buy Winsor & Newton Series 7 Brushes, they are excellent and will allow you to do things the average brush cannot, and buy Winsor & Newton brown ink. It coats beautifully without mucking up everything on the fig. For the brushes go to http://www.italianartstore.com and go to Michael's Craftstore for the ink. In Michaels you have to buy a whole set of artist incs for about $25 and the rest are no good for minis, or they need to be watered down.
painting advice
The two most important things when painting minis are patience and preserverance, if you find yourself getting frustrated take a break and come back to it. Also make sure you have a good light source and clean water, always change your water after using metallic paints. When you base your mini's make sure you have the final outcome in mind, if you want them to look dark base em black otherwise use white. White base will bring out your colors and make them shine, but thats just what I prefer. Also the thing to remember is that if you base in black you will find yourself drybrushing, white will have you inking.
The hardest part I have with minis is the eyes, cant seem to get them not to look buggy, or like they belong in a animea show.
Hope all goes well,
Ejja_1
The two most important things when painting minis are patience and preserverance, if you find yourself getting frustrated take a break and come back to it. Also make sure you have a good light source and clean water, always change your water after using metallic paints. When you base your mini's make sure you have the final outcome in mind, if you want them to look dark base em black otherwise use white. White base will bring out your colors and make them shine, but thats just what I prefer. Also the thing to remember is that if you base in black you will find yourself drybrushing, white will have you inking.
The hardest part I have with minis is the eyes, cant seem to get them not to look buggy, or like they belong in a animea show.
Hope all goes well,
Ejja_1
pogre
Legend
Just to echo what Knoethetoe said. Use Windsor & Newton #7 brushes - use a really fine quality paint - I like Vallejo.
One more jump up I recently made is a natural light bulb in my painting lamp. Man this made all the difference, and was a well-spent $6.00. The great painters say, "Use natural sunlight." All well and good, but most of us have jobs during the day - these bulbs are the next best thing.
Try painting with someone who is painting better than you are. Invite them over to paint and compare notes.
The best miniature painters are still doing military figures IMO. Check out books like Military Modelling Masterclass by Bill Horan. Or grab a copy of one of the Military Miniature magazines out of Britain.
One more jump up I recently made is a natural light bulb in my painting lamp. Man this made all the difference, and was a well-spent $6.00. The great painters say, "Use natural sunlight." All well and good, but most of us have jobs during the day - these bulbs are the next best thing.
Try painting with someone who is painting better than you are. Invite them over to paint and compare notes.
The best miniature painters are still doing military figures IMO. Check out books like Military Modelling Masterclass by Bill Horan. Or grab a copy of one of the Military Miniature magazines out of Britain.
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