Coming back to painting and would love some help!

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stinlin

New member
Hi all - I've decided to get back into painting. I think it's the advent of Gen Con that's got me excited again...But I guess coming back to it after a while has me a bit overwhelmed. I never spent a lot of time getting good at painting. I rushed, cut corners, used crappy materials, etc. So I'm going to really put in the effort since, as it stands, between disc golf, wedding planning, and work, I don't do anything.

I've purchased a subscription to Miniature Mentor and must say, being that I learn by example, this has been the best thing EVER to happen to me as a newb painter wanting to take it to the next level. There's so much content in there, and seeing the application of it live REALLY makes the difference for me. So when it comes to video tutorials, at least for now, I'm set to learn some techniques.

I'd love to get some print material as well - I have an older "How to Paint Citadel Miniatures" that I enjoy reading, but I was wondering if anyone had some other suggestions that would be great for non-gamers (White Dwarf, for example, is nice...but in a given issue, I feel like so little is aimed at the hobby side of things that it doesn't justify my moneys).

Here's another question that I'm sure comes up often, but I want to place it here for my own sake. Primer, I use either Army Painter, GW, or simple old Krylon white. I <3 white primer since it really forces me to work the mini. I was a grey guy for ages, but after trying white recently, the richness and power you can get is really motivating and driving for me. :p But paint brands...I use Vallejo MC and GC. I've found that, even with heavy dilution, the GC stays really rich in pigment. Do I just need to dilute it MORE? I mean, I was at like, 1:7 and was still getting heavy pigment.

I'm also considering trying a new brand to increase my lineup of colors. P3 or Reaper for now - is there a good (affordable) starter set of colors here? And I noticed Reaper has more than one line - is there one that people prefer over another?

One thing I know I shouldn't do (but used to do) was assemble before painting. This made it nearly impossible to reach some of the mini without having issues and stray swipes. I'll use the current piece I'm working on as an example - Soda Pop's Super Dungeon Explore Mage mini. Her staff/hands glue on in the front. I was considering waiting to put that on, but I didn't (I assembled it after buying it at Gen Con). It's rendered it nearly impossible to paint her chest and the inside area of the staff. But I have NO idea how I would have attached this after painting without ruining the mini. How do you cope with super tiny parts and situations like that?

I'll keep them coming! What is the preferred method of sealing small gaps? Green stuff, milliput, etc etc...I have a tube of GS, but no sculpting tools. I need to grab some of those (oh, any recommendations here? I'm not a sculptor, but really...my fingers leave little pad marks and that's terribad).

And my last question for now - how do you hold your mini? Like, while painting? I've seen people use old paint pots, corks, etc - but I've not figured out HOW to attach the mini to them or how ya'll do it. And for smaller parts (arms, heads, weapons, etc), what are some possible ways to manage?

I really really appreciate the help and answers here. I know it's a huge post with a lot of questions, but I imagine after this, I should be on my way again. :laugh: I look forward to the responses and (hopefully) getting some materials built up again, soon! I tried to prevent the WALL OF TEXT, but some paragraphs didn't break nicely, haha. Thanks again!
 
TrystanGST

TrystanGST

New member
Having just gotten back into it myself after a long absence, I've had to try and answer a lot of the same questions. So I'll give you what I've learned.

Paint - I'm still using mostly GW paint, but I do have a few bottles of P3, and some Reaper as well.
I primarily use GS to fill large seams, though I have heard of people using a GS or milliput "wash" to fill smaller lines.
There's a ton of useful info on this site alone in the stickied threads. The community is also very helpful, if a bit odd.
I will assemble as much as I can, but I leave parts that will get in the way off (cloaks, scabbards, etc).
Holding minis - well there's a lot of different ways, but the way I do it is to drill a small hole into a foot/hoof/whatever, and then glue a pin in place. Put that into a holder of some sort, and you have an excellent way to get at everything without touching anything. It can be difficult on really small minis, like the Soda Pop ones though.
 
gohkm

gohkm

Active member
I'm not an expert painter, either, but to answer your questions:

It's not so much a question of what paint brands to buy, but what colours work for you. For a self-confessed beginner, though, I would recommend you get a higher opacity paint, like GW Foundations or P3s. They allow better coverage with fewer layers of paint. They can also be thinned normally, with water.

A good line of thumb for thinning paint is to add water to get it to a fluid consistency. Dab your brush in this, swab it across a cloth quickly to draw off the excess, and then paint over some old newspaper. If you can read the paper underneath a stroke or two of paint, you've got a relatively good dilution to work off for blending and layering.

TrystanGST has the right idea about pinning parts of figs and using the pins as grips. You might want to consider investing in a tiny power tool, like a Dremel Stylus, which would make drilling tiny holes a lot easier. You'll also need small drill bits to go along with it, so it's not a trivial investment.

Sealing gaps all depends on the gap size. Larger ones (1mm or bigger), I prefer to go with either greenstuff or Milliput. Either one works pretty well. Anything tinier, I use Vallejo Putty - comes in a convenient squeeze tube, all I do is even it out with a sculpting tool after applying. I'm not actually sure if they still make this stuff. I'll be quite sorry if they've stopped.

Holding figs - I bluetack them on to some old wine corks. Sometimes, I do get lazy and manhandle them. While I haven't encountered significant problems with painting stuff which my grubby fingers have touched, there's plenty of good painters out there who would gladly beat me with a stick if I did this in front of them. Apparently, your skin oils may interfere with paint adhesion.
 
Savanttheory

Savanttheory

New member
In terms of handling the fig I like a cork out of a bottle of oliver wine and some blue office tack.

I am using green stuff for larger gaps and a milliput wash for small surface abrasions.

Welcome back to it and maybe I'll catch you around the local game preserve.
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S

stinlin

New member
Thanks for all the protips so far. I was looking for a bag of corks last time I went to the hobby stores. Apparently, this is harder to find than I thought. My fiance found some up in Chicago, but I've failed here in Indy. :p

@gohkm - I actually haven't used much of the foundation paints. I get my paints to the consistency of skim milk (that's what I learned when I first started, and that's what I've heard and read all over). It works great for me, but I just feel like GC paints have super rich pigment counts.

@Savanttheory - which Game Preserve do you go to? I'm on the west side, so the nearest store to me G2D4, but I'm not a huge fan of it there. The two GP's are nearly equidistant to me. :) I know the one on the south side had a nice collection of minis to browse until Gen Con comes around, so I might hit that up soon to grab something to paint after I finish my current.
 
gohkm

gohkm

Active member
No need to buy corks. Get a bottle of wine instead. Wash up and dry the cork. VGC actually is less pigmented than VMC, but I do love Vallejo's for blending. They're very nice.
 
S

stinlin

New member
gohkm said:
No need to buy corks. Get a bottle of wine instead. Wash up and dry the cork. VGC actually is less pigmented than VMC, but I do love Vallejo's for blending. They're very nice.
Click to expand...

Do they? Huh - they just feel so much richer, haha. And I do have a bottle of wine in my fridge. Maybe I'll take it down tonight or tomorrow. :glasses-cool:
 
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