First painted miniature

[djlose]

Hi guys, I'm a very long time stalker and this is the first miniature I have painted to completion. I have a few that I've wanted to paint, but have always felt daunted by some of the miniatures I own since the sculpts are so amazing (the old death by enigma, Kyra and Lavarath by reaper, and the pinups of death set by Kingdom of Death). This is the female elf ranger by reaper, part of their bones line, done as a gift for a friend since she plays Final Fantasy: A Realm Reborn. I can see many flaws (mold lines in certain areas, not the best paint job in the world by any means, etc. ), but thought I'd pay this and use your critiques to grow and learn from. Thanks for checking it out.
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[Sionid]

This is really ambitious for a first finished mini! Looks like you're blocking in the basics that people are usually scared of--NMM, high-contrast shadows and highlights. The most important advice I know is to thin down those layers (I hear "the consistency of milk" recommended a lot), it'll take longer to build up color but you won't get those streaky brush marks.

 

[Dragonsreach]

As Sionid says an ambitious mini to start with, but not a bad effort.
Yes there are areas to work on but none of them are the things that should make you throw your brushes away, shadows and highlights could use work in both directions as could learning about selective shadow placement (I.e. Where small shadows occur in real life) but the basics are there in your work.
OH and if you every think that WE older painters know it all........NAH, I'm still learning new stuff in my Late Fifties.

 

[Zab]

I'll echo what DR and Sionid said and add this: Bones is tough line to work on as a beginner. Yes they are cheap bu the details are soft and I'll defined. The metal line is still affordable and has crisper details that will help you develope your brush control and let actually see what you are painting. A good start none the less.

 

[Teronus]

The only advises i can think of giving to a beginner is try to be as comfortable as you can when painting. Sit well in your chair, you feet on the floor, your forearms or elbows on the table to give you stability, brush in one hand the fig in the other and try to join together either your wrists or your palms to give you even more stability to avoid shaky hands. Work on brush control, work work work, when you get brush control then all the other tips we give you well you will be able to do better. Try also to make a definition between every details, like thin lines of dark color to give definition for starters, that will work your brush control as well. Oh and yes thin paints are essential but not to thin and remove excess paint from the brush to avoid flooding and don't brush when the paint on the brush gets dry it will leave dry pigments on the surfaces like sand.

 

[djlose]

Thank you, guys. As for the bones line, I'm really not impressed with it, but it's all that my local shop carries for reaper. I have experience with plastic and resin through doing models, but had always wanted to do minis for my D&D games.
I'm trying to replicate the milk consistency, but am figuring I need to thin more. I guess I just need to paint paint paint to get everything, practice makes better results. Thanks once again, guys.