Hi, new here.

[AnemicOak]

Hi all. Found this site a week and a half ago and just love some of the stuff I\'ve seen.

Well, seeing all this stuff got me inspired

I dug out a mini from Reaper that I bought a year or two ago for some RPGing. I had primed it long ago, but just used it that way. Never got around to trying to paint it. Decided to give it a go after surfing around here a bit. The only other stuff I\'ve painted mini wise was about 12 years ago when I did some stuff for a game (can\'t remember which), but IIRC that didn\'t look to hot.

The results can be seen here.
http://www.coolminiornot.com/?id=18770

I welcome comments, tips, hints, etc. Would prefer actual tips to \'your mini sucks\'.

I had enough fun painting this one that I\'m going to pick up some more and have at it. Any types of mini\'s better than others to get started on? I have some Space Marines & GW Fantasy stuff sitting in boxes somewhere, but to be honest never got real inspired to paint them.

I really like the Rackham mini\'s I\'ve seen. Are these ok for a beginner or are they more advanced? I know I\'ll be picking up some WarMachine stuff when it\'s out, because I want to play that game.

Thanks all!


~Brian


p.s. If I put this in the wrong forum, sorry.

 

[ZaPhOd]

Welcome!

Hey Brian! Welcome! Well it is quite a time to go without painting, so first off, I will say well done then! Nice to get people back into the hobby, especially here, as there is such a diversity. Some grat inspirational work and a lot of new painters, all in the mix.

Onto your mini now! I know the detail level of these Reaper Sandra Garrity sculpts, and I know how poor the eyes are to paint!!! I just did this figure myself so you are not alone! At any rate, the cheap paints seem to work nice. I would tend to keep them thinned out, and do severl layers of thin paint as opposed to thick since the color may not appear to be goign on thin... It helps to retain the detail level the best! Now, the color choices look very nice, though that is a large black area (her vest) that could use some trim next time around It would just help to break up the tunic is all! The purple is quite nice, and yeah, the byellowy hair is a nice contrast. It is difficult to see if you did any shading or not, but drybrushing is a good place to start, where you lighten your color a lot that you use for the base either by adding white, a lighter shade, or another color, and drybrush across the raised areas. Adds tons of depth to a surface area, and looks great, especially when starting out. I wouldn\'t recommend jumping into layering and such right off, but that would help for sure. Same with washes of darker color. Thin em way down and carefully wash into the recesses to simulate shadow. Double depth now!

Does look good though, and I could ramble on for hours, so I will let someone else jump in! I did a step by step old tutorial here, using a plastic High elf that you could check out. There are many others as well, some for quite advanced techniques!

Anyways, have fun and don\'t get discouraged! Fun and experimenting is what it is all about!

Cheerio!

 

[vincegamer]

Welcome

I too use those apple-barrel paints (and mine are about 8 years old).
Some are quite good while others are total crap. The bad ones need lots of thinning and more time mixing/shaking than even Vallejo paints (you\'ll learn as you read here).
On this mini, I think i can see the lumpiness of those paints in the face and the boots. Thin and mix vigorously.
Your color selection/balance is great. Black is hard to highlight and hard to photograph so I bet it looks fine in person. Only thing I don\'t like is the blue bag in her hand. It\'s so bright it has a gem-like quality and draws the eye there. I\'d dull it down a bit. Try mixing a gray or brown with the blue.

On a general note, here\'s the strategy I usually suggest to folks starting out: Use nylon brushes and cheap paints and work hard at it to get the best results you can. When you seem to have reached a plateau, switch to sable brush and/or high quality paint. You will be pleased in the boost to final result, and it will inspire you to push harder.
Oh, and become independently wealthy so you can stay at home and paint all day.

 

[Potentia]

Hey all, sorry this isn\'t exactly in direct reply to Anemic\'s post but I thought it would be good to post my greetings here as well instead of starting a new thread. I too recently found this site (about 3 weeks ago) through Shrouds page and I too have become inspired. This is my first ever painted mini using GW paints and brushes (ugh).
http://www.coolminiornot.com/?id=18461

Please ignore the comments already posted, I got really excited after it got online and told some friends (didn\'t expect them to make accounts and post ridiculous babble, never doing that again). So sorry about that. I\'d appreciate some constructive comments and maybe thoughts on where to go from here. Thanks alot. I look forward to sharing with all you guys!!!

Steve
PS. more apologies to AnemicOak for butting in

 

[vincegamer]

Welcome to you too.
If you want to get rid of your friends\' comments, just remove the picture and post it again. You can get rid of my comment that way too.