I NEED TIPS

[thetalkingchimp]

Iv only recently started paintin, and as you would expect, im not very good. I\'v got some pics on the site, and was wondering if anyone could give me any tips from looking at my pics that would make my models look better.
Thanks

 

[Highbulp Billy]

Firstly here\'s a direct link to your gallery to make it easier for others to look at

http://www.coolminiornot.com/artist/thetalkingchimp

I\'d say that for starting out you\'re getting the basics right. Good colours in all the right places. Not too messy and you\'ve even based them so kudos to you there.

I know that when you compare early work with some of the great minis on the site, it\'s easy to get despondent but don\'t - all it really takes is time and practice. Reading you comments on the gobbo regiment you say that you painted them up quickly. As such, they look rushed. You\'ll fin that one of the most important factors in improving your painting will be patience. Take your time and make sure you get it right.

Other basic tips that will help you are thinning your paints for a smoother finish (even if you have to paint areas more than once to get coverage), perhaps some drybrushing in lighter tones for basic highlights before movig on to shading and washes.

Check out the articles for great step-by-step guides to basic and advanced skills. Also, it seems you have an advantage over some of us by having a fellow painter as a friend. This can prove to be a valuable resource as painting with someone or even just sharing ideas etc will help greatly.

To finish, forget about ratings and scores for now and concentrate on feedback. Use the WiP forum to get pointers as you paint and, most importantly, percevere.

Good luck
:beer:

 

[Aidan K]

No much to add, but keep motivated and persevere trying new things on each mini. Also ask lots of questions, practice then seek feedback. Ive found that that cycle keeps me motivated as the community here is very encouraging (if a little hard to break into).

One thing that struck me straight away was you had gone to the effort of putting green around the base edge, why not put a second coat on so that there wasnt any black showing through? General tidyness like that will then become a habit and you will improve! Keep us posted

 

[Dragonsreach]

The greatest advise we can give you is to Practise Practise and Practise some more.
Keep posting in the WIPS forums and you\'ll get feedback and assistance.

 

[Rigged4Mini]

I’ve been painting since March and the best advice I can give is this. Buy bottles and bottles of Pine-Sol. Also get a color wheel (for better color matching) and then practice, practice.
Also, in this hobby patience is key to success. I’ve only painted 3 figures so far and each one of them has been soaked in Pine-Sol at least 3 times. It’s very easy to paint a figure as fast as possible to get it up on CMON for a score. But that won’t improve your skills or score.

 

[freakinacage]

practice - -can\'t stress that enough really. find out what other people do and see what works for you. post wips and experiment

 

[Wootton]

thin your paints to get a smoother finish, and you could have a go at highlighting. and like everyone else saysm parctice.

P.S. see you at school on mondays, possibly tmoz

Paul

 

[lizcam]

just returned to painting myself. Here\'s a couple of things I do;

1) Set a goal on what you want your next mini to get as a score based on what you got this time. Set it low and then ask for lots of tips as you go along.

2) Check out the photo forum here for tips on taking pictures of your minis. A bad photo can kill your scores.

3) Photo your unpainted mini and go into the pic. Adjust the brightness all the way down to nothing and the contrast all the way up to the top. This will give you a good idea of where the highlites should go (thanks to TAB for this tip )

4)Don\'t put too much store in your scores. It\'s all subjective. What makes a really good table top mini doesn\'t always photo well and your scores will be low because of it.


Hope that helps. You\'re doing good. Keep at it and remember, ultimatly it\'s supposed to be fun. Do what you like and try to improve a little each time.

(I\'m not even going to try and fix my spelling mistakes. I\'m old and blond with fat fingers. It comes with the package. Sorry folks. )

 

[Greg Ellis]

I think you\'re already off to a good start, chimp.

In fact, I voted \'5\' on your night goblins.

Sure, there\'s nothing fancy happening there, but the paint is in the right spots, you\'ve got good coverage, the figs in the unit are consistent with each other and your bases look ok too. Maybe there are a few of touch-ups required here and there, and the pic is a bit out of focus, but all in all, a solid table-top unit, in my opinion.

I\'d be tempted to pick out one of those figs - maybe one from the command group, or a spare if you have one - and see what you can do to improve it a bit.

That two-colour effect you\'ve done on the leather wraps on the spears is pretty good. Try three colours instead of two - base colour plus light-coloured highlights on the parts that face the sky, and dark shadows on the bits that face the ground. See if you can do a similar thing on the goblins\' fingers.

Try some dark washes on the metal to see if you can make it look more realistic.

There are lots of examples around here to learn from. Lots of good stuff in the articles section too.

Now if I can just find more time to paint!!

 

[dauber22]

Oh, sorry. I guess I misread the title. Thought it said \"I need Ti...\" ...well, never mind

 

[moonmin82]

easy tips

couple of quick tips for easy results:

by undercoating a mini with black spray paint you dont have to worry as much about shading - and getting your brush in any tight spaces! as long as you paint just to the edge theres enough black to define the recess.

its a common misconception that highlighting is difficult, as ive discovered an easy way! instead of painting a lighter colour very finely at the edge of the surface, simply paint the whole area in the lighter colour to begin with and then paint just short of the edge, leaving a thin line! still requires some care but much easier!

 

[moonmin82]

correction!

that last paragraph SHOULD have read:

its a common misconception that highlighting is difficult, as ive discovered an easy way!

instead of painting a lighter colour very finely at the edge of the surface, simply paint the whole area in the lighter colour to begin with and then paint just short of the edge with a darker shade of the same colour, leaving a thin line of highlighting!

still requires some care but much easier! you can even carry this on over a few graduations to add even more depth - see the ultramarine in my gallery :flip:

sorry about that! its been a long day at work!