Mini Painters Terminology...

[Mourner]

The recent couple of threads by -ice got me thinking about mini painting terminology.
What is blending....
What is basecoating or undercoating a mini...

Simple enough questions for experienced painters you'd think...

But if 5 people would give the answer, you'd get 3 different techniques. (-ice tried....)

I've done a quick skim of the forum, but found nothing on terminology.
So I figured lets start a thread. What is the corect term for the correct technique....
And how does this technique work.

I know every painter has his own way, but we should be able to decide on general terminology.

Now I'll try and compile a pretty complete list, but there's always something i'll forget.
Or a technique i'm not familiar enough with to write an accurate discription or How-To about.
So please, if you have anything to add to an entry, don't hesitate

Yep, that's right...
Terms, descriptions, instructions, variations, any usefull info you can think of.

I want to try and get it to be usefull for beginning painters and a helpfull tool or reminder for experienced painters.

So, I figured:
Titles in Bold
References Underlined
sub-titles in Italics
Variations marked by a "-"
Instructions marked by a "*"

TLDR:
which technique is which, and how do they work.

Here's the list:
Priming
A coat of primer to ensure better adherence of paint layers.
Can be sprayed or brushed on.

Basecoat.
Painting an area in a colour the same as or similar to the dominant one in the finished colour scheme.

Painting.
Putting (air)brush to model

Paint.
A semi-liquid paste with pigment added for color.
-Citadel Foundation paints contain more pigments to achieve better coverage
-Metallic paints have metallic flakes added to give a metallic finish
Technical point: few metallics in an acrylic or vinyl binder are made from actual metal particles.
Most are iridescent paints in actuality, made from mica flakes and others from a bismuth compound (bismuth oxychloride).

Wash.
Paint heavily diluted with water or your preferred medium. Commercial washes are also available.
Used to add shadows or change the hue of a colored area
Easy to do, hard to master.

Shading
The painted simulation of light and shade on a miniature. Sometimes refers to just the shadows, which are usually added over the basecoat. Can be done by glazing or with a wash.

Model.
Any representation of a actual or fictional creature, vehicle, or object.

Medium.
Mixed with paint to change the characteristics of the paint.
-Matt Medium: Gives your paints a matt finish.
-Metallic Medium: Gives your paints a metallic shine.
- Glaze medium: Increases transparency and may improve flow and increase open time.
-Gloss Medium: Gives your paints a glossy finish.
-Crackle Medium: Creates cracks in a layer of paint.
-Thinner: Used to thin or dilute your paint.
-Retarder: Slows the drying proces, giving you more time to work.

Glaze
Very dilute paint applied sparingly to the surface, with a damp brush. Sometimes referred to as a filter. Can be used to tint a surface or as part of layering to achieve smooth colour transitions.

Wash
Very dilute paint applied generously to the surface, where it settles into recesses. Used as a simple method of shading.

klear

A floor polish used to create a gloss finish simular to gloss varnish


Drybrushing.
A fast and simple way to add highlight to a model.
Technique:
*Wipe the paint of a (dry-)brush, until almost no paint is left.
*Move your brush across an area wiggling the brush really fast.
*There should only be a light layer of paint on the edges and details.
Easy to do, difficult to master.

Wet Blending.
Smoothing out the transition between two layers of paint by mixing them, on the model, together while they're still wet.
Technique:
*

NMM.
Non-Metallic Metal, painting the illusion of a metallic surface without using metallic paints.
Technique:
*

True Metallics
A metallic surface, painted using metallic paints.
Easy to do, hard to master.
Technique:
*

Base
The portable surface upon which a model is placed.
-Plinth: A platform used to raise a model and attract attention to it.
Usually made out of wood or resin
-Display base: A modelled platform to place a model on.
Mostly used to add character and atmosphere to a model.
-Gaming base: The (little plastic) platform models must be mounted on to play games with them (usually included with the model).

Mouldline
Imperfection on a model caused by the casting proces.
(remove before painting)

Prepping
Cleaning a model by removing flash and mouldlines, and generally getting model ready for an undercoat.

Flash
Excess material on a model, left behind during the casting process.

Casting
Creating copies of a model.
Either out of resin, metal of plastic.

Dipping.
Dipping a model into a wash to achieve fast and simple shading.

Mask
A removable protective layer that shields any part of a model from the next layer or layers of paint.
When the mask is removed it reveals the colour (or the unpainted surface) underneath. Mainly used when airbrushing, to prevent overspray.

Weathering
Making a model look (dis)used, dirty or rusty.

Salt Weathering
Salt Weathering uses salt to mask a random pattern across a surface.
Technique:
*paint the area with the color you want to have underneath your topcoat.
*Spray the area with hairspray
*Sprinkle with salt
*Paint the area the way you want
*Remove the salt using a wet, rough brush and some (warm) water
Using an airbrush is a great help with this technique

GD
Either GamesDay or Golden Demon, pretty much interchangeble

Gamesday
GamesWorkshops promotional event, also home to the Golden Demon

Golden Demon
International high end painting competition
airbrushing
Using an airbrush to paint a model.

paint types
acrylic, oil, enamel
????

Brush type
synthetic, sable/kolinsky
????

Pinning:
Inserting a metal pin in a joint on a mini to add strength. The fine art comes in drilling one side of the joint in a mini, then drilling a matching hole on the other part of the joint. Pins range from straight pins and staples to small brass rods for larger joints. Small drill bits and small hand drills are generally the tools used to drill these tools. See Pin Drill

Airbrush
Pneumatic tool used to spray paint onto a model.

Brush
Wooden or plastic handle with natural of synthetic hairs at one end. Used to transfer paint onto a model.

Freehand
A two-dimensional design on a model

Future
????

Gradient
????

Highlighting
Painting the highest points, sharpest edges and other areas where the strongest light would hit.

Lining
????

Layering
Applying several layers of paint to achieve a smooth transition.

Magic Wash
????

OSL
Object Source Lightning
Painting an artifial glow originating somewhere on the model itself.

Preshading
????

Scumbling
????

SENMM
A variation on NNM.
SENNM entails painting an area to resemble a chrome finish, with the contrast between the reflections of both the sky and the earth being the defining characteristic.

Tint (both meanings)
????

Zenithal Highlighting
Highlighting a model so that it looks like the light is coming from a directional lightsource.
Easyest done by spraying the model from one point, with a highly contrasting paint (usualy white).


-----------

Well, it's not a complete list, but i'm tired and out of techniques...
And can't be bothered with alphabetical orders... i'll do that when i've got a full list....

If you've got anything to add or think should be changed, please do so.

And sorry, that last edit messed up my layout... no worries, it'll work out

Good night,
Mourner

 

[IdofEntity]

Another word for undercoating might be Priming.

Primer would be the initial coat that provides a viable surface for paint to adhere to.

 

[Mourner]

That's what i'm looking for, lets call it priming, and avoid confusion...

*change made to list

 

[Shellshock]

Few more come to mind,

airbrushing
pinning
paint types; acrylic, oil, enamel
brush type; synthetic, sable/kolinsky
rage shelfing

 

[gohkm]

Isn't priming different from undercoating? Proper primer is chemically different from undercoating, although they may come in the same colours - the former contains tiny granules of a hard material that gives paint something to adhere to. Undercoating is simply a base basecoat, meant to provide the initial tone of colour. Us painters seem to use the terms interchangeably.

But please, let's not start the 'primer is NOT paint' argument again. Mourner has a great idea here to define terminology, and like all terminology, there's going to be differences in opinion.

 

[Torn blue sky]

Wash.
"A transparent liquid containing pigment.
Either home/custom made out of paint, water and your preffered medium.
Or ready made out of a pot (possibly diluted too)." (but what is it used for?! needs a refined answer )

Similarly

"To Wash.
Applying a wash to an area of a model in order to create a shadow effect.
Easy to do." It will give clarity to.

Otherwise worth a sticky I think (with added tweaks enabled)

 

[Torn blue sky]

Few more come to mind,

airbrushing
pinning
paint types; acrylic, oil, enamel
brush type; synthetic, sable/kolinsky
rage shelfing

*Rage shelfs Shellshock*

 

[freakinacage]

Another word for undercoating might be Priming.

Primer would be the initial coat that provides a viable surface for paint to adhere to.

aye this is the problem with stuff like this. people use different words for things

as gohkm said, primer is specially made to help the paint adhere to the model. the undercoat is just the first coat of paint

 

[Einion]

Good idea, although there are enough of these elsewhere that it may be redundant.

Here's my list:
Priming (undercoating)
Sprayed on coat of paint to ensure better adherence of later coats.
Usually black, white or grey.

...coat of primer to ensure better adherence of paint layers.

Not just sprayed on, can also be applied by brush. Also can be sprayed from an airbrush, spraygun or a rattle can.

Basecoat.
Painting an area in the basic color it will be when the model is finished.

...in a colour the same as or similar to the dominant one in the finished colour scheme.

Painting.
Putting brush to model :brushwave:

Or airbrushing.

Don't think there's any need to define something as basic as paint or painting; we're not writing a dictionary, just assembling a glossary of terms that might not be defined everywhere as we use them in the hobby.

Wash.
A transparent liquid containing pigment.
Either home/custom made out of paint, water and your preffered medium.
Or ready made out of a pot (possibly diluted too).

To Wash.
Applying a wash to an area of a model in order to create a shadow effect.
Easy to do.

Paint heavily diluted with water or your preferred medium. Commercial washes are also available.

How-to should be folded into definition of wash (so that you don't have to have two definitions for glaze, scumble, drybrush etc.)

I'd argue that washes are also easy to do, hard to master.

Shade.
A layer of paint one step darker from the base color.
Applied only to the recessed, "shadowy" parts of the model.

I think of this really only as a verb; I don't really call darker mixes shades and ditto with others. Also, it has a specific definition in painting circles.

Medium.
Mixed with paint to change the characteristics of the paint.
-Matt Medium: Gives your paints a matt finish.
-Metallic Medium: Gives your paints a metallic shine.
-Glaze Medium: Changes the consistency of a paint.
-Gloss Medium: Gives your paints a glossy finish.
-Crackle Medium: Creates cracks in a layer of paint.
-Thinner: Used to thin or dilute your paint.
-Retarder: Slows the drying proces, giving you more time to work.

Glaze medium changes consistency in what way?
Thinner is not a medium, it's a diluent.
Technically retarder is an additive, not a medium.

Varnish.
A layer of clear laquer used to protect a painted model from damage.

Not just lacquer, not just used as a protective layer. But again, basic enough term that we shouldn't feel the need to define it here - the dictionary definition suffices.

Glazing.
Painting a specific area with a wash, to achieve shading and add a colored sheen.

Glazing is not painting with a wash. It may be painting with paint diluted to the same level of a wash but the distinction between the two is v. important.

True Metallics
A metallic surface, painted using metallic paints.

Technical point: few metallics in an acrylic or vinyl binder are made from actual metal particles. Most are iridescent paints in actuality, made from mica flakes and others from a bismuth compound (bismuth oxychloride).

Flash
Excess material on a model.
(remove before painting)

A description with more detail might be a good idea here.

Masking
Adding a protective, removable layer so you can remove succesive layer of paint.

Mask
A removable protective layer that shields any part of a model from the next layer or layers of paint. When the mask is removed it reveals the colour (or the unpainted surface) underneath. Mainly used when airbrushing, to prevent overspray.

Masking
Using a mask.

Weathering
Making a model look (dis)used, dirty or rusty
Done using either washes, drybrushing or salt weathering.

And simulated mud paste, dust, other forms of masking... don't think you need to add how this is done, just define what it is.

Salt Weathering
Salt Weathering uses salt to mask a random pattern across a surface.
Technique:
*paint the area with the color you want to have underneath your topcoat.
*Varnish the area with gloss varnish
*Spray the area with hairspray
*Sprinkle with salt
*Paint like nothing happened
*Remove the salt using a wet, rough brush and some (warm) water

Gloss varnish not a necessary step; not always used with hairspray; no mention of airbrush?

Golden Demon
International high end painting competition

More detail needed here (run by GW, tight rules, first-past-the-post awards, judging controversy etc.)

Einion

 

[Mourner]

Good idea, although there are enough of these elsewhere that it may be redundant.

I figured as much, but I couldn't find any when searching.
So I figured I'd start this thread and get everything organised and accessable (findable)

Otherwise worth a sticky I think (with added tweaks enabled)

the idea was to get a complete list, with terminology we can all agree on.
And maybe either make it sticky or at least add a link to the sticky thread.

I'll need some time to process all the suggestions (thanks Einion) so i'll try and do that tonight.

I'm thinking about putting the final list on wikipedia or something, so anybody can make adjustments if needed.

Greets, Mourner

 

[IdofEntity]

Isn't priming different from undercoating?

It is, and I should have written "Primer should replace undercoating" because by the way it was written before edited, it was primer that was being described.

Yeah, I can definitely see where the terminology is a little grim. There are a few still on here like "prepping" that I feel aren't complete.

Should model modifications be listed? You know, Greenstuff changes and whatnot? (Can't think of the technical term)

 

[Mourner]

so... what should it be changed to?

If you guys (re)write an article, i'll edit the first post and include it.
the same goes for stuff i havent included yet...

 

[Torn blue sky]

Einions points are a good start to tweak with. It would be nice to see a sticky on it though, that way I have a handy link to throw at teh n00bz.

 

[freakinacage]

i think for a glossary, we should just have einions email addy...

 

[Torn blue sky]

Agreed. All noob questions will now be met with a link to Einions inbox =D

 

[-Ice]

Awesome thread, I hope I didn't annoy you old timers too much with my questions!

While some of you may say a wash is "easy to do," it's hard to do right. Just like everyone says painting is easy, yeah, if you want to paint like a 4-year old!

And I think the first coat of whatever that goes on the bare metal/plastic of a mini is the primer, and the procedure is called priming, regardless of whether it is the basecoat or not. If it goes on the bare mini, it is priming. If it goes on a "primed" mini, then it is basecoating. Am I mistaken?

 

[IdofEntity]

At the risk of dredging up an old argument:

Prime verb
"to cover (a surface) with a preparatory coat or color, as in painting."

Primer noun
"a first coat or layer of paint, size, etc., given to any surface as a base, sealer, or the like. "

Undercoat noun
"a coat of paint or the like applied under the finishing coat."


~Dictionary.com

The way I read it is if it is preparatory it's priming. So technically you could prime in wood varnish if it's preparing your mini for an intended painting effect. Also it reads to me that a primer can be a paint. Your undercoat can be your primer, and your primer doesn't have to be your undercoat.

I believe as long as we're using the term "basecoat" we can dispense with the term "undercoat".

 

[Einion]

I'm not sure if this should be a sticky, an article maybe? We're not overly burdened with stickies here thankfully but the more you add the fewer active/recent threads show on the first page.

Einion

 

[airhead]

Gun - see airbrush.
Shoot - see airbrushing.

 

[Mourner]

I'm not sure if this should be a sticky, an article maybe? We're not overly burdened with stickies here thankfully but the more you add the fewer active/recent threads show on the first page.

Einion

I understand what you're saying.
but if this thread yields a list of term we can all agree on, it might be something to keep on hand.
or at least somewhere easily found so noobs and newbies can find it too, the articles section would suffice. (no offense -Ice, you gave me the idea :wink: )

but the first thing i need is a complete list...
anyone with suggestions???

and i've edited the list (see first post)