My first painted miniature. Kingdom Death.

[uratransformer]

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for taking the time to view my post. As noted in the title, I am as big of a noob as can be. It all started with finding Kingdom Death on kickstarter and ended up spending a lot more money than I expected. I am looking to improve my skills before the game is released. In the meantime I decided to purchase Kingdom Death's Forsaker Pinup as my first run. I truly enjoyed painting this piece.

While painting this model, I realized is that I'm not sure if I enjoy using ink/washes. I understand if they should be used sparingly, but I think I may be using them wrong. Other than that, I truly enjoyed creating highlights by adding black or white to an original color and it has paid off in my opinion (i.e. her cape). I also realized the importance of not layering paint too much because of my fear of losing detail from the texture/shapes of the mini's armor or equipment.

Anyways, I am new and looking for someone who is experienced in painting minis or who knows Kingdom Death, who wouldn't mind an email from me in regards to pointers. My next project is The Architect Pinup and I plan on using magnets for the interchangeable parts. I have included some photos as well.

Best,
uratransformer

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[Bailey03]

Welcome to the painting hobby! Kingdom Death has some very nice figures, I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with them. I can't wait until all the kickstarter stuff arrives... too bad it's not until the end of the year. The highlights and shadows on the cape look good!

I've done a little with KD and look forward to doing more. If you have any questions you're welcome to send me a message. Or, better yet, just post your questions to the forum and get everyone's response. People are generally quite happy to offer advice and tips. What type/brand of paint are you using? They each have some small differences so it's nice to know what you're working with. You mentioned not layering too much to obscure detail. Most miniature paints work better if you thin them a little bit with water. This helps so they aren't too thick to fill the details. And, depending on how much you thin, lets you paint with semi-transparent layers. This is a pretty common technique to creating blended shadows and highlights. You start with a base coat (a mid tone) and then paint layers for your shadows and then layers for your highlights. Because each layer is partially transparent the previous layer shows through somewhat and helps with a smooth transition from one color to the next. As you apply multiple layers of shadows, for example, the color on the mini will appear darker and darker. So with each layer you work more towards the deepest shadow and apply the successive layers to smaller and smaller areas. The same goes for the highlights, just now you're getting lighter and lighter. If you're mixing paints for shadows and highlights, you might also want to consider putting together a wet palette. You can buy one or make one yourself. Some of the links below should have info on how to do that. If not, ask and I can give you the details.

And, not too long ago, there were a bunch of 'new to paint' threads looking for basic advice. It might be helpful to take a look at the posts in these and see if you can get a lot of answers from them:
http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums...Professional-Tutorials-and-learning-resources
http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/...upply-question
http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/...int-high-elves
http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/...rst-Submission
http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/...-few-questions

Hope that is helpful. Good luck with the Architect Pinup.

 

[TrystanGST]

Bailey is definitely a good guy to ask questions of. I recently returned to this part of the hobby, and the Forsaker was also my first mini back. I've learned a lot since then, and am excited to get my hands on KD:M. I don't have much to add to what Bailey said, so I'll just bid you welcome and don't be afraid to ask questions. The folks here are very helpful.

 

[uratransformer]

@ Bailey. Thank you for the response. To answer your question, I have been using Vallejo Paints. I am also trying to avoid pots because I have heard a few horror stories of them leaking or others who accidentally mix other paints in them. I'll definitely take your advice and look into setting up a wet palette. The links are also appreciated. Thanks again.

@ Trystan. Thanks for the welcome. I look forward to taking part in posting on this website.