Need help/advice...

[Nessin]

Alirght, I\'ve completely painted my very first ever mini\'s (three to be exact, Warmachine Warjacks to b really exact). So far I\'m not having too much trouble except in two areas.

#1: Keeping the paint where it\'s supposed to be. How in the world do you people keep paint off one side of a model when painting in a deep crack? The Menoth Warjacks I\'m painting have this loincloth hanging down, I haven\'t managed to paint the sides of the legs or the sides of the loincloth without seriously drenching the other side. Plus, when painting around all the spikes and trim I always seem to overlap.

#2: Smooth layers. Part of my problem may be that I\'m priming white (which is actually more of a light grey, even after applying a heavy coat of pure Vallejo Game Color Bone White, I still haven\'t managed to get a decent actual \"white\" anywhere), but I haven\'t been able to get my paint to even seem smooth from 30 feet away. Tons of blotchy spots, I\'ve tried different levels of distilled water (some by itself, some with Future Floor Wax), I\'ve tried not swiping my brush across a paper towel so I don\'t have a huge glob of paint on the brush, and everything else I can think of, but no luck.

If it werent for either factor, I\'d actually be happy with my work, because I know it will be far from pefect, but I can\'t find any way to avoid either of the problems mentioned above.

 

[Klute]

Hi
You should post a pic for better feedback.

Problem 1
with experience you will know what areas to paint first to avoid this problem.Usually its paint from the inside out,in other words the deepest areas first.
I usually start with the skin and work outwards on the clothing,same difference with robots I guess.

Problem 2
You should get a decent cover using several thin layers instead of one thicker one.Dont worry about distilled water and floor wax.If you are painting your first minis these will just complicate things.
I still only use tap water,very rarely adding extender/flow aid.
Just thin the white and keep on adding the layers till it looks right.And I mean thin,thinner than milk,that way no matter how many layers you put on it shouldnt be brush stroked or bumpy etc.
Also be carefull with paper towles,your brush can pick up fibres from them.Saying that I use them,Im very picky though.

 

[Drake Farstrider]

It sounds to me that you have way to much paint on your brush. As for the blotchy spots, I am not sure what causes that except maybe that you are not letting it dry enough. Do you use a drying retarder? It works wonders for wetblending.

Remember the key is many thin layers as aposed to one thick layer. Now if I can just take my own advise.

Also I would not worry if your mini\'s are not 10 material yet, keep practicing, read the articles and the forums. They have helped me so much. I alway\'s thought I was a decent mini painter until I got on this web site. I personaly have improved vastly. White is one of the hardest colors to paint for some reason. Check out this article: http://www.coolminiornot.com/article/aid/49. I hope this helps.

Good luck and happy painting.

 

[airhead]

A pic would be a huge help to us to help you.

But:
What size brush are you using? A #2 won\'t paint in narrow spots very well, but rarely do you need to go smaller than 3/0.

Are you thinning your paints and waiting on each layer to dry before applying then next layer?

If the area is really down in a crease, why not wait and put a dark grey/black ink in there after?

 

[Fizl]

A llittle secret tip for thinning white paint - thin it with white ink. Makes it nice and runny, but maintains the opaqueness of the colour.

Shaz

 

[Shawn R. L.]

For smoothness, try a SOFT watercolor brush, if there is a tiny one. Whatever brush you get try to get one with fine and not too stiff bristles. Also ( this takes practice to see what I mean) apply the paint stroking back and forth in one direction till the major globs are gone. Wait mabey 10 secounds then LIGHTLY stoke back and forth in the direction 90 degrees from the original. With practice this will knock off the high spots. Good luck.