New to this

[dreadful tom]

Hi guys
Right after an extended break for the hobby i have taken it back up over the last year. I am now seriously looking to go full time as a painter. I know i need to improve a hell of a lot yet i feel there is slow improvement in my painting ( look at my pics). I have set my self a 5 year time limit as a make it or break it ind of agreement to myself. I truly believe i can but its going to take time effort and will power as at the minute i am nowhere near the standard required ( i would rate my self somewhere between 4 and 5 out of ten. My question really is : are there any techniques i can learn that will dramatically improve my painting. I already thin my paints and attempt multiple layers, i follow some very good tutorials yet am still way off the required standard. I have plenty of time to get this right and am currently using only a brush ( I plan to get an air brush soon but the market place for airbrushes seems a bit of a minefield in itself and will probably lead to me asking for more advice in the forum). Was there any tips you guys received that made big improvement to your style. Any help will be greatly received. Many thanks

 

[Zab]

You are off to a good start. Sit in with painters that are better than you. You can pick up a lot from watching the techniques being used in action. Tutorials are great but being able to see exactly how some one does something in person helps. Try to paint new things outside of your comfort zone all the time too. Other than that paint every day - anything you can get your hands on and take your time. Patience is the key to blending, washes glazes. Build them up slowly with thin coats. Any classes you can take would help too. From oils to water colours; there is a ton to be learned in 2D painting that can be brought over to minis.

 

[In Chigh P.I.]

Hello and welcome. I had a quick look at your pics and i would say, firstly that you should spend a little more time on preparation. There are a few mould lines visible, and these can easily be removed by scraping with a sharp hobby knife and using some fine-grade sandpaper. Another thing im guessing is that, even though your paint may be thin enough, you are possibly loading your brush too much, leading to the paint spilling onto other areas. With thinner paints you should wipe off some of the paint before application, making it easier to control.

 

[TrystanGST]

Practice. Practice some more. And realize that the "pro" mini painting market is very, very crowded. Anyone who can paint can call themselves a pro or studio and try to get commissions. I had a friend, who has won several demons and two slayer swords, give up on full time painting as it just doesn't pay unless you're a very talented painter with a well established reputation. You know, the ones doing the studio paint jobs for mini companies.

 

[dreadful tom]

cheers there is some really helpful hints there so i will start in post order ,
At Zab i had not even considered looking at other arts as lessons now you mention it it seems really really obvious , patience is something i will improve on i tend to get it into my head that i have to finish a model and can rush leading to sloppiness so maybe take a deep breath and not rush things its not a race to get things painted.
AT in chigh p i , preparation wise you are right i think the models with the mold lines (cadians) were a rescue mission on some models i bought about a year ago and just threw paint over really i could have striped them but it was already broken at the start (bit like angron) as for loading the brush you are right there its in the in the last few days i have mastered thinning and brush application so i hope to see an improvement on the next models i put up (ultramarine terminators i am going to wait to finish angron as the model is amazing and deserves an good paint job)
I was not even thinning my paint three weeks ago when i painted huron blackheart and at the time i was happy with it now i look at it and winch( how does one go about removing pics from there galleries by the way?)
i Know own a file set and this has really helped removing mold lines i think there will be a noticeable improvement in my next pics .
finally at Trystangst practice you are right i have noticed a dramatic improvement just by painting everyday in the 10 days since i joined here, and as for the 'pro' thing i might one day be lucky enough to get some commissions however the market seems pretty stitched up , though i am in a fortunate position of having a business that ,makes me enough money to work part time hours and live a good life so what i mean really by 'pro' is my hobby is free. I paint stuff for my mates for the joy of painting and they are quite supportive but if any body else wants stuff painted i will not charge at the moment just as long as they let me keep pics as i plan to do a range of guides as well ( i may charge in a year or 3 if i have won an award or something, however i have set a personal goal of being one of the best in the world by 5 years time which i think is achievable. I don't game so that gives me much more choice with purchases as i am not stuck to 1 army or another building tournament forces etc.
Guys thank you so much for the replies i have had some rather dis heartening responses from other forum all along the lines of 'run along newbie and leave this to the real pros' so cheers and all the best. Dreafultom

 

[TrystanGST]

You won't find many, if any, people here that aren't supportive. We're all hobbyist, and mostly painters. So we like to help each other out. I, too, paint minis for friends all the time. I paint for the enjoyment of it, so I don't charge them. Plus that way they save me the hassle of storage later. Keep a good attitude, and remember it's supposed to be fun.

 

[Dragonsreach]

I'm going to give you a couple of suggestions.
Shadows and highlights should be your next aim to work on.
Look in the galleries and pick a mini you like and ask either in the forums, or pm the artjst and ask how X,Y or Z was achieved.

 

[dreadful tom]

Cheers dragonsreach, for my next posting i have got an ultramarine terminator and have really taken my time with the shading and shadows , building it up layer at a time using thinned out paint. I followed some advice and have not painted to the very edges of the model leaving a space of maybe 1 or 2 mm so the lighter the coat of paint the further away from where the edge is. I will then use an even lighter blue on the extreme edge of the model. To be frank by following the points you guys have kindly left there has been an exponential improvement already , i am really looking forward to the responses i will get on my next posting , i am aiming to get a model rated at 7 out of 10 . Thanks again to all for the help , hints and advice. cheers. dreadful tom