Newbie looking for advice

[MAXXxxx]

9 STOP watching you tube videos!

good thing to do. A lot of them teach bad techniques and unneccessary steps.

@Kadarian and oistene, Yeah, a workshop sounds like a good idea. im gonna be honest tho, im a good bit older than the majority (all??!!) of the people that hang out at the local GW, and probably want to avoid that. I might see what else i can find, Although West Australia has its limits!

If you like GW-s painting style then don't be bothered by age difference. You can take one or two lessons while being surrounded by kids But for this I'd rather recommend the (for now) free videos from GW. It shows their style pretty clearly.

Otherwise don't even bother going to a GW shop for a workshop. The things they teach is waay different than the the way we paint. It's better to organize a workshop yourself / ask around where you live.
Because of distances it's not easy in Australia, but there are quite a few super painters there who could possibly be convinced to hold workshops / painting weekends.

 

[Kadarian]

@Kadarian and oistene, Yeah, a workshop sounds like a good idea. im gonna be honest tho, im a good bit older than the majority (all??!!) of the people that hang out at the local GW, and probably want to avoid that. I might see what else i can find, Although West Australia has its limits!

I agree, the GW shops are not very suitable for us older painters... Perhaps there are some good painters in your region who are offering workshops. I know I'm from Germany and so the distances are much shorter than in australia .

My favorite figures are those of AoW, Werner Klocke (Reaper) and absolutely the great confrontation range. It's a pitty that the miniatures are no longer produced. But to learn and practice the techniques the simple plastic miniatures from GW are the best for my needs. Bledings are much easier if you paint 28 - 32 mm miniatures because you have bigger areas and less details. But the new GW miniatures like the bretonnian knights (Standart Plastic) are really a insolance for me.

You have to shape half the horse away to get a realistic look. And after shaping you have to remodel half the miniature . Like I said, for learning needs , I think they were better than high detailed, better looking tin or resin minis.

Happy new year and keep on painting

 

[fromchaos69.jm@gmail.com]

Hey, OZAB. I'm a newbie here, too, but have got back into this after some time off, but I thought I'd offer a few elementary things that maybe helpful to you. All the advice here is spot on, you can only get better listening to these guys. If I could offer my own thoughts, it would be this. Rule #1, thin your paint (like skim milk) and blot your brush. Take time to carefullyprep the figure, very important. The best paint job in the world won't hide mould lines. Go get yourself Walmart flat white spray paint (pic) for primer, and get lots of it because you'll need it. At 96 cents a can, you have no business spending $14 on a can of the GW stuff as a newbie, or a pro, because it's simply better. Try it and you'll see. Get a big bottle of Simple green, or Mean Green (pic), again at Walmart, $4 bucks. You'll need this for stripping figures after each attempt at painting it. Get an old plastic container with a lid for an overnight soak, scrub with an old toothbrush, dry, prime, and paint it again, and again, and after that, try again. You simply will get better. That being said, try and stick to white metal for a while, plastic won't last after multiple strips. Get a loupe (pic) $10, ebay, and you'll literately see figures like never before. Buy good brushes and keep them clean. Unless you're really good at doing eyes with a brush, save yourself a lot of frustration and use 005 Sakura Pigma Micron pens. $10 on eBay for an assorted color pack. Don't drybrush. Ever.
Buy some figures you wouldn't normally try from time to time, and don't underestimate the importance of that, trust me. Don't expect instant results and you'll be less and less disappointed. As incredible as the minis on here can be, which can be so damn good it's also discouraging, remember that you're better now than they were at some point in time. Just enjoy it, learn and practice, and it will come to you.

 

[MAXXxxx]

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Get a loupe (pic) $10, ebay, and you'll literately see figures like never before.

or like me loose depth perception with these and can't even hit the figure much less the detail you want to paint.

Unless you're really good at doing eyes with a brush, save yourself a lot of frustration and use 005 Sakura Pigma Micron pens.

could work, but they have an artifical effect, that a brush doesn't have. So if you are not good with eyes: practice, practice, practice and you'll become better.

Don't drybrush. Ever.

yeah, limit yourself for no reason.

(as an experiment the dress of mini on pic was painted with a wash + drybrushing only)
View attachment 33931

 

[oistene]

I got a pen to do eyes, and instead of getting cross eyed minis, I got bug eyed minis. The pens are a shortcut, if you are trying to get many minis at table top quality, they might be a good idea, but they have SO many limitations. You can't vary the dot size much, you are stuck with the color (which is a bit too black and glossy) ... I agree with Maxx on this one, it is better to practise. If you have trouble with the paint drying on the brush when painting eyes, get some drying retarder and add to the paint. That helps a bunch.

In general, try everything, and figure out what works for you - but be aware that things you didn't master now, can be your chosen technique with a little more practise.