Newbie needs guidance (with pictures)

[Sopi]

Greetings everyone!

I have been playing RPGs for some time now, and pretty soon you end up with miniatures (in my case, Star Wars ones).
Then you realize that the paint jobs are not too good, and the characters are all too general. I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about.

Long story short I went and bought a lot of supplies, green stuff, paints, brushes, etc.
I watched tons of videos and read a lot of articles about painting, I wanted to start out well prepared.

Here are my first few tries and needless to say, they did not come out the way I hoped they would.

I know, practice makes perfect and I promise I will be patient but if I could, I would like to ask for advice.
I see a lot of truly amazing artist here. Perhaps you can tell me what I'm doing wrong.

 

[evl hmr]

Hi, I'm a new bod too, so my advice is going to be the same as I have been given. However, firstly, what paints are you using? they look very gloss and thick. Thin your paints and practice. The bases are very poor and distract from the model. Don't use that sponge stuff, it just doesn't work, try sand and small rocks, cork or any other more natural looking items. Also, practice. and when you have been given more advice practice some more. Thin your paints, tidy your bases, don't use gloss paint/varnish. Oh, and the pink lightsaber on your last figure looks like a huge dildo!

 

[PegaZus]

I rather like the bases myself. Maybe some matte over top to kill the shine, but they look like solid 6 or 7s to me.

What exactly are you disappointed in?

 

[Sopi]

Thank you for the fast response!

I am using Valejo Model Colors and the thinner that comes with it. I am adding 4-5 drops to 1 drop of paint and it still looks too thick to me. I tried adding about 10 drops for the lightsaber (I know it looks like a dildo, I was thinking the same thing) and it still did not come out too well.

The gloss is probably due to the varnish, I tried the matter and satin one but they are still pretty glossy. I kinda need to varnish them, as these are tabletop minis and they will be played with. Any tips on that one? Can I leave the varnish off?

According to about 30 votes, they are solid 4s.

I am disappointed in with the layering/feathering and I suppose the washes did not turn out that good either. I use GW washes by the way.

 

[Einion]

I don't see much of a problem, other than the quality of the pictures.

Given you've only been painting for a short while you should feel pretty good about where you are. And I see from your follow-on post that these are for play anyway, and these are more than good enough for that. If you want to paint to a higher standard than this then do go for it, but you've met or exceeded 'tabletop standard' already.

I am using Valejo Model Colors and the thinner that comes with it. I am adding 4-5 drops to 1 drop of paint and it still looks too thick to me.

So add more. I've said it before, I'll repeat it: don't go by formulas (see previous threads for why).

Einion

 

[RuneBrush]

don't use gloss paint/varnish.

Why ever not?

I assume you're going to be using your mini's for gaming which is why you've varnished them? I've always found that a varnish can really hit the contrast of a mini back, so try and make those shadows a bit darker and highlights a bit lighter. This way when you do apply a varnish it won't remove your shading & highlighting quite as much. Testors Dullcote is probably one of the best matt varnishes about although I prefer Daler & Rowney Soluable Matt varnish sprayed from an airbrush. However if you're using a mini to game, then gloss varnish first and then matt varnish. The gloss will provide a much better protective layer than the matt on it's own.

As Einon says, their isn't a magic formula of how much to thin your paint. A base coat tends to be thicker than a shade for example.

 

[Sopi]

Thank you very much for all the useful tips.

I will use about 8-10 drops of thinner for starters and see where it will take me.
Once my next model is done, I will try to put on gloss varnish, then apply a matt one over that.

Just a random question: How long do you guys work on a miniature on average?

 

[Einion]

Just a random question: How long do you guys work on a miniature on average?

It varies a lot, depending to a large extent on the quality being aimed at - tabletop rank and file v. tabletop hero v. display piece v. competition piece.

12 hours on a single mini would be rushing for me, for someone else that's enough time to paint an entire squad and get a few other things started.

There are one or two previous threads on this that you might like to hunt down to see more details.

Einion

 

[Dragonsreach]

Just a random question: How long do you guys work on a miniature on average?

There's no simple answer as time taken can depend on so many factors, I've recently done some straightforward limited detail minis in an hour for reasonable Table top purposes, but equally for highly detailed figures I've taken a couple of weeks.

However the Sasha DuBois figure I did which I've got in the Discuss Submissions forum I did in an afternoon (roughly 5 hours). http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/showthread.php?48625-Reaper-Miniatures-Sasha-DuBois

Silphid took over 100 hours to do his Slayer Sword winning Khorne Lord On Juggernaught a few years ago and that was all NMM.

So Sorry there is no hard and fast rule about time taken.

 

[Estragon]

If you have watched videos you should be able to figure out the consistency to aim for. Add enough dilutant to get to there, regardless of how many or few drops it takes (which might vary by the weather). From my experience, VMC seems to be about the thickest paint (of hobby paints). Don't worry about number of drops, worry about what the mix looks like and how it feels under the brush.

 

[Sopi]

Thank you again, for the nice advice!
Back to practising for me. I will let you know how it goes.