Newbie painter looking for tips!

[Cluttershy]

Hello everyone, Ive been painting my minis for around 2-3 months now. While I start to like the results I get, I know theres a lot of room for improvement. I know I should focus on getting cleaner lines and I should start making bases, currently Im thinking about a some sort of martian red which should work with the orange-ish yellows I use. Any ideas or hell even examples would be very appreciated. Feel free to comment, be hars if you need to, I can take it
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[freakinacage]

What sort of level are you aiming for? It's a pretty good start after only a few months. I'd say it's a good tabletop mini (although only if you finish the base!!). Things to be wary of - fill gaps on bits that have been glued together (like gun barrels) and try and clean off all the mould lines (that said there will always be one that you have missed that you spot mid painting!!)

Keep the painting neat, you seem to acknowledge that, although you can get away with more on vehicles. Your paints don't seem overly thick, but keep them thin if you want to blend better. You may want to increase your contrast a little. Again, I think you can get away with it more on vehicles but a little edge highlighting on the upper facing edges and some darklining between colour areas

now finish off the damn base, even if you just slap some texture on it and dry brush it!

 

[Cluttershy]

Thank you for a fantastic reply!

To be honest I don`t have a particular level I want to reach, initially I wanted to paint passable tabletop minis, now I just want to learn new effects and techniques. I never EVER was any good at painting, xcept walls perhaps , and I was blown away the first time I used drybrushing or washes. Sure it was dirty and sloppy at first (still is ) but I assumed it would way more harder to achieve anything. I did remove some of the mould lines, but like you said, missed quite a few too. Had to file some stuff too, as I got a bit careless and broke some details off (me and my fat fingers).

Also the models are in a pretty boring position, I bought them used, already glued, and the arms are magnetized, thats why they kind of hand by the sides .

As for thinning the paints, while I did thin the yellows a little bit, I find it pretty hard to actually use thin yellows, they end up looking green at some places (I use a black primer) even after a third layer sometimes. Would you recommend drybrushing the edges, or should I try simply painting the edges? Same with darklining, I still have a bit of a problem using very dark washes and keeping them only in crevices and such. I kind of figured out how to deal with pooling, but as you can see I let the wash pool a bit to make it dirtier

 

[Bailey03]

It looks like you are off to a good start. The first few steps are learning how to control the brush, getting the right colors in the right places, making sure your paints aren't too thick, and basic model assembly and clean up of mold lines, gaps, etc. Since you didn't assemble him it's hard to fault you for the minor issues there. As for the painting I'd say you are doing well. I can see some areas where the yellows are a little splotchy so you might want to work on getting the colors a little smoother. Of course for the subject you have, splotchy and dirty actually fit pretty well.

You can find some nice how to paint minis tutorials on youtube. If you're working with GW you can probably find model or at least army specific videos (search how to paint tau, orks, blood angels, etc and you'll find stuff). Take a look at a couple and see the different approaches and styles. Pick one you like and give it a try. I think videos are much easier to learn from than just reading tips. That being said, you should still post your work here so you can get feedback and suggestions on how to improve.

Most importantly remember to have fun with it. No one here mastered every technique or won a Golden Demon on their first figure, their second, or their tenth. Set reasonable goals and try to improve with each figure. Getting good takes time and lots of practice. So make sure you enjoy the journey and don't get discouraged along the way.

 

[AnieHeels]

You can watch videos or read books regarding the kind of painting field you want to achieve! You can surely find good tutorials about it!

 

[freakinacage]

Ok, another tip, don';t use black undercoat. Use a grey, when painting bright colours, they aren't too drab when painted over grey, also the dark colours are still dark. Use an auto primer, they are cheaper and usually of better quality. Where are you based? In the UK, Halfords is a great grey primer to use.

Also, what paints are you using? Some brands have better colours than others

 

[Cluttershy]

Im in easter europe, which should explain my budget, even tho Im dealing in antique furniture... at the moment I`m using citadel paints, I have only a couple of them (Khorne Red, Abaddon Black, Flash Git yellow, Lauren forest, and bleached bone of sorts. Oh nad boltgun metal. So far I got away using no blue in the mix ) and I mix the rest on the fly. I have some 10+ years of experience in computer graphics so mixing colours is no problem for me . The grey primer is a nice idea, I`ve noticed that painting yellows on surfaces drybrushed with boltgun metal works better than on blacks. What shade of grey are you proposing? In comparison to the default grey shade the resin has?

Bailey thanks for the tips, I`ll try to thin my paints more, if I change the primer it might actually be easier to pull off.

 

[freakinacage]

Try and get some auto primer then. It'll be a good cheap primer and better than gw stuff. Use what ever shade they have, they are usually mid tone and work well

 

[Cluttershy]

Alright, thanks, I did chek up on the prices, and yes, they are pretty darn cheap, so I`ll try them for sure

 

[Flow]

Also worth note is - nice pictures! I'm new at this as well, and I've struggled a bit with taking clear photographs. You appeared to have quickly nailed a clean photograph that clearly shows the mini, which does help show the thing off online.

Ok, another tip, don';t use black undercoat. Use a grey, when painting bright colours, they aren't too drab when painted over grey, also the dark colours are still dark.

What do you think of a white primer? So far I'm using white Krylon primer and it seems to support colors reasonably.

 

[Cluttershy]

Well i took those photos at work, like I said we deal in antique furnitre and fine china, if I couldnt take a clear photo with the gear I had, my boss would tell me to pack my stuff and GTFO . Good camera and most importantly clear white strong soft light (4x 150-200W bulbs I think). I can totally understand someone not wanting to spend a lot of money on their gear, but good lighting shouldnt be all that expensive. Some high wattage bulbs and thin white cloth to soften the light should work . It can turn out to be a bit too dark so either let the camera absorb more light, or just bump the light up a bit in GIMP or any other similiar program.

 

[finn17]

I'm still a big fan of zenithal priming....

(spray black from the bottom white from the top....works a treat IMO

 

[me_in_japan]

I'm a fan of zenithal priming, too. It's very helpful for non-arty types like me who have difficulty visualizing where light should fall on a mini.

Oh, and respect to you for setting out to paint minis and not investing in an over-large starter set of colors. Good call, that man
oh, and nice pics, too

 

[freakinacage]

Also worth note is - nice pictures! I'm new at this as well, and I've struggled a bit with taking clear photographs. You appeared to have quickly nailed a clean photograph that clearly shows the mini, which does help show the thing off online.



What do you think of a white primer? So far I'm using white Krylon primer and it seems to support colors reasonably.

I found that darker colours had less coverage. Just buy one tin of mid tone grey and try. I never went back

Or maybe if you want to try the zenithal thing, which I agree is a handy tip, try a darker grey and highlight with white

 

[Cluttershy]

Last minutes at work till weekend, I`m gonna get a grey primer today. I`ll propably still use my black primer for regular boyz as I just speed pain them. 2 minutes a boy is my average atm, their contrast is pretty high (visible green with highlights) and clashing yellow and black. Since I wanna cut corners as much as possible in troops, Ill stick to black primer for that . Of course fair enough, the minis come out barely tabletop ready, but when you work 10-19 7 days a week, and play a horde of 180 boyz, you gotta get some things straight ;D

Oh and I got a box of 6 kanz yesterday. fun fun fun!

 

[KruleBear]

You are off to a good start. Another possibility with the black primer and the problems with yellow is to base coat the yellow areas wit a coat of the bleached bone first. Then the yellows should look brighter than on the straight black primer.

 

[Cluttershy]

Alrighty, yesterday I took on 6 models at once, but it turned out to be a little too much.

First of I haven`t expected the auto primer to be so harsh on my skin and lungs, I`m afraid once the neighbours find out it was me, Im in for some beating ;P

Also I haven`t really thought about the lack of shadows in crevices since I no longer used a black primer, until I started basing the whole thing with metallics, so that was an extra hour washing the whole thing with black. The yellows were easier to put on, to the point I could get away with compleatly runny paint. I also sort of used KruelBears advice, and instead of going for my yellow-orange mix at start I went with pure bright yellow, then made the paint a bit thicker and added red, and it worked nicely. Would look nice too, but I kinda messed up priming and ended with a too thick layer of it, which resulted in crusts all over the model. While those models are still orks, I can get away with it, but its not pretty...

Over all the models came out a bit lighter on the metallic part, and due to sort of a neutral primer colour the weathering came out a bit meh. Nothing an extra layer of washes on the metals only wont fix tho .

I will be ordering some stuff to do some basing, I checked the stores around for anything I could use, but I haven`t found anything xcept glue... Maybe I`ll use some regular sand too and see how that works. That and more yellow, I kind of run out . As for pictures I got 3 kanz based but not finished, so if I`ll do those I should be able to make some pics tommorow or tuesday. Also since they are already halfway done, I`ll have more time to work on highlighs and such.

 

[freakinacage]

Any spray paint will be harsh on your lungs, be careful.

If you have a lack of shadows in the cervices and still want to speed paint them, try and get hold of a 'dip' (usually a wood stain) and wash with that. Apply with a brush though and you can thin it a little with the appropriate thinner (usually you need spirits to clean them)

Regular sand works well, just make sure it's very fine, like kiln dried or maybe get some bicarb (dries very quickly too and can be used with superglue to fill gaps quick - can then be sanded)

edit - also cheap filler works well as a nice texture

 

[Dragonsreach]

First of I haven`t expected the auto primer to be so harsh on my skin and lungs, I`m afraid once the neighbours find out it was me, Im in for some beating.

Invest in a cheap pair of rubber gloves or throwaway latex disposables, saves the hands and clothing. Paper masks help as does being upwind of the spray.
As for the neighbours, well all I can say is don't prime 'em.

In regards to painting metallics over a grey primer, you may want to invest in a bottle of Vallejo Airbrush Metallic Black.
Drybrushed (YES DRYBRUSHED) as your base coat of metallics gives a depth that the lighter metallics respond to. You can of course then add washes and glases to your hearts' desire.
One thing you may want to consider is that the Artists Tube Paints, specifically Paynes Grey makes a great "grease looking" blue black wash or as I recently saw left in a thickish consistancy actually looked like grease trails.

 

[me_in_japan]

In regards to painting metallics over a grey primer, you may want to invest in a bottle of Vallejo Airbrush Metallic Black.
Drybrushed (YES DRYBRUSHED) as your base coat of metallics gives a depth that the lighter metallics respond to.

really? I never knew that. Every day is a schoolday with DR...