Ok, so I want to be a better painter ...

[Frustrated Father]

First off, the three minis that I have up on my portfolio are two years old, I\'ve got about fifteen or so to pop up that I think are a huge improvement ... just this damn camera .... i\'ll get it working though.

But, as things go for me, I painted about fifteen years ago, put it down for 12 or 13, picked it up for about four months before life got hectic (change of jobs, selling house, moving, buying house, blah, blah, blah) and now after another two years I have picked up the \'hobby\' again. This time I hope to keep with it.

So as you can see with my various questions through out the forums, I\'ve got curiousity abound over the whole thing. I\'ve got the basics, I\'m starting to pick up some of the intermediate stuff and I\'m right at the point now where I\'m going to start with NMM expermintation and and cork basing and the like.

What I want is a list of stuff that is pretty much the top of the line when it comes to brushes, selections of tips, paints and what I need to maximize their use (floor wax??? someone explain that one to me), some general tools, lighting, micro pens ... the works.

I know, bit of a large order, but I figure a few of you could fill that list with reletive quickness. Better yet, pretend the house just burned down, the dog ate all the paint and I\'ve suffered a severe blow to the head and your pointing this out for the first time. I really want to \'know\'. Hell for that matter, the wifes going to castrate me if I print out one more \'article\' on painting minis. lol

And links ... links would really be nice.

You know, it might be a good idea, considering all the top notch painters and idea brokers here to get together a \'NEWBIE GUIDE\' so to speak and pin it. I know there are articles here, there, everywhere ... but something that encompases a large majority might be helpful (and stop upsetting those of you that hate to see repetitive questions.

 

[Corvus]

Before I\'m going to provide you with some articles I just want to say that reading articles alone will not improve your painting skill.

This is the way I did:
- experiment on my own
- read and discuss different techniques, and try these out on new minis
- look at other mini painter\'s work, and try out techniques they are using

Anyway, in the end it comes down to only one thing: practice, a lot. Try out a new technique on every new mini you paint, until you\'re satisfied. But if you\'re a perfectionist like me (when it comes down to mini painting that is ) you\'lll never be satisfied and will try out new techniques with every new paintjob.

So, let\'s get reading

Here are four of my favorite sources:

1) CMON articles: http://www.coolminiornot.com/article
2) Jenova\'s articles:
http://www.jenova.dk/TipsAndTutorials.htm
3) Dragon Miniatures\' articles: http://www.dragon-miniatures.com/tips.php
4) Dr Faust\'s Painting Clinic: http://www.paintingclinic.com/clinic/clinic.htm

I hope this helps!!!

-Gerrie.

 

[Calavera]

Hey ! Good to hear you want to become lots better, but I just want to say don\'t plunge in too hard and buy everything at once.
Somethings and tools i can reccommend though:

Pin Vice-the absolute neccissity(sp???)
Winsor and Newton series 7 brushes - the best, an 0 and 000 are good for starters.

Ok.. damnit, couldn\'t think of more lollol
About the floor wax stuff and that, additives ain\'t really all that important but can be useful for washes. Here is a nice article about future floor wax:
http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html

What I can say about it(I got one, had a friend send us a bottle from the US )is that it comes in handy, but I don\'t use it for everything like many do

And maybe for a link or two,
Here\'s Jakob Rune Nielsen\'s website which I really, really like.
And you\'re always mentioning Inquisitors and such stuff.
So here\'s a nice little forum for everything power armour, SM, CSM, and the inquisiton Ordos really cool if you want some inspiration.

Oh, and check out http://allanc.art.free.fr - it\'s in french but, you can check it out or babelfish it.

But most important, paint a lot, expirement, and look up pictures of the mini you\'re painting next for inspiration.

 

[Trevor]

There are 2 thjings I think are vitally important and a 3rd that is imporatnt for CMON.

1) Get good brushes, a fine good point to the brush is vital. Series 7 get a lot of good press, but any quality sable brush should help you. Don\'t be afraid to test the brushes point in the shop, I\'ll stand there for 30 mins going through all the brushes to get the one i want.

2) Vallejo glaze medium. I love this stuff, in small amounts it extends drying time, in larger amounts it makes paints into washes or glazes. The only problem I\'ve found is that it melts the paint, hold the model under a lamp to dry it out inbetween coats. There are many other extenders and diluters out there, experiment to find one that suits your painting style.

The 3rd thing is good photos, this is essential for good scores on CMON (but obviously not essential if you just want to improve your painting...). There are many articles here on photography.

Hope this helps.

 

[Frustrated Father]

Thanks for the replies folks!

Yes I know, practice, practice, practice, and I do that quite a bit but for the most part, those web links that were popped up there were a big help as two or three of them I haven\'t seen before and they were fairly helpful.

Right now I\'ve got three things that I want to try out so I\'m gonna break down and take the plunge this weekend if I manage some time. NMM, Wet Blending and Cork Basing.

I think I\'m about due for some new brushes as some of them are starting to curl slightly at the tips and while I\'m at it I\'ll pick up some empty paint containers so I can start mixing. I\'m curious about the floor wax stuff and the retarter for wet blending so I\'m gonna give that a go.

That and I\'ve got a couple of chaos sorcerers that I painted up here a couple weeks ago that I have been staring at for the whole time and I\'ve decided its time to pinesol the buggers and start with another paint scheme.

Anyhow, thanks again for the suggestions and comments. It may seem as if I\'m asking some redunant questions or completely clueless (and in some ways I am I\'m sure) but I\'m trying to get my \'mind\' around everything as I ploink away with the brush.

 

[Corvus]

be sure to come back here and post pictures of your finished work, so we can help to be an even better painter

 

[Frustrated Father]

I\'m jumping up and down in frustration right now due to the fact that I have about twenty miniatures to put up into the gallery and the darn digital camera had decided to be a total putz.

Well, I\'ll get it figured soon, and when I do I\'ll be posting some up rather quickly as I\'m dying to get some comments on them.

More importantly, I\'m ready to get some wetblending and NMM going this weekend on my Inquisition crews and see how those turn out.

Thanks again for the ideas and help.

 

[No Such Agency]

I think I\'m about due for some new brushes as some of them are starting to curl slightly at the tips...

Don\'t throw them out You\'ll want them later. Trust me

(hint - how do you paint around a corner?)

Oh, and I notice nobody\'s mentioned the \"wet pallette\" yet. I don\'t use one myself (and so won\'t try to explain it), but I understand they\'re very popular.

 

[Frustrated Father]

Never heard of a wet pallete though I can guess easily enough about it.

Can\'t think that I would ever get around to using one though.

As for those curved brushes, yeah, I\'ve already found that I\'m using them for some things.

Speaking of brushes, does anyone use the \'flat\' brushes other than the round ones, or find that they are useful for anything in particular?

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by Frustrated Father
Speaking of brushes, does anyone use the \'flat\' brushes other than the round ones, or find that they are useful for anything in particular?

Yes they have many uses, large areas, tanks you name it they have a use.
The one\'s I have seem mostly to get used for brush on Varnish, (Humbrol Matte Coate), Ultra thin washes over large areas or basecoats and the ocasional removal of dust on a primed mini that\'s been sitting unpainted for a while.

Oh yes and I also keep one specifically for finishing off the priming after I\'ve sprayed the mini. I find that no matter how I try I allways miss a bit so I\'ve got in the habit of going over the primer (once it\'s dry)with a flat brush and Chaos Black to \"fill in the gaps\" so to speak.

 

[fire-dragon-studios]

Might sound like a stupid comment but I\'d make sure that you master the more basic painting techniques before going onto what I consider the more complicated techniques such as NMM and wet-blending. As you don\'t have your camera working we can\'t really see whether you have mastered the basics yet or not....this just reminds me of people who go out and buy an expensive musical instrument first and then realise they can\'t play it, leading to frustration and then leaving the hobby and we wouldn\'t want that happening with you! Hope progress on the camera is good!

RUfio xx

 

[Cerridwyn1st]

You mentioned earlier that your brushes had developed a bend. This is what happens to synthetic brushes - they really aren\'t intended for painting on unyeilding metal, you know.

For that matter, neither are sable brushes, but they seem to hold up to the abuse quite well.

A \"wet pallet\" is a sheet of parchment (baking or special pallet parchment) laid on top of a piece of damp papertoweling. It will keep your paints damp and fluid much longer than putting them on a plate or other surfact to paint.

I\'ve talked to some top-knotch painters that never use them. I\'m talking Jen Haley/Thierry Husser kinda top-knotch. Jen uses a ceramic painter\'s pallet with deep wells. Thierry uses a ceramic tile and sometimes an old CD case.

The problem with a wet pallet is that if your paints are really thin, they will sink right through the parchment. They also run like crazy. If you mix a couple layers of a given color in your wells (with lots of thinner and water), it will stay put for you.

Still, when you are first starting out a wet pallet can make a tremendous difference in your painting, as it lends itself so well to thinning your paint.

Never paint without something to blot your brush. Paper towels, cut-up cotton t-shirts, cheap celulose spounges, they\'ll all work. Just make sure you\'ve got `em.

 

[airhead]

The best thing I can think of to improve your painting is to find a better painter than you and paint with them. Watch and learn. I can show you pics all day of painted minis, but watching someone do it is so much more informative. One day with Cerridwyn and my CMON score went from 1700 to 1200. I am now doing the same with Thursday night painting classed at my FLGS.

Another thing I have learned here. If you are in the middle of the pack here, you are probably better than any of the local talent. That is not bragging, just simple observation. Until I found this site, I had no idea that minis could be painted at such a level of realism. Now, I look at the local \"pro painter\" stuff trying to get commissions at the FLGS and :|~ .

 

[Frustrated Father]

All constructive and well spoken, I appreciate it and believe me, me and that digital camera are going to have a heart to heart this weekend and we\'re going to see if we can come to some sort of arangement.

Anyhow, most of my stuff is \'old\' so its not going to be the greatest stuff in the world but I full believe it to be table top and a bit better in many cases though as stated, when you come to CMON you get a feeling for just how far you\'ve got to go before having any true talent.

Myself, money isn\'t a \'real\' issue and although I\'ve gotten to the point now where I don\'t want to spend much more on the hobby till I start turning out stuff that I\'m satisfied with, I will make the final steps and purchase some new brushes, retarder, floor wax (heh - that just kills me) and some lamps for better lighting. Of course, I\'ve had most of this but in the move things have gotten misplaced ... grrr.

Anyhow, camera, then miniatures up on the site, and then ya\'ll critique the hell out of me as that is about the only true way to learn. No hard feelings, unless yer just trying to be a putz!

 

[Calavera]

Hmm, what kind of camera is this ? I\'d like to see if it \'s always this naughty :innocent:

 

[Legacy Account]

If you don\'t want to keep blotting your brush, become a.....

....Dirty Brush Licker!

Seriously though, I could not paint without doing this. It brings the bristles to a point, thins the paint, moistens the tip (fnar, fnar...). To blend, I apply the paint to the model in a streak, lick the excess paint from the brush, then blend. I\'ll probably be fostering some horrible form of bowel or colon cancer as we speak. What the hell. You\'ve got to suffer for your art.....

 

[Ritual]

Hey Scott!! What are you doing to the poor guy!! Luring him into foul habits like that, entrapping him!!

No, seriously, lick your brush! It\'s sweeeet.....

 

[EricJ]

go on, lick your brushes, the first lick is always free


but really, despite what everyone says about the practical merits of brush licking, it\'s all about becoming one with the paint.

/creepy cult voice on

lick the paint, know the paint, become the paint

/voice off

besides, it\'s proven, there is absolutely no way to improve your painting without brush licking!

EricJ

 

[Legacy Account]

Hehehe! I\'m in good company then!

Oh, lots of practice helps too......

 

[Frustrated Father]

Snagging some time at work to check the forums so I\'ll have to get back to you on that digital camera. All I know is that I spent $1k on it about two years ago for the wife ... you would think the damn thing would be nice to me.

As for brush licking (laughing) yeah, already have that bad habbit. Was painting some gobbo\'s the other night at the table and the wife was on the computer and she suddenly says, \"You just licked your brush!\" I looked at her and said ...\"Yup. Keeps my points.\" She just shivered and went and got me a soda to cut the taste. lol