At the risk of repeating what others have already said:
Originally posted by Baldur
Hi all,
I\'m a beginner miniature painter, that is why I ask the Top Gun painters who know everything from A to Z about painting. The questions may seem to be trivial or idiot, but don\'t forget that I\'m a beginner. Painting minis is totally different than painting a Pz I or a Toldi I. Minis need more accuracy.
An A to Z of mini painting is quite beyond the scope of a forum post, or even a whole thread. The best suggestion I could give, is to go and get a book on it. GW\'s How to Paint Citadel Miniatures is a good jump start for beginner painters. And some intermediate stuff too, though I think that the \'intermediate\' level has advanced somewhat.
Originally posted by Baldur
1. Which style?
How should I paint? NMM or with paints containing small metal bits? Both sure look good and metallic. But which looks more realistic when you look at them standing side-by-side?
As has been said - personal preference. However, until you are confident with blending, don\'t try NMM. It requires super-smooth transitions, and is still an advanced technique. Get to grips with the basics of blending before trying it out. Heck, some people even consider blending itself as advanced.
Originally posted by Baldur
2.How to paint?
After I prepare the mini. How should I prime? Black under dark base colour, white under light colour? Or with grey what I usually use?
Personal preference. I go for white, then wash the mini with black. That makes a grey mini, dark grey to black in the crevices, and light grey elsewhere. Black is a pain to try and cover with some colours, noticably red and yellow. White doesn\'t automatically fill in the shadows for you. Try both, they both have their advantages, and both will make you wish you\'d chosen the other option.
Originally posted by Baldur
3. How should I highlight, drybrush, or shade? How and when? Which parts? How much should I darken or lighten the colours?
When to use blending?
Experience will tell you how to shade. At first, just consider crevices and raised areas. Then consider a single source of light from above the mini. Also, look at the world around you, look for shadows, look for highlights on real objects. This can take a bit of effort to really notice, because our brains automatically compensate for us.
It\'s been said that drybrushing should be avoided. Well yes, mostly yes. Consider it a transition/beginner step, one that must be taken. But abandon it as soon as you feel confident with layering, and subsequently, blending. Drybrushing is good for terrain and highly textured surfaces. It\'s a good and useful technique, but has a bad reputation because it is inappropriately used. However, even within drybrushing, there are a number of different techniques.
Originally posted by Baldur
4. Why to thin the paint? How to do that? Will it help to smooth the surface of the paint on the mini? When to use ink and wash? Why is that good?
Not thinning paint makes the layer of paint on the mini so thick, that the paint, and not just the colour, is visible on the mini. It obscures details, and generally makes a paint job shoddy. How to thin it? Mix with water. Start by mixing it 1:1 with water, then, as your skill increases, you can thin as much as 10:1. Thinning paint also gives it a transparency, which is used when doing blending.
Washing with ink (or paint) is a technique like drybrushing. Not to be incorrectly used. It\'s good for toning down over-bright areas, for shading chainmail, but isn\'t for general-purpose shading. It\'s used to stain metals, and a whole host of other things. It
can be used for general shading, but always remember to paint over it with a midtone again.
A while ago, Hoblit raised a question about how one would approach skill progression, what techniques should be learnt before moving onto others. The answers were really good, and will give you an idea of where to start, and how to progress. The thread is
>>here<<
The main thing that\'s already been said: experiment! Don\'t be afraid to try and change the behaviour of your paint, or to try something out, even if no-one else does it. Makes up your own rules within the guidelines that most other people use. For me, I have the most fun when experimenting.
