What happend to minipainting???

[Euphorion]

I got into the hobby when I used to play warhammer with some guys from grammar school some years ago.
I always liked painting and converting minis and bulding stuff the most.
Back in those days I always admired the guys who did the minis featured in the eavy metal section and I wanted my minis to look like these masterpieces.
But today minis, that won a demon some years ago, appear pretty crappy compared to todays standard...

I had a four year break and just got back into mini painting, but I find it very hard to catch up with al those fancy techniques that are state-of-the art.
-I just can´t do nonmetallicmetal, opensourcelighting (and can´t take decent pictures) and I´m so pissed and jealous...

 

[Jazz is for losers]

There\'s a lot more to painting than NMM and OSL. Best to work on more fundamental techniques I think.

 

[sg2009]

i understand what you mean about the golden demon from the past compared to the latest winner, but just keep practicing eventually you will pick up those techniques again.

SAM

 

[Avelorn]

Some of those techniques look more difficult then they are as well. I remember feeling the same thing when I got back into the game almost 4 years ago.

 

[Cleezy]

Dont worry about these techniques, these are additives to the fundamentals, yea they look good when done right. But if your just getting back into the hobby work on the most important techniques, blending and layering, painting neatly. NMM is popular at the moment but you can achieve great metallics. I have only recently got back into painting, and these techniques seem daunting but first im getting the basics up to a unprecedented standard then il dabble with the other techniques.

Best place to start on this site are the tutorials, as reading them helps you get an idea of how you can apply the techniques

 

[squidders]

4 years off is bad... I had 10 and just gave the hell up... now I collect and enjoy other peoples\' art :drunk:

 

[Dragon Forge Design]

Practice Practice Practice..

The 3 words of advice I can give..nothing comes over night except Fed Ex.

 

[Sand Rat]

Depends on what you are painting for - I paint for myself, so I go for good solid paintjobs, to hell with NMM and OSL.

 

[Cleezy]

as long as you are happy that you have done your best with a mini then dont be phased by what others do, you can only get better by practicing and painting more mini\'s.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by Dragon Forge Design
Practice Practice Practice..

The 3 words of advice I can give..nothing comes over night except Fed Ex.

....And honeymooners. :innocent:



But in terms of painting the best efforts of the recent years have been to extend the levels of adaption of 2D artists onto the miniature.
It\'s not a bad thing to have to start again in painting miniatures as you\'ve already got the basic understanding of \"What goes Where\". Just take small steps in developing the ability to layer or blend. From that the techniques of NMM or OSL are more simply applied, and despite the fact that some people say they cannot NMM all it really is, is the application of controlled highlighting.
Doesn\'t matter if the paint has Metal flakes in it or not, Controlling the accuracy of highlights is the \"Name of the Game\".

Oh Yes and welcome back.

 

[mattrock]

I\'ll add also that you don\'t have to be painting at French slayer sword winning standard to enjoy the hobby.

The most important thing to learn in my opinion is that the fun is in the learning. You get better with time but you still have a sense of pride over what you can do in the now.

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by Euphorion
-I just can´t do nonmetallicmetal, opensourcelighting (and can´t take decent pictures) and I´m so pissed and jealous...

Practice will get you further than you might be thinking now; if you apply yourself and you have the right kind of dexterity you\'d be surprised at just how good you can get I\'m sure.

Originally posted by Euphorion
I had a four year break and just got back into mini painting, but I find it very hard to catch up with al those fancy techniques that are state-of-the art.

I had to give up the hobby between my teens and mid-20s. It took me a good few years to get back to the same standard I\'d been at just before I quit, despite painting regularly in the interim (and going through art school!)

Along the same lines, I know a couple of talented painters that tried miniature painting and their first pieces weren\'t exactly stellar either. This included larger stuff than we\'re generally concerned with here, so it wasn\'t just an issue with painting really teeny details which is a skillset all of its own.

Einion

 

[Dougs Workshop]

painting for fun

One of the \'problems\' if you can call it that is in the past several years, there has been a move to publicize one\'s work. Forums and galleries like CMON weren\'t around when I started. Discussions on how to improve weren\'t held, and I can\'t remember a game store having a paint night.

All these things have helped the hobby, but can put off someone who thinks \"I\'ll never get it.\"

I paint for myself. I paint the figures I like, and if something screams for source lighting, I\'ll practice with source lighting. If I think something looks right with NMM, I\'ll try it.

None of these techniques were learned quickly. And there\'s lots of test pieces and overpainting I did which won\'t ever show up in my gallery.

And the last time I went to play at a local game store, most of the figures weren\'t even painted, let alone to a standard I\'d be comfortable with. But that\'s okay, because I didn\'t paint my Trollblood army for display. I painted it to roar across a field and tear up my opponent. My dwarven bear rider cavalry can wipe out my opponent\'s archers and look good doing it. And on that rare occasion I want to push myself, I\'ll pull something to paint for a competition and spend hours and hours getting the glazes right.

There\'s no \'right\' way to paint except that you enjoy doing it.

-Doug

 

[Euphorion]

I guess that I got a little bit carried away...

and it´s an important thing for me to remeber that I paint minis for fun not competion.
Thanks for the support, it just feels great to be back!
I´m working on an Ork project with lots of converison and last weekend I built a dread from fimo, wire and cardbord.^^
It´s a crappy piece but it was hell lots of fun
I almost forgot how much fun it is to hang around the local gaming store and talking to others, discover some nice minis and taking them home.
It is very easy to get a bit angry and frustrated when you look at some of the top minis and think that you would like to be able to do so, too...
I guess that the true challange is to turn that anger into motivation.
Maybe I will never win a French GD but that will be ok. lol

It seems to me that there are many (commercial) tutorials out there and some are pretty expensive...
I thought of getting the CMON painting guide because it looks to good and seems to deal with the techniques that
I´m interssted in.
Anyone having experince with it?

 

[Gilvan Blight]

The CMON painting guide is a compilation of articles that can be found here on the site. The main reason to purchase is so you don\'t have to be sitting at your PC to read through them all plus they are more organized. There is a link to the articles on the voting page on the right hand side, check that out.

I was in the same boat a few years back, had quit painting for like 20 years then came back. Unlike you though I found the new minis inspiring and challenging and found with just a few simple tips from CMON my newer minis look 1000 times better then my older ones (the main tip being Thin Your Paint!).

 

[Gussy]

Originally posted by Dragonsreach
....And honeymooners. :innocent:

I don\'t think that is also true now a days...at least not for all.

 

[Euphorion]

I find the new minis inspiring an challenging, too... but I´m always a little bit afraid to spoil a nice mini with a bad paintjob...
Because of that I started by repainting my old Orks to practice and to regain the feeling for brush and paint.
I have some beautiful reaper and rackham minis and I just managed to get a cheap Khador box and I´m so looking forward to paint these!

 

[mrrocknroll]

I know exactly how you feel mate, I\'ve recently this year got back in to the hobby after something like seven year absence. And the first thing I noticed was how fantastic some of the paint jobs are now compared to what they are in my old old old old White Dwarf issues (Last one I bought was #195). like you I too dreamed of being able to paint like the Eavy Metal team / Mike Mcvey. But now I\'ve been woken up to the different styles and ways of painting mini\'s and the HUGE selection that\'s available to me via shops or the internet.
The mini\'s them selves are so much more complex now I think as well, with more and more daring poses by some very talented sculpters to what they used to be, and like you I\'ve got some ready to be painted and I think to my self \"Don\'t screw it up Nick!!\" (thats me btw).
But after speaking to people I\'ve taken on board so much that I\'m keen to apply new idea\'s and push my self to become a better painter.

Nick.

 

[freakinacage]

Originally posted by Dragonsreach

Originally posted by Dragon Forge Design
The 3 words of advice I can give..nothing comes over night except Fed Ex.

....And honeymooners. :innocent:

shame on you mike! tut tut

Originally posted by Dougs Workshop
One of the \'problems\' if you can call it that is in the past several years, there has been a move to publicize one\'s work. Forums and galleries like CMON weren\'t around when I started. Discussions on how to improve weren\'t held, and I can\'t remember a game store having a paint night.

All these things have helped the hobby, but can put off someone who thinks \"I\'ll never get it.\"

I paint for myself. I paint the figures I like, and if something screams for source lighting, I\'ll practice with source lighting. If I think something looks right with NMM, I\'ll try it.

None of these techniques were learned quickly. And there\'s lots of test pieces and overpainting I did which won\'t ever show up in my gallery.

And the last time I went to play at a local game store, most of the figures weren\'t even painted, let alone to a standard I\'d be comfortable with. But that\'s okay, because I didn\'t paint my Trollblood army for display. I painted it to roar across a field and tear up my opponent. My dwarven bear rider cavalry can wipe out my opponent\'s archers and look good doing it. And on that rare occasion I want to push myself, I\'ll pull something to paint for a competition and spend hours and hours getting the glazes right.

There\'s no \'right\' way to paint except that you enjoy doing it.

-Doug

wow, wisdom indeed. i echo everything he said!! welcome to the forums doug and welcome back euphorion

 

[tooshy]

Yup.....been there....

Got the badge and the T-Shirt! There are more people than you think that have recently gone through what you are experiencing and they are now great painters.

Looking on the positive side, you obviously aspire to paint better and that\'s half the battle. You have to want something badly enough to achieve it.

I echo the comments of practice, practice, practice - my own painting has improved a lot over the past few months, but that\'s because I have also painted the most minis I\'ve ever done in a 6 month period!! Now don\'t go thinking huge numbers here; I\'ve only done 6 :redface: but they represent a lot of painting!!

So, grab a brush, do some crazily good metallics (NMM is not compulsory) and enjoy yourself

PS Good luck with your Ork project too