Miniature painting

[Dyphus101]

I would also check out the Warhammer TV youtube channel. Tons of learning to be found there.
(Here is a convenient link to their tip of the day playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEaPE4sLDA7ucJ0dkiVZSW6ghZUNGFHIW )
Best piece of advice I can give to someone for painting is take your time.

[Beorning]

Okay, I have a question for those keeping track of various minis released...

There's this game made by CMON, Blood Rage. It has a lot of Viking miniatures... And I've seen some photos online that make it seem like this minis are very good, detailed etc. I'd like to ask: has anyone here actually seen them? Are they really as good?

I'm asking, as I'm wondering whether not to hunt a few of them down - but I wonder if it's worth the money?

[Dhi]

Hey Beorning!

I'm not familiar with Blood Rage specifically, but whenever CMON uses Kickstarter to launch a retail product, the miniatures produced for the Kickstarter are much better quality than those produced for editions available at retail. Usually that means they're standard cheap mini fare, but I have opened some which are so poorly cast that their faces are blank.

[Beorning]

I see. Hmmmm.

Okay, I have another question: guys, do you happen to have any ideas as to where I could buy some good-looking barbarians that would be 30 - 35mm in size? I need twelve barbarian minis and managed to find nine that I'm satisfied with. But I still need three...

[Pockets]

http://sciborminiatures.com/en_,shop.php?group=143

Here. They've typically got good sculpts.

[Beorning]

Oh yes, these are on my list already :) Some interesting models - and they are a Polish company!

BTW. You guys need to check out their Chaos snails... :)

[TheLaughingOne]

THREAD NECROMANCY!!!!

so hero forge is starting up a new kick starter thing for a business expansion..

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/heroforge/full-color-custom-miniatures-with-hero-forge-20

Color printed Minis, using plastics or something that match the colors you select when making your mini, and possibly some service of professional painting! what do you guys think?

[Beorning]

Okay, so explain this to me. :) What is it, actually? 3D software? Custom mini manifacturing service? Both? Something else?

[TheLaughingOne]

Bit of both. Originally you vould customize minis on their website and order them in a variety of materials, high detail plastics, more durable ones, steel, brass, ect. Later on they added the option to buy the base file so if you had your own 3d printer you could plug it in and print the model you designed up.

Now with this you can color your mini as you design and they will print it using colored plastics and resins so thst you dont need to, or at least only have fine details left to fill in. Might aldo be some thing where you can have it painted professionally as well for an extra charge.

Http://heroforge.com

I got my own mini from there, and its fun just to fiddle bout building a character on occasion.

[clonkertink]

I think it's great for people who don't have the time or inclination to paint. Anything's better than stark plastic... but looking at the photos of the colour-printed stuff, I was like, "Yeah... I think I could do better." Partly because I just like painting minis, but also because the details just look kinda gritty on the colour-print previews. Like, if I didn't know where they came from, I'd probably say, "That guy needs to thin his paints."

That said, the professionally painting minis look pretty amazing. I could see myself shelling out for something like that.

[Beorning]

Speaking of painting, let me get something off my chest...

At the moment, I'm stuck in a conflict between painting minis and playing with them.

Case in point: I'm currently assembling a Skaven army for Warhammer: Age of Sigmar (I got drawn into it last year). Aaaaand... I'm stuck, because I don't know whether to assemble some models or not. For example, I'd really like to assemble Thanquol and Boneripper, because I want to field them - but it's such a complicated model that it might require painting before assembling (for once, Thanquol might turn out to be hard to paint after gluing him onto the rest of the model). At the same time, I'm not really in a mood for painting right now - also, I definitely don't feel skilled enough to paint this model. It was expensive, so it's a model I want to look at least tolerable... And so, I keep putting off assembling that model. But... I want to play! Agh!

And it's not the only model I have such a problem. The same goes for the uber-cool Doomwheel, or the Plagueclaw, or the awesome Screaming Bell...

I admit I'm frustrated because of that....

[clonkertink]

laughs

I feel your pain, Beorning. I have a Loki mini for Hordes. I was lucky enough to get him used, but it's still a gorgeous model, and he's been sitting, primed, on my "to-do" stand for ages. I'm terrified that the moment i apply a brush, I'll have irrevocably ruined him.

[greenknight]

Weather's been too humid to prime for two months, and I have stuff the needs the paintings  >:(

EDIT:

Wargame terrain goals

[Andol]

Hey Beorning I wanted to let you know that if you need any advice I got your back. I am well versed at painting Skaven models and have a finished Thanquol and Boneripper as well as a finished Doomwheel. Plenty of Clanrats and Stormvermin as well as a lot of the little lords like Queek Headtaker.

One piece of advice I can give is that once you know how to paint Thanqoul... then any Grey Seer including the one on the Screaming Bell is easy.

The same goes with Boneripper... if you can paint him... you can do the Stormfiends and the Hell Pit Abomination.

Games Workshop actually made a handy three part guide to painting that miniature and you can take a lot of the lessons learned their to other miniatures in the Skaven line up. Here are the links if you need them...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ62GmC5G0A&list=PLEaPE4sLDA7u9aSaAIC59wLM7o2Xb-7XO&index=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02fcURkzmKc&list=PLEaPE4sLDA7u9aSaAIC59wLM7o2Xb-7XO&index=2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGsKIhI1QjY&list=PLEaPE4sLDA7u9aSaAIC59wLM7o2Xb-7XO&index=3

[Hemingway]

Oh, hello old thread.

I recently got back into painting big-time. I wanted to get some Slaves to Darkness (and then I did...), but the ghoulfriend (ah-hah-hah ... I'll show myself out) was keen on trying as well, and liked the look of Nighthaunts, so ... Here are my new Stormcast Eternals!



I apologize for the poor quality. We only have two seasons here: Day and night, and the lighting in our apartment is ... not ideal for this.

These were a work in progress. I've actually finished them now, with shiny bases. I just don't have a picture. I'll try to get one! Also, some pictures of my Chaos Warriors!

[Pockets]

Okay, before anyone accuses me of showing off or bragging, I’m not. I’ve been painting for nearly fifteen years (a lot of that growth has been in the last three years due to Twitch and Youtube), so I’ve had to work to get to where I am. When it comes to large models like Thanquol, Boneripper, Doomwheel, even Loki from Hordes, is take your time!

I’m a commission painter and I’ve painted pretty much every faction of Space Marine you can imagine. I’ve painted Wulfen and Thunderwolf Cavalry. I’ve painted Imperial Knights. The techniques may vary, but one thing you need to understand is that if you’re looking at the official GW paint jobs, stop. They do a lot of digital editing to clean up mistakes. I’ve seen Duncan Rhodes paintjobs fresh off the palette and they’re good, damn good in fact. But they’re not what you see on the website.

If you want the model to look good but you’re afraid to put paint on it, there are folks like me out there who paint models in exchange for cash. Fiverr is rife with them. If you want to put paint on it and be able to say ‘I did it but I was still learning’, I can give you some advise.

Tip #1 - HAVE FUN! If you approach what you’re doing like one of Hercules’ Great Tasks, you’ll never get it done and you’ll never be satisfied with your work.

Tip #2 - Don’t think of washes as something to just slather everywhere and wick up to avoid pooling. GW washes are known for their ‘coffee staining’, which is something that Duncan and crew have shown numerous times. Treat them like a prethinned glaze. If you don’t know how to glaze, check out Vince Venturella’s video on how to do it here. NOTE: There is one thing he has missed in that video and he’s actively admitted to because it becomes so second nature you don’t think about it. While glazing, work your brush in a direction so that when you lift your brush, it’s at a point where you want the most color build up! Because when you lift your brush, there is going to be a small pool of color there.

Tip #3 - Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. You’ll never learn if you don’t try. Stripping a model is super easy and cheap. If you’re here in the US, LA’s Totally Awesome can be bought at Dollar Tree for $1 for 32 oz or you can get the 64 oz jug at Dollar Tree for $3. If you feel that you’ve made too many mistakes on the model an overnight bath, submerged in this stuff straight out of the bottle will allow you to easily scrub the paint off without damaging the model.

Tip #4 - TAKE YOUR TIME! Some of the best painters in the world devote 40 to 80+ hours on models, especially for competition pieces.

Tip #5 - Don’t get overly critical of your own work. When I go to the local FLGS for Paint Night I get a lot of guys trying to compare their stuff to mine and they get discouraged. Right up until I pull out the first model I ever painted. Abaddon the Despoiler. I used Apple Barrel and Testor’s paints. I didn’t know what I was doing and Youtube didn’t exist back then. And a lot of the paints we take for granted now didn’t exist back then or were only available at an art supply store, which for me was an hour and a half away in Chicago. I tell them the same thing I’m telling you guys. FAIL = First Attempt In Learning. Even the guys who win Golden Demon, Crystal Brush, and what not all started off not knowing anything about it.

Tip #6 - Don’t get caught up with GW tell you that you need 45 to 60 colors to paint a single model. Typically I rarely use more than 10 colors on even my most elaborate pieces. Because I’ve learned to saturate and desaturate my paints to get tones and shades. Color mixing and color theory do wonders.

Tip #7 - HAVE FUN!

[Hemingway]

I managed to get a few shots of some of my finished minis. The Chaos Warriors are not 100%, still need some details - but I get distracted easily. ;D

Stormcast Eternals Sequitors.

(I think the one on the left is the first model I primed gold. I went a little overboard and lost a lot of detail, sadly.)

Female Chaos Warriors.


Chaos Warriors heading into battle.

[Pockets]

Hemingway, if you want to give a little bit more detail to the models without going super crazy, take some silvery paint (Leadbelcher, Stormhost Silver, whatever) and dip some pluck foam or sponge into the paint, then dab most of it off on a paper towel before lightly dabbing the shield and sections of the armor, if you don't go overboard with it, it'll give the appearance of the lacquering of the armor having been scratched and damaged.

On the cloaks, take a medium grey and mix a little of it into the red that you used on the cloak to get a desaturated red and then thin it down a bit before going in to paint around the edges of the holes, tears, and along the bottom edges of the cloaks. It will simulate the bleaching effect that occurs on damaged fabric. If you need an example look at the bottom areas of an old pair of jeans, they're much more faded than say the thighs of your jeans.

Just a suggestion on how to give your models that extra little bit of pop.

[Hemingway]

The cloaks on the Chaos Warriors are one of the parts I haven't finished yet - they're just red with a wash right now. Unfortunately, I'm missing the paints I'd like for that - and I'm not planning on mixing my own. I used to do that, but that was mostly for wet blending cloaks. I don't do that anymore - too time consuming - so now I just want to get a uniform result.

Beyond that, they're missing some gold/bronze details and leather bits on the talismans and weapons. And a final highlight on the metal parts.

... But I decided I needed to do something different for a bit, so now I'm painting a Stormcast Evocator.

[Dhi]

Pockets, my impression from our interactions here a year ago was that you felt a need to assert yourself as an expert in the field and make sure everyone knows about your commission painting service. It seems like you're somewhat aware of giving off that impression, but not how strongly it comes across. Ultimately, I didn't want to post in this thread anymore, because I found it condescending and unpleasant.

[Beorning]

Please don't argue, folks... :(

[clonkertink]

Alright. Who wants to go on an embarrassing "Warts-and-All" mini painting journey with me?

So, I don't know exactly when, but at some point I started watching painting tutorials on youtube, and eventually decided "Hey! I could probably do that!" Don't ask me why. Up until that point I'd always assumed any kind of visual art talent was beyond my reach.

Anyways, eventually I decided that I liked the Circle Orboros faction from Hordes. But I didn't wanna start with them. I decided I wanted to get a few minis under my belt first. So I got the Warmachine 2-player box to start with, and got to work painting my Cygnar dudes.

Cygnar

And you know what? I don't think they look half bad at a distance.


Of course, up close it's pretty clear I had a lot to learn. Those chunky metallics, that sloppy face, those splotched-on highlights!


Look at that Firefly with its totally unconvincing glow effects and the white paint I just slathered on!


I do still like the Ironclad. The paint on the eye might be kind gloopy, but it does give off a rather convincing glow effect.


But I think the Lancer turned out the best of the bunch. I took a few chances, did a little bit of cautious blending here and there, and I think he turned out alright.

There was also Cryx in that 2-player box, but I haven't finished Agathea (one day I'll get to her) and I was too lazy to bring them down off the shelf.

So let's jump to me taking a crack at my first Circle minis!

Circle Orboros

And I feel like there's definite improvement here. I made some bolder choices, picked some hard colours, and when I've taken them to the game store people have generally had nice things to say. That said... I'm clearly a masochist because Red and Yellow is a recipe for long painstaking paint jobs.


This druid wilder was my test model, as I tried to work my painting scheme out, and honestly? I'm really proud of her. Up close, the eyes are still pretty goopy but hey! She's not too crosseyed and the pupil is nice and distinct from the iris. Go me! She's also a little pale for a desert dweller. That's partly because the brown I was going to use as the base for her skin turned out to be really yellow... like Simpsons character yellow. So I layered up and up until I was practically at bone white.


The Gorax is pretty average. I think I killed a lot of his contrast by glazing him with layer after layer of Strong Tone wash, but I also don't see a whole lot wrong with him.


I think the Pureblood Warpwolf is the best of the bunch. I put a lot of work into layering him, and I think he turned out great. There's also the barest fleck of yellow in his eye that I'm super proud of.


I think the work I put into layering and highlighting is most evident in the view from the back. This probably pops more than any of my other paint jobs to date.

And then there's Tanith...

I know what you're thinking. "She's not too bad, clonk. Maybe could do with a little more contrast on the cloak, but acceptable tabletop quality."

I'm sorry for what I'm about to show you...

"I'm meeeeeelting. MEEEEEEELTIIIIIING!"

I've still got a lot to learn about painting faces. I mean, Tanith is really only the... third real human face I've done? I've got maybe 40+ minis under my belt, but only 4 have had exposed faces - Beth Maddox, the Druid Wilder, Tanith the Feral Song, and the Reeves of Orboros leader model. So I just need to do more of them, get my brush control down, make more mistakes. I'll get better eventually.

After painting a twelve-man unit of Reeves of Orboros, though, I needed a break from painting red with yellow trim. Something with less.... fine details. Plus, I'm a Star Wars geek. So I picked up the Legion core set.

Star Wars

And I think I've done pretty darn well so far.

https://imgur.com/4QU9Pl4.jpg

Obligatory attempt at Lightsaber OSL on Vader. Did I overdo it? Probably. But I think he turned out pretty well overall.


And because I insist on doing everything the hard way, I decided to properly layer my stormtroopers using a warm-white approach, starting with Khaki, layering up through khaki/bone white, to straight bone white, to bone white/pure white, to straight pure white. I really wanted to stretch my layering chops.

And I like how they turned out! Any mistakes in the layering process just make them look a little extra-grungy, and I dig that. And I love the way the blue pauldron pops against the white.

I've done a little weathering here and there, might circle back and do more, but right now I'm trying to put the finishing touches on my second Stormtrooper unit. I've just entered the "Bone-white/pure white" layer, so they're almost done!

So yeah. I ain't gonna win any golden demons or anything, but I like what I've done so far, and there seem to be signs of gradual progress!

[Hemingway]

Thin your paints! ;D

It's a bit hard to tell from those pics, but it looks like the problem you're having is there's just ... too much paint! Depending on the specific paints you use (do look it up!) there are guides for how to do it. Basically, though - use less, thinner paints, and do multiple coats.

Faces are hard, though. Really hard... I've been doing this for 15 years, and I've only just decided to git gud at it.

[clonkertink]

laughs

Oh believe me, I'm thinning them, but I've gotten better at it over time. I'm actually really pleased with how smooth I got the Stormtroopers overall. They look a bit chunkier on camera than they do IRL, but the whole point of doing them warm white like this was a deliberate layering challenge. There's five colour layers on there, with a fair bit of doubling back for second or third coats.

At this point I'm really just getting a feel for how thin I can get the paint before it refuses to stick.

[Hemingway]

It's always a tricky balance. If you're doing five layers with 2-3 coats each, that also sounds like it'd just add up to a lot. ;D I'm no paint scientist, though. I just know a head I painted not too long ago lost quite a bit of definition just for having around 3 coats of the base color.