"What's the best figurine painting advice you've ever gotten?" Topic

For me it was to paint a figure like you would put on clothes in the morning.
Start with the skin, then the clothes, by layer. Next the guns and webbing, etc. Finally add details, then seal it.

For me it was very simple. Undercoat black.

get somebody else to do it..

Use devlan mud wash

Not to worry about mistakes because you can paint over them.

I remember an article in White Dwarf back in the mid-to-late eighties(when it was still a magazine, and not a catalogue), when they had an illustrated colour step-by-step guide to painting a basic dwarf miniature. It wasn't a masterpiece, but painted to a level you could match, and it demonstrated shading, highlighting and outlining. Up to that point I'd just blobbed on the colours and left it at that. That was the article that taught me how to paint properly.

the best I ever got was on how to strip paint off, before I was just repainting and repainting my figures.

That the old masters new that shadows are transparent and take on a tinge of the complementary color.

Using a wet palette.

Cufflink- that was probably WD #99, I think it may have even been John Blanche that did the demo.

Mine was using the airbrush. Use rubbing alcohol as a thinner.

How to use washes.

Mount the figure on a good sized block of wood with rubber cement. If you can hold/steady the figure, it's much easier to paint.

Oh, and much later on using the MinWax "Dip".

keep you painting clean

Charlie Sharp told me about the "sloppy undercoat" method.
I combine this with the "paint a figure like you would put on clothes in the morning" method.

I like to call it the "cover the nude lead with primer and cover the primer with paint" method.
This gets the figure covered pretty quickly, and avoids the tedium of careful painting in the rearly stages. As you fill in the details, you cover up your errors.
This means that stains (except The Dip) and drybrushing are out of the way early.

I have changed my "style" many times over the years, letting this old dog learn new tricks. However, I have stuck with my basic philosophy: "Keep painting until you are sick of looking at the figure, and then spray it with Dullcote".

It also speeds thing up if you base them to paint on the base you will be using in the game.

Paint from the inside out, or paint like you are dressing.

Dale

Black undercoat with a white dry brushing of the whole Mini. then thin colors.
This brings out all the detail the sculptor put into their work.

Minwax Tudor Satin Polyshades :)

Cufflink- that was probably WD #99, I think it may have even been John Blanche that did the demo

That's the one!

If the figure looks good at an arm's length: STOP! You've got more figures to paint!

Al | ravenfeastsmeadhall.blogspot.com

Varnish before basing

"Paint only when you feel like painting"….My high school art teacher gave me that bit of advice.

Never try to paint more minis than you can easily complete in one session. I usually go for groups of five on weekdays evenings, groups of ten Saturday and Sundays.

I have gathered a lot of tips over the years, but, the best was when I gave advice to one of my pals that had been gaming for years. He had all the techniques down and would spend hours layering colours to get a nice product. Problem was, they looked lumpy… One day I was watching him paint and noticed he was using colours straight from the pot! I then said, "Hey Scott… You ever try watering down your paint so it isn't lumpy?" He gave me this blank look and said, "That is a GREAT idea!"

I couldn't believe that he had never even thought of doing that… There was an immediate improvement in his minis after that!

Avoid the bright yellow boots of doom!

Paint and dont be afraid to experiment.

Ditto to the skin out method.

Paint for fun

A friend once told me "there is life after dry brushing". I took his advice to heart and began experimenting with other techniques, whereupon my painting improved somewhat.

Paint to scale. It works for me because I like to make my gametable look as close to nature as possible.

Painting from the inside out.
Also, to thin my paint.
Next in line would be various bits of color theory.

Using a brush was a major step up from using fingers.

…and using paint was a major step up from crayons….:)

Know when to stop.

Know where to stop. and when

I used to use the tiniest of brushes, but then read in a hobby magazine (the Courier, I think) to use the biggest brush possible persuant to whatever was being painted. Using a variety of sizes greatly improved my painting.

Very early in my hobby timeline I saw on a message board two pieces of advice that stick with me almost 10 years later:

1) Thin your d*)#$! paint

2) If you can see it, you can reach it with a brush

The best advice I received from a painter who skill I respect was to learn about color theory, and apply it to my painting.

1) Paint neatly;
2) Thin your paints;
3) Colour theory;
4) Keep experimenting.

Use a good brush. I do not mean an expensive Windsor & Newton No 7. Just get a good brush with a good point one that will hold paint well. My personal favourite (at the moment) is a GW Standard Brush.

Another tip is to add a tiny drop of washing-up liquid to your water bottle and use water from a boiled kettle rather than the tap.

And finally use a good light source.

Sorry it's three and not one – but all are worth passing on.

Tony
dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.com

I'll echo jtipp68, undercoat black.

Stir your paints.

Dont go cheap on the brushes – you spend a great deal of time, effort and money on your hobby, which should also include the tools.

Washes hide a multitude of sins.

I remember an article in White Dwarf back in the mid-to-late eighties(when it was still a magazine, and not a catalogue), when they had an illustrated colour step-by-step guide to painting a basic dwarf miniature. It wasn't a masterpiece, but painted to a level you could match, and it demonstrated shading, highlighting and outlining. Up to that point I'd just blobbed on the colours and left it at that. That was the article that taught me how to paint properly.

Me too! It was a J. Blanche article as mentioned above. I really like my wet palette as well.

That Ceramcoat paints are every bit as good as the one's specifically tailored to wargaming at a fraction of the price and last much longer. I have some Ceramcoat paints that are over 20 years old and still going strong! Not bad for $.99 a bottle.

To use regular house paint. Sherwin Williams is the best. Quart for $5.00 and 1,000+ ready-made triads.

I have just added some painting Hints and Tips to my Blog. You can find the details here;
link

Tony
dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.com

Wet Palette

Undercoat black, paint skin-outwards, and give it a wash.

hold the miniature at arms length to see how it really looks.

Less is best; easier to go over the fine details again than to be hamfisted the first time and ruin your previously invested time and effort.