"How many paints are enough?" Topic

I have always been in awe of those artists who take ten paints and turn them into a hundred colors (including non-metallic metals). I'm even impressed by those who simply mix a couple paints to lighten or darken an existing one. I'm afraid of that, too (color consistency issues). I even feel weird mixing brands on a project. Okay, I KNOW that's OCD. I'm a tried and true triad painter, so I have at least three shades of any color I might possibly need. Just when I thought I was nuts, I watched Sorastro's video of painting Clovis the Knight from Zombicide Black Plague. Amazing work. At the end of the video he lists the colors used; I counted 34 different bottles of paints used on one figure (and he was mixing colors)! So what kind of paint person are you? And how many paints is enough for you?

I have always been in awe of those artists who take ten paints and turn them into a hundred colors (including non-metallic metals). I'm even impressed by those who simply mix a couple paints to lighten or darken an existing one. I'm afraid of that, too (color consistency issues). I even feel weird mixing brands on a project. Okay, I KNOW that's OCD. I'm a tried and true triad painter, so I have at least three shades of any color I might possibly need. Just when I thought I was nuts, I watched Sorastro's video of painting Clovis the Knight from Zombicide Black Plague. Amazing work. At the end of the video he lists the colors used; I counted 34 different bottles of paints used on one figure (and he was mixing colors)! So what kind of paint person are you? And how many paints is enough for you?

Triads..

Too many is never enough!

That's like asking "how long is a pice of string?" You'll never know until you know everything you're ever going to paint and maybe not even then.

When there's none left, you have enough

My paint collection grows every time I paint something new.

5

how many paints is enough ?

A few more than you have space to store them

I have a copy of the Painting War Samurai magazine – it is astounding how few paints he uses. He explains clearly how he mixes the paints (it's not complicated), and the limited number of paints makes his miniatures more consistent.

I have too many paints (by my rule above) but it doesn't stop me buying more.

John

I have a bunch of paints, though I find most of projects lately are focused on about 30 colors---basic colors (black, white, grey, two or three kinds of metal), bright colors, and drab military colors.

Something I have found is that Vallejo Deck Tan, German Camo Beige, and Soviet Green can be used on a multitude of projects!

You cannot have too many different colors or shades of them. Also, one of each is not enough either!

All the paints. That is enough. (Or as the kids say, ALL TEH PAINTS!!!!!) Lame spelling intentional.

I have somewhere between 700 and 1000 paints. Just keep buying them. I agree about consistency. I write down what I use on some armies.

Thanks.

I don't understand the question. Must have more…

I'm one of those people that mixes their own colors. Every figure I paint is done with only about 12 tubes of Liquitex acrylics. The only exception is metallics for which I use Medium weight Liquitex and a little jar of Tamiya brown that I use for belts.

You can never have too many…..

Tony

How many are enough? As many as it takes.

When you buy out Hobbytown and Michaels you might have enough.

I have too many also. Anytime I paint an army I also write down what paint colors were used. Otherwise I go bak a month later to finish some figures and not sure what shade of blue or cream, etc, I used on them….

Sho Boki, I am in awe. The alcohol on the table is just for thinning and cleaning, right?

Crispy, that would be a cool challenge. Paint a mini any color you want as long as you are only using 5 (mixing and blending as you go).

I don't understand the question…

I know I have more bottles of different yellows than I'll ever be able to use, but I'll keep them around anyway…

All of them

I used to have that many then they all dried up.

John Leahy and WarWizard up there must be my doppelgangers! I second their madness.

I have quite a few Foundry triads (though not compared to Sho Boki's stash), quite a few Vallejo WWII colors, Reaper master series paints and a smattering of P3 and others. I have two manufacturer sets of airbrush paints as well. Most of my paints have held up well for years in the COD/foundry/P3 style pots. Only my GW and a few Vallejo paints dried up when not in use.

A world of paint is not enough!

Does anyone remember a site where the guy used like 4 colors (green, blue, brown, silver) on his figures? No mixing, just those colors. He based with candy sprinkles.

I've hundreds of paints, literally. Then I only use about a dozen. The rest are there "just in case"… and to satisfy my obsesive-compulsive buying disorder.

It always seems that enough paints is at least one more than I have.

What gets me though is that hobby paints so often do not give pigment numbers. Artist quality paints give the pigment numbers, especially useful when one wants to know if a particular paint will be transparent or opaque, warm or cool biased, etc. Just look up the pigment number and find out all its characteristics, even lightfastness.

70 'factory bottles', 18 or so tubes of 'artists' acrylics' from a paint set I picked up at a porch sale, and about a dozen contact-lens containers, recycled 'Christmas gift set jelly jars', and 'artists' mixing containers' of 'custom blends'.

Have a list printedout of the 'factory colors' to take to store, avoid getting duplicates.

Got some 'cover stock', ruled them off into 1" squares, labeled them, in pencil, by color (and made a diagonal slash through the square to show how opaque the paint is), and painted 'swatches' for each paint.

I hold up a miniature in front of the sheet when I want to know if horse is 'coffee bean' or 'dark chocolate'

I have several dozen.

That is not enough.