"Attention Speed Painters: cut your paint time in half..." Topic

If you want to paint fast, to a tabletop standard, what I call GEtGW (Good Enough to Game With, at arm's length, 3-5 feet away), read on. I paint as quickly as possible, using block painting techniques, on figures organized by pose, applying the same paint + technique, on each successive figure, in each figure pose group. It is a means to, "Git 'er done, Son."

I cut my per figure, painting time, from 10 minutes, down to 4-5 minutes. My "secret ingredient", is Acrylic Painting Pens. I recently finished painting 48 em4 Dwarves using nothing but spray primer, Acrylic Paint Pens, and by brushing on The Dip Technique, followed by spraying them with matte clear coat.

Not only did I finish the 48 Dwarves, I also finished painting 48 em4 Orcs, also using Acrylic Paint Pens. Saving 5-6 minutes of painting time on each of the 96 miniatures, amounted to 6.4 – 8 hours of time saved!

I paint to a low standard. I am very happy with my painting standards. However, I do wonder what other people could accomplish using these same Paint Pens. Bear in mind, with Paint Pens, you cannot dilute your paint.

Bottom line: if you are a basic painter, interested in speed, while maintaining a basic quality, I suggest experimenting with Acrylic Paint Pens.

Using the Paint Pens has motivated me to paint figures like nothing ever has. I used them to finish painting a group of Kobolds, which were 90% finished, but I just did not want to tackle the last bit of painting they needed. I am still excited to keep painting more figures. I have never been this excited to paint, nor have I ever finished painting so many figures, in such a short time period!

This is my second "Jedi Mind Trick" to get myself to paint figures. This one, however, is more effective than anything I've ever tried before…

I've used around three different brands of Pens. Price does not seem to matter, as they all appear to have similar quality results. I got a pack of 48 colored pens, for $6.99 USD + S/H + Tax.

If you have read this far, obviously you are interested in seeing some images. Here you go: Dwarf 1; Dwarf 2; Dwarf 3; Dwarf 4; Dwarf 5; Orc 1.

Again, my purpose is in sharing speed techniques. Speed over quality. When you cover a large gaming table with figures, "Quantity has a quality all its own." Cheers!

It is not great, but good enough.

I agree: it is a trade-off between speed, and quality. For me, the speed savings are absolutely superb.

To be honest, my regular painting, with craft paint bottles, and brushes, is equal to what I achieved with the paint pens. I lost nothing, except time committed to painting.

The biggest ROI, for me, is the motivation in painting. I've completed more than 100 miniatures within the last couple of weeks! The 96 em4 figures were the fastest I have EVER painted: <3 weeks from receiving them, to having them table ready! I am stoked to paint more figures which have been rotting in my paint queue for more than 20 years. I am motivated to paint like I have never been before, since I started painting back in 1995! Cheers!

That's really good for as fast as they went! Do you mind posting a link to the pens you used?

Sounds super! A link would be helpful

Here are the 48-colors of Acrylic Paint Pens, I also used a set of Sharpie brand paint pens, but I cannot find a link for them on Amazon. FYI: I have no affiliation with Amazon. You can locate Acrylic Paint Pens at art supply stores, but their prices tend to be higher, and their selection severely limited.

I use sets of B&W Paint Pens, as well. The black works superbly for blackening edges on my chipboard buildings -- remarkably better than a Sharpie permanent ink marker. The paint pen's paint flows easily, and more rapidly than does the thinner ink. The White pens work superbly for covering shields, prior to decoupaging shield emblems onto the shields of these Orcs. I also used the black pens to blacken the edges the flags, which is a really nice touch, especially when viewed on the tabletop (3-5 feet away).

There are some critical elements to keep in mind: the brush tip pens are the ones you want to use, not any other type of tips! The brush tips come to a finer point, but they have a broad side which can be used to apply paint in a wider swath, if needed; the brush tips are rather firm, but they wear out, softening, flexing, with use; the pens hold a much smaller volume of paint, so they get used up faster than you will be accustomed to. The good news is that they are inexpensive, and painting miniatures is remarkably faster: no clean-up, no brush washing, no muss, no fuss -- shake the pen for 15 seconds, pop the cap off, paint; when done, replace the cap, shake it up a bit, then grab the next marker…

You will still want/need small paint brushes, for reaching small, difficult to paint regions -- or you can ignore painting these areas altogether, and keep your painting engine on turbo-mode.

This is not for everyone, but for those of us who just want to paint our figures as quickly as possible, these are astoundingly fast, and effective, for GEtGW quality work. Cheers!

As a jeweler, I work in the world of micro detail. With my Optivisor I'm concerned about getting the pupils on eyes. I go by the 6" rule. Your figures probably look better than mine on the table, however.

Get 'er done indeed! Thanks for sharing.

A gaming friend and I discussed my approach to painting several years ago. He liked my painting, which is nothing compared to his: you can see the pupils on the eyes of his 15mm figures!… He spent 12 hours painting one D&D figure for his PC in a friend's campaign… Astounding brush work, in a league beyond my painting.

Yet, when we played a big fantasy battle, he pulled out multiple sets of figures he bought off a mutual friend, which he was very proud to put on the table: they were figures I had painted 20 years ago, and sold off to raise money for a charity (the charity fell through, but I replaced the sold figures with new, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been). I was stunned: he was proud to have figures I had painted to my GEtGW standard, in his collection, though he did not realize that I had painted them (I said nothing, I wanted to see his honest reaction and thoughts regarding my painting).

He shared with me recently, that his eyes have deteriorated to the point where he cannot paint to his usual standard. Years ago, I suggested he lower his painting standards as we all view the figures at 3-5 feet, 98% of the time, "No one will care, no one will know." He replied, "I will know [that they are not painted to my usual standard]."

I feel bad for him. My last big game had 10 palyers, and I ref'ed. It was a blast! We had around four newb's who had never played a mass battles game before -- they all asked enthusiastically to be invited to the next game…

Some folks paint for painting's sake, some paint to game. I have always been in the latter camp. I love to play big fantasy games, and I love fielding large, varied armies. I am happy with my compromises and choices. These Acrylic Paint Pens have had a major impact on my painting. I might actually finish all of my unpainted figures, this year! Have mercy, Miss Percy! Hallelujah, Baby! LOL! I can hardly contain myself. Cheers!

I put in my order for both the color and b & w brushes. Looking forward to experimenting with them! Out of curiosity, have you tried disassembling a used up brush?

No, I have not disassembled a used up pen. The brush tips get worn by the time the paint is drained. I see no value in attempting to re-use them. They are so inexpensive.

I also suspect that re-loading them would be a challenge to get the consistency correct. Empty pens are sold, which would allow me to load them with my existing craft paints, but, again, I don't see the value in that. Feel free to experiment, however. Don't let me stop you.

After you work with the pens, please visit this thread, or start a new one, and let the TMP community know how they worked for you. To me, they are an astoundingly good, useful tool to have in my kit. I hope others will discover their uses, as well. Cheers!

Amazon says I'll have them Wednesday. I'm currently painting a batch of Bedouin and will be painting things like belts, bandoliers and sword sheaths pretty soon. I'll post as soon as that's done!

I started using the AK pens a couple of months ago. I've found that the colors don't seem to match my Vallejo paints. I do historicals (WW2, Napoleonics).
The colors are either too pale or too dark. For instance, Rot Broun (German Red Brown) comes out a pale rust.

How can they be only $8 USD for 48 pens?

"I might actually finish all of my unpainted figures, this year! Have mercy, Miss Percy! Hallelujah, Baby! LOL! I can hardly contain myself. Cheers!"

You do know what happens when you finished painting your last figures and all of your figures are painted, right?…
Right???….

SGT Slag,
what is your undercoat/primer color? Same or different depending on figure?

They look pretty decent; I'd say above average tabletop. 4-8 mins per figure you say?

Okay, ill bite, $8 USD for a pack of pens, Ill give it a shot.

I've been using Posco paint pens for a while. Yes, they are very useful for some things, mainly details, so you don't have to prat about with dropper bottles, washing brushes etc. I did a bunch of Persians last year and they were excellent for painting g stripes and spots on clothing.

Bobgnar said:

How can they be only $8 USD USD for 48 pens?

Actually, there are only 24 pens, with two colors, separated in the middle, with brush tips on each end. That means, of course, they have less paint inside (well, most likely, not sure). They are a steal-of-a-deal, IMO. I will finish up 20 Chaos Archers from the old BattleMasters game, today. Yesterday, they were primer gray, with some having Caucasian paint on their faces, but I changed them to a darker skin tone for use as a Kretan Army, from a tropical island in my game world. I need to paint their leather straps, brush on The Dip, finish their bases, and matte coat them. These figures have been siting in my paint queue since 2000…

Murphy said,

You do know what happens when you finished painting your last figures and all of your figures are painted, right?…
Right???….

LOL! YES! It means that I can catalog my armies, and get busy putting together more games with them. Hallelujah, Baby! ROFL!

Maggot said,

SGT Slag,
what is your undercoat/primer color? Same or different depending on figure?

They look pretty decent; I'd say above average tabletop. 4-8 mins per figure you say?

Okay, ill bite, $8 USD USD for a pack of pens, Ill give it a shot.

I use cheap, gray, sandable automotive spray primer, from Wal-Mart. It dries slightly rough, taking acrylic craft and paint pens, superbly. It does not obscure very much detail on the figures. The Chaos Archers, for example, have skulls on each end of their bows. They will show up nicely, after I brush on The Dip, in spite of the "sandable" primer. I will post photos of them in this thread, tomorrow, when they are table ready.

Glad to hear you will give the paint pens a try! I hope they transform your painting as much as they have mine! I am still excited to paint up the figures in my paint queue, like I never have been, before. I am going to ride this train, all the way to the end of the line…

Yes, 4-8 minutes total brush work time, per figure, in assembly line painting style: same brush stroke on each figure, figures grouped by poses, wash, rinse, repeat.

Martin Rapier, I painted the small skulls, on the Chaos Archers' bows, but they also have skulls on their breasts. I did all of them using the Gold pen, which, after brushing on The Dip, will turn out looking more like bronze. As long as the brush tip has not broken down too much, it will work fine on details. I've noticed that the very tip does tend to become "flexible" with use, which can make it more challenging to use for finer details. They have their distinct qualities for using them, for sure.

Can you post some photos of your Persians for everyone to see and enjoy? They could inspire more folks to give the Paint Pens a try. Cheers!

I use these which have 54 colors including metalics. They have worked very nicely!
link

On sale for 20 bucks right now.

Thanks.

John

Thank you, John Leahy! Those dual tips are both useful: the fine tip is NOT hard, it is NOT necessary to press it into the pen body to get the paint to flow. Those fine tips are firm sponges, through which the paint flows nicely. I have some Black paint pens with these dual tips, as well, and they are very useful.

The pens you linked to, also have more paint inside of them. The dual-tipped Black paint pens I have used have paint separated between the two tips: when the brush tip side dries up, the fine tip side still has paint in it.

Paint pens flow sooo much better than permanent markers' ink; they have such superior coverage compared to ink markers… Paint pens are what I will use, going forward. Cheers!

Latest figures: primed around 23+years ago; some Caucasian flesh painted on a few faces, then nothing, until yesterday, when I began painting them with Acrylic Paint Pens. Here they are, finished, ready for the tabletop, another view, and a 3/4's view showing the bronze skulls, chest and tips of the bows.

Damn, these painted up fast! I like that! Cheers!

Paint markers arrived in record time (capitalism is great, ain't it?)…

Tried a test figure that I had already primed, a Fallout survivor from Wasteland Warfare…

Simple color scheme in yellow…worked quite well, first one 10-12 minutes, but much time was saved.

Now, TBH, I did go back and highlight after the shade, I couldn't stand not putting in that additional detail.

Thanks for the heads up on this technique Slag, while not "new," definitely new to me..

I hope it helps you be more productive, Maggot. I am finding it to be miraculous in my productivity. I have 10 more 28mm figures almost ready to be Dip'ed! I just started on them two days ago… I may catch up on my painting within the next couple of months, and that has never happened before, in 30+ years.

Did I mention that this is dang near, "miraculous"?… I've finished painting more figures in the past two weeks, than I have in the past two years! Cheers!

Those markers are at $15.59 USD when adding the 40% off coupon on the site right now.

Well I got my paint pens a couple of days later than anticipated (long story) but gave them a go today. A very light touch is enough to get the paint flowing and the points are fine enough for painting things like belts on a 1/72nd scale figure. I was less impressed with the black and white pens than I was with the colored ones, but I've only used them a little, so my opinion may change (especially after I get back to Napoleonics).
I found an old paper tray, like an old fashioned desktop in-box, that I plan to use next to my painting table to hold the pens. Plenty of room and can find the color I want quickly.
One thought I had was how easy this is going to make painting irregulars. No big deal switching colors and you could entirely paint one figure at a time if you wanted to.
And portability. Want to paint at the kitchen table? No problem, no fuss.
I'm sold.

Thanks for sharing, bobspruster. You are spot on: the convenience is amazing. I've dropped my pens onto my working surface, a couple of times, but with a quick swipe of my finger/hand, I was able to wipe most of the paint away. I've painted on a TV Table/Tray, in my living room. I even paint at my work desk (I work from home), when I have to wait for system processes to run: shake the pen, remove the cap, apply some paint; return the cap, and back to work.

I've completely painted the first figures in a set, to get an idea of color schemes and paint strokes needed, before proceeding with the rest of the figures in the assembly line process for each group. It helps if I know what paint scheme I will be using on the remainder of the figures, even though it is less efficient than a full assembly line approach: I go from one colored pen, to another, rapidly, just replacing the cap on the open pen, briefly shaking the next pen, removing its cap, then applying the paint -- wash, rinse, repeat.

John Leahy, I am not seeing a discount coupon on Amazon's site. Might be a localized sale? Not sure.

I did find this set of 72 colors, dual-brush tipped pens, on Amazon, for $25.49 USD + s/h + tax ($0.35/color, or $0.70 USD per dual-colored pen). I might need to order another set soon, with the speed I am painting my figures with… Lightning in a paint pen! Cheers!

Update: New Metallic Paint Pens at Wal-Mart, 10 colors, dual-tipped pens, for $5.48 USD. kingart Twin-Tip Metallic Pens|10: metallic flake White, Gold Copper(?), Green, Lt. Silver, Drk. Silver, Purple, Blue, Dk. Green, and Pink (all are metallic flake colors).

I wrote with each pen, on a piece of paper, letting them dry/cure for 4.5 hours, then I soaked the paper in water, to test whether these pens are acrylic paint, or a water-based ink… They never ran, never dissolved, so they seem to be acrylic paint! The dual tips feature brush tips, and round tips.

For me, the useful colors are: Gold, Copper (might be brass/bronze, but closest to Copper, IMO), Lt. & Dk. Silver. The metallic flake green's and blue, could be useful for dragon figures, if you want them with a metallic flake color quality. The "off" colors could be used to denote Adamantium fantasy weapons and/or armor, if you like that type of metal to be blue/green in color (I favor blue-colored steel for Adamantium). Cheers!

Finished some additional figures using my paint pens.

First up, some Kobolds. These languished in my painting queue for around 20 years. The paint pens finally pushed my enthusiasm to finish them. The Wars of the Wee Folk are becoming more, and more, feasible.

Second, Dwarves. The small stature Dwarves, on the left, are older, likely Ral Partha, having rested in my paint queue for possibly 25-30 years. Now, they are ready for battle. Some of them have very large noses… I may add them to my Gnome Army, as they will fit in rather well. And since the Gnomes can stand in as Hill Dwarves…

The stockier Dwarves, on the right, in their yellow surcoats, were given to me around 20+ years ago, by a friend who moved away. He wanted them to have a good home. I primed them, around 15 years ago, but it was only this week that they received any paint to cover their gray. Now, they are ready for battle.

Lastly, I finished my Anubis Warriors, all 120 of them! They were primed black, around a decade ago. The paint pens inspired me to finish them, finally.

I seriously need to re-read my 2e BattleSystem rulebooks, because I need to get these armies some battlefield experiences… Cheers!