Never Painted Before

[JDub]

I'm a new player starting to get into Blood Bowl, we have a local league starting up next month and the guys running it are going to be nice enough to let us borrow their teams to use (they have at least 2 of each team) but eventually (probably sooner rather then latter) would like my own team(s). Building and painting models is something I am looking forward to and something I think will be fun. But my problem is I've never painted a miniature before and have no clue how to do so. I'm kind of a perfectionist so I have always been afraid to jump into the hobby because the last thing I would want is to have miniatures that looked like crap (it would drive me nuts heh). So how hard is it to paint miniatures? I seen some of the amazing paint jobs people do and while I would love to be able to paint like that I understand mine won't look anything like that (at least not for awhile) I'm just want to be able to do something that looks good. So does anyone have any tips/help/tutorials for a complete beginner?

[Tim]

There's many ressources on the web explaining the basic techniques, for example http://www.paintingclinic.com/MainClinic.dwt.htm
Just google for them and also check youtube, there's some tutorial videos out there.

After that it practice and patience. I think everybody can reach a good level of painting quite easily if they are willing to invest the time. Sometimes it just takes 10+ hours until a model looks decent, esp. if you are still learning and make mistakes that you need to correct over and over again.

[cyagen]

I have no talent and I am surprise at the results I got on my first mini.

1-Thin your paints
2- Dry brushing and washes are your friends.

There are tons of articles on the web. If I can do it, anybody can!

[rodders]

There was a TFF member waaaay back who did a great painting turorial just can't remember his name : he painted a load of stuff for impact also

will try to find him

[Magictobe]

The great fantasy football store that we gladly support (since recent actions from grandma) has a painting guide.

http://www.impactminiatures.com/index.p ... aintguides

Good luck and just try.

[Thadrin]

There was a TFF member waaaay back who did a great painting turorial just can't remember his name : he painted a load of stuff for impact also

will try to find him

Either Dark Lord, Norse or Majortusk would be my best guesses.

Privateer Press have what I am told is a good intro DVD.

[rodders]

nope


he was a canadian hade great white north in his location

[Powerhausen]

Welcome to the hobby!

The very first thing I'd like to say is, don't set your standards too high! Far too many I know of has had their initial hobby experience crushed because they expect to be able to crack out amazing paintjobs from the get-go, and when they fail to meet their overly high standards, they get so disheartened they quit alltogether. Remember that the the best painters have had years of practice. Anyway, some basic tips to get you started.

1) Clean up the miniature. The miniature is cast in a mould, and this process tends to leave a small "ridge" along the sides of the miniature where the two mould parts met, along with small "pips" from the canals allowing the air to escape when the molten metal was poured in. Get a hobby knife (and ideally a set of files, too) and gently scrape them away. It can be fairly tricky where the mould line passes through a detailed area, for example hair, but it will stick out like a sore thumb once the miniature is painted. Nothing pains me more than to see a beautiful paint job ruined by a sloppily prepared miniature!

2) Undercoat the miniature. At your local game store, you're likely to find undercoat paint in spray cans. The two common choices here are white and black. White gives stronger colours, but I personally use and recommend black, because a white basecoat will make any missed spots stick out that much more. The only problem with black undercoat is that some colours have a hard time covering it. For that reason, I'd try to avoid the colours white, red, and yellow, initially.

3) Basecoating. Now we're actually underway painting the miniature. First of all, be patient. Using acrylic paints,
thin out your paints a little with water. I use Games Workshop paints because I've never really had any problems with it, and they're easy to get hold of, but sometimes the paints are a little on the thick side, especially their otherwise excellent special basecoating paints. If the paint is too thick, it will clump up and otherwise ruin the detail. Personally, I like to start painting the deeper parts of the miniature first, and then working my way "upwards". That way, it's not a big deal if I'm not super neat, as I can correct mistakes when I do the next "layer". For example, were I to paint a Human Lineman, I'd start out painting his clothing first, then do his armour plates, and finally do the detailing (spikes and so on) on the armour. If I'm a bit sloppy when doing the cloth, it's no big deal, as I paint over it when I do the plates.

4) Shading. Now we're getting to the advanced techniques. To add depth to the model, you need to shade it. Looking at a pair of jeans, for example, you'll notice it's darker in the recesses, due to the shadows created when the light hits the fabric. However, because a miniature is so small, the same effect doesn't translate directly to the miniatures clothing, and as a result, the surface looks flat and dull. To make it look more exiting and realistic, we need to replicate the effect of shadows occuring on the miniature, and this is called shading. The best, and most common way of doing this, is with washes. Washes can be made from heavily thinned out paints of a darker shade than the basecoat, but GW recently released an excellent kit of special washes. The advantage these have, is that their surface tension is very low so they flow better into the recesses of the miniature. Apply these washes over the basecoat, using relevant colours. For example, on a face painted with a flesh-colour, apply a wash of sephia, and marvel at how the wash seeps into the recesses of the face, bringing it to (relative) life! Anyway, feel free to experiment a little with how you use the washes: For example, adding a brown wash to metal will make the metal look dirty and worn, and adding thinned-out washes can alter the "mood" of a colour, for example washing flesh with a thinned down red wash to give it a warmer look.

4) Highlighting. This stage can be considered optional, seeing as shading can do much of the job of bringing the illusion of depth to a model. However, wereas shading brings out the recesses (for example the eye sockets of a face), highlighting highlights (duh) the raised areas (for example the nose), where the light would be prone to bounce off more. There are a vast number of different ways of doing this, and it's really personal preference if you want to do it before or after shading. The basic concept is to apply a colour slightly lighter than the basecoat, to the raised areas of the miniature. The two basic ways of doing this are:

Drybrushing. Use a fairly thick brush with short hairs. Apply a little paint (slightly brighter than the surface you want to highlight) to it, and then wipe off most of the paint, so that it barely registers when you paint on a flat surface. Then, brush it across the ridges of the area you wish to highlight. The few paint pigments on the brush will adhere to the raised edge, highlighting it. It takes a little practice to find the right amount of paint to use on the brush; too much and you'll get paint where you don't want it as well, and too little and it's not enough to make an impact. The pros of drybrushing is that it's fast and pretty easy if you're not too steady with the brush. The con is that it might leave the finish a bit messy. A good trick can be to drybrush before washing, because the wash will help smooth out the finish a great deal.

Layering. Using a brush with a good tip, manually paint the higher areas of the area you want to highlight with progressively lighter colours. This is a great deal tricker than drybrushing, because you need to be fairly steady on your hand. Initially, if you want to try this technique, it might be a good idea to stick to a single layer. It might look crude on close inspection, but from a little distance nobody will notice. However, as you gain confidence, you can do as many layers as you like, for a smooth gradual highlight, using progressively lighter colours the "higher" you get on the detailing. Also, thinning down the paints a lot so they become more transparent will help create a gradual effect.

As a general tip, I can say that it's more important to use a brush with a fine tip, than a really fine brush. And don't be afraid to experiment! The only way to get better is to stay slightly outside of your comfort zone when painting, so once you're getting comfortable, try out some new techniques. I've never ruined a model by painting; if you make a mistake, you can always paint over it and try again (as long as the paints aren't applied too thick). Give it a try, and feel free to post pictures of your progress, and I can help out with more spesific advice.

Good luck!

[Vomitflesh]

hi,

at first you should read the tutorials. after that sit down, try, learn and have fun - it's no competition. nobody did his masterpiece right after the start - so don't be afraid to mess up a miniature! stripping miniatures is very easy unless you put a layer of varnish on them.

i hope, we'll soon see your first works!

[Pug]

If you need a few tips on converting/using modelling putties of some sort there are several of us that will happily help you out with some basic guides and tips if you can't find the relevant thread for a "How-to".

[bjorn9486]

I would have to echo the couple people above and say water down your paints and take your time. When you rush and try to throw a lot of paint on there at once, you will get a horrible looking model.

[JDub]

Thanks for all the help, especially Powerhausen. I've searched the net a bit for tutorials and videos but everything I found was either too basic, to advanced, or was a preview of a book or DVD that they were selling. Your post has been the best info I have found so far, thank you.

Hopefully sometime next month I will start putting together a team, so look forward to a bunch of new questions then.

[Pug]

We're always here..........

[Heff]

The trick is to get to the point that you are happy. They will be horrible at first if not to others to you. I used to find it frustrating that the image in my head looked so horrid when it was done.

Keep it simple, strong colours and large areas. No tattoos, check patterns or fancy edging just yet. Flesh can be difficult, faces doubly so. working from the inside out is best but I always used to paint the faces first. Once I had that right then I could decide on the "Character" of the model.

Know your limits and then stretch them.

Do not let the best be the enemy of the good. (By which I mean do not let what you want it to be get in the way of what is good enough)

PERSEVERE

and if all else fails check out the stripping a model section

[Digger Goreman]

These are tips from a lay painter (myself) who still gets the most from the least (in terms of investment and decent product):

1) Use Reaper Paints... they come in good/best colors and thin well with ordinary water.... 90+% of my paints are Reaper....

2) Use brush on primer, exclusively.... The primer gathers in the low areas, soaking up more paint and giving a certain amount of natural variation and shading....

3) Sabel brushes are probably best: most durable and shape back well after painting.... However, these are the 5 brushes I use (after a LOT of trial and error), a Loew-Cornell #2 (5806) round for gross priming; a Loew-Cornell #1 (5703) round for finer priming and for painting larger areas; an Atlas 0 red sable for most painting; an Atlas 5/0 red sable for dry brushing (I tap the ends til they separate); and an Army Painter "Wargamer: Insane Detail" for small areas and touch ups....

4) Use a darker shade of the final color in crevices and low areas of the mini.... When doing the traditional football pants, for example, I use a darker grey in cracks, crevices and transition areas (usually the edge of clothing).... I then use a slightly lighter shade on the raised areas and, after drying, use a thinned dry brushing of the same color to highlight.... As another example: I use Reaper Gnoll Flesh in low areas, etc., before using GW Rotting Flesh on top.... I'll have to find a substitute for the Greedy wankle color in the future....

5) Washes are your friends! On large areas, the thinning of the paint (along with the aforementioned brush-on primer) gives great variation.... Thinning grey, black, brown can really deepen shadows if you touch a wash into a crevice and let it flow....

Hope this helps....