Let's discuss painting miniatures!
So, I didn't really know where to place this. Is it a blog entry? Is it a story? Who knows.
At any rate, I wanted to ask the Gamer Chicks about painting miniatures. How many of you paint your own minis? Do any of you have a company you prefer over others? How long have you been painting? Are there painting tips to offer? Do you have a book title or two to throw out to the newbies (i.e. me).
I've been buying Reaper minis for a little while now. Just figures that suit a possible character concept, or simply because it's a female figure that is 1) actually wearing armor, or 2) looks interesting.
Anyway, I haven't really done much painting so I was interested in starting up a discussion on it. I know there are workshops that can be attended, and conventions sometimes have a painting contest, and/or workshop. I really wanted to check out the painting stuff at GenCon but I'll have to settle for trying next year. The Reaper forums have a "show off" thread and a "works in progress" thread. I've been trolling around there and coming away feeling incredibly intimidated.
I'm not very artistic, so I doubt I'll ever get something as professional looking as the ones on the Reaper forums, or even close to competition level, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested in trying. Besides, the figs keep telling me they don't like being primer white. 
Well, I haven't painted in a
Well, I haven't painted in a long time. To be honest, I had no idea how much of a time-sink my online game playing really was. In September '07, I let my City of Heroes account lapse and it was around that time that I painted the most. I also picked up several old crochet projects and also started to learn knitting.
Then, around the end of October, I caved in ... afterall, they were running the Halloween event and who can resist temporary costumes!? Yeah, sucker than I am, I signed up for 3 months and began playing again. Within a couple weeks, I realized that my crochet, knitting and painting were once again collecting dust.
So, once again the account has lapsed and I'm hoping to get some more painting done. At any rate, this was my first real attempt at "highlights" and "shades" ... I don't think it's very good at all, but given my former stuff, I'm happy with it still. Overall, the only part that I'm not happy with is the color of his pants ... I was aiming for the color of rust or dried blood, definitely more brownish. Ah well.
My next project is actually a mini exchange that I'm doing with someone on the Reaper forum.
My version of the Cygnar Battlebox Group :)
Well, I've been working on these guys (off and on - though more off than on) for a couple weeks now. I think they are officially finished. At least, at this point, I'm happy with how they look and just want to move on to something else!
I learned that it's
I learned that it's important to NOT glue it all together first. haha.
Initially, his cape was glued on, but I was able to snap it off again without doing much damage. The hands/scythe wouldn't budge though, so painting his chest and the underside of his arms was extremely difficult. Each new fig that I paint, I'm learning something new
Oh yeah, click on the pic to see a larger shot.
Hokey Dokey...
Just dropping in to showcase my most recent paintjob. (Crappy lighting in one. Sorry). CLICK pic to see bigger picture! Do it!
Already, I'm working on another fig and nearly have him finished. Though, I'm having problems deciding how to finish out his armor...
My painting perspective
I am so lucky to have had ShoshieB1 to help me get better at miniature painting. The biggest technique I've learned that wasn't obvious is the order of painting.
First is priming. That is a must if you want the paint to stick to the miniature. The metal just doesn't bond well with the paint. Primer makes that possible. Like cptbane said, I prefer black because it makes it ok to miss a spot or two.
Next is the base coat. The base coat is the primary color of the cloak or the boots or the metal or the hair. You want to cover the whole intended area with the chosen color.
Next is to add the shading. Shading can be done in at least two ways. One is to use a darker shade of the paint that makes up your base coat. The other is to use an ink that is a darker shade of the paint you used for the base coat. You want to use the shading to make the recesses and folds have depth. You'll want to water the paint or ink down a bit so that it flows easily. I like to use ink because it goes into the deeper parts and flows more easily.
Next I touch things up a bit with my base coat in case the shading made some parts to dark before I move on to the highlighting.
When highlighting, you want to use a much lighter shade of your base coat paint. The purpose is to brighten up the places where an imaginary light source hits the model. If you are using a desk lamp to help you paint, it helps you imagine the parts that should be shaded and which parts should be highlighted.
Apart from ShoshieB1's personal help, I've also read a lot of articles by the Brush Thralls. While they primarily discuss Privateer Press models from Warmachine and Hordes, the techniques are useful overall. Looking at the first models I painted two years ago and comparing them to models I just painted, I can see a HUGE difference in the skills I have learned and the practice I have gotten.
Re: Painting Miniatures
There are several options. The easiest is to have someone else paint the miniatures for you. However, that can cost some money or you may end up with a figure painted in a way different from what you wanted. The other option, and the longest option, is practice. I've been painting figs for a little over 20 years and I'm still not as good as I'd like to be at it yet. My father has been painting figs for a lot longer than that and, in my opinion, can put just about anybody to shame. His figs actually look realisitic and don't have those big black "shadow" lines that you see in a lot of painting today. But, if you want some advice, here you go...
First, either buy or have some figs given to you that you don't care a whole lot about. (You're probably going to make some really ugly mistakes until you get really good at it) Then, just start painting. Try starting with an area that's going to be the majority of the figure. For example, if the figure has robes on, paint the robes first. If it slops over onto unpainted areas, don't worry, you can paint over that. Just make sure you don't use too much paint. That can ruin detail. (another good reason to use figs you don't care much about at first) In the begining, just worry about getting the colors on and making the fig look like something more than just a bunch of blotches of color. When you feel more confident, then find a shading technique that you like and learn how to do it. (again, with figs you don't care much about.)
The other considerations are brushes, paint, and primer. I like black primer myself so that if I happen to miss a little nook or craney, it looks like it's shaded, but primer is a personal preference. As for paint, make sure you are using paint ment for figs. The craft paint you get at Wal-Mart just makes the figs look cartoonish. (that's a mistake I won't make again....) And brushes. Make sure you have at least 3 different brushes of different thicknesses. A large brush is good for large areas of color and a very thin brush is good for the detail work.
All in all, the best suggestion is, just start doing it and keep practicing. Experimentation doesn't hurt either. My father still finds new things that he likes to do. Just don't be intimidated by the figure and go for it.