Otylia Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 Hi Everyone - I'm new to the forums (and to Malifaux) and I had a really basic painting question. What kind of paints would you recommend a beginner picking up? Sort of as a starter set. Both in brand and colors. To give some background - I used to play WH/40K and loved the painting aspect, probably a bit more than even the gaming aspect. Yeeeaaarrs later I wanted to get back into painting - but not at the cost or unit limitations of warhammer (I didn't want to paint 30 of the same guy). A friend suggested I check out Malifaux both for the incredible minis and the much more dynamic game play and I'm very very excited by what I've seen. I'm especially intrigued by Pandora and her crew. I have a few random fantasy minis I'd like to tackle just to get back into the groove of painting, before diving into characters I'd like to game with on a regular basis. So I guess I'm looking for a kind fundamental starter palette of colors... and ideally nothing that's going to break the bank. There seems to be some back and forth across other forums about craft store brands (i.e. Apple barrow) vs. the mini-specific paints (i.e. Vallejo or Citadel). I was wondering what the general consensus was among Malifaux painters since that's what I'm ultimately aspiring too. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirial Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 Welcome to Malifaux! I don't believe there is a general consensus on the brand. I use Citadel colours myself, but I believe I read that Mako uses Vallejo (and Mako knows one or two things about painting - seriously, check out his painting articles in the Chronicles). For Pandora's box I'd go with multiple shades of green, some red and some skin tones, and whatever you need for bases and Candy's dress. But don't listen too much to me, cause I'm a shitty painter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBugman Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 What Dirial said; and what Mako will probably say. Personally, I currently like Privateer Press' P3 paint line, but recommend Vallejo's for their translucency. If you can get past multiple layers per section then they're very good. I made the mistake of buying their "stooped huge case of paints I'll never use all of" and... just never used them all so they dried out. And for colour schemes, follow the traditional maxim: paint what colours you enjoy. Just make sure to stick to a set palette for consistency. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgraz Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 As soon as Citadel came out with this new line of paints which seems to me just a way to make money......"so I buy this color for foundation....but if I want to use that color as a highlight I have to buy a different pot that's basically just a different consistency?"..... I jumped over to Vallejo. But you can't paint with it straight from the bottle....it's too thick and needs to be thinned (which is most paints anyway). I like it very much because I bought just a few basic colors off the color wheel and I mix whatever color I need....and you can easily darken or lighten it for shadows and highlights. Get a wet palette!!!! You really don't need to buy one.....I use a tupperware dish, paper towels, and parchment paper. There are plenty of youtube videos on it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengt Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 I don't know exactly what Apple Barrow is, but some acrylic paints intended for use on paper have like clay dust or something in them which is just fine when painting on paper but which is grainy on tiny miniatures. So you should check on that issue before getting any crafts paints. Personally I use the Vallejo line and would recommend it along with a wet palette (since it's dropper bottles you have to have some kind of palette and the sooner you jump to wet the happier you'll be ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewomie Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 I love my wet pallet, and fully back the gentlemen telling you to try one. I bought one from Michael's for like... 5 bucks. it's amazing, though it is literally just a Tupperware box with a sponge in it. Take DGraz's advice and make your own, they are simple and amazing for both thinning paints and for extending the life of your pots (read: don't leave the lid open and dip your brush straight in there... lol) As for brands and colors... I have some amalgamation of citadel old and new, P3, and Vallejo. I use them all and have tons of colors, but really, if you have an understanding of color theory you don't really need that many colors. I tend to keep primary and complementary colors on hand, and mix what I need. However, I buy colors that I will use a lot of. So if I were paining Pandora's box crew and knew I would need a ton of green and would use a lot of that one color for a base, i'll go buy one of that specific color. that way I can keep uniform bits looking good between models. especially since it can be tough to mix up another batch of a color if you get a new model months later and want it to be in-theme. after years of following that format I have quite a few paints. I like them all pretty much the same, though I have trouble with Vallejo drying out really fast on my brush. not sure if that's just me or what, but other people have really good luck with them. I love the pigments, just have that one issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgraz Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 though I have trouble with Vallejo drying out really fast on my brush.maybe you don't thin them enough? They also sell a retardant. I bought it but haven't had to use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Requirement Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 I own and have used Apple Barrel paints. Do they work? Sure. They are best suited for models you don't really care about though. They don't have much pigment to them, they are rough, and they just don't work that well on minis. The other downside is they really aren't that much cheaper than any of the paints you will find at your LGS. In the end, if you want great results, you are going to have to pay a bit more. The good news is it won't really be much more. As others in the thread have said, just buy the paints as you need them. You really don't need that many colors overall at any given time so just grab a few bottles of what you need for the models you are currently working on. I prefer this method over the "buy a set of paints" method as you don't end up with a bunch of unused colors. I personally use Vallejo paints and a regular palette ($.89 at the crafts store) but there is certainly nothing wrong with grabbing any of the others brands and using a wet palette. I would suggest the dropper-style bottles personally as they tend to dry out less in my experience. The only other thing I would suggest buying to get you started out is a variety of brushes to figure out what type/size/style you enjoy working with. Honestly, I'm not sure about others' LGSs but mine doesn't stock a particularly good selection of brushes (pretty much just the beginner GW set and Series 7s) so I end up trying a lot of things from local art stores and local craft stores. A bonus of this method is that the brushes are typically cheaper. Before I end up making this wall of text any larger, look up some painting tutorials on youtube and enjoy painting the minis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zFiend Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 I use Vallejo and Army Painter. Some Citadel (mainly washes). They have been working fine for me. But I'm not a good painter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otylia Posted February 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 Thanks everybody for your feedback and suggestions! I guess what I was more specifically asking is - do you have any colors you find yourself using across a wide range of models. Go-to flesh tones, base colors, warm/cold highlight and shadow shaders... that kind of thing? At least in my own limited painting experience, I'm think of GW lich purple, bone white, snakebite leather, etc... except I'd rather move away from citadel because of the price point, I'm not sure they are the best choices, and I don't think those color names exist anymore lol. Same thing goes for ink/wash colors and I didn't know if there were sets of primary tones people might use more often than not for mixing and whatnot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirial Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 The best paint ever was Spacewolves Grey. I used it everywhere. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked... ahem, now, that colour doesn't exist anymore. Pity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgraz Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 If you do a search for 'vallejo color chart conversion' you'll get some nice pics that will show you what the equivalent color is to other ranges. As I said I mix a lot of my own from some basic colors...like you can create shadow using complementary colors (mix a little red into green to get a darker green or vice versa, a little blue into orange for a darker orange, etc) but for highlighting I usually use two colors....(thanks Mako)....Valejjo Pale Sand for warmer colors, and Vallejo Deck Tan for cooler colors. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Requirement Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 Yeah. It's really about having the basics. You can mix just about anything you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirial Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 If you do a search for 'vallejo color chart conversion' you'll get some nice pics that will show you what the equivalent color is to other ranges. As I said I mix a lot of my own from some basic colors...like you can create shadow using complementary colors (mix a little red into green to get a darker green or vice versa, a little blue into orange for a darker orange, etc) but for highlighting I usually use two colors....(thanks Mako)....Valejjo Pale Sand for warmer colors, and Vallejo Deck Tan for cooler colors. This is good advice, and I (kind of) do that. What was perfect about that paint was that I didn't need to mix it. It was the perfect tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otylia Posted February 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 Thanks again everybody - I ended up going with a spattering of P3 basic colors, and picking up the two Vallejo highlights dgraz suggested. From other sites it sounds like vellejo can be a little watery for base coats so I thought I'd try out P3. A thinner highlight color sounds ideal though so it sounds like a good combination. I'm sure I'll be picking up more as I go, but at least its place to start Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otylia Posted March 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 I just wanted to pop back in to say I think I'm in love with the P3 paints! I broke them out yesterday and I was amazed how smooth they were. To me citadel paints require so much watering down and still feel a bit sluggish across the model. The P3 paints (or at least the very few colors I used last night) required a lot less thinning and went on so smoothly! I am having one homemade wet pallet issue I was wondering if you guys could help with. The parchment paper doesn't seem to like to stay wet/flat. I went with a paper towel and sponge method, and they're both quite wet. And the parchment paper was (a little) damp at first, but then started curling up and drying. Any idea what I might be doing wrong? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgraz Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 I am having one homemade wet pallet issue I was wondering if you guys could help with. The parchment paper doesn't seem to like to stay wet/flat. I went with a paper towel and sponge method, and they're both quite wet. And the parchment paper was (a little) damp at first, but then started curling up and drying. Any idea what I might be doing wrong? That's just environmental. If the paper isn't in direct contact with water it will start to dry out. If the air is dry it will evaporate faster. Add a little more water and push the paper back down flat. Sometimes after I add water I'll close it up and walk away for a few minutes just to let the water seep back into the paper. I don't use a sponge because it's generally thicker and gravity will pull the water to the bottom away from the paper. I use a paper towel only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmenfan422 Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 I use the citadel line and am quite pleased with the turnout. The colors I use most in Malifaux and Browns, Grays, and Metal. Then depending on faction or crew, the brighter colors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Math Mathonwy Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 You can also staple the paper to the sponge/papre towel (I use Wettex sponge cloths) so it won't curl when it dries. Or use paper clips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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