What are good rookie painter resources

[Akodo Harid]

So I am a rookie painter having done somethings that I like and somethings that I really really don't. I was wondering what are some good painting sites/tutorials that you would recommend?

I get that practice makes perfect but I still find that I thin paints too much, not enough, or end up with globby messy looking models...which is fine since I'm not paying 50+ to have someone else paint them, but I don't feel the improvement.

Case in point:

My best early paint job was Johan but the face is just, not a face (I don't have the picture of it at the moment)

Fairly recently I've been working on my brother's 10T stuff which he allows me to do since he doesn't like the modeling aspects and he knows I need the practice. The Oiran are awful, my Hodgepodge is not great. But I dig what I did with Toshiro/Strongarm, and Lone Swordsman

http://i.imgur.com/zAEUowf.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ELVzXmd.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/5dL1rTx.jpg

 

[lusciousmccabe]

Dr Faust's painting channel on youtube is good with a lot of resources. I'm pretty sure there's some starting off type videos on there, but he also just does a lot of painting so you can get a good look at the consistency and blends of colours he uses.

Tutofig also has a tonne of resources, some of which may be useful to you but they're pitched all over the place so it can be hard to go through.

What kinds of primer/paint/brushes do you use?

[Ceodoc]

Dr Faust is the shizzle, great skill conveyed in a simple way.

Try the gamesworkshop tutorials, I think they have basing, layers, shades etc.

[Omenbringer]

A few recommendations right off the bat:

1. It looks as if you are not using primer. I would strongly recommend Duplicolor Sandable Primer (available at most auto parts stores). This is a very important step that provides a solid base for your paints to adhere to. There are other brands of primer but most of the "game specific" ones are glorified spray paints instead of real primers.
2. The "Gloppiness" is likely caused by not thinning your paints adequately. You can use plain water (distilled is the best) but acrylic paint additives will do a better job. Liquitex Flow Improver (available at most Arts and Crafts stores)  is good on its own though I would recommend a custom blend of a few different Liquitex products. This is what I use (and since starting with it my painting has improved noticeably) 1 part Liquitex Gloss Medium, 1 part Liquitex Matte Medium, 2 parts Liquitex Flow Improver, 2 parts Distilled Water (less other stuff that can "gum up" paints than tap water). This will keep your paints fluid and "loose" without diminishing adhesion or altering sheen. Add this to your paints before you paint and also when you are done and storing them for awhile.
3. I would second the recommendation to try the "formula paints." These include the Citadel line (often lauded but fairly good unless you are a competition painter, this is Games Workshops brand) and the Reaper Master Series paints (some of the best though they can be a pain to get your hands on consistently). The advantage of these lines is they have ready made recipes for base coat (generally set to one coat cover primers, black, white, grey, or any other color), shade, and highlight (generally at least two coats). Even the challenging colors of red, black, and white are broken down into easy to replicate systems. They really take the guess work out of things.
4. I might also look at your paint brushes. Cheaper brushes and those that have not been cleaned well can adversely affect your painting. I would recommend trying to get your hands on a Kolinsky sable hair brush and some brush soap (you can use a very "gentle" hand soap in a pinch but risk degrading the brush hairs).
5. Finally I would recommend using some good lights. I paint under 5 independently adjustable lights. Additionally, though I know there will be those that disagree vehemently with this, I would recommend using at least two different "temperature" bulbs a full spectrum day light bulb and a softer white incandescent. I add a Compact florescent light bulb as well.

Dr Faust is a very good place to start. I would also add the Brush Thralls and Citadel's own painting pages. If you can get your hands on their How to Paint books they are also decent at presenting techniques. Their Youttube pages are good at showing how to use their more technical paints (Typhus Corrision and Ryza Rust for aging metals for example). You can also head over to Cool Mini or Not's webpages for some tutorials, though since they started selling games these have been less maintained. This site can also be a pretty good resource. Once you have refined the basics I would also suggest taking a look at the Dark Age Miniatures painting videos, some really quality videos from some really great painters.

Hopefully some of that helps.

[Icarius]

From Rookie to Rookie:

Apart of the above (great advices), just practice, a lot. Use good implements (brush, take care of it), wash the brush with each change of color. let it dry. thin your paints, shake your paints.

What I do (in order):

-Cut the parts from the sprue

-Clean the mold lines (I use just an exacto knife, change the blade often)

-Wash all in warm water with hand soap and a old thootbrush (in a separated bowl to prevent loses), wash out the soap, let it dry on papertowell

-Assemble (if plastic with plastic cement, if metal, superglue)

-Prime (I use a generic primer spray can: SHAKE IT for about 1-2 minutes, just quick touches, not aiming to the miniature), let it dry (overnight at least).

-Start painting the first coat: SHAKE IT (again, a lot), THIN IT (the formula above works best, I just use water on a plastic white palette). Wash the brush, let it dry.

-Once dry: second coat, same colors, thinned, just to have the mini right. Let it dry.

-Third coat, lighter colors, just the pop out parts

-Wash: each color with his wash. Let it dry

-once dry the same color of the third coat just to attenuate the wash. LID

-Lighter colors coat. LID

-Details (usually with white) and face.

-Barnish.

 

Bests of luck

Also check out Hand Cannon Online for: beginners guide to beginning adn Tutorial Ghool's Quick Tips

 

 

[tmod]

23 hours ago, Omenbringer said:

A few recommendations right off the bat:

1. It looks as if you are not using primer. I would strongly recommend Duplicolor Sandable Primer (available at most auto parts stores). This is a very important step that provides a solid base for your paints to adhere to. There are other brands of primer but most of the "game specific" ones are glorified spray paints instead of real primers.
2. The "Gloppiness" is likely caused by not thinning your paints adequately. You can use plain water (distilled is the best) but acrylic paint additives will do a better job. Liquitex Flow Improver (available at most Arts and Crafts stores)  is good on its own though I would recommend a custom blend of a few different Liquitex products. This is what I use (and since starting with it my painting has improved noticeably) 1 part Liquitex Gloss Medium, 1 part Liquitex Matte Medium, 2 parts Liquitex Flow Improver, 2 parts Distilled Water (less other stuff that can "gum up" paints than tap water). This will keep your paints fluid and "loose" without diminishing adhesion or altering sheen. Add this to your paints before you paint and also when you are done and storing them for awhile.
3. I would second the recommendation to try the "formula paints." These include the Citadel line (often lauded but fairly good unless you are a competition painter, this is Games Workshops brand) and the Reaper Master Series paints (some of the best though they can be a pain to get your hands on consistently). The advantage of these lines is they have ready made recipes for base coat (generally set to one coat cover primers, black, white, grey, or any other color), shade, and highlight (generally at least two coats). Even the challenging colors of red, black, and white are broken down into easy to replicate systems. They really take the guess work out of things.
4. I might also look at your paint brushes. Cheaper brushes and those that have not been cleaned well can adversely affect your painting. I would recommend trying to get your hands on a Kolinsky sable hair brush and some brush soap (you can use a very "gentle" hand soap in a pinch but risk degrading the brush hairs).
5. Finally I would recommend using some good lights. I paint under 5 independently adjustable lights. Additionally, though I know there will be those that disagree vehemently with this, I would recommend using at least two different "temperature" bulbs a full spectrum day light bulb and a softer white incandescent. I add a Compact florescent light bulb as well.

Dr Faust is a very good place to start. I would also add the Brush Thralls and Citadel's own painting pages. If you can get your hands on their How to Paint books they are also decent at presenting techniques. Their Youttube pages are good at showing how to use their more technical paints (Typhus Corrision and Ryza Rust for aging metals for example). You can also head over to Cool Mini or Not's webpages for some tutorials, though since they started selling games these have been less maintained. This site can also be a pretty good resource. Once you have refined the basics I would also suggest taking a look at the Dark Age Miniatures painting videos, some really quality videos from some really great painters.

Hopefully some of that helps.

All of this, especially about the brushes and lights! Two sets of lights, as well as plenty of light, are amongst the best tip you're likely to get apart from thinning your paints. Also I'd not skimp on brushes. You can get decent cheap Kolinsky brushes, but if you invest in a brush soap and a size 1 or size 0 Winsor & Newton Series 7 or similar you'll have an amazing tool for a long, long time. Due to trouble with the importers in Norway I pay about $50 for one of these, but they're easily worth it and they are the single best investment in painting I've made, even at that extraordinarily high price!

Finally I'll put in a word for Army Painter paints. They're easily on par with Citadel, I find I wastly prefer them to GW in pretty much all cases, and you get a lot more paint in much better bottles for a much lower price (most places). It allows you to get more paints for your money, and invest more in brushes and additives. In addition to flow improver and acrylic medium retarder (to keep paints from drying out to quickly) and glaze medium (to make paints translucent without getting to watery/runny) will make your life easier... Vallejo makes a great Glaze Medium, otherwise I'd get Liquitex or similar artist's stuff; it's higher quality and cheaper than modelling specific stuff. You might also want to buy a few empty dropper bottles (~18ml or thereabouts) to keep your thinners, mediums and any other mixes in. They cost a buck or three for a bunch, and should be easily available through Amazon or similar places. Then it's all down to practice! :-)

[Grayfax]

From another rookie to another.  When I found the Wet Palette video by TabletopMinions, it helped me with learning how to control paint.  Before that it would dry out so fast that I wasn't sure what was causing the trouble.  Inexpensive, easy to do and changes how you can learn to paint better faster.  The other points I am learning as well.

[Akodo Harid]

So sorry for responding late but here's what I have for paints and brushes.

Paints:

The Army Painter starter set (https://www.amazon.com/Army-Painter-Wargame-Starter-Paint/dp/B007SQ3C18)

Brushes:

Detail Paintbrush Set (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010QLOJ3G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

And I do use a primer. It's a white primer that I picked up at a hardware store. I'm not at home to look at the brand at the moment.