2022 Monthly Painting Challenge - January

[Brushgit]

2 hours ago, Gheist said:

I got lots of resin at work, it's not as straightforward as you might think but it can of course be used, i just don't have an UV Lamp at home. And if it doesn't harden completely you get lovely smears which you have to clean with chemicals. But it sounds as if i am not owning the right product, do you have a brand example?

Not really, I am about to try the elegoo resin and got a strip of powerful UV-LEDs in a simple case that connects them to a usb-c outlet. Most people I know that gap-fill like that use a small UV flashlight for the process. I'll update my painting thread with some progress pictures once I get to gap filling again and drop you an @ mention.

It took me almost half an episode of the breachside broadcast for the first coat, tonight I'm going to continue with midtones and highlights, let's see

[TimH]

First base is done. Which brings me to a total of 0SS painted so far!

I think there's going to be a slight change in the order of my pledge this month. Instead of doing both a Striped Skulkers and Speckled Crawlers unit I will likely instead do both units of skulkers to try and better keep their paint scheme consist across the units. The Crawlers will likely then be done at around the same time as the alpha crawler so that his little riders can be painted more consistently with them.

[Gheist]

On 1/5/2022 at 10:54 PM, TimH said:

First base is done. Which brings me to a total of 0SS painted so far!

I think there's going to be a slight change in the order of my pledge this month. Instead of doing both a Striped Skulkers and Speckled Crawlers unit I will likely instead do both units of skulkers to try and better keep their paint scheme consist across the units. The Crawlers will likely then be done at around the same time as the alpha crawler so that his little riders can be painted more consistently with them.

Love them and the base! Makes me itch to open my own Box

[Caedrus]

Let’s talk about paintbrushes.

Paintbrushes are like underpants:

• ·       The expensive ones tend to have more wear in them;
• ·       What style you like may not be right for everyone;
• ·       Natural materials are just better;
• ·       You don’t want them to be too small;
• ·       Loose threads are super annoying; AND
• ·       You really should wash them after each use.

I started painting with synthetic (taklon) brushes. They are cheaper, fairly predictable, and are a good learner’s brush. They do have a tendency to ‘hook’, and create a bend at the tip. This can be useful for some work, but wrecks your ability to do smooth coats.

However, when I was looking to improve my painting, I went for sable brushes. I have tried all of the usual high-end candidates: Windsor and Newton, Raphael, and Rosemary and Co. All of them are excellent brushes, and they are all a pleasure to use. However, everyone is different, and after sampling each, I ended up using Rosemary and Co.

My go-to brush is a Rosemary and Co. Kolinsky Sable, Series 8, short handle. I normally start with a size 2, but vary between size 0 and 3. I normally suggest that miniature painters use a larger brush, as the belly of the brush holds more paint, and this allows for smoother coats, as you aren’t dipping into paint as frequently.

For those painters who use a smaller brush (I would use a 3/0 Taklon in the old days), I really suggest using a bigger brush. So long as the tip is kept sharp, and the brush is washed frequently, a bigger brush just makes painting easier.

If I had to suggest a set for someone looking to make the plunge into sable brushes, the Rosemary and Co. ‘Workbench Warrior’ set is a very fine place to start, so that you can work out what works for you. The price ($48AUD) gets you ten excellent brushes, and you can work out what works best for you, and the others are still fine, fine brushes.  

I would also like to be Captain Predictable here and say that ‘The Masters’ brush cleaner and preserver is my absolute suggestion for paintbrush cleaning, and I sometimes forget to use it, and then wish I had remembered. I do remember to wash my underpants, though. I tend to be a bit hard on brushes, and I get around two years of decent performance out of a workhorse-favourite. As my brushes split / age / wear, I use them for less fine tasks, until they get demoted to drybrush. After that, it's demotion to dolloping-out-of-the-paintpot, and after that, paint stirrer / backscratcher.

I am happy to provide more information if anyone is interested (in the paintbrushes, not the underpants), and also to chat about airbrushes, paint consistency, paint brands… the list goes on!

Stay well, everyone.

Caedrus.

[Shock & Awe]

8 hours ago, Caedrus said:

Let’s talk about paintbrushes.

Paintbrushes are like underpants:

• ·       The expensive ones tend to have more wear in them;
• ·       What style you like may not be right for everyone;
• ·       Natural materials are just better;
• ·       You don’t want them to be too small;
• ·       Loose threads are super annoying; AND
• ·       You really should wash them after each use.

I started painting with synthetic (taklon) brushes. They are cheaper, fairly predictable, and are a good learner’s brush. They do have a tendency to ‘hook’, and create a bend at the tip. This can be useful for some work, but wrecks your ability to do smooth coats.

However, when I was looking to improve my painting, I went for sable brushes. I have tried all of the usual high-end candidates: Windsor and Newton, Raphael, and Rosemary and Co. All of them are excellent brushes, and they are all a pleasure to use. However, everyone is different, and after sampling each, I ended up using Rosemary and Co.

My go-to brush is a Rosemary and Co. Kolinsky Sable, Series 8, short handle. I normally start with a size 2, but vary between size 0 and 3. I normally suggest that miniature painters use a larger brush, as the belly of the brush holds more paint, and this allows for smoother coats, as you aren’t dipping into paint as frequently.

For those painters who use a smaller brush (I would use a 3/0 Taklon in the old days), I really suggest using a bigger brush. So long as the tip is kept sharp, and the brush is washed frequently, a bigger brush just makes painting easier.

If I had to suggest a set for someone looking to make the plunge into sable brushes, the Rosemary and Co. ‘Workbench Warrior’ set is a very fine place to start, so that you can work out what works for you. The price ($48AUD) gets you ten excellent brushes, and you can work out what works best for you, and the others are still fine, fine brushes.  

I would also like to be Captain Predictable here and say that ‘The Masters’ brush cleaner and preserver is my absolute suggestion for paintbrush cleaning, and I sometimes forget to use it, and then wish I had remembered. I do remember to wash my underpants, though. I tend to be a bit hard on brushes, and I get around two years of decent performance out of a workhorse-favourite. As my brushes split / age / wear, I use them for less fine tasks, until they get demoted to drybrush. After that, it's demotion to dolloping-out-of-the-paintpot, and after that, paint stirrer / backscratcher.

I am happy to provide more information if anyone is interested (in the paintbrushes, not the underpants), and also to chat about airbrushes, paint consistency, paint brands… the list goes on!

Stay well, everyone.

Caedrus.

Looks like I have a new brush set to buy  

… and my Black Friday order finally arrived out here in Japan  

so much to paint, and so much still to learn. 
 

for instance, how the bloody hell to base these riders 😮 

 

[Shock & Awe]

PS - anyone with the puppet rider set know where the contact point is for this part of the bridle on the mech rider??? 

[wobbly_goggy]

My pledge for this month is to paint whatever it on my paint station and appeals to me, as I find I am most productive when flitting between one or two models from various projects, then concentrating on one and finishing it when inspiration strikes. To make sure I do my Malifaux models, I've taken out all my unpainted ones and lined them up behind my paint station in a nice  conga line. 

I'm currently working on a couple of Banjonistas, one of which is getting close to completion. I have all three of them to paint, a Fermented River Monk, Some'er and Peaches, various Guild Guard/Riflemen and some more bits and bobs to do.

I use Windsor and Newton Series 7 size 0 and 00 along with a couple of old brushed (including the W&N ones) for dry brushing/basing, and basically I abuse my brushes for 6 months or so until they REALLY can't hold a point, then I but new ones. Occasionally if I'm passing a stationery/art shop I'll grab a cheapo one too.

 

 

[Butch]

On 1/4/2022 at 2:15 PM, Gheist said:

Thanks for the Advice! I'll try but maybe not on the Malisaurus, or do you think it would work on such a massive gap like in the leg? I am usually very dedicated to the hobby but gaps in 2021 kind of make me lose Motivation faster than most things (like monthlong shipping times and retailers without customer service )

I try it on everything. In the end it sometimes takes a lot of time and in the end it would have been quicker and more satisfying (to me) to use Milliput. But I use varnish all the time. Just give it a try and you'll quick find out if it works for you.

[Diddick]

Hi there!
I'm pretty impressed at the quality of the minis displayed here already, looks like it's gonna be a good hobby year 😱

My january pledge: as soon as i clean my hobby space (which looks like a warzone atm because i'm working on some non-mali conversions) I'll paint a shikome and a he-kome (i did not build the super-cool-looking-but-impossible-to-attach-to-the-base-shikome...) to keep going with the urami KW, my idea is to kep going for the kw gritty style, but i recently got enamel washes and will try them on those minis, let's see how it looks 🤞

My year hobby resolutions will be finish the urami KW, and then either go for the tormented that i have built but not painted, or for the Foundry keyword, which i recently acquired, but all of the minis are still on their sprues.  The thing is i've already decided a scheme for foundry, but not for the tormented, so foundry is more likely to happen. I'll probably will pop random versatile resser, TT or outcast minis here and there.   Of course all of those plans WILL be changed by joining painting competitions and getting sidetracked by other projects XD

Brush advice: even though i've been painting for a while, i don't feel entitled enough to give advice, other than expensive brushes are probably good brushes, and good brushes make a huge difference.  I've been using W&N, and Rosemary & co.  Can i tell which one is better? nope, i like both. I also acquired a small set from GSW, synthetic i think, but i haven't tried them yet.  The only advice i feel i can give is:  use make up brushes for drybrushing.  Is super easy to find cheap sets with different sizes, and the super soft bristles give a very good result.

[Brushgit]

Onto the topic of brushes:

I second the approach from Ninjon youtube link to a certain extend.
I tend to use a lot of brushes for different purposes.

• Old ones for basing/applying pigments, texturing, applying PVA glue, mixing etc
• Synthetic ones for everything oil/enamel/alcohol based
• "The good ones"(Brokentoad/Raphael/Davinci Maestro Min) for the majority of work

Coming from using GW brushes back in the day, transitioning to davinci maestro and to the usual W&N S7 afterwards I got frustrated more and more with the quality (had multiple size 1 and 0 with screwed up tips) and thus ditched them in my arsenal.
I switched to Raphael 8404 for my work horses. They got just the right spring, length and belly and just feel "right" although they lose their tip earlier then W&N.
My other recommendation is BrokenToad MK3, the 0 and 0/3 are lasting for freaking AGES without losing any sharpness and I can't imagine doing NMM/detailwork without them.
And to support our local german brush manufacturers the DaVinci Maestro Mini 76 (short & pointed) are the perfect replacement for the Raphael (as they tend to have some restock issues atm)
Rosemary brushes are a something I still want to try (basically the only ones I am missing from the "big brands").
Oh and a small tipp - the Redgrass brushes are actually Raphael brushes, so go check them out.

 

Now onto the "usual business" - I finished my scariest paintjob in a long time after getting inspired by @Gheist work earlier and will check in 10SS for this month

The Malisaurus was a WHOLE lotta work. from skin over scales to that tongue. Still not content with the scales and horns but I am not touching them again.

[Gheist]

46 minutes ago, Brushgit said:

Onto the topic of brushes:

I second the approach from Ninjon youtube link to a certain extend.
I tend to use a lot of brushes for different purposes.

• Old ones for basing/applying pigments, texturing, applying PVA glue, mixing etc
• Synthetic ones for everything oil/enamel/alcohol based
• "The good ones"(Brokentoad/Raphael/Davinci Maestro Min) for the majority of work

Coming from using GW brushes back in the day, transitioning to davinci maestro and to the usual W&N S7 afterwards I got frustrated more and more with the quality (had multiple size 1 and 0 with screwed up tips) and thus ditched them in my arsenal.
I switched to Raphael 8404 for my work horses. They got just the right spring, length and belly and just feel "right" although they lose their tip earlier then W&N.
My other recommendation is BrokenToad MK3, the 0 and 0/3 are lasting for freaking AGES without losing any sharpness and I can't imagine doing NMM/detailwork without them.
And to support our local german brush manufacturers the DaVinci Maestro Mini 76 (short & pointed) are the perfect replacement for the Raphael (as they tend to have some restock issues atm)
Rosemary brushes are a something I still want to try (basically the only ones I am missing from the "big brands").
Oh and a small tipp - the Redgrass brushes are actually Raphael brushes, so go check them out.

 

Now onto the "usual business" - I finished my scariest paintjob in a long time after getting inspired by @Gheist work earlier and will check in 10SS for this month

The Malisaurus was a WHOLE lotta work. from skin over scales to that tongue. Still not content with the scales and horns but I am not touching them again.

Ah! Lovely Work Mate ! The Tongue and the eyes are great work indeed !

I like the Contrast on the skin and Horns, to be honest i don't think you need to touch it anymore

[Viruk]

Starting 2022 with some FIRE!

30 soulstones and definitely more to come later in the month

 

@Brushgit- I love the realistic approach to painting clothes, the Ronin looks amazing and so does the Dino!

@Gheist - this just shows that you can't go wrong with color choices while painting the Dino, the vivid shades of green and touches of blue work so well with the bright horns/spikes

@OctaBit - good start on Basse, you could try painting the shin guards light silver and then glazing with light brown.

@TimH - I like the cold color of body, works so well against warm shades on the base

[TimH]

8 minutes ago, Viruk said:

Starting 2022 with some FIRE!

30 soulstones and definitely more to come later in the month

Maybe it's the size of the mouth, maybe it's the purple suit and and the white hair, but that Deacon is giving me some real Jack Nicholson vibes! Loving it

[OctaBit]

2 hours ago, Viruk said:

@OctaBit - good start on Basse, you could try painting the shin guards light silver and then glazing with light brown.

That might be an interesting take. I tried putting on a silver/iron metallic on the guards, but its not looking good. I'll be honest though I've never been great at painting metallics. 

[TimH]

So, I finished up the StormSiren

I love the model but she will probably very rarely see the tabletop. Not on account of being a poor unit, but because I have the Nightmare Neverborn/Hordes models down the painting line.

Alongside a painted Binh and the now completed units of striped stalkers everything is actually starting to look a little more like a fieldable set of models than the lumps of grey plastic that have been sitting around for too long. With plenty of time left in the month I want to try getting the eels painted up

 

I have two (plus another two from the Nightmare boxes somewhere down the line) and for the regular eels at least I'm thinking of keeping to the blues and turqoise of the Stalkers and the Siren.

Edited May 17, 2022 by TimH
Managing attatchments

[feagaur]

I’ve pledged master level. I have quite a large back log, but I’m also busy/lazy. 
Hoping to get a fully painted Reva, McMourning and McCabe crew painted for the year. That’s both versions of each.

[muraki]

On 1/8/2022 at 9:15 AM, Shock & Awe said:

PS - anyone with the puppet rider set know where the contact point is for this part of the bridle on the mech rider??? 

I'm not sure there is one? Mine was equally as loose and looking at the pro painted ones on the wyrd Facebook it's also hanging free.  I hit it with some hot water and bended it down so it matches the angle of the other and looks more like a 'i dropped it'

[Gheist]

On 1/4/2022 at 2:22 PM, Gheist said:

On a sidenote, are there any objections to me inviting people here on YTube? Have to check with Wyrd anyways, just the question if it's like wanted or not, I will only bring it up this one time promised

Done back to painting again

[Brushgit]

Clocking in another 13 SS for the month, sadly the Whiskey Golem won't make it til game night tomorrow.

[Ghulaf5420]

So here is my pledge for January.  Archivist 8ss, Austera and Twigge 7ss, and a Botanist 6ss for 21ss total.  I tested positive for the 'Rona this week, so yay me! extra time to paint, lol!  Archivist has been partially done since December, just haven't had the motivation to finish till I joined the painting challenge.

As for goals for the year, I just want to get some paint on my bare plastic and catch up on my backlog.  Secondarily (is that a word?), I'd like to expand on my airbrush skills.  Bought a nice Badger over a year ago and I've used it once for the fire portion of my Alt Reva.   Unfortunately, living in Utah and only being able to use it in my garage, I'll be waiting a few more months to give it another try.

I'll post finished pics hopefully soon, and will add in my two cents on brushes.

[wobbly_goggy]

The chip chip chipping away has begun! Fairly basic job, but he’ll do!

[Brushgit]

4 hours ago, wobbly_goggy said:

The chip chip chipping away has begun! Fairly basic job, but he’ll do!

That's a kickass paintjob for a "basic" job!

Can't wait to start on mine and just got the idea to give mine some nice crooked buckteeth 😂

[Maciej]

On 1/8/2022 at 3:15 PM, Shock & Awe said:

PS - anyone with the puppet rider set know where the contact point is for this part of the bridle on the mech rider??? 

Oh, they are quite small! I was wondering about the scale when looking at 3d. I suspected them being sized for 50mm buses. But now I'll consider buying them and converting to effigies for Zoraida 2.

Also this is my 21 pledge for January in progress. I hope to add grave goo to it if time allows. 

[Brushgit]

That's a lovely freehand on those pants and scarf 👍

[Shock & Awe]

My pledge for January is complete! One Poltergeist and three Sorrows for a total of 19ss   

I'll be working on a different project for the rest of the month. Thus, Pandora will likely have to wait until next month  

Started with this guy... I'm happy with him, but he really made me realize I need to move away from high contrast (I'm assuming that is the right term, if not, please correct me.) The separation between the dark and light areas was too drastic. Still, I like some of the highlighting I did (tried to completely avoid my dry brushing crutch).

So then I moved onto the Poltergeist. I tried to focus on assuming the light source was coming from the upper right (from my perspective, upper left from the model's perspective) and highlight lighter as I moved toward spots where the light was hitting more directly. Not perfect, but I'm starting to get a clearer idea of how to do this.

Then I went onto the next Sorrow and tried my hand at NMM. This was my first attempt at it, so please give me some tips on how to do it better next time. 

With one Sorrow left I decided to add in making a GLOW effect. I made a sphere out of epoxy and stuck it into the hollow underneath the model to make a kind of "magic orb" that's causing him to float around - then tried to make it seem like that was casting a glow onto the ground. I also used the NMM method from the last model, and some directional highlighting to pile up all my challenges for this month. How did it come out?