Critique my Technique

[TheWiseOldElf]

Also you have lost a fair amount of detail by going too thick with your base coat / primer. you want a light dusting with a primer for paint to stick to rather than a thick coat. hold the spray can further away and use short bursts.

The paint looks like it was chipping/rubbing off, was the grey a primer or just a normal paint ? did you wash the mini with soapy water and a tooth brush to get rid of any oil before paining ?

Yes, I washed the minis very thoroughly, but I probably rushed the priming, and used too much as a result. I also found that the water-based paints didn't really take to it very well, and my first attempts at applying a wash literally did wash off the base colour in places. The stuff I used was spray primer for car paints, so probably not ideal, and I'll try to source some better primer for future use.

Metal weapons in hero quest tends to look good if it is some what rusted. So if you are going to paint them silver, add a small amount of brown and orange to some silver pain, and drybrush in places water would run down or use a sepia wash to tone down the overall shine, and then dry brush the edges with silver lightly.

Actually for the weapons you want to start with a non-metallic grey base color (on top of the primer). Then add the silver highlights (I like "Lead Belcher") and perhaps dry brush the flat faces with the same. This makes it look like someone sharpened it (scratches in one direction). If you're really goos you can do a metallic look without a metallic paint. That takes a lot of practice, I can almost do it now, but I throw the dry brush metallic on for consistency.

Thanks - will try that.

[Baylor_OgreBane]

I think by now everyone knows my views and advise on painting as I have added it to so many different threads now. I like what you have done so far, you have a very neat style, which is a good thing. You just need a bit more practice and you will get there. I did offer to do a live Q&A youtube thingy as I paint a model. As I think that would be an easy way to see whats going on and, interaction is important. One thing for me to write tips another for you to see what is going on and why it works. One thing I would say, when priming if your not using a spray then try mixing the prime colour with an ink of the same colour, it helps it to relax and cover more evenly. Also never start with white as a base, nor black (I prefer a natural brown) white shows up all mistakes and is a hard colour to work from, only use it if you what the brightest of bright colours on your mini. Black isn't as bad, but it is harder to get those bright colours and it can give a very dark feel.
Anyway before I get carried away and bore everyone I'll leave it there.

[TheWiseOldElf]

One thing I would say, when priming if your not using a spray then try mixing the prime colour with an ink of the same colour, it helps it to relax and cover more evenly. Also never start with white as a base, nor black (I prefer a natural brown) white shows up all mistakes and is a hard colour to work from, only use it if you what the brightest of bright colours on your mini. Black isn't as bad, but it is harder to get those bright colours and it can give a very dark feel.

I've seen lots of people extolling the virtues of black primer, and a fair few voting for white, which was why I split the difference and went for grey (darker in reality than it appears in the photo on page 1).

Anyway, thanks for all the advice so far, everybody. Here's how things stand this evening:

[Lemmeron]

My comment re adding other colours to silver was to work with the weapons that are currently done in silver not to paint a new weapon from the beginning.

[Baylor_OgreBane]

try mixing a little ordinary grey paint with the metalic silver to get a flatter look.
Also If you are going to use a grey primer, the first thing I would do is make a wash (very watery acrylic paint) and put over the model, this will act as a base for the shadows but also pop the details on the mini so you can see a little better.

[TheWiseOldElf]

OK, I've decided to leave the goblins for now, rather than fuss them to death, and concentrate on improving the first of the reall-badly-painted miniatures from my old game.

First on the hit-list are these oh-so-awful Chaos warriors: ( )


After stripping, tidying up and repainting (still WIP):


I'm quite pleased with some aspects - I like how the bronze on the axe has turned out (using a pure flat base colour, with just the merest hint of silver added to the highlight colour). I've done the gloves using no metallics, and although the finish is messy, I think I'm getting my head round some of the techniques needed to get metal effects with flat colours. Must try harder with the chainmail though

[Baylor_OgreBane]

are you dry brushing?

[TheWiseOldElf]

are you dry brushing?

Trying to, but my technique probably sucks. Finding it hard to get the right balance between enough paint to actually make an impression, and too much leading to it getting where I don't want it!

[Baylor_OgreBane]

Use the side/edge of the brush and not the tip. Dry brushig gets every where that why it is done at the start and then touched up after. When you get a bit more confident try wet brushing.

[TheWiseOldElf]

Use the side/edge of the brush and not the tip. Dry brushig gets every where that why it is done at the start and then touched up after.

I'm really confused, now! From what I'd read elsewhere, I'd got the impression you were meant to do the base coat first, then wash the shadows, then dry-brush the edges and high-points last of all. Can you explain how you "touch up" after dry-brushing the highlights?