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Hopefully an easy question regarding NMM. I hear a lot of talk about doing NMM vs. TMM but my question is, what are the advantages of NMM over TMM? I know that typically, NMM will likely take a bit longer than TMM (unless I am just misinformed) but the main advantage that jumps out at me is that NMM are better on your brushes, which I suppose could mean that you can use better brushes with it, which in turn may yield a better result. I'm guessing there's more to it than that though so I am curious as to what everyone's thoughts on it were. Are they simply that much better once you get the hang of it? Is it just for the challenge/enjoyment aspect of doing it with NMM? Something else? I'm not really sure that I'm ready to try tackling it yet anyway but am just curious as to what can be done with them and if its something worth putting into the ole idea file so to speak. As a beginner, using TMM has certainly been nice for creating that metallic feel but I see enough comments on NMM that I'm guessing I'm also missing something. ;)

In the house Figmentius Common Room Thread, I started a daily posting called the Daily Mini, where I would find a mini posted for display on the web, post it, and we would discuss how it was painted/sculpted. It was a well received set of posts but too hidden in that thread. After much discussion, we decided that it is something that people valued, and we should move it to Tips & Advice. We are also changing it from a daily post to a weekly post, to allow us more time to discuss techniques and for more people to join in on each mini shown. The point of this post is NOT as another Show-off thread, instead it is intended as a learning tool, where-in we look at good work that we find (I'm going to be trying to stick to Bronze level and above) and discuss how one might replicate such work on your own minis. I will be posting a mini (or two), each Monday. If you know of a mini that you would really like me to use, please PM me and I'll get it into the queue. Please try to keep the discussions based around the posted minis and the merits and techniques. If you don't know how something was done and are wondering, ask; that is the whole point.

Hiya, folks! Okay, so in response to questions about some of the arcane magicks I've deployed in my Work In Progress threads I'm going to try and narrow down and illustrate a few things and see if they might be helpful to other people. With the rise in popularity of layering techniques, drybrushing was largely relegated to the status of primitive technique. While not suitable for every case, I believe drybrushing is still an essential tool in any painter's arsenal. So what I'm going to try to do in this thread is explain the fundamentals and then give some examples to show that like any technique there's a lot of neat stuff you can do with it. I'd like to stress that this is not, strictly speaking, a tutorial. A lot of what I present over the coming days is stuff you'll have to learn a feel for in practice. I'm just going to try and break down things in an explainable way and give you some fun stuff to try. This is easier said than done, so I'll ask you to bear with me as I try to cobble it together in an organized way. But first, some theory! If we take miniature painting and break it down to its most basic form, we find three main categories of method that we can break down on a line like this: Drybrushing-------------------Layering------------------Washes On a fundamental level, every single basic, common miniature technique is either one of these or evolved from one of these. They define as follows: Drybrushing: Using unthinned paint on a brush, removing most of it by wiping it off, and then applying the remainder on the miniature for a quick highlight. Layering: Using slightly thinned, but controllable paint, to gradually build up highlights with a smooth transition. Washes: Using very thin paint to apply paint to recesses, generally as a shade. Now if we go back to our line above, we can add another method in: glazing. Glazing is one of those obscure methods that tends to confuse new painters. But it's not so mysterious if we put it on our line in the right spot: Drybrushing-------------------Layering-------------Glazing-----------Washes As you can see, it falls quite naturally between layering and a wash, being a hybrid of the two: thin like a wash, but applied like a layer. Now things get freaky, because one of the things I do that people have asked for some elaboration on is "wetbrushing" or "dampbrushing". But, again, this isn't all that mysterious if we add it to our line: Drybrushing------------Dampbrushing--------------Layering--------------Glazing---------------Washes And as we see, like glazing it is a hybrid between drybrushing and layering. Using the strengths of both to make something new. So the focus here to start with will be drybrushing, and then once we're through with the basics then we can get freaky with it and have some funtimes. Next post will include some fancy picture illustrations, make me look all professional and stuff.

This could easily be applied to Reaper paints but Vallejo posted this to their FB albums today: Wood grain finish using Vallejo washes These look very cool ... finished piece: Thanks to Shane at Figure Painter Magazine for reposting it to FB for me to find.

People who exist outside the world of our hobby (poor sods) are unaware that the painting of miniatures has been elevated to the level of high art. How many of us have non-gamer/painter friends who frantically attempt to change the subject when we begin talking about sculpts, colours and techniques? My family tends to just nod their heads, pretending to listen, whilst I prattle on. If only I could get them to view the work of Masters. Then, perhaps, they could understand what I'm on about. Here are three examples of works by Master Painters that inspire me and humble me as a painter. This is from Niena Studio and was painted by Igor Baklanov This is a Nocturna Model painted by Pepa Saavedra. This is another Nocturna model, painted by Jose Hernandez. I do believe that it is good for all of us to look at world class painters. It can be daunting as we struggle to learn new techniques, to find our feet as painters and to become the painter we imagine ourselves to be. But I find it worth the while. And let us not forget the gifted sculptors who create these elegant pieces for us to paint. Without them, we are nothing.

I'm getting ready to paint #50118 Oktoberfest Fraulein and I want to do the sheer effect on white stockings. Can anyone direct me to a tutorial on how to do this? I found video's for painting black sheer stockings, but none on how to paint white sheer stockings. Thank you.