Painting rules

[TKD]

I have been thinking a lot lately about how I paint. Basically, I will read (or skim) any painting guide I can find. The more I do so, the more aware I have become of pretty basic assumptions about how to paint that I totally ignore. Here are a couple I am aware of doing - how about you guys?

 

1 - Never paint straight out of the bottle.

 

Unless I am doing a wash, I always paint out of the bottle. (Bottles of cheap craft paint as well, but lots of people use those). I rarely blend colors (I prefer to just do lots of wet-brush details instead) and I have a big collection of paints so I rarely need something I do not just have. But I shake up my paints, unscrew the cap, and dip my brush into the paint sitting in the cap. When that runs down, I re-cap the paint, shake it up and do it again. When I mix washes, my pallate is a now three-year-old piece of a Coke 12-pack box. I mix my washes on it with a brush and paint quickly. It is color-coated so it does not soak through before I am done with the wash.

 

2 - You brushes are your most important tools. Do not use cheap brushes, brushes with hooked tips or spread out from paint in the ferrule.

 

I use a lot of cheap brushes. No kidding, I buy the $0.99 for 10 brushes sets from the children's paints aisle and cut them down to size. I use a number of good brushes, too, like a nice 20/0 brush I care for like it was a child, but mostly I use my junk brushes. I find I paint better with my cheap brushes and my worn-out, hook-tipped old brushes I bought for a dollar apiece than I do with more expensive brushes. Plus, with the el-cheapo brushes I can "customize" one to a specific mini to get to a difficult spot without worrying about the cost - an extra 10 cents for the mini to be done right.

 

I am sure I am ignoring a bunch of others, but I have been painting this way for so long now I am just not aware of it. My results are pretty good (okay, I am weak on faces, but that is not the brushes, it is me being lazy).

 

So, who else is doing silly things like this and still getting nice minis?

[Enchantra]

I use old worn down paint brushes too.  I my piddly income, I have to make money spread thinly.  So I have several 10/0 and 18/0 brushes I use that I got on sale for around half off, and when the bristles start fanning, or bending, I take a pair of scissors and trim them.  And they work just as good.  in some cases, even better than the original brush.  I also bend the rules by using an old sail stitching needle for applying the paint for making eyeballs instead of a brush.  The way my hands sometimes can shake it works best.

 

I usually pour my paints onto some kind of surface to use as a pallette.  Though I tend to use more pure colors than ones I have custom mixed.  I only custom mix into tiny containers with lids if I am making a color I am going to use a lot of.

 

Also when it comes to paints, I will not buy expensive acrylic paints.  I will go into where I work and get stuff on sale for 58 cents a bottle in the craft paint area and get a wide variety of colors.   I find this to be a cheaper alternative to paints sold specifically for minis, as I get twice as much paint for well under half the rpice, its basically a no-brainer.

 

Thats my two cents.

[Lars Porsenna]

Hiya,

 

I too use craft paints and paint directly out of the cap. I've never had a problem with this and it works fine. I also use a selection of craft brushes I get for $1.99, a good buy, and they're even real sable! I do, however, mix washes and the like on a small plastic palette. It cost me $0.99 to buy and works very well. Cleans out with a little abrasive cleaner and a sponge...

 

Damon.

[Froggy the Great]

I use GW brushes, and paint right from the bottle.  When i have to mix paints, I do so on the lid to my water container, which did time earlier as a cream cheese tub.  I clean it with the edge of a penny.

 

I do have one good expensive brush, but I use it for those 0.5mm details you occasionally have to paint on.

[smokingwreckage]

Blister packs= pallette. Nifty little trick for mixing washes without raiding the kitchen.

[Mengu]

Umm... I... uh... kind of would like to say a couple things here.

 

1. Paint out of the jar can result in globby paint (look under a magnifying glass or take a macro picture if you don't believe me), and there is no way you can use layering techniques for highlighting without thinning your paints.

 

2. If you don't have a good point on your brush, free hand work becomes extremely difficult (as if it's not hard enough already), and I don't even see how you can stay between the lines when painting with a brush that has a curved tip or doesn't form a good point.

 

3. A stack of 100 white plastic (or styrofoam) plates from Walmart can go a long way as palettes for mixing paints and thinning your paints. Also if you use a palette, you will have longer lasting paints since you don't have to sit there and paint with your paint jar open and water evaporating from it every minute.

 

The more tips and tricks you use, the better your end-results will be. Painting rules have been formed with experience. I'm not saying you have to follow them to paint your minis. But to paint *well* if such is your goal, I find that it's very useful to benefit from other people's experiences.

[smokingwreckage]

If I want a better-but-crappy-job, i use all the tips I can get hold of. Sometimes, when I just want a plain crappy job, I skip steps. I really couldn't vouch for worn-out or GW brushes. I use a heap of multiple-zero brushes (not super pricey, but not super cheap) and i really, really, need them to keep a job even slightly neat.

[TKD]

Umm... I... uh... kind of would like to say a couple things here.

 

1. Paint out of the jar can result in globby paint (look under a magnifying glass or take a macro picture if you don't believe me), and there is no way you can use layering techniques for highlighting without thinning your paints.

 

2. If you don't have a good point on your brush, free hand work becomes extremely difficult (as if it's not hard enough already), and I don't even see how you can stay between the lines when painting with a brush that has a curved tip or doesn't form a good point.

Bah! Bah!

 

I do not believe you, because I have looked at my straight-from-the-bottle minis under a magnifying glass. They are not globby. As for highlighting, I have dozens of shades of brown, blue, red, black, green, etc - so I do my drybrushing and washing and highlighting with pre-mixed colors a shade darker or lighter. No need to mix, and using pre-mixed paints gives me consistancy between minis.

 

Besides, hooked-tip brushes are actually really useful for doing those hard-to-reach spots, like shield hands and such.

[ThePolo]

I think I'll chime in, too... The advice forums been dead since the re-boot!

 

1 - Never paint straight out of the bottle

 

I do this less now than I used to. I tend to paint half out the bottle. Dip in the paint, dip in the water, smear the pallate... then apply to mini... After two or three trips to the paint pot, I can usually finish the mini off of the pallate after that....

 

It also depends on the paint. I've got about 50-60 paint pots, and I know each of thier consistancies pretty well... Some paint thin, some thick. Some need the pallate, some don't.

 

For detail work, I usally mix, so it's all off the pallate.

 

2 - Do not use cheap brushes, brushes with hooked tips or spread out from paint in the ferrule.

 

I've got plenty of cheap brushes....about 25 on my desk. They rest in 3 mason jars. One is my 'near retirement' jar, the other my 'messy brush' jar, and the last my 'newarly new' jar.

 

I've got a use for hook tips. I've got a use for goopy ferruled brushes. Drybrushing kills brushes, why not use a crappy one? Hook tips are great for applying washes. When all else fails basing a mini, I grab a 'near retirement' brush and dip it in the super glue... Then it's in the trash, no big loss (since I only spent a few bucks on it to begin with)...

 

But, I also have a brush that I only paint eyes with. (It's straight as an arrow, and only applies black paint to the pupils). And, I also have a brush that I only use for metallics (since they have a tendency to soak the ferrule, it's a nice sturdy sucker!)

 

I usually 're-up' my supply ever month or so. Less than 5$ gets me two or three new ones, depending on what the art supply place has on sale.

 

One thing I will say, I haven't bought a brush from a miniature manufacturer in 10 years. I can get the same quality for less than half the price  at the local Michael's...

 

Well, that's my $.02

[Gobbo]

I too will chime in here.  I use a wet pallet.  It is a wonderful thing, I have mixed custom colors and they have remained wet and usable for weeks at a time!  For blending, I use the Future Floor Polish method, It works wonderfully with out having to try to wet-blend on the figure!

 

Brushes, Check out this site, I have the link posted on another topic too, but I will not buy a brush that I am not happy with and have not spent less than $2.00 a brush, but will never again purchase a GW brush.

 

My painting has improved 100 fold over the last year, and it is due to good quality brushes and good miniature paints, the pigment on the craft paints is not a fine enough grain and fills detail in my opinion.  I love Valejo paints and wish Reaper paints were not quite so granular.

 

:)

[Gobbo]

Brushes, Check out this site, I have the link posted on another topic too, but I will not buy a brush that I am not happy with and have not spent less than $2.00 a brush, but will never again purchase a GW brush.

Helps if I actually post the site huh?

 

http://miniature-painting.net/guides_brushes.html