Books helpful for painting etc.

[awong]

Following on the heels of another thread...

 

Does anyone have a nice book list as resource material for mini painting? If it's a useful list, could we pin it? I'm always looking for good books on the subject, and I've amassed quite a collection regarding Miniature Figure painting and Modeling, but actual mini figs and associated techniques...well, let's just say the Gift Giving/Getting season is soon upon us and such a list might be handy. Unfortunately, I'm in the process of moving (really just packing) so my list will be off the top of my flat head, but good books that quickly come to mind are -

 

MINIATURE FIGURE Related (Acrylic and Oil techniques)

 

Sheperd Paine - How to Build Dioramas (Kalmbach) - isbn 0-89024-551-7

Kessler/Winar - How to Paint Realistic Military Figures (Kalmbach) - isbn 0-89024-125-2

Sheperd Paine - Building and Painting Scale Figures (Kalmback) - isbn 0-89024-069-8

 

Rodrigo H. Chacon - Painting: Overhead Lighting Vol. 1 (Accion Press) - isbn 84-930354-4-0

Rodrigo H. Chacon - Painting: Overhead Lighting Vol. 2 (Accion Press) - isbn 84-930354-5-9

Mike Blank's - Black and White (Accion Press) - isbn 84-95464-15-2

Mike Blank's - Sculpting and Body Language (Accion Press) - isbn 84-95464-42-X

 

How to Paint Fantasy Miniatures (Andrea Press) - isbn 84-96527-81-6

Bill Horan - The Complete Bill Horan (Andrea Press) - isbn: none

Painting Indians - (Andrea Press) - isbn 84-96527-85-9

Painting Girls in Miniature - (Andrea Press) - isbn: none

 

Bill Horan - Military Modeling Masterclass (Windrow & Greene) - isbn 1-872004-09-1

 

 

TERRAIN

 

New Scenery Tips and Techniques - (Kalmbach)

 

MINI RELATED (Acrylic)

 

Racham Catalogs - great reference, 2004 has a short painting guide

Racham's Cry Havoc, Vol. 1 - little more indepth articles on painting and building

Cool Mini Or Not Annual - isbn 981-04-9332-0 this durn'd book started it all up again for me! Nice Ref.

Reaper Learn to Paint Kits - I don't have any yet, but I'm eagerly awaiting the NMM set!! These come with instructional pamphlets.

GW Codex's - very specific to a particular army, but a good starting point for basic techniques.

 

MAGAZINES - (Mixed Bag)

 

FineScale Modeler - mostly aimed at the modeling crowd, but techniques and tips are always helpful...especially for those venturing into advanced stuff like airbrushing.

White Dwarf - I only have a few of these

Harbinger - New Mini mag, nice step-by-steps

FigureInternational - a miniature figure mag. that actually uses Acrylic paints! Most step-by-steps I've seen are followed by a useful color chart calling out the paints that we are most familiar with.

 

Anyone have others that they'd like to share?

 

Thanks

AWhang

 

edit: if this topic has come up before, would a MOD kindly combine this...I did a quick search and came up empty...but something tells me that this can't be the first time this has been asked. - thanks AW.

 

edit: added ISBN numbers for some of the books, additional books, and corrected Fantasy Miniatures publisher.

[Errex]

Heroes for Wargames, by Stuart Parkinson, Ed. Paper Tiger. This one started ME on the road to pewter addiction...

[Enchantra]

Once more I was going through Borders, in a different section than normal. Usually I'm lurking in cookbooks and the Craft section. This time I went for the gusto and found the Gaming section.

 

Here's what I came across that you might find helpful:

 

Modelling and Painting Figures

Editor: Jerry Scutts

ISBN: 1902579232

 

The System: Volume One, Figure Painting

by Francois Verlinden (Editor), F. Verlinden (Photographer)

ISBN:1930607334

 

The Art of Painting Miniatures: Faces and Figures.

Author: Alex Castro

ISBN: 1902579623

[Durak]

So I have always wondered where are all the miniature books are. Since wargaming has been around awhile you would think there are more books on the subject at hand. Perusing through the various Internet book mongers I happened to stumble upon a few to which I thought I would talk about after reading them.

 

So here is the first one: Disclaimer the following views are mine and mine alone and do not reflect the views and attitudes of Reaper or its staff.

 

Ancient and Medieval Modeling by Pete Armstrong; Published by Osprey Publishing

ISBN: 1841760072

 

This author primary runs through the historical figurines (54 to 80 mm) of British manufacture with little or no mention of any other types of models. This however should not deter one from picking up this book. What I thought to be of great benefit is the detail he goes into about converting “out of the box” miniatures. After the obligatory tools section each chapter gets progressively more technical on how to turn run of the mill figures into very striking dioramas.

 

What was good; Certainly the book goes in depth on how to convert a miniature with using techniques such as using milliput, using the dremel and buffing armor (that’s right folks no priming the shiny bits). Most impressive to was the use of a low heat solder to bind small bits together. I have never seen someone using it for miniatures and after reading about it I was amazed at the stuff he did with a soldering iron. This book also covers the application of water transfers and how to get them not to look like transfers (my biggest headache). There is a fair amount of scenery work as most of his works are vignettes. Lastly his chapters on heraldry are very interesting as well as he goes into historic detail on his banners

 

What was meh: Although impressed with his techniques, goes through quite an impressive amount written details but some of them are not shown in pictures. For instance he describes how to make impressive looking chain mail (it is impressive looking) he does not show the tool in action. Really I would like to see how he makes chainmail from using a shaved syringe. The same goes for making swords from pewter blanks ect ect. The only other gripe I have is the complete lack of any painting tips. Sure he does mention some of the materials he uses enamels and oils the book still lacks the step by step approach (to his credit though he does mention another book specifically related to painting)

 

Overall, a very decent book to be had by those of you who wish to know a bit more about converting miniatures as I did. But for those looking for a painting guide this book is not the one.

 

There are other books on the way so stay tuned. (Unless this topic gets locked or Kit Nukes me )

[awong]

I thought I'd weigh in with one.

I just finished reading through

Andrea Press' How to Paint Fantasy Miniatures

ISBN: 84-96527-81-6

 

I was able to order this through The Red Lancers for $28.95. They also carry many additional How To's if interested.

 

As in Durak's article, a disclaimer of ...these opinions are mine alone and do not reflect the views and attitudes of Reaper, its staff, or, for that matter, Andrea and its staff...YMMV.

 

This is a beautiful booklet to be sure. The title does not mislead, it addresses Fantasy Miniatures, not Minis, so some techniques may not be totally applicable. It tends to skip over areas that could easily be chapters in themselves, but it does talk our language...they use paints we're familiar with, techniques (after translation, E.G. filters=glaze...or wash...I'm not sure, zenithal light=overhead lighting...I think) that we use, and figures we are familiar with.

 

The Softcover booklet is 63 pages and attempts to cover an awful lot.

Topics grouped under Basic Techniques include "Preparing a figure", "Blending", "Flesh", and "Metals". Advanced Techniques include "NMM", "Freehand", "Terrain", "Directional Light", and "Animal Coats". These two Main Categories (Basic and Advanced Techniques) are done in what best could be described as two page articles or spreads with in-progress photos (varying sizes, only a few articles use photos of any substantial size) and accompanying text keyed to the photos. The average number of photos and explanitory steps is about 5 to 6. This, to me, was a bit disappointing as I was hoping for something a bit more in-depth. NMM (Earth Sky NMM no less) in 6 steps just doesn't seem right.

 

The final grouping of articles fall under Master Pieces. There are 4, only one of which I'd consider as a Mini (a Rackham Devourer, and those are pretty large-ish pieces). The other 3 are 54mm and up. These articles have better photos, are longer in length and depth (although still with the terse photo captions). However, when you start reading about "airbrushing" and the like, one starts to wonder how applicable some of this is to the way we paint :(

 

To be fair, Andrea produces their own line of fantasy figures (54mm) and one would expect this to be a vehicle to help showcase their line-up yet other figure manufacturers are also positively presented. They (the articles are written by 6 different contributors) use Citadel, Andrea, Vallejo, Humbrol, Lifecolor and oils and each "article" is accompanied by a color chart for "orientation" purposes. For those of us who have read "figureInternational" magazine, you'll be used to this. Each miniature is beautifully painted and much can be learned by studying the photos.

 

In summary, I could probably recommend better technique books for Mini painters, especially newbie painters. This reminds me too much of a collection of short articles (really short) and lacks the depth to truly teach.

 

...But...I'm a book junkie and, as a book with some really nice pictures of very well painted figures, it's a keeper:)

 

Hope this was somewhat helpful.

Thanks

AWhang

[awong]

Sorry for the bump...but here's one that I actually liked a lot.

 

Painting Guide, Vol 1 - Stepping Out of the Box

Published and sold by Darkson Designs

ISBN 0-9766410-0-3

 

It's described as "...a compilation of articles and photos by many different artists." All the contributing artists are notables including Robert "Jester" Cruse, who has three very useful articles!

 

This is a book geared specifically towards the Mini painter, so no worries about relevancy, or wondering if techniques will translate correctly.

 

It is broken down into very logical chapters starting with the topic of color and color theory, moving on to chapters of well written and photographed step-by-steps, painting metal, and some theory. It ends with a very large photo gallery for inspiration.

 

My favorite part, and, IMHO the cleverist part (it's what makes this a permanent fixture at my painting station) is the Vallejo Color Charts, and Citadel Conversion list. Darkson provides color chip charts of both Vallejo Game Color and Model Color lines. Mario Fuentes' oft cited article "Painting Figures with Model Color" is also included, a great primer (and refresher) for Acrylic painting. Also included (for those who like the triad system) is a Basecolor / Highlight / Shadow chart based on the Vallejo Model Color line.

 

For those who are solely invested in RMP and RPP, you may be wondering "...so, how does this help me?". To supplement these charts, I just pulled the RMP and RPP color chip sheets out of a recent casket works. Now, I've got Reaper, Citadel, and Vallejo all cross referencing each other (true, to use the Reaper, I need to either visually inspect for color or download Anne's list from the Forum). Very handy!!

 

Criticisms...I guess I wish there was more...Oh wait, they've got a Vol. 2 in the works. Maybe, in the Theory catagory, something on composition theory, and how that can be used when putting together small vignettes and chosing colors and accents. More on basing might also be nice. They have a site that one can go to for suggestions.

 

At around $30.00 it's really a good buy.

Again, these opinions are my own, YMMV.

 

Thanks

AWhang

[Heisler]

Sorry for the bump...but here's one that I actually liked a lot.

 

Painting Guide, Vol 1 - Stepping Out of the Box

Published and sold by Darkson Designs

ISBN 0-9766410-0-3

 

It's described as "...a compilation of articles and photos by many different artists." All the contributing artists are notables including Robert "Jester" Cruse, who has three very useful articles!

 

 

At around $30.00 it's really a good buy.

Again, these opinions are my own, YMMV.

 

Thanks

AWhang

 

My gripe with this book is that the painters tend to gloss over steps that they feel the reader is familiar with or skilled with. It could have certainly gone into more detail and I found a number of the articles to be nothing but space filler. Still there are some real gems in this book and I did find it worth the price.

[Lastman]

This link was buried in another post of mine but it deserves a home in a thread called Books.

http://www.michtoy.com/MTSCnewSite/Books_f...omodelismo.html

 

The Euro Modelismo Monograph series of books feature the work of world class historical figure painters. They are in English but the translations are not always poetic. At least one of them acknowledges the master Shep Payne (longtime Chicago resident and teacher). They address the use of acrylic paints but include enamels and oils too. About 65 pages each. Scales are 54mm and up.

 

1. Painting: Overhead Lighting - Acrylics monograph 4

 

2. Painting: Overhead Lighting 2 - Acrylics monograph 5

 

3. Black and White monograph 8

 

Shep Payne's books from the 90's are out of print but his "Building and Painting Scale Figures" from Kalmbach Publishing is a classic.

[awong]

...but the translations are not always poetic...

 

This is funny to me because I always felt that the translations ended up being too poetic and sometimes just "out there" . They almost seem like strict literal translations where the actual content was being lost. Mike Blank's Black and White monograph (#8) was much easier to understand.

 

Total agreement on Shep Paine's books. If you can find them, buy them. The Reaper Paint Sets (1-3, I only have 3) sort of remind me of the old Monogram kits that came with a beautiful folded glossy sheet outlining a Shep Paine diorama. Ah nostalgia...

 

Thanks

AWhang

[Enchantra]

Here's my latest find.

 

On the bargain book rack for $4.99 at Borders Books:

 

THE GRAMMAR OF ORNAMENT

By: Owen Jones

ISBN: 0 7513 1276 2

Softcover (A bit thicker and a hair larger in size than a normal pulp paperback.)

 

What a great find! If you can manage to get through all the Ethnocentric/Euro-Americancentric verbage, since it was first published in 1856, you will find yourself amazed at the sheer amount of design reference material in the color plates. There are over 2,350 patterns listed in the book ranging from Ancient cultures, Native American Cultures up through the designs coming out of Europe at the time of the first publishing. It's a great reference to have and some of the pictures are done with such a care to detail it even shows highlighting and shading on the pictures which makes for a great visual guide for freehanding. There is however very little reference in the book to African designs, which is a product of the Ethnocentric views at the time the book was originally published. The closest one finds to anything of African origin is a whole section devoted to Egyptian designwork, and a section discussing Arabian and "Moresque" Artwork, some of the examples coming out of North Africa. Some artwork from Indonesia and Islands of the Pacific is also covered briefly.

[awong]

Bump, in interest of the Books topic

 

The System: Volume One, Figure Painting

by Francois Verlinden (Editor), F. Verlinden (Photographer)

ISBN:1930607334

 

I believe this monograph is heavy on oil painting techniques, but I'll have to check. It's been awhile since I've looked at it. I can say that Verlinden (the man and the company) is quite impressive for the sheer amount of quality work. Heavy on WWII but stuff like skin tones, camoflage, battle damage, etc all translates. I really liked it for when I was doing more 54mm stuff (good 'ol days).

 

The Art of Painting Miniatures: Faces and Figures.

Author: Alex Castro

ISBN: 1902579623

 

This one I'd pass on. I had enough gripes with this book that I almost wrote a review on it for Amazon. The technique for skin tones is interesting and unique (E.G. he primers with silver paint) but to falthom an understandable explaination is too much work. Also, he's so engrossed with believing that he's reinvented figure painting that he's renamed practically all the standard painting techniques. All examples are large scale (E.G. garage resin kits) and most are airbrushed. Also annoying, the body of photos used to illustrate his "techniques" are all the same...two or three projects, 5-10 photos each cropped a little differently, all really at the wrong resolution for print.

 

Modelling and Painting Figures

Editor: Jerry Scutts

ISBN: 1902579232

 

This one I don't have, but it's part of the Osprey Series. I've found that Osprey's reference manuals are very nice, but their modeling manuals lack something (sensible translations by someone familiar with modeling? ) This one might be better as it looks like it didn't get translated. A lot of the modeling manuals in Osprey's line are written by some very excellent Spanish modelers, but, the translations seem literal and flowery. Osprey has a couple of really nice Masterclass books also.

 

Thanks

AWhang

 

Edit: removed Bill Horan Masterclass reference...that book is published by Windrow & Greene, not Osprey.

[ladystorm]

merged like topics

removed chatter posts

pinned thread

[Mythical Titan]

Hey, I know that these books here really helped me out when I got started on painting miniatures.

They cover all of the basics in a simple format and even have a step by step guide in the back of the book going over several models and helping you use everything you learned in it. It really helped me move along quickly through the basics.

 

It's Games Workshop's "How to Paint Citadel Miniatures" book.

 

They even have a book on making terrain as well. And for 20$ these were a great buy!

 

Here's the link to the painting one. Just use the search engine they've got to find the terrain one if you want too.

 

http://store.us.games-workshop.com/storefr...113&System=

 

 

 

 

<<<<<}-Myth-{>>>>>

[Heisler]

Found a few more books that I have been using over and over again, one has been mentioned previously but probably got no more than a passing glance from most people on these boards.

 

Bill Horan's Military Modelling Masterclass Windrow & Greene Publishing ISBN 1-872004-09-1

Despite the title, I would really recommend this one to anyone interesting in painting miniatures. It starts with a step by step guide on painting a stock figured (unmodified), yes the figure is military but it is a Napoleonic Highlander (79th Cameron Highlander). He also admits here that he has never washed a figure before prepping it.

The second chapter is on converting and creating figures. If you are into sculpting and want to see some real step by step stuff, this is the book for you. The other three chapters go into vignettes, dioramas and mounted figures on dioramas. Yes, this book is military oriented by all the techniques would work equally as well in fantasy.

 

The Art of the Dioramas by Ray Anderson Kalmbach Books ISBN 0-89024-092-2

If you ever wanted to know who influenced Shep Paine this is the guy. This is a series of articles that appeared in Fine Scale Modeler and goes into all kinds of tricks and techniques for designing, building, painting and displaying Box Dioramas. Box Dioramas are also known as shadow boxes and can typically only be viewed from one side and have an internal light source.

 

Terrain Modelling by Richard Windrow Osprey Masterclass ISBN 1-84176-062-5

Everything you ever wanted to know about modelling terrain for dioramas and how to build the bases. This book is geared more towards dioramas but doesn't really go into planning and design. It is very focused on how to achieve terrain effects. One of my favorites

 

Roy Porter's Model Building Masterclass Windrow & Greene Publishing ISBN 1-85915-063-2

The title on this book is mis-leading. It should really be called everything you wanted to know about creating buildings and were afraid to ask. How to design and construct model buildings with lots of step by step guides. Including how to make basic simple molds (break out the legos). The big downside to this book is that it is out of print. I have three copies on the net running from $100-$200. However, I suspect that you can get it much cheaper on Ebay if you are patient. No you can't have mine.

[Bilesuck]

This one is not a mini painting book

 

Blue and Yellow

 

It is a book on the proper way to mix paint's when using actual paint, not color theory mixing. Like color theory says red and blue make purple, actual RL depends on the red and the blue and how they react on what kind of purple you get. I have not picked up the revised version, but I understand it talks a bit more about glazing, which might be helpful for mini painters. It is a bit of a technical read, but I do believe it is worth it.