The Stygian Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Hey all I just got into painting and decided to paint up a few of my Reaper minis. I just got a basic set of Citadel primary colors and a few Reaper paints for specific colors, plus a few washes. With this and a few brushes I was able to paint up a few so far. They look ok for beginners I think but I'd like to be able to start improving and move up to the next level. I looked at the tutorials but it seems like those are all very specific niche techniques and at this point I just want to make sure I have a solid grasp of the fundamentals before moving on to layering or drybrushing etc. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orionjp Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Well, welcome to the Reaper forums. I'm afrade I can't be much help, however this whole forum happens to be a great hotbed of painting info. I've doubled my painting quality in the last 3 weeks just by talking to people here. Hope this place helps you as much as it helped me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akiosama Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Try starting in the Tutorials Guide stickied at the top of this forum. Also, in The Craft on Reapermini.com, there are some great basic painting articles by Reaper's Derek Schubert from years ago that really show what basic techniques can do. Further up that list is a good article by Reaper's Anne Foerster on how she painted up a Christmas Sophie which shows what good layering can do. Past that, there are some good articles up on the classic Brushthralls.com site, focusing mostly on Warmachine/Hordes miniatures, but can be applied to anything. Lazlo Jakusovszky has a great 3 DVD set called Hot Lead that can be bought online. MiniatureMentor.com has some good videos for sale, as well. Games Workshop's How to Paint Citadel Miniatures is a good resource, too. And lot of information can be found on CoolMiniorNot.com. They also sell a collection of their older articles in a guide for pretty cheap and it's full of good stuff. Last, get out there and just paint. Don't hesitate to read and try something. It's in the experience where you'll get better. Take it from someone who's been collecting minis and reading for over 15+ years, but is only really starting to paint. All the reading in the world can't replace putting brush to mini and doing it. Oh, and the best piece of advice? Save your first couple minis for always, no matter how poor you think they are. The progress you can see in your work is the best motivator. Welcome to the hobby, and good luck! My 2 yen, Akiosama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutebutpsycho Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 I strongly recommend the Hot Lead DVDs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humansquish Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 I would also suggest posting your minis if you are able. There are many on the boards who will be happy to give you specific things to work on and point out what you did right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdripley Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I found Games Workshop's "How to Paint Citadel Miniatures" to be very helpful. I've seen a copy of it in nearly every local game store that I've been in, otherwise I'm sure amazon would have it. That's how I got my start. The funny thing is, my first miniatures - in my mind - are alot better than many of my current minis. I poured over that book, studied its techniques, and followed them to the letter. No, the result wasn't worthy of a prize or anything, but the paint jobs were crisp and neatly done. Lately I've been in a funk where I just can't be bothered to take all the time to do it right, so I take all of these shortcuts that end up making the minis look pretty sloppy. Some day, when I find my motivation again, I'll re-read that book and try to paint well again. You know what, I think part of it is that I don't prime in black anymore. I used to prime black and it was really fun to layer things up from the shadow to the highlights. Now that I've switched to gray primer it's such a drag to not have a useable base layer of color. Or maybe I'm just making excuses for myself haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ddot Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Actually, the most important tutorials you can read are the ones regarding brush care. If you abuse your brushes, they'll lose the ability to hold a point, let paint flow properly, and it will cost you a bit in the long run as you replace brushes. I can't link right now, but searching for "brush care" in this forum and you should find a few useful links worth reading. Welcome to the boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akiosama Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Actually, the most important tutorials you can read are the ones regarding brush care. If you abuse your brushes, they'll lose the ability to hold a point, let paint flow properly, and it will cost you a bit in the long run as you replace brushes. I can't link right now, but searching for "brush care" in this forum and you should find a few useful links worth reading. Welcome to the boards. Here's a great one. Jen Haley rocks. http://www.paintrix-miniatures.com/articles.php?&art=8&page=1 My 2 yen, Akiosama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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