Breloc Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 I was painting with Wren's crew yesterday at a con in Knoxville TN and was trying to compile a list of basics to start painting. I do mostly warhammer 40k/fantacy figures but now im likeing what i see in Reaper and want to start delving in to your alls addiction/hobby :). I have the basics but would like a good list of things you all use for your painting set up. Id love any kind of tips for my shoping list. Thanks for your time :) sorry i am horrible at punctuation/spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Bedlam Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 1. Determine what kind of brushes you are most comfortable with, and what you will need for the scale and kind of work you want to do. Wren probably filled you in on that pretty well. 2. After that, paint. Reaper sells "Learn To Paint" kits that are both excellent quality and include the paints you'll need to do the specific kind of work you're looking to learn. You could buy all the stuff separately, but the LTP kits are frankly cheaper, and include brushes, miniatures, and detailed instructions written by the masters. Link takes you to the page where they are. 2.5. I really hate to sound like I'm shilling for Reaper, but I'm a Reaper fanboy, albeit an unpaid one. Games Workshop has similar learn to paint kits, but more expensive, and I prefer the Reaper stuff, personally. 3. Good lighting. A table with daylight is best; I have a variety of lights on my workbench. These are the basics, the stuff you will totally and positively need. There are a variety of other things, depending on taste and skill level; I'm sure the next few people to jump in here will cheerfully cover what I left out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breloc Posted September 11, 2011 Author Share Posted September 11, 2011 Thank you very much Dr :) I am looking in to brushes i think there Korlinsky or something to that effect gotta find the right ones for these mini's just gotta bug Wren more so i can get a list of her brushes hehe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qwyksilver Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Buy the best brushes you can comfortably afford, and then save for a really good brush or two. Kolinsky sable is what you will eventually shoot for. Winsor & Newton series 7 are one of the more popular manufacturers, but there are others. Davinci and Rafael are another two, iirc. If you can afford the kolinsky and take care of them with proper care and feeding (cleaning) than they will last you a long time. Don't spend the money buying a bunch of small brushes. A good quality brush will have a fantastic point, and will allow you to paint with just as much detail, and the paint will dry on those little brushes before you put it to the mini. Size 0 and 1 should be more than sufficient. Winsor & Newton Brush Cleaner and Restorer and Pink Soap are two popular and easy to find brush cleaner/conditioners. Michaels carries them both. If you're wanting Reaper paints, there are a few beginning paint lists floating around that will give you a collection of most frequently used and useful colors to start you out with. There are a couple different sizes too, depending on your financial flexibility. There isn't a need to buy everything, unless you're a completist type of collector. A lot of colors you will seldom need/use. If you can dedicate a permanent location for painting, that is ideal. Having to spend 15 minutes setting up/breaking down is a quick way to kill the painting bug. Good lighting is a must. Daylight bulbs in a desk lamp will work. Natural sunlight is obviously better for the electric bill. OTT lights are another popular option, but the lamps and bulbs are not cheap. Get a comfortable chair. Bad ergonomics while painting will increase fatigue. Anything else you may need comes down to personal preference, for example what kind of pallet you will use, what kind of additives you might want, etc. Lots and lots of metal to paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serenity Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 I will echo the Reaper Learn To Paint kits as being excellent value if you want more than just paints. However, they come with synthetic brushes, so you'll still want to shop for a Kolinsky or two. The following articles cover most of the stuff you'll want to consider. The second article is generally directed at more advanced techniques including multipart figures. They are excellent reads for someone starting out. A Beginning Mini Painter's Shopping List A Beginning Mini Painter's Shopping List Part 2 If you want specific advice on something, you can find a ton of info in the forums by searching or just ask. The Reaper forums are famous for being newbie-friendly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breloc Posted September 11, 2011 Author Share Posted September 11, 2011 Thank you every one for the awsome info cant wait to improve my painting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Bedlam Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 What they said. See, I knew they'd be along! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferox Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Buy the best brushes you can comfortably afford, and then save for a really good brush or two. Kolinsky sable is what you will eventually shoot for. Winsor & Newton series 7 are one of the more popular manufacturers, but there are others. Davinci and Rafael are another two, iirc. If you can afford the kolinsky and take care of them with proper care and feeding (cleaning) than they will last you a long time. Don't spend the money buying a bunch of small brushes. A good quality brush will have a fantastic point, and will allow you to paint with just as much detail, and the paint will dry on those little brushes before you put it to the mini. Size 0 and 1 should be more than sufficient. Winsor & Newton Brush Cleaner and Restorer and Pink Soap are two popular and easy to find brush cleaner/conditioners. Michaels carries them both. If you're wanting Reaper paints, there are a few beginning paint lists floating around that will give you a collection of most frequently used and useful colors to start you out with. There are a couple different sizes too, depending on your financial flexibility. There isn't a need to buy everything, unless you're a completist type of collector. A lot of colors you will seldom need/use. I'll second the advice on brushes. If you pick up a learn-to-paint kit you should get a passable brush, and it's not going to screw anything up, but once you make the switch to a Kolinsky sable brush you'll be amazed at how much you're not fighting it. I'd suggest getting a #1 or even a #2 brush -- the point at the brush's tip is what you need to paint detail, not the overall size of the brush, and the extra volume in the bristles seems to make paint flow more predictably. I use a #2 almost all the time; it actually has a finer tip than my #00. The advantage of the smaller brush is that it is in fact smaller, and can be easier to maneuver in tight spaces. To start with you'll probably only need one brush if it has a good sharp tip. Get in the habit of cleaning your brush on a regular basis, especially if you pick up a Kolinsky. Paint accumulating in the ferrule is mostly what murders brushes, and even if you're careful some paint will wick up there. You don't need to clean after every painting session, but it can't hurt. I like The Master's Brush Cleaner And Preserver, but Pink Soap also has its adherents (and I think it's cheaper). W&N cleaner/restorer is more of an all-purpose paint solvent for fixing brushes that haven't been cleaned enough than a regular cleaning tool, in my experience. You can probably put off getting that until you actually need it, which may be "never" if you're better about cleaning your brushes than I am. As for paint selection, I'd suggest you buy paints as you need them. If you're painting an army, start with the paints you need for your colour scheme. If you've bought a learn-to-paint kit, stick with those paints for as long as they last, and restock the ones you use more often. I've stuck pretty closely to this rule, and I don't have a lot of paints on my desk that I don't use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercius Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 You can also PM Wren on here and she can give you a heads up as to what you need. You know what....I will pop over to facebook and let her know you are here asking about things, I bet she will give you some advice. ***Not that the advice here has been bad, it has all been VERY good advice, but I thought maybe Wren might have something that someone missed perhaps.*** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artists Wren Posted September 12, 2011 Artists Share Posted September 12, 2011 Hey there. You made it here to the forums pretty quickly, yay! I sent you some of the links you requested in a private message. I think the advice you've been getting here is pretty sound. If you pick up some metal minis in addition to the plastics you have, you might need a small set of diamond needle files to clean off the mould lines and such. Though you can still scrape those off with an Exacto like the plastics, but the needle files get into hard to reach places and smooth down larger surfaces. As you can see in the pictures, some of the paint you get in the Learn to Paint kits is in small tubs rather than the dropper bottles we used at the painting table. But you also get a folder of painting instructions and pictures. If you don't feel you want to go that route, the advice to buy colours as you need them for the figures you're currently working on is sensible. I find Reaper's skin colours are the most natural of the paint brands I've tried, and lots of minis have skin, so that's a good place to start. :-> I will be looking to set up a paint day at Organized Play or Sci Fi City early next month, and I will let you know about it here and/or in email once I get that figured out. Though please feel free to keep asking me questions here in the meantime! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaelynne Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 I heard that Wren! If you get that set up, you have to let us know. Would be great to paint with you and Breloc again. :) Breloc, if you want to pick a mini, and pick some colors, you can start a WIP thread and we can all pitch in as we follow you. Also, a little random, but I might suggest buying the Reaper Brush on Sealer too. It seems that has some great application for cleaning up rough spots and also great to mix in to glazes, so it might be worth adding to the inventory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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