Goblins or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Batch (Painting)

[sgmustadio]

Having painted the set of Reaper kobolds, I wanted to try the pack of 6 goblins next. Some of the mold/flash lines were not nice (e.g. down the center of the face), but I did the best I could. That being said, I'm starting to get in a groove of painting 6 minis at a time (the amount that my portable paint kit can hold). I must say: I'm really enjoying painting potential D&D monsters as a way to practice various skills 😀

 

I've been working on speed/batch painting, and I think I found something that works to my satisfaction (without an airbrush). From what I can tell, this is the "Games Workshop method" (yes? maybe?):

 

1. Base Coat
2. Wash
3. Highlight non-recessed/shadow areas with base coat color
4. Highlight with lighter color
5. Highlight with even lighter color (if you're feeling particularly spunky)
6. Fill in any remaining details (eyes, claws, etc.)

 

This method seems to take me about 2-3 hours per mini. I know more experienced folks can probably get this down to less than an hour, but I'm pretty happy with my time (for now).

 

What other methods or tips do you have for speed/batch painting so that your minis are A) fast and B) acceptable quality (subjective to you, of course)?

 

I managed to take photos of the stage: 1) base coat, 2) wash, 3) highlights (base color, lighter, much lighter), 4) details

 

 

[Dozus]

Great results from a speed paint.

[Samedi]

They'll look really good on the table!

[Glitterwolf]

Good work!

[Chaoswolf]

Good work on them!

 

As far as tips go, here's two, one general, and one more specific:

 

General: keep experimenting with different things, and find what works best for you. There is no 'right' or 'wrong' way to do anything in this hobby, only what works for you. If you're having fun, you're doing it right.

 

Specific: look into the 'dip' method. Basically, you base coat your figure, apply a coat of stained polyurethane (Minwax) over the entire figure, and the end result does a lot of your shading/highlighting for you. You're never going to win painting contests with this method, but if you need to get 100 orcs on the table by the day after tomorrow, this works like a charm. As the polyurethane is typically a dark color already, this doesn't work quite as well over darker figures. Going back to the general tip above, experimentation is key here. If this is of any interest. there are a lot of write ups and tutorials to be found with Google.

[sgmustadio]

@Chaoswolf thanks for the tips! I’ve heard of the dip method, but I always assumed you were just dunking models into a pot of dark-colored wash 😅 I’ll have to check out some guides on it.

[Chaoswolf]

Well, originally, that's what it was. As that seems both wasteful and extraordinarily messy, most folks apply it with a cheap paintbrush.

[Iridil]

Nice group ready for action!