Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hi Everyone--Long-time reader, first time poster.

I have been out of the gaming world for quite some time, and after discovering a gaming store just down the street from my new apartment, I decided to once again let my Waaagh free. I also started painting, and because I'm re-learning all of the painting techniques I used to have years ago, I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to improve my work. Here are some models I painted the past few weeks. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do differently on my next model? What should I work on? Any comments, suggestions and tips will help. Thanks!

Vindicare Assassin with an urban camo theme:



Dwarf Pirate from the old "Dogs of War" army. I thought a pirate needed lots of tattoos:



Empire State Trooper Champion:



A very old Champion of Slaanesh. I've had this model for at least 15 years, if not longer, and I had never painted it until now. It was kind of beat up, so I had do a few repairs on his feet and sword:



Thanks!

Nice painting

The models look great, a very good start indeed. In regards to what to improve upon I think it would be good to know what you are looking to achieve. Also what you are going to be painting will factor on which area you need to improve to a degree.

If you let us know these things, we should be able to direct you a little more adequately.

You really need to work on the palette of colours you use to paint your minis.

Painting blue tattoos onto a mini that has blue clothing clashes horribly. Your painting of the tattoos is quite neat and tidy but just doesn't stand out from the mass of blue on the rest of the piece.

The Vindicare is nice, but lacks any definition. Why have an 'urban camo' combat suit but take a rifle that'll make you stand out a mile?

Blue and gold is a great combination; however your champion suffers from the same problem as the rest of your models. Lack of definition.

You clearly have a bit of talent with a brush, you just need to work on your choice of colours and your shading. Drybrushing works fine to a certain level, and it will tech you a lot about where the light should fall on a model. At the end of the day though; it should be left behind in favour of blending, NMM techniques, glazing and washing. If you are serious about improving your painting skillz, you really need to work on some basic techniques before you try to paint in a particular style

Apologies if this seems a bit harsh; i just don't want to see someone who clearly has a knack for painting fall into the trap of mediocrity

Red and Grey is never a good choice for a colour scheme

It looks to me like you have the basics down just fine. Now you need to work on refining your techniques and research what others have done that you think looks good. Then comes the mantra for developing any sort of skill...

Practice, practice, practice!