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Im geraly not good at painting minis (mainly space marines) does anyione have some tips for painting because id like to improve alot any tips GREATLY apriciated


I think that Calgar is terrible which is the main reason im doing this

It would help if you were much, much, much more specific. "I'm not good at painting help please kthxbai" doesn't exactly provide a basis for the community to provide feedback on.

If you don't really know what you need to fix, then simply post a few pictures up of what you have. From humble "sort of good" painters such as myself to the many pros who roam Dakka, we can see what you're doing and then provide helpful and constructive criticism.

I would agree with Romeo - a picture paints a thousand words. Show us what you are capable of doing now so that ways of improving may be suggested.

Dakka has a great gallery function that lets you upload your wargaming images direct to the site (and I see you have already been rating other users images - kudos!).

Hey dude stick a photo on let people have a look then pointers can be handed out to help you..!! check you tube best teaching tool there is..!

If you want video tutorials, this chap does some really easy to follow stuff that will really enhance your models.

Sadly he has removed some of the videos, but many of them still remain

Another good person to check out, is girl painting on you tube she does some really really good tutorials

Ok ill add some pics ... how do i do that???

Edit your post and click where it says add attachment and there you can add your pics

The pics are up

hi dude you got the basic what i call block colour i.e ya main colour bule for the terminators and white for the helmet . next step you need to do is put a wash on them frm the gw wash range this will give you depth and shading in the recesses..!! then you need to do your highlights the nxt lighter colour up from you main block bass colour this is just a simple way of getting a tidy looking mini quick. OOoo one other thing that may help try puting your colours on in thin coat this way it will give you a smoother finish

Your paints are way too thick. While painting, try to keep in mind that you dont want to smother things in paint, just put the color on. If youre having problems with regulating paint, use the top of the GW paints (if those are what youre using). Dip just the tip of your brush, and if you need more you can always go back.
As for detailing things, just go over the model once more when you think youre done, and try to find any mistakes you might have. Washes will help alot too, so try to find a good wash for your guys.

You want your paint to be about as thick and runny as milk. I dilute all my paints in the pot (about one third of a cm of water in a new pot thins it enough to be passably workable I find - you can always dilute it more later on -too little is better than too much).

However, you can also thin your paints on an artists pallet, or simply by dipping a loaded brush into water (although this gives you less accuracy it is quick and easy).

As has been said, some washes will really help you pick out details on the models with very little effort.

I also see you are doing some hard line edging on your dread - you are using way too much paint to do that, and it seems your brush control may not be up to that technique yet (and you may be using too big a paint brush).

Try drybrushing for highlighting the edges, it is much more forgiving and gives you a better colour blend too. You can easily find vids/tutorials for drybrushing online, so I will not go into detail here, but you basically load the brush with a small quantity of paint, then wipe most of it off, and gently rub the brush along the raised surface you want to colour. The paint then sticks to the raised surface withoutmarking the lower surfaces. Really good for doing fur etc, but can be done for edge highlighting etc too.

Ok thanks you have all been a real help

Yimkin, this is how i used to paint.Try giving this a shot.

1. Prime using a white aerosol spray. Use in successive light coats, cover all of the model evenly but not thickly.

2. Apply base coats. Paint on your chosen colours. Make sure the entire model is neatly covered.

3. Firstly do the fur, chaimail and any areas of fiddly texture. Apply thin washes using darker colours of your base coat then let it dry. Do this sparingly not allowing your wash to flood other areas. Now gently drybrush a lighter version of your base coat to emphasise texture and leave to dry. At this stage you should have a good enough result but if you wish you may delicatley paint on vey fine white or near white highlights for a pro finish.

Example, steel chainmail armour.
Prime area black, then paint on your chosen metal colour. Wash with black, leave to dry. Drybrush with a light silver. Done

4. Now paint the rest of the model.
Firstly tidy up and mistakes made in the drybrushing stage by repainting the base coat. Wash the areas sparingly to bring out the detail again using a darker colour of your base coat and allow to dry. Reapply your base coat but then blend in a lighter version attempting to get a smooth gradient with the highlights alongthe uppermost parts of the area and any raised edges. Once dry repeat this but this time using your highlight and an even lighter version. This will take practice. Your model should now be nearing completion.

5. Nearly done.
Tidy up any areas you are unhappy with and then using a very fine brush or ultra fine art pen paint (the pen is best i find) in black lines between different areas for definition, such as where two different colours are next to each other. You should be finished now, dont forget to varnish.

I hope that helps.
This was the way i used to paint and ive painted a hell of a lot of figures. If you practice, take your time and be mindfull of colour combinations you will get there.

Also try these things.

Undercoat areas to be painted gold with a brown, apply gold basecoat and wash with dark brown ink, dry off then use a very light black ink wash before highlighting. This gives a more realistic, less gaudy look to gold.

Buy a sakura pigma pen for lining if you dont want to use a brush. The added definition from lining will, i believe, help you get a better result.

Most of all keep practicing and good luck.