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.

I know NMM has been discussed to death and there are some great videos about it but there’s still something I struggle with that I haven’t really seen discussed properly and it’s this: on the one hand you need sharp contrasts to make it look more right (dark colours next to light ones) but on the other you don’t want hard lines between the contrasting colours or else instead of looking like metal it just looks like, well paint. So how do you achieve that? Smooth transitions but across an infinitesimally narrow band of transition between two contrasting colours? A sort of smooth smudged edge? Am I being clear? Can anyone help?

Smooth transitions are not needed.
What you might be struggling with more, is that you might not be placing them in the correct spots. Understanding light and shadow on a reflective surface is difficult at best, nigh impossible in some cases.
What I try and do outside of my extensive and expansive art training, is to find a real life image of something that is of similar shape of what you’re attempting to paint. Then copy that somewhat.
Smooth transitions are not the be all end all of top tier painting. Proper light and shadow placement are. Focus on that and hopefully it comes easier.

Think of the way gems are done, or the spirit stones on the Eldar.
Smooth transition with a sharp dot of white. The whole model can have smooth transitions, but the dot of highlight makes it appear like "glass"

The "smoothness" by it self in a miniature painting is a technique that can be used to paint any material or texture. It's knowing where to put the highlights that sells the illusion of shininess.

It comes down to the ability to render texture, and that comes from practice. You can ether draw and paint from life objects to accumulate that skill through practice or follow miniature painting nmm guides step by step to get used to the technique.

You can try this:
Two things that can help with wrapping brain around how light reflects from objects would be to:
1-Find a shiny object around the apartment like a metal cup or lamp, ets. Grab piece of paper and a pencil, and try to draw/render it with the reflections the best you can. After that, paint the mini and see if it is easier to tell where the highlights should go.
2- Look up images of (silver surfer by alex ross) print it out and trace the character, and then try to replicate and render the reflections. During the exercise your brain will begin to take note of the details that will later help with the painting a none metallic reflections on a mini.
Generally, the more practice the easier and faster it will become to render nmm with a better result.

Thanks for the info, I also want to know it. Are you also a student like me, who sometimes gets very tired and thinks, God, please send someone to write for me? Now do not worry; I am here to save you. I am going to share a https://stateofwriting.com/uk/academic-writing-service website with you all that is going to help you with that. I used them for assignments and essays, but you can use them for many other works. For more information, you can visit their website.