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Hey all I recently bought a few different kinds of miniatures to start and see which play style I like, as well these are the first miniatures I have ever painted. I am kind of chronicling the developement of my army, and am looking for any tips trick or hints you think would improve my work. Thank for any helpful critiscism you can offer.
http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm101/Zhetsuken/

My advice would be: Decide on a (limited) group of colors to use.

At first, it can be very tempting to paint all your models differently, since you want to try all the paints, and combinations, and ways to paint.

This is of course not all bad, and you will learn a lot of different things from doing so.

But it will also mean that your models end up looking like they don´t belong together, which might not be what you want...

Let me rephrase: Decide what you want, unified look or practice models, and go with that.

But always have an idea, a vision of what you would like to end up with.

Good luck in this hobby.

P.S. Your models look like you did a good job assembling, at least from the piccies i opened.

i second Xanthos's comment also the models look goo, this might just be me but unless the model is a confersion i paint them b4 or as i assemble them.

The paint <-> Assemble discussion is a classic.

For me, it varies a bit. Basic infantry, or units that I know I´ll need a ton of, I´ll usually assemble first, then paint. (Skaven clanrats, I´m looking at you!)

Other than that, most my stuff is painted, and then assembled. My marines were actually subassemblied, legs and body together, head and arms separate.

Nice work so far, I can see how you are working towards making each mini dynamic. Keep at that! It will pay off as you build and gain more experience, you will get more ideas on how to make them even more dynamic. Then, the next thing you know, you are hacking and cutting and using wire and greenstuff and all sorts of other crazy nonsense. GO GO GO!

I started off with Chaos myself...and then I found Orks. In my humble opinion, Orks and Chaos are the 2 armies where you can really go nuts customising your army and just using crazy ideas, the skies the limit. I can tell you are having fun

I can definately see the point in having an idea for an army....but I didn't start that way. Hell, I am lucky if I can keep a unified idea now! I am going to be of the opposite persuasion. Go nuts, get your feet wet. You can always strip the models and start over. You will end up getting more models, as the plastic crack GW deals will become obsession especially if you use it as your creative outlet. I don't feel there are too many way's you can ruin a model and not start over again. I do it all the time

I looked at all of your pictures, and like I said they look nice and dynamic. Keep the ideas coming, stretch your legs, and get immersed in the hobby. I advise you to pick up some Greenstuff. That way you can fill in some gaps. After you go through gap filling...you can start doing a bit of sculpting. I think sculpting is more prominent in Chaos than Orks, and is a skill you will want to start on. Also, be wary of mold lines. They will pop out once you start painting, and you really want to take care of them now. Use the edge of your exacto knife or a nail file. Yes, a nail file like your mom, sister or girlfriend uses.

Keep posting your progress!

Ya my chaos guys for now are my guinea pigs, for working on minute detail sadly since I am a full time student I don;t have too much time to paint them .

I also wanted to get a basic feel for what i was doing before I went too nuts with the customization part just yet, but I deffinately should check into some green stuff.

Thanks for all the great advice I will keep updating this as I get more stuff done. Lastly I cannot decide for my Fire Prism how I want to tackle that I want to keep it with the theme of the rest of my army so the simple black base with metal and red highlights, any thoughts would be great.

You have a good start going so far. But there's 2 easy things you can do to improve them a lot.

First is drybrushing. Like for your jumping harlequin in the black spandex for instance. Take a lighter highlight color, for black you could try spacewolf gray. Find an older brush and add a little paint to it, then rub most of the paint out of it on a piece of paper.. then go back and forth real quick over the raised areas of the model. it will pick out the raised detail, but leave the black in the cracks where it belongs. Try it on a few test spots first. Once you get it down, it's a real easy technique.

Then, invest in the new GW washes. For $20 a pack you get 8 different colors. These are like thinned down paint that you apply to lighter areas and it goes and fills in all the cracks and adds a lot of detail. They're a real simple way to add a lot of detail

Then you can combine the 2. Wash first, then when it dries, do a light drybrsuh of a brighter color to just pick out the highlights like on a face or something.

Ya right now since I am not 100% sure about this hobby I am going to hold off on purchasing anymore stuff but I know about washes and they do bring out a large amount of detail. I was thinking more black leather my self but if spandex floats your boat it can be that too

Don't be afraid to sacrifice a few figures to experiment on - each time I start a new army, 4-5 figures are used to work out the new paint scheme.

Flat black is hard to work on - many paints don't have the ability to cover the dark base. One solution is to dry brush the black primer with a coat of light gray or white. The black will stay in the recesses and act as a shade, the gray will coat the top portions of the model & give a bright color to the base color you want to apply.

Good stuff so far! I admire your enthusiasm and ambition - I haven't had the guts to collect Harlequins in years as I don't feel like I can do them justice with a proper paint job. Yours are looking strong so far.

Death By Monkeys wrote:Good stuff so far! I admire your enthusiasm and ambition - I haven't had the guts to collect Harlequins in years as I don't feel like I can do them justice with a proper paint job. Yours are looking strong so far.

Thank you, and as to the other comment about changin the base. I wanted the black base I kind of had the idea for this army to be all about stealth and assasination, so hence the almost solid black. Hoever I did not want a bunch of just black models sitting on the table cause 1. that would just look dumb and 2. they would probly think I am mentally handi-capped or something. I wanted a simple scheme that did not make them too noticable but still have a number of features that standout. I thought the red sashes and metal highlights for armor and the occasional bone decorations was fitting of my overall theme while not standing out too much cause most of them are snipers after all and mainly for fluff I don't want them to stand out like a sore thumb But I agree with previous comments as well I want them to have a bit more dynamic too them and I am unsure how to do that.

Is there a wash that would allow me to keep the mainly clack look without it looking too monotonous? Or do you think I should paint some other areas on the harlequins(the rangers are done they need to be as subtle as possible). If you can think of something cool or eye catching I could do to my harlies to give them a bit more flare I am open to suggestions. Nothing over the top cause I just won't do it

If you want to add a bit more life to your harlequins, you could consider painting the strappy things on the gloves and boots. Red / white / whatever.



Also, adding a bit of shading to the faces would do wonders for them, I think. If you don't want to buy any of the washes, you can just take any brown that you have and mix it with a bit of your flesh color, water it down real well (add a bit of dish soap if desired) and get some up near the eyes. If you want to go a bit more detailed, there are a bunch of eye painting suggestions here. You don't *have* to do it, but I think that having a little definition by the eyes really makes a model look 10x better.

Unfortunately my camera does not do it any justice but the bands and straps are painted, and not black they have both boltgun metal and Mithril silver but with the lighting it doesn't show too well =/.

I'd highlight the edges of the armour with small, shadow grey lines. I'll usually pick a direction (my default is top-left) and add a very thin line of paint to the edges which are facing that direction. It will help the armour plates stand out a little more from the rest of the armour and, if you're careful and keep the lines thin and small, won't detract from the black-ness of the miniature. Some people will also use a very dark blue for this, as it tends to be a little more forgiving on the black-ness front.

Also, I'd water down your paints a little more. It looks a little thick, particularly the farseer's rune armour.

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?categoryId=400035&pIndex=1&aId=1100010&start=2
If you want to add a little more detail, and feel that your hands are getting steady enough, try painting the gems thusly. Of course, for your colour scheme, it would probably be wise to translate this into reds.

Keep it up though. You are one of the few amateurs who doesn't have much colour spillage. A crisp mini is a pretty mini.

CrimsonTurkey wrote:I'd highlight the edges of the armour with small, shadow grey lines. I'll usually pick a direction (my default is top-left) and add a very thin line of paint to the edges which are facing that direction. It will help the armour plates stand out a little more from the rest of the armour and, if you're careful and keep the lines thin and small, won't detract from the black-ness of the miniature. Some people will also use a very dark blue for this, as it tends to be a little more forgiving on the black-ness front.

Also, I'd water down your paints a little more. It looks a little thick, particularly the farseer's rune armour.

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?categoryId=400035&pIndex=1&aId=1100010&start=2
If you want to add a little more detail, and feel that your hands are getting steady enough, try painting the gems thusly. Of course, for your colour scheme, it would probably be wise to translate this into reds.

Keep it up though. You are one of the few amateurs who doesn't have much colour spillage. A crisp mini is a pretty mini.

Ok I will look into that edge highlighting thing. In order to get the white to show up well I had to be pretty liberal with the coats :S as far as the rune armor goes. I want to make the white look less flat and have almost a glossy effect to it is there a good method to do this or do I need a different paint like a glaze or something?

Watering down my paints has been pretty consitent advise how do i do this properly? Cause when I do it either the paint does not show like at all or it is runny and I cannot get it to do the things I want to i.e. detail? I am kind of lost as to this topic.

Take a look at my Krieg Blog for tips on painting, choosing colors and other what nots. Probably easier to just read it than re-type everything here. Definitely think fewer colors first and get the hang of them, then branch out later.

Think shapes. Marines/CSM are really good for this since they are mostly segmented armor. Each arm/shoulder/leg is it's own shape and you can use color and shading to draw your eye across the figure.

Zhetsuken wrote:Watering down my paints has been pretty consitent advise how do i do this properly? Cause when I do it either the paint does not show like at all or it is runny and I cannot get it to do the things I want to i.e. detail? I am kind of lost as to this topic.

Watering down your paints is a tricky business. More water in the mix also lowers the amount of binding that the paint has, so it tends to flake off if too much is added. I use Liquitex Flow Aid to help add extra binder into the mix. You can find it in any art store at about $7-9 a bottle. Put in too little water and the paint mixture is too thick and will start clogging up your details.

This is the reason that people usually use inks because they are formulated to be thin and settle in the cracks well. Honestly it's well worth it to get it. You can also mix ink/paint together for new colors and a thinner medium.

If you want to experiment with blending colors together, then I would also suggest getting Liquitex Slow Dry. About the same cost and keeps your paint from drying out on the pallet and lets you work with it longer on the figure.

Moopy wrote:

Zhetsuken wrote:Watering down my paints has been pretty consitent advise how do i do this properly? Cause when I do it either the paint does not show like at all or it is runny and I cannot get it to do the things I want to i.e. detail? I am kind of lost as to this topic.

Watering down your paints is a tricky business. More water in the mix also lowers the amount of binding that the paint has, so it tends to flake off if too much is added. I use Liquitex Flow Aid to help add extra binder into the mix. You can find it in any art store at about $7-9 a bottle. Put in too little water and the paint mixture is too thick and will start clogging up your details.

This is the reason that people usually use inks because they are formulated to be thin and settle in the cracks well. Honestly it's well worth it to get it. You can also mix ink/paint together for new colors and a thinner medium.

If you want to experiment with blending colors together, then I would also suggest getting Liquitex Slow Dry. About the same cost and keeps your paint from drying out on the pallet and lets you work with it longer on the figure.

Thank you thats the information I really wanted to know the painting guide above you had nothing about watering down paints.

Asking here has you on the right path already, the above advice is great. When I first started painting (more years before the internet than I care to admit), I worked primarily alone, which is not the most efficient way to learn.

I would also suggest a visit to your local GW store--in my area they usually have painting going on and beginners classes on the weekends. Actually seeing these techniques in action will help you immensely, and make written advice even easier to grasp.

Ya I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised how nice and willing people here are to share good tips and tricks This is a great envoirnment for me to get suggestions on how to improve my work. I have seen alot of the stuff people post here and their skills are far greater then my own as would be expected so I like to think I am setting my self up for success by asking here for their advise.

Well my work continues slowly but surely, one Fire Prism down many more models to go. I had to finish this fairly quick so it is not completely done but thats how it is going to look tomorrow in action. Tell me what you all think and as before all critics are welcome. Thanks all






the rest of the pictures of my Fire Prism are http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm101/Zhetsuken/ <---- Here!

its been said before but thin your paint a little. I've just created a thread about making a wet palette. I' awful at computers so havnt added a link but I called it:

Free citalel washes and thinned down paint Use a wet pallette like this

Hope this helps.

P.S You are making a great start , striking scheme and neat painting.

I do but I still do not have a pallete and I have not had time to do out to get one, and this had to be done by today so I could acually go play. But as I continue my work down the road I will be doing just that. Anythign else I can improve on though??

Update time!! well for those who care anyways. I finished my last group of models so now all I can do is wait and see what catches my fancy to continue on with. With this latest batch I tried to use all the suggestions listed here. Tell me what you all think, all criticism is welcome no matter how harsh let me know how I am doing. Thanks all. Oh and sorry for some of the odd angles on the photos but my camera sux and I have to have it sitting on something inorder to not get a blurred picture. The rest can be found at http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm101/Zhetsuken/

Quick suggestion before I head to bed -- think about basing your models for a quick pick-me-up for looks. Paint the base a color you like (goblin green works if you want it to blend into most tables well, or graveyard earth is another nice one for a more earthy look), then paint a little bit of PVA (Elmer's, whatever) glue on the top of the base with a crappy brush you don't care about and dip the it in flock and give it a good shake.

Ya I have not even gotten around to basing them yet. Infact I have no flock or turff to use yet at least until I make up my mind lol but ya they do need some thing to spruce up the bases Thank you.

I daresay your results have improved considerably with the Chaos compared to your Eldar. Keep it up.

What do you all think I should do for my chaos bases I was thinking of doing an ash or scorched ground look. Lemme know what you guys think.

I collect orks. For basing, I just go to the beach (a rocky one, not a fine sand one), and go to the water's edge. The grains of sand there are about 1mm in diameter. Take a cupful home, spread the coarse sand out on a baking sheet, and bake it in the oven for 10min to dry it out and kill any micro-organisms living in it. (it might smell bad). Use the sand just as you would any other flock. If it looks too light, do a wash of black over it. It will then look like your model is standing on a barren rocky landscape.

If you live inland, regular soil can be used too.

By the way, good painting. I'm starting out too. I haven't bought the citadel paints (on a tight budget). I just bought some primary color acrylics and gradually developed a color pallet for my army. I then wrote down recipes for each color so I could reproduce it later. I mix the paint in bulk, and seal it up in air tight plastic containers.