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Hey all!

I just joined, though I've heard about this site... twice.

I have a few questions regarding painting, though, if you'd be so kind as to answer them
Sorry if the following questions are no good.

1. How do I thin paint? I know of adding water, I do that and I get the brushmarks of doom, and it still comes on a bit thick. (Not that I don't get the brushmarks of doom without thinning.)

2. How do I mix paint? This is rather confusing to me, I was painting a lovely orc & goblin piggy, I mixed some paint into a nice darkish brown color, and lo and behold, when I come back, that nice darkish brown color has now dried on my palette, I mix some more, and paint a bit, and that sort of ruined the lovely things I had painted :(

3. Somehow I managed to paint the face of a tau shas'ui fire warrior really well, is it possible that I got temporarily possessed by Slaanesh, and painted it well?

4. How long does it usually take you to paint a model from start to finish?

5. Is it "bad" if I'm painting some space marines, put them aside and paint some other army? Even though I plan on returning to them soon?

6. How frequently do you replace your brushes/paint?

7. How do I reduce brushmarks? It really doesn't come out nicely when they pop up all over :(8. How do I glue, for example, a bolter onto the hands of a Space Marine? It comes with the grip, but I don't know how to attach it.

9. Are there any general "common sense" tutorial websites out there? As in tutorials that teach the very basics and so forth.
Thanks a lot in advance, and hopefully I'm not too much of a newbie

I'm newbie too. And I'm not good painter.
I think Its good question and I wanted know them too.
Even tho I dare to answer some of them.

1.Water! And dont think you can paint model with one approach. thiner is better. Paint-Dry-Paint.....

2.I have same problem for mix. So I don mix for most part.

4.depend on model. and I paint miniature like assembly line. one color,many miniature.

5.Its depend on you.

7,thin paint helps.

Do you use Citadel colors?

1. Really, just add water. The consistency should be like full-fat milk, or there about. You may find you now need two coats to have smooth colour, but this is a necessary evil. Experiment, watering down paint is a dark art that will take you a while to get consistently right. If you aren't happy with the consistency, change it. Add more paint if it's too thin, more water if it's too thick.

2. Mix them together. Nothing more complex. It will dry up yes, so if you're painting a whole army, buying empty paint pots and mixing large batches that will keep might be an idea. Again, practise. Almost every colour I use when I paint is mixed, and I do it enough I can get it consistent by eye.

3. Treasure these moments. They will come more frequently with time.

4. 2-3 Hours usually. It's a sliding scale. You can spend as much time as you want to spend, up to the limits of your ability.

5. Nope, just don't let it get out of hand. You don't want to do what I do, and paint a squad of a new army, then never any more!

6. Paint only if it runs out or has dried up completely. Brushes whenever they stop forming a point, and even then they get recycled as drybrushes and other non-precision work. I use Windsor and Newton Series 7 Miniature brushes - about three times more expensive than Gw brushes, but if cared for will last ten to twenty times longer. http://www.winsornewton.com/products/brushes/for-water-colour--gouache/series-7-kolinsky-sable/series-7-miniatures-short-handle/

7. Brushmarks are caused by one of two things - either the paint is too thick and you're leaving behind the imprint of the bristles, in which case thin your paints. Or, what looks like brush strokes are actually the layer underneath the paint still showing through, in which case use thinned paints and use more layers. if you're painting models in bright colours, be sure to use a white undercoat. GW also do a range of foundation paints which cover very well, but still need thinning.

8. Cut off the grip. It's there only if you use it on a model without the model actually holding it. If he is holding it, cut it off so it fits on the right hand.

9. Try here, and sort for 'beginner' articles: http://www.coolminiornot.com/article


Honestly, they key to painting is practise, patience, neatness and asking for help!

#2: One thing that can help extend a mix (in a pot or on a palette) is a paint extender. I buy cheap $2 bottles at Hobby Lobby (Anitas All purpose Extender). Its a big two ouce bottle and you only need a drop. It also makes wet blending much easier as the paints will take longer to dry and you can use the next color and where they meet they will blend with a few quick brush strokes.

GCMandrake hit everything else.

Just tried watering it a bit more boldly, and lo and behold, it comes out fantastically!

Thanks a ton

EDIT:

I'm Icelandic, so I'm afraid that ordering online is impossible :(

Oh, and I use only citadel paints and primer, and getting those takes an hour at best.

Hello KFJ,

Welcome to the forums, I hope you find lots of help and friendship here. I will do my best to answer your questions.

1. Yes add water. your paint should be about the same thickness as milk. Depending what you are doing with it, it may be even thinner. It is always better to do 2 coats of thin paint than 1 thick coat. As you get better at painting you may add 'flow aid' or 'drying retarder'. these can help with making paint flow and keeps them wet for longer.

2. Personally I hate mixing paint Because of that, I have a LARGE paint collection. If I do mix paint, I tend to use an empty paint pot and mix quite a lot so that I have enough to last me a while. One thing that most people use is a 'wet pallet'. This video has instructions for making a wet pallet. (starting about 8mins in) This is actually a great beginner video it covers most of the basics. I think it will help you a lot.
http://www.youtube.com/user/BeastsOfWar#p/search/10/cwCfzaE-T_I

3. Yes. try to encourage Slaanesh' aid by chanting and cutting yourself regularly.*

4. Everyone is different. It also depends on the quality of finish you are going for. Take as long as you need. do not rush.

5. Yes. Paint marines, paint only marines. anything else leads to heresy.

6. Brushes should last a good amount of time. Obviously it depends how much you use them, but a good brush that is used regularly and taken care of should last 6 months at least.

7. Practice, and thin paint in many coats.

Beasts of War (see link above) do some great painting video's for beginners. Also take a look at Les from Awesome Paint Job. His videos are more advanced but still good.
http://www.youtube.com/user/awesomepaintjob

I hope this helps.



*DO NOT do this !!

I have a number of tutorials and step by steps in the website linked in my signature. As far as putting figures down and working on something else, do whatever keeps you motivated. If you feel yourself getting into a rut, put the current job down and do something different. I do it all the time.

I'm afraid I get a 503 error :(

And stubby, I watch BoW on a daily basis, it's one of those things that got me back into 40k

To answer one of those questions:

I use a pallet. I would very much recommend using one in fact.

I have a cheapy testors synthetic brush (stays in my wash cup) that I use to grab paint and place it in pallet.

Basically:

Dip the brush into my black and put on the pallet, wash the brush, dip the brush into my red and put on the pallet, wash the brush - while it's wet (that is all the water I will need) stir the paints together. Thinned and ready for paint.