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Yeah chestnut is a great colour. I used to use it mainly on dark reds when I painted those a lot, but people use that ink on all types of colours.

Sleazy when were you a redshirt? I probably know you (by face) if you were at Newcastle (didn't go to Metro much, but I'm pretty sure they swapped staff between the two because some of the same faces were there whenever I visited).

The 3 rules I live by when I paint.

PRACTICE!

Don't get bored and leave your project!

Put in the effort!

Jazz is for Losers wrote:Yeah chestnut is a great colour. I used to use it mainly on dark reds when I painted those a lot, but people use that ink on all types of colours.

Sleazy when were you a redshirt? I probably know you (by face) if you were at Newcastle (didn't go to Metro much, but I'm pretty sure they swapped staff between the two because some of the same faces were there whenever I visited).

2001 - 2002. mainly at metro but spent a few months at newcastle. used to game more at newcastle so I you'd probably remember me. (Simon).

myself -

I NEVER use glazes or GW washes. Since the screw lid paints came out I've never liked the shie they give. My washes are always watred down 'normal' paint. The only glaze I use is the old old flip lid red glaze, this i leave a spot on a tile to part dry out and then use to paint blood.

When starting out I didn't 'water down' paints in the normal way, simply painted straight from the pot with a 'damp' not wet brush. The key to this is not to use old paint that's become thick. The point of this was that the colour would need less coats to paint over a black undercoat, meaning that it is much easier to get a neat finish. I guess the new foundation paints make this even easier and allow a bit of watering down to get a good flow of paint from the brush.

KEEP IT NEAT - I've seen great looking models which just have one or two coats but are neat, and awful looking models becuase although techniques are right, they just havn't kept 'in the lines'.

Try painting a few orks, then try something really different, e.g. epic to sharpen your practice, then go back. Worked wonders for me.

Concentrate on one skill at a time, start off with neatness, then drybrushing, then painted highlights, then washes, then blending and any advanced stuff. I'd say 30 models for each stage would be a suitable number, and the good thing about doing this is that you get a consistent look to the army, as you can paint on the base coats while learning the neatness, then go back and being neat, start drybrushing easy eareas such as weapons and skin to give to highlights, go back and start shading with washes (careful you don't over shade) and then start working on brush control and 'lining' your models to get realy dark colours back into the recesses where your washes will inevitably overun.

This is how I learnt with my 2nd army, and allows an army to be painted enough to play with, while being consistent and means you don't end up with a complete army with painting standard varying throughout the whole thing.

sleazy wrote:

Jazz is for Losers wrote:Yeah chestnut is a great colour. I used to use it mainly on dark reds when I painted those a lot, but people use that ink on all types of colours.

Sleazy when were you a redshirt? I probably know you (by face) if you were at Newcastle (didn't go to Metro much, but I'm pretty sure they swapped staff between the two because some of the same faces were there whenever I visited).

2001 - 2002. mainly at metro but spent a few months at newcastle. used to game more at newcastle so I you'd probably remember me. (Simon).

Ah ok, I think I definately might know you then (not from gaming, I didn't really game at all).

Slay a painter and steal his power.

malfred wrote:Slay a painter and steal his power.

Are you sure you don't want his Touch AND his Power?

Skaskull wrote:PS I was wrong it is Goblin, not snot.

Sigged!
(Random, I know. And not a jab ay you, Skaskull. But now I think it's funny.)

Yak makes a really good point, at least partially.

When you are painting, don't just get it done. Just because you are "practicing" by painting 200 orks, if you don't actively try to make it better than before, all you will be able to do is paint it badly, faster.

People always say "Practice makes perfect" but that's incorrect. Practice makes permanant, that's all. If you don't focus on making improvements and doing things better, you will just get faster at doing it at your current level.

That isn't to say each miniature has to be perfect of course. It's just that you want to try and improve everyone you do, and push yourself on every model or set of models you work on. Ideally, after doing a sizable army, you should be able to take the first unit and the last unit you have done and really see improvement.

edited for horrendous grammar

Practice, make ALOT of mistakes, learn from some of them, practice some more, compare your work to others, get discouraged, practice some more, make more mistakes, compare your work to others online, get discouraged again, practice some more, turn your hobby into your job, practice, practice, practice.

Most importantly, though?

1. Learn to know when a model is finished. That is, if you're not careful, a miniature can forever be a WIP - know what you're shooting for before you even start, and know when to say when. There's little point in painting a single troop to an amazing level if you're planning on fielding 40 of them in a unit.
2. Learn to love bananas. Potassium! I tend to drink those over-priced, heavily-caffinated energy drinks, and a banana or two before an 8-hour painting session really makes a difference - potassium helps immensely with shaky hands, which as we all know, is a killer for those "must be straight" hazard stripes... and eyes!
3. Thin your paints! And I'm not talking water here - use an acrylic thinning medium. I mean, ok, water is fine unless you're after a 7+ layer wet blending effect, but water tends to deconstruct acrylic paints, so using an acrylic medium thins them to a really workable consistency while avoiding that oil/water efect that tends to happen if you over-water a paint.

stonefox wrote:I must say the one thing that upped my painting was this article on simple brush control in the white dwarf issue of the same month that 4th edition tau came out. You can read about all the blending and other things, but simply knowing how a brush looks when it's "full" vs. when it's "useful" is loads better than reading article #1234 on how to blend. Now I can blend pretty nicely.

After brush control it's just all about watching the behavior of the paint. You need to know exactly what a high surface tension blob of paint looks like since you won't be able to blend it as well. Similarly, "runny" low tension paint and that weird kind of paint that evaporates on you should be observed and their applications noted.

you mean none of my painting tips helped you? now I think I am going to ram my head into a brick wall. I have failed..


to the OP. thin your paints down to the consistancy of milk. preferably 2% if you can tell the difference. Not quite translucent, but not quite thick either.

To answer the original question: practice. I'm not Golden Demon winning quality by any means, but after painting models for 14 years you develop some tricks. If I compared what I did at 14 years old compared to what I can usually turn out at 28, there's more than a world of difference. Keep trying, don't be afraid to ask how some people achieve some results, and just give each model or technique some thought. Good luck with your Orks.