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Finish everything you have to paint before buying something new.

 Matthew wrote:
Finish everything you have to paint before buying something new.

Thats more a lifestyle choice then a tip.

Well, it helps you finish things... but well, uh, have a youtube playlist on when you paint?

Making yourself a little nest to paint in, figuratively speaking, can be quite good. Gather the drinks, the paper, the things you'll need. The other things you'll need. Yes those. You're not going to stand up for them midway, get them now.

 Matthew wrote:
Finish everything you have to paint before buying something new.

Id love to do this, but its just not going to happen! Far to many new shinys available all the time, too little time to paint what I already have. I do try to buy less than I paint so the pile atleast shrinks a bit. ... thats the best I can do. I sort of miss the teen days where there was far more time than money,everything got painted and the next purchase was eyed up long before funding was available, back then I couldn't fathom why you would consider paying others to paint for you... but then you find yourself with more money than time and it doesnt look as silly..

My tip is to put on either music or a movie / tv show that is familiar and not fresh viewing. Something that wont draw your eyes attention (probably because youve seen it before many times and the sound track is enough to know fully what is happening.) Simpsons re-runs work well for me. That or painting tutorials on youtube go well for me.

Good idea Hairy, I used to paint whilst having Voyager reruns or TNG on in the background. I knew the scripts so well, I didnt need to view the screen

 Matthew wrote:
Finish everything you have to paint before buying something new.

I stoutly envy your willpower.

Know your goal before you start any project. Is this a display piece? Are you trying to learn a new technique? Is it part of an army? One-off?

It's okay to decide that you want to knock out a simple color scheme. It's also okay to decide that you want to spend 100 hours on a single model. Just know what you want the end result to be, and judge the model by that standard.

Keep the house cat (or any family pet I guess) away from Skaven models (or models in general)

 KingmanHighborn wrote:
Keep the house cat (or any family pet I guess) away from Skaven models (or models in general)

LOL. ++1

Housecat has special rules - Stomp, Rend, Smack, Chomp and also, most feared, Hide Model, which immediately Removes from Collection for D6 years.

Keep your workstation organized!

I fall prey to clutter so easily, but once I take a moment to clean up my desk and get things organized its such a relief.

Oh and always check your paint pots are closed tight.

My tip - don't file or sand near uncovered Work in Progress or finished models!

 darkcloak wrote:

Oh and always check your paint pots are closed tight.

Yeah, that's a great one. Whether it's screw-on or snap, you can't immediately see if it's not on securely. Worst thing ever: giving a paint pot that ISN'T shut a good shake.

 Talys wrote:
My tip - don't file or sand near uncovered Work in Progress or finished models!

I have a separate workbench and paintbench after some bad experiences.

As a corollary:

Be sure the glue is completely dry and set before you get a paintbrush anywhere near it.

 Talys wrote:
My tip - don't file or sand near uncovered Work in Progress or finished models!

 darkcloak wrote:

Oh and always check your paint pots are closed tight.

Yeah, that's a great one. Whether it's screw-on or snap, you can't immediately see if it's not on securely. Worst thing ever: giving a paint pot that ISN'T shut a good shake.

I'd miss my kitchen floor of many colours.

My tip; cheap paint (of the £1 a tube variety) can be surprisingly good at giving depth as it rarely goes on with one flat coat. You need to add a little water and beat it up a little first to make a smoother paste, though.

 KingmanHighborn wrote:
Keep the house cat (or any family pet I guess) away from Skaven models

Or else it can turn into...um...a real cat-and-mouse game.

[Dodges thrown tomatoes and retreats from the stage.]

hurtmypony wrote:

 KingmanHighborn wrote:
Keep the house cat (or any family pet I guess) away from Skaven models

Or else it can turn into...um...a real cat-and-mouse game.

[Dodges thrown tomatoes and retreats from the stage.]

After working with some resin that is noxious as hell, I'd just like my tip for today to be, be very careful when working with chemicals. Always wear a mask and eyepro!

Ditto on the mask for airbrushing, too. Some of those paints aren't healthy!

Patience is your most valuable skill. If you find yourself rushing, it's time to take a break.

 Maelstrom808 wrote:
Patience is your most valuable skill. If you find yourself rushing, it's time to take a break.

Taking breaks is a good idea in general. Especially as we all get older.

On that note, try to sit properly, don’t hunch over, basic ergonomics stuff. Stretch periodically.

Plan your scheme before you start. Then do a group of say, five of the cheapest model you have in that scheme. Leave them for a few days, come back to them. If you still like the scheme, go for it!

(Bitter experience!)

Cool thread idea btw.

Thought for today: You have not shaken your paint enough.
No you haven't.

 Buttery Commissar wrote:
Thought for today: You have not shaken your paint enough.
No you haven't.

If you are using a rattle can to spray, keep shaking it. Does your arm hurt yet? Keep shaking. Ok, it hurts, but you can still feel the pain? Almost there. Numbness setting it? You could spray now, but might get a fuzzy coat. When your arm falls off, pick up the can with the other hand, and spray.

Then go to the hospital to get that arm looked at/reattached.

Have two glasses of water, one for normal paints, and one for brushes with metallics on them

Using the same colour glaze for extreme shadow areas on a figure can massively tie the scheme together with minimal effort!

mine would be glazing.

as said above, I basically use the GW glazes on most, if not, all of my models.

also, try using drying retarder, living in colorado during the summer means I am lucky if my paint doesn't dry out within 5 minutes of me putting it onto my pallet.

Another day, another tip:

A brush has many lives. First, it is for painting, pointed and neat. Then, as the point fades, it is a basecoating/washing brush. If the bristles start to harden, it is a drybrush. Once all else has failed, it can be used for priming and varnishing.

Only when a brush is hardened, blunt, splayed and loose is it dead, at which point you may lay it to rest.... Or use the bristles as reeds/long grass/flowers for basing.

Old brushes never die, they just go missing in action...

 Paradigm wrote:
Another day, another tip:

A brush has many lives. First, it is for painting, pointed and neat. Then, as the point fades, it is a basecoating/washing brush. If the bristles start to harden, it is a drybrush. Once all else has failed, it can be used for priming and varnishing.

Only when a brush is hardened, blunt, splayed and loose is it dead, at which point you may lay it to rest.... Or use the bristles as reeds/long grass/flowers for basing.

Old brushes never die, they just go missing in action...

What is dead may never die.

Keep trying different styles/techniques when painting.

 Nevelon wrote:

 Buttery Commissar wrote:
Thought for today: You have not shaken your paint enough.
No you haven't.

If you are using a rattle can to spray, keep shaking it. Does your arm hurt yet? Keep shaking. Ok, it hurts, but you can still feel the pain? Almost there. Numbness setting it? You could spray now, but might get a fuzzy coat. When your arm falls off, pick up the can with the other hand, and spray.

Then go to the hospital to get that arm looked at/reattached.

No no no! That's all wrong! When your arm falls off pick up the can and repeat the process with your other arm! Yeesh!

Use a wet palette, it makes a world of difference - blending becomes much easier, and you save a good deal of paint.

 darkcloak wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:

 Buttery Commissar wrote:
Thought for today: You have not shaken your paint enough.
No you haven't.

If you are using a rattle can to spray, keep shaking it. Does your arm hurt yet? Keep shaking. Ok, it hurts, but you can still feel the pain? Almost there. Numbness setting it? You could spray now, but might get a fuzzy coat. When your arm falls off, pick up the can with the other hand, and spray.

Then go to the hospital to get that arm looked at/reattached.

No no no! That's all wrong! When your arm falls off pick up the can and repeat the process with your other arm! Yeesh!

I have two severely arthritic painting buddies, I spend an extraordinary amount of time shaking paint pots for them some nights.
Something something arm muscles something something hurr hurr.