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Some food for thought:

I just went to my local art supply retailer and bought 425 ml of paint for $12, or 2.8 cents a ml. That included a metallic gold (125 ml) and some other colors (75 ml each). Meanwhile, most hobby stores sell paints at somewhere in the $2.50-$3.00 range for about 20ml in a Vallejo dropper bottle, or 12.5 cents a ml. While this may not seem like that big a deal, consider that to buy the same volume of paint, Vallejo would cost at least $53, depending on the discount your vendor passes to you.

Some arguements against using non-hobby art paints that I have heard:

The paint isn't as good a quality, and won't stick to my minis or have as good color.

This wasn't elementary school project paint I picked up. It was the Liquitex (the same brand that makes your paint thinner and other formulas) Basics line, and a similar brand called Amsterdam. They are both acrylic water based paint, suitable for minis. Also, they are both artist quality, and have good pigment and flow. Even the employee I spoke with mentioned doing some modeling, and remarked that the liquitex paints are great products for use on the plastic models (no comment on metal, but that's what primer is for).

I need the colors to perfectly mimic [insert variable citadel hue here] so all my army will look the same.

While I will agree that some people have far more money than time, it only takes about a minute to mix a color with white, black, or another color to achieve the color that you need. Furthermore, while the art paints may not have the same colors as the traditional hobby lines (I think they do for the most part), this can also be seen as an opportunity. I often see people posting about certain lines of hobby paint saying "oh the colors are really bold and unique - a nice change from the 'eavy metal style!". Well here's a cheap way to get that unique look without taking out a second mortgage!

Finally, most people prefer dropper bottles to pots. These paints come in large tubes that can be easily squirted into droppers, and the tubes will virtually never dry out. I found an old tube of black Liquitex Basics Black (the same kind carried by my local shop Aaron Bros.) that had been sitting around for about 5 years, opened it up, and squirted it out like it was brand new. No separation, no drying up, just squeeze and paint. That way you can have a small amount for your workstation while keeping the rest in storage without worrying about its condition.

I see no reason that people should not support their local art store alongside their FLGS when it comes to modeling and painting. Its cheap and effective!

-Eoin

Liquitex and Amsterdam are fine acrylics, and I use them on minis in combination with GW's range. Normal artist's acrylics however (like those brands) are much, much thicker than model paint. When blocking in 'large' surfaces that isn't much of a problem, but when doing detail work like eyes and trim it will become blobby. That's why model paint is so fluid.

it only takes about a minute to mix a color with white, black, or another color to achieve the color that you need.

especially if you don't have any experience with painting or the properties of colour this can be quite hard, certainly mixing it in such a way that you don't end up with way too much for what you're painting and throwing the rest away.

That said it's nice stuff to work with. Makes for a bit rougher look and a beautiful texture. But I recommend a mix of artist acrylics (oils are even better I think, but those come with their own perks and I wouldn't advise them for beginners) and hobby paint for a nice range of possibilities.

Academic quality paints like Liquitex Basics have more binder and less pigment in them compared to hobby paints. This statement isn't really for or against the paint itself, but it makes me wonder whether or not it can be thinned to a consistency of a wash without it "breaking". They are typically heavier bodied paints, so I don't know how would handle a lot of water/thinner.

Have you tried thinning it that much? If so, how does it react?

I'd be more inclined to use something like Golden's Fluid Acrylic line, but I don't think they are any cheaper than hobby paints. In fact, I think they may be more expensive IIRC.

TiB wrote:especially if you don't have any experience with painting or the properties of colour this can be quite hard, certainly mixing it in such a way that you don't end up with way too much for what you're painting and throwing the rest away.

I have just about zero experience painting, and mixing is a breeze for me. Although, I am a very visually artistic person, so maybe I just have a knack for it.

I didn't notice any strange characteristics when I thinned it (just with water for painting a few marines). Me and a buddy are planning to get into making wash in bulk, using Les' recipe from awesomepaintjobs.com, so eventually I will be testing that out.

Show us some minis you painted using them and how many layers you used, if they look good then it might be a good choice.

Liquitex surprisingly holds up well with washes: the secret is in the consistency. It's one of my favorite paints for canvas paintings, and I've used it from time to time on miniatures. I certainly would advocate them, but as far as minis-painting I still think the GW line is just a bit more advanced than Liquitex. One, Liquitex is liquid-y in itself but it's a little bit thicker than GW paints when applied. Jut a bit, though. It's more than fine with bigger models, but you might want to use GW for the smaller details if you're very OC about small details. I would advocate using Liquitex on flat surfaces (such as Space Marine armor) or relatively flat surfaces. It can work with the small details, but you would really need fine control with your hand and lots of patience.

Liquitex can work just like GW, but GW is more easier to use, I guess? Just to be clear I use both Liquitex and Citadel paints on commissions.

As for other acrylic paints out there, I wouldn't really recommend them. Reeves paint is too thick for minis. Grumbacher too (plus it's more expensive and it gets powdery when watered. It's great if you want texture on paintings but not for models). Art Studio is a crappy brand and it stinks like hell. And don't get me started on student paints such as Color & Co and Pebeo. Maries is... so-so.

Yes, I've used all of these paints on miniatures (mainly repainted Mageknight minis, so that I won't have to weep after).

I'll post some pics of how Liquitex fares (in conjunction with GW paints). Gonna go to the studio today to have my most recent commission photographed.

For me it all depends on what I'm painting. A game table? Then yes, I want the volume of paint needed at a low price.

But for models, I use what I'm used to unless I need a color that is fickle like yellow. I get my 17ml of paint to last quite a while as I use things like slo-dri and matte medium to improve the mileage of each bottle of paint.

I should mention that ALL of my paint is in dropper bottles, even GW ones. Well worth the $10 to transfer them all and improve their life expectancy. Also, open bottle types like GW have dried paint that gets in the mix and creates clumps of wasted money.

I don't find that I need 125ml of a single color often. A single 17ml of Enchanted Blue Vallejo paint lasted me an entire 2k worth of space marines and then some, so $3 for the primary color of an army seems worthwhile to me.

As long as you know how to stretch your paint, money isn't often an issue.

Okay, these are my photographed test pieces for different kinds of paint. They have been painted one month before and you will notice the chipping in some parts (all part of the test, so don't worry 'bout that. Didn't put varnish so that I would know which paints are more durable sans varnish.). Please excuse the quality of the paintjob--I think I'm a better, slightly less messy painter now and those miniatures are the first miniatures I ever painted.


This orc is painted with both Liquitex and Pebeo. Notice that the paint chipped on the right hand and arm (green was its original, GW painted color) and some scratches on the left arm. I didn't strip the paint from the original mini, so the layers re more numerous. Still, the details are still a-okay (sculptwise, not so much paintwise).



This is a Mageknight figure mounted on a (ta-dah!) button. All Liquitex. Some parts of the paint chipped on the back of the leg. Still, not bad since I used at least 6 layers on the skin.



Now, compare it to this DnD mini my teacher painted. All GW paints on a. No parts chipped off from rough handling. And the bastrad who painted this is better than me.


One of my commissioned works. I used both Liquitex and GW on the skin, leaning on the GW side (around 4 layers, while Liquitex has 2 and one wash). Clothing are mostly Liquitex.


So unvarnished, GW paints are less likely to chip. The thickness of layers and paint consistency are more or less the same between Liquitex and GW. Liquitex is much more trickier to use, though. You can achieve the same level of quality, I think, but it will need a bit more effort.

I am a firm believer that it's not about the medium: it's about the artist. You are the weapon, and your tools and techniques are merely allies. I'm sure Liquitex is jut fine for miniatures, but you will need a bit more of skill to pull it off.

starsdawn wrote:You are the weapon, and your tools and techniques are merely allies.

While this is true to a certain extent, tools & techniques are way more important than you make them out to be. With GW paint you will never get the texture of artist's acrylics, with acrylics you will never get the blends and rich colour of oils and so on. And while other things may be possible, they may be way harder.

TiB wrote:And while other things may be possible, they may be way harder.

But the point is they are possible.