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I just got my first 40k models last week (the 40k Paint Set from GW) and painted my first marine:


and an ork:


The SM is done (except for the backpack, obviously) but that's just the Ork's basecoat.

OK, Internet, how did I do?

--lessthan1337

Commendable for a first timer. They remind me of my first attempts at painting.

NOTES:
thin down your paints a bit. Thick paint looks sloppy and obscures detail.

Mold lines should be cleaned off before painting as they can ruin any good paint job.

If possible you should drill out the barrels of guns to make them look more realistic.

In addition to what aerethan said, I would add:

(Assuming you're starting with black primer) Try your best to "stay in the lines." For example, leaving a black line between the gold trim and the blue on the marine's shoulder pad would go a long way towards making the end result look much cleaner.

For someone just starting out, I would recommend only highlighting the edges of the armor, or the very highest spots on the clothing/skin. Painting wide areas is one of the most challenging things to do, and is pretty much unnecessary for table-top quality minis.
Example:

It's easiest to see on the two on the bottom.

A lot of people (myself included) like to use washes as an easy way to "cheat" the shading. It works especially well on metal areas. That's something to consider once you feel you've gotten a hang of the basics. But for now, I would make sure you get the base colors as smooth and solid as you can. Thin your paints, and don't put too much on at once.

Good luck.

For your first models you are doing a great job. The blue looks nice on the Ultra marines and is definately table top quality. An easy way to make sure only the eyes are painted red is to get a smaller brush and before you apply the blue highlight, outline the eye in the original blue color of the marine. I think your doing great though. I would only recommend 1 thing; get yourself a few washes and experiment with them. When I saw your ork that was the glaring problem I saw with it. If you use, lets say, delvan mud and wash your ork with that (you can even thin it down some more with water) it is going to drastically improve his appearance. But a fine start nontheless. I will check back to see if you have any updated pics of the technique I talked about. Best of Luck!

I would call this I really good start for a first time. Wwaayy better than my first tries. I wouldn't worry about the eyes for now, that sort of made the marine look a bit silly to say the least.

Bushido's right about the highlighting too.

Take what I say not too personally.

1. As stated thin your paints. 1:1 or 2:1 does not matter but it will make the paints last longer and not glob up on the model.

2. Highlights should only be on the edges of the mini. Normally this is done by mixing 1 part base color to 1 part white. you can also use white and dry brush the base color over. either way both will work.

3. mold line should always be files or scraped down flush with the mini. the back edge of a hobby knife works well or a mini file set.

4. washing or inking is the best way to get shading into a mini in any light. Water down washes first normaly 1 part wash color to 1 part water. the wash the entire mini and wipe off any wash that does not settle in the cracks. touch up as needed.

On a positive note. I play with people who do not have fully painted minis. I would be glad to play with what you have done so far.

It is not a bad paint job and if this is your first time it is much better than what mine looked like the first time.

Thanks guys!
For reference, here's a WIP pic:

(The painted gun ended up on the painted marine)

I brushed on black primer, basecoated with straight Moradin Blue (I didn't water down any of my paints at all), then did a black wash. After that dried I put on a coat of straight Moradin, then highlighted with 1/1 moradin/white.

A lot of people (myself included) like to use washes as an easy way to "cheat" the shading. It works especially well on metal areas. That's something to consider once you feel you've gotten a hang of the basics. But for now, I would make sure you get the base colors as smooth and solid as you can. Thin your paints, and don't put too much on at once.

^^As far as that goes, do you recommend washing after I've painted most of the color? and then highlighting on top of that? I'll definitely water down the wash next time, you can see how thick it came out in the WIP

In general, I'm going to try watering the paints down as well as trying the light white highlights on the edges (thanks bushido for the great pic!!)

You guys are the best! Anything else??? Thanks!
Oh, and I should be painting 2 or 3 more this weekend. I'll post pics for sure!

Thinning down the washes will help so that they are staying in the cracks instead of changing the color of the blue.

Also, it's best to paint multiple thin layers instead of 1 or 2 thick coats. That way you don't lose detail.

And lastly, chaos black paint isn't a primer. I'd invest in a trip to wal mart to pick up a $1 can of Color Place black primer. Your models will thank you.

aerethan wrote:And lastly, chaos black paint isn't a primer. I'd invest in a trip to wal mart to pick up a $1 can of Color Place black primer. Your models will thank you.

I used the "Undercoat Black" that came with the paint set, but I think it's the same...
I bought some P3: Black Spray Primer at my hobby store but I haven't tried it yet.

lessthan1337 wrote:

A lot of people (myself included) like to use washes as an easy way to "cheat" the shading. It works especially well on metal areas. That's something to consider once you feel you've gotten a hang of the basics. But for now, I would make sure you get the base colors as smooth and solid as you can. Thin your paints, and don't put too much on at once.

^^As far as that goes, do you recommend washing after I've painted most of the color? and then highlighting on top of that? I'll definitely water down the wash next time, you can see how thick it came out in the WIP

Usually yes, I wash before I highlight. On things like flesh, I'll sometimes wash after I've finished everything to give it a more sickly/chaos look or make it more alien. But it really comes down to your personal preference. So just experiment and find out what works best for you.

lessthan1337 wrote:
^^As far as that goes, do you recommend washing after I've painted most of the color? and then highlighting on top of that?

Aside from providing easy shading, washes can also blend together the colors that you've already got on there if done after highlighting. But it depends on the wash and the colors you're using.

Let's take the model in your original post. I'll bet if you washed all the blue parts with Asurman Blue, it would tone down the highlights and blend them into the base colors a lot better. And it won't tone down the color as drastically as a black wash.

Also, I like to use a heavier wash on the metallic pieces. It gives them a grittier look and makes the shadows sharper. Boltgun Metal with a Badab Black wash looks really nice.

When I first started using washes, I just slathered them on everywhere. But after a while, I learned to actually pool it into the recesses with my brush. One way to get a good idea of the effect is to paint the back of the knees Boltgun Metal or Chainmail, whichever you have, and then put a drop of black wash on it while making sure that it gets into all the creases. It gives you a nice effect, and lets you really see how the wash works with shadows.

As mentioned, painting in the lines really helps make it look better, but brush control is something that takes time and practice. For now, you'll get the same effect, although with much more work, by going over the model a few times and touching up any areas.

For example, switch between blue and gold to get the line on the shoulder pad really tight. This will also help you improve your brush control.

I started out not too long ago, so I feel your pain.

Here's my original thread when starting: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/348077.page

I have a post on there with some tips as well.

Great advice so far... I'll add one thing.

Your OP has "crazy eyes"... i.e. the lens highlights are in different positions lending the figure a deranged and comical look. Make sure that if you add the white spec highlight to the lenses, you put it in the same place on both sides of the mini or they're going to look odd/silly face-on. I will be the first to admit that this is not always easy to do & have repainted many a highlight in my day.

Great start though. Follow the suggestions above and you'll be in great shape!

Good job dude.