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i started with orks but did not enjoy painting them at all lol i still will be doing orks as a side project but i decided my main army would be tau empire =] these are a few pictures of them and i will add more photos as my army grows... once again my painting is slightly off and sloppy but should improve over time or at least i hope it does

I really like the orange on black color scheme. It is rather unique and striking. Keep up the good work!

Out of curiosity, what is that multi-barreled weapon the battlesuit has in its right hand? I bought a used Space Marine Terminator that has one of those guns for a converted assault cannon. I've long wondered where it came from.

The gun is a burst cannon (gatling version of the basic pulse rifle the Tau use).

I think your color scheme is definitely unique and I applaud you for diving in. You don't get better at painting by not painting, after all. A few recommendations:

1) More colors - right now your scheme looks very basic and could benefit from another one or two colors added in for details (for example maybe a brown for the clothing between the armor plates on the troops, or a different color for the eyes/lenses like a dark red)

2) thin your paints with water - right now it looks like you're painting straight from the pot, which tends to make the paint go on thick (and it makes cleanup harder)

3) buy one good brush - like a size 1 kolinsky from www.dickblick.com - it will give you the ability to paint with more precision. Course, if you get it make sure you know how to take care of it.

Later on you might want to start learning how to use washes and drybrushing techniques to add high/low-lights to the models.

Raatcharch wrote:I really like the orange on black color scheme. It is rather unique and striking. Keep up the good work!

Out of curiosity, what is that multi-barreled weapon the battlesuit has in its right hand? I bought a used Space Marine Terminator that has one of those guns for a converted assault cannon. I've long wondered where it came from.

thanks =] and yeah the weapon is a burst cannon =]

Nimbosa wrote:The gun is a burst cannon (gatling version of the basic pulse rifle the Tau use).

I think your color scheme is definitely unique and I applaud you for diving in. You don't get better at painting by not painting, after all. A few recommendations:

1) More colors - right now your scheme looks very basic and could benefit from another one or two colors added in for details (for example maybe a brown for the clothing between the armor plates on the troops, or a different color for the eyes/lenses like a dark red)

2) thin your paints with water - right now it looks like you're painting straight from the pot, which tends to make the paint go on thick (and it makes cleanup harder)

3) buy one good brush - like a size 1 kolinsky from www.dickblick.com - it will give you the ability to paint with more precision. Course, if you get it make sure you know how to take care of it.

Later on you might want to start learning how to use washes and drybrushing techniques to add high/low-lights to the models.

thank you for the advice =] at the moment i had an idea of keeping them black with changing the colour for each squad but i do agree that more colour has to be used for applying effects on the models

your 2nd points made me lol a bit cause i am infact painting from the pot , but i am also quite heavy on the paint when i use it so i think i may have to reduce the amount i use

at the moment i have 1 citadel standard brush and 1 citadel fine detail brush of which i enjoy using the fine detail more, i take care of my brush quite poorly i clean them after each use and replaced the protective cap over the brissels but that all i do not sure what else i could do lol

anyways thank you for your kind words and hope to have more photo's to show you in the near future =]

i have seen these models in the flesh and they do need more colours to them, thought the reason they are only black and orange right now is because that is the only 2 colours he has in his house, the rest are in mine ...

they are very well painted for a beginner...

washes and shades will come in very handy and as for dry brushing, i have been teaching him what i know (very little, but better than nothing )

once you have more colours they will start to look alot nicer and also more real looking (i know what i mean )...

also Nimbosa... reading what you wrote i will also use a tip or 2 you gave... as ive always found that paint from the tub straight is very thick, though i thought using water would ruin the colour, but if not i will start doing that as that will be very handy!!...

overall Montyg, very well done and i cant wait to see more when you get them! =] =]

SirBuddlington wrote:i have seen these models in the flesh and they do need more colours to them, thought the reason they are only black and orange right now is because that is the only 2 colours he has in his house, the rest are in mine ...

they are very well painted for a beginner...

washes and shades will come in very handy and as for dry brushing, i have been teaching him what i know (very little, but better than nothing )

once you have more colours they will start to look alot nicer and also more real looking (i know what i mean )...

also Nimbosa... reading what you wrote i will also use a tip or 2 you gave... as ive always found that paint from the tub straight is very thick, though i thought using water would ruin the colour, but if not i will start doing that as that will be very handy!!...

overall Montyg, very well done and i cant wait to see more when you get them! =] =]

i hve gretchin green and skull white aswell lol though using them on tau wouldn't look good xD

deffo still got work to do on them though but that will be much easier with more colours =]

this is definitely a good start, and if it's not too much I'd like to offer one more suggestion

When applying your paint, put the lighter color, especially if it's your detail color, down first. It's easier to cover a light color with a dark color than vice versa and it helps clean up your lines.

My first proper army was tau and mine were a hell of a lot worse than these and i would love to see you progress and maybe start a blog.

haloreach4ever wrote:My first proper army was tau and mine were a hell of a lot worse than these and i would love to see you progress and maybe start a blog.

start a blog? your mean on the forum or a personal blog and place links to it in my sig? either way it might actually be a good idea would also show my improvements the more i paint =]


thanks you all once again for your kind words =] and again hope to have more to show very soon =]

Also, if you don't have a pallet, you can use the plastic lid off a chinese food container, or whatever to mix paint and water. It won't destroy the color, but will help preserve model details. The standard water-paint ratio is usually about 1:1 for a lot of citadel paints. You will have to use MULTIPLE coats, but will have a better result in the end. When you thin your paints, though, they do behave differently coming off the brush. If you have a cheap brush all the paint might flood your model, which is why I recommend decent brushes. The GW brushes are ok as far as i can tell.

As for cleaning brushes - wash them until the water runs clear, shape the bristles back into the proper shape by twirling it against the side of you palm, and let dry upright in a jar or something. Also, if you get good brushes invest in a brush cleaner/conditioner product such as Masters Brush Cleaner/Conditioner.

The Dakka painting tutorials online are a good resource, as are youtube videos by Les Bursley (http://www.youtube.com/user/awesomepaintjob).

I mean a blog in the painting blog section.

Looking good for a new painter. Dig the color scheme. Some feedback:

-Try covering the black armor with a layer or two of gloss like games workshops 'ardcoat. It will give it a slick darth vader/storm trooper look.
-Thin your paints. Don't paint from the pot. It should take 3-5 layers of paint to get the color you want. If you can do it in 1 it is too thick (or a foundation paint, which you aren't using)
-Do a touch up pass when you are done: you will make mistakes when painting details, it is ok. Even the best painters do that. Many amazing models look like a mes until the final touch up pass when the painter goes back over it and covers all the little mistakes.
-Use a wash. Devlin mud is good, especially for orange. Paint in orange, devin mud wash, then paint the highlights in orange again. Your highlights will be beautiful. Even more important on metal colored paint. tinbitz/boltmetal with no wash looks like crap.

Finally, your brushes. It used to amaze me that some painters had beautiful brushes in perfect condition after years of use, but mine looked like crap after 2-3 weeks no matter how I tried to maintain them.

Get brush soap. Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver is like magic. When I moved over I was able to revive brushes that had been dead for years, and since then I have not had a brush go bad. They all look like the day I bought them. It's 5 bucks and lasts forever, it is worth your investment.

To make the black stand out more, I would actually paint them in a dark grey, then paint just the hardest plates of the armor black. That will give it a bit more depth.

today i bought a Stelth team box this is what i have so done so far =]



and the side view is



hope you like ^^

Liking the stealth suit mate, nice one.

Id prefer that colour scheme on the rest of the army tbh!!! looks nice. Good stuff for a beginner dude keep it up.

Rogerio134 wrote:Liking the stealth suit mate, nice one.

Id prefer that colour scheme on the rest of the army tbh!!! looks nice. Good stuff for a beginner dude keep it up.

thanks it is a slow process for me to paint but i'd rather it take ages then rush it and end up with a mess

How could you not like painting orks? I think they are pretty fun.

The orange-on-black scheme is interesting.

burgerking ork wrote:How could you not like painting orks? I think they are pretty fun.

The orange-on-black scheme is interesting.

absolutely nothing against orks i think they look kool but i just didn't enjoy painting them at all

the orange on black was really a kinda test that i liked but i think i will stick to the blue theme i have with my stealth team (the bottom pictures)

More colors.

Ogryn wrote:More colors.

yeah =] thats why i changed from black and orange have a look below at the posts with my stealth

You're models are looking good so far for just starting out.

It looks as though you're priming with white. It's a good base for getting the brighter colors to pop but using black or grey to prime can be a little more forgiving as any recessed areas you overlook will look shaded.

Also giving your models a wash or dry brushing them will help the details stand out more. Keep painting and your skills will improve.

martian_jo wrote:You're models are looking good so far for just starting out.

It looks as though you're priming with white. It's a good base for getting the brighter colors to pop but using black or grey to prime can be a little more forgiving as any recessed areas you overlook will look shaded.

Also giving your models a wash or dry brushing them will help the details stand out more. Keep painting and your skills will improve.

thank you for your advise =] i will take this into consideration with my mini's ^^

They're... sloppy, and lack depth. but it's a great start and all of the problems are easily fixed, so al is not even close to lost.

i suggest you go back and tidy up those orange lines, fixing the overspill with more black, then give them a baal red wash to add some shading.

then go over the black in a dark charcoal, leaving black in the deeper recesses, and highlight the charcoal with a dark grey. next hardline the edges with something like codex grey, or something a smidge darker. give that a wash of badab black and it should look great.

as for the stealth suit, it looks fine, but it is in need of shading, so washing it with asurmen blue is probably your best bet.

WAAAAGGHH-god wrote:They're... sloppy, and lack depth. but it's a great start and all of the problems are easily fixed, so al is not even close to lost.

i suggest you go back and tidy up those orange lines, fixing the overspill with more black, then give them a baal red wash to add some shading.

then go over the black in a dark charcoal, leaving black in the deeper recesses, and highlight the charcoal with a dark grey. next hardline the edges with something like codex grey, or something a smidge darker. give that a wash of badab black and it should look great.

as for the stealth suit, it looks fine, but it is in need of shading, so washing it with asurmen blue is probably your best bet.

you have just confirmed what i was thinking =] i have just added the blue wash and not fully dry yet but already it is looking better =] i keep forgetting they are meant to be in a war so they wont be clean or prestine

true, but the paint also wouldn't be outside the lines. this is why you should do weathering after the clean, shaded, and highlighted colour scheme has been applied. i like the scheme though

WAAAAGGHH-god wrote:They're... sloppy, and lack depth. but it's a great start and all of the problems are easily fixed, so al is not even close to lost.

i suggest you go back and tidy up those orange lines, fixing the overspill with more black, then give them a baal red wash to add some shading.

then go over the black in a dark charcoal, leaving black in the deeper recesses, and highlight the charcoal with a dark grey. next hardline the edges with something like codex grey, or something a smidge darker. give that a wash of badab black and it should look great.

as for the stealth suit, it looks fine, but it is in need of shading, so washing it with asurmen blue is probably your best bet.

Hello Pot. Please meet Kettle.

I'll echo a couple others.
Use grey primer. It still let's colors be vibrant without overwhelming them. Washes are your friends. I have a bobble head monkey in my gallery. He's black lined using washes. As the final step. Don't wash last it's just an example of how washes can work. They also add depth, and can act as a filter. once you get acquainted with GW washes you can start on making your own.
Keep taking your time. Crisp clean paint is so much more striking than even the best weathered minis, just IMHO. they are more eye catching, but require less skill.

AustonT wrote:

WAAAAGGHH-god wrote:They're... sloppy, and lack depth. but it's a great start and all of the problems are easily fixed, so al is not even close to lost.

i suggest you go back and tidy up those orange lines, fixing the overspill with more black, then give them a baal red wash to add some shading.

then go over the black in a dark charcoal, leaving black in the deeper recesses, and highlight the charcoal with a dark grey. next hardline the edges with something like codex grey, or something a smidge darker. give that a wash of badab black and it should look great.

as for the stealth suit, it looks fine, but it is in need of shading, so washing it with asurmen blue is probably your best bet.

Hello Pot. Please meet Kettle.

not entirely sure what you are trying to achieve here...

Do you not understand the reference or what I'm trying to tell you?

I see you did white for the faces, which is what I did originally, too. Trust me, when you go to games days and the like, people will point it out and say "oh, dat's so unrealistic." or whatever. It's really annoying, but I want to spare you the criticism. Go for codex grey instead.

AustonT wrote:Do you not understand the reference or what I'm trying to tell you?

i understand the reference perfectly, you are calling me a hypocrite. what i am unsure of is what exactly that has to do with the thread. maybe a few of the paintjobs in my gallery aren't great, does this mean i am a bad painter? no. does it also mean that i don't know what i'm doing and can't offer advice to other painters so they may improve their painting skills? no. and even if my painting was terrible, does this mean knowing what to do and being able to do it are the same thing? no again.

get off your high horse and contribute to the thread in a constructive manner, not with 70 year old phrases from propaganda posters