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..because I do.

Just bought a couple of Space Marines and some paint. The online tutorials made it look so easy - I figured I could pull off an okay result.

So far: Wrong.

The black foundation/primer went on easily enough, but after that it all went downhill. Three coats of color so far (a rather light color, perhaps a bad idea on top of black?) and it's still a mess of see-through brush lines. Paint doesn't go where I want it to (tried leaving the aquila black, but the edge turned out plain ugly), there are bubbles in the paint (from the water I mixed with the paint, I hope..(?)), and a voice in the back of my head is telling me I simply don't have the skills for this and should just forget the whole thing...

Any advice?

Everyone starts somewhere.
It takes time and practice. Don't seel yourself short just yet.

What chapter are you painting?

Also, don't feel bad to strip models when you don't like the result. In fact, consider it as practice since you're re-doing surfaces that you're having issues with.

I really wish I at least had some pics of my first models(digital cameras didn't exist much then).

The 2 most important things I can stress to a new painter:
Thin your paints. Not too much, but if your paint covers over black in one pass it's probably too thick. This will give you a smooth finish and will keep the details crisp.

Second: work on staying in the lines. Getting a clean finish will make the model look worlds better. Practice doing things like belts and smaller details with as fine a brush as you can. Some models have loads of detail on them, and if the paint is sloppy it all bleeds together.

Lastly, don't lose hope. It takes years of practice and effort to see major improvements over those first models. I believe that anyone can win a Golden Daemon if they just practice enough and apply new techniques and take heed the advice given them by more senior painters.

Just keep working.
Putting a light colour on a black primer is usually hard. You need a middle-ground colour first. For example, to paint yellow on black you'll need to paint brown first.
You already seem to be thinning your paints, that's good.
You should also start drybrushing. It's the easiest technique around, and good for beginners. I would also believe that your brush-strokes visible in the paints would be fixed by a little more "dry" approach to your painting.
If edges of a detail (the Aquila) get painted, just paint the detail in the original colours again! I very seldom succeed in painting around a detail... The paint gets there every time.
Also, washes are a great help when you're new. They're almost magical.

And again, don't give up! It's something to fight for, and you'll gradually get better and better. It's really rewarding in the end!

I did. I started when I was 12, and my first few models looked nowhere even close to what RonSaikowski posted. The Deathwing guy on the left may have a very simple colour scheme, but there is perfect blacklining, for a start.

My first painted 40k models weren't recognisable as anything, really. They were just somewhat random shapes with blotches of paint on them. If I still had my first Space Wolves models and could show them to you, you'd only be able to guess what they are based on the general marine shape and the three colours SW grey, red and yellow. There were some roughly sketched bone bits (some wolf teeth), but those weren't any good either.

Nowadays, I'm not a GD winner, but I paint to a fine standard I think. So in 20 years, you'll be a good painter, too! Nah, just joking, it won't take that long if you keep practising. I had long stretches where I did not paint for years, and I was painting quite well 10 years ago, too.

Ummm my first modles were so bad they almost got banned from my old store due to the fact they couldnt tell what was what. globs of red for alll!

I sucked when I started out. Don't worry too much about it. Mini painting is more about learning tricks and techniques than artistic ability.

If your seeing brush lines you need to thin your paints. It should usually take 2-3 coats to get good coverage.

As you guessed, light colors on black are difficult, if not impossible to do. White and yellow can not be painted over black. Red is also a weak color. For many colors you need to first paint an intermediate color (like grey) before attempting the final color. Look into GW foundation paints. They have very strong pigment and make a good base upon which to paint lighter colors.

Secondly, as Aerethan said, cleanup is an important step. Many fantastic painters mini's look like crap until the final touchup. Just expect to have to go back over each model to clean up mistakes. They happen to everybody.

One reason you are probably making mistakes is because your hand shakes. There are several ways you can counter this. First, don't hold the mini in your hand when painting. Put it on the table, attach it to a cork, put it in a vice, or some helping hands. But don't hold the mini in one hand and paint with another, you are more than doubling your shake.

Another way to help is to get some magnification. Helping hands (which I mentioned before) often come with a magnifying glass built in, and you can get the whole setup for <10$ on amazon. Or you can get a visor. There are many options out there.

Anyone can be an amazing painter. You just collect one easy trick at a time. Once you master 'painting between the lines', as it were, look into drybrushing, washes, and highlighting. Those are your basic skills.

From there you can blossom out into edging, flesh, and weathering. It is a big hobby, but most of the techniques involved are simple. You just collect them over time. Just take it one step at a time.

Not my first minis, but certainly very early...

Yes! Keep practicing and don't lose faith. Read up on painting and find someone locally who has experience and get their advice.

It is not something you can just pick up and expect to be good at immediately.

Aerethan wrote:I really wish I at least had some pics of my first models(digital cameras didn't exist much then).

The 2 most important things I can stress to a new painter:
Thin your paints. Not too much, but if your paint covers over black in one pass it's probably too thick. This will give you a smooth finish and will keep the details crisp.

Second: work on staying in the lines. Getting a clean finish will make the model look worlds better. Practice doing things like belts and smaller details with as fine a brush as you can. Some models have loads of detail on them, and if the paint is sloppy it all bleeds together.

Lastly, don't lose hope. It takes years of practice and effort to see major improvements over those first models. I believe that anyone can win a Golden Daemon if they just practice enough and apply new techniques and take heed the advice given them by more senior painters.

I agree totally with what you are saying, being a new painter myself, for the longest time I didn't care about my models, I would prime them black and then play that way. My friends and my FLGS didn't care but when you set up on a table against a nicely painted army and yours are only primed it kind of makes you feel intimidated a little bit.

The only piece of advice I can give the OP is to just stick with it. I am having a hard time right now because I am watching videos on youtube from Les and girlpainting and they make it look so easy but when I am done with the video and my model they look nothing alike. I am forcing myself to stick with it.

I didn't (aided by the fact that I started "late," researched thoroughly, and was very meticulous), but I haven't gotten that much better since then. Especially with all the great advice available, you have the benefit of being able to say "Look at how much much I've improved!" We're not all so lucky.

Yes I did, and by the current trend of considering Golden Demon level painting to be "tabletop" quality, I still do.

You don't need your miniatures to look great (that's what 'eavy Mettle is for) but if you do want to get great models the secret is shed lodes of dry brushing and washes combined with free hand practice and spray guns and all you need then is some practice

My first miniatures were absolutely terrible. These days, they're just not what I'd like them to be. 19 years with a sizable break in the middle, but still...

There are lots of tricks. Had I known then what I do now, I'd probably be a lot better at it. Keep your eyes open for those tricks. I'm a big fan of washes these days, something that I wasn't so good about back then. A good wash can make a lousy paint job passable. Purists would call me a scrub but hey, I've got a day job and I'm satisfied with what I produce, and it's not like I can't redo it later when I get better.

I didn't even use primer, and the first lootas I did, while detailed to a degree, where very flat and looked like they were out of a colouring book.

It helps to find a style of painting that you enjoy aesthetically, and to have patience. Most of the time, you won't do 30 models in a day. If you're like me, you might do five if you have several hours to dedicate to it. Just practice, watch painting tutorials (even for other armies or units besides the ones you have), and keep your eye on the Painting and Modeling threads. You WILL get better with time.

Just keep practicing, we all started off sucking, and if people say they didn't, they're lying...hopefully...otherwise I am boned!

I was pretty bad when I first started.

First model I painted was an old fantasy orc using a toothpick and oil paints lol.

Practice makes perfect, or at least improves your skill.


If you want a quick effective way to paint your army try using drybrushing + washes. Comes up nice once you have the technique downpat.

No one can be good at their first try. Even if you have a background in painting and art (like me), don't assume you'll be godlike and your skills will translate well when painting miniatures.

I totally sucked back then. Sometimes I look at my work and still think I do.

In the early 90's I totally sucked, and I still do in some areas where practice makes perfect. Some have natural talent and some do it for a living, offcource they will be good at it. But practice makes perfect and with that I got better, and so will you in time. The most important thing is to have fun and trial and error is part of it. After all, its fun when you succeed!

Is there something below sucking at something? Because I was at least a few tiers below whatever that would be when I started.

Sucking at something is the first step on the road to not sucking at something.

You are fortunate that there is the proliferation of paints, washes, inks and what not that there is these days. Back in my day we had paints and inks available in GW. And that was it.

The only advice I can give is calm down. Don't stress, and keep practicing. And read a tutorial or two here on Dakka or just the web in general. Probably the biggest hurdle in my own mind was not knowing some of the simpler techniques. Once you know of them you can try them out and see what works best for you and your style.

Trust me, and many others, that no matter how bad you think you are there will always be worse out there. And don't get discouraged.

And if someone really wants to give you gumption about your ability, then the only advice I can give on that matter is GO FOR THE EYES BOO! But seriously some people are just like that and screw their stuff if you are having fun.

What do you mean " When I started"?

My painting STILL sucks. It's just that my expectations are lower and more realistic now, so I don't care about it.

I don't care if it looks crap from 3" away. You don't PLAY at a range of 3" (unless you are sooooo shortsighted) anyway. You play at a distance of 3-4 FEET.

So I paint so that they look coherent from that range. Finer details are not painted because I can't see them at that distance - and can't be arsed if anyone else can.

Also, remember that most of the miniatures posted on here are not average, but really good paintjobs. It is not the standard you should measure yourself by when you just start out.

I started bodybuilding in summer last year. I now train at a studio four times a week. In comparison with the average bodybuilder there, I am still a weedy little git, but that won't put me off because I know that I can get there if I keep working on it (also I sometimes realise that when I compare myself to either my year-ago-self or your average joe on the street instead of Arnold Schwarzenegger, I am already quite boss).

The same works with painting. Few people are awesome painters from the get-go. But with practice and some study of technique, improvement happens quickly, especially in the beginning.

This is true, as I also measured myself with the Eavy metal paintjobs. Big misstake in the beginning.

My painting has gone from horrible to merely mediocre to "below average". It took about 3 years.

I started the hobby when I was about 14. I'm 21 now, so that's about seven years I've had to paint gak.

I'm still godawful terrible.

:yaoming:

*gives minis to friend to paint, threaten his family since I have no money for commission*

Have you done any reading on painting? Read as many articles as you can. Also start small. Post up your pics in the P&M forum and ask for advice. Good luck and happy painting!

Waethion wrote:..because I do.

Just bought a couple of Space Marines and some paint. The online tutorials made it look so easy - I figured I could pull off an okay result.

So far: Wrong.

The black foundation/primer went on easily enough, but after that it all went downhill. Three coats of color so far (a rather light color, perhaps a bad idea on top of black?) and it's still a mess of see-through brush lines. Paint doesn't go where I want it to (tried leaving the aquila black, but the edge turned out plain ugly), there are bubbles in the paint (from the water I mixed with the paint, I hope..(?)), and a voice in the back of my head is telling me I simply don't have the skills for this and should just forget the whole thing...

Any advice?

Yup, first stuff was pretty bad....keep at it, it takes time.

My first:



My 2nd:



My 3rd:



It's like anything else - practice makes not-as-crappy-as-your-last-attempt.

That first marine looks comically surprised; did a Carnifex just burst into the room like the Kool Aid man?

Anyway, this is the first mini I ever painted:


It's also a perfect way of showing how the flash on a camera can make red look orange (there is no orange on the model at all ) and how bad a several year-old Blood Red can be (the pot of red I was using had two consistencies living side-by-side inside it; the shoulders were where the red was lumpy, and the legs were where it took several exceedingly watery layers. No amount of shaking or agitation could revivie it).

I eventually disowned that model painting-wise, and dubbed this as my 'first' (although strictly second), painted a year or so later, with no practice between:



My more recent ones are in my gallery, and have been practised.

So, yes, I did totally suck when I first started painting, then somehow developed sort of "Hmm, that looks marginally okay on the tabletop" paintjobs, slowly progressing into "Hmm, that looks marginally okay when i'm far enough away from it so that it isn't poking my retina with its sword."