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I've seen Warhammer models painted with tiny detail, and painted icons and symbols precise enough to have been stickers.
I own a 'Fine detail brush', the smallest of the brushes I'm aware GW has available. In no way can I see it possible to make details that tiny with the brush. I admit I'm not a great painter, but simply by the size of the tip of the brush, and the task of attempting to 'draw' small symbols with a brush, it seems impossible. Especially since regardless of how many brushes I use they always have the same issue of tiny bristles straying and dragging tiny lines of paint where they don't belong.

I've heard there were small 'pens' that could be used with paint?

Patience, dexterity, and a lot of skill.

I understand skill is a MAJOR part of it, and I confess it's something I lack greatly. But I'm talking more mechanically. It doesn't seem possible that a fine detail brush could draw detailed symbols, for its sheer existance as a brush.
That said my brushes always fray/fall apart quick as anything... regardless of my OCD care levels.

Who says they used a whole brush?

Many people will cut off all but one bristle to get the finest line possable.

It really does just come down to skill and patience. Those patterns and script that are incredibly tiny are painted with brushes and the painters spend many hours working to get to that ability.

The point on a brush is very fine, and will paint that thinly if required, you also don't always have to paint it that thin, they may paint it thicker and relayer over parts to thin it down.

Also Micron pigment pens do help too.

Using a magnifier of some wort helps a lot. I use dental magnifiers myself, but hobby magnifiers can be purchased for much cheaper.

Have you ever done work under a microscope? It is amazing how much stability and dexterity your gain. Your ability to work in detail is strongly connected to your vision.

There are also smaller brushes. If I remember correctly the fine detail is a 00, you can get 000 and maybe even smaller. Though fine detail is the smallest I use at the moment.

Oh, and in my experience the "fine detail" brushes sold by the major hobby companies (short ones) are junk. They are taking advantage of most hobbyists inexperience with brushes, knowing they will see "small brush" and think high detail.

While they have a fine tip, they are too short, which means they dry out too quickly and fray. A high end brush like a Raphael has just as fine a tip, but due to its full length it is infinitely easier to use and lasts longer.

The size of the brush doesn't really matter, when it comes to drawing fine details. What matters is how thin the end of the brush point is.
You can find size 2 brushes that have a most fine tip than a size 0 one.

Windsor & Newton Series 7 Watercolours, size 000. Thin paint. Steady hand. Time.

The trick with a lot of writing is to remeber you're not writing with a ballpoint; stroke direction and placement is much more important when constructing a stylised font.

With symbols an example of what you mean is probably a good idea.

You can paint even a very thin line with a very thick brush.

Example:

Paint a white line 5mm thick.
Paint a black line 5mm thick, covering 2mm of the white line.
Paint another black line on the other side, covering another 2mm.
There, you have 1mm thick white line.

That's how I paint eyes.

I don't know about other people, for me fine detail is less about a super-precise brush and more about "tactics" like this.

winterdyne wrote:Windsor & Newton Series 7 Watercolours, size 000. Thin paint. Steady hand. Time.

The trick with a lot of writing is to remeber you're not writing with a ballpoint; stroke direction and placement is much more important when constructing a stylised font.

With symbols an example of what you mean is probably a good idea.

This is exactly it.

there are smaller brushes available then the GW fine detail, but its pretty much just keeping the tip as pointy as possible... then you can paint uber details with almost everybrush (yeah yeah i know dont flame me down just because you cant freehand pattersns with a nr4 brush)

Brushes go all the way down to 20/0 and smaller... but there isn't much gain in control below 10/0.

There are also microdetail pens that many people use for such insanely small details.

winterdyne wrote:Windsor & Newton Series 7 Watercolours, size 000. Thin paint. Steady hand. Time.

The trick with a lot of writing is to remeber you're not writing with a ballpoint; stroke direction and placement is much more important when constructing a stylised font.

With symbols an example of what you mean is probably a good idea.

If you're using a W&N Series 7, you probably don't need any smaller than a 1, and I use a 3 for virtually all of my freehand and detail work. With a brush of that quality, the tip will be just as fine between different sizes, with the only real difference being the size of your reservoir and how hard it is to keep paint out of the ferrule. With the larger reservoir and sufficiently watered-down paint, you've got a much longer time between refilling your brush.

I strongly believe that in order to achieve high "tabletop" quality extreme skills are not necesary. Personally I did a lot of homework and reading. Experience is of course imprtant, as for most of us, our first minis where a total mess. I do not consider myself an artist, but I can replicate many techniques fairly well. Details are what brings a mini to life, but that comes in time and experience. Try to imagine the steps that you'll take while painting and the effect that each paint stroke has on the model. I do not own a detail brush and when I get one it will take time to learn how to use it.

The brush is your smallest concern. I, for example use my trusty Wash Brush for everything... From large tank surfaces to the most tiny details. It's the tip of the brush that matters most.
Also, a steady hand and LOTS of patience.

If you have enough patience, it replaces some of necessary skill

Having a steady hand is a bit of a misnomer, really. My hands shake a decent amount. It's all a matter of properly bracing them so that everything moves together.

Ma55ter_fett wrote:Who says they used a whole brush?

Many people will cut off all but one bristle to get the finest line possable.

In my experience, cutting down to fewer bristles actually makes the task harder. There are several important tips for painting very small shiz. (like pupils on the eyes of your model, script and very small dots for reflections in gems and whatnot.)

1.) Use a clean, fine detail brush made of red sable. Synthetic bristles are perfectly fine for almost everything else, but not for fine detail.

2.) Wet the brush and shape the point before you load it with paint. Look at it and make sure it holds a good point. The body of the brush does not have to be small. In fact if there are not enough bristles (i.e. a brush with only "one" hair), the paint will not flow off of the brush.

3.) Use a palette and make sure your paint is properly thinned. Don't just dip the brush in the paint pot. Thick paint will form "blobs" on the brush and will not flow from the brush. So make sure to add water to the paint in the palette. How much water to add depends on the particular paint (brand and color) that you're using, the idea is to find that region between "like water" and "like Elmer's Glue". To thick and the paint won't come off the brush and when it does it will obscure detail. To thin and you risk a puddling effect.

4.) When you load the brush, only put paint on the very tip - the very last milimeter or so. After you load the brush, re-shape the tip by gently "rolling" it on the palette.

5.) Stabilize your hand. When I paint detail, I rest the wrist of my painting hand on my desk and the pinky / ring finger on the model. I also try to time my detail painting so that I am not shaking - for example I try not to do this when I'm over-caffeinated or hungry. I also hold my breath a little to slow my heart rate, just like you would if you were shooting a rifle.

6) Practice.

Last of all, just know that not all of the detail you see is done with a tiny brush and a steady hand. Depending upon what the task is, there are sometimes tricks. For example, you can get a thin dark line around a raised object (like a space marine's chest eagle, or an eldar spirit stone) with a thin ink wash. That's how I did the rivets on the right knee cap of this dude.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/374218-.html?m=2