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I've been considering starting this thread about confessing those things which you do while painting that go against the common wisdom or that you know are the wrong way but your brain can't let go of. Mine is that I'm the guy who paints everything with a detail brush. I know I'm supposed to use a larger brush and that my painting will go much faster. I've watched the videos where people just slap on their base layer and clean it up after. But something deep in my psyche keeps me from doing that; I've even made a conscious effort to use a larger brush which always works better, and by the next session I'm reaching for my detail brush again. Those laces holding together ork shirts and pants? I know I can just cover over them with the base coat and then go back and make them a different color later, but no, I carefully work around them with the base coat and then detail them in with the other color being careful not to touch the basecoat.
I had to create this thread tonight after looking at the size brush I use for 90% of my work and realizing it was a 10/0. Not 2/0, not 3/0, but a 10/0 pin-striping brush.
So go ahead, be bold! Let's hear you painting sins, and perhaps whatever painting gods you pray to will either forgive your wayward ways, inspire you to change them, or strike you down where you sit.

I don’t always thin my paint.

Sometimes it’s thin enough from the pot.

I don't paint in sub-assemblies.

That is why my Imperial Knight will probably never be finished.

I must break this bad habit to become a better painter.

A long time ago, I painted space marines using enamel paint.

I used to paint Battle Tech - Battle Mechs with enamel paints and use toxic paint thinner to strip them when the paint jobs weren't very nice, which was most of the time.

The first miniature I painted was a Hero Quest Chaos Knight and I painted it all black with enamel paint and then used red enamel to paint the visor area. I did not use a prime coat either.

I have only recently started attempting to thin my acrylic paints and use layers.

Fictional wrote:
A long time ago, I painted space marines using enamel paint.

Heretic!!!

I used to over thin and then over saturate models with the old gw ink based washes... The tide lines were horrifying! XD

Where do I start. Well from this thread alone:
I don't think my paints,
I don't paint in sub-assemblies,
I've painted with enamel paint and water colours.

Besides that:
I fully wash my models in bulk oil after doing base and trim,
I use dry brushing to do my highlighting,
I used to do detail painting with an old brush with no point to it,
I have an entire army base painted but with only the characters painted.

And that's just the stuff that I can remember. Please forgive me for my sins.

I only rarely paint in sub-assemblies.
Most of the time my paint is thin enough without needing to thin it. I also don't use the two-thin-coats technique.

Drybrushing is underrated. I love it.
I've used one brush to do all of my work, from base to highlight.
I've sometimes painted models with no primer.
I don't paint eyes. I just leave the wash in the recesses.
Most things I paint get a base and wash. Very few surfaces get a drybrush or highlight.

I'm currently averaging about one painting session a year

My army will be finished by my children, and my children's children at this rate

I use the dipping method.

I have dipped a whole Necron army.

Most of my Ork infantry is painted solely with washes (outside of metallic bits).

I think drybrushing looks more natural than (edge) highlighting (most of the time).

I don't always thin my paints, Army Painter paints are sometimes quite thin straight from the bottle.

I don't paint eyes on human-sized models (anymore).

I usually prime with white.

I think citadel paints are superior to other brands I've used. The bottles suck but the paint itself is great.

I sometimes use a hairdryer to speed up paint drying.

I don't seal my models.

I wash my brushes with ordinary hand soap. Even my fancy Artificer brushes.

Emperor forgive me.

I don’t always thin my paints, I am also one for painting with a detail brush, to me you get more control but have to make more strokes

Is there even a substitute for the old standard brush?

I'm a heavy brush licker, even with metal paints...

I must say not thinning your paints is a mortal sin...you guys are gonna burn...

I use my airbrush to undercoat inside without an spraying booth:(

Is it a painting sin if you never get around to painting?

I used to paint my space marines Mechanicus Orange!

I'm too uncreative to come up with my own paint schemes. I usually get inspiration via google/dakka and make (inferior) versions of other peoples schemes.

Also I play 40k for over 10 years now and never had a fully painted army. Not even close actually :(

Fictional wrote:
A long time ago, I painted space marines using enamel paint.

Back in the day, Testors Enamel was all you could get in my area. I painted Orks, SM, Eldar, Squats, IG, all in enamels.

On the up side, the moment I switched to acrylics I became a much better painter!

mrhappyface wrote:
I use dry brushing to do my highlighting,

Sgt_Smudge wrote:
Drybrushing is underrated. I love it.

No sins here! Drybrushing is not only a perfectly valid technique that should be in every painter's arsenal, but it is essential to some more advanced techniques (especially texture work and metallics)! I really do think the stigma about it needs to go; yes, it can be a beginner-friendly method, as can washing, but ultimately it's just another technique. It isn't 'easy mode' or 'cheating' and it's not just something you do until you learn to be neater, it's something that can be applied to a multitude of situations and to a very high quality. To dismiss it as a beginners' method, or to judge yourself for relying on it, is mad! Drybrush away, fellow drybrushing-not-sinners!
This message was brought to you by the Church of the Holy Drybrush... Blessings be upon you, hitting only the most raised areas to create a soft highlight!


Ahem... As for myself, I freely admit to going against the conventional wisdom thus:

- I buy and use crappy art store brushes. Typically, you get enough in a set to allow for some less-than-gentle treatment while still keeping a couple nice and clean for neater work, and I don't feel bad about putting them through hell with heavy drybrushing, covering rough basing material, doing quick basecoats, shoving into undercuts ect... because this set of 8 cost be the price of a cup of tea and a cake, and in 6 months' time when they're fully dead (read: perfect for the aforementioned rough work) I can just get a new set, which I also don't have to worry about.

- Often, I just use black paint as a basecoat rather than primer, as I vastly prefer the finish. A coat of VMA black, and you're good to go with a lovely smooth surface to paint over, with no detail obscured, no rough or grainy texture.

- I never put as much effort into basing as I know I should. I try, but every time, I feel my ability to do a decent base falls far short of my ability to paint a decent model...

Well, from the previous replies, I have a few.
But I don't consider them sins, it works for me.

I don't tend to paint in sub-assemblies.
Due to the modifications and conversions, and my need to fill any and all gaps, the model has to be built to completion before I paint it.
However, I paint from dark to light and just leave any difficult to reach areas (due to being assembled) as black to represent shadows.

I almost exclusively use Enamel paints.
It's what I'm used to from my life-long model kit building hobby.
I don't think it harms the results.

I use dry-brushing together with edge-highlighting, etc.
I see no problem with using a "basic" technique.
If done well, dry-brushing can look as good as wet-blending.
It can also produce results that you can't get other ways, together with it's close relative "over-brushing.
If it does the job, why change.

I don't tend to paint eyes.
They shouldn't show up on this scale.
If the eyes are large enough to actually see the eyeball clearly, then I'll paint it.

Sins I might add:
I'm a messy painter.
I'll paint one thing.
Paint the thing next to it and get paint on the first.
Touch up the slip and get paint on something else.
Touch that up and get paint on something else...
...

I don't paint by recipe.
I mix all colours (if not used straight from a pot) by eye, every time.
So it's difficult to answer questions on how I achieved a colour (on top of not using a "typical" paint range).
Just add a little of colour "x" until it looks about right...

The results are what matter, not the method used to make it...
Judge for yourself:
Space Marine:


Infinity figure (with eyes done):


Nurgle:


Face hugger:


Terrain:


Right, got a bit carried away with finding examples to please everyone... more in my galleries.

I use the predominate color of the finished mini to base coat/prime the minis. I have even used silver as a base coat for predominately armoured figures (HE swordmasters - came out great!!)

I use the same brush for everything, dry brush, use craft store brushes and paints, store brushes bristles up, etc.

Like most arts, once you learn the rules, you can start breaking them and explore.

I use cheap brushes and clean them with acetone. They've held up almost a year it's great!
I wouldn't dare use it on expensive brushes tho.

Here goes:

I don't wash my brushes as much as I should, often finishing a section of a model I'm working on before cleaning. I go through a lot of cheap brushes.

Agree with OP on liking smaller brushes.

Until a year ago, I felt like spaceships didn't need washes as "light comes from all directions.' Also only painted stuff I could get a quick basecoat on before picking out details.

Also also only started painting with miniatures specific paints a year ago as well; until then I was using SUPER thinned down Windsor and Newton.

See pic below for examples of the last two.

my first slab of paint is really quick. I just want it done.

- I lick my brush to get it back in shape, except when using oil based paint

- I start painting way to many projects and tend to switch from one to another all the time

- I think too much about how to paint and what to do next, without actually painting

- sometimes I see some lint in the paint on the tip of my brush and am too lazy washing the brush and reapplying the paint... so I keep on painting and most the time I regret it, as I apply the lint to the miniature

- trying to apply a second layer without letting the first one completly dry (especially annoying with washes... most the time the damage can't be repaired)

- I tend to dip my paintbrush into my coffee mug before realizing it isn't water

I most likely commit more painting sins, but can't remember them at the moment.

Sin of the day - I actually clean W&N Series 7 Sable in isopropyl alcohol - pretty sure I'm not meant to, but there you go. I also use a scalpel blade to comb out some of the accumulated paint around the edge. I'm hopeless at keeping them as clean as I'd like...

 Sasquatch wrote:

Fictional wrote:
A long time ago, I painted space marines using enamel paint.

Heretic!!!

In my defence, it was about 30 years ago, and I used to paint airfix kits previously, for which enamels paints were the norm at the time.

Also, whilst im confessing, these were the RT plastic marines, which I didnt exactly cut out of the sprues well. There are bits sticking out all over the models.

Whilst I have improved since starting to collect again, I do properly cut, scrape, file and clean the models, I have fallen into the "build more than i paint" trap.

I never thin my paint
I rarely seal my finished modes, and many get stored in plastic, plano-typo tackle boxes

I didn't even know what "painting in sub-assemblies" meant until this thread. Never done that. If there's something hidden behind an arm, gun, cloak... It doesn't get any paint!

While I'm more or less happy with the results I get painting, I definitely commit a ton of the inexcusable sins:

-Licking brush tips.
-Using cheap brushes.
-Never highlighting when I can avoid it
-Ignoring some hidden components which don't get painted
-If it's not available with a base-colour spray paint I probably don't paint it.
-Never used an airbrush (though I want one)
-Don't use handles or corks to hold miniatures...I just hold the damn thing.
-I always try to prime even when it's miserable conditions for it..for better or worse.
-I can't abide anything which takes extra time.
-Sacrificing most skills in a "quick but good" pursuit.