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I know this is a big problem for many of us but I'm really struggling with eyes on some GW LOTR miniatures. They are just so small! My problem is that the paint just keeps drying on the tip of the brush before I can apply it. It's really frustrating. I'm using a magnifying glass and I'm sure I'm getting the point of the brush just where I want it but when I take it off the miniature it hasn't left an paint behind because the paint on the brush has dried. I've tried using a very small brush with the paint not thinned. I've tried using a bigger brush with a decent well and a fine point with thinned paint. No matter what I do - the same problem! Eventually I manage to get some paint on the mini but by then it isn't in the place I want it to be and the eyes end up ruined. Sometimes I can correct it, sometimes after a few attempts like that the eye socket is all filled up and the face is ruined. Does anybody have any tips? Watching YouTube videos nobody else seems to have this problem.

Could paint retardant be the answer?

Jandgalf wrote:
I know this is a big problem for many of us but I'm really struggling with eyes on some GW LOTR miniatures. They are just so small! My problem is that the paint just keeps drying on the tip of the brush before I can apply it. It's really frustrating. I'm using a magnifying glass and I'm sure I'm getting the point of the brush just where I want it but when I take it off the miniature it hasn't left an paint behind because the paint on the brush has dried. I've tried using a very small brush with the paint not thinned. I've tried using a bigger brush with a decent well and a fine point with thinned paint. No matter what I do - the same problem! Eventually I manage to get some paint on the mini but by then it isn't in the place I want it to be and the eyes end up ruined. Sometimes I can correct it, sometimes after a few attempts like that the eye socket is all filled up and the face is ruined. Does anybody have any tips? Watching YouTube videos nobody else seems to have this problem.

Could paint retardant be the answer?

This used to be the bane of my existence. It didn't help that white is such a tricky paint to work with, but it's vital for a lot of very small detail work. What worked for me was a few things combined:

1) Using a larger brush. Tiny 000 size brushes are a trap, as long as the brush you are using has a good tip, and isn't too big: I use a size one Series 7 for tiny detail work, the type with the long brush hair. It took me a couple of weeks to get used to it, now I wouldn't change it for the world.

2) Thinning your paints to the required level: this is obvious, but needs to be mentioned. As long as you remove enough paint from the brush you will retaiin total control.

3) Using the thinning medium that works for you: many people will only thin their paints with water, that's fine, but for me Vallejo Airbrush Thinner is the magic ingredient (I never use an airbrush, I only ever use regular brushes). I've tried paint retarder, I didn't find it to be that helpful, the consistency is too gel-like.

Edit: you say that sometimes the eye that you are working on fills up with paint: you are using too much paint, you need to remove some from the brush before you apply it.

To sum up: thin your paints a bit more and use a larger brush

My usual method if the paint is getting away from me and too thin is to just touch it to my paper towel or whatever I'm using as a wiper before going to the model. Also, doing the eyes after base skin color, but before anything else on the face, and just accepting some times I'll screw up and have to go back with said base color for clean up.

Thanks for the tips but I realize I wasn’t being clear. My problem isn’t that the paint is too thin it’s that it’s drying on the brush before I can paint with the tip

Yeah, I understood.

Paint will dry faster when it's undiluted on a smaller brush because there's simply less of it.

By all means give paint drying retarder a go, you don't need much for it to have an effect. The point of my post was that in the end I didn't need it.

Paint the eyes first before doing anything else, then use the base skin color to shape them.

That way if you screw up too bad, you can just strip it without loosing hours of work.

I’m having an issue with paint drying too quick at the minute due to it being hot. I have bought some paint retarder which is a slow drying medium that you can add to your paints. Not had chance to try it yet. I got the Vallejo version

Have you considered switching to a completely different set of problems and using eyeball decals instead? You can apply these with a needle

Imagine having to apply eyeball transfers...nightmarish

 Undead_Love-Machine wrote:
Imagine having to apply eyeball transfers...nightmarish

I'm not joking, these exist. For larger scales, you can even apply background, irises and lashes seperately. Hyperdetailling is a world of its own

Here's the smallest i'm currently aware of, starting at 7/10s of a mm per eyeball: https://www.kitsworld.co.uk/index.php?GOTO=1231&PICFILE=1231&STKNR=1231&STRH=&ORDN=&RNZ=555760&THISVIEWMODE=2&SUPPLIER=&FINDRETR=&WIDENET=&CATEGORY=9&SUB=16&VWW=1&VANCE=99

Crikey.

Looks like you still have to paint the whites of the eyes though? Regardless, I'm happy painting my eyes the old fashioned way!

If you are so inclined, you can take away excess paint with the tip of a knife. You just have to make sure you give the underlying paint at least twenty four hours to dry and properly harden so the blade only removes fresh paint.

But I'll also second the notion that you should do your eyes first so you can work outward and clean up around them as needed.

I just try to get lucky with painting eyes and if not lucky, roll the dice again and do them over.. usually I get lucky..

A good tip I got once was to first do the black and then add white to the sides (where you want it, depending on where you want the eyes to look ofcourse) and then fix the skin tone around it.

I've also sometimes used a cocktail stick (or needle!) for painting eyes instead of a brush.. go figure.. its not exactly drip..whcih fills the eyesocket detail but ofcourse you still need to be quick.

White is notorious for drying quickly, been having that problem too lately.. (already lost like 4 citadel paints of white and the 5th is starting to dry too now.. this only happens with the lighter paints such as whites and lighth beiges (wraithstone etc)

I'd avoid very quick drying paints like the Citadel Base range. Also thin with something slow drying like ink or wash rather than water. I personally use Coat D'Arms black (i.e. old Citadel Chaos Black) thinned with Vallejo Black Game Ink. And don't hesistate, dot and pray then touch up as necessary. As mentioned above, paint eyes as one of the first things on the model, not last!

+1 on the tip regarding using a larger brush.

Also, consider using "off-blacks" as actual black paints typically contrast too much off the whites of the eyes.

Yeah, a fine detail brush with a large well is gonna help mitigate the tip drying.

Sometimes it can be a flow issue, depending on what paints you are using. Gw paints for example, some of them are decent but a lot of the time they have bad flow, theyre too thick and they dry too quick. You can water them down to combat the thickness and dry time but sometimes its still just a flow issue getting the paint to want to come off the brush onto the model.

When doing detail things like eyes, freehand etc sometimes what you really need is just a bit of flow aid in the paint along with thinning it down properly with water to help it come off the brush onto the model. I feel like using paints with really good flow and consistency like Ak 3rd gen helps a lot but you can edit most acrylics using water and flow aid to work well.