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Hi all, relatively new hobbyist here looking for some advice on getting started/practicing painting. But first I think it would help if I gave a little background.

In my teens I had a go at collecting Warhammer 40k, managed to get a few models and start painting them up. Being young and impatient I was put off a lot by the painting of the models and my interest waned. Now i'd like to get back into things, I have a keen intrest in video games and board games, basically i'm pretty sure I will love playing...but that's only part of the hobby. I want to make a good start with painting and give my older more patient self a chance without too much investment, in case I discover it not for me. Hence my posting this thread for advice.

A buddy of mine has quite generously given me some Moria Goblin Warriors and Warriors of the Last Alliance to paint as practice but my longer term idea is to actually collect some Tau from 40k. So I would like to ask some opinions on what my best options are, my current thoughts are simple to get the Hobby Starter Set and begin painting, practising dry brushing and washing (i've been watching vids for a while now).

Alternatively I could get something like the Army Painter Starter Brush set to give me some variety in the thickness and then pick up some Tau colors, that way I could practice tau colored goblins and have the paints leftover for when I start collecting. I'm at least a little confident that I will enjoy the painting so this might benefit me in the long run although i'm sure the starter set has a usful selection of paints.

So yeah, any guidance would be much appreciated. Please let me know if you need some more info other than the above.

Try ebay for 2nd hand minis?
For brushes I would recommend getting some from an art shop - I always check the bristles before buying.
Coat D'arms do some reasonable paints & are made in the UK - just put into google for options of where to buy.
Some of their colours don't cover as well as GW paints but they are half the price.
If going for an ochre scheme look at Halfords primers - they do a great ochre one which will save you a lot of time with the base coat.

I will give you my opinion, but remember, it's you who are painting the miniatures so do what you want and nothing beats a bit of practice and experimenting.

I think you are on the right lines. I would get a starter set and practice drybrushing and washing the goblins. I don't tend to like drybrushing as it can leave a rather dusty look, it's great on stuff like fur on chainmail but personally I wouldn't do it on Tau but it's up to you. The same also for washing, if you don't do it right your miniatures can look grubby and dirty. So you might ask why start with drybrushing and washing? Well it will help you loads in seeing where you should be placing the light and dark colours when you come to highlight and shading once you progress. On the goblins it won't be too bad as they are naturally grimy creatures.

Before you start the tau I'd get the colours you want and then practice on the cloaks on the alliance guys. Here are some tips to get a nice smooth look. Get a pallette to mix a thin with. Thin your paint, it my seems contrary that if you want a vibrant base colour to make the paint thinner but by applying two or three coats of thin paint than one coat of thick paint you get a much smoother finish. When you put a wash on add some flow enhancer, this will help it guide into the recess and won't create so many tide marks. Then add some highlights, have a look at some videos on on how to highlight.

When you are happy with the cloaks you could try some Tau but it really depends on the look you want to achieve and how much effort you want to put into finishing each miniature.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 bubber wrote:
Try ebay for 2nd hand minis?
For brushes I would recommend getting some from an art shop - I always check the bristles before buying.
Coat D'arms do some reasonable paints & are made in the UK - just put into google for options of where to buy.
Some of their colours don't cover as well as GW paints but they are half the price.
If going for an ochre scheme look at Halfords primers - they do a great ochre one which will save you a lot of time with the base coat.

Actually that's a good point. If you are doing all your Tau one colour you could just buy a colour primer form army painter or somewhere else, spray the lot, wash, highlight and detail and job done, but experiment first

To be honest all you need is a middle-sized brush, like the starter one from GW and a dry-brush (an older, regular brush will do). Fine detail is made with the point of the brush, the rest happens more "on the move" with the side, just take a look at girlpainting at youtube, her brush seems huge but she does exquisite details.
Then get a box of Fire Warriors, you will need them anyway if you plan to paint them and decide on a color scheme beforehand, then get the 5,6 colors you usually need and you are covered.
It´s cost effective but relatively cheap (wargaming is expensive ).

Lot of good statements, I was pretty much in the same boat as you about 4 months ago. I started with the basic starter kit, the dark angels one, and bought a squad of IG since that's my army. After I painted them with my knowledge I started trolling around the interwebs and found all sorts of tips and tricks, then used the rest of my troops to try them out, just using new techniques on the squads until I found the style I like and stuck with it. The other thing I've done is completely paint one model and see how it looks. If you don't like it, strip it, then try again. That way you won't paint a whole squad then look at it in horror.

The plus side to all this is my army looks relatively uniform, but I can look at it and see how I've changed and evolved. I might go back and repaint the beginner guys, but for now it's fun to see how much I've improved.

Thanks very much for the replies they have been very useful.

I definitely want to practice Washing and Hilighting, mainly as I didn't know about these techniques when I first started to paint. There is currently two things that I can't get my head around, 1) The clear black lines that the pro jobs manage in between the Tau armor segments. I'm guessing this is done by some dark wash and some neat brush work. 2) How layer paints interact with each other. This is probably a Citadel thing but it seems that the intention is to layer progressively lighter colours. But doesn't that just replace the lower layer with a new lighter one?

Anyway thanks again, I will come back to post some pics for feedback when I get going.

Edit: Oh yeah that's what else I was going to ask. If I was to paint a single model up, what are the options for removing the paint without damaging the model. Would I just re-prime it? It seems like a good idea if I was to invest in some Tau.

Answers!

1) Yes, in most cases it is a wash or ink and neat brush work. Other options are to base the entire model in the color you want in the joints and use good brush work.

2) Layering isn't just stacking paint on top of itself over and over. There are a few different ways to do it, but yes if you just slap paint on top it will cover the paint beneath.

I used this blog http://blog.brushthralls.com/?page_id=2650 to learn about blending and layering I just like how it's spelled out. It talks about washing and layering and wet blending as well.

The way I layer is pretty much right out of the blog, thin watered down paint layers, so you can see the color underneath and just build up on top of that with more layers in order to slowly shift the color to a brighter one.

3) There are a bunch of different ways to strip a model. I soak mine in brake fluid for a few hours and then use hot water and a toothbrush to get the paint off. I've heard of Forumal 409, Simple Green, and Oven Cleaner being really good ways to do it as well.

The title threw me off.