Now i'm under no illusion that i'm any master painter. I paint to what I consider a decent standard. I'm not a fast painter and i'm never going to be troubling Golden Daemon, but you never know, you might find one or two of these useful so here we go!
1: Daylight makes right.
I'm not trying to teach people to suck eggs here. I know that the VAST majority of people probably already use a daylight bulb to do their painting. But on the off chance that you DON'T use a daylight bulb, well, USE A DAYLIGHT BULB!
Lighting is REALLY important in getting good results and daylight bulbs are inexpensive. Using normal artificial lighting you will get colour distortion and false shadows that will definitely affect results. So yeah, a decent angled lamp and a daylight bulb are absolutely imperative to getting good results.
2: Make a recipe book
Maybe it's just me, but sometimes I REALLY struggle to remember exactly how I painted some of my models. This can particularly be a problem if I come back to a project after painting something else (see tip 8). My solution? Keep a recipe book. I write down the colours, mixes and even any unusual methods and techniques that I use. This way I can replicate the process later. Having a mismatched army can be very frustrating and I use a variety of different paint brands on my models so remembering which shades are which can be quite difficult. But not with my Paint Codex!
3: Bring the Noise
Or at least have something on in the background. I VERY rarely paint without having some tunes on. Normally rock or Metal but quite often a film or game soundtrack. I find it can be quite inspiring and essential in creating a 'mood' that is heavily conducive to a productive creative environment. Of course your taste will vary but regardless of the type of soundtrack you prefer you should find a bit of background music a pleasant addition to your painting time.
4: Keep things clear
Ok, I’ll admit
it, I have NOOOO idea why people use mugs as water receptacles for painting. A:
You cant easily see how contaminated that water is and B: You KNOW you are going
to pick it up instead of your tea for an unpleasant drink OR dunk your paintbrush in the Tea instead.
So I use
(squat) glass tumblers. Much, much easier! I can see when I need to replace the
water, can see if there is any residue at the bottom and can see my brush
through the water. Which brings me to my next tip.
5: A pair of glasses is much better than half a pair
This one
really is a no brainer. For two very good reasons. I use one tumbler to clean
my brush and another to rinse it. This is important. You don’t want to be
dragging that manky water (quite possibly with metallic flecks) into your
nicely new palletted paint! (unless you want your models to look like they are
covered in glitter, in which case, go nuts.)
Seriously
though two water cup/glass whatever, one to wash, one to rinse. One gets manky
one stays nice(ish) Thank me later.
6: Mould
Tool
Now, everyone
knows I am no White Knight. I criticise GW as often as they deserve it (which
used to be a LOT – but they are getting better). But one thing that I
cannot fault them on is the Citadel Mould tool. Ever since this wondrous little
gizmo I have never looked back. No more do I need to remove mould lines with a
modelling knife. A quick scrape with this baby and it’s bye bye mould line. If
you don’t have one get one. If you don’t take mould lines off your models then
hang your head in shame!
7: Look
before you paint:
Ok this is
another one that seems to be not all that common. You’ve got your new
miniature, ready to be adorned with coats of paint. You’re eager to start, to
get it ready for the display case/Table but SHTAAP!!
Have a look at
the model. I mean REALLY look at it, look at all the details. Look at the ways
the lines work, where bits of the model flow into each other. Which bits are
you going to paint first? Get an idea in your head about which bits are going
to be which colour. Painting a model and then realising you’ve missed a bit
sucks. Preparing yourself can prevent this. I once painstakingly painted a 54
mm models face and then realised I had missed an ear. Much swearing later he
ended up with a scar instead. Save yourself from this and do a bit of mental
prep first.
8:It doesn’t
matter what you paint...
As long as you
paint something. Look, I know that you might not always feel like painting. Not
everyone does. I’ve had battles with major depression (which are always ongoing
– it never really goes away) and sometimes I don’t paint at all. But other
times when I just don’t feel like painting something in particular, there is
always something else lying about that could use a lick of paint.
For example,
after working for GW AND painting up a number of my own marine armies I am DONE
with Power Armour. I must have painted half a chapter's worth at least over the years. I just can’t get excited about it and it’s the main reason I
chose to do Genestealer Cult for 2018. But even this project is weighing on me
a little. I mean I was SICK of painting Cultists, so what did I do? I grabbed a Chimera and started that. After doing all the camo and tracks on that I felt
more like tackling that twenty man squad again. Of course this can mean you
have lots of half finished models but I honestly think that is better than
forcing yourself to finish something and doing a rush job.
It might be
that you are sick of painting detail altogether, well why not do some
basecoating on another unit? Or a piece of scenery for a change of pace? If you
are anything like me you will have plenty that needs painting (read: more
models than I can actually paint in a lifetime) and they say a change is as
good as a rest. Hobby time is precious when you have adult responsibilities and
commitments, make the most of it!
9: Less is more:
EVERYONE knows
Duncan’s mantra, ‘two thin coats’ BUT beyond this there is something that is
very important to consider when painting and that is less is more. Kind of
along the same lines.
One thing I
remember is from when I was giving painting lessons as a GW member of staff. My student would always nearly be using too much paint, slathering massive
globules of paint onto the model and then wondering where the detail went. Once
a kid actually dunked his marine into a pot of UItramarine Blue, bet you
couldn’t do that with a Primaris Marine, it wouldn't fit!
Anyway, less
paint on the brush is generally much better than more. For a number of reasons.
1: Easier to
control. Load a big globule of paint onto a paintbrush and it will go all over your model, causing 'flooding'. Far better to apply a little at a time and manipulate the paint easier.
2: Less paint wastage. Thinking again as a staff member it really pissed me off endlessly opening new pots of Ultramarine Blue (the old hexagonal ones) because little Jimmy had decided his Marine needed to look like a blue Golf Ball. Wet Palettes are another great way to prevent wastage.
3: Preserve your brushes. Get too much paint on the paint brush and it is bound to end up in the ferrule and thats how you get a destroyed brush. Rinse your brushes frequently to prevent build up.
4: Better Coverage and colour. You need MORE reasons? Okay. Like the Master Duncan says two thin coats is better than one thick. Besides the obscuring of detail thin coats will allow the pigments in the paint to build up, this will provide a much much stronger and more vibrant colour. The expert professional painters use dozens of layers applied in thin glazes.
2: Less paint wastage. Thinking again as a staff member it really pissed me off endlessly opening new pots of Ultramarine Blue (the old hexagonal ones) because little Jimmy had decided his Marine needed to look like a blue Golf Ball. Wet Palettes are another great way to prevent wastage.
3: Preserve your brushes. Get too much paint on the paint brush and it is bound to end up in the ferrule and thats how you get a destroyed brush. Rinse your brushes frequently to prevent build up.
4: Better Coverage and colour. You need MORE reasons? Okay. Like the Master Duncan says two thin coats is better than one thick. Besides the obscuring of detail thin coats will allow the pigments in the paint to build up, this will provide a much much stronger and more vibrant colour. The expert professional painters use dozens of layers applied in thin glazes.
10: Tell a story:
One final tip, and this is a personal thing. Make it personal. Come up with backgrounds, narrative, characters and lore for your army. I find it can make you a lot more invested in your force and project. You don't even have to write anything at all! Little conversions here and there, colour choices, even your bases can tell a story.
See what strikes you, it might be just a war chant, a name, a home planet. The more you can add the more personal it will all feel. I decided to write a mini novel for my latest army Project! Feel free to borrow from anywhere! Influences and Homages abound in my projects, as long as you can try to keep this side of utter rip off and aren't blatantly profiting from your influences I think you can argue creative license rather than outright plagarism. Dont forget even GW themselves are fond of nods to popular culture and mythology/history!
One final tip, and this is a personal thing. Make it personal. Come up with backgrounds, narrative, characters and lore for your army. I find it can make you a lot more invested in your force and project. You don't even have to write anything at all! Little conversions here and there, colour choices, even your bases can tell a story.
See what strikes you, it might be just a war chant, a name, a home planet. The more you can add the more personal it will all feel. I decided to write a mini novel for my latest army Project! Feel free to borrow from anywhere! Influences and Homages abound in my projects, as long as you can try to keep this side of utter rip off and aren't blatantly profiting from your influences I think you can argue creative license rather than outright plagarism. Dont forget even GW themselves are fond of nods to popular culture and mythology/history!
and that's it! Just ten humble bits of (debatable) hobby wisdom that I thought i'd share. Hopefully you got at least SOMETHING out of reading this article. Otherwise I apologise for wasting your time. Either way, feel free to drop a comment below and let me know!
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