[Miniatures] Painting tips and progress reports (with pics!)

[YellowKing]

I've got nine Ruffians done and all the bases. So still a long way to go, but I'm making steady progress.

One thing that REALLY helped me is realizing that with my new reading glasses (which were bumped up slightly based on my last eye doc visit), I can paint fine without having to use the visor magnifier. I couldn't believe how much that thing was slowing me down with having to constantly flip it up and down, retighten, etc. every time I switched paints. Tossing that out of the mix and just being able to paint with my normal eyewear was a game changer.

The other game changer was the vortex mixer. I'm now able to use colors I would normally just avoid because I could never get them mixed well enough.

I'm dying to get Freedom Five and/or Pericle on the table, but I feel like the minute I put the paints up I'll never go back and finish them. So I'm using those as an incentive to get these knocked out.

[Tao]

For those who Zenithal prime, do you use primer or paint for your second (white) coat? Or do you find it does not matter as long as you establish the contrast (dark/light)?

[Blackhawk]

I normally use primer, but depending on the paint, it likely wouldn't be an issue.

[hentzau]

For those who Zenithal prime, do you use primer or paint for your second (white) coat? Or do you find it does not matter as long as you establish the contrast (dark/light)?

Are you using spray or "slapchop"? For spray, I will always use primer. If you're doing slapchop, I use a spray primer for the dark coat and then you can overbrush your light coat with an acrylic paint. But be careful using a paper towel to do that overbrush, because it can turn chalky/dusty because you dry out the liquid and just leave pigment behind. I have a plastic pallet that i built up lumps of paint and glue on to brush away most of the paint and it provides a smoother finish.

[baelthazar]

For those who Zenithal prime, do you use primer or paint for your second (white) coat? Or do you find it does not matter as long as you establish the contrast (dark/light)?

I tend to use primer, but I have used (to very good effect) Golden High Flow Acrylics Titan Buff. It is almost the exact same color as the Games Workshop Citadel "special" primers used for the Contrast paints.

[Tao]

I applied Vallejo Black Surface Primer with an airbrush. I am looking to apply white zenithal to the miniature but don't have white primer and was wondering if it was recommended or necessary or if white paint would suffice. Another bottle of primer isn't overly expensive but at the moment, I can't imagine needing white primer for anything other than zenithal as I have two shades of gray and the black and it seemed a bit wasteful if I don't really need it. Plus for me, it seems too much primer is worse than too much acrylic paint, the primer seems to obscure detail with less tolerance so applying an extra layer of primer made me a little nervous.

I have a couple of makeup brushes I use for dry brushing that work well, I've never tried using a paper towel.

[Blackhawk]

For those who Zenithal prime, do you use primer or paint for your second (white) coat? Or do you find it does not matter as long as you establish the contrast (dark/light)?

Are you using spray or "slapchop"? For spray, I will always use primer. If you're doing slapchop, I use a spray primer for the dark coat and then you can overbrush your light coat with an acrylic paint. But be careful using a paper towel to do that overbrush, because it can turn chalky/dusty because you dry out the liquid and just leave pigment behind. I have a plastic pallet that i built up lumps of paint and glue on to brush away most of the paint and it provides a smoother finish.

+1. The prepping drybrushing using something plastic instead of a paper towel was something it took me 30 years to learn. It's significant.

[Tao]

Ah, I see, you mean using the paper towel to remove excess paint from the brush and picking up paper particles. I thought you all were referring to some trick of applying the paint. My wife buys these "paper towels" that come in a box instead of a roll that feel almost like a cloth material, that i use when painting so particles haven't been a problem that I've noticed.

[Blackhawk]

No, it's that paper is absorbant, so it removes the medium (the liquid portion of the paint) more efficiently than the pigment.

It sucks the juice out and leaves the powder.

That's what reduces the quality of the result. Plastic removes mostly pigment, leaving the medium, and creating smoother results.

[Blackhawk]

By the way, a pack of disposable plastic 'paper' plates will give you years worth of dry brushing.

[Punisher]

No, it's that paper is absorbant, so it removes the medium (the liquid portion of the paint) more efficiently than the pigment.

It sucks the juice out and leaves the powder.

That's what reduces the quality of the result. Plastic removes mostly pigment, leaving the medium, and creating smoother results.

Isn't the whole point of dry brushing to lose the liquid and make it dry?

[Blackhawk]

It's to minimize the amount of paint on the brush so that it applies only the tiniest bit per stroke. The paint that remains still needs to be formulated correctly.

The 'dry' just refers to the amount of paint, not dried out paint.

[GreenGoo]

It's to minimize the amount of paint on the brush so that it applies only the tiniest bit per stroke. The paint that remains still needs to be formulated correctly.

The 'dry' just refers to the amount of paint, not dried out paint.

And the paint tends to only apply to raised surfaces, often appearing as highlights. Thus the sum total of my knowledge is spent.

[baelthazar]

By the way, a pack of disposable plastic 'paper' plates will give you years worth of dry brushing.

This is why Artis Opus sells what is something like a cork or wood "texture palette." It has a rough surface and raised and lowered areas. They also suggest you prime it with a black primer to keep the wood from absorbing the paint.

I haven't tried it yet, but it likely would help with drybrushing (at a much higher costs than plastic plates). Weirdly, I used to drybrush a lot but have moved away from it to do zenithal, contrast, and highlights.

Maybe I should try to slapchop at some point.