[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.

[hentzau]

Anyone have any good hints at securing a fiddly miniature for priming and painting? For minis without bases, I usually just use blutac and stick their feet in the tac to hold them to a handle, but I have this Tinker Bell mini that won't hold securely in blutac. I've seen images of people using like rods to hold minis while priming, but I've never figured out how they attach them temporarily. Anyone have any clues?

[Smoove_B]

Anyone have any clues?

I've seen some mini painters do squad-style painting on a wooden paint stirrer and using a strip of 3M double sticky-sided tape to hold them on.

[hentzau]

Anyone have any clues?

I've seen some mini painters do squad-style painting on a wooden paint stirrer and using a strip of 3M double sticky-sided tape to hold them on.

I’ve done the tape trick before, and it works well for groups of figs with bases.

This is the mini in question:



So not a lot to attach onto. It’s going to attach to a flying base that goes up under her skirt.

Just had a thought. Take a pin vise and drill a small hole under her skirt. Glue bit of paper clip as a peg, insert into small pvc tube to old while painting/priming. Use selfsame peg to help attach to flying stand. Might work.

[Blackhawk]

That's probably how I would have handled it. I even have a bunch of five-inch long sections of 1/4" dowel with holes drilled in the end for exactly that purpose. When I'm priming a piece that doesn't have a base yet (but will be mounted on one), I'll put the pin in the bottom of a foot (or wherever) and stick the other end in the dowel. Then, when I'm ready to mount it, I cut the pin short and drill a hole in the base to hold it all together. I've used that technique many times for things like familiars from Reaper, which are about the same size.

[Smoove_B]

Hmmm...yeah, now that I can see it, I'm out of my depth. I'd probably put it on a base first, then prime it.

The 3M tape is kinda "spongy" but I am not sure if it would be able to hold her up long enough to prime. Sounds like you have a better idea though.

I will say that I have seen quite a few miniature painters on Youtube using a "fun-tac" substitute that they claim works so much better than the real stuff. Wish I could remember specifics, but apparently there's something about this other stuff that works better for holding minis than the stuff I had been using.

[Blackhawk]

Hmmm...yeah, now that I can see it, I'm out of my depth. I'd probably put it on a base first, then prime it.

The 3M tape is kinda "spongy" but I am not sure if it would be able to hold her up long enough to prime. Sounds like you have a better idea though.

I will say that I have seen quite a few miniature painters on Youtube using a "fun-tac" substitute that they claim works so much better than the real stuff. Wish I could remember specifics, but apparently there's something about this other stuff that works better for holding minis than the stuff I had been using.

The tape would not work. Nor would the QuakeHOLD! Museum Putty.

I've been using it for many years. Unlike poster putty, it holds better, doesn't dry out, and doesn't leave a residue behind.

[Smoove_B]

No, it's not the museum putty either. It's some type of fun-tac facsimile - branded for the same purpose, but for whatever reason it holds miniatures better, something about not reacting with the paint. I'll try to look through my Youtube subscriptions and see if I can find it.

[hentzau]

I've heard great things about Gorilla Mounting putty. I got a really great putty with a Redgrass painting handle that I use, but it's probably over 5 years old and is starting to lose it's grip. The last couple of putties I've tried as a substitute weren't strong enough.

[Smoove_B]

It's Faber-Castell reusable adhesive.

I did also hear good things about the Gorilla putty - I've come to like just about anything they make. The super glue gel in the squeeze bottle (where you press the orange handles on the side to dispense) is the best - keeps the glue from drying out after you open it.

[Blackhawk]

I've heard great things about Gorilla Mounting putty. I got a really great putty with a Redgrass painting handle that I use, but it's probably over 5 years old and is starting to lose it's grip. The last couple of putties I've tried as a substitute weren't strong enough.

If it's the turning blue RGG handle, I have the same one. Museum Putty works really well on it (I haven't tried the one Smoove mentioned.)