minus_t's guide to: getting started

[minus_t]

OK guys, I got a PM asking for some basic tips and starting techniques, and I figured that (after writing a pretty hefty PM back) it would possibly be interesting/helpful to many other people too!

All of this is assuming you know nothing at all, so don't be too offended if it's a bit basic, but I shall try not to sound patronising...!
The main idea is to give you a set of decent, yet simple weapons in your painting arsenal, so that you can start cranking out finished, TT standard models in no time, without worrying about anything complicated like light sourcing, colour charts etc etc...

Ahem. Anyway, on with the show...

First up, things you will need:

• Brushes. If you're just starting out, stick with some GW ones. They're good quality for the price, and fairly easy to get hold of. If you're serious about doing mini painting on a long scale, you will want to invest in some decent brushes. I'd reccomend Windsor and Newton Series 7s. They are much more expensive than GW (at least 4x the cost), but, if treated well, will last pretty much forever.
  Size wise, grab a GW detail, fine detail and large brush, and a small drybrush (better brushes should be looking at a 0, a 1 and a 2, as well as a coarser (and cheaper) brush with a smallish flat head).
• Paints. Try to plan ahead. If you know you're painting several green things, grab a decent selection of greens. Also, try and make sure (initially at least) that you have a 'base' (or main) colour paint, a paint that is lighter (but the same colour), and an ink that is a darker shade of the main colour. This makes your life much easier.
• Pallette. Any old plate will do, but a 'real' pallette might have certain features that will help out.
• Glass of water. Very important this. Painting without water is like breathing without air. Not very effective.
• Tissue paper/loo roll. Very, very handy, especially for the two main techniques I will be showing you below.

Next, we'll look at some basic techniques that will really help when you're starting out, and will (hopefully) develop into several more complicated techniques with a bit of practice.

First up: Drybrushing.
This is a very simple highlighting technique, that works best on heavily textured areas (like fur, hair etc etc).
First, paint the area with your base colour (lets imagine you do blue). So, you would paint it all a medium/dark blue (like Enchanted Blue). Don't be scared of using a fairly large brush, neatness isn't overly key at this stage, and the faster you can go, the faster you can get the model on the table! Also, unless you're actually drybrushing (you're not yet!), always use a pallette, and mix a little water into the paint, so it flows better.
Next, grab the lighter paint. Lets say Ice Blue. Dip your Small Drybrush into the ice blue, then start wiping most of the paint off onto the tissue paper.
When you see barely any paint being left on the paper with each stroke, start lightly and quickly drawing the brush back and forth over the textured area of the model. This should leave a little of the lighter paint left on the raised areas of the model.
This is a very simple and quick method of highlighting, but there are many more good articles that will go into a bit more detail about it. The Paint Monkey's article is especially worthy of a look, and it can be found *here* (with many thanks to The Paint Monkey, curse you and your similar names!)

Next up, inking. Inking is a quick and simple method of shading your models. Basically, you start off by basecoating the area that you want to shade. Lets say you decide to ink some skin. What you would do is paint it a fairly light base coat, so for skin I would maybe do an Elf Flesh basecoat, over all the flesh on the model.
Then, I would mix some Flesh Wash (ink) with a little water, to make it a bit more transparent, and flow a little better (always use your pallette to mix on).
Taking a largish brush, simply paint this over the entire flesh area, paying particular attention to the recesses. As ink is fairly thin and runny, it will collect in these recesses, and form nice dark pools, making them look like they are in shadow, and adding depth to the model...
Again, there are plenty of nice articles about inking out there, but I don't remember any that particulaly stand out as being fantastic.

Thirdly, don't be afraid of combining these techniques!
Some fantastic looking armies have been created by drybrushing then inking...
Also, these will work better for certain things. ie: 'Silver' metallics often look fantastic when drybrushed, but golds tend to look much better if you paint them flat, then ink them with a brown...
At the end of the day, you should experiment. That is the only real way to learn and improve, as it's all very well me telling you this, but it is another thing entirely for you to go and do it yourself and find your own ways of painting...


Why do we use these techniques? After all, in real life things don't have lighter edges, or darker recesses, it's all the same!
Well, in a manner of speaking (and, indeed, seeing), yes. Things in real life are often 'flat' colour. However, when you look at them, you see lighter 'highlights', darker 'shades' etc etc...
Because we are painting a teeny-tiny model, light doesn't behave in the same manner as it does on a macro (large) scale. This means that we have to over-ephasize the light and the shade, to make it look 'normal'. With me so far?
Basically, look at any model that has been shaded and highlighted, then look at one that hasn't. See the difference? The shaded/highlighted version is almost certainly more striking, has more impact and probably just generally looks much cooler than the flat version.
Of course, if you don't believe me then fine. But do me one favour, and try it at least once. I (almost) guarantee you will like the result so much more that you will stick with it...


A few sites that it is worth knowing about:
coolminiornot.com ~ a huge, fantastic site, chock full of articles, photos and tips. Check out the all time top 10 for some models of astounding beauty.
brushthralls.com ~ Not a GW based website (they mainly paint Privateer Press models), but nonetheless a brilliant resource. Some blinding tutorials, and some simply stunning ideas for fun things like basing, painting damage etc etc...

Finally, don't ever be afraid to ask for help/advice. If you see something cool ask the painter how they did it. If someone says they don't like a bit of your model, ask why, and how you think they can improve it...
Never, ever think that there is nothing new to learn, because there is always something new to try...

Hopefully the techniques above will let you get some models painted quickly to a tabletop standard, after which you can start taking your time and (hopefully) enjoying it.

As always, I hope this has been handy and helpful for you, and should you have any questions and/or things to add, feel free to post up or PM me, and I shall try and reply helpfully!
:C

-t.

[Blacknight]

Cool

Very good article minus_t sure to help out people starting out.

Marc

[Rabbit]

You know, I've been looking for something like this in order to refer to some of our younger members. Thanks, -T, for writing this up.

[The Paint Monkey]

Well, shall we just rename the place 'Minus-t Online'?

An excellent summary for beginners, definately a good link to have around.


Here's the link you were looking for for the dry-brushing- http://www.librarium-online.com/foru...ybrush+marines but I'd just like to add that I'm The Paint Monkey. Some other guy is thepaintingmonkey. Sooner or later I'll get a link credited to me and not him...

[Tsele]

You know -t... you have outdone yourself once more...

Nice guide for newer members... now that I read again and for all of us... I knew I was forgetting the paints...

[Jon Quixote]

Originally Posted by The Paint Monkey

Well, shall we just rename the place 'Minus-t Online'?

MO does have a ring to it!

Good tutorial, a sort of Minus_Tutorial.

Excellent advice, thanks for sharing, I'm sure lots of people will find this really useful. :happy:

[minus_t]

Cheers very much guys, glad I'm still of some use

TPM, many apologies! I originally wrote 'Paint' Monkey, but changed it when I looked in Kuffy's liks thread... That pesky dwarf.
Anyway, edited, and added that link in. Thanks!

*scuttles back to lair clutching paint brushes*

-t.

[Canuck]

This articles great. It really has some great advice for beginners like myself.

Superbock

[Da Mighty Camel]

Nice tutorial, -t! Maybe try to get this stickied?

Originally Posted by minus_t

Cheers very much guys, glad I'm still of some use

With the emphassis on 'some' use.

[Tekore]

Kudos! This is great stuff for beginners and veterans alike!

Tekore