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How do I learn to paint?

1K views 17 replies 14 participants last post by  MJ Caboose 
#1 ·
I can paint fairly well but not great. Is there a guide somewhere online telling you how to highlight and ink and such? I think if I knew how I could do alot better.
 
#2 ·
1.) Repitition. Painting skills increases, atleast I believe through practice... and it would just randomly come to you haha.. atleast for me ;)

2.) GW "How to paint" book, though thats only if you want to cash in money.

3.) Various websites:

www.paintingclinic.com
only site i have on the top of my head.

Basically ask around, such as this forum, and go to others too. I find it very helpful to get all kinds of advice and as much advice I can. ;)

my 2 cents.
 
#3 ·
I found that I couldnt paint easily either and I still not an expert having only painted a small amount of models, but what I found out is that mistakes are to be expected and nt to panic, as you can always paint over them. I got a load of tips from my local GW, they were really helpful. I still aint very good, but I learned all about washes and inking.
 
#4 ·
Try different techniques, I often use wet colors when I do my layering that way the colors melt together.
Listen to other painters everyone have there own tricks or way to paint. This is how I do it.

http://www.librarium-online.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54788

I don’t know if this works for you, but maybe it can give you some help.
 
#5 ·
I'd say the best way to learn to paint is through pracrice ... making mistakes and improving them! Helps you make your own painting technique ... sites can always help but honestly I believe it's just best to learn through practice and maybe ask around here and your local hobby store ;)
 
#6 ·
I agree... Practice makes perfect. You can't expect to be an expert straight away. Just get cracking any see how you go. :)
 
#8 ·
(***The grey-haired Wookie shuffles over to his laptop and beats it with his paws***)

I agree with everything my LO brethren have said with the addition of the following:

- Try something new. When you're comfortable with dry-brushing then try layering. When you're comfortable with layering then try wet-blending. Don't get stuck in a rut...always try to add a new trick/technique to your painting arsenal.

- Try something weird. I've used my leftover cold coffee (tea works as well) to darken up browns and fleshtones and even used it as a wash to good effect. Sponges, a used toothbrush, soot from a burnt plastic sprue can all be used for some great effects.

Don't get so wrapped up in your pursuit for zen-like painting perfection that you lose sight of the fact that mini painting is supposed to be fun. Hell, my favorite minis are the ones I've painted and know have flawed paint jobs (some more flawed than others) but that's what makes them unique and special.

Sincerely,

The Wookie

(***Grumble to himself in subdued Wookie tones shambles into the kitchen and thrusts his furry head into the fridge in search of food.***)
 
#9 ·
One thing that used to help me a lot was to find a picture of something I really liked and tried to paint it as closely as I could get it.

Now it is easy to get a hold of information. These forums are a great spot, individual painter sites yield useful information, there are now several books, etc. I still feel the internet is the best thing to happen to this hobby as it has opened up the potential for passing along information.

Usually all you have to do is ask for what you want to know and you will find a plethora of answers.

Cheers,

-Mike
 
#11 · (Edited)
You'll often find that the guys at your GW store, if nothing else, will paint enough to be able to help you out with most things. Of course, they may not be golden daemon standard themselves, but they'll likely at least be familiar with most of the basics. I know my store gives free painting lessons, and I think a lot, if not all of them, do the same.

Of course, if you live near a really crappy store (or not close to one at all) or don't get on with the people who work there, this might not work.

I'm not a good painter myself, but I'm reaching the stage where people do occasionally comment on my minis. One thing I found is to take a little more time over things than normal.. A lot of people just rush off their armies because they're eager to get playing. If you take time, you can achieve better results. If you keep practicing, you will be able to paint to that standard faster and faster.

Above all don't expect to become golden daemon standard overnight. Some people do get good very quickly, but others (like me) take time. It's all relative.. if you're painting well by your own standard, that's great, and you should feel pleased.
 
#12 ·
Im in no way an expert painter...and just recently i had much the same probelm as you...wanted to increase my ability. I spoke to people here on LO which helped alot, and varioius websites aswell, such as CMON. Then i went out and baught the "How to paint Citidal Minatures" book, and never looked back. The book is great and I recommend it to any one, full of great pictures, facts and just everything! Its helped me ALOT.

These things combined with pratice will help you on your path to glory. Its no use just reading about all the techniques, but not acculy doing them. You could be the smartest kid and know everything about every technique and what they do and how your supose to do them in theory...but have never painted a model before. The best way to learn is to get your hands dirty.

Anyways good luck to you in you endevor!

...SB
 
#14 ·
There are lots of painting sites I persoanally know of, but much of them off more advanced techinques - yes I am sure the stuff would come in handy but I would first get the basics down before hand. There are a few that do this; CMON and the Painting Clinic are the better ones for beginners but I agree with getting the afore mentioned book "Painting Citidel Miniatures". It has all the basic needs, onces these are mastered (or up to a high degree) then I would go for the advanced techniques.

The basics I would say are;

* Shading
* Highlighting
* Ink useage
* Basing
* Drybrushing

Onces these are done to a good enough degree then maybe you could progress onto the harder stuff such as blending, layering etc.

KU
 
#17 ·
CMON is short for "Cool Mini or Not" which is at www.coolminiornot.com. The front page is just like other "...or Not" sites -- a mini, and you rank how good you think it is. In the nav is a link to articles, though, which are basically tutorials for all kinds of techniques, beginner to more advanced, for things ranging from painting and basing to photography and scenic dioramas. They are also ranked as "Beginner," "Intermediate," or "Advanced," which should help you find ones that will best get your feet on the ground. :)
 
#18 ·
Id say the golden rules would be:

1)Use thin coats - 3 thin coats look way better than one thick one
2)dont use gold and silver on the same model
3)I like using a fibre glass brush to but a semi glodd on models - it makes marine armour look very solid - i'll get some photos of some examples if i can find them!
4)Its more of a personal preferance, but i find tamia paits way better to use. Higher quality, plus the pots last for ever - i have pots that are 2 or 3 years old and havnt dried out.
50Use very thin black washes - you can get better and use a combo of dry brusing and washes, but just a very thin coat of black will run into the cracks and make the model look better if your not great at dry brushing
 
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