So here we are, two fresh new containers (AKA a lifetime's supply - provided no one knocks them over!) of the miniature painter's last best ingredient:
Prufrock's Wargaming Blog
Showing posts with label painting tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label painting tips. Show all posts
Friday, July 20, 2018
Stocking up on the dip
It has caused me some angst recently to realise (after I'd knocked it over and spilt half the contents onto my table!) that my trusty, long-lasting pottle of acrylic wood stain is nearing its end. I thought therefore that I'd better re-stock, and also grab some extra that I can take to New Zealand with me next trip for future use.
So here we are, two fresh new containers (AKA a lifetime's supply - provided no one knocks them over!) of the miniature painter's last best ingredient:
So here we are, two fresh new containers (AKA a lifetime's supply - provided no one knocks them over!) of the miniature painter's last best ingredient:
Friday, March 25, 2016
Ten Years Gone: on Painting Averagely, Well
Probably the biggest challenge there is in turning yourself from a curious observer into a figure-buying, rules-ingesting, game-playing wargamaniac is learning how to paint.
For a first timer, picking up a brush can be intimidating. A quick google search or a visit to popular blogs shows that there are a lot of marvellous painters around, and if your figures are going to share a table or computer screen with those of others you don't want them to stick out for the wrong reasons.
When I started it was immediately apparent that I had - how shall I say it - 'limitations', and that these would necessitate my settling for an average standard of painting. This is the age of following your dreams, but it was pretty clear that there would be no Golden Demons (or Golden Poodles, for that matter) for me. I decided that my Prufockian point of difference would not be a beautiful paint job: it would be an average paint job done adequately, with massed troops to compensate for the lack of artistry.
In sum, I wanted my figures to look okay in the hand, fine on the table, and passable on camera.
The lead elephant in the room of course was how to get to that point.
Ten years later I'm still not there, but I'd like to think that some progress has been made. It has taken a lot of effort - and more false starts than I care to remember - so if I could go back to my younger and somewhat svelter self and offer a few time and hair-saving pointers, this is what I would say.
1) Choose good quality figures. Now that you are a wargamer, you will turn into a penny pincher. While there is an undoubted attraction in keeping costs down, make sure you get good figures that happen to be cheap, not poor figures fairly priced. The effort it takes to get a low quality figure to look passable is out of all proportion to the money you might save on lead. Clean sculpting, good proportions, realistic poses and accurate equipment make the process a lot easier.
Oh, and don't be seduced by the charm of 'Old School' figures. There's not much charm in trying to turn 48 formless blobs into faces at 11:30 at night, I can tell you that right now!
2) Learn how to paint between the lines. Don't laugh. There's more to it than you think. You want your hands to be steady, but you can cope even if they're not. Yours will be a trifle shaky, but cutting out coffee while painting makes a big improvement. Bracing elbows or forearms on the table and holding your breath while doing delicate work will help too.* Another thing to save you some repainting: use the side of your brush tip in a sweeping motion. Don't go dragging paint everywhere using the tip.
Paint strategically so that the steps you do later in the sequence cover up your earlier mistakes. This will reduce the number of really steady strokes you need to make, and it'll mean you can paint more quickly early on in the process (and with a few beers if you choose).
* edit: as John says in the comments below, holding your breath is not so good - controlling your breathing is the aim.
3) Find optimal paint consistency. I'll warn you now, ten years down the track you'll talk about hobby stuff like an utter tool, but paint consistency is important, and finding it is something that comes with experience. The difference between an acceptable paint job and a poor one can be as simple as the consistency of the paint. If you have paint that is thicker and lumpier than you need it is hard to get your brush strokes accurate. Thick paint layers are noticeable on a figure and even if you can get your colours nicely demarcated paint lumpiness will detract from the overall effect (Cough. Parthians. Cough).
Paint that is too thin is no good either. It will run into adjacent areas, and highlights done with watery paint will settle into the low points and undo any shadow effect you've been going for.
Different paints have different optimal consistencies at different humidity levels, but when you get it right you will see it on the figure. The more you paint the easier it is to judge the consistency required and how best to get it.
By the way, don't mess about with Tamiya or Mr.Hobby paints. Go to the art shop in Burakuricho and get Turner Acryl Goauche paints immediately.
4) Find out-of-the-pottle/tube combinations of colours that give you a base, a shade and a highlight. You'll only have one that is really effective, but it's red, and that's just about all you need for ancients in 15mm. With your blues, purples, whites and so on you can get away with a base and a highlight, especially if there is a dip or wash in there as well.
5) Figure out brushes and brush angles that suit your painting style. It will take you a while to find brushes that you're comfortable with. Use two sizes for most work and a couple of others for specific purposes. Keep using the same brand and you'll find the best angles to hold them at, how much water they need, how often they have to be cleaned, etc. Knowing your brushes well will actually make your painting more efficient. Hey, don't roll your eyes at me, young man - I'm trying to help you!
6) Trial dips and washes. You'll find the dip method is very useful. Start using it right away. It doesn't work for every figure or colour scheme, but a block-paint, dip, and highlight can turn out better results than other more complicated and time-consuming techniques (Cough. Thebans. Cough).
7) Sort out a painting guide for the army you are doing. If you know what you are going to paint, have an idea of the colours you will use and the order in which you will paint them. You can then slip into autopilot, rely on muscle memory, and concentrate on listening to Rory Gallagher (just you wait. Go get his first album from Tower Records and you won't look back. He's better than JP!).
Seriously, you don't want to be thinking about painting when you paint: it will burn you out. Give yourself a couple of things to play around with, but paint the bulk of it to a plan.
So, there you go, young Prufrock. Start working on those things now and you'll get a lot more figures painted more quickly - and to a more averagely adequate standard - than old Prufrock has. You can thank me later.
For a first timer, picking up a brush can be intimidating. A quick google search or a visit to popular blogs shows that there are a lot of marvellous painters around, and if your figures are going to share a table or computer screen with those of others you don't want them to stick out for the wrong reasons.
When I started it was immediately apparent that I had - how shall I say it - 'limitations', and that these would necessitate my settling for an average standard of painting. This is the age of following your dreams, but it was pretty clear that there would be no Golden Demons (or Golden Poodles, for that matter) for me. I decided that my Prufockian point of difference would not be a beautiful paint job: it would be an average paint job done adequately, with massed troops to compensate for the lack of artistry.
In sum, I wanted my figures to look okay in the hand, fine on the table, and passable on camera.
The lead elephant in the room of course was how to get to that point.
Ten years later I'm still not there, but I'd like to think that some progress has been made. It has taken a lot of effort - and more false starts than I care to remember - so if I could go back to my younger and somewhat svelter self and offer a few time and hair-saving pointers, this is what I would say.
1) Choose good quality figures. Now that you are a wargamer, you will turn into a penny pincher. While there is an undoubted attraction in keeping costs down, make sure you get good figures that happen to be cheap, not poor figures fairly priced. The effort it takes to get a low quality figure to look passable is out of all proportion to the money you might save on lead. Clean sculpting, good proportions, realistic poses and accurate equipment make the process a lot easier.
Oh, and don't be seduced by the charm of 'Old School' figures. There's not much charm in trying to turn 48 formless blobs into faces at 11:30 at night, I can tell you that right now!
2) Learn how to paint between the lines. Don't laugh. There's more to it than you think. You want your hands to be steady, but you can cope even if they're not. Yours will be a trifle shaky, but cutting out coffee while painting makes a big improvement. Bracing elbows or forearms on the table and holding your breath while doing delicate work will help too.* Another thing to save you some repainting: use the side of your brush tip in a sweeping motion. Don't go dragging paint everywhere using the tip.
Paint strategically so that the steps you do later in the sequence cover up your earlier mistakes. This will reduce the number of really steady strokes you need to make, and it'll mean you can paint more quickly early on in the process (and with a few beers if you choose).
* edit: as John says in the comments below, holding your breath is not so good - controlling your breathing is the aim.
3) Find optimal paint consistency. I'll warn you now, ten years down the track you'll talk about hobby stuff like an utter tool, but paint consistency is important, and finding it is something that comes with experience. The difference between an acceptable paint job and a poor one can be as simple as the consistency of the paint. If you have paint that is thicker and lumpier than you need it is hard to get your brush strokes accurate. Thick paint layers are noticeable on a figure and even if you can get your colours nicely demarcated paint lumpiness will detract from the overall effect (Cough. Parthians. Cough).
Paint that is too thin is no good either. It will run into adjacent areas, and highlights done with watery paint will settle into the low points and undo any shadow effect you've been going for.
Different paints have different optimal consistencies at different humidity levels, but when you get it right you will see it on the figure. The more you paint the easier it is to judge the consistency required and how best to get it.
By the way, don't mess about with Tamiya or Mr.Hobby paints. Go to the art shop in Burakuricho and get Turner Acryl Goauche paints immediately.
4) Find out-of-the-pottle/tube combinations of colours that give you a base, a shade and a highlight. You'll only have one that is really effective, but it's red, and that's just about all you need for ancients in 15mm. With your blues, purples, whites and so on you can get away with a base and a highlight, especially if there is a dip or wash in there as well.
5) Figure out brushes and brush angles that suit your painting style. It will take you a while to find brushes that you're comfortable with. Use two sizes for most work and a couple of others for specific purposes. Keep using the same brand and you'll find the best angles to hold them at, how much water they need, how often they have to be cleaned, etc. Knowing your brushes well will actually make your painting more efficient. Hey, don't roll your eyes at me, young man - I'm trying to help you!
6) Trial dips and washes. You'll find the dip method is very useful. Start using it right away. It doesn't work for every figure or colour scheme, but a block-paint, dip, and highlight can turn out better results than other more complicated and time-consuming techniques (Cough. Thebans. Cough).
7) Sort out a painting guide for the army you are doing. If you know what you are going to paint, have an idea of the colours you will use and the order in which you will paint them. You can then slip into autopilot, rely on muscle memory, and concentrate on listening to Rory Gallagher (just you wait. Go get his first album from Tower Records and you won't look back. He's better than JP!).
Seriously, you don't want to be thinking about painting when you paint: it will burn you out. Give yourself a couple of things to play around with, but paint the bulk of it to a plan.
So, there you go, young Prufrock. Start working on those things now and you'll get a lot more figures painted more quickly - and to a more averagely adequate standard - than old Prufrock has. You can thank me later.
Saturday, August 29, 2015
A painting rebirth
A couple of old tricks approached in a new way have really changed the painting landscape around here of late.
One was setting myself up with a good wet palette.
I used to use a contraption that required two layers of foam topped with a sheet of cooking paper (or greaseproof, as we call it in NZ).
It was small, slimy, needed to be cleaned out quite often and was a pain to organise. It was much better than no palette at all, but if I hadn't painted for a while it became yet another barrier to actually sitting down and putting brush to figure.
The internal monologue would go something like this: "Hmm, you know, I could just about do a little painting tonight. Ahhh, but I'd need to rejig that palette before I could begin. Can I be bothered washing it out, cutting the foam sheeting to size and soaking it for the appropriate amount of time?"
And we all know how rhetorical a question that is...
But recently I saw someone somewhere talking about another way to do a wet palette. It needed a shallower tray and instead of fluffing around with foam you used a paper handy towel to hold the water, putting your greaseproof paper onto that. When not using it you put another tray over the top of it (upside down) to keep the moisture in.
I thought about it for a while, then went to the 100yen store and grabbed the required items.
Needless to say, it has been a big success. The paint keeps for days, so the only prep I need to undertake before painting is to remove the top tray. Over time the paint liquifies, so if you do it right you can use older splotches as a wash or mix them with a more recent (and thus thicker) blob to do, say, a cloak, or horses in a slightly different colour.
The second thing has been to use the dip. I tried a dip substitute previously when I was just starting out, but it didn't come out very well so I shelved it. I'd pull it out again for things like pteruges, but more as a wash than anything. Of course, I used Future / Klear, but again as a wash, to bring a paint job together or to provide a protective covering.
And so I laboured for years with spray undercoat, brown wash, block colours, highlight, the odd wash, Future/Klear protective coat, spray varnish.
It works great, but it takes a long time and there are various steps that you end up dreading, and this all contributes to painting fatigue (or laziness, in my case!).
Like everyone I've experimented with various ways to improve and to speed up painting (some of them catalogued in painful detail on this blog!) and met with varying degrees of success.
The trouble for me is limited time, limited motivation, and a large lead mountain.
Anway, I again came across some posts (isn't the internet great?!!) and realised that maybe I should try the dip again, only this time using it more strategically. "Bugger it," I thought; "nothing's getting painted without it, so why not give it a crack?"
A little experimentation showed what I'd been doing wrong when I last used it: a) I'd been too heavy handed, and b) I'd used it on the wrong colours.
It seemed that the tricks were to dip your brush in water before putting it into the mixture itself (and then to come back with a brush or tissue paper to get rid of any pooling on the figure), and to use it on muted colours, coming back with a highlight if needed.
Having painted almost 50 figures a week since these changes were implemented, they have helped me to put a serious dent in the Dark Age leadpile - so much so that I'm probably going to need to buy more to 'fill in a few gaps in the collection'.
So far so good. I guess we'll have to see how long it lasts!
One was setting myself up with a good wet palette.
I used to use a contraption that required two layers of foam topped with a sheet of cooking paper (or greaseproof, as we call it in NZ).
It was small, slimy, needed to be cleaned out quite often and was a pain to organise. It was much better than no palette at all, but if I hadn't painted for a while it became yet another barrier to actually sitting down and putting brush to figure.
The internal monologue would go something like this: "Hmm, you know, I could just about do a little painting tonight. Ahhh, but I'd need to rejig that palette before I could begin. Can I be bothered washing it out, cutting the foam sheeting to size and soaking it for the appropriate amount of time?"
And we all know how rhetorical a question that is...
But recently I saw someone somewhere talking about another way to do a wet palette. It needed a shallower tray and instead of fluffing around with foam you used a paper handy towel to hold the water, putting your greaseproof paper onto that. When not using it you put another tray over the top of it (upside down) to keep the moisture in.
I thought about it for a while, then went to the 100yen store and grabbed the required items.
Needless to say, it has been a big success. The paint keeps for days, so the only prep I need to undertake before painting is to remove the top tray. Over time the paint liquifies, so if you do it right you can use older splotches as a wash or mix them with a more recent (and thus thicker) blob to do, say, a cloak, or horses in a slightly different colour.
The second thing has been to use the dip. I tried a dip substitute previously when I was just starting out, but it didn't come out very well so I shelved it. I'd pull it out again for things like pteruges, but more as a wash than anything. Of course, I used Future / Klear, but again as a wash, to bring a paint job together or to provide a protective covering.
And so I laboured for years with spray undercoat, brown wash, block colours, highlight, the odd wash, Future/Klear protective coat, spray varnish.
It works great, but it takes a long time and there are various steps that you end up dreading, and this all contributes to painting fatigue (or laziness, in my case!).
Like everyone I've experimented with various ways to improve and to speed up painting (some of them catalogued in painful detail on this blog!) and met with varying degrees of success.
The trouble for me is limited time, limited motivation, and a large lead mountain.
Anway, I again came across some posts (isn't the internet great?!!) and realised that maybe I should try the dip again, only this time using it more strategically. "Bugger it," I thought; "nothing's getting painted without it, so why not give it a crack?"
A little experimentation showed what I'd been doing wrong when I last used it: a) I'd been too heavy handed, and b) I'd used it on the wrong colours.
It seemed that the tricks were to dip your brush in water before putting it into the mixture itself (and then to come back with a brush or tissue paper to get rid of any pooling on the figure), and to use it on muted colours, coming back with a highlight if needed.
Having painted almost 50 figures a week since these changes were implemented, they have helped me to put a serious dent in the Dark Age leadpile - so much so that I'm probably going to need to buy more to 'fill in a few gaps in the collection'.
So far so good. I guess we'll have to see how long it lasts!
Friday, November 8, 2013
Wet palette results
Well, after doing a little work on some Gauls last night I have to say I am favourably impressed by the wet palette. I can switch between colours a lot more easily, and even this morning the paints were still fresh and usable. As chopping and changing between colours is less of a chore, I think it may allow me to adjust the production line method I currently use to one that can start and finish smaller batches in a shorter space of time.
It remains to be seen whether smaller batches more frequently is better for the motivation than massive batches very occasionally, but we shall see! It can see that it could be appealing to churn out a unit in a couple of evenings...
It remains to be seen whether smaller batches more frequently is better for the motivation than massive batches very occasionally, but we shall see! It can see that it could be appealing to churn out a unit in a couple of evenings...
 |
| The paint kept fresh overnight. |
 |
| Doing Gauls in smaller batches? Good Lord! |
A wet palette
No, not a drinking story; am testing out a new painting tool tonight, as demonstrated by numerous people of late, Sean being the one I first saw. Here's what you need:
1) some kind of foamy stuff.
2) a shallowish plastic container with a lid.
3) Some grease proof paper (called baking paper elsewhere).
You trim the foam to fit into the container, add water and place the baking paper on top, thusly:
Then you press the baking paper down and put dobs of paint on it. It is supposed to keep the paint in a moist and usable state for quite some time. When you take a break you put the lid on and it stays all nice and wet in there.
The report on how it went will come later...
1) some kind of foamy stuff.
2) a shallowish plastic container with a lid.
3) Some grease proof paper (called baking paper elsewhere).
You trim the foam to fit into the container, add water and place the baking paper on top, thusly:
Then you press the baking paper down and put dobs of paint on it. It is supposed to keep the paint in a moist and usable state for quite some time. When you take a break you put the lid on and it stays all nice and wet in there.
The report on how it went will come later...
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Devlan Mud
I recently picked up some Devlan Mud wash from the good folk at Brookhurst Hobbies after hearing positive things about it. A quick post to The Miniatures Page asking how experienced types used it elicited some excellent responses and tonight I tried a little experiment.
I had some Numidian skirmishers - mostly in off-white tunics, though with the odd tan or brown in there as well - and thought I'd see how the tunics would look after a wash.
My usual washes are home brew using Future/Klear, water, a drop of hand soap and a bit of paint, but the advantages of having a ready-mixed and consistent wash to hand are pretty obvious. Some of the tunics probably turned out a little dark so I might be a little less heavy handed in future, but base coat, wash, and highlight looks to be a good quick-and-dirty way to do them.
Here are a few shots, but please bear in mind that these figures are not yet finished so don't get too shocked by any shoddiness you may be witness to!
Anyway, I'm looking forward to doing some more product testing.
I had some Numidian skirmishers - mostly in off-white tunics, though with the odd tan or brown in there as well - and thought I'd see how the tunics would look after a wash.
My usual washes are home brew using Future/Klear, water, a drop of hand soap and a bit of paint, but the advantages of having a ready-mixed and consistent wash to hand are pretty obvious. Some of the tunics probably turned out a little dark so I might be a little less heavy handed in future, but base coat, wash, and highlight looks to be a good quick-and-dirty way to do them.
Here are a few shots, but please bear in mind that these figures are not yet finished so don't get too shocked by any shoddiness you may be witness to!
Anyway, I'm looking forward to doing some more product testing.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Painting tips: touching up older paint jobs
As we continue to paint, we find that over time we pick up new tips, try out new methods, discover new paint combinations and otherwise improve our skills in many minor ways. This is wonderful for current projects, but there comes a point when some of our earlier armies begin to look a bit ragged by comparison to the newer paint jobs.
I'm starting to find this process is occurring for me now, and I've been trying to think up and experiment with ways that I can spruce up older figures without having to do a disproportionate amount of work on them. Of course, some really old figures (ebay purchases, etc) need to have the paint completely redone, but that's a topic for another day. For the types of figures I'm talking about here the paint has held up all right; it's simply that the original paint jobs were not very good, and that they don't match well with the newer output.
Here then are some of the ideas I've experimented with for improving old paint jobs:*
* Please be aware that these tips are for 15mm figures, so I don't know how transferable they are to other scales!
1) Washes. Giving a figure a wash can help to improve the look. I've used this for figures which originally had a flat paint job without much highlighting or shading, and have used both Future/Klear washes and my own version of 'the Dip' for this purpose. It's not a cure-all, but it's a relatively quick and painless way to add a bit of depth and consistency to a figure.
Plusses: quick; adds depth to colours. A universal wash helps to create consistency in finish, which can be helpful if different types or thicknesses of paint have been applied.
Minusses: can result in some bleeding if the wash is area-specific. Will mess up figures that were not well prepped or that did not have strong sculpt definition to begin with.
Verdict: Be cautious using washes with older figures. Make sure that the figures have decent sculpt definition to work with, and make sure that there is good initial paint coverage before you start. Don't use it on figures that have relied on paint (as opposed to the sculpt) to add detail. It works well on horses, cloaks, tunics and flesh areas that look a little flat or tired. This method is also good to add depth to hair, manes and tails, which often get short shrift in original paint jobs (or they did in mine!).
2) Highlights. Adding a highlight to areas of flat colour can quickly add life to figures. The highlights can be either painted or dry-brushed on. Highlighting is one of the best ways to bring older figures into line with newer figures.
Plusses: relatively speedy, adds oomph to a figure.
Minusses: there is opportunity for error in colour selection; it can turn to custard if the highlights are overdone or the paint off the brush is gloopy.
Verdict: Highlights are - in pretty much every case - essential to any spruce-up job. The highlights will add pop to the figure and make it compatible with your newer paint jobs (assuming you do use highlights on your newer paint jobs, of course!).
3) Repainting selected features. While the goal of this exercise is to get older paint jobs up to the mark as easily and painlessly as possible, there are times when a selective repaint might be useful to ensure consistency between older and newer figures in the same army.
Plusses: having all belts, straps, shield backs, boots, spear shafts and so on the same colour adds a sense of unity to the army. If there are different shades of brown all over the place consistency can be lost (which may not always be a bad thing, of course!), whereas the same shades used throughout bring uniformity.
Minusses: not every army needs consistency. Also, it can be a lot of work, and you may feel that the results are not likely to be worth the extra effort put in.
Verdict: uniformly repainting features that figures have in common is an excellent way to help blend newer figures in with older ones. It is probably not necessary in any other case, unless you had skimped on painting certain features in your earlier paint jobs.
4) Covering up missed areas. This is an essential. When I look back at my first paint jobs I'll often find places where I didn't properly cover up the undercoat. Typically, these areas will be between the face and the hair, or sometimes between the tunic and the arms or legs. Neck areas are also a danger spot. These definitely need to be fixed.
Plusses: gets rid of unsightly mistakes and oversights; hides poor original paint skills. Not much more needs to be said!
Minusses: it is fiddly and annoying. You need to match up the paints, and will need to repaint whole areas if you can't do so. It may require you to take figures off their original bases so that you can reach the areas that need to be touched up. It's a pain in the backside.
Verdict: it needs to be done. It's probably the worst part of the sprucing up job, but if you don't bother with this then you may as well not bother with any of it.
5) Finding a 'pop' feature and exploiting it. The idea of this is to find something on the figure or element of figures that can be painted brightly and highlighted nicely to draw the eye: headbands, a fine belt or strap, a cloak or helmet crest and similar things all qualify as potential pop features. These are the kinds of things that, if given a little more effort, can really elevate the appearance of an otherwise average figure or base.
Plusses: draws the eye and gives the appearance of universal attention to detail when the reality is that it's only partial attention to detail.
Minusses: can be time-consuming, and can be overdone. The temptation is to try and have everything pop out when at 15mm scale you only need one thing, or perhaps two on a command figure.
Verdict: an essential element, but not necessarily for every figure. We're dealing with large numbers of figures so it's the overall effect that's important. For someone of my limited painting abilities, less is more: it's best to find one thing to emphasise rather than trying to have everything on a figure 'pop' and in so doing reduce the overall impact.
6) Putting decals on shields. This is one area that is still in the 'thinking' stage. I need to get off my backside and order some shield decals, but it hasn't previously been a priority given the number of figures, rules and source books I've had - and continue to have - designs on.
Plusses: adds gravitas to a figure, not to mention a bit of historical accuracy. In my case, half-hearted attempts at shield patterns have detracted from rather than added to the figures I've painted, and to fix those up would make me feel a lot better about the armies in question (I'm looking at you, my Carthaginians!).
Minusses: fiddly; will require the figures to be removed from their bases for the decals to be attached.
Verdict: essential long term, but something I am still putting off for the moment - at least until I have to get cracking on redoing my Libyans!
I'm starting to find this process is occurring for me now, and I've been trying to think up and experiment with ways that I can spruce up older figures without having to do a disproportionate amount of work on them. Of course, some really old figures (ebay purchases, etc) need to have the paint completely redone, but that's a topic for another day. For the types of figures I'm talking about here the paint has held up all right; it's simply that the original paint jobs were not very good, and that they don't match well with the newer output.
Here then are some of the ideas I've experimented with for improving old paint jobs:*
* Please be aware that these tips are for 15mm figures, so I don't know how transferable they are to other scales!
1) Washes. Giving a figure a wash can help to improve the look. I've used this for figures which originally had a flat paint job without much highlighting or shading, and have used both Future/Klear washes and my own version of 'the Dip' for this purpose. It's not a cure-all, but it's a relatively quick and painless way to add a bit of depth and consistency to a figure.
Plusses: quick; adds depth to colours. A universal wash helps to create consistency in finish, which can be helpful if different types or thicknesses of paint have been applied.
Minusses: can result in some bleeding if the wash is area-specific. Will mess up figures that were not well prepped or that did not have strong sculpt definition to begin with.
Verdict: Be cautious using washes with older figures. Make sure that the figures have decent sculpt definition to work with, and make sure that there is good initial paint coverage before you start. Don't use it on figures that have relied on paint (as opposed to the sculpt) to add detail. It works well on horses, cloaks, tunics and flesh areas that look a little flat or tired. This method is also good to add depth to hair, manes and tails, which often get short shrift in original paint jobs (or they did in mine!).
2) Highlights. Adding a highlight to areas of flat colour can quickly add life to figures. The highlights can be either painted or dry-brushed on. Highlighting is one of the best ways to bring older figures into line with newer figures.
Plusses: relatively speedy, adds oomph to a figure.
Minusses: there is opportunity for error in colour selection; it can turn to custard if the highlights are overdone or the paint off the brush is gloopy.
Verdict: Highlights are - in pretty much every case - essential to any spruce-up job. The highlights will add pop to the figure and make it compatible with your newer paint jobs (assuming you do use highlights on your newer paint jobs, of course!).
3) Repainting selected features. While the goal of this exercise is to get older paint jobs up to the mark as easily and painlessly as possible, there are times when a selective repaint might be useful to ensure consistency between older and newer figures in the same army.
Plusses: having all belts, straps, shield backs, boots, spear shafts and so on the same colour adds a sense of unity to the army. If there are different shades of brown all over the place consistency can be lost (which may not always be a bad thing, of course!), whereas the same shades used throughout bring uniformity.
Minusses: not every army needs consistency. Also, it can be a lot of work, and you may feel that the results are not likely to be worth the extra effort put in.
Verdict: uniformly repainting features that figures have in common is an excellent way to help blend newer figures in with older ones. It is probably not necessary in any other case, unless you had skimped on painting certain features in your earlier paint jobs.
4) Covering up missed areas. This is an essential. When I look back at my first paint jobs I'll often find places where I didn't properly cover up the undercoat. Typically, these areas will be between the face and the hair, or sometimes between the tunic and the arms or legs. Neck areas are also a danger spot. These definitely need to be fixed.
Plusses: gets rid of unsightly mistakes and oversights; hides poor original paint skills. Not much more needs to be said!
Minusses: it is fiddly and annoying. You need to match up the paints, and will need to repaint whole areas if you can't do so. It may require you to take figures off their original bases so that you can reach the areas that need to be touched up. It's a pain in the backside.
Verdict: it needs to be done. It's probably the worst part of the sprucing up job, but if you don't bother with this then you may as well not bother with any of it.
5) Finding a 'pop' feature and exploiting it. The idea of this is to find something on the figure or element of figures that can be painted brightly and highlighted nicely to draw the eye: headbands, a fine belt or strap, a cloak or helmet crest and similar things all qualify as potential pop features. These are the kinds of things that, if given a little more effort, can really elevate the appearance of an otherwise average figure or base.
Plusses: draws the eye and gives the appearance of universal attention to detail when the reality is that it's only partial attention to detail.
Minusses: can be time-consuming, and can be overdone. The temptation is to try and have everything pop out when at 15mm scale you only need one thing, or perhaps two on a command figure.
Verdict: an essential element, but not necessarily for every figure. We're dealing with large numbers of figures so it's the overall effect that's important. For someone of my limited painting abilities, less is more: it's best to find one thing to emphasise rather than trying to have everything on a figure 'pop' and in so doing reduce the overall impact.
6) Putting decals on shields. This is one area that is still in the 'thinking' stage. I need to get off my backside and order some shield decals, but it hasn't previously been a priority given the number of figures, rules and source books I've had - and continue to have - designs on.
Plusses: adds gravitas to a figure, not to mention a bit of historical accuracy. In my case, half-hearted attempts at shield patterns have detracted from rather than added to the figures I've painted, and to fix those up would make me feel a lot better about the armies in question (I'm looking at you, my Carthaginians!).
Minusses: fiddly; will require the figures to be removed from their bases for the decals to be attached.
Verdict: essential long term, but something I am still putting off for the moment - at least until I have to get cracking on redoing my Libyans!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Painting techniques - the brown wash part 2
Continuing on from the last 'brown wash' post, I'll just show some examples of what happens in later stages of the painting. To recap, the composite shot below shows a figure primed grey and then a figure with the brown wash.
The third figure has only had the mid coat for the tunic applied, but I'm showing it so that it's possible to see how the wash acts on armour. The mail here is sculpted a little crudely, but it will scrub up well enough given a couple of coats of Tamiya smoke to add a black, faintly metallic sheen. That will probably be all that's necessary to have the armour looking the part. Again, the darker wash prevents any trace of the primer showing through, clearly marks out the different areas of the figure and its equipment and will make painting the rest of the figure significantly easier.
After the block painting and the highlighting has been done, it's time to consider whether any more washes are needed. With a command figure I might give a coloured wash to a cloak or tunic, but I usually won't bother to do that with ordinary troops unless they are particularly nice figures or I've botched up somewhere along the line.
Mistakes are fairly easy to avoid (and easy to correct if they can't be avoided) when painting is done in a logical sequence and the old hand is reasonably steady. To this end, experience shows that a gin and tonic is a far better aid to a steady hand than a third cup of coffee, but perhaps that says more about me than I would like! I usually do mid coats of tunic and flesh first, followed by spear or javelin shafts, shoes/sandals, weapon sheaths and crests. Then I do a quick black or Tamiya smoke wash on spearpoints and blades. This is followed by highlights for the flesh areas; then I'll do the belts and the tunic highlights. The order will change at times, but that's the basic formula.
When painting and washes are done, due consideration must also be paid to the dip. While that is for another time, I'll just say that it works very well on pteruges and on lighter natural colours, so I tend to use it more for figures on which these items and colour schemes feature.
Finally, here are some shots of completed figures that were done using the wash technique. You'll notice that these are all rank and file figures, as my main purpose is to paint large lots that are 'good enough' as quickly as possible.
On each side we've got Greek javelinmen and the central figure is an Illyrian light cavalryman. These figures are not first-class jobs, but hopefully they illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of the brown wash technique. In my opinion these look fine on the table, and they are nice and simple to paint.
Notice how the wash brings out detail in the figure, showing the folds in the clothes, the eye sockets, the lines of the fingers, hair and so on and so forth. When block painting in the next set of colours the recesses can be left unpainted to allow the brown to show through, or a thin coat of paint can be used to still leave dark patches where the recesses are. A thick application of paint can also be useful at times if it is not desireable to have brown shadowing in a particular area.
The second series of pictures shows three more miniatures at different stages of the painting process. The first has had the skin blocked in with a very dark mix of flesh and brown earth (to match existing figures) which will later be given mid and highlight coats. The tunic has also been painted a dark sandy yellow, and by leaving the brown to show through in the deeper folds the need for later, time-consuming washes to create depth is eliminated. It can also be seen that the brown wash here was much darker than that in the preceding example.
Our second sample figure has also had a dark flesh coat put on while the tunic has been given its mid and highlight coats. Note how clearly the wash has delineated the different details on the figure: the tunic, the arms, belt and the sword sheath. It makes block painting very easy when the lines are this clear, and it looks neat and tidy when completed (provided that one stays within said lines of course...). Unfortunately, it does also show up lazy prep work, like the long unfiled ridge on this poor fellow's arm!
After the block painting and the highlighting has been done, it's time to consider whether any more washes are needed. With a command figure I might give a coloured wash to a cloak or tunic, but I usually won't bother to do that with ordinary troops unless they are particularly nice figures or I've botched up somewhere along the line.
Mistakes are fairly easy to avoid (and easy to correct if they can't be avoided) when painting is done in a logical sequence and the old hand is reasonably steady. To this end, experience shows that a gin and tonic is a far better aid to a steady hand than a third cup of coffee, but perhaps that says more about me than I would like! I usually do mid coats of tunic and flesh first, followed by spear or javelin shafts, shoes/sandals, weapon sheaths and crests. Then I do a quick black or Tamiya smoke wash on spearpoints and blades. This is followed by highlights for the flesh areas; then I'll do the belts and the tunic highlights. The order will change at times, but that's the basic formula.
When painting and washes are done, due consideration must also be paid to the dip. While that is for another time, I'll just say that it works very well on pteruges and on lighter natural colours, so I tend to use it more for figures on which these items and colour schemes feature.
Finally, here are some shots of completed figures that were done using the wash technique. You'll notice that these are all rank and file figures, as my main purpose is to paint large lots that are 'good enough' as quickly as possible.
On each side we've got Greek javelinmen and the central figure is an Illyrian light cavalryman. These figures are not first-class jobs, but hopefully they illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of the brown wash technique. In my opinion these look fine on the table, and they are nice and simple to paint.
Well, that's about it for the brown wash section. I'll have a think about which technique to look at next.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Painting techniques - the brown wash
I've decided to start a series of posts chronicling some of my painting techniques and methods. The reason for this is to help me remember how I've done things, as I often forget little details and find myself later thinking "how did I do that again?" Hopefully it will also show some improvement over time so that in a few years I can look back, smugly scoff at my old self and exclaim "oh, what a fool I was then, and how wise I am now!"
Anyway, jocularity aside, the techniques I will cover are not of my own invention. Most of them have been picked up in various places around the web, though I may have refined some to suit my own tastes and the products available here in Japan. The miniatures page is a prime source, and I've learnt so much from browsing the painting forums there that I can't recommend it and its helpful denizens highly enough. I would've been lost without it. Other useful sources have been blogs. People like BigRedBat will post pictures of their figures and from those shots one can see what is possible, what techniques are used to get those effects, and how far I personally have to go to even contemplate matching such skill and expertise. It's a constant learning process, and hopefully it will long continue.
Anyway, here is the standard 'brown wash' technique that I use.
First up I spray prime the figures grey, using either the Tamiya or Mr. Hobby products. I have also primed white with the wash, but the figures I'm doing now use grey, as I've had the best results with this colour.
Next, I make up the wash itself. The proportions are roughly one part black to two or three parts brown; this then being thinned with an approximately 50/50 mixture of Klear and water and (this is essential) a touch of hand soap dripped in to help the flow. I use these paints (click for a larger view):
or these:
depending on how brown or red-brown I want the figures to look.
This wash is applied liberally over the whole figure so that all the crevices have colour in them. This results in something looking like this:
The wash can of course be made darker if desired. The purpose of the wash is to add depth to the figure, to give good clear outlines of belts, boots, beards and so on, to prevent any virgin undercoat showing through, to pick out folds in the garments, and to provide a good base that flesh tones, browns, reds, whites and blues can be painted on top of later in the process.
So, there we go: the brown washed figure, step one!
Anyway, jocularity aside, the techniques I will cover are not of my own invention. Most of them have been picked up in various places around the web, though I may have refined some to suit my own tastes and the products available here in Japan. The miniatures page is a prime source, and I've learnt so much from browsing the painting forums there that I can't recommend it and its helpful denizens highly enough. I would've been lost without it. Other useful sources have been blogs. People like BigRedBat will post pictures of their figures and from those shots one can see what is possible, what techniques are used to get those effects, and how far I personally have to go to even contemplate matching such skill and expertise. It's a constant learning process, and hopefully it will long continue.
Anyway, here is the standard 'brown wash' technique that I use.
First up I spray prime the figures grey, using either the Tamiya or Mr. Hobby products. I have also primed white with the wash, but the figures I'm doing now use grey, as I've had the best results with this colour.
Next, I make up the wash itself. The proportions are roughly one part black to two or three parts brown; this then being thinned with an approximately 50/50 mixture of Klear and water and (this is essential) a touch of hand soap dripped in to help the flow. I use these paints (click for a larger view):
or these:
depending on how brown or red-brown I want the figures to look.
This wash is applied liberally over the whole figure so that all the crevices have colour in them. This results in something looking like this:
The wash can of course be made darker if desired. The purpose of the wash is to add depth to the figure, to give good clear outlines of belts, boots, beards and so on, to prevent any virgin undercoat showing through, to pick out folds in the garments, and to provide a good base that flesh tones, browns, reds, whites and blues can be painted on top of later in the process.
So, there we go: the brown washed figure, step one!
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