Trick's of the Trade

[Lord Commander Erus]

Few tips(i'm by no means even a good painter.. but, even a fool can memorize the words of a sage!):

Make sure when you rinse your brush, or change colors, to reshape and check the tip. I can not stress enough how much this has improved my painting. It has done such to a degree I wouldn't have believed until I saw it for myself.

Don't let your water get nasty. Once it is dirty enough it no longer contains any clear qualities, and is largely opaque/has clouds of pigment when your swirl the water, change it. If not, the finish on your mini will be duller and inconsistent, and a myriad other woes coudl beset you.

Use a well lit area. Daylight is the best, but if you can't get it, try soft light. The new swirly energy conservative bulbs work great for this, and don't get hot as easily. It sucks to burn yourself on the lamp, trust me I know.

Do NOT.. I repeat DO NOT use fluorescent lighting to paint by... It does not even make and effort to simulate daylight in it's output, so what you see as your painting (if you paint by fluorescent light) may not be how the mini looks afterwards. Though, Andy Warhol made a mint doing distorted color paintings and such... So I suppose you could try the same thing with minis... (I do suggest staying away from the drugs and rampant sex side of things though.)

I find that a lot of different company's make a swing arm lamp/big magnifying glass combo that clamps onto tables. These have helped me greatly into being able to really see fine details and make my work infinitely more tidy than it used to be.

Rinse your brush THOROUGHLY between colors. If you are taking a long while with one color (a tank, or a main armor color for SM, etc..) then between every 3-4 times (MAX!!) that you reload your brush, go ahead and wash it out in water, and check your tip, drag it along a paper towel to drain of moisture, etc...

Never, ever, ever get paint in the ferrels (sp?) of the brushed. This is the last bit of the bristle before the metal tip on the shaft of the brush. Quickest way to ruin a brush.

However, if you do find yourself in the above scenario.. Places like Preston Arts sell a brush cleaner for $3.99 that can restore any damage done, though it should be used only in emergency's as I have found out first hand that using the cleaner to such an extent WILL damage the bristles over time. This is not a liquid base though, it's a cream almost like Noxema, but a little more solid.

This cleaner is also a good idea to use (sparingly and not so much as the above incident) when you don't plan to paint for a while and want to store your brushes. It will help keep your bristles clean, smooth, supple, and more.

Get a palette. Seriously. The one I use is a cheapo $.93 Walmart deal, white plastic. It has proved in valuable for storing thinned paints, inks, mixing colors, and everything. It really does open up your color selection, as you can see the result of color combos whilst your mix, and are more apt to be able to fine tune and tweak it to juuuust the right shade/consistency.

Most importantly, the best lesson I have learned, is you have to go and try it. Drooling over pics or cutting down your own work won't help you one bit. You've got to bite the dust, buy the minis, and just paint. If you screw up, strip it (I suggest metal models for this purpose alone.. that plus the cheapo ultra big tub of acetone from walmart provide a fine, and endless testing and proving grounds). You will never learn by being nervous or not trying...

I've learned first hand the best tip any player can give to anyone, modeling or painting or playing wise... Get out there and try it for yourself.

[Brother Warchild]

There's bulbs for said lamps called daylight bulbs work awesome.
Yhis is my first time with AB paints whats the best thinning ratio?

[Baron von Lexus]

I find that flourescent (sp?) bulbs work fine for me maybe its b/c I'm used to it. I also paint with the rest of the room dark and the lamp right overhead. But I might have halogen lamps, either way it works. I see what you're saying though. And the swing lamp magnifier thing is a must.

Baron

[Monodominant]

I've been looking around for an answer to this...but since I'm a cave-dwelling basement type, I decided to ask here rather than make a phone call.
I'm currently stuck in the depths of winter, and don't have anywhere warm enough to use my spray primers. I thought I read about an alternative somewhere though:

Is it a reasonable idea to thin down a basecoat color paint (white, black, etc.) a bit and apply that as a basecoat, instead of using a spray? Or is it just the wrong kind of paint?

[Dragoon King]

Just wondering what brand of hobby blades you guys use. I swear by Fiskars.

[Baron von Lexus]

x-acto works well for me but mostly whatever I find to be cheapest at Hobby town.

[hairyyahoo]

Originally Posted by Monodominant

I've been looking around for an answer to this...but since I'm a cave-dwelling basement type, I decided to ask here rather than make a phone call.
I'm currently stuck in the depths of winter, and don't have anywhere warm enough to use my spray primers. I thought I read about an alternative somewhere though:

Is it a reasonable idea to thin down a basecoat color paint (white, black, etc.) a bit and apply that as a basecoat, instead of using a spray? Or is it just the wrong kind of paint?

well, before spray became so widely used it ws common practice to undercoat this way. the only trouble with doing so these days is that new moulding processes leave a thin coat of something on the minis that resists paint, making an even coat difficult to achieve. just soak your frames/metal minis in some warm soapy water for a while and you shouldn't have a problem.

and about the knives thing...i use retactable craft knives, dirt cheap and will last for quide some time.

[Baron von Lexus]

Ya I used to undercoat by hand for about 100 or so LoTR minis. Makes you really appriciate what spray paint and airbrushing can do

[Monodominant]

Winter is a lousy time to buy new minis, for sure. Warm and soapy water it is. Thanks a bunch for the prompt help!

I use whatever I happen to find when I'm in the market for them...usually the plain ol' x-acto blades. Good and sharp, and they last a while. I use them for most everything though, from applying some modeling putty now and again to smoothing minis to trimming my fingernails.

[r4wr89]

by x-acto, do you all mean the #11's, the super pointy looking thin one ? i personally just use a straight up razor blade [and no, i'm not emo...haha] i use the single bladed kind with a piece of metal attached to the dull side [for easier handling] it gives me awesome control when trying to cut plastic and stuff. :]

[Brother Warchild]

I got this huge xacto blade kit wiyh dif types and its awesome.Theres a blade that has a big curve to it,its great.As for the blades with the big point that r4wr was yalking about,I stopped using those when i cut a 6 stich to the bone hack in my pointer finger

[Rhaalidor]

Originally Posted by Brother Warchild

What about air brush comp,does anyone have a sug on what model?

I bought an air tank at Wally World for about $20. A pressure regulator was another $15, and a water trap was about $10. It last's me about 12 hours for painting at 25 PSI, and that costs me $0.50 to fill up at the gas station. I bought the Testor's mini compressor at Wally World for $60 (with a cheap- a** A270 Aztek Airbrush), and the tank does much better.

Originally Posted by Monodominant

I've been looking around for an answer to
Is it a reasonable idea to thin down a basecoat color paint (white, black, etc.) a bit and apply that as a basecoat, instead of using a spray? Or is it just the wrong kind of paint?

Most of the time, you want to use a different type of paint for your base than you you use for your topcoat. If you paint with acrylics (water-based, i.e. GW or Apple Crate) you need to basecoat with enamel or lacquer. This will keep your base coat from bleeding through to your topcoat. The purpose of a basecoat, or primer, is to coat the model and give the Acrylic paint something to stick to. It's a good idea also to wash your sprues in warm, soapy water, to wash away the mold release (usually silicone) used in the molding process. Silicone will cause paint to pull away, resulting in a condition called "fish-eye", where the paint doesn't adhere to spots of the model coated with mold-release, and the paint will pull away from those spots in a circular or oval formation, much like the eye of a fish.

Originally Posted by Lord Commander Erus

Use a well lit area. Daylight is the best, but if you can't get it, try soft light. The new swirly energy conservative bulbs work great for this, and don't get hot as easily. It sucks to burn yourself on the lamp, trust me I know.

Do NOT.. I repeat DO NOT use fluorescent lighting to paint by... It does not even make and effort to simulate daylight in it's output, so what you see as your painting (if you paint by fluorescent light) may not be how the mini looks afterwards. Though, Andy Warhol made a mint doing distorted color paintings and such... So I suppose you could try the same thing with minis...

The color of Daylight is 5500 degrees Kelvin. Photographers use lamps of this color temperature to approximate the color of sunlight. Normal incandescent bulbs are much too yellow, and standard fluorescent lamps are actually more purple in color. Daylight bulbs are available at your local photo shop, and there is a modeler's lamp called the Ott-Lite that is equal to the color of sunlight.

Originally Posted by Brother Warchild

There's bulbs for said lamps called daylight bulbs work awesome.
Yhis is my first time with AB paints whats the best thinning ratio?

A good rule of thumb for thinning paints for airbrushing is to thin to the
consistency of milk, or between 50 and 65% paint and the remainder in thinner.

[Brother Warchild]

Originally Posted by Rhaalidor

I bought an air tank at Wally World for about $20. A pressure regulator was another $15, and a water trap was about $10. It last's me about 12 hours for painting at 25 PSI, and that costs me $0.50 to fill up at the gas station. I bought the Testor's mini compressor at Wally World for $60 (with a cheap- a** A270 Aztek Airbrush), and the tank does much better.

Good stuff,will def have to check that out,Thanks

[Dragoon King]

Originally Posted by Brother Warchild

I got this huge xacto blade kit wiyh dif types and its awesome.Theres a blade that has a big curve to it,its great.As for the blades with the big point that r4wr was yalking about,I stopped using those when i cut a 6 stich to the bone hack in my pointer finger

I think I now the kit. It should have a flat blade too. It's very useful for removing imperial symbols, assuming your a Chaos player!

[Brother Warchild]

Its great,Has made modeling alot easier at times.

[hairyyahoo]

just tidied up your multi-posts a bit there rhaalidor. it's no biggie but please try to fit everything you want to say into a single post in future. use the edit button and copy/paste if you want more than one quote, it's a bit more time consuming but keeps the boards all tidy and spiffy looking . cheers.

[Dragoon King]

Originally Posted by hairyyahoo

just tidied up your multi-posts a bit there rhaalidor. it's no biggie but please try to fit everything you want to say into a single post in future. use the edit button and copy/paste if you want more than one quote, it's a bit more time consuming but keeps the boards all tidy and spiffy looking . cheers.

Heh, I wondered how ya did multiple quotes. Are you really a closet computer genius? (or am I a real technotard)

[hairyyahoo]

Originally Posted by Dragoon King

Heh, I wondered how ya did multiple quotes. Are you really a closet computer genius? (or am I a real technotard)

nah, i just click buttons til something works or blows up

[lord marcus]

Originally Posted by hairyyahoo

nah, i just click buttons til something works or blows up

i follow you on that one hairy!

anyway, the cheapest ass palete i have ever used (unusually my only pallette) is a $1.00 piece of beige/white tile from home depot.