#beginner general help

102 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

ember sundial
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I'm completely new to warhammer table top and minis. I havnt started painting at all yet mainly because I wanted a airbrush because of how I see how much debth that gives you. I bought a army for warhammer but havnt started painting yet however I bough a bunch of general d&d minis to practice on first. I just got done priming them with spray paint at first it looked fine but when I put it under the magnifine glass I realized that it took lil bit of detail out and it looks a Lil gunked. Is there a technique to spraying the primer on or a different product marketed towards miniatures?

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Idk how well you can see the texture in the picture. Is it grainy like that to have the paint stick on better? I thought there was primer for airbrushes but when I went to hobby lobby I couldn't find any primer marketed towards airbrushing in the airbrush/ model kits section. Do I need to spray paint it into the airbrush directly and then use a thinner to have it particalize better?

tepid plume
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So priming with a rattle can you need to start the spray away from the model then pass over the model and then stop when you're not pointed at the model.

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There's also issues with humidity and the temperature of the can when you paint

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And of course the distance will affect the graininess.

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Instead of Hobby Lobby if there's a RC hobby shop near you they tend to have lots of paints

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But yeah Vallejo which is sold at Hobby Lobby should have primer in a drop bottle. I believe they sell creatics as well and that might have a primer. Or you can order off Amazon or visit another game shop. I don't recommend the Army painter airbrush primers

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Usually when priming with an airbrush will use a bigger needle. A lot of people do not recommend thinning primer, although I personally had no problems with thinning primer it's still Primes. But that could be the brands I use are more tolerant of thinner.

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I also stopped using acrylic primers I only use solvent now.

ember sundial
tepid plume
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I would only use the alcohol if I'm using an alcohol based acrylic like Tamia. If it's a water-based acrylic I would not but a lot of people use Windex as a thinner. For acrylics either use half and half airbrush medium and thinner or just airbrush medium I'm not claiming to be an expert on that though

ember sundial
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Any knowledge helps so I appreciate all of it n.n

ember sundial
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I'm not expecting to do anything great first time but when I start I want to do it right so I don't do bad habits 😅

tepid plume
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Technically either way works. But it is easier to Prime and base coat in dark and work up to your highlights. Mostly because when you prime your getting the hard to reach places so it's easiest to do the hard-to-reach places first instead of last. Since that's where the Shadows usually are . But if you're using washes you might want to Prime in a lighter color then immediately do Shadows

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So one of the more common work orders is prime, then zenithal, base coat, layer, then detail

ember sundial
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I heard a lot of negative things regarding washes. Is that a pro painter purity thing or does it actually make ur work look muddy

ember sundial
tepid plume
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As long as you remember they have advantages and disadvantages it's fine I think. Some people use it as an excuse to paint lazy. But if you're painting an army it's totally legit. You can make a mini look like you put a lot more time into it with a good wash or two. You'll probably have to redo your highlights after a wash as a minimum.

ember sundial
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Thank you again for all the help! All of this was very useful information. When I get done with a mini do I post it in points to get criticism for it?

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Sorry for bombing you with questions about stuff 😅

tepid plume
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If you want criticism you can post in the main Channel but it'll get buried quickly, hobby help, or Works in progress. Points is for points so usually there's no feedback in that channel

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So just starting out just remember that your base coat is your eraser color. You're going to be mixing lots of colors but if you mess up you can always just paint over your mess up in your base coat color. So don't be afraid of making mistakes. Also after zenithal I recommend taking a picture of your model from at least two sides so you can refer to it as you paint

ember sundial
tepid plume
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The zenithal it's really a reference anyway. But as a beginner I'll paint things out of order or cover more of the base coat than I mean to. But with a picture I still have a reference even though I covered up the zenithal.

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The picture reference is also useful if you're doing NMM

ember sundial
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whats NMM?

tepid plume
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Non-metallic metal. It's a technique where you use matte paints to create a metallic look

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You're creating fake light transitions so you have to be even more attentive to light and Shadow

crude sphinx
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Let's not start with advanced techniques like NMM or OSL with a beginner.
Already getting the right consistency of paints can be a challenge.

ember sundial
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Before I start painting is this alright to start airbrushing in?

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Do u need ventilation or anything? Or some kind of vacuum or is a box ok to paint in?

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The paints I'm using is wizkids Vallejo

tepid plume
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definitely get a respirator.. Vacuum box that exhausts outside is best for solvent based paints. Or if you are certian the pigments are non-toxic. Usually though, acrylic, the backing box should be enough. A room air filtration system will clear the acrylic dust out of the air faster.

I like to have an ice cream container for bulk washing the cup. I.e, use that squirt bottle to rinse most of the paint out of the cup, then only use the brush cleaner pot for getting out what little is left. it is also faster. Squirt, dump, squirt, dump, squirt dump. Then spray clear.

ember sundial
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Awesome I have a respiratory thankfully 😅 should I worry about paint dust painting random objects in my room or will it just be like regular dry dust?

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And do you recommend me trying to paint as many details as I can with the airbrush to better learn?

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And should I have the air humidifier maxed or is even good enough?

tepid plume
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It should be regular dry dust. As long as it hits that backing board first.

One thing to look out for is blowbacks. Starting out, if you get a clog, your paint might shoot out the cup and even go behind you, so maybe get a cheap splatter plastic liner and fully encircle yourself, until it happens a time or two and you aren't worrying about it happening.

ember sundial
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That's something I wasn't even aware of that could happen! Thank you for that. I'll paint with it's lid on today and see if it goes back up to the cap.

tepid plume
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Air humidifer should be a non-issue. All of your air is going through the compressor and the water separator, so the humidifier won't help much unless you are in a desert location maybe. (for airbrushing.) a humidifer might make a difference with brush painting since it will dry slower.

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... or keep the lid on. Why didn't I think of that...

ember sundial
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I am in a desert location 😅

tepid plume
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Ahh, my lid falls off all the time, that's why.

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Well, it definitely won't hurt then.

ember sundial
tepid plume
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Personally, I recommend NOT mixing in the cup until you get your consistancy perfect. Use a small mixing tin, a plastic shot cup, or something to mix.

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not mixing in the cup prevents some problems that a beginner doesn't need to d eal with.

ember sundial
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I want the consistency of milk right?

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beginner general help

tepid plume
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better too thin than too thick. Some paints are very thin so mixing in the cup is fine, but thicker paints mix better separately. As a beginner, if you mix everything separetely then you won't need to worry about which is alright or not.

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but yeah, milk or ink. Very watery.

ember sundial
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Awesome wish me luck! You've been a huge help to me

tepid plume
ember sundial
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This is what I got so far on the fish man. Any pointers?

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Just starter free hand, I havnt worked on the clothes at all only skin

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Should I have used a wash before dry brushing the gold scales? Just thought of that pepecry

tepid plume
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You "could" have used a wash before. You can get any effect without a wash too by manually painting in your shadows or textures. If painting shadows to highlights is too much trouble many people just go back and forth, some shadows, some highlights, some more shadows, until they are happy with the effect. If you don't feel like doing shadows, you can just do the recesses a darker color. Everything is up to you.

So yea, the main thing is not to be afraid of mistakes, at the absolute worst, you can always strip it down and start over. Now that you have some paint down, you could do a wash to get darker paint into those recesses, that would be faster and maybe a good idea if you are doing an army. But if you are doing one mini, then stopping and working on your volumes might be a good way to go.

Of course others will block in all the colors, like the clothes so they have a better idea of the final result. There is truly no wrong way I don't think. Trying a wash now would let you discover some of the advantages, it gets in recesses well and can add depth to the model, and leaves a filter over everything, but it also doesn't actually obey the rules of light and shadow, it obeys the rule of gravity.

ember sundial
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i was at the hobby store today and met someone and asked about priming paints, they said that doing a base layer of grey paint will pretty much do the same thing as priming them, is this accurate or if i do try that will it go on runny after the base layer?

ember sundial
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I tried making the top chest piece look like it's been underwater for a really long time. Does it need brown blotches to help achieve that affect or is that green grown good enough?

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also the cloth feels like it shouldnt be that bright of a red, idk how to make it seem more dirty other than just blotching it full of black wash

tepid plume
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So primer usually has an additive to make it adhere better that isn't present in paints. Often, regular paint will stick anyway to some surfaces, but primer makes sure. So if you don't use primer, your paint might not stick as well. But a lot of people confuse primer with a base layer.

I usually use solvent primers, so I don't skip them at all. A lot of people are often just looking for an excuse to cheap out. But skipping primer can come back to haunt one later. when paint starts to peel off or chip off easier.

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You can add rust to make it look like it has been underwater for a long time. Rust is generally reddish browns. You can also use rust pigment powders. Letting some of the "original" show through also helps convey dirtyness. Like scratches that reveal shiny metal.

Dirt doesn't need to be brown. Different shades of red can be used to convey wear

brave jasper
brave jasper
brave jasper
# ember sundial I heard a lot of negative things regarding washes. Is that a pro painter purity ...

I didn't read through everything, cause I missed too much. But I saw this and this is absolutely elitism. You can wash if you want and it's a great jumping off point. Some people may choose to use it less as they get more techniques in their toolbox. Noone gets bonus points for not using a wash though. You may decide its not the right tool for the job as you get experience, but it's still a great tool.

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Usually the muddyness comes from the color choice, not the application technique.

ember sundial
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Also I'm working on a tyranid army rn, I don't really know how to calculate points or anything or what the standard army size that people play with is. I heard it was 2000 points from googling. Idk if any of you play that or anything but is there a app or a spreadsheet somewhere online that calculates points for a army? I have the tyranids from the leviathan box, I bought 3 hive guard, and a hive tyrant currently.

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And is it best to paint with the bases on or off?

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Sorry for so many questions BTW I'm brand new to all of this. You guys helping me out has been a god send. Thank you 😭🙏

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Also when applying the wash I feel like I added too much and used a paper towel to soak up some of it. However when I did it it left fuzzy stuff on the model. Is there a better product for that other than a paper towel or is it That it was drying too fast and I wasn't fast enough?

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Is it also best to paint with the weapons on the model or off? Or is that a preference thing?

tepid plume
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Soo, I recommend not going crazy and building a 2000 point army from zero. Find people in your area that play, and then ask them if they play with smaller point forces, like Combat Patrols. If they do, build a combat patrol first and play with that, then slowly build your army.

ember sundial
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Is there a way to calculate ur points?

tepid plume
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I think they have an app somewhere, but I only do kill team right now, so I don't worry about points.

brave jasper
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I don't play Warhammer so I have no idea. If you ask in #off-topic I'm sure someone will answer.

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My impression is that 2000 points is quite a lot to tackle all at once.

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For your other questions:
Wash is pretty transparent, the effects are more subtle over darker colors or if you are in the same family of color, e.g. red wash over red base coat. There's also variations between colors and brands. Just keep using them and you'll learn what you like and how you like to use it.

ember sundial
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Yeah I know I have at least 1000 points rn ans it's like 40 minis

tepid plume
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I think very roughly, 1 point = $1.

brave jasper
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Cleaning up a wash: the paper towel or something on it may have left a fuzz texture, or you can get tide marks if the edge of the wash starts to dry and you blot up the middle. If you have to clean up, work fast and you can use your painting brush: just rinse it and wick the excess moisture off on your towel. A damp working brush will still pick up excess wash, then you can unload it on your towel, rinse and repeat until satisfied.

ember sundial
brave jasper
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Base attached or other sub assemblies?: personal preference here. There's pros and cons to both ways. Usually you will develop your own preference on this.

ember sundial
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Do you know how to use ur airbrush to give off the affect like some places are glowing on the model

tepid plume
ember sundial
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I'm using acrylic everything rn. I havnt really explored into different pant brands or anything. I just bought the wizkids Vallejo 40 paint pack thingy to get started

tepid plume
ember sundial
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Ohh I think I've seen that on bigger models

brave jasper
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I would advise to save it for after a few more models. It's tricky.

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I don't think it's as easy as spraying the desired light color, but some people do it that way. If that works for you, there's probably instructions out there to do that.

ember sundial
brave jasper
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There's so many ways to do it. If you see something you like, you might ask someone what they did. Some people use oils, some airbrush, some are brush only.

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But your fundamentals with using water based acrylic (what you have) are base coating, wash, and layering, glazing, dry brushing. With that you will start to practice using the brush, thinning the paint, and mixing intermediate colors. After that there's other things like wet blending, airbrush use, whatever else someone decided to name.
But I'm kind of old school and learned without Contrast paints so there's a lot I'm probably missing on giving you instruction. That's a whole other process.

ember sundial
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It's so much harder than Canvas 😭 you people are insane. I just don't see myself getting to that skill level 😅 I'm blown away by everyone's creativity and skills.

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And the willingness to help strangers Into the hobby is awesome! I really can't thank yall enough

brave jasper
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Honestly just do what you are doing. Keep painting stuff. Finish minis. Paint more. Think about what you liked and didn't like. Take all advice with a little bit of salt too, cause there's so many approaches that it's easy to get lost. I would honestly pick some basic paint jobs that you like and ask that person's process.
Oh and there's a lot of gear heads out there too. You don't have to do all that if you don't want.

ember sundial
brave jasper
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That's someone who wants to buy all the highest and best stuff, and ends up collecting more gear than they paint.