Author Topic: Painting Recommendations  (Read 5372 times)

Offline DogOWar

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Painting Recommendations
« on: November 26, 2006, 01:23:22 PM »
     Hello,

     Although I've done some painting, I would like some advise from the "professionals".  I would like to avoid some of the pitfalls that I have run into before and get a "system" down so I can get into this, as opposed to seeing it as a chore.  I've checked out various painting guides, but thought you guys(and gals) would offer the best advice.  Here are a few questions(of many I'm sure).

 1.  Priming--Is it best to prime before basing?  Do spray primers work well?  Is It best to do all assembly before painting(I've noticed on some that arms are really close to body and might be hard to paint after)?
 2.  Painting--Where do you start(some say at top and work down, some say start with dark colors,etc.)?
 3.  Brushes--What size brushes do I need?  I want to avoid spending money on sizes I don't need.

     That will do for now.  I don't expect to be awsome right off the bat, but would like to get organized so I can get alot of the painting I've got to do done so I can really enjoy this game even more.  I would appreciate and help on this.
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Offline wmeredith

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Re: Painting Recommendations
« Reply #1 on: November 26, 2006, 02:30:38 PM »
Hello

1 Always base last, do the model first then the base. Spray primers are good just make sure you 1* shake well 2* spray in short bursts from diferrent angles.3* any area's the spray misses go over with a brush. With assembly it depends on the model I assemble most first but some I want good detail on I assemble partially then paint.

2 Start where you are more comfortable I start on the body then go to the arms folowed by legs, I am wierd that way. As to colors I start with the base colors of model and add others as I go.

3 Brushes-small, detail and large will do. Avoid GW's crap go to the warstore and buy vellego paints and sable brushes THEY are well worth it. Good luck.

wmeredith(9390william)
Wise men say absolute power corrupts absolutely I am not a wise man.

Offline thruan

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Re: Painting Recommendations
« Reply #2 on: November 29, 2006, 12:47:56 PM »
I like to spray my models black ( i can leave little areas difficult to paint on the primer, they will appear black anyway :P )
Usualy I glue the entire model before painting, if an area is diffcult to paint it is also difficult to see, so its not realy important to paint them.
I always finish the the most elevated areas, its easyer to paint when you are near an other color
Doum

Wedge

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Re: Painting Recommendations
« Reply #3 on: November 29, 2006, 01:17:35 PM »
I don't follow any particular pattern in general.  It is primarily on a case by case basis.  The only given for me is black primer.  It's a must.  Even if you are using light colors (as long as they are decent to high pigment) it will cover the black with two or more coats.  Black primer works best because if you are careful with your drybrushing and highlighting you can leave the black primer as part of your black-lining work.  It really accentuates the colors.  I am a big fan of blacklining.

Getting back to the reason I say it is case by case...

For most models I always do the skin first on the entire model.  That way I can dry brush to my little hearts desire and not worry about lines or bleeding or anything.  Then once ALL the flesh is done I go back and paint a thin coat (watered down slightly) of black over everything that isn't flesh.  I agree with Thruan--if you can't see it, it isn't really that important.  Throw a color in there that matches the area or leave it black.  It will look like a shadow.

From there I usually work from the center out.  This leaves things like shields, weapons, hand held objects, etc. for last.  Once I have all the main colors on all the items and body parts then I do my fine detail work (gems, runes, tattoos, etc.).

For models with lots of armor or big cloaks, I always do those right after the flesh.

Sometimes I can't help myself and I get excited with an idea for a cloak design and I do it right away.  It looks weird when you see a flesh and black model from the front and this perfectly finished cloak on the back.  Having said all this...

The bottom line:  paint the way that seems easiest to you.  Following some of the general rules that others have suggested may save you time but isn't a hard fast rule.

Offline joshuaslater

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Re: Painting Recommendations
« Reply #4 on: November 29, 2006, 01:51:45 PM »
Well spoke Wedge.  Sometimes getting the face done first psyches you up to finish the model!!  It's staring you in the face after all to finish.
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Offline dmcgee1

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Re: Painting Recommendations
« Reply #5 on: December 03, 2006, 09:17:30 AM »
I hear ya, josh
If sing, sang, and sung, sink, sank, and sunk, and drink, drank, and drunk, how is it that it isn't bring, brang, and brung, think, thank and thunk, and ding, dang, and dung?

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Offline Sylvas

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Re: Painting Recommendations
« Reply #6 on: December 09, 2006, 04:11:47 PM »
things I do when I am painting...

1.) I always use black primer...it makes armor look a lot better than using white primer....now it does stink when you are painting a model with a lot of light colors (esp yellows and red), so you have to use several layers of that light color to make an even coat, but the end results always are well worth the effort...

2.) the only time I paint a model before gluing it together is when I am painting a large, multi-part model (like Stalker's FB Chariot, which I still haven't started yet, since I'm trying to motivate myself to get it done)...

I almost always go bottom up, getting the interior stuff done in base coats and finishing upper layers before going back to finish the bottom layers...the only exception to this is skin and faces for me...I usually get these done first so I can be as messy as I want to be and then I can cover up any areas that happened to get paint on them with black...

3.) Brushes...GW brushes are garbage, with the exception being the large tank brush...but for the price you pay for a GW LTB, yuo can go to a craft store and get a large brush that will last longer for about the same price...

4.) Paints...here, I've been using the Vallejo paints almost exclusively since I discovered them...they just seem to cover better, especially with the lighter colors (GW yellows are way to thin)....another good set of paints is the recently released Privateer Press Formula P3 colors (especially the reds), but the only downside of them is that you have to buy these paints in sets, so unless you play a specific faction of Warmachine, they may not be worth the cost...

hope that helps a little...

B...
back to painting...
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Offline DogOWar

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Re: Painting Recommendations
« Reply #7 on: December 10, 2006, 05:26:26 PM »
     I would like to thank everyone for their recommendations. 
Its not the dog in the fight, its the fight in the dog!

ebay "handle": irishdog143