[Archive] How do you paint your figures

Archive [Archive] Modeling Ideas and Advice
1

Kera foehunter:

I though this would be cool to see how people paint?

I Start at the top and paint down.

I know other people that start at the bottom and paint up

do you follow one of these style or have your own i like to know because i do not do thing the way that other do

Kera

2

Thommy H:

Inside out usually. So eyes first, then skin, then hair, then clothes, armour, weapons, etc.

3

torn:

I do largest areas first and work to smallest, or do things at the back then the front. I always spray black, then brush black over anywhere I’ve missed. Then I will lightly drybrush the whole figure in a neutral color like grey. This makes it easier to pick details out and can also make the figure look nearly finished after just a couple of colours. After drybrushing the figure I will usually also do the first drybrush of the base before painting proper starts.

I found this worked really well with ww2 guys, I tried it out on Nazi zombies because I needed them done quick. A large drybrush and it works wonders.

4

Kera foehunter:

Thommy H doing the eyes first how do you not flood the eye out whin you do a wash on the flesh??

5

Grimstonefire:

I normally paint whatever will be the messiest thing first and then work to the most detailed areas last.

I always base the models before undercoating and paint them before anything else, well, the areas immediately around the feet first anyway.

Next I would paint anything that’s going to be damn near impossible to reach without messing other stuff up.  For example the underside of an Infernal Guard’s robes/scale armour can be tricky to paint once based so I just paint as much as I can reach with a dark red.

6

Dînadan:

Like Grimstonefire I paint the messiest thing first and generally do fiddle details last. Also, in recent years I’ve gotten lazy so these days I generally do a basecoat and a wash and usually only go back over things/highlight if really necessary or for a specific effect.

7

Grimstonefire:

I never mastered that trick of getting lazy sadly (just doing basecoat and wash). Hence why I paint really slowly.

Even my clanrats I did about 5 stages just on their cloth.

8

Thommy H:

Thommy H   doing the eyes first  how do you not flood the eye out whin you do a wash  on the flesh??

Kera foehunter
If I use a wash to shade the flesh, I only put it on the skin parts. Normally there's a correlation between models where I paint the eyes well and ones I don't use a wash for - I basically use washes as a "cheat", and if I can achieve the tone I want with layers, that feels somehow more "correct" to me.

To go into more detail about my painting techniques: I always use a black undercoat, and I always paint layers up from the lowest tone. So if I was doing, say, a red robe, I'd start with dark red (or even purple if I wanted it to look really rich) and paint layers of progressively lighter colours to taste. Again, it's the same "inside out" ethos. If I use a wash, it usually goes on at the end to bring the layers together.

I do metals as "semi non-metallic-metal" which is using metals in the same way as normal paints. I'm not good enough for NMM, but this produces a pretty pleasing effect. Gold for example, I highlight with silver on the edges in places where the light reflects.
9

torn:

I do metals as "semi non-metallic-metal" which is using metals in the same way as normal paints. I'm not good enough for NMM, but this produces a pretty pleasing effect. Gold for example, I highlight with silver on the edges in places where the light reflects.

Thommy H
I found the best inspiration for nmm are graphic novels. I also find Vallejo do better colours for nmm than citadel.
10

Abecedar:

Absolutely no system what so ever (and it shows). I’m forever going back and touching things up repeatedly

11

tjub:

I normally paint whatever will be the messiest thing first and then work to the most detailed areas last.

I always base the models before undercoating and paint them before anything else, well, the areas immediately around the feet first anyway.

Grimstonefire
Same here...
12

Bloodbeard:

I basecoat my models with black spray from Armypainter. Any missed corners and holes are painted black with a brush.

Then I paint the models with base colours - foundaton paints or others with good pigment. All the large areas. Cloth, armor, skin, bone. Currently purple base coat, dark flesh tone, iron, bronze, a sand/stone colour on bone,a dark greyish brown for leather and dark grey for beards.

When done on the entre regiment I remove any of the small mistakes I’ve done. Again on all models.

Then I highlight and drybush a bit. Pick out bolts, swordedges with lighter or other metals. Bone gets some ushabti bone. Purple gets two other lighter purples. Skin gets highligts with a light flesh tone.

I use a lot wash. I wash all bronze with gryphonne sepia. All metal with babab black. Purple with leviathan purple. All skin with ogryn flesh.

I then use babab black between all the places where I go from one colour to another. Between skin and coth, metal and purple.

Lastly the whole model - everything - gets a layer of agrax earthshade.

13

Fuggit Khan:

I normally paint whatever will be the messiest thing first and then work to the most detailed areas last.

Grimstonefire
Same here...I paint faces first, then armor, beards and finally small details. I don't glue the mini to the base until last, that way I can still paint any underside details if needed.
14

Threadbare:

I don't glue the mini to the base until last, that way I can still paint any underside details if needed.

Fuggit Khan
What kind of glue do you use so that it doesn't mess up the paint job?
15

Ben Saunders:

I don’t really have a recipe that I always follow - if I do a bunch of similar models I’ll probably do them more or less the same, but I couldn’t say I’d do some different models similarly.

Generally: Large areas of colour first (e.g. I’d begin Blood Angels by painting them red all over). Messy bits first (e.g. dry-brushing). Things that are easier to paint over/correct first.

One thing is that I always go for base colours everywhere before adding highlights and shading (not that I usually do much of that anyway). Sometimes I see people paint one area to a really high standard, before moving on to another area - so easy to ruin your hard work by a slip of a brush that way, whereas it’s much easier to touch up an area that hasn’t been highlighted/shaded. (Some may do this just for online tutorials, but I think some people really paint this way, they’re probably just neater than I am!)

16

Admiral:

I always base my models and paint the sand’s basecoat first. Undercoat might be Chaos Black spray, dark grey or dark brown paint. Then every area gets basecoated from the inside out in order of messiness and size. Then follows highlights, washes, final highlights and touch-ups before the base sides are painted and varnish applied.

17

Fuggit Khan:

I don't glue the mini to the base until last, that way I can still paint any underside details if needed.

Fuggit Khan
What kind of glue do you use so that it doesn't mess up the paint job?


Threadbare
For my metal miniatures I just use a very small drop or two of superglue, applied to the metal slotta-base tab.
If there is no metal tab, then I just add a small drop to the bottom of the foot itself, making sure there is a 'bare' unpainted foot-spot on the base itself.
18

Yodrin:

My painting plan is pore tbh. I should start with head and eyes, but I always seem to end up with the eyes as the last thing. And I paint inside and out for the most

19

Kera foehunter:

20

ClawLeader:

I use an overly methodical layering system. It ends being 9-11 layers per color unless it’s a bright blue. Problem is my painting doesn’t end up looking all that great.

I’ve started to get into nmm. Enjoying it more than the metal paints and trying this ‘mirror’ looking black metal with my ogres and dwarves.