I’ve recently pre-ordered some unpainted minis and want to look into some basics to paint them when they arrive.
I currently have the four “starter sets” from Citadel in my cart along with a set of 12 mini brushes (15$) and the citadel tools for mold lines and cutter.
Are these decent things to get or should I look at something else that you’d recommend?
I'm a total beginner as well but I have purchased some paint and from the little work I have done, I prefer the Bones brand paints in the dropper bottles vs. the flip top citadel bottles. Just my preference, but I feel I have a little more control over the amount of paint I'm working with.
I started out with just cheap Walmart/Michaels brand paints and brushes. I am very much an amateur but was reluctant to spend the extra money when I was first learning to paint. Now that I've been doing it awhile I have branched out into some of the more expensive stuff and the difference it not that great that you'll miss much one way or the other honestly.
I started out with just cheap Walmart/Michaels brand paints and brushes. I am very much an amateur but was reluctant to spend the extra money when I was first learning to paint. Now that I've been doing it awhile I have branched out into some of the more expensive stuff and the difference it not that great that you'll miss much one way or the other honestly.
This is very true. At some level, a brush is a brush and paint is paint.
The only reason I buy the brushes I do, rather than the much more affordable Walmart multi-packs my wife does, is because I prefer being able to think "I need a new detail brush" and then picking up a brush that is labelled "detail brush" instead of having to remember or eyeball what brush size I want for that (i.e. "Did I want a 0, or a 00?").
And the only reason I buy Reaper paints instead of generic acrylics is because dropper bottles are awesome and I am actually a bit color deficient so having their pre-established trios of colors helps me pick shading colors a lot easier. I've also picked up a few Games Workshop paint pots because they are pre-formulated for a particular task, like the shades (pre-thinned washes) they offer which work much better on the translucent Bones minis I have than a water-thinned paint would, because Bones material hates water and I don't feel like priming with clear-coat.
I mostly use the GW paint pots because I can just pop in to the game store down the street and pick up the color I need. I haven't had any experience with other paints besides the first cheap acrylics I bought when I first started (which I still have and use sometimes).
Also, the game store has a begginners mini painting group, mostly for Warhammer, but the welcome everyone are generally cool people. And the store usually discounts paints and brushes when the new seasons of Warhammer start. Thats where I picked up my first decent set of brushes after ruining the cheap ones I bought.
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Welcome to the Grand Illusion, come on in and see what's happening, pay the price, get your ticket for the show....
If you have already purchased them you may find the army painter set better value for money also has dropper bottles which are better. And includes all the tools needed
Also as mentioned always start out with a good primer. If you can afford it you can also do a zenithal primer where you start with a black spray then from 45 degrees you can do a light spray of white that will pre-shade the model for you. These can give you a huge step up when starting painting. And using a wash you simply colour over the top giving you all the highlight and shade you need.
I have to agree with @Dos246. I have been painting minis for nearly 30 years and I've always used acrylic craft paint. Mini paint is the same, they just charge you more and give you less. I do use mini painting brushes though, as craft brushes are hard to find in a small enough size.
Model acrylics are made to attach better to plastics and metal and the finish is more "plastic" than regular artists acrylics, and even though they won't scratch as easy as the artist ones, you still have to apply a clear coat to make it scratch resistant. The (craft) acrylics tend to have much thicker pigment in them even when diluting them with medium and water you can see the individual flakes of pigment sometimes.
I'm reluctant to buy paint especially for minis. I did buy some special tiny brushes from Amazon. For the paint I use acrylic then let it dry. I go over it with a clear-coat. They're very shiny, and I think they look good that way. For spell portions, I actually use clear-coat fingernail polish for some extra oomph. Sometimes I mix in really fine glitter in a bottle cap then paint a layer onto the spell, followed by several clear coats (a depth effect).
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I’ve recently pre-ordered some unpainted minis and want to look into some basics to paint them when they arrive.
I currently have the four “starter sets” from Citadel in my cart along with a set of 12 mini brushes (15$) and the citadel tools for mold lines and cutter.
Are these decent things to get or should I look at something else that you’d recommend?
I'm a total beginner as well but I have purchased some paint and from the little work I have done, I prefer the Bones brand paints in the dropper bottles vs. the flip top citadel bottles. Just my preference, but I feel I have a little more control over the amount of paint I'm working with.
I started out with just cheap Walmart/Michaels brand paints and brushes. I am very much an amateur but was reluctant to spend the extra money when I was first learning to paint. Now that I've been doing it awhile I have branched out into some of the more expensive stuff and the difference it not that great that you'll miss much one way or the other honestly.
I mostly use the GW paint pots because I can just pop in to the game store down the street and pick up the color I need. I haven't had any experience with other paints besides the first cheap acrylics I bought when I first started (which I still have and use sometimes).
Also, the game store has a begginners mini painting group, mostly for Warhammer, but the welcome everyone are generally cool people. And the store usually discounts paints and brushes when the new seasons of Warhammer start. Thats where I picked up my first decent set of brushes after ruining the cheap ones I bought.
Welcome to the Grand Illusion, come on in and see what's happening, pay the price, get your ticket for the show....
Dont forget the primer.
Depending on the style you should get a white, black or grey.
I prefer white on all my minis as i like som brighter colours.
I'm not stupid. I'm just unlucky when I'm thinking.
If you have already purchased them you may find the army painter set better value for money also has dropper bottles which are better. And includes all the tools needed
Also as mentioned always start out with a good primer. If you can afford it you can also do a zenithal primer where you start with a black spray then from 45 degrees you can do a light spray of white that will pre-shade the model for you. These can give you a huge step up when starting painting. And using a wash you simply colour over the top giving you all the highlight and shade you need.
I have to agree with @Dos246. I have been painting minis for nearly 30 years and I've always used acrylic craft paint. Mini paint is the same, they just charge you more and give you less. I do use mini painting brushes though, as craft brushes are hard to find in a small enough size.
You can get free 5e content at Limitless-Adventures.com
Model acrylics are made to attach better to plastics and metal and the finish is more "plastic" than regular artists acrylics, and even though they won't scratch as easy as the artist ones, you still have to apply a clear coat to make it scratch resistant. The (craft) acrylics tend to have much thicker pigment in them even when diluting them with medium and water you can see the individual flakes of pigment sometimes.
I'm reluctant to buy paint especially for minis. I did buy some special tiny brushes from Amazon. For the paint I use acrylic then let it dry. I go over it with a clear-coat. They're very shiny, and I think they look good that way. For spell portions, I actually use clear-coat fingernail polish for some extra oomph. Sometimes I mix in really fine glitter in a bottle cap then paint a layer onto the spell, followed by several clear coats (a depth effect).