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Harad
Last seen 4 days ago
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2020

2020-02-15 16:52:03
rating 5.1
2020-01-26 20:00:01
rating 5.1

2019

2019-11-09 21:36:43
rating 5.8
2019-09-05 23:24:40
rating 4.4
2019-08-28 14:24:35
rating 6

2018

2018-04-06 18:23:57
rating 5.8

2017

2017-04-14 18:19:08
rating 5.6

2016

2016-12-26 14:23:57
rating 5.8
2016-11-25 17:41:07
rating 5.6

2015

2015-12-07 12:45:27
rating 5.6
2016-12-26 14:23:57
34 votes, rating 5.8
Painting again after 20 years
Let's make things clear: I failed art at school. When I tried then to paint miniatures I hated the results and couldn't understand why my models looked so bad. I might post a picture of some but for now just imagine the worst painted miniatures you can. My combination of a lack of patience and poor artistic skills resulted in some truly horrific paint jobs.

20 years later with the new edition and with some time on my hands I decided to give it another go. I had low expectations but contacted spubbba and he was kind enough to give me some advice. The other thing that has really changed is that with the advent of youtube I could watch videos of others painting the miniatures and try and copy what they did (it is so much easier to copy than to read in a book what you're supposed to do but never be sure if you are doing it right).

It's taken me a long time and obviously the results are still a long way short of what someone good would achieve but I'm very pleased with the progress and also with how it's gone compared to those expectations.



When new coaches write about the game they make observations like 'block is really important' and other things that are so obvious to those with more experience that they can be annoying so I apologise to those of you that are more experienced with painting but here were my main noob observations:

  • Undercoating black is better for me. It hides more sins and adds some natural shading.

  • Multiple layers are huge. They greatly improve the colour quality and gave me a chance to improve on mistakes.

  • Washing the brush a lot, almost every time I needed to put it back in the paint, really helped keep things tidier as the quantity of paint was better controlled and the tip was better.

  • Washes are huge. They add real depth to the miniature and hide some of my more egregious mistakes.

  • Highlighting is hard and probably my weakest point. I improved by using less and less paint but I found it difficult for it not to simply look like a brighter colour painted next to a darker colour. I almost felt the miniatures looked best just after the washes and everything I did from there just made them worse!

  • Painting takes time. It has taken me about two weeks doing some every day to just do these 12.



I still have to base this lot and add transfers but it has really encouraged me to try some more. I'm going to do the orcs and have also dug out my old miniatures (do I just spray paint over them or do I try and strip paint first?). If anyone has any advice on the painting I'm very much open to suggestions.

My main reason for sharing this is that I've been surprised by how enjoyable the process has been and if it encourages someone else to get back into it, then that's great. (p.s. should I have taken the picture differently to avoid people having to scroll to see all of it?)

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Comments
Posted by bigf on 2016-12-26 19:26:38
great work man, they look awesome.


As someone who can barely draw a stickman, your tale sounds very familiar. maybe i might grab some paints if someone can recommend no GW paint as there stuff seems to cost an arm and leg
Posted by Rabe on 2016-12-26 20:35:28
I think you did a great job, at least in my eyes. :-)

[img width=100%]https://fumbbl.com/i/510148[/img] is what you're looking for. Or maybe [img w=100%]https://fumbbl.com/i/510148[/img] - just try. :-)

If you want the small picture to link directly to the big version (so people only have to click on it to get there), make it [url=https://fumbbl.com/i/510148][img width=100%]https://fumbbl.com/i/510148[/img][/url].
Posted by PeteW on 2016-12-26 21:06:24
Good job!
Posted by Grod on 2016-12-26 22:13:50
They look great! Definitely paint strip first. My pro tip: the wet pallet. http://www.fullborerminiatures.com/articles/wetpalette.html
Posted by bghandras on 2016-12-26 23:01:22
Rated 6 for effort. I appreciate when someone tries really hard.
Posted by ArrestedDevelopment on 2016-12-26 23:12:07
Strip the paint for sure, it's not too hard (dettol should do it).

For Improvement:

Use a wet palette as Grod says, and progressively blend your paints as you apply (super-thin) layers, this will not only provide smoother transitions between colours, but if you progressively layer you'll find you can highlight quite simply without having "blocks" of colour. Another beneficial side effect of the wet palette is that it makes it quite difficult for you to use too much paint per application as it is automatically thinning it for you.

With blending thin layers, you also retain a matte effect more easily on the painted layers, which is usually more realistic, and also means lighter areas or metallic paints stand out more easily with less paint used (again, less blocky).


Undercoating is a matter of personal preference, I personally have always undercoated in a grey, and then sprayed a light puff or two of lighter undercoats on the model in the direction I want light to be coming from. I then take a photo of that, and use it as a reference later when painting the layers and blending towards highlights - this looks better imo, but also saves highlighting "lines", which very quickly becomes ineffective and only serves to exaggerate the segmented nature of the mini in a lot of armoured sculpts.
Posted by Balle2000 on 2016-12-27 00:07:40
Looking good. Who are they?
Posted by garyt1 on 2016-12-27 05:32:28
Great work Harad!
Posted by Throweck on 2016-12-27 08:58:49
Nice work Harad!
Posted by Harad on 2016-12-27 10:48:53
Thank you all.
Balle - I followed a tutorial for painting Reikland Reavers so I guess it's them!
Thank you also for the tips Grod and AD.
bigf I did go GW because I managed to find a big set at a discounted price.
Posted by Cyrus-Havoc on 2016-12-27 11:05:53
Stripping the old models is always best as too much paint hides the details. I prefer undercoating with white for bright colours particularly red or yellow. For those like me who are average painters the best advice is try to be as neat as you can.
Posted by Rabe on 2016-12-27 11:15:35
Did my bbcode not work or have you just been too lazy? :-P
Posted by Harad on 2016-12-27 14:17:21
Lazy! Will get to it soon.
Posted by Harad on 2016-12-27 14:54:47
I tried it Rabe, it didn't do quite what I expected but that is likely my fault.
Posted by Manzoo on 2016-12-27 15:01:37
I also just started painting after 20 years!
I started with a line Orc, and yeah the highlighting was the toughest part.
Although I haven't attempted the eyes yet!

I agree very fun and relaxing. I don't think I had the patients when i was younger.

Nice to see your team almost done. They look great. It has inspired me to tackle those tiny eyes :)
Posted by PurpleChest on 2016-12-27 17:21:36
Very imressive. One huge barrier to entry in this hobby and its alikes is miniature painting. As someone with 0 painting skill and very little hand eye co-ordination I could never even embark on such a journey and it's probably the single biggest thing stopping me ever RL gaming. But to my eye you have done a fine job. I could not be more impressed.
Posted by Verminardo on 2016-12-27 23:00:23
Persistent, Harad! I tried it once but had no patience, I was so embarrassed with my poorly painted models that I eventually paid someone to get them a proper paintjob.