Inkpwn painting blog, something cute this way comes! (pg10)

[inkpwn]

Khador base, its the only red I own that actually isn't some god awefull shade (like gw's blood red). My computer on the other hand has over 500 shades of red.

The problem I have with black is that it allways looks shiny.

[burgun824]

I always spray my minis with matte finish once I'm done. It kills any shine on the entire model plus adds a layer of protection for the paint job. Then if I want shiny bits I hit those spots with some gloss clear coat. This would help your issue with black. As far as the highlights are concerned, a simple grey highlight line along the sharp edges always suits me just fine. The issue is that it requires a steady hand......and if Inkpwn's phtography skills are any indication of that then perhaps he should stay away from black. (although I'll give credit where it's due...the snap shots of the flesh golem turned out pretty good)

[nazgob]

Most would suggest that you try and use a test model, and I second this, but i'm afraid that i'm not really good at doing that myself.

With red, I find that you have two options: the orange highlight and the pink highlight. Very different resulta, but can be very effective.

And for black, to avoid shine, mix in a little of the dark grey foundation paint.

Or matt varnish, like burun said.

[Deathwing]

Black is tricky. The further you are from a black object in real life the more grey it appears. Difficult to get right from a solid black base.
My quick and dirty method: Vallejo's Black Grey (model colour 168) as a base, shade down with black ink (or wash), then highlight up from there.

[Urb]

Ah black. Aweful to paint. Unlike other colours which mask source lighting, black exposes all the wrong angles to your highlights. Two hardest "colours", black and white.

Red used to be the colour I hate most to paint. Red is such a difficult pigment for coverage in all the brands I've tried. However I have found that mixed gw red gore and blood red is quite nice. Easily highlighted with blood red and even orange as nazgob mentioned. I haven't tried the pink route but adding white seems to go in the pink direction.

Why can't all paint cover like boltmetal? Retorical of course.

[nazgob]

I find that with a basecoat of the foundation paintt red, blood red goes on ok.

Also, when I said highlight with pink, I meant mixing pink and bloodred. Using just white can cause problems as you wash out the primary colour. Its often better to shade with a lighter version of the same colour. E.g. Use earlock purple to mix with liche purple to provide the highlight on a liche purple base coat.

[inkpwn]

Recently I have been getting some pretty awefull results like this=
http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm20 ... 130036.jpg
and after ruining my monster dice I think I am going to have to go back and learn from the basics. That is if I'm every going to stop wasteing my time with monstrosities like I have recently.

[burgun824]

I have seen much worse. What are you looking for in your painting?

[inkpwn]

I would like for my colours to be bold and defined rather than murky messes.

[Penwaaagh]

Red - could highlight to vomit brown... alternatively I did read an article that the guy started from dark red and final highlight was blood red which looked decent.
Personally I like to start Foundation Mechrite red with Devlan mud wash (quick and simple).

Black - I find highlighting grey can look chalky, for some reason highlighting blue works on minis. Alternatively a dusty looking brown dry brush...

[Norse]

Arthur, how long you been painting??

It sounds to me a little like you are trying to compete in the Olympics without actually putting in the years of training required. The best painters and converters on this site and most others have all been doing it for decades, not just years, decades. If you compare your work to Longfang, Black Nexion, Pitch Invader, Dain, Nippy to mention just a few, you're likely going to be disappointed. I can't speak for all of them, but I'm pretty sure none of them started painting in the last couple of years - it's possible of course, but unlikely.

Also, how long are you spending on a model?? If I am speed painting I can paint a mini in 2 hours, to a good gaming standard. For display standard, I usually spend 8 hours minimum on a mini, sometimes a LOT more. If you are not spending enough time on something, and haven't been in the hobby as long as "the greats" then why would you expect to be at their level?

Not trying to get under your skin here, just suggesting you re-calibrate your expectations a little..

[Urb]

I agree with Norse. Decades for most good painters. Much of that time is spent learning patience. After a few months you can learn almost any technique but learn patience takes years.

Baby steps. Keep painting and you'll get there.

Unfortunate we all couldn't get together and share techniques and ideas.

[inkpwn]

Well I have been painting on and off for about 5 years with the past two featring the most time and dedication. Its not that I want stunning results, I would just like ones that just did not look like grimy s*it stains.

[Norse]

if it's "pop" you're looking for, I would stick with white undercoat, a simple pallette of colours with a decent wash for each colour (i.e. don't use Devlan Mud on everything - as good a wash as it is (and I LOVE it) it's going to make a lot of colours look turdy) and maybe try some blacklining between blocks of colour. It's a little cartoony and not to everyone's tastes, but it does work and is well suited to a cartoony game like BB in any case. Finally, decent brushes are critical, as is looking after them well. I don't subscribe to all the BS about brush cleaning fluids and paint thinners and stuff like that - tap water works wonders - but you should expect to have around 20 paints, 5-10 washes and about 5-10 brushes in your collection as a mimimum.

I have around 50 paints, 10 washes and 20+ brushes if you want a point of reference. Most of those brushes are old and crappy now, but I grew attached to some of them over the years, so it's hard to toss them out..

In fact, I have one brush with no bristles at all which I still use regularly - for moulding green stuff..

[JaM]

I've found out that good, decent brushes really help.

Dunno if you have access ot those though, but I'm not the best painter (far from it) but getting better brushes really improved my painting.
If only I could/wanted to spend more time per figure... I still find it a chore (except the neomics gobbos, those were fun).