Couple of newb painting questions

[hissa-lives]

Hi All,
Recently got back into Bloodbowl and found my old 2nd ed figures.
Used to just paint straight from the pot and always felt they were really bad compared to mates who used to paint properly. Had a spare few hours and watched some vids to get tips and techniques too. Then found an old Elf Cheerleader which I hadn't touched before, and tried out some techniques yesterday. Dry Brushing came out really well and managed to get really nice highlights that brought it to life but have a couple of questions!

Base coat, is it best to vary the base coat colour depending on what colours the finish will be?

Washes, should a wash be the same colour as the finish just darekned down a tad? I had a go at it on the pom poms with a black wash and found only the highlighted areas showed after. What ratio of paint to thinner should I be using for wash? Couldn't seem to find any to buy and as in hard water area though best to use paint thinner!

All help really appreciated, wanted to try painting my own properly before I give up and send them to a pro!

[Norse]

I created a simple painting guide a few years ago which probably addresses some of your questions:

http://www.impactminiatures.net/index.p ... aintguides

Hope it helps!

R

[outcast]

Washes, should a wash be the same colour as the finish just darekned down a tad? I had a go at it on the pom poms with a black wash and found only the highlighted areas showed after. What ratio of paint to thinner should I be using for wash? Couldn't seem to find any to buy and as in hard water area though best to use paint thinner!

I'm very new to it all, too, but I have experimented with the GW shades/washes. In my limited experience, I found applying a specific wash for each base colour produces a much nicer end result than a black wash over the whole thing.

My first team had the black wash treatment and even though it didn't look terrible the lighter colours (whites/yellows etc.) looked very dirty.

Using the colour-based washes left a much brighter looking figure but still gave the depth I wanted.

Hope that helps!

[hissa-lives]

cheers for the replies, I did look for different washes but didn't find any in the shops I went to so went for mixing my own.
is it best to darken down the colours as well as adding thinner?

[outcast]

If you are mixing your own washes I would say darkening and thinning is the way to go (although never done it myself). I don't know how successful you will be thinning with water (assuming you are using acrylic paints?) as you need something that helps the washes flow more easily into the recesses.

Here is an article about how to make washes with floor polish:

http://www.paintingclinic.com/clinic/gu ... icwash.htm

Although, if you are lazy, like me, you'll just buy the colours you want from here:

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catal ... GameStyle=



I think I've ended up with about 8 different ones and that seems to be enough to cater for most situations.

[hissa-lives]

bugger they had shades!! I didn't realise they were washes and staff less than useless!

[traveller]

and staff less than useless

LOL... happend to me, too, when i boughtsome new colors
of the new GW paints range with all thoses new names on it.

Traveller

.. btw.. welcome here, hissa-lives!

[hissa-lives]

Ok, found some washes! primed a couple of plastic ones to try out so wish me luck!

Thanks for all the help, much appreciated!

[outcast]

No problem - let us know how you get on!

[hissa-lives]

stripped the paint off my elf team, used Dettol and my god that went horribly wrong to start with, hands covered in sticky green goo! (yellow and blue paint!)
worked out it comes off with washing up liquid so dropped that on figure after letting them sit in soapy water.
now they're dry I'll prime them soon and let you know how I get on



just wait for the inevitable "oh god they've gone wrong" post

[el Superbeasto]

Dettol goes all sticky when you add water. You need to brush off almost all the old paint and Dettol before you rinse.
I stopped using Dettol for that reason. Plus it smells for ages. I can recommend brown crystal soap as another green alternative. It's not as strong, so you need to leave your figures in it for some time - I normally give it a week. And use gloves if you're cleaning a lot as it can be rough on the skin.

[Dr. Von Richten]

For metal miniatures, just use acetone (the stuff that's in nail polish remover, but you can also buy it pure). soak minis for a couple of hours, use old toothbrush to remove paint, wash, repeat if necessary.

Don't use it on plastics though, unless you want them to resemble the result of a casualty made by a Beast of Nurgle!

[el Superbeasto]

For metal miniatures, just use acetone (the stuff that's in nail polish remover, but you can also buy it pure). soak minis for a couple of hours, use old toothbrush to remove paint, wash, repeat if necessary.

Don't use it on plastics though, unless you want them to resemble the result of a casualty made by a Beast of Nurgle!

Cellulose thinners works wonders on metal minis as well, but the fumes aren't exactly healthy, and I don't feel very good about pouring it out in the sink. That's why I prefer brown crystal soap. It works just as well if you're not in a hurry, it costs close to nothing, and you can use it on plastic figures as well.

[hissa-lives]

Might give that a go next time, if I can find any!
got 2 test ones on the go. one base coated then washed the other washed first to see which I prefer

[hissa-lives]

Ok, work in progress pics! They're not great, as taken on my phone

I've done the base colour and washes, not done any of the fine detail because I haven't set up a lamp and magnifier yet. Have done a bit of drybrushing in lighter colour, and going to go lighter again and pick out some edges, might do another wash over boots too maybe in black to get them darker.







Am I along the right lines? any tips for improving what I've done so far? There doesn't feel like there's much detail to pick out and am hoping the metal ones come out better but happy with results so far apart from a couple of missed bits/ over paints but first attempt at not going straight from the pot and drybrushing!