Apojar
Joined: Aug 05, 2006
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 Posted:
Apr 10, 2016 - 05:09 |
 
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Good evening.
Having been a Blood Bowl player since the 90's, I never had a dedicated enough group of local people to play table-top consistently. It was always a one-off type of scenario with "hey, we haven't played BB in a while, let's throw one down".
Now, after many years, I have learned of a league that has been playing for a number of seasons about a half hour away from me. They meet twice monthly, which I can somewhat handle, and have quite a nice website with a good amount of fluff, which I LOVE to create.
But...
I've never had or been fortunate enough to own a painted team. Sure, I've made feign, invalid attempts at slathering colors onto a figure, but to do things RIGHT... I mean, like spubbbba-kind of RIGHT, takes a tremendous amount of patience, time, dedication, and... well, love of what you do.
So, I ask you, the world who is blessed with local groups. Where did you begin with your painting lessons? What were those very first steps you took to get yourself on this path to madness? I'm interested in hearing what it takes to begin, those first few valuable lessons. Is it as simple as taking a class at a local games store, or is it all about experimenting on your own?
What are your experiences? Thank you very much in advance
- Apojar
(Pie and Macavity) |
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coombz
Joined: Oct 12, 2010
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Apr 10, 2016 - 05:45 |
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10th birthday, grandparents got me Hero Quest
that started it all
and i'm still as bad at painting now as i was then |
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Jeffro
Joined: Jan 22, 2009
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Apr 10, 2016 - 05:59 |
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I am a halfway decent painter, but I still paid someone to paint my halflings. He did a great job... which makes them worth playing just to look at them while I struggle to compete. |
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Jeffro
Joined: Jan 22, 2009
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Apr 10, 2016 - 06:53 |
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Sorry... that wasn't a complete post. In terms of painting lessons, there are plenty on the web for whatever level you may want to venture. Folks here have even given quick tutorials on down and dirty painting. But from a guy who works in the lighting industry, I will say... it's all about the lighting 
Best paint jobs aren't always the most detailed, rather they have a distinct source of light painted on them - typically from above... but really talented folks shift that around(the winner of the Best Chibi Style at Adepticon this past weekend was an awesome Vampress on an evening windowsill with a candle to her left and the candle light bathed her in yellow from one side... truly awesome). Google "Zenithal Painting" and you will find some stuff that shows how to make dynamic painting effects fairly quickly and easily (with the right tools). |
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ArrestedDevelopment
Joined: Sep 14, 2015
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Apr 10, 2016 - 18:59 |
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I started painting (what seems like) aeons ago with larger scale models from films (eg. The Alien), and then moved on to 6mm (1/268)-25mm(1/64) models.
After I moved on to painting stuff that I actually picked myself, I began to paint WHFB and from there moved on to BB, necromunda and a small part of WH40k (I never liked the 40k models at the time and fluff didn't really appeal either. The game mechanics weren't considered but I flicked through all the relative rulebooks a while back and came to the conclusion that my young teenage self probably was smarter than I thought).
Some tips:
Thin your paints (I'm semi-joking, but you'll fall at the first hurdle if you don't).
Use your undercoat to get your light source nailed on, not just as a base coat of paint. I like(d) depending on the undercoat colour I would spray a lighter shade on top of it from the direction you are intending light to flow from (just one or two light puffs of the can, you're not covering the mini here). Since we're now in the digital age, you could probably use your phone or a camera to take a comparison shot for later here.
Blend your paints as you apply your layers, don't just have regiment change. This also applies to shadows and highlights, everything needs to be very slow and gradual towards the final colour.
Non-metallic metal and the like are techniques worth trying every now and then, but keep in mind on some models you are much better to avoid them. This is especially true if you plan on making the armor look worn, rusting, destroyed or are applying a verdigris effect.
Lastly! A mini is only as good as its surroundings and base |
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kilinrax
Joined: Jan 12, 2015
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Apr 11, 2016 - 13:07 |
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I painted a bit when I was younger, and when I got back into BB a year or so ago, a friend of mine who's kept up 40k all these years gave me a bunch of advice on what to buy to get started, and as I've bought more teams it's proven a great investment.
If it'd be useful to you, I could post up a list of what I bought? Probably came to 100-150EUR total.
As to techniques, that was a little bit of showing him what I'd painted and getting feedback, and a lot of watching tutorial vids on YouTube. |
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darkwing2k6
Joined: Jun 28, 2007
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Apr 11, 2016 - 14:23 |
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Hey Apo, i'm in a very similar situation to you. I have had loads of different miniatures for years but not painted any as i was always to worried about messing them up (34 years old and scared to paint a mini - sheesh!). I have a local gaming club but i very rarely go as i have the kids whilst my wife works.
Anyway i just recently attempted to paint some Infinity miniatures and planning to do my Blood Bowl, Dreadball and GuildBall models soon. I watched tonnes of videos on youtube before hand about prepping the models- removing mold lines etc and then more about basic painting techniques etc. I also watched some that were using specific colour schemes as some colours can be harder to paint than others. So heres a little list of things i have learned.
1. Watch as many videos as you can - model prep, basic brush strokes, different brushes etc
2. Have a colour scheme in mind before you start - use a broken/old mini as a tester to see how colours work together and its a little practice before you go into the good models.
3. Prep models - gentle wash in soapy water to remove any release agent left over from molding/casting. Remove mold lines carefully with small file or blade edge (videos also on YT)
4. Undercoat - Black for dark schemes, White for Light, Grey for in between or even colour specific if 90% of models is that colour ie red for Blood Angels, Blue for Smurfs etc.
5. Undercoat - 2 light coats are better than 1 heavy
6. Thin your paints! - i learned this the hard way. straight out of the pots is a little too thick. Get some paint on your pallete or in a small seperate pot, add a drop or 2 of water at a time until you end up with the same consistancy as milk.
7. Select the right brush for the job you are doing, I tend to favour really small brushes to try and avoid accidentally painting other parts of the model.
When it comes to actually painting the model people have different methods in which area is done first (and i am still figuiring out) ie face/detailed items and then larger surface areas or get the main colours down and then do details.
I hope this helps. I'm still taking it a model at a time and have stripped and re-undercoated my Infinity models 3 times now as i wasnt happy with it - dont be afraid to do the same. Its more practice at the end of the day.
With any luck spubbbba or someone else can chip in with some good tips too
Catch you later |
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spubbbba
Joined: Jul 31, 2006
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Apr 11, 2016 - 23:44 |
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I’ve been painting models for 27 years, ever since my dad took me to the GW store in Edinburgh. If you are looking for painting lessons then I believe GW staff will be willing to give them, you will likely have to use only GW models and paints and possibly buy some though, or at the very least expect a bit of a hard sell.
When it comes to painting models I am self-taught, it all comes down to lots of practice and reading lots of articles in magazines or online. I have studied art and design at school and university as well as working as a professional model-maker, so that did cover things like art history and colour theory.
An important thing is to get stuck in and try things out. I noticed a huge improvement in both my converting and painting skills when I started to attend 40K tournaments and had to use painted models and have all equipped weapons shown. The same is true since I started taking commissions on, it forced me to stick to a schedule. It can be all too easy to procrastinate or give up if you can’t get the model to resemble the image you have in your head or are copying for a picture. But there is no substitute for practice and learning by doing
In the last 10 years I have painted up over 30 teams and can see a real improvement compared to some of my earlier stuff. Had I been painting for myself I would have only likely done 1 team a year at most and wimped out, got bored or given up on of trying some of the more ambitious projects I completed.
One important thing to consider is that when painting you view the model close up and can see all the flaws and imperfections. But the vast majority of the time models will be viewed at arm’s length where there is little to differentiate between a basic and expert paintjob. Some really good and quick results can be achieved with a neat basecoat and wash, as an additional advantage you can add more detail to these models as you improve.
A few interesting conversions or striking colour scheme will be more eye-catching from a distance than a generic paint-job of existing models. I have seen competitions judged by the public where a technically less well painted team won because they were cooler, better represented that team or more quirky.
At the moment I’m trying to expand the article I wrote about picking colour schemes for Blood Bowl team to put on the NAF site as this can go a long way to improving how a team looks.
Another important factor is that professionally taken photos often make models look better painted than they actually are. Visiting GW HQ many years ago I saw some Black Legion chaos space marine models up close that I had long admired. In the “flesh†I could see that they were not as well painted in reality. Also there are only a small amount of people who can paint to the crazy high standards we see on sites like CMON. So don’t get too discouraged that your own efforts don’t match that. |
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Grod
Joined: Sep 30, 2003
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Apr 12, 2016 - 00:34 |
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Read what you can ... But it's all about experimenting on your own!  |
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DarthPhysicist
Joined: Jun 14, 2015
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May 02, 2016 - 01:10 |
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I just bought the book from GW about mini painting and went to town! |
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sbr32
Joined: May 23, 2015
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May 02, 2016 - 05:00 |
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xnoelx
Joined: Jun 05, 2012
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May 02, 2016 - 05:05 |
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I started with Space Crusade miniatures which I had crudely chopped apart and smushed together (I'd never heard of converting, but for years I'd been like the kid next door from Toy Story, trying to make my own unique toys out of He-Man figures and Transformers), badly daubed in Humbrol Enamel paints that I had left over from an Airfix model WW2 fighter plane kit.
To be fair, despite 25-ish years of on and off practice, that isn't too far from where I am now. |
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PeteW
Joined: Aug 05, 2005
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May 02, 2016 - 08:14 |
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My advice? Don't paint! I am quite happy to pay a very talented painter (like spubbbba!) to paint teams for me.
I get quite frustrated painting and view it as money very well spent! |
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zakatan
Joined: May 17, 2008
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May 02, 2016 - 08:52 |
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Back then I used White Dwarf's painting tutorials to get started. GW staff is also a good option but I believe you'd find yourself surrounded by 14 year-olders if you joined a painting workshop in a GW store.
In the youtube aera I bet you can get nice tutorials out there.
Anyway, tutorials will only show you basic or advanced tricks and techniques, but it's practice what will teach you.
Of course, there's always the PeteW way if you're not commited to painting. Commitment is important because painting (well) a full team takes a significant amount of time and patience. The results will probably be much better if you can spare the penny. |
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almic85
Joined: May 25, 2009
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May 02, 2016 - 08:59 |
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I just realised I wrote a massive post so the summary is
1/ KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).
2/Pick you uniform two colour scheme,
3/figure out how you want to apply it to each positional before you start painting (remember they have to look different enough from a distance or you and your opponent will confuse models),
4/then paint a lineman with it and see if you like it.
I started mostly with Warhammer (Orcs and Goblins, then chaos dwarfs and then chaos warriors) and 40k (with Space Orks).
With the bigger armies like Orcs and Goblins it is really just mass swarm painting. Pick the main army colour, pick each unit colour to differentiate them a bit, pick what areas on each unit will be painted in what colour and then start painting i.e. all tops will be blue and all pants will be brown.
En masse you learn to keep the colour selection simple, try not to be too tricky when you have 100+ models to paint, and just apply colours to the correct areas. Also if you have a special model then you stop and give them a bit more time.
As you do it more you will get better at not painting the things you are not trying to paint and the only way to learn is to do (often over and over again).
I am not great but I can paint a playable army, with some extra attention given to main characters and squad leaders.
Lessons learnt from many years (and attempts) of painting generally:
- Remove mould lines before undercoating. This doesn't have to be perfect as the undercoat and overcoat will smooth out most, but get rid of the glaring ones.
- Undercoat in the correct colour and invest in a quality undercoat.
- If using multi part kits it is often easier to spray the undercoat and paint the parts on the sprue before assembling. Paint brushes don't bend and if you can't reach it you can't paint it.
- If you are using multi part kits buy some green stuff and fill the gaps between joints if they are obvious.
- As a beginner don't worry about adding all of the little details first up. You only need a three or four colour paint job to make most teams playable (flesh, metal/silver/gold, two contrasting team colours). Any more than that and the model will look to busy.
- Learn to drybrush and use washes/inks/shades especially if a model has been sculpted with texture. They are great and easy ways to add depth to a basic paint job.
For small group painting (I haven't actually painted a blood bowl team, but have done lots of small squads) remember the following:
- They are a single team and colours and placement of colours should be consistent across minis. IF one lineman has white pants and a blue top ALL linemen should have white pants and a blue top.
- You can break the above rule for certain positionals, but you should try to only change one obvious thing between positionals like sleeve colour or shoulder pad colour or helmet colour.
- Before you start painting your models pick the colour scheme and colour placement for each positional type. Try not to change your mind half way through. |
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