That's a great guide Matt well done!
I'm glad someone has put together a guide for any newbies who are tempted to paint but unsure of themselves.
On the subject of I do this differently or that differently I have been experimenting a lot at the moment sometimes with good results and sometimes with not such good results. Generally I paint on a black undercoat but I decided to paint my LW figs on a white undercoat. One of the main reasons was that during the winter months under artificial light I can hardly see anything on a black undercoat. So if anyone finds it's making them blind it may be worth trying a white undercoat or even dry brushing the model white on a black undercoat but more on this in a bit. The other reason for white is that it generates very bright colours.
One of the problems I find with a white undercoats is that if you miss any patches it's glaringly obvious. I have got around this by painting the recessed hard to reach parts of the figure black. This way I don't have to paint right into the deepest folds leaving it as shadow and saving me from getting paint on areas adjoining the crevasse. I guess a dry brush of white over a black undercoat would have the same effect but I haven't tried it.
Sometimes I apply a wash before dry brushing or highlighting and sometimes afterwards if I want to tone down the highlights. Sometimes I don't high light at all and just use a bright colour followed by a wash. This is my preferred method for making something look leathery.
Eyes! aarrgghh I have gone slightly mad of time trying to paint eyes I have had some success with it but I rarely bother now letting the wash do the work.
If I can get hold of a digital camera I'll try to get a few pictures of the minis I have done maybe I can stick them in a gallery over on the tower of the sun...
Once again, nice work Matt.
