Painting progress

[kaltorak18]

Well, I experimented with some accent color choices on a few of my ships last night. I think I like the whiter green vs the dark green as shown in the picture. It reminds me a lot of a spider.

I'm still far from done and I wish my hands weren't so damn shaky, but there comes a point where something is "good enough." lol

Still a lot of work to do, but I'm getting there slowly.

EDIT: Oh, and if anyone has any suggestions on how to paint in a straight line.. I'd love to hear it.

 

[godsgopher]

Painting Straight lines and getting rid of the hand shakes takes time to master. First off your hands are shaking because you are not accustom to making such fine gestures as those needed to paint such tiny details. Relax breath deep, and don't get frustrated with time and practice the shakes will disappear. To paint a straight line try turning the mini and painting in a direction you find very comfortable moving your hand in, then make small dashes with the brush ---- that overlap a little. I think you will find it easier to control your line by making many smaller lines than one lone one.

Personalty I'm finding the Decados a difficult faction to paint, I had originally intended to go with the green and black pattern everyone seems to be using, however like often happens when in the mists of the creative juices I switched to a wide range of greens from the extremely light to the extremely dark.

Anyway, I'm assuming this is your first major painting project, so I advice first be patient with yourself and your progress. Its easy to get frustrated because what you create isn't like you saw it in your head. But painting something is about patience and perseverance.

 

[Stormrider]

Looking at the photo here's a couple of tips for you.

Water down the paint a little more, you'll get a smoother coverage and find that unless you over-wet it that it won't run everywhere like you might be expecting. You'll also notice that the paint obscures less of the model detail.

Also, the contrast between the 2 greens you have chosen is quite stark. I would be tempted to mix a colour between the two for the area you have covered with the highlight there, then use the bright green right on the very edge (easiest way to do this is to run the side of the brush along the very edge, rather than trying to paint with the point.

As for a steady hand, as above, it comes with time and practice. Your body is used to larger, more powerful movements while painting takes gentle tiny movements. Other tips would be good light (if you're using a lamp don't put it too close though), don't paint when you're tired or stressed, relax and enjoy it. I find music helps, anything you enjoy but aren't prone to singing along to (maybe that's just me, I tend to sing along quite vigorously lol). And remember the golden rule... 2 thin coats is better than 1 thick one (we've all seen a space marine with 1/4" thick paint blobbed on everywhere...).

You'll find some really good (and some really bad!) painting videos on youtube, just watch a few and find a style you like but don't be convinced you need to spend a fortune to get a good result.

 

[godsgopher]

Exceptional advice Stormrider. He does need to thin his paints with some extender or just old fashion H2O, however as I am learning myself while working on my Decados green is a pretty thin color, but the lighter greens often have a chalky mix to them, much like white paint, making them more difficult to work with than other colors.

 

[kaltorak18]

Thanks guys.. I really appreciate all the advice.

I guess the main problem is I am just expecting it to go faster than it is and am getting impatient. I really want to get playing without proxies! I'll slow down even more, even tho it seems to be going at a snails pace as it is.

I am watering down my paints in a 1:1 ratio, but I guess I need to do more. They also dry out pretty quickly (my AC makes the house pretty dry) and I don't notice while I'm painting until I get something gloopy on my brush. I add more water then, but sometimes paint has already been applied.

I am using a magnifying light that my friend let me borrow. I couldn't do it without that honestly, the miniatures are just too small. It's also hard to find a brush that has that thin of a point. Well at least it was at the one michaels I went to. I guess I should try some other places.

I guess maybe I should strip these and try em again with more water. I liked the stark contrast between the colors. I wanted to stick to their house colors, but I also wanted them to appear like a poisonous creature with dark colors then vibrant ones. If I do another batch of them I may use bright yellow or orange instead of green.

I'll watch a few youtube videos too. I didn't even think of that, haha.

Thanks again all, for the point in the right direction and advice.

 

[lastbesthope]

It's taken me a few nights a weeek since the Open Day to get to where I am and I've still got a hard weekend of work to get anywhere near being finished.

One bit of advice, if you're doing an all over coat, leave it to dry overnight, it always looks better in the morning

LBH

 

[godsgopher]

Ah the frustration! I have only just started my second fleet, Hawkwood which I have not had time to get pictures of is done to a decent table quality. However Decados as true to there nature, is proving far more difficult. Green is just not a color I have much personal experience with so getting the look and feel I want with this color is becoming involved. There is also the minor fact that this is by far my favorite fleet, so no slap dash paint job is good enough for the Pray Mantis!

To strip paint off miniatures, use a product from Walmart called Engine De-greaser. Ware gloves! this stuff sucks all the oil out of everything. I put it into a coffee can with a lid as the fumes will strip the hairs out of your nose , anyway it works wonders, use an old tooth brush to scrub off the remains after a few hours or all night soak. This stuff is safe to use on plastics, but be careful with some resins.

 

[kaltorak18]

*smacks himself in the forehead* OF COURSE! Masking tape! That'll make my screw ups not matter at all. MUAHAHAHAHA!

I don't think I"m going to strip them down to the primer yet. I haven't put much paint on in the grand scheme of things. Some water and a toothbrush should take the acrylic off, but I want to try painting some lines with a tape method. It'll slow things down even more, but the end result will be muuuuch nicer i think.

Also, I might switch to the Al Malik for a bit... they look a lot easier to paint.

 

[lastbesthope]

*smacks himself in the forehead* OF COURSE! Masking tape! That'll make my screw ups not matter at all. MUAHAHAHAHA!

I'd be careful, some masking tape will take off the paint you put it over. Happened to me when I was touching up a motorcycle fuel tank.

LBH

 

[kaltorak18]

I'd be careful, some masking tape will take off the paint you put it over. Happened to me when I was touching up a motorcycle fuel tank.

Yeah, didn't work as well as I'd hoped it would. I'm going to start over on the Decados fleet, but for now I'm switching to Al Malik. They look like they're gonna be a lot easier to paint I even have a better color scheme in mind.

So far the only problem I'm having with the Al Malik is that their destroyers are a bit hard to assemble. I got one side fin on, but the other just wouldn't stay. I'm going to try again tonight and then green stuff the holes. I haven't used the green stuff before, but I think it's pretty self explanatory.

 

[polemarch]

I can't believe that I am posting again here after how many years!

anyway, an alternative to the advice above (all very sound BTW) is to try painting things in reverse. e.g. the highlight as a broader colour and then painting the base colour over the top.

I have done this occasionally and it can work well, however you might find it easier than painting thin lines.

have fun

 

[lastbesthope]

I'm considering going with The Army Painter's base colour sprays for coloured fleets to do most of the work for me next time. MAybe base the Hazat in Red and then apply black to the bits I want black.

LBH

 

[Rick]

Thats where Ink washes can really come into their own.

 

[lastbesthope]

YEp, need to try those out sometime, next time I do Hawkwood, I'm basing white and dulling down from there.

LBH

 

[Stormrider]

Speaking from experience LBH you're best off going black undercoat and red on the panels. The panels stand out a good way and are easy to cover cleanly, but painting the recesses between them... that would be tricky and I have a very steady hand...

One tip though, if you have any models with bare black and you undercoat black, the first thing you should do is drybrush the whole model in a very dark grey (I mean find the darkest grey you have and mix it half and half with black. It will give depth to the black recesses and take the undercoat shine off the rest of the areas.

 

[lastbesthope]

Not to sound stupid, but couldn't I just drybrush it with black on top of the undercoat?
(Need to improve my drybrushing though)

THough you're right about the recesses.

LBH

 

[Stormrider]

Well, if you mean why use a black undercoat, it would leave white recesses.

If you mean why drybrush in dark grey, it leaves the darkest black in the recesses and provides a slight highlight to the rest, without looking too light. It's like painting white, you can't highlight white, you have to paint an off-white and highlight WITH white. This is the same but backwards.

 

[lastbesthope]

If you mean why drybrush in dark grey, it leaves the darkest black in the recesses and provides a slight highlight to the rest, without looking too light. It's like painting white, you can't highlight white, you have to paint an off-white and highlight WITH white. This is the same but backwards.

That is indeed what I meant, I see what you mean, I'm 'lowlighting' the recesses by doing the surface slightly lighter.

LBH

 

[kaltorak18]

Well, I've decided to paint the Al Malik first instead.. they appear to be much easier to paint than the Decados ships.

I didn't like the color scheme that Mongoose gave the miniatures so I decided to go with navy blue and gold/copper. My painting skills are improving (I watched a few youtube videos on blending..) I'm still not great, but hey it's my first time. I decided to paint one ship nearly fully in the fleet first just to see how I liked my color choices. At first I didn't like the yellow, but seeing it in the picture it does have the effect I wanted from the engines. Last night I thought it felt a bit too Blue Angelsy. I might try a green instead.. A friend told me that at the craftstore they have glow in the dark green mixing paint <.< >.>

Anyway, I did this late last night so please forgive the blurry cam.

Before the yellow:

After the yellow:

 

[lastbesthope]

Looking Good

LBH