Learning to paint and looking for advice

[craasher]

Well I have gotten rid of almost all my Games-Workshop stuff since all my gaming group moved away. I still love the models for just the way they look and only kept a few things that I had painted for display on my computer desk. While I was trying to find something to do to occupy boring nights and weekends I decided I love the models so much I would like to learn how to actually paint well so I can just paint stuff for display. All the stuff I had I never got around to getting painted because it was overwhelming to own so many points of certain things and not knowing where to start.

So since I now have a clean slate I was looking for something to start on and was wondering if following the GW tutorials on their article section was a good idea or if anyone could direct me to other places that have good tutorials. All the stuff I have painted now is kinda your basic few colors stay in the lines and try to paint it better than my 10 year old does. I would like to end up with some decent models on the shelves around my computer desk to look at and maybe slowly work on assembling a fully painted small point army in case someone moves back and wants to play.

Also since I dont have a preference what kind of models are easier to learn to paint on, tanks, warjacks, 40K troopers, Fantasy stuff. I had thought about doing some tanks first since they have bigger parts but i also thought it might show mistakes more too. Can't decide if thats a bad thing though.

[montaa]

The "How to paint miniatures" books from Foundry are a good start.

Youtube has a fair number of tutorials from various artists.

I can also recommend starting your advanced lessons on the Ogre Kingdom models from GW. They are intricate, but large and easy to handle. All of the techniques will work and its easier to see what you are doing. Plus if you screw it up too badly you can slap some "body paint" on them and call it War Paint!!

[MagickalMemories]

Check Brush Thralls.

Also, Coolminiornot has some good tutorials.

Eric

[iPAINTminis]

I'll second what MM said. CMON has some great tutorials, you can also check out the From the Warp blogs there are some good tutorials there as well. Would also recommend picking up a color wheel from a local art store which will help with contrasting colors. With CMON you can also do a search on the top painters/models and many times some of them have their own sites where they'll have specific tutorials.

Other good sites would be Slapping Paint, and Doctor Faust's Painting Clinic. You can Google them to get the links since I think I'm not supposed to post the links here. Both sites have good tutorials on them.

Study pics of the techniques you want to try, some advanced techniques are fairly easy to reproduce, others not so much. Also use the right tools for the job, cheap brushes equals crappy application. Using the right paint makes a world of difference as well. For instance, if you choose to use regular ole craft paint (and I do this sometimes) you'll need a good thinning/blending agent as the paint is way to thick to get the right consistency using only water. Citadel paints work pretty well with just water, and I find that Vallejo paints are actually too thin for my taste. Find what works best for you though.

Thanks,

-BJC

[MagickalMemories]

Other good sites would be Slapping Paint, and Doctor Faust's Painting Clinic. You can Google them to get the links since I think I'm not supposed to post the links here. Both sites have good tutorials on them.

Under circumstances like this, it's perfectly fine to post links.
We only really freak out about posted links when (a) it's the site owner doing it him-or her-self, or someone keeps posting the links all over the place, almost like they're advertising for the guy.

In a case like this, links would be highly appropriate.

Eric

[wookieegunner]

I'll second the "get good brushes" comment. I've always painted with the $3-5 a piece Michael's brushes. I recently upgraded to Da Vinci brushes and thinning my paints with Painting Clinic's wash recipe (short form, pour a cup of water out of a gallon of distilled water and refill with Pledge with Future Shine (you will see people talk about Future Acrylic, Pledge changed the name a couple of years ago but it is the same stuff)) and I can tell a massive difference. I use an eye dropper to add the wash to my paint and an old garbage CD as my pallette.

[craasher]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I've been looking over those sites today (really slow at work today) and learning. One thing I never did before was thin my paints. I just used them out of the bottle. I found a good article on reapers site too about why its a good idea to do it, especially for layering. Right now my Mule is soaking in CSC so when I get home I can clean him up and start trying some of this stuff. THe color wheel is a good idea too as I have always had a hard time figuring out which colors look good together.

The more I read the more respect I have for those of you that can paint really well.

[EVIL INC]

I would go with models that YOU like the look of and want to see. Picture in your head what you want them to look like and go from there. Your going to care more about a model you personally like and be more carefull with it then you would an "easy to paint" model that you dont care about.
I wont go into details and mechanics because the tutorials do that but I will say that you dont need to go overboard on the colors. A simple few colors can make a nice models and use the extras for focal points and such and my modls look great.
Good luck.

[HarlequinZero]

Hi,

Sorry I'm getting into this late. My advice for you would be to look at the various tutorials online as other people have said, but also be sure to PRACTICE. Practice is always the key. There are the freaky people whio pick up a brush and within a month are painting competition level models, but they are the exception to the rule. Most of us learn slowly over time. Hence, just following the tutorials is unlikely to give you good results. Some of them will even be discouraging at first as what a lot of pros take for granted are things you will just be learning. What I mean is they may think that their explanations are crystal clear, but when read by a new painter will seem like a cypher.

Also, if you can, try to find a local gaming store where a good painter hangs out. Ask him/her for tips and show them your stuff. If the shop has a paint table even better. Actually seeing a technique executed is more valuable than any tutorial's slideshow. Most, (I did say most,) good painters I've met don't mind helping out people as long as you're not constantly badgering them.

Lastly, if you have any questions about anything here or in a tutorial you've read you can feel free to PM me.