Paints: What's the best?

[Not Evil Mat]

Hey Guys,

I have been experimenting with different paint brands and cant find anything that I really like. GW stuff is typically too think, but is ok. I recently invested in some of the Vallejo Game Colors, but I have found them to be wildly inconsistent. Some cover great others are so thin they provide very little coverage.

What to you use and/or recommend?

[Scarapis]

me I use the cheap paints from Michael's and thin them to the consistency desired and mix and match colors for the color desired, that and at .59 ea. or 2 or 3 for $1 on sale for a 2oz bottle works for me.

[osloco]

Have you tried army painter? (http://www.thearmypainter.com/) So far I like them. They seem to be consistent, but keep in mind I have only used around 6-7 of them. I use a mix of old GW, Vallejo and Army painter now.

[MagickalMemories]

I have had nothing but positive experiences with Vallejo Game Color and Model Color.
The Air Color are REALLY nice and, contrary to what you might think, go on very well with a brush.

GW paints dry out too easily.

Cheap Craft paints are just that. Cheap. You get what you pay for.
They have less pigment in them than paints made my Vallejo, Reaper, etc. That said, I do like them for ?large amount of use" paints, like black and white. For the small detail paints, though, look to the better quality paint.
Of the Craft acrylics, Ceramcoat is the best brand. Of course, that might not be by a large margin, but they're the best and, i think, oldest of the craft paints.

What you need to consider is your level of skill and detail. If you're a beginner and don't need really good quality paints, Ceramcoat might be a great start. Just don't get too highly invested in them. You'll eventually want to trade up.

Personal experience:
I painted with Ceramcoat and a SELECT FEW other craft paints from 10 yrs old until about 24. When I got into 40k and got more serious about painting, I moved to GW. At some point after Vallejo came out (maybe at about 26 or 27 yrs old) I tried them and have never looked back (it's been 15ish years since then).

Eric

[imp522]

My main paints that I use are Reaper Master series. I like the coverage they give. If you click on on of my blog links 99% of what's shown were painted with them.

I also use some P3, Coat d arms, and warpaints as well but just a few of them.

[optimusprime14]

GW paints are thick but I've been using them for my bursh work of a long time now. I do thin then a good bit (a water/matte medium/flo aid combo) and have had good success with them. For my airbrush I really like Minitaire's paints, I've had some good success with their ghost tint line.

Now to ask what paint is "best" is a tough question, because people have their own preference for how they like to paint. Amry painter is great because you can buy their colour primers and paints that match it exactly. I have friends that use Vallejo and love it, I also have a member of my gaming group that has used GW for 20 years and never looked back. They all produce stunning models.

Once you get to the $3.50-$5.50 per 3-5oz size it really comes down to personal preference. Also keep in mind availability. Sure you can find everything on the net, but when you spill that on pot or you run out and you need to get that mini done, what is available to you in your local area?

[Scarapis]

Once you get to the $3.50-$5.50 per 3-5oz size it really comes down to personal preference. Also keep in mind availability. Sure you can find everything on the net, but when you spill that on pot or you run out and you need to get that mini done, what is available to you in your local area?

that's for a .3 -.5 oz bottle, them bottles really small, which is why I use the craft store paints (a whopping 2oz bottle 4 times or more then in the small name brand bottles), for the mere fact its all acrylic paint, only real difference is color selection and how watery they are.

[borthcollective]

I would love to see some craft store paint models.

[optimusprime14]

Once you get to the $3.50-$5.50 per 3-5oz size it really comes down to personal preference. Also keep in mind availability. Sure you can find everything on the net, but when you spill that on pot or you run out and you need to get that mini done, what is available to you in your local area?

that's for a .3 -.5 oz bottle, them bottles really small, which is why I use the craft store paints (a whopping 2oz bottle 4 times or more then in the small name brand bottles), for the mere fact its all acrylic paint, only real difference is color selection and how watery they are.

Yes sorry I meant .3-.5

There is a larger difference between craft store paints and GW/Val/etc. It comes down to a lot of things, from amount of pigment in the mixture, quality of the pigment, additives in the paint, etc. It's just like saying there's no difference between a prime rib and a McDonald's hamburger because they are both meat....

Now if you want to use the craft store paints that's cool, I'm not one to argue personal preference, especially if those paints are working for you.

[MagickalMemories]

Agreed. Pigmentation and quality are both substantially better in the Vallejo (etc) paints than the craft paints.

Now, don't get me wrong. Some of the work I used to do with craft paints was perfectly fine. I'm BETTER with the better quality paints, though, because... well, because of their quality. they flow better, stay better, etc.

Eric

[Scarapis]

Once you get to the $3.50-$5.50 per 3-5oz size it really comes down to personal preference. Also keep in mind availability. Sure you can find everything on the net, but when you spill that on pot or you run out and you need to get that mini done, what is available to you in your local area?

that's for a .3 -.5 oz bottle, them bottles really small, which is why I use the craft store paints (a whopping 2oz bottle 4 times or more then in the small name brand bottles), for the mere fact its all acrylic paint, only real difference is color selection and how watery they are.

Yes sorry I meant .3-.5

There is a larger difference between craft store paints and GW/Val/etc. It comes down to a lot of things, from amount of pigment in the mixture, quality of the pigment, additives in the paint, etc. It's just like saying there's no difference between a prime rib and a McDonald's hamburger because they are both meat....

Now if you want to use the craft store paints that's cool, I'm not one to argue personal preference, especially if those paints are working for you.

actually its debatable if McDonalds is real meat, also its like when it comes to barbecuing, I'm good really good, I've had people say my London Broils come out tasting better then Prime Rib (although I never tried barbecuing a prime rib), I've used GW, Army Painter, Vallejo and so on and yet still come back to simple little craft paints, just for the reason they work and they work good, had a discussion with a friend of mine a while back, then I showed him a model done with Vallejo the other done with craft smart, he could not tell the difference, now i'm not saying craft paints will work for everyone, I'm just saying the creation of Acrylic paints is not a mystery to me, its not even an exact science, I just know how paints work and what I need to do to get the consistency and flow and color I want.

[Bonzii]

Like Scarapis wrote " I just know how paints work and what I need to do to get the consistency and flow and color I want."

Knowing your paints is the main thing, painting is all about feel and habits. Work with whatever you feel most comfortable with, take suggestions and try things, but ultimately its up to you.


Not Evil Mat "Some cover great others are so thin they provide very little coverage."
I imagine you mean that you can see what is underneath the layer of color that you just applied. This is called transparency, and allows you to build up multiple gradients of color without obscuring whats underneath leading to some very stunning paint jobs. Unfortunately its a real pain if your trying to put down a base coat on something. My solution for you to try is get a tube/bottle of Titanium white. On a palette mix a small amount of Titanium white into whatever color you would like to have better coverage with, this will give you a nice solid non-transparent base coat on your project.

There are 2 whites and 2 blacks I recommend for you to try mixing with your paints
Titanium White and Carbon Black: These two will make your color less transparent and either darken or lighten the tone of your color.
Zinc White and Mars Black: These ones will change the tone of your color without overly changing the transparency.

These four are very cheap tubes/bottles to buy at a place like micheals or any other craft store, I would suggest getting a good quality brand of these either Golden Artist Colors or Liquitex, they do have another brand or two there that would probably be fine also. I just wouldn't recommend grabbing the dollar bin version of these because you won't need to use much with the good quality brands and they will last longer. Mixing paints from different lines is fine as long as they are all acrylics.


What I use:
Primarily Golden Artist Colors, they are amazing, they take a whole lot of practice to use. These paints are very thick and have to be thinned, but can be thinned all the way to a wash and I routinely use them in my airbrushes.
I use a lot of Liquitex Inks. I also have the full line of P3 paints from Privateer Press.

[MagickalMemories]

Not Evil Mat "Some cover great others are so thin they provide very little coverage."
I imagine you mean that you can see what is underneath the layer of color that you just applied. This is called transparency, and allows you to build up multiple gradients of color without obscuring whats underneath leading to some very stunning paint jobs. Unfortunately its a real pain if your trying to put down a base coat on something. My solution for you to try is get a tube/bottle of Titanium white. On a palette mix a small amount of Titanium white into whatever color you would like to have better coverage with, this will give you a nice solid non-transparent base coat on your project.

Sometimes it's not called transparency. Sometimes it's called poor paint quality. He's not necessarily talking about any kind of high quality paint here. Apple Barrel, which is available at Walmart and many craft stores, is a perfect example. When I used to use craft paint, I can't tell you how many times I gave Apple barrel a chance before giving up on them. Too often, their paints go on splotchy and/or thin. They're not a quality paint that's meant for the kind of layering you're talking about. They're the kinds of paints meant to put on ceramics and the like (presumably in one coat) for quick, easy coverage.

Eric