Advice to beginner painters - the collective wisdom ofthe site

[FierceKitty]

Since there have been many new arrivals of late, it seems fair to assume that some are also new to painting figures, esp. 10mm. I invite every veteran to contribute six things he or she would have benefitted from being told when a beginner.
My starters:
1)   The most important target to set yourself is to do something every day, though it be only ten hats, or manes and tails on a cavalry unit. It really adds up.
2)   Use water-based paints. These are not the stuff you had in a kiddies' paintbox when you were younger, but bright, bold and versatile. They're also cheaper, faster-drying, and easy to wash off brushes, hands, the table, and cats.
3)   Start with details so that it doesn't matter if you splash a bit of flesh or wood brown over a coat or whatever. Painting neat lines while you apply the larger areas of colour is easier than dotting on neat faces.
4)   Go a shade brighter than you might for larger scales.
5)   Use marker pens for some of the details. They're great time-savers with horse harness. Beware of green markers, which tend to bleed into surrounding paint.
6)   Pay attention to the surface you expect to be playing on. A unit surrounded by neat rectangles of grass bordered with bold black lines looks absurd on a sandy yellow playing surface.

Further words of wisdom are solicited.

[Orcs]

1. Get the best light you can. A good daylight LED lamp will make painting easier.[/li][/list]
2. If your eyesight is not what it used to be consider getting an optivisor or one of the copies[/li][/list]
3. Decant your paint onto some form of white palette before use. This can just be an old plate or ceramic tile.[/li][/list]
4. Games Workshop Contrast paints may be expensive but can save a huge amount of time.[/li][/list]
5. Keep a notebook of what colours you used to paint each type of uniform with paint manufacturer and colour. That way you can paint another unit to match in several year's time.[/li][/list]
6. It's worth spending money on good storage solutions for your figures.[/li][/list]

[fsn]

• Look at what others do, but develop your own style.
• Undercoat is important. A colour over a white undercoat looks different from the same colour over a black undercoat
• Don't be afraid of rattle cans. They're a great way of undercoating.
• Look after your brushes.

4. Games Workshop Contrast paints may be expensive but can save a huge amount of time.[/li][/list]

Have you tried the Army Painter Speedpainter range? Bit cheaper than GW, and seem to give good results.

[fsn]

[sunjester]

Have you tried the Army Painter Speedpainter range? Bit cheaper than GW, and seem to give good results.

I got a starter set and they do look good, BUT they take forever to dry. After 48 hours I find they still bleed/blend if you paint on top of then. When I use them I have to be ultra-careful not to stray over areas I will want to paint other colours (or else stick the minis aside for 3/4 days!).

[fsn]

Interesting. Thank you.

[Steve J]

Backs, bases and flags are what you see the most of when gaming with your figures. So I would add the following:

- Keep a note book of the colours used for each unit. It is quite easy to forget when you decide you might want to add another one to you army.
- Paint one unit at a time, so you can see results more quickly, rather than painting a whiile brigade in one go.
- Don't forget to do the command bases alongside the units, rather than at the end, which is what I tend to do.
- Decide on a basing style that fits in with your gaming mat and other terrain. By more than enough flock etc to last you for quite some time.
- Buy the best quality flags that you can, or print your own. If you can paint them, it makes them pop even more.
- You tend to see the rear of your units, so don't neglect these.
- Paint to a standard that works for the unit and looks good at arms length. When on the table you won't notice and little errors. Honest.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Few things occure :-

a) Use cheaper paints for undercoat - CrawfordBlack or Wilco's own black acrillic for me.
b) bear in mind that prior to WWII dyes weren't that fixable, so stuff faded.
c) It's normal to paint troops in "parade order" for 1700 to 1870, despite the reality.

Enjoy yourself, it's relaxing, or should be.

[Last Hussar]

Be rich and pay someone else.
I hate painting.
Not helpful I know, but I wish I could - I hate painting.
Did I mention I hate painting.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

I hate painting.
I hate painting.
Did I mention I hate painting.

Just once or twice !!!!

Try rebasing sometime   

[Ithoriel]

I heartily endorse the suggestions of using optivisors or similar if needed, of using slightly lighter shades with smaller models, of using spray undercoats/ primers/ basecoats and the use of palettes/ plates.

Not trying to paint every detail is also good advice and if you manage that then .... let me know how. My 6mm space marines have tac markings on their shoulder pads!

[fsn]

• Building on what Mr J wrote: mix the units that you paint. Typically I would do something like infantry then cavalry, then infantry again ('cos you tend to have more infantry) then artillery, then back to infantry ...  Keeps the challenge fresh.
• Similarly, put figures of the same pose on the painting stick. Aids consistency.
• Acrylic paint comes off if you bathe in Dettol. It's OK to be dissatisfied and want to start again.

[Orcs]

 Use the same basing style for all figure - even ones you may have bought  painted.  The commonality of the base will make any differences far less noticeable

[mmcv]

1. Work out what's important to you - a small number of high-quality painted minis, or lots of tabletop quality ones?
If you just want to get lots of armies to the table quickly, don't be afraid to block in main colours and a few key details. Hold the figures at arms length to see what stands out. There's been a few projects I started out painting every detail carefully, then by the end was just slapping paint on to get stuff done. Once on the table, you'll not really notice. I confess I do occasionally get a kick looking at some of the units closer up where I painted every button and buckle but having a variety of armies is more important to me with the limited time I have.

2. Use brighter bolder colours than you would at higher scales
With the smaller scales darker colours and heavy washes can often leave the figures looking quite muted. Don't be afraid to go a shade or two brighter on the colours to make them stand out a bit more, they won't look as artificial or garish as they would on a larger scale mini. Even when painting blacks, using a dark grey/charcoal shade looks much better than a pure black.

3. Switch it up regularly
Some people are quite happy to paint the same things over and over and work consistently on a single army until done. While I may feel motivated to do this when pushing towards a game or finishing a phase of a project, I find I end up getting burnt out on a project when I do this too long. I like to have a bit of variety so if I've been pushing hard at one project I'll often paint a few bases for a different one as a change of pace. One way I do this is by having a small box with units prebagged from a few different projects. That way I can just grab one and go for it. Other times I've just written a list of projects and rolled a dice against it and done something from whatever one comes up, that's a good way to get the motivation to do a little on a project that has been languishing on the back burner for a while.

4. Enjoy the process
Some people may just hate painting and it's just not a part of the hobby they engage with, that's fine, but if it is something you're interested in then do what you can to make the most of the painting time. I like to stick on a good audiobook or podcast, often related to the era I'm painting or one I'm researching for another project, make sure you have good lighting and your space set up how you like it and just settle in and enjoy. There will be times you're painting things you don't necessarily like (I get quite tired out painting cavalry) but it goes a little easier if you're relaxed and having a good time.

5. Experiment
It can be easy to get stuck into painting ruts and just doing things the same way over and over. If you find a good rhythm with this and are happy with the results then that's grand, but every now and again I like to take the time to experiment with something different. This might be a different style of painting, a different technique, a mini diorama or some terrain, just something to try and improve my skills a bit more. My next planned experiment is painting close-order infantry in some manner of speed painting to see how quickly I can turn out a unit while still looking good. One thing worth experimenting on early on is what your batch painting tolerance is. This may vary from project to project, but by adding an extra strip of figures to each batch you'll soon find out what your "this is more chore than pleasure" point is.

6. Ignore everyone else and do what works for you
There is heaps of good advice out there, and do read it and take it on board, but at the end of the day this is your hobby and your time so do what works for you and your resources and skill set and as long as you're deriving enjoyment from it and feeling a sense of accomplishment from what you do, then you're doing it right. I'll likely never be able to paint to the level of some of the painters here, but that's okay because for me I get that buzz of accomplishment from getting units done and ready for the table to a decent standard. Spending that extra time doing them to a higher quality gives me a smaller sense of accomplishment than the amount of time and resources that I would require to do so on balance, so I just focus on what works for me and my hobby time.

[steve_holmes_11]

Mine is from the Henry Ford playbook.

Less about individual techniques and more about process..

Know your subject:
Important for uniformed regulars, even with irregulars, know what pigments were popular at their time and region.

Know your miniatures:
Clean up and inspect under good light and with appropriate magnification.
Figure out what all the bits and pieces are, is that hair in a pigtail, or a loose end of a turban?
Is the clothing a one piece, or separate trousers and jacket?

Decide your look:
I base between 6 and 16 10mm figures on a 40mm square base, so precise detail of shoes, or metal bands on a scabbard wil get lost in the bigger picture.
Viewers will be looking at clumps of warriors at 2 feet (600mm) or more distance.
That equates to 60 man-heights - roughly 10 yards.

Find a picture of people at 100 metres, and see which items draw the eye.
Typically headgear, weapon points and bright items of clothing.
Note the items you barely notice, the smaller bits suspended from a belt, footwear.

It's up to you to decide the level of detail, but the above provides some excellent guidelines.


Now for the mechanics of applying paint.

Prepare:
Cut off any tags left over from casting, remove any flash and have a good look at the miniatures.

Prime:
I stick up to 100 figures (Numbers vary with arm of service) onto a piece of cardboard just above A4 size.
Each is held in place with a little blob of Blu Tak.
Then on a warm dry day, I go outside and spray-prime them from the four diagonal angles.
I use a Halfords grey rattle-can primer for this.

Leave to cure soemwhere well ventilated for 2 days after this.

Organise units:
I've found this is incredibly helpful while painting.

Remove the troops form their priming board and attach to tongue depressors (also known as Pendraken painting sticks).
Don't crowd the stick, but put all one figures for a specific unit on one or more sticks.

Example: 120 Zuzzi-Wuzzies in 12 units of 10. 24 sticks with 5 warriors each.

This is an opportunity to mix the poses in your regular units, or keep your regular chaps "in step".
If several sticks comprise a unit, pencil the identity on te stick, so they don't straggle during painting.


Paint:
This is the main event, and the one where you have the greatest scope for initiative.

I have sessions of "Big colours": base coating, jackets, or flesh for semi naked warriors, and other sessions for detail.
Keep the sessions short enough to avoid fatigue, grind or resentment.
Try to do complete all of a unit in one sitting.
This is obviously easy for units of 12 or so models, less so if you're doing big battalions of 80 figures.

For mounted units I always paint the animal first.
For infantry I tend to start with the clothing and work outwards.

When I think a unit is done, I set time aside for inspection, and dotting in all the missed details of overlaps.


And finally, Basing

Pendraken laser cut MDF bases, primed and painted an earth tone.
I use small amounts of transparent "No More Nails" (High strength PVA) to attach individual figures to the base.
I then use thinned craft PVA to stick 2mm static grass or flock about the base.

Where the troops are based in multiple ranks, I do one rank at a time, flocking as I go.

[FierceKitty]

That equates to 60 man-heights - roughly 10 yards.
    William Takeda Francesca?

[Ithoriel]

That equates to 60 man-heights - roughly 10 yards.
   William Takeda Francesca?

What? There's nothing missing.

[Titivillus]

Some excellent advice here! I'll add a bit more about using undercoats.

I would add that if you use a dark undercoat (black, dark brown, panzer grey, etc.), a light white drybrush over that base coat helps make the details pop out. This can make it easier to see when painting. (It can also help with some highlighting if you use thin paints.)

Also, when using dark undercoat, try and leave a line between one colour and the next. The black undercoat will create a shadow there, emphasizing (or creating) the separation. You can't always do this, but it really helps for certain areas, like waists, necks and where boots meet trousers. If you look at the painted examples in the Pendraken catalogue, you will see that some of the painters use those dark lines quite extensively.

Lastly, don't be afraid to use a lighter base coat (or even a zenithal technique) if you are painting up lighter, brighter colours. Marker pens (mentioned earlier) or a dark wash can be used to draw in dark shadows.

Zenithal priming: https://paintyourarmy.com/zenithal-priming/

[John Cook]

Just six?  The more I thought about it the more points that came to mind.  I'm also going to make the assumption that our newcomer has discovered the various magazines out there, and already visited their local club.

1.   GENERALITIES.
a.   Bear in mind from the outset that Wargaming is not a cheap hobby.
b.   You will need to invest money and time into the hobby to get the most out of  it.
c.   You will need space to play wargames and will, eventually, want a permanent table of your own.
d.   You will need somewhere to store your figures and terrain.  A system that will expand over time as your armies grow.
e.   You will need somewhere to keep all the books that you will buy in pursuit of your new hobby.
2.   PREPARATION.
a.   Exploit as many resources as possible. 
b.   Join a local club and pick the brains of other wargamers.
c.   Read as much as you can before deciding on the period that really interests you.  The local library is an obvious source.
d.   The internet is a fantastic resource, it is at your fingertips and it is free.
e.   When you have made a decision focus your research on that period.
3.   RULES.
a.   Find the set you like and stick with them. 
b.   If you do change rules never, ever, rebase your figures unless there is absolutely no alternative.  Adapt the rules to suit your bases.  Rebasing is a chore, worse than ironing, and is the path to insanity.
c.   If there is something you don't like in a set of rules, change it so that you do.  Your perceptions are more important than excessive concern with minor details.
4.  WORK STATION.
a.  The seat.  Get a comfortable adjustable seat.  The best you can afford.  You will spend hours here painting your figures and terrain, so you need to be as relaxed as possible.  Your back will thank you.
b.   The light.  Natural light is essential but you will need an additional source even if your workstation is under a window.  Avoid ordinary desk lamps as they are not really intended for the kind of work you will be doing.  Get an LED craft lamp, the best you can afford, with circular 'bulb' to help remove shadows; about 6000k white daylight producing 1000 lumens is what you are looking for.  These come with a central magnifying lens. 
c.   If your eyesight is such that you need help with close work there are solutions.  There are a number of headband-type devices available but I'd avoid these.  I was always knocking mine on the lamp and it was just more trouble than it was worth.  I use ordinary reading glasses of the kind you can buy in any pharmacy or, much cheaper, on-line.  They start at x1.25 and go up to x4 and are much more convenient.  What is best for you depends on your eyesight. 
5.   FIGURES.
a.   Circumstances will dictate the size of figure.  If space is at a premium the smallest figures may be the only alternative and some 6mm are very nice little models well worth the trouble spending time painting.  With larger figures, 15mm to 28mm, cost and space considerations rise in direct relation to the size.  10mm is the perfect compromise.  They are relatively less expensive, are quick and easy to paint, have sufficient detail to make painting a pleasure and allow large size units to be represented while minimising storage requirements.  Pendraken has the largest range. 
b.  Preparation is fundamental to the end result.
c.  Clean and prime the figures.   White primer is best as reveals any flaws.   
d.  Undercoat the figures.  White and black undercoats are popular, though it can also be the principal colour of the finished figure; it doesn't really matter.
e.  Avoid aerosol sprays.  They are quick and easy but can result in a rough finish if used incorrectly.  If you must use them, follow the instructions to the letter, and try them out on a couple of figures first.  You will find aerosol sprays are much cheaper in your local DIY store than from wargames specific sources.
f.  Paints can be either acrylic or oil.  It is entirely a matter of personal preference.  Acrylics are easier to use as they are water soluble and, if this sort of thing is important to you, are more friendly to the environment as no chemical thinners or cleaners are required.  Acrylics or oil, the end result is indistinguishable but if you use acrylics, a wet palette is useful as they dry quite quickly.
g.  Avoid spray varnishes.  Matt varnishes are prone to frosting and can destroy hours of work.  If you must use them, do not do so when it is humid, follow the instructions to the letter and try them out on a couple of figures first.  It is better to apply varnishes with a brush, gloss first, followed by matt when the former is dry.
h.  Approach painting the figures like eating an elephant – one piece at a time.  Don't rush it. 
i.  Buy the very best brushes you can afford and look after them.  Rinse them frequently during use and when you have finished a session give them a thorough clean using hair shampoo.  Cheap brushes are a false economy
j.  The base should match the playing surface.  Pay as much attention to the bases as you do the figures.  Many a figure has been spoiled by an indifferent base. 
6.  PLAYING SURFACE.
a.   A permanent wargames table is the counsel of perfection and is something to be aspired to.
b.   The size will depend on circumstances, and the kind of game you want to play.  Small skirmish games can be accommodated on something the size of a card table but in an ideal world there is really no such thing a table that is too big.  The one critical thing is depth because you need to be able to reach to the centre, so about 5 ft/1.5m is ideal
c.   The options for terrain are manifold.  Most people either go for modular tile-type terrain, like TSS or Geo-Hex, or the battlemat playing cloth, typically that produced by Tinywargames.  Both have their pros and cons.  Modular systems tend to be all one colour but do allow topographical features to be replicated.  Geo-Hex is best for this.  Battlecloths give a much more realistic appearance to the playing surface but need to be laid over something to represent landscape.

[Ithoriel]

Further advice, don't believe those who will tell you that rattle can spray paints are the work of the devil and that spray  varnish fogs up if you look at it sideways

I've been painting figures for almost sixty years, I've used rattle can sprays for almost fifty of them. In all that time my spray varnish has fogged twice.

In each case an application of paint-on varnish to the affected area solved the problem.