The last one is huge for me. I think I spend more time watching mini painting tutorials than actually painting 🤣🤣 I think watching amazing painters do amazing techniques intimidates me from starting the learning process
I wish we had RUclips tutorials back in the 90's when I starting. While I enjoyed my days of just base coats, ink and dry brushing nothing I did really got better at best I just got neater and I ended up jumping out the hobby around 2001. I got back into it during Covid and already after a hand full of videos and regular painting sessions I'm miles ahead of my young self.
I learned the lesson about batch painting from just constant doing large amounts of squads. Now I'll do a character or 2 between like every couple of units and it has serve me well. Even just doing a pallet cleanser like a vehicle or monster is good.
4:40 im so glad somebody else thinks that too. Not every mini needs a million tiny details. And when everybody looks like a special character, nobody looks like a special character!
I deliberately assemble my minis with a minimum. The odd purity seal, a few extra bits here and there but thats it. I'll even dremel off some unnecessary junk on characters, I don't like them to look cluttered.
Aw, I love metals. Prefer it to plastic for the most part. Biggest issue for me with metals is that they really need good varnishing as they are far more prone to chipping or scratching, especially on edges
And there's some retro minis i can only get in metal. I wanted the original space marine terminators from my youth, ebayed them. 20 years old and in surprisingly nice condition, they will get all the attention as I want them as the centerpiece of my army. As a rule though, I have to agree that metal is bad.
The trick is to use a metal primer on them. Or a metal primer prep. Mr metal r, or metal prep 4k by vms. You can find both on eBay. Also those bad boys on your metal minis, give it 12-24 hours to set/cure ( it should feel almost tacky), and then apply your favorite primer (I like Vallejo Mecha primer, it's great). Allow THAT to sit for 12-24 hours at room temperature (70-85°f) and then get painting. I've dropped them. on concrete (once) and not had a chip, and had lots of handling and not had problems. If you're super worried, you can give them a quick bath in white vinegar (mild acid will slightly etch the metal) give her a scrub, and then start your priming. I've found the extra step to be well worth it, as long as giving the primer ample time to cure before I fuck with it. I know it will continue to cure even with paint on it, but it's not hard to set these boys aside and let them get completely finished.
This is why Dark Angels was great as a returning wargamer. Learning how to paint solid block colour with Greenwing. Learning how to paint black effectively with Ravenwing. Learning how to paint white/bone with Deathwing. Going for something bright and colourful next with Aeldari.
I’m glad myself as a beginner have already been doing what you mentioned in this video. I started off small with the basic three Ultramarines in that beginner box set. But looking at the box set. I noticed there was no depth or really no realism look to them. They had like four paints used for them. So I went on the internet and looked at pictures of space marines mainly the video game “Space Marine” and based every detail off of how they look in the video game. I painted the backpack engines an actual silver, I painted inside the backpack where most people would leave it blue I painted the wires black and the buttons silver. I painted the eyes red with a gloss over the top to make it seem like a glass effect. I put more detail into my first three then Games Worshop is saying is good enough. I took this to another step after painting a few sisters models. I painted a Palatine I put 8 hours into. I painted Celestine which I probably put a good 20 hours into with all the different colors and washes. I plan on taking it even further with this new model that came out for Aledari, Yvarne. I want to try out Contrast painting it completely. Just to see what it looks like. I also plan on doing a batch painting here in the coming months with a Sisters of Battle army. But I will most likely do the same paint on every single model. So once I’m done with the blacks, I’ll move onto the reds or golds or whatever.
Try out pin-washing. You use paint or oil heavily watered down, and a (gloss?Cant remember) varnish over a in progress mini just touching in the reassess and slowing it to slide into the detail by itself. I love using this when speed painting because I tend to do very flat schemes for color.
I'm so glad I have a friend who's been painting for years to come over and show me some of these techniques in person. Can't believe how much I've learned in so little time
This is everything I needed to hear. I found out I was depending on wash and contrast paints so much that my painting projects look like shite. So I been learning other techniques, from folks like you. So I appreciate it.
Great video. Luckily, I don't suffer from any of these mistakes anymore. Been painting for 7 years and I used to stop doing new techniques until I saw your videos. I love your glow effects videos and I used the technique for the first time weeks ago. I was so happy with the results. I painted two GW reactors and the glow effects made the terrain much better. I saved on my desktop your other 5 minutes videos and I will use those techniques on special characters. Thanks for the videos and keep up the great work!
Just wanted to let you know I totally stole your colour scheme of your cream and pink space marines and used it in a painting competition in a local hobby shop and came second. Thank you very much good sir 😊
Love your videos. Funny thing about the variation in inspiration or technique advancement. I have 7 different miniature painters I follow on RUclips (one being you) that all have different styles for the exact reason your mentioned - stylistic variety. Always great to see varying approaches to similar results.
Have been in the hobby for 3 years, and you still break down some issues I have, especially point n°10... And there's been lots of video lately, hope you've found a good dynamic and not ruining yourself. Cheers !
This is such a good video, the batch painting one really made me enjoy painting more. Since I collect Orks and I needed a lot more boys, started doing them in batches of ten and it was so souldraining. Dropping to 5 didn't actually my progress rate that much slower, but it made it more enjoyable. Hell, started even paying attention to some details on them
Deliberate practice is a super important concept. Did you read "Talent Is Overrated"? I kind of assume you did since the whole book is about that idea. I'd love to see a video exploring that idea as it relates to mini painting more.
I have to disagree with not buying plastic toy soldiers. When I’m working with unfamiliar paint or a new blending technique, I always feel more comfortable doing a trial run on a soldier before trying it on an expensive mini.
Wise words. Especially on batch painting (I can never paint more than 3 minis at a time) and deliberate practice. The interesting thing is that I am now happy with the results I am getting but want to paint faster. So for example I research for ways to use the airbrush more and then practice. At the start I am even slower, but soon I am faster and I also learn something new and maybe even improve my end result.
i got the cadian box set a year ago and dived right in to blast them off so i could get to gaming. i did it all in a marathon and it started very enjoyable but then it broke my back, now i cant be arsed even looking at a paint pot, i get my wife to do it and have no intention of ever painting another model
That explosion effect on your quicksilver mini was AMAZING. Would you, or have you done a vid on that? That kind of burning object with that warm fiery glow showing through dark smoke.
Number 3: I want to try highlighting with different colors. Thanks! Number 5: I'd love to use more techniques like glazing but I haven't had the time to practice that. So I use drybrushing and washes. But I have been using edge highlights more. I really like doing that. I also do minis for D&D not warhammer. I know people take great pride in painting their warhammer minis.
Holy cow you hit the advice running; full props mate for this awesome video! Though I think there's a interesting thing about colour schemes; armies absolutely can look different. I think it would be awesome to see some white armoured black templar in the same way that Deathtroopers and Royal Guard in star wars are cool slice of pie in an otherwise uniform army. As long as the colour change means something (either eliteness, a designation of function, tribes, religion or even from an armies lack of conformity e.t.c.) then it's plausible that pretty much any army can shake up it's colour scheme for some of the units. For example; I'm thinking custodies; with tacticool assassin Sisters of Silence, along with similarly grim Custodian Guard that would often accompany them. Contrasted sharply with splendidly dressed Captains and red armoured elites Elites that seek the fiercest of the fighting once the enemy is found, only dwarfed by the ivory clad dreadnorts who's ceramic plate allow their decoration to stand proud; after all it isn't practical to waste time gold plating the ceramic panels in this age of re-conquest.. These aren't an army in the traditional sense; but a group of individuals on a mission, each bearing signs of prior duties and journies that have united for a mission of massive importance. Kinda is a good lesson for army painting in general. find reasons to do things differently sometimes isn't a bad thing as long as you keep it simple.
This is part of the reason I love painting T'au, with the commanders and elite warriors you can invert the colour scheme to change things up. Prevents some of the monotony of batch painting, which sadly we all must do if we want to get an army done within a decade. If there is consistency and a pattern to the colour change, it can really draw attention to your centrepiece models and add some much-needed variety into an army :)
I have been thoroughly enjoying your videos man, very solid presentation and great information too. As to metal minis and batch painting I fully agree with you on both.
Re: batch painting - I've got a quartet of glaivewraith stalkers. I painted one to really high quality, now I'm stuck trying to paint the rest to the same quality lol.
So before I get to the end of the video and forget. One tip I use to pick a colour scheme for an army is paint it on a flat sheet of cardboard it's the equivalent of colour matching to paint a room you can see if the colours you picked work together without having to clean it off the model if you don't like it. And speaking of cleaning always wash your models first, you don't know what molded release substance they used in the casting or if they cleaned it of (or if they suck at cleaning it off) I consider washing up liquid and multiple toothbrush to be an essential part of a painters kit for both cleaning and applying paint (it can be really tricky to fake mud splatter but a old toothbrush is great at fine splatter with your fingernail or popsicle stick) it sucks to see your paint start flaking the miniature because it wasn't cleaned before hand.
I know this is an older video, but I think there is one thing you could add, and that is to keep your hobby space organized and tidy. I am in the process of doing so & it's getting me excited about things again. I had let it get so bad that it was hanging over me. It was depressing to look at and a dust magnet. Anyways, I just thought I'd put that out there.
Too many paints is very true - when I started I bought a mega set (because it was cheaper) but was overwhelmed with colour choice / theory I didn’t understand yet. I put 80% of the colours in a drawer and only very slowly (over years) got them out once I understood how to use them / where they sat relative to others.
Been doing this casually for a few years, let's see how I do. 1 - that's why I do Eldar - different colours to play with, I like bright colours rather than muted. 2 - oops 3 - am OK here 4 - ad? 5 ok here though can learn more 6- ...think I'm OK here... 7 am OK here 8 I agree but there are times it's necessary, break it up with a character. I tend to do in 10s 9 still learning, warhammer + have some advanced tutorials BTW 10 have a few armies started for this reason. My oldest models are a long way behind in terms of results compared to newer ones.
I can 100% agree on batch painting. I paint a unit and then...a single character! even it he takes me a week! or a day i wont touch another unit until i do the character to stretch my painting muscles. If the units was painted with contrast paints, switch styles and do something different.
Good video! I am always trying different techniques in my hobby journey and although I don't always stick with the same methods, I appreciate the different approaches that people take in painting for the tabletop. I own a ton of paints but I almost always mix up my own hues from the basecoats for a smoother gradient to the highlight. I am interested in picking up the Kimera base set when I can find it shipped for around 100 bucks. Thanks again for the great content!
I have no problem with painting toy soldiers or batch painting. You just have to understand that it's a different part of the hobby I just finished painting over 200 American Revolution figures in 20mm. With the right music it can be a form of meditation.
Something that really jumped my understanding and skill level(from absolute trogledyte to mediocre on a good day) was painting a huge model instead of standart size infantry style minis. Sylvaneth for example are great to practice on. The big giant treeman is one of the best things Ive ever painted and had a blast from start to finish.
Thanks for all your videos, they have been so helpful. I know its gonna take years of practice but I find all my minatures I'm painting just seem kinda flat or tiny and for lack of better words looks dirty after I finish painting them and using washes sparingly. I'm painting the monster hunter board game and I'm using army painter paints at the moment. But probably will switch soon. I don't know what I'm asking for here, just don't know what to do. I think I just need to get better at highlights and stuff but the minis seem so tiny and have such little details I find it almost impossible to even try to apply new techniques. Thanks for reading my rant and keep up the videos they mean so much to a newbie.
Some of this advice is more appropriate to intermediate painters not beginners. Painting toy soldiers or anything like that is very useful for beginners to learn brush control and the absolute basics at an affordable price. So many RUclips painters aim way too high with these beginner videos nagging people about buying airbrushes/ equipment as a prerequisite and utilizing advanced techniques beyond their ability. We forget what is like to be absolutely new to something
I was really hoping to see something mentioned about posture/ergonomics. As a beginner, I had no idea how much I was crunching up my shoulders or hunching over the mini to focus on tiny details. Then I would wonder why everything hurts the next day. Can't practice if you can't freakin' move
This is true, but hunching over is not a mistake necesarily. If it's at the point that your back hurts, than you have to take more breaks and exercise that back
@@Zumikito speaking from my own experience, surgeons advice, doctors advice, and physios advice, I can confirm that hunching over is definitely bad for your back. Good posture and a good chair with a good setup is a must. Don’t give this advice again. It’s completely wrong dude
I’m trying to switch to battle tech alpha strike purely because I can paint them all differently. Can you do or do you have a video on keeping paints under control in terms of moisture? Mine start ok but they begin to “lock up” after a while even on wet paper towels, and I can’t get them to behave for freehand at all.
It's about handling the material - easy to bend, break apart glued parts and the primer doesn't hold as nicely. But regarding the quality of details and sculpts - sure, it can be as good as other materials.
Aaaaah deliberate practise...killing a nicely painted minaiture with shoddy osl practise was a nightmare :( It got better alot but I still flinch everytime I think I should do osl ^^
My biggest issue with painting miniatures is that if i screw up something i've painted and i can clearly see what i've screwed up, but i don't know how to fix that issue, i'm stuck in this loop of screwing stuff up, with no solution on how to fix it, and most of the times looking up guides or asking for help gives me no useful help to the issue at hand. For example Me: "Hey, i tried my second attempt at OSL, but something about it just don't seem right, i don't know what i could do to change it, would anyone offer critique on it ?" Some person: Your basecoats are too thick, thin your paints which firstly wasn't what i asked about and secondly if i thin my paints more than i do, the paint end up becoming an uncontrolable mess, but it's annoying how many times the only "advice" i get is "thin your paints" Other times something in tutorials or guides or tips don't translate well over to when i paint myself, or i just simply don't understand what they mean, regardless of how many times i watch said tutorial. which mostly end up where i just end up screwing up because i misunderstand or don't do it the exact same way (For example with how much you have to thin your paints or how to glaze, etc). Not to mention the Barrier between whoever that does the tutorial and me. For example once again, and to no offense to you of course, this happened with your NMM video, i tried my first attempt at it following your video, stripping the paint a bunch of times because of my multiple attempts at putting paint on, in which the paint became too thick on the miniature, and didn't look like metal regardless. It is of course not an issue with your video, just that i have a hard time not going "how is this supposed to be THAT easy" when i look at an tutorial video and then at my own miniature. It honestly sometimes becomes a nightmare and overwhelming i just sometimes just wanna paint for painting sake than to train and learn some new technique.
2:18 - I am very new to mini painting. I want to paint my Dark Elves in this same scheme but cant figure out how to edge highlight like this. Can anyone tell me how to do it?
I need to admit I am a personalisation of mistake Nr. 10 I have been watching videos for months but am scared to start and fail. The mini building experience is very enjoyable to me while the painting is dreadful for me since I don't want to ruin my lovely sculpts.
Stop watching and start painting my dude. I would be happy to tell you to watch more of my stuff, but at some point just pull the trigger. Your first mini will suck, lower the expectations. My first minis were just drybrushed garbage, I am certain you will do better than me! 👊 Improvement will come with practice, I promise
Instead of suggesting 40hrs on a mini to someone learning, I'd offer "learn one topic, then switch". It helps prevent burn-out. Save the "apply everything I learned" for a favorite model. Learning deliberately on a single topic means only one aspect is improved at once, but the resulting new-normal is better. Ex: work really hard on a figure's hair, but paint the rest to normal standards. Next figure work really hard on the NMM sword, but the new normal on the hair is better when you work on it in a normal fashion. Third figure, learn to paint a face better - the normal on the weaponry and the hair is improved. Repeat process, and eventually everything looks better. :)
I beg to differ on the metal minis part. Granted some of them are sh1tty products, but on good brands (for example, Andrea Miniatures, Pegaso Models, Alexandros Models, to name a few) they can be great 👍
I bought an infinity starter kit, those metal models are an absolute pain in the ass to build, i fucking hate using super glue on clunky models, I probably lost my prints on two fingers that day, thanks to that every game that comes with metal models is a hard pass for me
When you said this hobby is reliant on patience it sounded like you said pay shits if you hadn't captioned that part I would have thought you said pay shits
You can - in theory - get all those colors with Kimera paints if they ever fucking have them in stock again after having given them all out to fucking RUclipsrs to advertise for them. They've been out of stock for two fucking years now.
This whole video is not about mini-painting mistakes. It's about how mini painters should treat everything like it's going to be featured in an art gallery so they can get Instagram likes. This guy uses so many techniques that take so much time, I genuinely wonder if he ever actually plays a single game these minis are meant for, because I doubt it.
@@OldManPaints If you want to paint just to paint, do it some paper or canvas or something. These miniatures are meant to be played with on a tabletop. All you people who paint miniatures just to pretend you're artists are wasting plastic.
@@mattpace1026 And yet so many companies out there make Minis / Busts which are not related to any game whatsoever. I paint for pleasure. I dont have time to game due to Kids, Work, life etc but i do get time every couple of days to take 2 or 3 hrs to relax and paint a mini. It can often take me over a week for one figure because i like to take it slow and think about what im doing and be critical of my own work. I couldnt care less about Instagram likes but i do care about getting better because i WANT to get better for my own satisfaction. I think your being very judgemental and short sighted.
@@leftyhobbit7695 I'M being judgemental and short-sighted? Wow, that's a laugh. You know, I'd really love to see you justify the judgement and short-sightedness people like you give normal mini painters when they they don't pick the exact right color scheme or don't spend three hours painting a gradient highlight. Oh, and those "busts that have nothing to do with any game?" Okay, if a company specifically releases something meant to just take up space and is honest about it, fine. You got me there. However, my comment wasn't about products like that. It was about morons who think every single mini painter needs to spend a week on every mini making it look like it's gonna be in an art gallery. It completely discourages newcomers and it's one of the biggest reasons so many people get turned off of what could've been an enjoyable hobby for them.
@@mattpace1026 I have been painting minis since you were..a twinkle in yer daddy's eye. I paint minis to put them in a cabinet and look at them.....I have no time for messing about with tape measures etc...you do it though if that is your thing. * I don't touch plastic minis.
I am not talking about quality, I am talking about other issues that come up with that material - they tend to easily bend, if you have to glue them they also break apart rather easily and even the primer doesn't stick to them as well as to plastic minis. But sure, there are metal minis that are high quality, no doubt about that
The answer is to: - wash the minis in IPA, best with an ultrasound or at least scrub with soap and warm water - use polyurethane primers and good ones, not Vallejo; the MiG One Shot and Badger Stynylrez are excellent (rebrands of the same thing, though Stynylrez tends to be a bit thicker) - bending is actually a blessing, much easier to adjust a poorly fitting thing than with plastic that breaks or resin that crumbles
i don't get why you would want to paint non metallic metal. I've been painting for years now and everytime i see it i'm thinking "that looks so shitty". I just don't get it why people ruin their model like that willingly
Actual metallics at small scale don't look credible - that's you people paint volumetric highlights (even on less reflective surfaces) as well, to add volume to the model, so it doesn't feel flat.
Dude, you are good guy with a great channel.. but METAL miniatures are “🐶💩” Naaaaaa! My metal minis sit on the shelf accumulating worth whilst plastic and resin minis are literally “painted trash”. Nobody will keep or cherish them in 30 years. Metal all the way!!!!🤘🏽🎸
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How come this comment has more likes than the video itself? Show the guy some love people!
Mother of god, the video begins with the topic immediately, this is amazing!!!!
Ends the moment he's done teaching too haha
I agree, this is the best thing ever
Got me off guard as well 😂
That's why Zumikito is the best
Read this comment before starting the video, still was shocked...
Thanks for the shout out mate, love your work 😘
Likewise! ❤️
The last one is huge for me. I think I spend more time watching mini painting tutorials than actually painting 🤣🤣 I think watching amazing painters do amazing techniques intimidates me from starting the learning process
I wish we had RUclips tutorials back in the 90's when I starting. While I enjoyed my days of just base coats, ink and dry brushing nothing I did really got better at best I just got neater and I ended up jumping out the hobby around 2001. I got back into it during Covid and already after a hand full of videos and regular painting sessions I'm miles ahead of my young self.
I learned the lesson about batch painting from just constant doing large amounts of squads.
Now I'll do a character or 2 between like every couple of units and it has serve me well.
Even just doing a pallet cleanser like a vehicle or monster is good.
4:40 im so glad somebody else thinks that too. Not every mini needs a million tiny details. And when everybody looks like a special character, nobody looks like a special character!
I deliberately assemble my minis with a minimum. The odd purity seal, a few extra bits here and there but thats it.
I'll even dremel off some unnecessary junk on characters, I don't like them to look cluttered.
@@zakcl00 not a bad idea. Might start doing that
Aw, I love metals. Prefer it to plastic for the most part. Biggest issue for me with metals is that they really need good varnishing as they are far more prone to chipping or scratching, especially on edges
And there's some retro minis i can only get in metal. I wanted the original space marine terminators from my youth, ebayed them. 20 years old and in surprisingly nice condition, they will get all the attention as I want them as the centerpiece of my army. As a rule though, I have to agree that metal is bad.
The trick is to use a metal primer on them. Or a metal primer prep. Mr metal r, or metal prep 4k by vms. You can find both on eBay. Also those bad boys on your metal minis, give it 12-24 hours to set/cure ( it should feel almost tacky), and then apply your favorite primer (I like Vallejo Mecha primer, it's great). Allow THAT to sit for 12-24 hours at room temperature (70-85°f) and then get painting. I've dropped them. on concrete (once) and not had a chip, and had lots of handling and not had problems. If you're super worried, you can give them a quick bath in white vinegar (mild acid will slightly etch the metal) give her a scrub, and then start your priming.
I've found the extra step to be well worth it, as long as giving the primer ample time to cure before I fuck with it. I know it will continue to cure even with paint on it, but it's not hard to set these boys aside and let them get completely finished.
This is why Dark Angels was great as a returning wargamer.
Learning how to paint solid block colour with Greenwing. Learning how to paint black effectively with Ravenwing. Learning how to paint white/bone with Deathwing.
Going for something bright and colourful next with Aeldari.
i have just started the hobby, your videos have helped alot, thankyou mate
I’m glad myself as a beginner have already been doing what you mentioned in this video.
I started off small with the basic three Ultramarines in that beginner box set. But looking at the box set. I noticed there was no depth or really no realism look to them. They had like four paints used for them.
So I went on the internet and looked at pictures of space marines mainly the video game “Space Marine” and based every detail off of how they look in the video game. I painted the backpack engines an actual silver, I painted inside the backpack where most people would leave it blue I painted the wires black and the buttons silver. I painted the eyes red with a gloss over the top to make it seem like a glass effect. I put more detail into my first three then Games Worshop is saying is good enough.
I took this to another step after painting a few sisters models. I painted a Palatine I put 8 hours into. I painted Celestine which I probably put a good 20 hours into with all the different colors and washes.
I plan on taking it even further with this new model that came out for Aledari, Yvarne. I want to try out Contrast painting it completely. Just to see what it looks like.
I also plan on doing a batch painting here in the coming months with a Sisters of Battle army. But I will most likely do the same paint on every single model. So once I’m done with the blacks, I’ll move onto the reds or golds or whatever.
Try out pin-washing. You use paint or oil heavily watered down, and a (gloss?Cant remember) varnish over a in progress mini just touching in the reassess and slowing it to slide into the detail by itself. I love using this when speed painting because I tend to do very flat schemes for color.
I'm so glad I have a friend who's been painting for years to come over and show me some of these techniques in person. Can't believe how much I've learned in so little time
This is everything I needed to hear. I found out I was depending on wash and contrast paints so much that my painting projects look like shite. So I been learning other techniques, from folks like you. So I appreciate it.
Great video. Luckily, I don't suffer from any of these mistakes anymore. Been painting for 7 years and I used to stop doing new techniques until I saw your videos.
I love your glow effects videos and I used the technique for the first time weeks ago. I was so happy with the results. I painted two GW reactors and the glow effects made the terrain much better.
I saved on my desktop your other 5 minutes videos and I will use those techniques on special characters.
Thanks for the videos and keep up the great work!
This should be mandatory viewing for anyone taking up the journey of mini painting!
Holy crap dude! Those paint jobs are incredible!
Just wanted to let you know I totally stole your colour scheme of your cream and pink space marines and used it in a painting competition in a local hobby shop and came second. Thank you very much good sir 😊
Zumikito. Straight to the point, no fluff.
Awesome.
Love your videos. Funny thing about the variation in inspiration or technique advancement. I have 7 different miniature painters I follow on RUclips (one being you) that all have different styles for the exact reason your mentioned - stylistic variety. Always great to see varying approaches to similar results.
Have been in the hobby for 3 years, and you still break down some issues I have, especially point n°10...
And there's been lots of video lately, hope you've found a good dynamic and not ruining yourself.
Cheers !
Juan Hidalgo does some good work though. People like you and him inspire me. Good info with humor.
iam an artist in the traditional sense and point 2 hits hard! Limited colour palletes challenge us in different ways
This is such a good video, the batch painting one really made me enjoy painting more. Since I collect Orks and I needed a lot more boys, started doing them in batches of ten and it was so souldraining. Dropping to 5 didn't actually my progress rate that much slower, but it made it more enjoyable. Hell, started even paying attention to some details on them
Deliberate practice is a super important concept. Did you read "Talent Is Overrated"? I kind of assume you did since the whole book is about that idea. I'd love to see a video exploring that idea as it relates to mini painting more.
I have to disagree with not buying plastic toy soldiers. When I’m working with unfamiliar paint or a new blending technique, I always feel more comfortable doing a trial run on a soldier before trying it on an expensive mini.
Number 7 get a desk lamp or 2, there pretty cheap on Amazon and I have to say they really helped with my painting 🎨
Wise words. Especially on batch painting (I can never paint more than 3 minis at a time) and deliberate practice.
The interesting thing is that I am now happy with the results I am getting but want to paint faster. So for example I research for ways to use the airbrush more and then practice. At the start I am even slower, but soon I am faster and I also learn something new and maybe even improve my end result.
You are the best painting content creator hands down!
i got the cadian box set a year ago and dived right in to blast them off so i could get to gaming. i did it all in a marathon and it started very enjoyable but then it broke my back, now i cant be arsed even looking at a paint pot, i get my wife to do it and have no intention of ever painting another model
That explosion effect on your quicksilver mini was AMAZING.
Would you, or have you done a vid on that?
That kind of burning object with that warm fiery glow showing through dark smoke.
I just came across your channel today. Awesome content and great presentation. And cool beard, too! Keep it up.
Number 3: I want to try highlighting with different colors. Thanks!
Number 5: I'd love to use more techniques like glazing but I haven't had the time to practice that. So I use drybrushing and washes. But I have been using edge highlights more. I really like doing that.
I also do minis for D&D not warhammer. I know people take great pride in painting their warhammer minis.
Hey guys. Just on the tip about hobby lamps, I use a camping head torch. It works really well and it's relatively cheap
Holy cow you hit the advice running; full props mate for this awesome video!
Though I think there's a interesting thing about colour schemes; armies absolutely can look different. I think it would be awesome to see some white armoured black templar in the same way that Deathtroopers and Royal Guard in star wars are cool slice of pie in an otherwise uniform army. As long as the colour change means something (either eliteness, a designation of function, tribes, religion or even from an armies lack of conformity e.t.c.) then it's plausible that pretty much any army can shake up it's colour scheme for some of the units.
For example; I'm thinking custodies; with tacticool assassin Sisters of Silence, along with similarly grim Custodian Guard that would often accompany them. Contrasted sharply with splendidly dressed Captains and red armoured elites Elites that seek the fiercest of the fighting once the enemy is found, only dwarfed by the ivory clad dreadnorts who's ceramic plate allow their decoration to stand proud; after all it isn't practical to waste time gold plating the ceramic panels in this age of re-conquest.. These aren't an army in the traditional sense; but a group of individuals on a mission, each bearing signs of prior duties and journies that have united for a mission of massive importance.
Kinda is a good lesson for army painting in general. find reasons to do things differently sometimes isn't a bad thing as long as you keep it simple.
This is part of the reason I love painting T'au, with the commanders and elite warriors you can invert the colour scheme to change things up. Prevents some of the monotony of batch painting, which sadly we all must do if we want to get an army done within a decade. If there is consistency and a pattern to the colour change, it can really draw attention to your centrepiece models and add some much-needed variety into an army :)
Interesting seeing how other people hold there brush and how they paint. With what way they tackle it.
I have been thoroughly enjoying your videos man, very solid presentation and great information too. As to metal minis and batch painting I fully agree with you on both.
Loving your longer content dude as always great vid 👌
Re: batch painting - I've got a quartet of glaivewraith stalkers. I painted one to really high quality, now I'm stuck trying to paint the rest to the same quality lol.
So before I get to the end of the video and forget.
One tip I use to pick a colour scheme for an army is paint it on a flat sheet of cardboard it's the equivalent of colour matching to paint a room you can see if the colours you picked work together without having to clean it off the model if you don't like it.
And speaking of cleaning always wash your models first, you don't know what molded release substance they used in the casting or if they cleaned it of (or if they suck at cleaning it off) I consider washing up liquid and multiple toothbrush to be an essential part of a painters kit for both cleaning and applying paint (it can be really tricky to fake mud splatter but a old toothbrush is great at fine splatter with your fingernail or popsicle stick) it sucks to see your paint start flaking the miniature because it wasn't cleaned before hand.
Jumping right into it, love this format!
Gotta say the 2 tips I didn't head enough were good lighting and buying too many minis at once. I'm still having fun, but I can't see shit!
7:06 I bet that one was fun to paint.
Lots of good advice here. Great shout out to Vincie V!
I know this is an older video, but I think there is one thing you could add, and that is to keep your hobby space organized and tidy. I am in the process of doing so & it's getting me excited about things again. I had let it get so bad that it was hanging over me. It was depressing to look at and a dust magnet. Anyways, I just thought I'd put that out there.
,,Never trying something new”
Me watching the video mere hours after painting my first mini ever:
,,Ha, knew it, I’m a failure”
Too many paints is very true - when I started I bought a mega set (because it was cheaper) but was overwhelmed with colour choice / theory I didn’t understand yet. I put 80% of the colours in a drawer and only very slowly (over years) got them out once I understood how to use them / where they sat relative to others.
Been doing this casually for a few years, let's see how I do.
1 - that's why I do Eldar - different colours to play with, I like bright colours rather than muted.
2 - oops
3 - am OK here
4 - ad?
5 ok here though can learn more
6- ...think I'm OK here...
7 am OK here
8 I agree but there are times it's necessary, break it up with a character. I tend to do in 10s
9 still learning, warhammer + have some advanced tutorials BTW
10 have a few armies started for this reason. My oldest models are a long way behind in terms of results compared to newer ones.
I can 100% agree on batch painting. I paint a unit and then...a single character! even it he takes me a week! or a day i wont touch another unit until i do the character to stretch my painting muscles. If the units was painted with contrast paints, switch styles and do something different.
Great video, lots of excellent suggestions! Thank you!
The best advice is in step 10 when he addresses that you don’t need to have 40 hours into a mini if all your doing is gaming.
I want to do an entire space marine chapter. I’m going to do different techniques and effects on each company :)
Okay mostly agree, but I still like many metal miniatures. Dark Sword's detailing is swoon worthy!
These Desert Ladies look like the weather in the desert during the day. Paints too.
Good video! I am always trying different techniques in my hobby journey and although I don't always stick with the same methods, I appreciate the different approaches that people take in painting for the tabletop. I own a ton of paints but I almost always mix up my own hues from the basecoats for a smoother gradient to the highlight. I am interested in picking up the Kimera base set when I can find it shipped for around 100 bucks. Thanks again for the great content!
eyy haven't been this early before, looking forward to learning something new
I have no problem with painting toy soldiers or batch painting.
You just have to understand that it's a different part of the hobby
I just finished painting over 200 American Revolution figures in 20mm.
With the right music it can be a form of meditation.
Something that really jumped my understanding and skill level(from absolute trogledyte to mediocre on a good day) was painting a huge model instead of standart size infantry style minis.
Sylvaneth for example are great to practice on.
The big giant treeman is one of the best things Ive ever painted and had a blast from start to finish.
Thanks for all your videos, they have been so helpful. I know its gonna take years of practice but I find all my minatures I'm painting just seem kinda flat or tiny and for lack of better words looks dirty after I finish painting them and using washes sparingly. I'm painting the monster hunter board game and I'm using army painter paints at the moment. But probably will switch soon. I don't know what I'm asking for here, just don't know what to do. I think I just need to get better at highlights and stuff but the minis seem so tiny and have such little details I find it almost impossible to even try to apply new techniques. Thanks for reading my rant and keep up the videos they mean so much to a newbie.
Some of this advice is more appropriate to intermediate painters not beginners. Painting toy soldiers or anything like that is very useful for beginners to learn brush control and the absolute basics at an affordable price. So many RUclips painters aim way too high with these beginner videos nagging people about buying airbrushes/ equipment as a prerequisite and utilizing advanced techniques beyond their ability. We forget what is like to be absolutely new to something
Im stuck batch painting right now. Ugh. Its killing me!!!
Very entertaining and informative, as always, thanks. The skill level shown is at least as impressive as the mighty beard :)
I was really hoping to see something mentioned about posture/ergonomics. As a beginner, I had no idea how much I was crunching up my shoulders or hunching over the mini to focus on tiny details. Then I would wonder why everything hurts the next day. Can't practice if you can't freakin' move
This is true, but hunching over is not a mistake necesarily. If it's at the point that your back hurts, than you have to take more breaks and exercise that back
@@Zumikito True! Thanks again for the video, it was very informative!
@@Zumikito yes, exactly, paint while doing sit ups
@@Zumikito speaking from my own experience, surgeons advice, doctors advice, and physios advice, I can confirm that hunching over is definitely bad for your back. Good posture and a good chair with a good setup is a must. Don’t give this advice again. It’s completely wrong dude
many of these you can only apply or learn after some years doing it
i tend to paint 2-3 minis at a time, i can't do more than that
Why are metal minis bad?
Bending, and on old enough gw minis pre white metal, drop one and they dent. As in mash all the detail flat. Rip.
Metal minis are my favorite XD
I’m trying to switch to battle tech alpha strike purely because I can paint them all differently. Can you do or do you have a video on keeping paints under control in terms of moisture? Mine start ok but they begin to “lock up” after a while even on wet paper towels, and I can’t get them to behave for freehand at all.
Question what if I was to paint just space marines but ultramarines then imperial fists then templars
Would love to know what the problem with metal minis is for you? I see a lot of average plastic and resin stuff that I’d choose metal over.
It's about handling the material - easy to bend, break apart glued parts and the primer doesn't hold as nicely. But regarding the quality of details and sculpts - sure, it can be as good as other materials.
@@Zumikito totally agree! thanks for the explanation!
is there a difference between a desk lamp and a hobby lamp?
Aaaaah deliberate practise...killing a nicely painted minaiture with shoddy osl practise was a nightmare :( It got better alot but I still flinch everytime I think I should do osl ^^
Amazing Video thanks for the tips! By the way what is the mini at the 7:00 please? Would make a perfect herald of slaanesh
Is that Kingdom Death pinup nightmare ram armor?
My biggest issue with painting miniatures is that if i screw up something i've painted and i can clearly see what i've screwed up, but i don't know how to fix that issue, i'm stuck in this loop of screwing stuff up, with no solution on how to fix it, and most of the times looking up guides or asking for help gives me no useful help to the issue at hand.
For example
Me: "Hey, i tried my second attempt at OSL, but something about it just don't seem right, i don't know what i could do to change it, would anyone offer critique on it ?"
Some person: Your basecoats are too thick, thin your paints
which firstly wasn't what i asked about and secondly if i thin my paints more than i do, the paint end up becoming an uncontrolable mess, but it's annoying how many times the only "advice" i get is "thin your paints"
Other times something in tutorials or guides or tips don't translate well over to when i paint myself, or i just simply don't understand what they mean, regardless of how many times i watch said tutorial.
which mostly end up where i just end up screwing up because i misunderstand or don't do it the exact same way (For example with how much you have to thin your paints or how to glaze, etc).
Not to mention the Barrier between whoever that does the tutorial and me.
For example once again, and to no offense to you of course, this happened with your NMM video, i tried my first attempt at it following your video, stripping the paint a bunch of times because of my multiple attempts at putting paint on, in which the paint became too thick on the miniature, and didn't look like metal regardless.
It is of course not an issue with your video, just that i have a hard time not going "how is this supposed to be THAT easy" when i look at an tutorial video and then at my own miniature.
It honestly sometimes becomes a nightmare and overwhelming i just sometimes just wanna paint for painting sake than to train and learn some new technique.
2:18 - I am very new to mini painting. I want to paint my Dark Elves in this same scheme but cant figure out how to edge highlight like this. Can anyone tell me how to do it?
I always break rule 8 😅 I have the horrible habit of doing 80+ models at a time
I need to admit I am a personalisation of mistake Nr. 10 I have been watching videos for months but am scared to start and fail. The mini building experience is very enjoyable to me while the painting is dreadful for me since I don't want to ruin my lovely sculpts.
Stop watching and start painting my dude. I would be happy to tell you to watch more of my stuff, but at some point just pull the trigger. Your first mini will suck, lower the expectations. My first minis were just drybrushed garbage, I am certain you will do better than me! 👊 Improvement will come with practice, I promise
Gosh, I dont even know what I would do with 40 hours on a single mini.
I like watching dr Faust channel for painting and recipe ideas
I use acrylic paint for my minis. Any good tips for getting the best out of them??
I use only acrylics as well so almost everything I mention works for them
I am a tutorial-holic.
From this day, I will let the paint flow.
Metal minis are AMAZING!
Instead of suggesting 40hrs on a mini to someone learning, I'd offer "learn one topic, then switch". It helps prevent burn-out. Save the "apply everything I learned" for a favorite model. Learning deliberately on a single topic means only one aspect is improved at once, but the resulting new-normal is better. Ex: work really hard on a figure's hair, but paint the rest to normal standards. Next figure work really hard on the NMM sword, but the new normal on the hair is better when you work on it in a normal fashion. Third figure, learn to paint a face better - the normal on the weaponry and the hair is improved. Repeat process, and eventually everything looks better. :)
Glad to see you here!
@@Zumikito You paint nice stuff and have logical explanations on painting :)
And a cat!
Nice video! From which artist is the miniature from the mistake 6?
Oh, I painted that one, but it's from Kingdom Death - it's called Pinup Nightmare Ram Armor
@@Zumikito thank you!
100%, I have paint buyers remorse …….
I beg to differ on the metal minis part. Granted some of them are sh1tty products, but on good brands (for example, Andrea Miniatures, Pegaso Models, Alexandros Models, to name a few) they can be great 👍
ha ha I am such a victim of number 10. It's the bane of my painting hobby.
I bought an infinity starter kit, those metal models are an absolute pain in the ass to build, i fucking hate using super glue on clunky models, I probably lost my prints on two fingers that day, thanks to that every game that comes with metal models is a hard pass for me
I'm mistake 10 xD
When you said this hobby is reliant on patience it sounded like you said pay shits if you hadn't captioned that part I would have thought you said pay shits
👀
You can - in theory - get all those colors with Kimera paints if they ever fucking have them in stock again after having given them all out to fucking RUclipsrs to advertise for them. They've been out of stock for two fucking years now.
I'm guilty of all of these.
"...but metal miniatures are dog***."
HERESY!!!!!!!
Why'd you stop doing the awkward "Bye." at the end of your videos? I miss it! 😆
Didn't feel like it was awkward 🥺 but now it's not coming back!
I decided to buy death guard. Kill me
Personally I love painting metal miniatures.
This whole video is not about mini-painting mistakes. It's about how mini painters should treat everything like it's going to be featured in an art gallery so they can get Instagram likes.
This guy uses so many techniques that take so much time, I genuinely wonder if he ever actually plays a single game these minis are meant for, because I doubt it.
Some people are painters. I could not be bothered learning to game.. not really interesting to me.. but painting models rocks. Horses 🐎 for courses
@@OldManPaints If you want to paint just to paint, do it some paper or canvas or something. These miniatures are meant to be played with on a tabletop. All you people who paint miniatures just to pretend you're artists are wasting plastic.
@@mattpace1026 And yet so many companies out there make Minis / Busts which are not related to any game whatsoever.
I paint for pleasure. I dont have time to game due to Kids, Work, life etc but i do get time every couple of days to take 2 or 3 hrs to relax and paint a mini. It can often take me over a week for one figure because i like to take it slow and think about what im doing and be critical of my own work. I couldnt care less about Instagram likes but i do care about getting better because i WANT to get better for my own satisfaction.
I think your being very judgemental and short sighted.
@@leftyhobbit7695 I'M being judgemental and short-sighted? Wow, that's a laugh. You know, I'd really love to see you justify the judgement and short-sightedness people like you give normal mini painters when they they don't pick the exact right color scheme or don't spend three hours painting a gradient highlight.
Oh, and those "busts that have nothing to do with any game?" Okay, if a company specifically releases something meant to just take up space and is honest about it, fine. You got me there.
However, my comment wasn't about products like that. It was about morons who think every single mini painter needs to spend a week on every mini making it look like it's gonna be in an art gallery. It completely discourages newcomers and it's one of the biggest reasons so many people get turned off of what could've been an enjoyable hobby for them.
@@mattpace1026 I have been painting minis since you were..a twinkle in yer daddy's eye. I paint minis to put them in a cabinet and look at them.....I have no time for messing about with tape measures etc...you do it though if that is your thing. * I don't touch plastic minis.
3:45 the hell are you on about, metal minis dogshit? Never seen Corvus Belli Infinity I guess.
I am not talking about quality, I am talking about other issues that come up with that material - they tend to easily bend, if you have to glue them they also break apart rather easily and even the primer doesn't stick to them as well as to plastic minis. But sure, there are metal minis that are high quality, no doubt about that
The answer is to:
- wash the minis in IPA, best with an ultrasound or at least scrub with soap and warm water
- use polyurethane primers and good ones, not Vallejo; the MiG One Shot and Badger Stynylrez are excellent (rebrands of the same thing, though Stynylrez tends to be a bit thicker)
- bending is actually a blessing, much easier to adjust a poorly fitting thing than with plastic that breaks or resin that crumbles
i don't get why you would want to paint non metallic metal. I've been painting for years now and everytime i see it i'm thinking "that looks so shitty". I just don't get it why people ruin their model like that willingly
Actual metallics at small scale don't look credible - that's you people paint volumetric highlights (even on less reflective surfaces) as well, to add volume to the model, so it doesn't feel flat.
Dude, you are good guy with a great channel.. but METAL miniatures are “🐶💩” Naaaaaa! My metal minis sit on the shelf accumulating worth whilst plastic and resin minis are literally “painted trash”. Nobody will keep or cherish them in 30 years. Metal all the way!!!!🤘🏽🎸