I use some Costco special 3.00+ readers. Comfortable and cheap. Imho if the detail is so small that it is difficult to be seen at that level no one is ever going to see it in normal lighting.
$49 desk lamp, (LED bulbs in a circle) with a magnifier in the middle. Flexible neck on the lamp base. Works great, can see details wonderfully. I have a portable set of specs similar to yours Jon, that I use when i am painting away from the desk.
I own the CraftOptics Magnifying Eyeglasses. They are both expensive and worth it. I purchased them to help me work with my electronics projects and soldering and since then they have been useful for everything from miniature painting to removing slivers and repairing jewelry. Since I have worn glasses my entire life since I was about 10yrs old, $500 for a pair of glasses was nothing as I have stigmatism and have paid $1000 in the past for lenses and frames. While my vision has changes since I purchased them a few years ago, I have needed to update them as the magnifiers work fine. They did work with my eye doctor to get the lenses correct and my eye doctor even helped me make sure they were fitted correctly once I received them. It is the only way I can enjoy painting miniatures as get older. I have tried 3x readers and others but the change in focal length and always needing to be a certain distance killed anything else I tried. Now I use them. They are expensive but I feel if you do a lot of other close-up work, they are worth it.
Thank you. This is a very helpful information. As I'm wearing glasses my whole live I would never by glasses online. But having your doctor involved makes a big difference!
I appreciate the philosophical monologue. While I’ve built a few miniatures, they are not my normal subject. However, your points are relevant to any model. I’m glad to hear you share some of the deeper thoughts that are part of the process. As professional builders grow, there’s so much more that goes into painting/assembly/scratch-building, etc. occasionally we just need to share them to help others get even better. And ultimately, maximize the fun and enjoyment we have!
my friend biught me some magnifiers, ive been painting for nearly 30years... it feels like im learning to paint again, absolutely brilliant (I also think my eyes are going!) love Ninjon |"i'm just gonna mess around and knock out a quick paint job"... goes on to produce a model slightly better than I could achieve in my dreams! great stuff.
This actually just happened to me last night. I was wrapping up a paint job on Ghost from ASoIaF and was really proud of how good it looked. Grabbed my phone for some pics and it was the derpiest, saddest doggo I ever did see. Grabbed up my rarely used magnifiers and got him fixed up. I will be using them far more going forward!
I feel you so much with this. It really helps my mental health painting miniatures. For me I also love to change projects for this because it makes painting more interesting. E.g. I change between infinity, freebooters fate and moonstone. All amazing models but so different characters in sculpting. Just simple fun and recovery after a hard week of work and it really helped me recover after a really hard year. Hope you will be always good and will always find the fun and love in your painting as you do. It always shows, because even your fast paintjobs are just amazing and your way of telling the story of it is just perfect. Just keep being the way you are, you are amazing!
I recently bought a magnifying table lamp - so far it has been a positive experience, it really helps seeing the small details, even for a beginner painter like myself 🙂
Same dude. It's pretty much the only circumstance I've encountered where my hilariously bad nearsightedness is actually beneficial. 😂 My wife has informed me that I look funny when I hold the models that close to my face to paint though. I might or might not have gotten paint on my nose a couple times...
A side effect I did not know about to Lasik is that I can no longer see as you do. My myopic vision was correct to 20/20 but the built-in magnifying effect of the myopia was removed. I absolutely regret getting Lasik now.
@@jasonregan2064 I was wondering about that. Was told a while ago I could have that done but decided not to do it. At this point my glasses are part of "me" and I would feal strange not using them now.
@@jasonregan2064 Wow, that's quite alarming to hear. I guess Lasik is reverting sight to a baseline as opposed to just repairing the negative side. I suppose it makes sense in a way, but really isn't something you would consider. Sorry it went that way for you dude.
If you struggle to wear the glasses magnifiers (they make me nauseous) grab yourself a magnifier lamp. You can get them in a variety of magnification and they come with the LEDs around the outside of the magnifier lens, which makes seeing the model so much easier!
I agree 100 percent. The lamp isn't a weight that hangs off the end of my face. I have the imbedded led lights as well, and this initially was causing me to paint too dark. So I reduced to power of the lights to the minimum, and this created an environment closer to the top of my table.
I bought one of the desktop magnifiers years ago and I will never paint without one again. You don't have to spend a lot of money and they're extremely useful.
Thank you for this video. I completely agree having purchased a cheap set of magnifiers from a hobby shop, it has changed my entire view of the minature.
It might help to put some kind of diffuser over that strong light to aid in reducing the blow out you're referring to for the magnifiers. A piece of white copy/tracing paper or a small scrap of white fabric should work well.
At my age I find my cheapo, over my glasses, magnifiers from Amazon essential just to be able to work out what all the otherwise blurry details are on the model. The only downside is how much it screws with my depth perception !
That's about the most vibrant orc skin that I've seen yet! I've been using a simple magnifier I got on eBay a couple years back that clips onto my glasses, and it's been seeing a lot more use of late ever since I got new glasses a few months back. For some reason they work better with my new glasses and I'm not complaining. It's become very important to me of late to have them on because they really do make my life easier.
Magnifying glasses were a game changer for me, i didn't realize how much i was straining my eyes until seeing you and Vince using them and i gave them a try.
Thanks for doing a great video again! It was surprising how over time my eye sight just isn't what it used to be, and a new magnifier really put me back in the mood because I could see ever detail again, and really work on my brush technique. The ones I found at Harbor Freight only ran about $13 (Head Lamp Magnifier #:58788) and made a night and day difference!
I really appreciate you showing what paints / mediums you're using during the video. I love the skin colour and want to try to replicate it and you've made that much easier. Thanks for another great video!
i always had issue painting eye lenses and tiny details before hand cause my hands shake a little and i hard a hard time seeing the details but with a cheap magnifying glasses i got on amazon made it so much easier to do all my painting not just small details i recommend them alot.
Loved the relaxed approach. Also, magnifiers for the win! I am getting older and my aging vision meant that I could not see to paint as I wished. Magnifers, (like your Amazon ones). brought me back into the hobby.
Magnifiers are gold! Cheap $12 pairs are perfect. I prefer the ones that have a soft elastic strap that wraps around the head, instead of traditional glasses arms. Same price. Awesome video!
I got the cheap magnifiers when you did the last video on them a while back. Love them and can't imagine going back to before I had them. Well worth the $12
I have a few jeweler's loops, a desk lamp-magnifier combo and some readers. I paint more than minis. In a pinch, I'll even set up my phone which has a decent macro feature.
as usual, i really enjoyed your video- especially because i've recently been through a similar journey with regards to using magnifiers. i've owned optivisors my whole life- i still have a head set my dad owned back in the 80s. optivisors are really great, but the problem with single lens magnifiers like the optivisor is that the stronger your magnification the shorter the focal length. this means that if you want to use strong magnification with a single lens you have to hold the mini really close for it to be in focus which has always bothered me a bit. so i have go to my dentist and- low and behold- she's started using a pair of dentists loupes that work similar to the really nice magnifying lenses you had in your video, but much longer and oriented down using mirrors so that my dentist actually has to tilt her head up a little to look down through her set of lenses. they were really cool, the best part being that since they use multiple lenses the focal length is much, much longer than my optivisors. seeing these cool loupes inspired me so i started doing research only to discover how expensive the really nice set are. however... the sell much cheaper loupes on amazon and ebay! keep in mind these are the harbor-freight of loupes, so they're made of metal and one size fits all but they do work. i bought a pair for around $30 and they work pretty well. they are very heavy so i have to use a strap on my glasses to it doesn't hurt my nose if i wear them for too long. using them i can hold my mini's at a much more comfortable distance.
Hi! Our background is actually dentistry. Our owners introduced this type of magnification to dentistry in the early 1980s. Optically, they are similar though lighter in weight than the dental units. Craftoptics look heavier than they are, weighing only 48 grams. The light adds 7 grams. CraftOptics was started in 2009 because the patients of our dentist customers wanted the glasses for their crafts!
I am 60, magnifiers are a Must. I have a 40x with a gooseneck clamped to the worktop. I have 2.75 cheaters and some flip down, up close over the back of the head ones. They all get used at some point. Whether I am plumbing a 1/25th scale top fuel dragster engine, or doing the small things on a space marine. The ability to see it means I will paint it well and be happy. And that is the entire reason I do this. It makes me happy.
Cheap magnifying glasses from amazon were a game changer. The big think I found helpful was being able to see the paint flow off the brush like you can see in all these lovely closeup videos on youtube. It was like, ah! I understand now! I've been getting loads of adverts recently the loupes (the kind of thing dentists wear) and I keep thinking they'd be really good, then I look at the price 😬
I got the cheap version after watching this video and holy cheezeballs batman, what a difference. Even with base coats and making sure I've filled in everything in the lines the glasses have made a huge difference. They also require the painter to stay in a proper posture, or at least better than my normal shrimp pose. Best 13 dollar hobby tool for sure.
Thanks for this video. After years of painting i have felt i have hit a plateau and like what i make but am nervous to push myself. The part about the scales was a great point and I just started infinity and this is a great tip to make me try some new stuff. Love the content please keep it up.
Another good option is reading glasses, I got some with 6x magnification and they're just as good as my magnifiers (and as cheap), but they're way more comfortable.
I started using magnifying glasses a few months back. It is indeed a gamechanger (being 56 years of age). It is still trail and error when it comes to glasses versus a fixed magnifying glass on a stand, magnification, etc..... But yes, I don't paint without them anymore.
Magnifiers are invaluable for close-up work. I think mine were something like £19 off Amazon, It's kinda like a safety goggle, but with four sets of interchangeable lenses, that clip into the headband part (a lot like Jon's do) with a built-in USB-rechargeable LED headlight. Sometimes if I drop something on the carpet, I'll just take the lens out and use the headlight to help find it. 😜
No doubt that magnifier are real game changers. Am using mine since 1 year now. Amnot only for painting but also for building models. Every day. 4h a day. And it's an incredible help. BUT: I noticed my eyes are getting real worse and I now need glasses for reading.
That's where something like what we have comes in. We install your reader into the frames, then the magnifiers drop down in front of the reader, so they work together. When you flip up the magnifiers, you still see through your readers. If you ever have any questions, let us know. Even if we aren't for you, we're happy to answer your questions and help.
i used to have excellent near vision because my distance vision was trash and I had a focal point close to my face. Got Lasik surgery and it changed that. had to get some loops. a real lifesaver.
I have gone through 3 sets til I'm happy with the magnifying headband , which is great as I sear glasses and the headband allows me to keep my glasses on with no issue.
I am continually amazed at the progress you’ve made in your painting since the inception of your channel. You started out as very good painter and quickly developed into an excellent painter and are rapidly progressing into an exceptional artist. I am a huge fanboy of Vince Venturella (not sure if you’ve heard of him) and find your channel to be as valuable a resource as his… almost 😊. Seriously though Jon you are amazing as an artist and as an instructor and a huge inspiration to me . Keep up the good work!
I bought two different pairs of "surgical loupes", which look like the ones shown here, many years ago. I never could get them to work for me, no amount of adjustment made it feel comfortable at all. I always felt like the field of view was too small and I wanted them closer to my eyeballs to make it work decently (but they couldn't get closer, since there are glasses in the way). They've been sitting in a drawer now for the past 10+ years. Instead I use cheap reading glasses and find they work much better. But I do agree that magnification is great. It can even make your hands more steady when working on really tiny details.
Dentistry and surgery is our background! There is wide variety of surgical loupes on the market, many have poor quality optics (fish-eye effect or fuzzy around the endges) and as you mentioned, positioned too far away from your eyes. The further away the oculars, the smaller the field, which you experienced. We always encourage our customers to set the oculars right up against the lenses in the frames for a wider field. We also position the magnifiers low in the frame, where a bifocal would normally be positioned so you can still have peripheral vision above and to the sides. Eye strain can result from: 1) Not having your prescription or reader (if you wear them) installed in the frames. The magnifiers should be an enhancement to your corrected vision, not a substitute for it. Otherwise, you are amplifying uncorrected vision and your eyes struggle to see, 2) Sitting closer to your work than the working distance of the magnifiers--this one is very common. Doing this will definitely be uncomfortable, and 3) Pulling the optics away from your eyes, which you already know. Check out the videos on our website at www.craftoptics.com for more information if you are interested. Thank you!Dentistry and surgery is our background
Ninjon from your own perspective were they better than the clip-on magnifiers? As I wear glasses as well and most are annoying at best I wanted your personnel experience in using them physically if they made a difference compared to the clip-on and were worth the investment.
Dental loupes are very good. They don't fog easily, and they often come with accessories to use a camera on them. Mike Dental and BoNew are reasonably priced on your favourite rainforest named online store (had to write it that way as my comment gets deleted if I include the brand) around £50 buys very robust loupes.
As someone without HD Eyeballs, I've been using an Architect's Magnifier for years. It's a desk mounted lamp with either a weighted base or a clamp, and you can usually get one for between $30-60 USD. Usually they come in 10-50 power, which is *significantly* more magnification than anything you can attach to your glasses. Plus you have a light source right there! It does take a bit of practice getting the focus right without hitting the lamp, but once you get that distance right then you'll find it does wonders for cleaning up little bits that are hard to see with the naked eye but make the model look smudged. The glasses-mounted ones are good for people with okay eyesight, but if you have baaaaad vision then go bigger with more magnification.
Now that I'm in my early 40s, I need magnification for almost everything I'm doing when it comes to painting or clearing mold lines. I've hit that stage where my eyes can't focus properly on something if I hold it a foot or less in front of my face. Magnification is a massive game changer, and to tie it in with the title, it probably is the most important thing to allow me to do a good job. (The cheap ones you have here are the ones I've been using for quite some time now, and it's been a great buy)
I picked up those cheap magnifiers, and i really like them. My only complaint is the LED light dims in about 5 min. Not battery dead, i already tried replacing the battery, it just dims and i have to turn the led off fir a bit to rest it and it starts out bright again, for 5 min.
Getting a magnifier was definitely what was needed to get to the lext level. I was amazed on the quality bump i was able to achieve. Spent less than 30 after shipping. Worth every penny.
Getting a new pair of magnifiers today, I wasn't getting enough with my 3.5x lenses and got a cheap watch makers magnifiers that can go up to 20x for the overkill of it all
what the magnifier headband gave me and my hobby was headache, what worked for me was a desktop lamp that has a x3 big round magnifier glass, but different strokes for different folks
I am old with weak eyes and I use those same cheap amazon glasses. Coupled with a bright light they make painting a joy, whereas if I try to paint without them I feel like I can't see everything I need to and I end up trying to guess where the details are. They also allow me to sit more upright in my chair instead of hunching over and trying to get closer and closer to the model.
Found Micro Rose Magnifier at Origins convention as well which are the ones dentists and doctors use. The frames were great and allowed for use when the frames on the cheap ones were a hindrance
If you want a higher than 3x-5x magnification - magnifiers are very bad. The focus ahifts closer to the glass, to a point where you have to hold the model inches away from your face. Above 10x you also can't use both eyes effectively because the focal point of your lenses doesn't work like that. What I recommend instead is a phone holder and your cellphone, using a camera or magnifying glass app. This can go up to 30x-50x magnification without losing focus. Of course it depends on your camera, but I guarantee it will be miles better than magnifiers
My advice would be to look at the magnifying reading glasses intended for older people. They are cheap, and they are designed for binocular vision. My local chemist has them up to 20X, which is very disorientating at first; they made me feel travel sick, but after a period of adjustment, they're quite useful. And they're more comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. Another benefit, my headset magnifiers can cause spots on the area the band goes across my face (at 43 years old, spots are welcome reminder of my youth 😂 but younger people will probably want to avoid them) but magnifying glasses don't have that problem.
Not necessarily: the point of paying more for high-end "loupes" like the CraftOptics magnifiers is that they can change the focus distance. Their opticians will work with you to figure out how far away you need to focus, and adjust the prescription and setup accordingly. (They'll even exchange it if the focus distance isn't quite right.) Even at $500, the CraftOptics magnifiers (which also include a pair of prescription glasses) are a much cheaper version of the mega-expensive "dental loupes" used by dentists, which can run thousands of dollars. They often have 6x magnification or more, yet focus at a distance of several *feet* so that the dentist can maintain an upright body posture yet see fine details at arms' length as they work on your teeth.
I've been returning to painting after a 20+ year break. The biggest difference is I now wear glasses. I tried reading glasses but I still need my prescription ones if I need to look away to my PC or such, so I ended up having to often hot swap glasses. I switched to a headband style magnifier so that I could wear it with my regular specs and be able to glance down or past them for stuff close to me, or push it up slightly to see my monitor.
I had perfect vision until my early 40’s. At 53, I wear progressive glasses and can not paint minis at all without magnifying glasses. At this point In probably spoiled with it too. I don’t even want to look at anything close up without some sort of magnification tool.
Great video. Nice mix of painting tips and product options. Looking forward to seeing you Adepticon piece in person. I’ll be attending my first Adepticon next year. Trying to decide if I should through my hat in the ring and push myself. But I have no idea what to do for it.
Greetings from across The Pond 🙋♂ I bought one of those cheap head magnifiers, when I returned to hobby, about 2.5 years ago; either Amazon, or eBay, can't remember which? 🤔 The only drawback I found, was after a long painting session, I would get either a headache, or the bridge of my nose would ache. Now, the Hobby Gods must have been looking down on me, because one day, whilst out walking to a friend's, I happened upon a skip outside a house that was being refurbed, and stood next to the skip, was one of those standard magnifying lamps - like the one's tattooists and nail parlours use; it had a note attached saying, "Free to a kind home", so I took it 🤨🤔😏🤏😗 All it needed for it to work, was an electric lead, which I bought for a great price online - just over £7 including p+p! 🛋💡🔍 It has really upped my game, and the old head magnifier I gave to a friend, who has found that his painting as improved a lot as well! 👨🎨🎨🖌👌 These things are such a great aid for this wonderful hobby, every hobbyist should invest in one, even those cheapies on Amazon and eBay are worth having 👍
Thanks for this relaxing session, anyone else looking for a brighter work station area ? Looking for something even wall mounted to brighten my workstation and other parts of the room where my 3D filament printer hangs out. Thanks again for your time and sharing. 👍👍👍
i buy mine afther this video and o men are soo good to have have a loot of zoom that i can change, but the best part now i paint details without much fear cause now i really see the little details
I love my magnifiers. I don't need to wear my glasses to paint with them. Plus, the set I have has a small throw, high intensity light built in so I get to see all of my mistakes up close.
To answer the question that open this video. Yes I literally do that very thing, being ADHD or similar issue (have counselors filled out a questionnaire and they said it was likely) it helps me focus and distracts me from that A-hole customer that I think about constantly because OCD not the super neat freak type.
The only issue I ran into with the cheap Amazon magnifiers: They snapped after about 18 months of use. I got another pair, and 18 months later, same failure, same location. The swoopy design of the various folks who are all making the same basic magnifiers concentrates all the stress in the same spot, and eventually leads the plastic there to failure. At least, on my head that's what happens. And my hat size is pretty average. I can imagine they'd fail faster on folks with larger heads. I ended up going with more of a head-band style rather than glasses-style magnifier for a few bucks more. So far, so good. This one hasn't broken yet.
You're in one of the best places for help and advice. Vince Venturella is an invaluable source, and Miniac is very entertaining, as is Ninjon. Trovarion is another channel worth watching for tips. Stahly is an excellent source for paint reviews. If I can help, or anyone else here, just ask mate. I'm no expert, but I have learned to make many mistakes so I could help you avoid some of those 😂😂
This was the kind of how-to video I didn't know I needed. More like this, please!
I use some Costco special 3.00+ readers. Comfortable and cheap. Imho if the detail is so small that it is difficult to be seen at that level no one is ever going to see it in normal lighting.
He said a few times 🧐...Using the magnifying tool helps with not making so many mistakes. Which in return saves time. That alone is worth it.
if you take a picture and post it online, EVERYONE is going to see it the same....
Mix those with clip on 3.5x magnifier that don't slide off.
@@mcspiffington not really because you can zoom in with your phone...if there was only a way you can zoom in 🤔 in real life ...😐 (Magnifying tool)
same
$49 desk lamp, (LED bulbs in a circle) with a magnifier in the middle. Flexible neck on the lamp base. Works great, can see details wonderfully. I have a portable set of specs similar to yours Jon, that I use when i am painting away from the desk.
I own the CraftOptics Magnifying Eyeglasses. They are both expensive and worth it. I purchased them to help me work with my electronics projects and soldering and since then they have been useful for everything from miniature painting to removing slivers and repairing jewelry. Since I have worn glasses my entire life since I was about 10yrs old, $500 for a pair of glasses was nothing as I have stigmatism and have paid $1000 in the past for lenses and frames. While my vision has changes since I purchased them a few years ago, I have needed to update them as the magnifiers work fine. They did work with my eye doctor to get the lenses correct and my eye doctor even helped me make sure they were fitted correctly once I received them. It is the only way I can enjoy painting miniatures as get older. I have tried 3x readers and others but the change in focal length and always needing to be a certain distance killed anything else I tried. Now I use them. They are expensive but I feel if you do a lot of other close-up work, they are worth it.
Thank you. This is a very helpful information. As I'm wearing glasses my whole live I would never by glasses online. But having your doctor involved makes a big difference!
I appreciate the philosophical monologue. While I’ve built a few miniatures, they are not my normal subject. However, your points are relevant to any model. I’m glad to hear you share some of the deeper thoughts that are part of the process. As professional builders grow, there’s so much more that goes into painting/assembly/scratch-building, etc. occasionally we just need to share them to help others get even better. And ultimately, maximize the fun and enjoyment we have!
my friend biught me some magnifiers, ive been painting for nearly 30years... it feels like im learning to paint again, absolutely brilliant (I also think my eyes are going!)
love Ninjon |"i'm just gonna mess around and knock out a quick paint job"... goes on to produce a model slightly better than I could achieve in my dreams!
great stuff.
This actually just happened to me last night. I was wrapping up a paint job on Ghost from ASoIaF and was really proud of how good it looked. Grabbed my phone for some pics and it was the derpiest, saddest doggo I ever did see. Grabbed up my rarely used magnifiers and got him fixed up. I will be using them far more going forward!
I feel you so much with this. It really helps my mental health painting miniatures. For me I also love to change projects for this because it makes painting more interesting. E.g. I change between infinity, freebooters fate and moonstone. All amazing models but so different characters in sculpting. Just simple fun and recovery after a hard week of work and it really helped me recover after a really hard year. Hope you will be always good and will always find the fun and love in your painting as you do. It always shows, because even your fast paintjobs are just amazing and your way of telling the story of it is just perfect. Just keep being the way you are, you are amazing!
Your lightheaded and fast videos are actually my favorites! I'm glad they rejuvenate you as well.
I recently bought a magnifying table lamp - so far it has been a positive experience, it really helps seeing the small details, even for a beginner painter like myself 🙂
An odd benefit of my vision correction. I am hyper near-sighted so for tiny details I just need to take my glasses off 😂
Same dude. It's pretty much the only circumstance I've encountered where my hilariously bad nearsightedness is actually beneficial. 😂
My wife has informed me that I look funny when I hold the models that close to my face to paint though. I might or might not have gotten paint on my nose a couple times...
@@tcuegonbear I can neither confirm nor deny whether paint has got on my nose or not. maybe. 😶
A side effect I did not know about to Lasik is that I can no longer see as you do. My myopic vision was correct to 20/20 but the built-in magnifying effect of the myopia was removed. I absolutely regret getting Lasik now.
@@jasonregan2064 I was wondering about that. Was told a while ago I could have that done but decided not to do it. At this point my glasses are part of "me" and I would feal strange not using them now.
@@jasonregan2064 Wow, that's quite alarming to hear. I guess Lasik is reverting sight to a baseline as opposed to just repairing the negative side. I suppose it makes sense in a way, but really isn't something you would consider. Sorry it went that way for you dude.
I 100% agree with you! Magnifying glasses are awesome. I also use them on every project and it makes life so much easier.
Nice to see a top tier professional like you use washes. Therapy/Fun painting is my wheelhouse.
If you struggle to wear the glasses magnifiers (they make me nauseous) grab yourself a magnifier lamp. You can get them in a variety of magnification and they come with the LEDs around the outside of the magnifier lens, which makes seeing the model so much easier!
I agree 100 percent. The lamp isn't a weight that hangs off the end of my face. I have the imbedded led lights as well, and this initially was causing me to paint too dark. So I reduced to power of the lights to the minimum, and this created an environment closer to the top of my table.
I bought one of the desktop magnifiers years ago and I will never paint without one again. You don't have to spend a lot of money and they're extremely useful.
That's what I use and it's great
Bought a cheap one for electronics repair years ago and I'm finding it's great for miniature painting. Highly recommend
Thank you for this video. I completely agree having purchased a cheap set of magnifiers from a hobby shop, it has changed my entire view of the minature.
It might help to put some kind of diffuser over that strong light to aid in reducing the blow out you're referring to for the magnifiers. A piece of white copy/tracing paper or a small scrap of white fabric should work well.
im currently using a cosmetic led light magnifier but the glasses look a lot more comfortable. Keep up the great work love the channel
At my age I find my cheapo, over my glasses, magnifiers from Amazon essential just to be able to work out what all the otherwise blurry details are on the model. The only downside is how much it screws with my depth perception !
great spirit and personality brother. Thanks for helping me find my passions.
It's crazy how easy Ninjon makes it look to get contrast and depth on his models.
That's about the most vibrant orc skin that I've seen yet! I've been using a simple magnifier I got on eBay a couple years back that clips onto my glasses, and it's been seeing a lot more use of late ever since I got new glasses a few months back. For some reason they work better with my new glasses and I'm not complaining. It's become very important to me of late to have them on because they really do make my life easier.
Magnifying glasses were a game changer for me, i didn't realize how much i was straining my eyes until seeing you and Vince using them and i gave them a try.
Thanks for doing a great video again! It was surprising how over time my eye sight just isn't what it used to be, and a new magnifier really put me back in the mood because I could see ever detail again, and really work on my brush technique. The ones I found at Harbor Freight only ran about $13 (Head Lamp Magnifier #:58788) and made a night and day difference!
Was very nice to hear your thought process of how you approach it ! Thank you !
I really appreciate you showing what paints / mediums you're using during the video. I love the skin colour and want to try to replicate it and you've made that much easier. Thanks for another great video!
i always had issue painting eye lenses and tiny details before hand cause my hands shake a little and i hard a hard time seeing the details but with a cheap magnifying glasses i got on amazon made it so much easier to do all my painting not just small details i recommend them alot.
Loved the relaxed approach. Also, magnifiers for the win! I am getting older and my aging vision meant that I could not see to paint as I wished. Magnifers, (like your Amazon ones). brought me back into the hobby.
I've been with you for the last two years, and I have to say - this is my favorite video of yours. Love it, man.
This video really made something click with me and wanted to say thanks Ninjon! Slaying the grey this weekend.
I use cheap 4 power reading glasses available from supermarkets. You can get lightweight ones that don't tire your eyes.
Magnifiers are gold! Cheap $12 pairs are perfect. I prefer the ones that have a soft elastic strap that wraps around the head, instead of traditional glasses arms. Same price. Awesome video!
Great video! Loved the combo of watching you paint something and hearing a tidbit of wisdom.
I got the cheap magnifiers when you did the last video on them a while back. Love them and can't imagine going back to before I had them. Well worth the $12
I have a few jeweler's loops, a desk lamp-magnifier combo and some readers. I paint more than minis. In a pinch, I'll even set up my phone which has a decent macro feature.
as usual, i really enjoyed your video- especially because i've recently been through a similar journey with regards to using magnifiers.
i've owned optivisors my whole life- i still have a head set my dad owned back in the 80s. optivisors are really great, but the problem with single lens magnifiers like the optivisor is that the stronger your magnification the shorter the focal length. this means that if you want to use strong magnification with a single lens you have to hold the mini really close for it to be in focus which has always bothered me a bit.
so i have go to my dentist and- low and behold- she's started using a pair of dentists loupes that work similar to the really nice magnifying lenses you had in your video, but much longer and oriented down using mirrors so that my dentist actually has to tilt her head up a little to look down through her set of lenses. they were really cool, the best part being that since they use multiple lenses the focal length is much, much longer than my optivisors.
seeing these cool loupes inspired me so i started doing research only to discover how expensive the really nice set are. however... the sell much cheaper loupes on amazon and ebay! keep in mind these are the harbor-freight of loupes, so they're made of metal and one size fits all but they do work. i bought a pair for around $30 and they work pretty well. they are very heavy so i have to use a strap on my glasses to it doesn't hurt my nose if i wear them for too long. using them i can hold my mini's at a much more comfortable distance.
Hi! Our background is actually dentistry. Our owners introduced this type of magnification to dentistry in the early 1980s. Optically, they are similar though lighter in weight than the dental units. Craftoptics look heavier than they are, weighing only 48 grams. The light adds 7 grams. CraftOptics was started in 2009 because the patients of our dentist customers wanted the glasses for their crafts!
Quick projects are the best! I’ve been having a BLAST knocking out single Poxwalkers with just a 3-color prime and some contrast paint.
I am 60, magnifiers are a Must. I have a 40x with a gooseneck clamped to the worktop. I have 2.75 cheaters and some flip down, up close over the back of the head ones. They all get used at some point. Whether I am plumbing a 1/25th scale top fuel dragster engine, or doing the small things on a space marine. The ability to see it means I will paint it well and be happy.
And that is the entire reason I do this. It makes me happy.
Cheap magnifying glasses from amazon were a game changer. The big think I found helpful was being able to see the paint flow off the brush like you can see in all these lovely closeup videos on youtube. It was like, ah! I understand now!
I've been getting loads of adverts recently the loupes (the kind of thing dentists wear) and I keep thinking they'd be really good, then I look at the price 😬
I got the cheap version after watching this video and holy cheezeballs batman, what a difference. Even with base coats and making sure I've filled in everything in the lines the glasses have made a huge difference. They also require the painter to stay in a proper posture, or at least better than my normal shrimp pose. Best 13 dollar hobby tool for sure.
The opening gag is me every time. “Hey this looks good” magnifier on “oh my god I have so much to clean up!”
Thanks for this video. After years of painting i have felt i have hit a plateau and like what i make but am nervous to push myself. The part about the scales was a great point and I just started infinity and this is a great tip to make me try some new stuff. Love the content please keep it up.
Great tips as always Jon. I'm definitely going to give the yellow zenithal a try especially on more dynamic models
I use something similar. My paint light has a magnifier built into it, which is a huge help.
Got myself a cheap pair from a different store - no more than $10. Absolutely love mine.
Another good option is reading glasses, I got some with 6x magnification and they're just as good as my magnifiers (and as cheap), but they're way more comfortable.
I love your style of speed painting, and seeing it evolve from the space dwarf inspired by craftworldstudio to this 😊 gonna have to try this some day
Mate you are just knocking it out of the park with your vids ATM, just great to watch. Love it.
I started using magnifying glasses a few months back. It is indeed a gamechanger (being 56 years of age). It is still trail and error when it comes to glasses versus a fixed magnifying glass on a stand, magnification, etc..... But yes, I don't paint without them anymore.
Magnifiers are invaluable for close-up work. I think mine were something like £19 off Amazon, It's kinda like a safety goggle, but with four sets of interchangeable lenses, that clip into the headband part (a lot like Jon's do) with a built-in USB-rechargeable LED headlight.
Sometimes if I drop something on the carpet, I'll just take the lens out and use the headlight to help find it. 😜
That skin is fantastic, love it.
No doubt that magnifier are real game changers.
Am using mine since 1 year now. Amnot only for painting but also for building models. Every day. 4h a day. And it's an incredible help.
BUT: I noticed my eyes are getting real worse and I now need glasses for reading.
That's where something like what we have comes in. We install your reader into the frames, then the magnifiers drop down in front of the reader, so they work together. When you flip up the magnifiers, you still see through your readers. If you ever have any questions, let us know. Even if we aren't for you, we're happy to answer your questions and help.
i used to have excellent near vision because my distance vision was trash and I had a focal point close to my face. Got Lasik surgery and it changed that. had to get some loops. a real lifesaver.
I have gone through 3 sets til I'm happy with the magnifying headband , which is great as I sear glasses and the headband allows me to keep my glasses on with no issue.
I am continually amazed at the progress you’ve made in your painting since the inception of your channel. You started out as very good painter and quickly developed into an excellent painter and are rapidly progressing into an exceptional artist. I am a huge fanboy of Vince Venturella (not sure if you’ve heard of him) and find your channel to be as valuable a resource as his… almost 😊. Seriously though Jon you are amazing as an artist and as an instructor and a huge inspiration to me . Keep up the good work!
I bought two different pairs of "surgical loupes", which look like the ones shown here, many years ago. I never could get them to work for me, no amount of adjustment made it feel comfortable at all. I always felt like the field of view was too small and I wanted them closer to my eyeballs to make it work decently (but they couldn't get closer, since there are glasses in the way). They've been sitting in a drawer now for the past 10+ years. Instead I use cheap reading glasses and find they work much better.
But I do agree that magnification is great. It can even make your hands more steady when working on really tiny details.
Dentistry and surgery is our background! There is wide variety of surgical loupes on the market, many have poor quality optics (fish-eye effect or fuzzy around the endges) and as you mentioned, positioned too far away from your eyes. The further away the oculars, the smaller the field, which you experienced. We always encourage our customers to set the oculars right up against the lenses in the frames for a wider field. We also position the magnifiers low in the frame, where a bifocal would normally be positioned so you can still have peripheral vision above and to the sides. Eye strain can result from: 1) Not having your prescription or reader (if you wear them) installed in the frames. The magnifiers should be an enhancement to your corrected vision, not a substitute for it. Otherwise, you are amplifying uncorrected vision and your eyes struggle to see, 2) Sitting closer to your work than the working distance of the magnifiers--this one is very common. Doing this will definitely be uncomfortable, and 3) Pulling the optics away from your eyes, which you already know. Check out the videos on our website at www.craftoptics.com for more information if you are interested. Thank you!Dentistry and surgery is our background
Ninjon from your own perspective were they better than the clip-on magnifiers? As I wear glasses as well and most are annoying at best I wanted your personnel experience in using them physically if they made a difference compared to the clip-on and were worth the investment.
Loupes for the win can’t say enough!
Dental loupes are very good. They don't fog easily, and they often come with accessories to use a camera on them. Mike Dental and BoNew are reasonably priced on your favourite rainforest named online store (had to write it that way as my comment gets deleted if I include the brand) around £50 buys very robust loupes.
I have a desk mounted magnifier lamp. Can't paint without it now!
As someone without HD Eyeballs, I've been using an Architect's Magnifier for years. It's a desk mounted lamp with either a weighted base or a clamp, and you can usually get one for between $30-60 USD. Usually they come in 10-50 power, which is *significantly* more magnification than anything you can attach to your glasses. Plus you have a light source right there! It does take a bit of practice getting the focus right without hitting the lamp, but once you get that distance right then you'll find it does wonders for cleaning up little bits that are hard to see with the naked eye but make the model look smudged. The glasses-mounted ones are good for people with okay eyesight, but if you have baaaaad vision then go bigger with more magnification.
Love all these new videos recently!
Now that I'm in my early 40s, I need magnification for almost everything I'm doing when it comes to painting or clearing mold lines. I've hit that stage where my eyes can't focus properly on something if I hold it a foot or less in front of my face. Magnification is a massive game changer, and to tie it in with the title, it probably is the most important thing to allow me to do a good job. (The cheap ones you have here are the ones I've been using for quite some time now, and it's been a great buy)
The choice of a bright green is a bold one, which I will copy, it's striking.
I picked up those cheap magnifiers, and i really like them. My only complaint is the LED light dims in about 5 min. Not battery dead, i already tried replacing the battery, it just dims and i have to turn the led off fir a bit to rest it and it starts out bright again, for 5 min.
Getting a magnifier was definitely what was needed to get to the lext level. I was amazed on the quality bump i was able to achieve. Spent less than 30 after shipping. Worth every penny.
this was a pretty chill video, realy enjoyed this one
Ninjon looks like a Tim Burton villain sidekick in the thumbnail.
I know Sloth would approve. Well done as always my man, informative and entertaining!!
Menards has a spin rack with multiple magnifiers for. IDK the price now but when I got mine they were $7.
i use magnifiers too! Its really great for painting
❤️ this one Jon. Great philosophy…. Enjoy relax and paint 👌🏻
😂 that into was pure GOLD!!!❤
Awesome to see you doing Warcrow. Hope to see more in the future
Incredible thumbnail- absolutely fantastic sir
Getting a new pair of magnifiers today, I wasn't getting enough with my 3.5x lenses and got a cheap watch makers magnifiers that can go up to 20x for the overkill of it all
what the magnifier headband gave me and my hobby was headache, what worked for me was a desktop lamp that has a x3 big round magnifier glass, but different strokes for different folks
I am old with weak eyes and I use those same cheap amazon glasses. Coupled with a bright light they make painting a joy, whereas if I try to paint without them I feel like I can't see everything I need to and I end up trying to guess where the details are.
They also allow me to sit more upright in my chair instead of hunching over and trying to get closer and closer to the model.
I use the same cheap ones you got. They are awesome for the price.
IMO, the Godhand magnifiers are the best; MG-TZ and CT-LP. Minis look great! Cheers!
As always Jon, another great and entertaining, yet informative, video. Thankyou!
I am never not jazzed to see a new Ninjon video.
Found Micro Rose Magnifier at Origins convention as well which are the ones dentists and doctors use. The frames were great and allowed for use when the frames on the cheap ones were a hindrance
I use chaos warriors precisely for this. They are a pleasure to paint.
If you want a higher than 3x-5x magnification - magnifiers are very bad. The focus ahifts closer to the glass, to a point where you have to hold the model inches away from your face. Above 10x you also can't use both eyes effectively because the focal point of your lenses doesn't work like that.
What I recommend instead is a phone holder and your cellphone, using a camera or magnifying glass app. This can go up to 30x-50x magnification without losing focus. Of course it depends on your camera, but I guarantee it will be miles better than magnifiers
My advice would be to look at the magnifying reading glasses intended for older people.
They are cheap, and they are designed for binocular vision.
My local chemist has them up to 20X, which is very disorientating at first; they made me feel travel sick, but after a period of adjustment, they're quite useful. And they're more comfortable to wear for extended periods of time.
Another benefit, my headset magnifiers can cause spots on the area the band goes across my face (at 43 years old, spots are welcome reminder of my youth 😂 but younger people will probably want to avoid them) but magnifying glasses don't have that problem.
Not necessarily: the point of paying more for high-end "loupes" like the CraftOptics magnifiers is that they can change the focus distance. Their opticians will work with you to figure out how far away you need to focus, and adjust the prescription and setup accordingly. (They'll even exchange it if the focus distance isn't quite right.)
Even at $500, the CraftOptics magnifiers (which also include a pair of prescription glasses) are a much cheaper version of the mega-expensive "dental loupes" used by dentists, which can run thousands of dollars. They often have 6x magnification or more, yet focus at a distance of several *feet* so that the dentist can maintain an upright body posture yet see fine details at arms' length as they work on your teeth.
Let's go! I'm super keen to see what you're planning!
Awesome video, as always, Ninjon!
I've been returning to painting after a 20+ year break. The biggest difference is I now wear glasses. I tried reading glasses but I still need my prescription ones if I need to look away to my PC or such, so I ended up having to often hot swap glasses. I switched to a headband style magnifier so that I could wear it with my regular specs and be able to glance down or past them for stuff close to me, or push it up slightly to see my monitor.
I had perfect vision until my early 40’s. At 53, I wear progressive glasses and can not paint minis at all without magnifying glasses. At this point In probably spoiled with it too. I don’t even want to look at anything close up without some sort of magnification tool.
I really want to try Warcrow. Those orcs look amazing
Great video. Nice mix of painting tips and product options. Looking forward to seeing you Adepticon piece in person. I’ll be attending my first Adepticon next year. Trying to decide if I should through my hat in the ring and push myself. But I have no idea what to do for it.
Greetings from across The Pond 🙋♂
I bought one of those cheap head magnifiers, when I returned to hobby, about 2.5 years ago; either Amazon, or eBay, can't remember which? 🤔 The only drawback I found, was after a long painting session, I would get either a headache, or the bridge of my nose would ache.
Now, the Hobby Gods must have been looking down on me, because one day, whilst out walking to a friend's, I happened upon a skip outside a house that was being refurbed, and stood next to the skip, was one of those standard magnifying lamps - like the one's tattooists and nail parlours use; it had a note attached saying, "Free to a kind home", so I took it 🤨🤔😏🤏😗
All it needed for it to work, was an electric lead, which I bought for a great price online - just over £7 including p+p! 🛋💡🔍
It has really upped my game, and the old head magnifier I gave to a friend, who has found that his painting as improved a lot as well! 👨🎨🎨🖌👌
These things are such a great aid for this wonderful hobby, every hobbyist should invest in one, even those cheapies on Amazon and eBay are worth having 👍
Thanks for this relaxing session, anyone else looking for a brighter work station area ? Looking for something even wall mounted to brighten my workstation and other parts of the room where my 3D filament printer hangs out. Thanks again for your time and sharing. 👍👍👍
I just use a few reading glasses from the chemist, x1, x2 and x2.5, cheap solution for magnification.
i buy mine afther this video and o men are soo good to have have a loot of zoom that i can change, but the best part now i paint details without much fear cause now i really see the little details
I love my magnifiers. I don't need to wear my glasses to paint with them. Plus, the set I have has a small throw, high intensity light built in so I get to see all of my mistakes up close.
To answer the question that open this video. Yes I literally do that very thing, being ADHD or similar issue (have counselors filled out a questionnaire and they said it was likely) it helps me focus and distracts me from that A-hole customer that I think about constantly because OCD not the super neat freak type.
Thank you , Jon .
🐺Loupis Canis .
15:26 hell yes!
The only issue I ran into with the cheap Amazon magnifiers: They snapped after about 18 months of use. I got another pair, and 18 months later, same failure, same location. The swoopy design of the various folks who are all making the same basic magnifiers concentrates all the stress in the same spot, and eventually leads the plastic there to failure. At least, on my head that's what happens. And my hat size is pretty average. I can imagine they'd fail faster on folks with larger heads.
I ended up going with more of a head-band style rather than glasses-style magnifier for a few bucks more. So far, so good. This one hasn't broken yet.
Pretty cool. I just painted my first miniature I kitbashed on my channel….I wished I saw that video first. I am struggling with miniature painting.
You're in one of the best places for help and advice. Vince Venturella is an invaluable source, and Miniac is very entertaining, as is Ninjon.
Trovarion is another channel worth watching for tips.
Stahly is an excellent source for paint reviews.
If I can help, or anyone else here, just ask mate. I'm no expert, but I have learned to make many mistakes so I could help you avoid some of those 😂😂
Damn you! ;) Now I need to buy some cheap magnifiers to try! :)
And in all seriousness, thank you for sharing! Love to watch your videos!
I used a macro lens to take a photo of a small figure I painted and notice so many missed details. I fixed them now it’s my best and favourite mini