On Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 9:48 AM, Jim <spillaneja@...> wrote:
>
> Hello from a noob to the world of painting miniatures. This is long
> so I apologize,PLEASE forgive me, but I am excited to find the group
> and along with it a lot of resources and answers....I'm sure it will
> be awhile before I'm the one helping pass things on to someone, but I
> will when I can and I look forward to playing a part...

Bah, you call that long? Amateur... :)



> I do have several questions right out of the gate..Please be patient
> with me...I hope everyone understands..All of these questions have
> created an impass to actually starting to put a drop of paint on a
> mini. Ugh!!!

Nothing teaches better than just going and trying things. I can try
to tell you something til I am blue in the face, but until you
experience it yourself, it won't sink in. Also, things like brush
control will only come with practice, so get to it!

>
> I looked at the polls for some answers, but that in turn created more
> questions...
>
> 1) I noticed more people seem to favor Citadel paints...IF that's
> still true, why???? results? colors? Better colors? Cost? What? We
> all have our reasons, but I would like to hear from others on what
> brand they use and why?
>
> I would also bet that some of you use a combination of different
> brands. I would like to hear about that too.

A lot of people use Citadel paints because they're usually available
everywhere. Until recently I only had Citadel and Vallejo available
locally, now P3 is also available, but I live in a city with over a
million people and no one sells the Reaper Master Series so far as I
know (the local shops say it isn't worth carrying more than a couple
of lines whenever I bug them about it).

I myself have used Citadel, Vallejo Model Color, Vallejo Game Color,
Foundry, Privateer Press, Reaper Pro Paints, Reaper Master Series
Paints and a few random things from other companies. I have settled
in on the Reaper Master Series with some Pro Paints in support, but I
also have a few favorite colors from other brands. I like the RMS
because of the way the paint works, the triad system and the dropper
bottles. But I still have a few favorite colors from other lines,
like Vallejo MC Smoke, Vallejo MC Cork Brown, P3 Menoth White, etc.
They're all acrylic based paints so I can mix and match them as I see
fit (and I do!)
>
> 2) I saw the poll on layering preferences..Led me to this
> question...After base coating the miniature's base colors in their
> desired places, etc..DOES IT MATTER whether you shadow first or
> Highlight?

Enh, not really. For me it depends on how large the area is. Larger
areas I basecoat a mid tone, shadow then highlight. Smaller areas I
basecoat the darkest color and layer up highlights. Sometimes it
depends on my mood. If you take anything out of all these questions,
take this: there is no wrong way to paint a mini. Experiment and
find a way that works for you. My method might work for you, it might
not. I couldn't paint faces to save my life if I try to start from
the midtone. When I started painting from the darkest to lightest, my
faces looked a lot better. It's just how it works for me.

>
> Should you paint all the way to completion each area or detail or
> paint all of the figure and then work on each detail's shadows,
> shading, and highlights???

<shrug> Again, a preference thing really. I suck at color choices so
I tend to do my minis the following way: Start on the face, do it to
completion. Hair to completion. Basecoat the whole mini to see if
the color choices work. If they do, do any areas the require
drybrushing first, such as armor or fur (drybrushing is messy, don't
want to mess up an area I already finished). Then I shade and
highlight the largest areas (cloak first usually, then tunics/pants
and work my way down to boots, buckles etc) then do the smallest
details. However, this is my preference and I don't always do things
in that order, sometimes I feel like doing it differently... remember
the "there's no wrong way to paint a mini" mantra...

>
> 3) And last, when you are sitting down to paint, Which method of
> magnification and lighting do you use/prefer???

I use an Ott lite I used one of those Michael's 40% coupons on. I am
also finding myself using reading glasses most of the time. I don't
need them for reading, I just find the magnification useful for those
tiny details.
>
> The jeweler's visor looking thing or the seperate lamp looking
> magnifying lens with the "elbowed arm"?

Again, neither, I just went with a cheap pair of reading glasses at
the highest magnification from the local drug store. The problem with
the lamp magnifying thing is depth perception can be an issue, or so I
have heard.

--Katie