Ramza trying his best at painting

[Ramza1987]

Hi, this is Ramza with his first mini painted after 10 years of nothing.
This will also be the place where i will post the rest of my minis painted.
Please feel free to critize and give your most sincere opinions.
This is made to show my work, but also to get advice and learn (anyone cant learn without honest opinions).







Hope it's not too bad and you like it. xD

[Amboadine]

Welcome to the world of painting.
It will take time and patience to knock out masterpieces.

Some advice.
Thin the paints with some water, coverage takes a little longer but you will get better effects.
Try adding a darker colour to the paint for shading rather than choosing a completely different blue. This will help blend the colours in more. Also using an ink wash over each colour can really make the difference.

Keep to a limited number of colours. This will stop the model looking too noisy.
Watch tutorials, they reaally help speed the learning.

Hope that helps. Keep going and the results will follow.

[Daeron]

Well done.. It's a great start. Kind of reminds me of my first models, actually. More important than our approval is your answer to these questions:
- Did you enjoy doing this? Because this is important to enjoy painting more.
- Are -you- happy with the result? Because this is an important, long term motivator.
- Do you find the time spent for the result reasonable? Over time, we tend to do the same thing quicker.

If you want advice, then yeah... I'd join Amboadine on his suggestions:
- thin the paints, it will give a much smoother surface to the paintjob
- don't be afraid to blend colours to make them match each-other a little bit better

Feel free to correct me, but looking at your work I think that:
- You gave each surface a decent /base colour. IE: black on the armour, purple on the robe, brown on the crossbow
- Then drybrushed the armour with purple, and the chainmail with metal
- Then layered the blue on the robe, the red on the straps, and brown on the belts
- Then highlighted the armour with purple.

I want to focus on the robe and the armour for a moment there. I think drybrushing works alright, but it works best for grainy textures, like sand or mud, or metal which tends to look more realistic with a less smooth finish. But for coloured armour, I'd recommend using a base colour, shade and highlight. The great part is that it doesn't cost more work than your current method.
For comparison, I can show my own models. I'll spoiler them, because only your pictures should be showing here

[+] SPOILER

The heads on the left used drybrushing, and then some glazing to smooth out the result. The heads on the right are done using layering/highlighting.
I went a little overboard with it, but you could achieve a similar result with fewer layers:
- A basecoat, like dark purple in your case.
- A shade, like Nuln Oil if you want a darker, faded purple. Or Druchii Violet if you prefer a deeper, more pronounced purple.
- (Optional) Layer your original puple back on to pieces you want to emphasize
- Highlight the tips, like you seem to have done now with a paler colour. Or, if you didn't do the previous step, you can use the original purple.
It looks like more steps, but it's quite fast since Shading is so easy.

If you'd use Nuln Oil for the shading on the armour, you could apply it in a single step. For example:
- Basecoat step: apply metal on the chainmail, purple on the armour plating, brown on the boots and crossbow. You can do the red on the straps as well. The shading will tone down the contrast and make it come together a little better.
- Shade: apply nuln oil on the chainmail, armour plating, boots and crossbow and details on the model. Because you can cover most of the model with it, it's quite easy to do. You don't need to be super tidy.
- Layer/Highlight: armour only.
- finish the face and robe. (Or paint the face first, since some parts are hard to reach).

This seems like an equally fast method and it will give more depth to the details of the model.

[cultofkhaine]

Some good advice from Amboadine and Daeron. I don't have much to say other than keep practicing and learning from others, I have been painting for 10+ years now and I'm still learning

[Ramza1987]

I unfortunately dont have citadel paints.

The robes were done with the same blue, i just mixed it with white, now i know i went a little overboard with that....
For the armor i want it to look like this, but in purple (suggestions are more than welcome)

[+] SPOILER

The idea is to do
Black.ish/purple-ish armor
Blue clothing
Red Details.

The rest is open for suggestions.

On the painting experience.
I did enjoy painting even though i have a serious lack of patience.
Im not happy with the results i want better results. XD
I think i took too long to paint this sole model, but i dont care, because i have to be patient in order to avoid messing up.

If you want advice, then yeah... I'd join Amboadine on his suggestions:
- thin the paints, it will give a much smoother surface to the paintjob
- don't be afraid to blend colours to make them match each-other a little bit better

Feel free to correct me, but looking at your work I think that:
- You gave each surface a decent /base colour. IE: black on the armour, purple on the robe, brown on the crossbow
- Then drybrushed the armour with purple, and the chainmail with metal
- Then layered the blue on the robe, the red on the straps, and brown on the belts
- Then highlighted the armour with purple.

I primed in black, brown palette for crossbow, i tried highliting the armor details with purple, not drybrushing it.
Chainmail is drybrushed with metal.
The robes are done in two layers of blue, first just the colour, then same colour with some (i think too much) white.
I think i need finer brushes xD

Im not doing this for approval, is mostly to get critics, suggestions and tips, so i can improve.
I have seen some videos and tutorials, but, translating that into reality is not as easy xD

Thanks to all for the replies and suggestions.
How do i water down the paint without watering it too much?
How do i make the washes?

[direweasel]

I unfortunately dont have citadel paints.

Not important - there are many of us (self included) who actually prefer other paint brands. Vallejo, P3, and Reaper (among others) all have very good paint lines that are AT LEAST equivalent in quality to GW. Each have their advantages and disadvantages, and everyone will have their own preferences and reasons why they like what they like.

One major thing is that Vallejo and Reaper both come in dropper bottles. This will help you get some consistency in mixing colors, as well as with watering down. If you always add one drop of water for every 5 drops of paint, for instance, then you'll know what to expect.

On the painting experience.
I did enjoy painting even though i have a serious lack of patience.
Im not happy with the results i want better results. XD
I think i took too long to paint this sole model, but i dont care, because i have to be patient in order to avoid messing up.

It's easy to get frustrated, especially if you spend too much time on here, or a place like coolminiornot, and think "I'll never paint like that!". The guys that have masterpieces on that didn't pick up a brush and start like that on day 1. They read, the practiced, they watched videos, they learned and learned and learned. Most importantly, they made lots and lots of mistakes.

I personally use painting as my "escape" time. I have a "man-cave" basement where I have all kinds of gaming stuff, and I go down there after a long workday, put on some music, and paint for a while to have some nerd zen.

I've said before that I used to see painting as a necessary evil - I wanted the play the game, the minis were the game pieces, and they needed to be painted. So I painted them to play. Over time, I came to realize that I was spending a lot more time painting than actually playing, so I should probably at least try to enjoy that aspect too. After the attitude adjustment, I realized that I really did like it, and used that to try to get better. While I'm still not all that good, I can definitely see improvement in my own work. It just takes time, and the right attitude.

Im not doing this for approval, is mostly to get critics, suggestions and tips, so i can improve.

Perfect. You are in the right place. I have found nothing but help and support when it is asked for here. I have never gotten anything but constructive criticism.

I have seen some videos and tutorials, but, translating that into reality is not as easy xD

There is truly no substitute for practice. Do not be afraid to try something and fail miserably. That is how you learn. And if you really don't like the result, you can strip the paint off the mini and do it over. There is literally no mistake that is not fixable, short of smashing your mini with a hammer.

That's another reason to use thinner paint by the way. If you continue to use thick paint, 3 or 4 layers and you start to lose detail. With thinned paint, you can fix mistakes and change things over and over, and not lose the detail of the mini.

Thanks to all for the replies and suggestions.
How do i water down the paint without watering it too much?
How do i make the washes?

I don't know how to "make" washes. I buy mine. GW makes the best ones in my experience. But there are others which are also good. There is something similar to a wash, though, called a glaze. I don't know the technical difference. I can tell you how to make a glaze. Take a base paint color and thin it WAY down, till it's about 10 parts water to 1 part paint. It's almost clear. You can use glazes to change a shade of a color underneath without totally losing the color. You'll see that online and in tutorials.

One other thing I'd recommend is that you look into a "Wet Palette". If you have no idea what that is, I've written up a bit of a tutorial on one that you might find useful.

http://www.druchii.net/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=75680

You can buy one as I did, or make your own as shown further down in the tutorial. It will really help you get more comfortable mixing and thinning paint, which in turn will make you a better painter.

Hope that helps!

[Amboadine]

Some great comments there Direweasel.

[Ramza1987]

On the painting experience.
I did enjoy painting even though i have a serious lack of patience.
Im not happy with the results i want better results. XD
I think i took too long to paint this sole model, but i dont care, because i have to be patient in order to avoid messing up.

It's easy to get frustrated, especially if you spend too much time on here, or a place like coolminiornot, and think "I'll never paint like that!". The guys that have masterpieces on that didn't pick up a brush and start like that on day 1. They read, the practiced, they watched videos, they learned and learned and learned. Most importantly, they made lots and lots of mistakes.
Hope that helps!

Oh, believe me im not getting frustrated at all, i knew from the start i wasn't going to pro paint my minis i just stated im not happy, because i know it can be better, which means, i need to practice more. I like painting and just like you it's an escape and for me, also a way to slow down a bit, because i have too much anxiety and this is something that needs patience so it forces me to slow the F up xD

Speaking about practice, i better go get some more done. Keep critics, advices and suggestions coming, don't be afraid to speak your mind or sound "mean".

[Sabious]

Can't say anything better than already has been said.

But you have the perfect attitude for this. Keep it up

[Ramza1987]

I started to glue and get more minis ready to be painted instead of starting to paint when more than half of my current army is still in pieces.

Here is what i have now, waiting to be painted



24 Darkshards
12 Witches
5 Cold one Knights
1 RBT
1 BSB on foot
1 Sorceress
1 Malus Darkblade

Today im going to get my Warlocks ready for painting too.

[Amboadine]

Nice selection, as a note of advice however. If the riders are not already glued to the mounts, you might find it easier to paint them both separately.

[Ramza1987]

Damn it! I forgot to mention that, they are not glued to the lizards, for easier painting.
On a side note: i freaking love those cold ones, they look a lot like 2000's version of Godzilla. That means that not only im going to get your lives, enslave your wives and kids, im also raping your buildings (just like in the movie xD)

[Ramza1987]

More updates. As soon as i finish glueing and fixing my stuff, more comes XD

The dragon <3


And my first two conversions (Masters of Warlocks)



And



I think i will start painting them next week, if im not finish with this by this week.

[Amboadine]

Good process being made.

[Ramza1987]

I had a hard time getting the dragon ready, i had no base for it, so i made my own with 2 old rider ones, and the dragon rider came incomplete, so i will have to see how to make one xD
My other problem is that i dont know where to start... I want to paint everything... I will probably start with Darkshards, though

[Ramza1987]

Well.... I started painting.... I know i should have started with something else, but temptation was way too much for me... He is just so lovely <3









Hope you like it, and that is not so badly painted.
But please, be honest.

[Vulcan]

Not too bad for early work. The scales could use some more defining, either with higlights of the scales or a wash between them, but other than that not bad.

The problem you'll find about a year down the road is that you'll look at it and say to yourself "Man, I could do so much better on that now..."

[Ramza1987]

I think i will do a wash with a darker colour to help making them stand out, and maybe i will try to highlight them a little afterwards.
And yeah, i will definitely say that later on XD

[Amboadine]

You are making progress, do not get disheartened.
The bone, claws etc have some nice shading, possibly the paint is still a little thick though, that is why it looks a little grainy on the horns.

Try also a little more highlighting on the raised areas around the eyes especially.

[Ramza1987]

Oh dont get me wrong i really like what i did on the dragon, although i know i would do better with more practice (because that is reality xD)
I was doing a highlight with blue which is dark enough to dont get too highlighted but it does give a touch, although i could try adding another layer on it, i think i need to better my drybrushing. xD
I will also try highlighting the scales a little bit more.
Any advices to get the best results possible?

[direweasel]

I think it shows good progress too. One way to bring more "pop" out of the scales would be to mix them up, and do a few of them in different shades. Maybe make a few of them a slightly darker blue, and on some, mix that light blue you used with a white or cream color and do a few that way. Don't follow an exact pattern, like every 4th one or something, just kind of mix it up, it looks a lot more natural that way.

I'll see if I can find a link that shows something like what I'm talking about.

[toots]

an easy win is to paint light and wash dark. light grey with a black wash for instance. the witch elves, i painted a bugger load of them in the last couple of years and would advise spraying white (obvs) and wash the skin directly into the white. i used 1 part red wash, 1 part light brown and 1 part glaze medium. were i to do it again i'd have gone less pink, maybe use purple, black and the glaze? might give a grey/purple dark effect. vallejo glaze medium that is. let me know if you try it and see how it goes. actually i might try it myself

[Ramza1987]

The Scales are purple xD I dont know if it shows very well on the screenshots.
But yeah, i think i know exactly what you mean with the scales colour scheme.

You mean something like this for scales, @direweasel?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSXi9zBHn2I&list=PL3WLHZP4fB6M2ZcxOumpiMFOMKWH92_M5&index=21

@toots I dont have Vallejo or Citadel paints, i have some way cheaper ones, which is what i can get here in Uruguay, but i will try my best with what i have available.

How do i do a good wash? Just adding more water to the paint?
Im having a big issue with the watering

[direweasel]

You mean something like this for scales, @direweasel?

Yes, that is the sort of thing I meant.

[Ramza1987]

Fantastic, i love that idea, so i will go into that in the next days.


As my vacation days are over (T-T) now i have to go to work and between that and TKD lessons, i dont have much free time.
So be patient from now on to see more of my awesome art (?)