I am geek, hear me roar

[kellinator]

This weekend my love for shiny objects got the better of me and as I'd been considering, I took the plunge and bought miniatures, paints, brushes, and primer. Shiny figures!! Pretty colors!! Insert squeeing fangirliness here.

The only problem? My characters may have a high Dex, but I do not. I trip over my own feet on a regular basis. What made me think I could successfully paint tiny little details on tiny little pewter figurines without constantly getting paint where it's not supposed to go? Your guess is as good as mine. At least the figures I've been practicing on are smaller than the ones I really want to do a nice job on. I know, I know, gotta walk before you can run, but no one ever accused me of being patient...

Any more tips, or can people recommend some good painting guides (preferably online)?

Comments

[juanfandango.livejournal.com]

Mix the paint thoroughly with a cocktail stick (or, indeed, cockatiel sick, but not if you want the same effect). You think you've mixed it thoroughly? No, you haven't. Mix it some more.

Wash the figure first in water and/or degreaser. Don't use washing-bowl liquid, it contains a glass-shine chemical that screws things up and won't let paint stick. The aim is to get mould release agent, your grubby fingerprints, etc, off. Especially important with plastic models, this.

Undercoat the figure. Cheap can of white car primer, light dusting. The paint goes on so much better.

A /good/ O or OO brush with a decent point is far better than a cheap OOO or OOOO or OOOOO brush. Take care of it. Regardless of the thinner used for the paint of your choice, always finish cleaning it with clean water.

Dark colours will look darker on such a small figure. Light colours will look lighter. Bear this in mind.