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Mini painting
For almost a year now I have been playing D&D, loving every moment we get together and have a session. Because of life and stuff it's been a once a month meet up and the current campaign is coming to an end.
For the better part of all that time I've sat staring at an un-painted mini, I finally took the next step and got a stater kit of paints and went at it. I wish I had done this sooner! So far they are rough as hell but honestly it's such an enjoyable little hobby. I plan on expanding my paints out to more technical washes and shades and with that buying any mini that looks fun to paint.
I know a few folks play table top games. How many of you paint as well?
I don't paint minifigs anymore but used to really enjoy doing it back when I still played D&D and WH40K fairly regularly. However, I stopped playing them in person (still do Roll20) decades ago, so I gave all my figs away to friends who still did. Sadly, I don't even have any pics to remember them by either, since this was largely before digital photography was really a thing.
I have been tempted to try and pick it up again a few times over the years, especially every time I pass by a craft store, but I just have so many other hobbies, interests and time-sinks that I don't think I will ever be able to find the time... but c'est la vie. So it goes. Etc.
Do you have any pics of your work you don't mind sharing? If not, that's cool.. but I would at least suggest taking some pics for posterity, since I regret not doing so with mine. :(
Life can be too full at times.
I've taken heaps of photos, the Rogue is my main character at the moment and the first one I painted, the Dwarf was the 2nd and will be what I'm playing next (Vengeance Paladin) then finally the Tiefling I did last and so far am almost most happy with.
They all need a decent go over with shading / trying to show light and dark hitting all over. The Tiefling is the one I'm most excited to shade since it has so much detail.
the album is backwards since I am new to Imgur
That's really good stuff, especially for just starting out! I really like the dorf pally... that shield is great. :)
thank you! The shield is the part I'm happiest with on him, the cloak came up a bit darker than I wanted so I'll work something out with that.
I've got a few other minis just sitting on the shelf waiting for their turn, we have our next session this coming Friday so I'll have to work on the Rogue a bit more before then.
That's one of the best parts about minifigs... there is nothing a little solvent wont solve. ;) I used to go back all the time and completely redo figures I wasn't happy with, because I had gotten better since the last time I worked on it and felt I could do better, or just for the fun of it.
That's been my favourite part of learning how to paint, if I'm not happy just re do it!
I've found it to be equal parts stressful and peaceful, also learnt I can't wear my contact lenses while painting. My eyes don't focus right and I end up straining trying to see straight.
I used to paint using a desk mounted magnifier with built-in clamps to hold the fig in place. If you get serious about it as hobby, you should consider getting one IMO. It takes some getting used to, but makes detail work much easier and reduces eye strain significantly.
I have a few items on my wish list, a magnified light is definitely the top of the list. Just waiting on other bills and stuff to settle before going all in.
I've been thinking about trying to paint a few monsters as well, just for the fun of it all.
throwing up a bit of an update because I was all sorts of happy about it.
One of my old highschool friends asked to join in on the D&D fun, his birthday was the week just gone so I painted a mini for him as a surprise. I had to give some things away, but the mini I gave was not what he was expecting.
When he told me his character is a Rogue who would be in darker colours with black hair I spent about a week painting up a mini for him, I wanted it to be the best mini I had done and I was more than happy with what I did. Unfortunately I only have photos of before I shaded and touched up the spots it needed so looks a tad rough compared to how it is now. I've asked him to send me a photo so just waiting on that, I'll edit this comment with the link once that's done.
Now since he is one of my oldest mates, I was his best man, he was mine, I naturally couldn't let him have the mini he wanted. I picked up another and made that thing all the colours with bright orange hair (he wanted black) and did the thing as sloppy as possible. It's rough. really rough. When I gave it to him the tall shit sucked all the fun out of my joke and absolutely loved it. He was so happy to have anything at all.
Hah, talk about backfiring. Sounds like your friend is a pretty nice guy too. I look forward to seeing the pics of the new fig! :)
That was harder than it should have been.
here is the link I'm going to have to get the clear coat to protect them all a bit
Dang, that is really good! The detail work is fantastic (e.g. silver buckles/studs, grey hair streaks, crossbow, bags, etc).
And TBH I can see why your friend was still happy with the redheaded dorf too; For just a "joke" fig, you still did a pretty nice job on it. :P
That's the right kind of prank. If I was that friend I'd be like "Sweet! I guess my dwarf is a redhead now."
He was so great about it, honestly I think he wouldn't have minded with that one at all.
Thank you!!
I actually just stripped and re-primed the paladin last night because of the mini I gave him, I plan on give it more detail and going a bit further. I have even taken a scalpel to the shield already to give it a few battle scars.
The joke one has had a few compliments from the guys I play with as well lol
Oh nice... feel free to share a pic of the Pally when you're done. I thought he looked pretty good before, but you have clearly improved quite a lot since you painted him the first time, so I would love to see what you can do with the same fig now. :)
I will for sure, once I'm happy with it I'll send you a PM of it
No need to PM... just make a reply with it. A few other people seem interested in your work as well, so no harm in bumping this topic again when your new Pally is done so others might have a chance to see it too. :)
Here we are it's not done yet, I still need to shade parts in and tone down that yellow to a more golden shade
Goddamn, dude... you have improved a lot in a really short amount of time! You are seriously making me want to get back into painting mini-figs now too (even though I would have no use for them other than display). :P
thank you so much.
We have this little saying in our D&D group that I started many years ago as a joke and now they all do too.
"You should always give in to peer pressure" so definitely take up mini painting 😋
This has been the first hobby I've got all out on in years, it's been equal parts stressful and absolutely amazing. I feel the deep need of more paints, mixing has been a blast so far but more ... also I need to pick up other minis. They will probably never be used but I just want to paint everything for the sake of it.
edit spelling
Heh, you don't need to keep thanking me. I only speak my honest opinion. ;)
And yeah it's really tempting. I still have my desk magnifier, paintbrushes and such buried in my old art supplies in my storage room... so all I would need to do is dig them out and then get some minifigs and paint, which is easy enough.
Got any recommendations for brands of paint? It's been decades since I last painted so I have no idea what's good these days. And I couldn't make out what you were using in your photos since they were in the background and blurry as a result.
As for minis, I already know where I will likely be getting those. I have been eyeing Reaper Miniatures for a while now. :P
I'm using Nolzur's marvelous pigments starter set with a few citadel paints and washes gifted by my DM. After reading up on things and all the videos, most seem to say Vallejo paints are the ones to get. I've got my eye on the starter set of those, after painting the latest one here I really need a better set of brushes. Someone over on r/minipainting posted a decent set that won't kill me on exchange rates so I'll pick those up hopefully soon as well.
That site... man that is a dangerous site
Cool, thanks for the advice. I will have to dig around and see if I can find any of those locally at a good price, or see what's available on Amazon... but it does looks like Vallejo is on amazon.ca at least, which is nice (but a bit expensive).
IKR? Reaper minifigs are insanely detailed with tons of really, really cool/unique ones. And the price isn't too bad either IMO, even for the metal ones. Although it could still add up pretty quick if you go too nuts. :P
no worries at all.
Have you looked over at Heroforge? we all got the file done and took it to a local shop to have it printed, in all it cost $30 AUD for one mini so a bit more costly but for a personal fig that was out own it's well worth the price. I've currently got two more that I want done and my 7 year old made up "The demon of Doom" as she named her, it's actually super badass so probably gonna get that done as well. Only thing is I will need to get two made up since it is her model lol miss 5 has now been asking to make one as well so I can see this becoming a family event.
Yeah, I have seen Heroforge before and have even used 3Dhubs a few times before to get stuff 3D printed too (though not minifigs)... but I think I will probably just start with premade figs since they are generally cheaper and higher quality. But if I get back into it minifig painting hard again, then I will prob try to find one that looks like my current D&D char... even though I play on Roll20 it will still be fun to have the fig next to my computer while I play. :)
One of our players actually tried DMing on roll20 last week, he is also planning on running our next campaign so our current DM can actually play. Especially since it was his idea that got us all together, he has gone absolutely balls to the wall with everything.
A few meet ups back he sculpted out a styrofoam map with mini trees and all then the last 2 (will end up being 3) times he went and had a giant mat printed out. He was going to draw it all out on a king-size bed sheet, got the smallest part done when his wife said "can't you get that printed at some place?" so we all chipped in and it was done! I'll snap a photo when we meet up next week it's huge. ridiculously huge and awesome. I'll add the styrofoam map to that one as well, a few of the others got better photos than I did
Dang, even when I used to DM in person I never went that far. Minifigs, hand drawn maps and various bits and bobs from my multiple HeroQuest sets is all I ever did. You're lucky!
Please do, I would love to see that.
p.s. For your new Roll20 DM, the mapmaking tools on Roll20 are adequate... but if they want to take it up a notch: https://store.steampowered.com/app/592260/Dungeon_Painter_Studio/
I haven't used it yet, so can't vouch for it, but it looks really neat and the next campaign I DM, I plan on getting and using it.
I'll pass that along to him, I might wait until we meet since he is on clinical placement at the moment and I've gotten a few texts saying it's been rough lol I don't miss being the student nurse!
The ones that's gone all out hopes to open a table top gaming store within the next year or so, I guess he plans on using these in the store ? hell if it was me I would. Then this is the same man who made his own chainmail for his wedding.. they got married at the registry office then had a family and friends ceremony it was really cool and fit their personality perfect
I'm glad I'm not being a pain bumping the old thread all the time.
I've spent the day and night thinking about colours and how I want this to be. I hope it comes up the way I want
It went down like a lead fart, but his face lighting up the way it did kinda made for an even better reaction.
He didn't send me the photo! when it's not 1:30am I'll jump on the PC and upload the photos I have, I can't log into Imgur from my phone for who knows what reason
I've started painting the minis for my group as well! It's cool to see your friends happy to have their custom minis on the table, it really gives them the feeling of having their character out there. A couple of them have started showing interest so we're going to meet up soon and I'll start going over the basics with them.
Great to see another minipainter here! Keep the updates coming.
That is fantastic! we are meeting up on Saturday next week (not this one coming) I will take a photo of all the custom minis and the giant map that was printed to finish out the campaign.
I'm currently repainting a Dwarf I did not long back because of the mini I did for my friend, I am far happier with how it is now. Just need to work on the horns on his helm a little bit, they aren't quite there yet. I might touch up the boots as well..
I've played warhammer 40k on and off for about 17 years now, and I find myself going through cycles of really enjoying painting and not being interested in it whatsoever.
Painted a bunch when I was a kid, started up sporadically again over the last few years, mainly Games Workshop stuff.
Your minis look good! If I could offer a tip, it looks like you might want to think out your paints a little (mix in a drop of water on a pallette, aim for skimmed-milk consistency), really helps the paint go on smooth and prevents it from clogging details on the model.
I've tried the water trick but had no clue how much to add, that is a massive help. I have added too much then not enough most of the time, I'll be sure to do this when I try to touch a few bits up through the week.
Yeah it's one of those things you just get a feel for through experience I think. It doesn't help that the amount of thinning required can vary between paints too. If in doubt, too much thinning is probably better than not enough, as you can always add more layers of paint.
If you haven't done so already, I'd highly recommend checking out the 'How to paint...' videos on the Warhammer TV YouTube channel. It only has GW models (obviously), but the techniques can be applied regardless of what you're painting. You'll soon be a novitiate of The Church of Two Thin Coats!
I've been watching a heap of "how to" videos, but more are always good. I did that before putting any paint on a mini because I didn't want to stuff it all up.
I have found the water difference with brands can be a pain... that's where I have made mistakes with how much to add
My D&D group uses Lego minifigs and I really enjoy the high level of customization we get out of that. But, I'd love to get into using miniatures someday. Mostly just to be able to say I've done it because it's such a staple of D&Ding. Can anyone recommend a good starting kit or affordable miniature/paint brands to get started with?
I ended up buying the D&D Nolzur's marvelous pigments starter kit, it was only $40 here in Australia. The Citadel set I was looking at ran upwards of $70, a few "how to" videos I've watched use Citadel paints so I'll probably end up getting that set as well or at least a few pots.
The paints I ended up with also have a brush and mini with them along with a painting guide for the mini they provide, the poor little fella ended up as my testing canvas all over his cloak. He has now been cleaned completely and primed because I plan on following the guide and painting him the way he should be.
I thought at first this was going to literally be tiny canvases that you paint, sometimes I'm not too smart lol.
If you want to read about something like that, you might enjoy this fascinating article about a man that makes exceptionally tiny engravings. The article mentions that he's dropped finished works and lost them in the carpet.
That would be cool! but unfortunately I don't have that sort of talent.