Beginner with some painting questions

[domino]

I want to start by saying that this forum is just a wealth of information. I have already learned quite a bit by reading some of the threads and topics. For the most part, I am a beginner. I actually did some panting back in the 80's with the old Grenadier miniatures but I was never good at it. Finding information wasn't as easy as it is now. I gave up and haven't done much in the way of anything artistic for many years. I have now decided to get back into painting miniatures and could use a little bit of advice starting out. I don't have any materials so I am starting from scratch.

As far as paints go, I decided to go with the Reaper Master Series paints. I plan on buying most of my items online since I don't have any good stores around me. The stores I do have carry the RMS so if I had to run out and buy a bottle I can. Since I don't have a good idea of what colors blend and work with each other I have been looking at other peoples work to get some inspiration. I want to use a teal on one of my miniatures and I am not sure what RMS paints I would use to get the desired effect. I figure I would start with a Marine Teal but I am not sure where to go from there. Is there a site that can guide me as to what colors to use as highlights, washes etc? Maybe I just missed it. I am sure that once I start painting and learning, I will get a better idea of what works and what colors to use to get desired effects.

Thank you for any advice you can give me.

 

[Bailey03]

Domino, good choice on the Reaper Master Series. They're my favorite. Vallejo, GW, and P3 are also quite popular and work well. In the end it comes down to personal preference and what's easy to get your hands on.

For Reaper, a lot of their colors come in 3 color combinations. For example, if you look on their website (http://www.reapermini.com/Paints/corecolors) you'll see that Marine Teal (09077) is right between Deep Ocean (09076) and Surf Aqua (09078). Reaper has set it up that way to make shading and highlighting easier. They're saying Deep Ocean would be a good shadow and Surf Aqua would be a good highlight. This would be a good place to start... but remember to use this as a suggestion, not a rule. Different color combinations can produce interesting results and a lot of what you choose depends on what you're painting and what look you like. Still, Reaper's organization can be very helpful for beginners.

You can make a wash out of Deep Ocean by just adding a little water. I've found that Reaper paints are very easy to turn into washes. I use a small water color palette I picked up for a few bucks at my local art store when I'm making my own washes.

The last thing you might want to check out (and I may regret suggesting this) is Reaper's Power Palette: http://www.reapermini.com/PowerPalette
You can upload a jpg or a link to an image and then click on spots to see what Reaper paint it recommends. While useful, it's not perfect. Because shadows and highlights are often created by layers colors (so previous layers are still visible) the program won't give you the exact paints to use. Also lighting and the conditions in which the picture was taken can shift the colors. So again, use this only as a suggestion for colors. It's far from perfect so I would not blindly follow it's advice.

 

[domino]

Thank you very much. I didn't even realize that Reaper had the colors listed like that for a reason. That makes it very helpful.

I am sure at some point I will try out some of the other paints once I get my "feet wet" so to speak. I never realized there could be so many different colors of paint out there.

Thank you again for the fast and very helpful reply.

 

[ERGO FLUX]

also you might check out Hobby Lobby, i'am sure there is one there in Tucson, check in the painting seciton and get a painting wheel or chart, this will give you all kinds of combinations, then just use the chart to pick the colors you have on hand or need, the colors will not be the exact color you have, but close enough to allow you to match them to your use...

 

[Milosh]

Welcome back to the hobby sir. I too painted some of the old Grenadier stuff in the 80's before giving it up once I discovered girls have boobs. I got back into it almost five years ago and have loved every bit of it. Bailey has given you some very solid advice. There are so many resources online for improving your skill it is astonishing. I would start by diving into your first figure and letting us see what skill level you are starting with. The more you experiment with your colors the more familiar you will get with what does what.

 

[Tee999]

Domino welcome back into the hobby. Bailey and Milosh have some good advise. I also used to paint old Partha and Grenadier stuff from the 80s and have left and come back to this hobby many times.
I would recommend if you don't have one already get a color wheel or print one out.

http://www.amazon.com/Color-Wheel-C...F8&qid=1359589351&sr=8-1&keywords=color+wheel

I printed out these at kinkos

http://realcolorwheel.com/colorwheel.htm

tee

 

[Einion]

As far as paints go, I decided to go with the Reaper Master Series paints. I plan on buying most of my items online since I don't have any good stores around me. The stores I do have carry the RMS so if I had to run out and buy a bottle I can.

Sounds like a plan. Despie how good the Reaper paints are eventually I'd recommend trying a colour here and there from other lines because you never know what you'll like. Most people do eventually end up using a bit of this and a bit of that. Some of the VMA metallics for example are really fine, so they can be worth having even if they're the only VMAs you end up using.

Obviously you're going to need brushes and Dick Blick is one of the best places to look because they're so consistently cheap and their shipping is good, but it is still worth comparing other major retailers at time of purchase - I've done this more than a few times and been surprised at who worked out cheapest.

As much as I love painting with Kolinskys I generally recommend using synthetics for a lot of the donkey work in painting, switching to your quality rounds only where they're needed; and they last a lot longer if you're using them less. As far as synthetics go, generally cheap taklon brushes will do you about as well as something much more expensive because there's not a lot of difference in the quality of the bristles from a cheap brand to an expensive brand (nylon being pretty consistent). I have brushes that cost less that a buck a piece that seem to be lasting fine, but it's only been a couple of years so it's early days yet.

Good tips on brush cleaning in this thread.

I was going to link to a previous thread on making your own stay-wet palette but the requirements are so simple I'll just list them here:
sealable container (many people use a sandwich box or something similar);
membrane paper (e.g. baking parchment or tracing vellum);
reservoir (e.g. kitchen paper).

Einion

 

[domino]

Thank you all for the advice as you have all been very helpful. I was able to place a few orders online to get some of the stuff I need. I did go with RMS on the paints but I do also plan on using some VMC/VGC as well as some of the P3. I figured I would just stick with one brand till I get a little more experience under my belt. I picked out a few Reaper miniatures and some Privateer ones as well. I figured I would start with some cheaper ones while I work on my skills. I also have some Kolinsky Sable bushes on the way as well. I was able to get a few cheap synthetic brushes for the bases and things like that.

I didn't even think about getting a color wheel. That will come in handy for sure. I was looking at buying a wet palette until I saw how easy they are to make. I figure worst case scenario, I might be able to use the clam shell that on of the Privateer figures come in. It looks like it will close up and has the sponge. That will save me money for more paints and figures

Now it's just a matter of waiting till my things arrive. It is unfortunate that I can't buy much here. We have a couple of game stores in the mall but their selection is poor and prices are way higher than online. Another store carries the Warhammer stuff but I am not wanting to go with them just yet. My only other options are JoAnn and Michaels and they don't have much at all. We don't even have a Hobby Lobby yet but one is being built right now. Thank you again for all your advice and I am sure I will have more questions once I get started.

 

[Einion]

I wouldn't bother buying a colour wheel - plenty of them available online and you really only need one as a guide to colour relationships. Despite many commercial wheels claiming to provide mixing guidance they really don't, well much beyond the most fundamental stuff that most people already know.

Einion

 

[Flow]

Welcome domino!

Welcome back to the hobby sir. I too painted some of the old Grenadier stuff in the 80's before giving it up once I discovered girls have boobs. I got back into it almost five years ago and have loved every bit of it.

This is apparently a common pattern, and one I have repeated! I painted old Grenadier with crappy enamel paints in the early 80's. It was finding a few of them rolling around in an old box some months ago that got me back into this.