Foundry painting book, is it worth purchasing?

[gilljoy]

Hey all,

I'm looking to try and improve my painting beyond my current level and I was looking at picking up some books to help me improve, I picked up the previous edition of the GW painting book and I didnt think I was very helpful tbh. Pick up the coolmini PDF which was really handy but I'd like a real book that I can actually hold ( i love books lol)

I've heard good things about the foundry painting book but I'm just wondering is it worth picking up? Or is there any other books that people would recommend picking up?

 

[uglybug]

The foundry book does have some useful tips scattered through out the book. But it suffers from the old war game style of painting. Things are not blended well and they use black to outline everything. So for display it will look horrible, but for gaming it will be considered average tabletop maybe below average tabletop quality. Also only foundry models and paints are used and I don't know if there is a conversion chart for foundry paints. I have never heard any info on the quality.

I have not seen the new GW painting guide yet but the sample pages did look good.
I would suggest modeling scale figures by mark bannerman, osprey publishing http://www.amazon.com/Modelling-Sca...2385/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1336430385&sr=8-8

Advanced figure modelling by periscopio publishing don't know we're you will find that I got it from a dealer at a miniature show.

Building and painting scale figures by shepherd Paine. I don't own this book but I have one of his diorama building books and it is very good. http://www.amazon.com/Building-Pain...0698/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1336430385&sr=8-2

 

[Jbickley00]

The foundry stuff is pretty good, at the high end it is much much better than tabletop. The trouble is that it's a system, and the book introduces a system of painting. The system is three stages and does look a bit cartoony. A bit of practice ith blending and top notch minis can be painted. There is a color chart in the back, but foundry sort of intends you to use thier triad system.
Some very good pointers last through out..a terrific section on painting horses with oils. And a lot of tips on conversions.
Again, the value of this book depends on what you are looking for. If you are an average painter looking to turn out some first lass gaming pieces, this is terrific. If you are trying to win a crystal brush, it's not the book for you.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Foundry painting book, is it worth purchasing?
I've heard good things about the foundry painting book but I'm just wondering is it worth picking up?
Or is there any other books that people would recommend picking up?

Big IF coming here; if you want to get to the standard of the 8-9-10 range on here then possibly not. However every book on painting is going to give you something to improve even if it's only on one particular thing.
Personally I'd recommend sitting alongside a good painter for half a day working on the same figure, you'll learn more about painting in that half day than most books.
Reason being face to face painting is the most interactive learning tool we can get hold of. Keep an eye out for the likes of Golem Studios (Tommie Soule) I'd guarentee you'll learn a lot from him.

 

[RuneBrush]

Can't comment on the Foundry book, but I do have the latest GW painting book (the one with DVD). In principal the new book is OK, it does a very good job of introducing the new paint range and the basics of painting a mini to a reasonable tabletop standard and the techniques aren't specific to Citadel paints. My other half is getting back into painting after probably 14+ years gap and it's certainly helped her get going again. It doesn't explain why you do things in a particular way but as a visual step by step pretty reasonable.

As Dragonsreach says, if you're after achieving 8+ scores then this book is not going to get you to that level on it's own and sitting with a skilled painter will ultimately provide a lot more benefit, however if you're after getting a nicely painted army on the table then I can't fault it.

If you're looking at painting vehicles then I would recommend the Forge World masterclass book. I've got the first and it's fantastic (look at my Stormlord WIP - most of the techniques I've used have come from this book). The second looks really good too, though as a word of warning, they do use the older Citadel paint range

pete

 

[evl hmr]

I have both Foundry books. As Uglybug said, they are Foundry based ie: paints and miniatures, and some of the painting is very average, but there are some really good portions, book two shows a nice way to blend and has a section on NMM. If you can get them at a nice cheap price get them! I'm stuck in Melbourne so as much as I would love a trip to Golem Studios, books and the internet are teaching me. Well that and buying the minis I love and practicing. A lot of practicing

 

[Dragonsreach]

I'm stuck in Melbourne so as much as I would love a trip to Golem Studios, books and the internet are teaching me.

Well save up and treat yourself to the DVD (or downloads) of the Alezi_Z & Jen Haley painting classes.......serious eye candy, and the girls are pretty as well!

 

[MightyChad]

Well save up and treat yourself to the DVD (or downloads) of the Alezi_Z & Jen Haley painting classes.......serious eye candy, and the girls are pretty as well!

Agree on both points. I have watched Jen's and it is very well done. I learned quite a bit that I cannot wait to try on the right project.