I\'m stuck

[Sosryet]

Yup. I can\'t do anything at all. The firs time I came to CMON I realized how badly my minis looked like. I used solid colors, gloss paint for clothing and almost never painted eyes (cuz\'... you know... \"nobody would see that\"). I noticed how I am almost the only one that uses enamel insted of acrillycs and how very different the technique other people use is.

I tryed to improve. I repainted some of the gloss painted minis (which made them loose some detail) and started using layers (and even trying to blend the colors) and started new ones trying to apply my new knowledge.

However, I came to the point of painting the eyes and the skin of a few High Elves archers, and I got stuck.

I wanted to post some of my minis to get help... But I am embarrased of them... I tryed to continue painting, but they are so expensive and I am so afraid of ruinning them...

So, I can\'t continue... I can\'t get help... And I wondered if you ever felt the same way...

 

[mattsterbenz]

We all need motivation sometimes. Don\'t worry about it! Painting takes time and practice.

Everyone has to start somewhere, so don\'t feel like you can\'t post pictures of your miniatures and ask for help. The community here is very friendly and is always willing to give a helping hand.

If you are worried about running out of miniatures to paint on, you can always strip the paint off some of them. If it\'s a metal figure, acetone or nail polish remover will work just fine. Those chemicals will melt plastic, so something like Super Clean, Simple Green, or Pine Sol will do the trick on plastic models. Just soak them for a day, scrub with a toothbrush, and rinse.

Keep at it!

-Matt

 

[Davyboy74]

Originally posted by Sosryet
I can\'t get help...

Yes you can! In the form of advice & tips in these very forums (and obviously in the vast articles section here too)

And mattsterbenz has a good point there, about stripping minis. Its easily done (with metal minis anyway) and saves you money buying new minis all the time. I speak from experience here (ive probably spent more on paint remover than i have on minis in the last few years lol)

Keep at it

 

[Theomar Pius]

Yeah, you\'ve gotta post some examples. One thing I\'ve found is that the people in this hobby are very forthcoming with tips and tricks, very eager to help.

As for painting eyes, try painting them first, then painting the face around them?

Stripping minis is good for money saving.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by Sosryet

I wanted to post some of my minis to get help... But I am embarrased of them... I tryed to continue painting, but they are so expensive and I am so afraid of ruinning them...

Well being embarrassed about a mini means that you have a desire to improve and lets face it no-one is born with the immediate knowledge or means to paint a mini well. We all started somewhere.
Taking the plunge and showing what you have painted takes courage and a leap in human faith. You will get criticism but also tons of advice and make more friends than you can ever believe.

 

[freakinacage]

Originally posted by Sosryet


I wanted to post some of my minis to get help... But I am embarrased of them...

we can\'t help if we can\'t see

and if you are loosing detail, you need to use thinner paint (and strip the old paint first)

 

[BarstoolProphet]

The first step in solving your problem is admitting you have one.

I felt much the same way, when I first started actually posting here, and you can just take a look at my gallery to see what starting to talk to these people did. My first posted mini, which at the time, I thought was utterly fabulous, got rated below table-top.

What you need to keep in mind when reading any comments you get here, is that every single person commenting is trying to help you. Not everyone is as . . . diplomatic . . . in their wording. Some of them will seem very harsh. Do your best to ignore that, and just take the comment for what it is. An honest effort to help.

\"Improvement will only come to those who try.\" -- I have no idea where I heard that, but I think it\'s very much true.

So, make with the pics!
:beer:

 

[airhead]

The cmon articles section is a great library:

http://www.coolminiornot.com/article



A great tutorial on eyes:

http://www.reapermini.com/TheCraft/12

in fact, if you look to the left side of that page, there is a section called \"The Craft\" click on it. Lots of good advice.



Another question pops to mind. Eyes require a good brush. A natural sable brush with a good tip is a must.

Reaper black handled brushes (not the red handled ones)

Once you feel you need to use better tools:
Winsor & Newton Series 7\'s are the standard, but there are other brands as good or better depending on your location.

 

[Sosryet]

Thanks a lot for the help everyone! I uploaded the picture in this post:

http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/viewthread.php?tid=29135

Now... \"Super Clean, Simple Green, or Pine Sol\".... I live in Argentina, so I don\'t know if I am going to find thoose brands... What this products made of?

airhead: Thanks for that Article, It was exactly what I\'ve been looking for days...

BarstoolProphet: Yes... I be seen some of the comments in the CMON gallery... I won\'t post there for now... hehehe.

 

[Ritual]

I\'m not sure those products mentioned earlier will strip off enamel paints. Probably not. They work well for acrylics, though.

 

[Gilvan Blight]

You noted not wanting to mess up any expensive miniatures, so pick up some cheap ones to practice on. I see the mini you submitted is a Games Workshop mini. GW is known for having some of the most expensive miniatures on the market. A cheaper easy to find alternative is Reaper. Your FLGS (Friendly Local Games Store) may also stock other cheaper minis (unfortunately mine doesn\'t).

Another place to find cheap minis to practice on is games. Paint up the metal bits to monopoly. Have a copy of Heroquest and you are set for months. Even things like the Mouse from Moustrap would provide a \'free\' mini to practice on.

Lastly drop the Enamel paints. Swap over to Acrylics. They are much easier to work with, can be easily thinned down (usually the first step in improving your painting) and are usually more transparent and thus better for layering.

 

[Ritual]

Originally posted by Gilvan Blight
Lastly drop the Enamel paints. Swap over to Acrylics. They are much easier to work with, can be easily thinned down (usually the first step in improving your painting) and are usually more transparent and thus better for layering.

I know painters who swear by their enamels and use them to great effect (Bill Horan, anyone? ). It\'s just a matter of what you\'re used to. Different types of paints have different strengths. One thing, though... Here on CMON most painters use acrylics, so if you want advice here it might be a good idea to switch.

 

[Sosryet]

I\'d reaaaally like to avoid switching... I have many enamel paints and no acrylics. I\'ve found that most of the techniques can be done with enamel. Insted of using water to thin down the paint, I use paint thinner... Hum.. I don\'t know hot to translate it, but let\'s say it is an equivalent of acetone. It makes the paint more transparent too. Thanks for the advise, though.

I am wondering... Isn\'t the primer used for this cases enamel? I\'ve heard of people stripping down their primer with thoose products.

 

[PegaZus]

Originally posted by Sosryet
Now... \"Super Clean, Simple Green, or Pine Sol\".... I live in Argentina, so I don\'t know if I am going to find thoose brands... What this products made of?

Not sure of what they are exactly made of, but these are all kitchen cleaners, mostly for oven cleaning. Pine Sol is floor cleaner (for mopping).

A quick wiki check:

Pine Sol: pine oil,Alkyl alcohol ethoxylates,Sodium petroleum sulfonate and isopropanol

Simple Green: ingredients are trade secrets, but has 2-butoxyethanol and phosphorus

However, I\'m not sure they\'ll work on enamels.

 

[generulpoleaxe]

enamels are great for metals (i\'m definately going to give them a go considering the results people ike bill horan and adrian bay get)

when thinned to the point that they look like water the make great filters for aging things like armour and cloth as well as shading metals.

for acrylics, get hold of jeremie\'s dvd mate, it\'s the dogs bollocks.
http://www.kraken-editions.com/no_cache/en/artefactory/shop/index.html

 

[Sosryet]

Hum... Kitchen and floor cleaners... I will try that.

For now I tested stripping off the paint using paint thiner. I used an old toy I had painted with enamel a long time ago.

It worked pretty well... After the first hour of being in the paint thinner, most of the paint came off easily. After the second hour there was no paint at all... However, undesirable effects appeard. The paint thinner affected the plastic toy, making it smoother and lossing some of it\'s shape.

So, before trying on this on an actuall mini, I will test different times of exposure and maybe mixing the paint thinner with vegetable oil for on side and mixing it with alcohol.