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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Feb 20, 2022 17:16:06 GMT -5
I'm starting this thread just to show my process when it comes to painting miniatures. Maybe it will help someone that is just getting into it and maybe somebody with more experience than me can offer me tips and pointers to improve my process. I'm not doing this because I think I'm particularly skilled at painting miniatures. I thought it would be fun to document the process. 1. Choose Minis to Paint.I chose the Chests (Wizkids) and the Mocking Beast - Chest (Reaper) because they were in stock, and they were the best match for the picture in my head. Unless I'm painting a Warhammer miniature, I have not decided on a particular brand of miniatures to purchase. I just try to keep it to something that isn't unreasonably outside my skill range. These minis pictured below have closed chests, opened chest, and a Mimic. By the time I complete them I will have all bases covered. 
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Post by The Perilous Dreamer on Feb 20, 2022 18:05:41 GMT -5
Looking forward to seeing you flesh this out. I love to see how to stuff posted.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Feb 20, 2022 18:31:38 GMT -5
Looking forward to seeing you flesh this out. I love to see how to stuff posted. Thanks! It may seem a little tedious to some but I'm truly going to list every step of the process. No guarantee on how long the entire process will take to post but #2 will be up in the next day or so... |
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Post by The Perilous Dreamer on Feb 20, 2022 18:34:30 GMT -5
Looking forward to seeing you flesh this out. I love to see how to stuff posted. Thanks! It may seem a little tedious to some but I'm truly going to list every step of the process. No guarantee on how long the entire process will take to post but #2 will be up in the next day or so... Not tedious to read at all, tedious for me to attempt, yeah!  |
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Post by Vladimir, The Dark Prince on Feb 20, 2022 22:56:41 GMT -5
Love Mimics, players hate them.  |
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Feb 24, 2022 0:25:35 GMT -5
#2 Clean the MiniaturesI open the miniatures and wash them in a bowl with warm water and dishwater soap briefly scrubbing each surface of the miniature with a toothbrush. I didn't do this on the first few miniatures I painted. I looked up tips online for painting miniatures and found suggestions for cleaning mentioned several times. The purpose behind the cleaning is to scrub any chemicals or other contamination that may remain from the molding process. The whole process is pretty quick as I only take a few moments to brush each and every surface. After I've completed scrubbing then Iset the miniatures out to dry before painting them. Is this step absolutely necessary before doing any painting? I'll be 100% honest by saying that I don't *know* with certainty that it is but I will continue to do it for several reasons. First, the materials for scrubbing are cheap. I just use whatever dish soap and toothbrush is cheapest. Second, the process is quick to perform. Third, I seem to have better results ever since I started scrubbing the miniatures before painting them.  
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Post by hengest on Mar 19, 2022 23:20:08 GMT -5
Missed this, love it. Would like to hear more. Exalt!
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Mar 20, 2022 10:31:45 GMT -5
Missed this, love it. Would like to hear more. Exalt! More IS coming...  . |
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Mar 30, 2022 18:41:07 GMT -5
hengest you wanted more... 3. Prepare to PaintI'm not going to bore you on this post with information such as "get the paint colors you are going to use, some brushes, some water, and a paper towel. I'm assuming all this stuff is nearby.
I usually just hold the miniatures with my left hand and paint with my right hand but I'm going to change up my routine for the chest/mimic miniature. There's really no good way to hold one of these that will allow me to paint one solid coat and then stop to let it dry. I would have to stop and let a part of it dry and then pick it up later to continue so I wouldn't get my fingers in wet paint. I have a simple solution and it's as close to free as I could get without practicing some skills of the dark.  There are all sorts of accessories you can buy to aid you in miniature painting. Unless you are painting on a professional or competitive level, I see no reason to spend tons of money on stuff that won't get used on a consistent basis. Instead of buying something to hold these miniatures with I am using an old prescription bottle (free) and a few glue dots ($1) from the Dollar General; they came in a pack of 36. Granted, I won't get much use out of these - most likely no chance of using them for several miniatures - but I'm only out $1 so I'm not worried about it. In a worst-case scenario, I have to go back to the store and buy something with stronger adhesive that will cost no more than $3-$4. These are the only miniatures I own that I cannot paint by holding a base so I don't want to buy an official accessory of some sort that will sit around for an unknown amount of time before it ever gets used again.   
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Mar 31, 2022 9:52:43 GMT -5
Update to Step 3...That was the first time I tried the glue dots and I'm not satisfied with the results. The mimic fared the worst because it had such a small surface under it to attach to the pill bottle. The two chests stuck better than the mimic but not consistent enough that I would be comfortable painting the miniatures. I only have two choices at this point. I can go back to the store and pick up something with a stronger adhesive OR I can attach these miniatures to some bases I bought months ago. Rather than spend more money - for something that I'm only going to use on these three miniatures right now - I'm going to go with attaching them to the bases before I paint them. It will help out tremendously with the mimic as you can see below.  
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Post by hengest on Apr 22, 2022 11:01:44 GMT -5
I enjoyed reading about these parts of the process, including the dissatisfaction with the glue dots. Will be glad to read more.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 22, 2022 13:14:03 GMT -5
I enjoyed reading about these parts of the process, including the dissatisfaction with the glue dots. Will be glad to read more. Thanks! "Soon", my friend. Kind of wanting to buy the magnifying glass on a stand that I can place on the table and hold the miniature to paint rather than a handheld magnifier. I'm getting the itch to continue though. |
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Post by hengest on Apr 22, 2022 13:18:54 GMT -5
How'd you learn this? Just trying stuff out?
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 22, 2022 13:34:43 GMT -5
How'd you learn this? Just trying stuff out? Trail and error for much of it. Youtube for others. I discovered the magnifier with a stand by browsing the paint section at Hobby Lobby. It was like an "aha" moment for sure. |
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 22, 2022 13:37:16 GMT -5
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Post by hengest on Apr 22, 2022 13:47:46 GMT -5
Oh, that's pretty sweet. My mom used to have something like that for sewing. I think just an insane light to shine directly onto the work, but maybe a magnifier, too? Something like this. The person who uses it said this about it:  |
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 22, 2022 16:15:41 GMT -5
Oh, that's pretty sweet. My mom used to have something like that for sewing. I think just an insane light to shine directly onto the work, but maybe a magnifier, too? Something like this. The person who uses it said this about it: That setup rocks! I dig the light on it as well. I can definitely see how much easier that would same of the tiny areas. |
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 30, 2022 13:32:48 GMT -5
This project is temporarily on hold until I buy that magnifying setup in the posts above. I pulled out the chests and the supplies and attempted to paint on the first chest. I like to do the tiny parts first so I can cover up any overages with the paint covering the larger area. I truly could not see that small well enough to paint. I could have used my bifocals, but I *think* it might have been uncomfortable trying to pain 5 models like that. Anyway, I'm going to make a trip to Hobby Lobby in a week or two and pick this back up.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on May 13, 2022 14:24:36 GMT -5
Until I get the equipment I need, follow the process in this thread about painting a Wizard miniature.
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.
There are all sorts of accessories you can buy to aid you in miniature painting. Unless you are painting on a professional or competitive level, I see no reason to spend tons of money on stuff that won't get used on a consistent basis. Instead of buying something to hold these miniatures with I am using an old prescription bottle (free) and a few glue dots ($1) from the Dollar General; they came in a pack of 36. Granted, I won't get much use out of these - most likely no chance of using them for several miniatures - but I'm only out $1 so I'm not worried about it. In a worst-case scenario, I have to go back to the store and buy something with stronger adhesive that will cost no more than $3-$4. These are the only miniatures I own that I cannot paint by holding a base so I don't want to buy an official accessory of some sort that will sit around for an unknown amount of time before it ever gets used again.
