So, this is my first time I will be receiving a bevy of mini's, unpainted, and I need to decide what color(s) to paint them!
Getting the minis for contributing to Reaper's Bones minis.
An example I was thinking were the Ogres. In my mind I think of them as green skinned. Dunno why. But an example I saw from them were more of a tan color.
Thoughts/suggestions for the different races/classes I should color these things?
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What paints do you have?
I usually go on the reaper boards, find someones existing paint job that I like and try to mimic it. Colour theory and such isn't my forte.
I just painted up a bunch of tre manor's goblins in a yellowy skin tone and have to say I like that look better than green. Might be a result of seeing a billion GW greenskins and getting burned out.
Could be why I have green in my head! I've got the basics as far as paints go...it's a little of the creativity I'm lacking (read: color theory).
Although to be honest, my 4 year old is going to paint some of these with me so I'll probably end up with a purple battalion.
What I use are essentially Hobby Lobby acrylic paints in the primary and secondary colors. Then I mix whatever color I want.
Most craft paints are a bit too thick for painting minis, so I thin them down. Sometimes I use plain water, sometimes I use a bit of Minwax Future floor polish in the mix.
I also use some inks for washes after the paint dries.
If you have a whole lot of minis to paint (I once had 400 to paint) then you will use up quite a bit of the expensive special miniature paints. Although other people swear by them, I've never found a need for them. Then again, I paint them to play, not to display. So my expectations are probably a lot lower than a competitive painter's are.
Here is a link to my blog, I haven't posted any of my miniatures in a while, so you would have to go back about a year to see some of my paint jobs. Here is a link to a post with a closeup of some of my armies.
I do frequently use a pecan or walnut stain to do the "dip" method on my miniatures. It's a quick way to put some depth and it also seals them for you. You can use ink washes for dipping too.
Thanks AD and Robert!
A lot of the pro paints come in the highlight/base/shadow range too. But I usually mix mine. In fact for a critter I will often use color X with 'aged white' for highlights and 'walnut or blue' for shadow mixed in.
Here are the basics.
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As mentioned above, one thing that can be done for inspiration is to go to either Reapers Inspiration gallery or Coolminiornot and see if anyone has painted the figure. Have a look at the different paint jobs and see if you like any of the colour themes used.
Edit: Your local game store may also have painting classes where you can get tips on colours, painting techiques etc
Ooooo Thanks Curaigh and sanwah68!
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if you go to http://www.reapermini.com and find the mini in question, they usually have a pro paint job posted as one of the thumbnails (you may need to find the metal version of the model to see it) For example The townspeople.
Wow! Cpt_kirstov thank you! I'm a little intimidated by the pro paint job.
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it took me about a dozen minis before I painted one well enought to take pictures of it. Don't be afraid of having to go back and prime over a paint job you don't like and starting from scratch (might want to do some of the minis from the dungeon sets first so you can play with techniques) Also if you search youtube for "warhammer painting tutorials" you can find some good step by step descriptions of painting techniques specificly for fantasy and sci fi minis
if you go to http://www.reapermini.com and find the mini in question, they usually have a pro paint job posted as one of the thumbnails (you may need to find the metal version of the model to see it) For example The townspeople.
Also several of the miniatures also show up in the Legendary Encounters Pre-Painted Plastic. So you can look to see how they painting them for some ideas.
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I hear a lot about the stain dip method - can someone explain what this is and how it is done? Does it work on plastic minis?
I'm also thinking of doing theReaper Bones thing ...
Thanks!
http://gfbrobot.com/2010/12/03/andrews-guide-to-dipping-minis/
Marc, I would recommend the 100$ pledge level...right now it gets you 106 Minis!!! And its only going to get better too. Plus they just revealed that the kickstarter amount is allowing them to create the factory in TX instead of China, in the future.
If you do not already own a lot of paints for painting, why not throw in an extra $18 to your pledge and get the Reaper Master Series starter paint kit? You basically get what are the best paints for painting miniatures ever (DQ's opinion of course, but based on her personal experience with many paints) for half price ($1.50 a bottle). The paints included in the kit are great to start with and you can mix other colors with them for the variety you want. If you've extra cash on hand you could also get the undead set for the extra $18.
For example, with the basic MSRP paint set and an ogre, I would probably basecoat everything Muddy Brown, then highlight his skin with Tanned Skin.
For a more complete set on top of the starter set, I'd pick up a bottle somewhere of a medium silver metallic paint and a gold paint, and a bottle of Citadel Agrax Earthshade wash (this is a flat brown that details just about everything really well) and a chestnut/sepia wash (for shading/detailing lighter fleshtones and gold paint).
And otherwise, get creative! The joy of the painting hobby is doing everything the way YOU want to. Look up pictures in the Bestiary and other fantasy books for inspiration, but hell, you want to make the ogre purple, make it purple! Think about what you think would look cool and do it! Yep, you're gonna make mistakes, and things aren't going to always come out the way you pictured, but that's part of the process--you ain't gonna learn till you take some risks. :)
Happy painting!
Thanks DeathQuaker...already scheduled in the basic set of paints for $18!!
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I did some painting the other afternoon, here's an example of what you can do with a limited colour palate and very very basic skills:
https://twitter.com/throwawayimage/status/232895163570192384/photo/1
https://twitter.com/throwawayimage/status/232895624700383232/photo/1
https://twitter.com/throwawayimage/status/232895293052555264/photo/1
It's nothing earth shattering, but it looks as good as a wotc prepaint. Heh also, apologies for the image quality, crappy old iphone camera.
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I did some painting the other afternoon, here's an example of what you can do with a limited colour palate and very very basic skills:
https://twitter.com/throwawayimage/status/232895163570192384/photo/1
https://twitter.com/throwawayimage/status/232895624700383232/photo/1
https://twitter.com/throwawayimage/status/232895293052555264/photo/1
It's nothing earth shattering, but it looks as good as a wotc prepaint. Heh also, apologies for the image quality, crappy old iphone camera.
Nice! Is that a Bones plastic mini or a metal?
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That's a metal figure by Tre Manor. He has done work for Reaper, a bunch of his figures are being turned into bones - the "Mind your Manor's" ettin / ogre guys, the gnolls, and the black orcs. His other figures are being turned to plastic as well, but that's separate from reaper's kickstarter.
Oh, I have a painted version of one of the bugbears: http://throwawayimage.tumblr.com/post/5457082279/another-bugbear I can post up a painted bones version when I get back home, it's pretty much identical to the metal one.
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For anyone worried about the bigger figures, they are also fairly easy to get a paint job up at prepaint / tabletop levels:
Partially completed kyra and lavarath dragon.
https://twitter.com/throwawayimage/status/234763386494275585/photo/1/large
https://twitter.com/throwawayimage/status/194583008550993920/photo/1/large
And a completed pathfinder red dragon.
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkn54mSDT91qjbolko1_1280.jpg
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That's a metal figure by Tre Manor. He has done work for Reaper, a bunch of his figures are being turned into bones - the "Mind your Manor's" ettin / ogre guys, the gnolls, and the black orcs. His other figures are being turned to plastic as well, but that's separate from reaper's kickstarter.
Oh, I have a painted version of one of the bugbears: http://throwawayimage.tumblr.com/post/5457082279/another-bugbear I can post up a painted bones version when I get back home, it's pretty much identical to the metal one.
Thanks!
Any examples of painted plastic bones? :)
These look like really good paint jobs...if this isn't your earth shattering I'd love to see what is!
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http://www.paintrix-miniatures.com/gallery.php?sub=Miniature&group=root type&img=147
Anything by jen haley is usually mind blowing. She did that with only two colours of paint :)
B...b...but...HOW?!?!?!?
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Anne Foerster is also amazing:
http://www.reapermini.com/PaintedGallery/anne%20foerster
http://www.darkswordminiatures.com/gallery/GRRMline_Cersei.htm
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Some advice on "greybrushing" - an easy and fast way to paint up minis if you don't feel like dipping.
http://www.reapermini.com/forum/index.php?/topic/36457-cult-of-the-black-pr ime-rejoice/
http://handcannononline.com/blog/2011/08/12/tutorial-basics-speed-demon-spe ed-painting-troopers/
You can use either spray paint or dry brushing to get the desired effect. Ghool is adding flow aid to his paints, but reaper paints shouldn't require this (there is flow improver in the mix already), just distilled water.
Thanks again Robert!
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I have a bunch, but no photos with me. Have to wait till I get back to town.
Mostly I have been base coating them and then dipping them in furniture stain.
Well, here's a quick photo of some sloppily painted bones figures. The gnoll and kobolds have been dipped which is why they look glossy (they are less shiny in person) the orcs are being worked on, haven't been dipped.
https://twitter.com/throwawayimage/status/236308845583007744/photo/1/large
https://twitter.com/throwawayimage/status/236312994500464640/photo/1/large
Dipped bones gnoll next to dipped metal gnoll:
https://twitter.com/throwawayimage/status/236315435795099649/photo/1/large
Maybe because I'm an amateur, but I can't really tell much difference looking at the metal vs. plastic. Both look great...even if it was hastily painted!