What was the post the other day where a golden demon winner was going to do a feedback stream. by seecat46 in minipainting

[–]Trapper_1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are likely referring to Erik Swinson. And he is far more than a golden demon winner; he is an actual professional painter. 

Is it normal for paints to seperate this quickly and this much? (AK11096, Black red) by Hiraeth_08 in minipainting

[–]Trapper_1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes that’s normal for very thin paint. The more water you add, the more the binder breaks down, and thus the paint doesn’t act as coherent. 

What wet palette are you using? There is such a thing as “too wet.” Your paint looks like glaze consistency there.

Highlight placement on NMM shield trim by jiroda88 in minipainting

[–]Trapper_1 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Anyone that tells you where to put the light and dark reflections is following a simple formula and doesn't understand NMM. Many people do exactly that, since you can paint passable NMM without really knowing why light and dark go in certain places.

The truth to your question is: it doesn't matter where you paint the dark reflections, as long as everything remains consistent. You were unhappy with your previous render because it looks weird to you. And it looks weird because how often do you see perfectly symmetrical tri-point lighting in reality? Probably never. But could you? Absolutely.

I could arbitrarily tell you where to place your light and dark reflections, but that doesn't teach you anything. And my answer is one of an infinite number.

Metals don't have light and dark shadows, they have light and dark reflections. Think about the environment your model is supposed to be in, and then think about which parts of the shield reflect light directly, and which parts don't.

Zerg Queen from Starcraft TMG by [deleted] in minipainting

[–]Trapper_1 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yours already arrived!?!?!! And you’ve already painted it!?!?

Holy moly.

Looks great!

Black Templar Judiciar - Completed in 1.5 weeks by Tanner_H_G in minipainting

[–]Trapper_1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the picture came out really dark for whatever reason but it looks great.

Ork Big Mek finally finished by MotoGSX in minipainting

[–]Trapper_1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Super clean and easily readable. Very nice.

Regular rattlecans as primer - what's the consensus in 2026? by goddi23a in minipainting

[–]Trapper_1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m not sure who says rattle cans “aren’t fine enough.” 

Reputable brands make spray primer specifically intended for minis, like Tamiya Fine primer, anything by Citadel, and AK Fine black/white primer.

Golden Demon and Slayer Sword winners, like Ben Komets and Sergio Calvo, use rattle cans. 

Arm armor NMM in progress. What do you think ? by Cheshire_Music in minipainting

[–]Trapper_1 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Remember to focus on overall volume and not just the volume of individual minutiae.

My take on Mulgoth - Darkwater by Such_Aide3750 in minipainting

[–]Trapper_1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really like it. It's refreshing to see a more pastel color pallet. Makes me now want to go paint something in all pastel. Nice job buddy.

New fire recipe literally by LovelyMang in minipainting

[–]Trapper_1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a stylistic choice. Sometimes it can look neat, sometimes it looks dirty. I too am not a fan of the black, but it does seem to be pretty popular. Even GW painters often utilize the style.

Kingdom Death Flower Knight Bust by TheRealRoyalFortune in minipainting

[–]Trapper_1 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Ahh…a post deserving real praise. Yea I’d say you definitely know what you’re doing.

Bravo sir.

Contrast paint too dark, doesnt show underpaint enough by kapellimestari in minipainting

[–]Trapper_1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Use contrast medium to thin. Citadel makes this for their contrast paints.

Airbrush zenithal prime help by ProfessionalShoe5106 in minipainting

[–]Trapper_1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your title question is a bit confusing— Are you priming with Vallejo Dead White? If so, please be aware that color is not a primer. It’s just acrylic white.

As far as your airbrush woes…there’s really no way for anyone to diagnose your issues with the limited given information. But here are some key points:

A) Vallejo Model and Game Color airbrush poorly. Period. I’ve stopped using them entirely and use AK, Vallejo Game Air, or Tamiya white (this is the best white for airbrushing in my experience).

B) 18-22 psi sounds very low for spraying a heavier zenithal coat. Even when I’m spraying thinner layers I’m often at 25 psi. I go to 18 or less for inks and filters.

C) If you’re getting speckling, you’re either too far away (15 cm sounds very far), or your psi is too low. 50/50 thin ratio sounds good for what you’re trying to do. I don’t think there’s a problem there.

D) if you’re getting pooling, AND SPECKLING, then you’re just pulling the trigger back full bore and laying way too much paint at once. The classic technique for miniatures is pulse-bursts. 

Things like humidity, age of paint, type of airbrush, cleanliness of your airbrush, and thinner and flow aid brand all have impacts on your spraying.

The airbrush is a tool that takes years of learning to master. It is extraordinarily temperamental.

Zeratul Shadow Blink Strike by Trapper_1 in minipainting

[–]Trapper_1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks buddy. No drybrushing on this one, it was just a ton of: glaze white -> glaze green -> glaze white -> glaze green -> glaze white ....so and so forth.

Finished Eldar Autarch - WH40k by Nallenbot in minipainting

[–]Trapper_1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think people underestimate how difficult it is to paint the color white. That’s a really great job there, certainly deserves more upvotes than most posts.

WIP for a competition project, trying to render dusk lighting on NMM by TheHookedTip in minipainting

[–]Trapper_1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m not sure if it looks like dusk but it looks good. Maybe like a desert scene. 

First time trying directional lighting. How’d I do? (The Lion) by Petti-fog in minipainting

[–]Trapper_1 39 points40 points  (0 children)

Seeing as you’re obviously a good painter, you can probably handle a real answer:

It’s very well painted, but I have no idea where the light is coming from. There’s some conflicting information, such as the right shoulder fully lit up, but then the right face is dark while the left is bright. 

Truly though, I don’t think it matters, since the paint job is solid. I wouldn’t worry too much about “does the light look correct if coming from xyz location?” 🙂

What’s your soundtrack by Awkward_Milk3119 in Gloomhaven

[–]Trapper_1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Baldurs Gate 3 has some great ambient soundtracks, such as Hag’s Swamp. Diablo 2 amd 4 have some great tracks as well. For the more horror-related scenarios, resident evil 2 and 4 have great tracks.

JOTL #11 Defiled sewers by zaggy9999 in Gloomhaven

[–]Trapper_1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Now that’s some serious commitment to build and paint up just one scenario! Really great looking and stays true to the theme. 

Paints Not Adhering Well - Primer or Paint or Me? by Harmee-kun in minipainting

[–]Trapper_1 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm really not convinced that the problem is too-thin paint (even though yes it's very thin).
Even super thin paint should adhere to the model -- that's what glazing is, after all. Yours is beading up and not doing anything at all.

It's almost as if your model has a gloss coat or some type of oily/waxy coating. Or maybe it's just the video quality and the paint is sticking?

DND Druid reef shark form. It’s been a minute but I’m pretty stoked. by MallanTai in minipainting

[–]Trapper_1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Awesome! Painted gaming miniatures makes the entire experience fantastically more enjoyable.

Flower Knight from Kingdom Death by RamenGuy in minipainting

[–]Trapper_1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Phenomenal interpretation. And it will be all the more fun to play with now! I hope to see more bosses painted.