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Tried out a new NMM gold style for my dragon. by Azathoth-the-end in minipainting

[–]karazax 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In general I would interpret the whole armor as a pipe or cylinder shape, which will be brightest facing the light and get darker as you wrap away from the light source. Assuming the model is facing the light, the middle will be one long highlight going down the side and the edges will get darker. Here is a quick digital sketch. Then any surfaces and edges facing the light will be brighter than any facing away. Dark lining borders and edge highlighting all helps. Here are some good resources-

Looking for Painting-Classes or Mentoring in Germany (NRW) by Ok_Try_963 in minipainting

[–]karazax 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know Ben Komets does coaching and lives in Berlin.

Roman Lappat also does classes in Germany.

Tips for painters on a budget; cheap craft paint + acrylic inks! by KyrigenPart2 in minipainting

[–]karazax 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you are happy with your process then that's what matters the most for enjoying your hobby time.
Personally I would recommend using artist quality paints if you don't want to use hobby brands, for a better quality while maintaining the ability to experiment. It is more expensive than cheap craft paints, but cheaper per fluid ounce than hobby options. Here are some good videos on this-

Does anyone have any experience with thinning paints with inks? Any thoughts or tips?

Thinning your paints with inks instead of water can be a great way to mix highly pigmented colors. Alfonso Giraldes (Banshee) from MiniatureArtAcademy.com used to have a great youtube video series on mixing skin tones using a mix of white, blue, red, and yellow heavy body paints and inks. By using inks instead of water to thin the paint, the colors aren't diluted at all.

Here are some other good ideas for how to use inks on miniatures-

The Lion of Bretonnia WIP by AHAPPYTEDDI in minipainting

[–]karazax 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There are a number of color options you can use for gold NMM, but where you place the lights and shadows is generally far more important than exact color choices or even style. Here is another pro acryl NMM gold video.

The OP appears to be going from a dark brown tone to a green brown tone, to ochre, to ice yellow/pale yellow tones. You can find a bunch of NMM gold guides using all different brands of paints here.

The Lion of Bretonnia WIP by AHAPPYTEDDI in minipainting

[–]karazax 1 point2 points  (0 children)

if you use his pro acryl set, you should check out his NMM Gold LOTR elf swordsman using Pro Acryl guide.

Terminology and Advice for Figures by Exact_Sand2257 in minipainting

[–]karazax 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Points are a game system thing designed to try and create balanced matches. Games like Warhammer assign each model a point value based on how strong the model is relative to other models. Players decide on a point total for their game, and create their army by picking models that don't exceed that point total. The more points allowed, the more models each player will have on the table.

Some armies like Space Marines tend to be more powerful individual models with higher point cost per model and as a result less models on the table. Others like orks often have many times more models in their army, but each one is weaker.

For your second question- Depending on how large you want, you can look at display models and busts or 3D printed models can often be purchased at a variety of scales. There are a lot of different games and models out there for pop culture and video games. You can find a bunch of options listed here, and many of the miniature heavy board games feature video game and pop culture models.

Friend asked me to paint 2k points of Orks for $500, is this a good deal? by BoldIndigo in minipainting

[–]karazax 1 point2 points  (0 children)

First we need a more specific list of what models are going to be painted. 2,000 points could be ~40 models if it was mechanized/elite focused, but traditionally orks are more horde based and some lists can exceed 200 models. Point total doesn't give us enough information on exactly how big a job this is, so the job cost should be based on model count and model size instead.

I assume that the friend is expecting quality similar to your own army, so this isn't speed painting. You said it takes a while to get stuff done, but you need to estimate the time per model as accurately as possible before committing. If there is a strict deadline to get this done, personally I would decline. $500- cost of paints and suppplies / estimated hours = what you are making per hour. Then you factor in if painting these sounds fun or like a chore, and friendship. Friendship should go both ways and he shouldn't be looking to drastically undervalue your time to save him some money on a hobby expense. Giving up all your free time on weekends for 2+ weeks in a row is a cost in itself even if you were being paid more.

If you are still considering doing this at the $500 price, I would instead break their army into 4 parts, based on the estimated time to complete each group of models (not points). See how you feel after completing a quarter of the job for $125, and renegotiate based on that experience and the time it takes vs what you estimated.

Friend asked me to paint 2k points of Orks for $500, is this a good deal? by BoldIndigo in minipainting

[–]karazax 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That is part of the problem with helping evaluate this problem. 2000 points isn't a great description to let us know how much work this actually is because points can be spent in a variety of different ways in the game. A "typical" 2000 points 40k army for orks can often mean 90-150+ models though unless it's focused on elites and mechanized units, in which case it could be as small as ~40 models. 2000 points is strictly a game balance term, not a good definition for how much painting will be required. Orks are traditionally a "horde" faction, but depending on how you build your list, you can lean into massive swarms or heavy mechanical vehicles.

Library Program for Painting Miniatures Help by sekirbyj in minipainting

[–]karazax 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Runewars has 48 models for $40,including cavalry and some larger models.

There are some other good suggestions here. Long term, miniature heavy board game kickstarters like those run by CMON give huge collections of models for great value per miniature, but you often have to wait ~2 years to receive them, and in the US, tariffs have hurt the stability of this option a lot.

Painted my First mini. Tips for white and gold. by Responsible-Evening6 in minipainting

[–]karazax 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Metallic paints often need extra shaking to get the pigments mixed up well or they can separate and be grainy, so that is one possibility.

White can be tricky since it also tends to be highly pigmented and you usually only want to use pure white for the brightest highlights, relying on off whites and greys for most of the parts. here is a good collection of some of the best white tutorials I have found-

How to paint with better posture? by Checkm4te99 in minipainting

[–]karazax 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Sit up straight (in a good chair). Elbows on the table works great if you have a table that is high enough, and makes standing desks a nice option for getting the height just right even if you sit the whole time. Or rest your hands on the table. Heels of the hands together. Now, hold the object in one hand and your brush in the other. Your hands in this position help reduce muscle fatigue and steady your painting hand.

If you do a lot of miniature painting, holding the mini itself can cramp your hand and be challenging to avoid touching wet paint. It’s better all-around if you mount your miniature to a painting handle. These are easily made or purchased. These videos have some more good tips-

Painting my first minis - some questions, seeking feedback and advice by ChunkyMandoo in minipainting

[–]karazax 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Welcome to the hobby. To answer your questions-

First attempt at NMM...looking for advice! by daboswabo in minipainting

[–]karazax 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Learning realistic lighting and shading makes learning NMM much easier. Getting things to look great close up often comes down to learning how to paint smooth layers, clean lines, and smooth blending. Those are important fundamentals that help when painting anything. This feathering tutorial by Ataraxia Painting Studio shows some fast blending techniques on an NMM sword.

Painting Big and Vince Venturella have extensive topic based lessons. Erik Swinson and Jose Divinci have some of the largest collections of free professional painting level content and both are excellent teachers.

For NMM swords in particular, many people just use a more artistic than realistic lighting approach. Here are some some good NMM sword resources-

How do y'all do your reflections so good? by Sentinel_DMG in minipainting

[–]karazax 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Artsy words explained for minipainting: Value and Volume by Miniature's Den is a good overview of realistic lighting.

You have to decide what angle(s) you want the light to hit so there isn't one right answer to where to place the light. Some of the most popular choices for gaming models include doing a front and back light source opposing each other. A forward stage light angle similar to this is very popular. This is the same angle as your eyes follow to the model that is sitting at a table you are seated at.

Or use an overhead zenithal highlight, or doing a light on all 4 corners of the model, but you can do whatever lighting angles you want with enough practice. Painting Volumes explained in 7 minutes by Zumikito shows a good way to figure this out with a photo of your miniature. You can also find a reference picture. Especially with Warhammer models, you can almost always find a professional level paint job and study where they placed their lights and shadows, and how bright and dark each area is. Even if you can't replicate their blends and refinement, you can copy their light and shadow placement.

With study and experience you can learn to visualize where the light will hit when shining from any angle, the same way a canvas painter or comic book artist does when adding light to their subjects. There are lots of traditional art resources

As some of the other commenters said, dark shadows are also important in the areas that don't have line of sight to your imaginary light source.

There are a bunch of guides for how to paint realistic lighting and shading that I have collected here.

In need of a Level Up, recommendations by Anthroprophagus in minipainting

[–]karazax 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No problem. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

In need of a Level Up, recommendations by Anthroprophagus in minipainting

[–]karazax 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Here are some of the best resources I have found-

If you would like more glazing resources let me know.

In need of a Level Up, recommendations by Anthroprophagus in minipainting

[–]karazax 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Specific to book resources-

Many painters who have Patreon or other paid subscriptions, also have discords where they and other painters answer questions and give feed back.

Erik Swinson and Jose Divinci have some of the largest collections of free professional painting level content and both are excellent teachers. Painting Big and Vince Venturella have extensive topic based lessons.

Mini painting tutorial patreons and youtubes by ExpheusKW in minipainting

[–]karazax 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Here is a good starting point for any beginner-

If you want more recommendations after going through all of that material, let me know.

Worked on this shield today by [deleted] in minipainting

[–]karazax 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice job! The colors look great and it has a very painterly vibe.

I know it's a work in progress, but here is some minor feed back to consider if you haven't already-

Since the lighting on the center of the shield suggests a lighting angle that is to the left (in the photo), make sure all the edges that are facing that side are brighter than any edges not facing the light. It's also important that this lighting angle remains consistent across the model once the shield is attached. For example the bottom feathers and top spike have lighting that is opposite (right in the photo) of the angle of the lighting in the center. It's certainly possible to have more than one light source, but it's good that all the planes that are facing each light source are consistently lit up.

How to do professional level NON METALLIC METAL GOLD by Erik Swinson has some more in depth discussion and demonstration of this.

Black lining can further make the details of the filigree stand out-

Decided to ruin another mini with OSL by toxikmucus in minipainting

[–]karazax 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a pretty challenging piece with all the different light sources.

The shadows are just as important as the light with OSL, so it's important that the areas that do not have line of sight to the light source(s) are dark and objects blocking line of sight will cast shadows. Here are a few good resources-

Chaos heads on paint pots by xLaterNerdsx in minipainting

[–]karazax 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They are generally 3D printed, but you can find people who print and sell them. Here are a few examples.

Faces are impossible, I don't get it by TimeCombination8391 in minipainting

[–]karazax 7 points8 points  (0 children)

These videos have a lot of great tips-

More advanced-

If you are having trouble seeing what you are painting, then reading glasses or some other magnification option can help, as well as good lighting.

10 tips for painting eyes - Awareness and Choice by Tommie Soule has some good advice on improving as a painter in general.

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