Question about miniature painting

[Hituro]

So I'm a bit new at this but I wanted to clarify some things. With washes, do they have to be the same color that you're using for a base coat? Or should I just have one or two all purpose washes I use for shadowing? Also, as far as priming, I live in an apartment and really don't have a place I can spray prime on the premise. Any suggestions? Should I go to like some secluded area or something? Just sounds weird :P

[tyckspoon]

You could try hand-priming, but it's tedious and difficult to get even or complete coverage doing that compared to spraying. Just get a a nice big cardboard box or something to use for an overspray catcher and do it in the parking lot. You don't need a lot of space or time to do it as long as you're careful about where you're pointing the paint.

For the washes - no, they absolutely do not need to be the same color as the base. A lot of interesting paint effects are built around the interactions of different colors/tones/shades/hues/whatever of base paint, shadows, and highlights..

That said, if you're just trying to quick-shade something, the easiest way to do it is with a wash of either a darker tone of the majority color on the figure or just using black or a dark ink wash.

[Mootsmcboots]

Washes shadow really nicely if you use a complimentary colour to do the wash. It's daunting at first cause adding an entirely different/opposite colour for shadow seems counter intuitive, but it works nicely.

I will also say that spray primer isn't super needed. I tend to do mini's(I've only done a few) with Gesso. It's an easy to come by primer/ground, mostly used for art, but it primes mini's really well. It contracts when it dries, filling crevices without muting details, no worries about fumes, and it can be brushed on. When it dries, its got some tooth to it, so it takes coats of paint very nicely. A jar of gesso will prime enough mini's to last you a good long time.

Alot of mini painters will poopoo Gesso, but that's because they are elitist snobs who are stuck in their ways.

I'd suggest Golden brand Gesso myself, I use black and white, sometimes mixing it for grey as well.

I did an Orc Tundra guy from reaper recently with a gesso base and a few washes. It came out pretty solid. I can post a pic of it if you want a a look. I also used a brown wash on anything metallic the mini had on, to give it kind of a greased look. Came out pretty solid.

Check out youtube, there's a few really good mini painters on there, they go through alot of effects and washes. One guy paints mostly warhammer mini's, and because there's so many of them, he does a lot of techniques that are quick and easy but give really solid looks. It's where I got the Brown wash Idea.

[Brookshw]

Personally I'm a fan of primers and as was said, a card board box works well out in the driveway (also for sealers). If you want to get a white, grey, black primer for whatever color scheme you want the figure to end up. If you just want one I recommend grey.

If your buying washes go with a darker shade than the main color. If you're mixing take a bit of the main, some black, and a bit of water, mix. For drybrushing/highlighting generally a lighter shade for bought, or mix with a bit of white. Varies on application.

How far are you going? Missing the bases?

For fun, date the bottom of each piece. Its kinda fun to look at them and know twenty years has passed.

[Hituro]

Thanks for the tips guys. I actually went and got some more paints and some darker washes today. Another question I have. When painting the gravel/ground effects on the bases how do you usually clean up the edges after painting the terrain on the base?

[Prince Raven]

I give the entire edge of the base a coat of black.

[Brookshw]

Thanks for the tips guys. I actually went and got some more paints and some darker washes today. Another question I have. When painting the gravel/ground effects on the bases how do you usually clean up the edges after painting the terrain on the base?

Depends how you're doing the base. Normally I paint the entire base, sides included, green or whatever color similar to the terrain. Let it dry. Take some elmers glue and mix with water. Paint that where I want the moss etc to stick, just a light coat should do. Dip base top where glue is on moss (usually I keep moss in old hummus or similar containers with a wide top for easy access but seal-able with the normal cover). After it dries you should be able to just blow off any that's sticking to other places. With the undercoat of paint never really saw any gaps. How are you applying and what exactly are you using for terrain?