I find it difficult to believe that since the advent of video games that there are still people out there that want to play table top games. I mean what's the point now?
As someone who played video games way before I played Warhammer, I can honestly say the experience of playing a video game and playing a game of 40k are nothing alike.
I find it difficult to believe that since the advent of video games that there are still people out there that want to play table top games. I mean what's the point now?
...I can't tell if you're trolling. I hope you are cause if not...
Are you serious?? I can't believe since the advent of movies people even want to read books. I mean what's the point now?
How common exactly is color/ink washing? I feel like it's borderline cheating and I'm sure you get a more believable look if you put the time in just dry brushing and such. I've now painted two of the Ultramarines and the newer one got in a wash accident, other than that I feel like I'm getting the hang of how thin I want my paint to be.
It's still salvagable and I'm gonna pimp it to pristine condition with some time.
@ervonymous: Always thought that too! But i see it's uses. If you have a small army it's cooler to have really detailed paint jobs. But.. once you start getting in tyranid territory (or orc, skaven from fantasy), especially previous book, you have a ton of grunts to paint.
When having to do 80 Terma/horma gaunts you will feel like stuff like that is simply amazing.
Lets you put out some nicely tabletop quality real fast.
@RsistncE: I don't play a lot of table top games myself, but I'd say it is more social since you interact with others in person. A lot of the game-play can also be driven by your imagination.
5. There are multiple aspects that people enjoy. (Customizing units to be completely unique, uniquely painting miniatures or mass painting miniatures to sell, combination of everything.)
6. Even the little kids who are starting up the hobby aren't annoying as hell like on Xbox Live.
You ever wonder why people still play Dungeons and Dragons? Or Monopoly? Or ANY board games let a lone table top games?
Eeeeh, little kids are always annoying as hell. Nerdy kids especially so.
It depends on your definition of color/ink washing. If you're talking about base colors/devlan mud wash, that's really common. I did that with the flesh of my mechanithralls. Its an excellent way to get infantry on the table quick and fast while looking pretty good. I actually prefer the look of a base and wash then dry brushing. If I'm using a metallic paint, I'll always put a wash of black or brown over it. If you're blending colors by feathering, a wash of color also helps reduce the gradient in colors; its very useful, as once you put a gloss/matte coat on your model, the coating changes how light refracts on the model and the gradients become -very- obvious.
But, you'll often see this:
Bare plastic/metal -> Spray Painted Black -> Spray Painted another colour -> Base colored. -> Base colored/edge highlighted. -> Base colored and washed/dipped in floor wax -> high quality tabletop -> high quality -> display -> $10,000 Crystal Brush Winners.
Dry brushing has its uses, but on a whole model, I find it tends to make things... grainy. Paint gets flicked all over, and with metallics, the crystaline in the paint gets chucked all over the place. I use dry brushing for two applications, really. Makeup on female characters and flame throwers/vents. For the later, bolt gun metal, then a wash of black ink. Dry brush bolt gun metal once the ink has dried. Dry brush a coppery/gold color over the first half of the thrower's exhaust. Then, once that is dry, dry brush black over the first quarter. You'll end up with a dirty looking, oxidized metal.
@ervonymous: I'd say there's a definate difference between "inking/washing" and the practice known as "dipping". One is selective in area (ie: dab it on in a smaller area) - the other is just dumping the model in quick-shade. Sure, actual manual shading will give a better result, but it'll take much longer and require more skill. I might get to that level at some time - but I'm not quite there yet, and right now, I'm more focused on painting up the stuff I have on my current skill-level rather than experiment - for a while, at least :)
Personally, I love washing, it's fast (by my standards) and gives good results once you put some work into it. I use quite a lot of Badab Black (followed by Gryphonne Sepia, Devlan Mud and Ogre Flesh), and I largely use it as a method of shading and highlighting - I describe my technique a few pages back, and you can see an example of the results I get on page 2 and 3.
@Mnemoidian: @Zelyre: Wow, thanks for the insight! I only have a basic understanding of the jargon and even that's based on the couple of simple tutorials I've read, nice to know what's what and what I should aim for in the future.
I've only been at it for a few days and I'm totally into it.
@ervonymous: No worries - I know it's a difficult hobby to get into, just trying to share what little I've picked up :)
But, of course - I'm not that great at this either, and I'm sure there's someone out there facepalming at me thinking washing is a good way to shade models. But... from what I've seen so far, a large part of the hobby is to take advice from people who have gotten further than you are, and then to apply it in a way that works for you. :)
Another example:
Turns out it's difficult to get good photos of dudes with shields ;)
@Mnemoidian: I really love the way those look, really intimidating but also inspiring as a newcomer.
One specific question, is applying the very first layer(s) of paint by hand a bad idea? I can see the advantages of spray painting, but since I'm just starting I'd like to stick to one thing if it's not screwing me over.
The first layer is usually called "priming" - you can certainly do it by hand, but you are unlikely to get the same smooth result. Not only will a primer set the grounds for what kind of colors you'll be able to get: white makes it easier to get bright vibrant colors (like candy red), black gives a darker effect and can aid in "lining" models (basically, if you have areas between armor plates that you want to be black - if you start with a black basis, that effect is easier to accomplish) and other colors have other benefits and drawbacks (brown is great for gold...).
The other effect of the primer is that it gives you a surface that is more susceptible to accepting paint (being slightly porose). Plastic (and metal) tends to be a bit slippery and can impact final results... but it's been ages since I've tried to paint a model without applying the primer with spraypaint - I don't exactly remember the results, other than ultimately settling on preferring to spray paint (and then spending ages deciding if I wanted black or white primer).
(I have heard that there are art shops that sell brush-on primer, but it's not something I've tried myself - but I have heard people who swear by it).
But again, certainly, for your first models - if you are just itching to get started, I'd say just painting is a lot more important than getting everything perfect. You'll probably need a while to get really comfortable with everything anyway - I know I did :)
Paint needs a surface to adhere to. Primer will do it. Plain plastic or meta will just cause the paint to pool on the surface. Think oil on water.
Spray on primer works, but you need to worry about humidity, if its humid out, the primer will make your model feel chunky. If you spray too heavily, you cover up all the details.
What I suggest is something called gesso. Painters use it to prime their canvas and you can use it to prime your miniatures. I prefer it over spray primer for numerous reasons. Its cheap. It doesn't care about the humidity. It shrinks considerably when it dries. You can paint gesso on quite thickly. Let it dry overnight and once dried, you'll lose no details. You won't need to worry about wind, wearing a mask, or making a box to spray your miniatures in. Just get a large, flat brush and paint it on sloppily.
When you're done, and you're proud of your work, seal it with a spray on varnish, otherwise the paint will rub off. I like Testor's Matte Varnish. Krylon works well, too. -Never- use Games Workshop's 'Ard Coat spray, that stuff ends up making it look like you dropped your model in white paint.
@Zelyre: Nice, I've neglected finishing them so far, they're really not worth it yet. I had a feeling some of the GW stuff might be janky, good thing to know.
@Mnemoidian: I really love the way those look, really intimidating but also inspiring as a newcomer.
One specific question, is applying the very first layer(s) of paint by hand a bad idea? I can see the advantages of spray painting, but since I'm just starting I'd like to stick to one thing if it's not screwing me over.
By first later, what do you mean? Do you mean the black/white undercoat, or the layer that goes on after?
If you mean the undercoat, then it doesn't really matter, but obviously spraying a model black is a hell of a lot quicker than painting one. If you mean the basecoat then it doesn't really matter either. I hand paint that and it turns out fine.
I have now realized that I am a retard as you said the very first layer, which would be the undercoat. If you're gonna hand paint it, I'd recommend painting the undercoat, and the washing the undercoat. Though to be honest, a can of black or white spray paint is £8 and you get a lot out of it. I personally have a stash of both under my bed.
@ervonymous: GW stuff hobby materials I would shy away from in general. They range from grossly overpriced to model damaging. The only things I'd recommend are the washes and foundation paints. The brushes aren't bad, though for a few bucks more, you can get really nice sable brushes. The paints are ok, but the containers aren't great. You'll get to a point where you start making your own color recipes, and that's where paint in dropper bottles is a god send. I can say "3 drops blood red, 1 drop Poo Brown, 4 drops water, 2 drops drying slower, and 1 drop soap." instead of "Hm... this... looks right?"
So, I've got something of a question for all the model painters here, just something out of curiosity - With models not really being cheap, and time itself being valuable, how often do you find yourself experimenting with painting models? Like, how often do you find yourself either experimenting with new techniques that you know that, if they don't work out, you may have to either scrap the model or find a way to repaint it entirely? Or even just find yourself experimenting with new painting techniques despite the risk that you won't like the way it turns out for what you were trying to do? I mean, experimentation is kind of the only way to get better, right? (along with practice, that is), but, with models being expensive as they are and painting being as time consuming as it can be, do you find yourself less willing to take risks trying something? Do you kind of just roll with it and if you have to repaint something then so be it? Or have most of you sort of 'found your groove' to the point you just don't find yourselves experimenting so much anymore?
Edit: Or, not even necessarily experimenting with techniques, but with things like color schemes too.
@FateOfNever: Normally, I research a "new technique" or something to the level where I feel confident enough that I can pull it off before I start employing it on actual miniatures I care about, but I normally try to experiment a little bit on every miniature I paint - small things normally ("What if I put Magenta Ink over my normal 'red recipe'?") that are fairly easily corrected simply by adding another thin layer of paint (without necessarily taking a lot of time) if it turns out terrible.
If I don't feel that confident, I have a bunch of miniatures that came with the game in earlier editions (snap-to-fit models, they don't look geat) which I use more to try out colorschemes and different varnishes on.
If I'm not even that confident (or just feel like I don't want to put in the time for an entire model), I normally use the plastic sprue (the plastic frame) the models come in to experiment on.
@Zelyre: I've been using mostly GW supplies (laziness), but you are right, the lack of dropper-bottles is greatly annoying.
Earlier this morning, before leaving home, I used the store finder and found that there's only 1 Games Workshop store in all of Florida (there are other retailers that sell their stuff all around Florida though). No big deal though since I can just order off their website whenever I'm ready.
I have a question about some of the paint I found over there (website). Is there a difference between Foundation paint and the color paint? The main reason I wanted to try my hand at assembling and then painting a few models was mainly because of the Space Marine game. Messing around with the customizer and then seeing this thread got me thinking about how cool it would be to have a few of those models on my desk that resembled the Space Marines I created in the game.
If my Space Marine is going to have bright colors, will using a wash be necessary? Do washes serve only to make them look darker or what? My favorite chapter is the Dark Angels and I could've easily just gone and decide to make them, but I want to just mess around with color schemes for shits and giggles.
You know what, let me just cut straight to the chase. A few days ago in the customizer I made a Space Marine with an orange (Blazing Orange) and white (Skull White) color scheme and I liked the way it turned out. I've never seen anyone paint their Space Marine orange so I kind of wanted to stand out. I mainly see black and 'insert dark color here.'
Here he is: http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/576682317051608063/6FE65BD1D06BB25F7298D0B600EF48B9BCF41527/ That's what I want to recreate color wise since I know I won't get that exact same armor set up; I also just gave him the Imperial double eagle symbol thing since I didn't want to associate him with a chapter. So, can you guys give me tips on how I can go about making him? You know, aside from the two colors I named, what other colors would I need and what should I avoid doing. *Holds up a box of doughnuts above his head* I have sweets.
On a related note the figures don't seem so expensive when you compare them to the materials you need for painting and whatnot; it's crazy and I have an even greater respect for the people who do this as a hobby.
On a less related note I found this awesome video made by someone named DuskSniper called " For the Emperor! For the Imperium of Man!" It's mainly a video/slide show with some awesome Warhammer 40k artwork with fitting music. Not sure if I can link to that video but I'll do it anyway. If I can't then just let me know and I'll remove it.
Earlier this morning, before leaving home, I used the store finder and found that there's only 1 Games Workshop store in all of Florida (there are other retailers that sell their stuff all around Florida though). No big deal though since I can just order off their website whenever I'm ready.
I have a question about some of the paint I found over there (website). Is there a difference between Foundation paint and the color paint? The main reason I wanted to try my hand at assembling and then painting a few models was mainly because of the Space Marine game. Messing around with the customizer and then seeing this thread got me thinking about how cool it would be to have a few of those models on my desk that resembled the Space Marines I created in the game.
If my Space Marine is going to have bright colors, will using a wash be necessary? Do washes serve only to make them look darker or what? My favorite chapter is the Dark Angels and I could've easily just gone and decide to make them, but I want to just mess around with color schemes for shits and giggles.
You know what, let me just cut straight to the chase. A few days ago in the customizer I made a Space Marine with an orange (Blazing Orange) and white (Skull White) color scheme and I liked the way it turned out. I've never seen anyone paint their Space Marine orange so I kind of wanted to stand out. I mainly see black and 'insert dark color here.'
Here he is: http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/576682317051608063/6FE65BD1D06BB25F7298D0B600EF48B9BCF41527/ That's what I want to recreate color wise since I know I won't get that exact same armor set up; I also just gave him the Imperial double eagle symbol thing since I didn't want to associate him with a chapter. So, can you guys give me tips on how I can go about making him? You know, aside from the two colors I named, what other colors would I need and what should I avoid doing. *Holds up a box of doughnuts above his head* I have sweets.
On a related note the figures don't seem so expensive when you compare them to the materials you need for painting and whatnot; it's crazy and I have an even greater respect for the people who do this as a hobby.
On a less related note I found this awesome video made by someone named DuskSniper called " For the Emperor! For the Imperium of Man!" It's mainly a video/slide show with some awesome Warhammer 40k artwork with fitting music. Not sure if I can link to that video but I'll do it anyway. If I can't then just let me know and I'll remove it.
I'm not a pro, so I have no idea if any of the following is correct/the best:
Foundation paints just kind of, uh... "stick" better? If you apply a Colour paint directly to the undercoat, it's going to look streaky and stuff, which isn't a problem if you want to to give it mabe 3-4 layers of that colour, or you could just get a Foundation paint that you need only apply once then work off that.
A wash isn't necessary, it's just insanely useful and faster.
For that particular colour scheme, here is what I would do:
First I would prime the model with a white spray and then apply a coat of Macharius Solar Orange to the areas I wanted orange. Then I'd apply a wash, probably Badab Black as I like that with white, into the recesses of the armour, then fix up any areas where the wash might have slipped too far. And then mix some Macharius with some Blazing Orange in a 1:1 ratio and apply that, leaving areas with lower lighting (near creases in the armour and stuff) just with the pure Macharius. Then I'd apply some pure Blazing Orange leaving some of the 1:1 mix in shaded areas as before. I'm not very good at explaining myself! What I mean is, the brighter the shade of orange, the more you kind "work toward" the more well lit areas to give the impression of shading. Err, I think that would just leave highlights, which I'd probably just use the standard Bleached Bone on the edges of the orange areas.
I'm no pro and have only ever painted one white model, so you probably shouldn't do this!
Here he is: http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/576682317051608063/6FE65BD1D06BB25F7298D0B600EF48B9BCF41527/ That's what I want to recreate color wise since I know I won't get that exact same armor set up; I also just gave him the Imperial double eagle symbol thing since I didn't want to associate him with a chapter. So, can you guys give me tips on how I can go about making him? You know, aside from the two colors I named, what other colors would I need and what should I avoid doing. *Holds up a box of doughnuts above his head* I have sweets.
Foundation paints are thicker, high pigment paints. Meant to get your models from the box to the table, painted, quickly over spray black primer.
Reds and whites are the hardest colors for me, the pigmentation is never horribly strong. If you go back and look at Skarre's coat, that red is about 20 coats, built up for a smooth blend. But, fortunately, for those not crazy, or those not crazy yet, or just have better things to do with their time, foundation Malachite Red and Astronomicon Grey is where I'd start off on your model. From there, you can paint on your orange and white and it'll look smooth, without streaks or brush strokes as long as you don't glob on thick swashes of paint. The style won't win you awards, but its a good way to get a good looking model while working on brush control. I have some space marines that are unpainted and primed crappily at home that I was going to redo. I'll try and post some pics of a "how to" when I get home.
That double eagle is actually a space marine chapter. Something... something... raven. Just about every creature is claimed in some book or another. I'm sure there's a liger space marine chapter.
OK, you guys made me bust out the camera. I have two armies. My Chaos Space Marines were my first, so I'm kind of embarrassed by some of the paint jobs on the earlier models, but hell, you have to start somewhere. My Nids are mostly done, but work on them has kind of stalled since spring; I'll try to get around to posting them later.
EMPEROR'S CHILDREN
My HQsForgeworld Emperor's Children Sonic Dreadnought. My pride & joy, and easily my best painted model.Hell yeah, pink Vindicators!Stormlord Super-Heavy TransportSome Noise MarinesMy counts-as Berzerkers. In the pre-Heresy EC colors with dual pistols and green stuff'd robesThe whole happy family
@Mnemoidian: Damn man, those look sweet. Been thinking about getting a new Terminator Squad, you might have just sold an Assault squad haha. Awesome looking, great job.
I'd really like to get into 40k does any one have any recommendations? I started reading Horus rising to get into the fiction
Honestly, I'd recommend Relic's Dawn of War games (Dark Crusade would be my ideal pick). They're a great way to get introduced to the atmosphere, universe and the beats of all the different races, with the added bonus of being some of the best strategy games ever made. I'm not sure I'd recommend the Horus Heresy books, because those are very much written with the expectation that the reader already knows how it's all going to end, and what will happen to all these characters. Not sure how much a newbie would get out of them.
But if you just want to get introduced to the world, maybe try to get your hands on the main rulebook, which spells it all out pretty well and is well written. It's more than a bit expensive, so... you may want to find a pdf or something....
You know what, let me just cut straight to the chase. A few days ago in the customizer I made a Space Marine with an orange (Blazing Orange) and white (Skull White) color scheme and I liked the way it turned out. I've never seen anyone paint their Space Marine orange so I kind of wanted to stand out. I mainly see black and 'insert dark color here.'
Here he is: http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/576682317051608063/6FE65BD1D06BB25F7298D0B600EF48B9BCF41527/ That's what I want to recreate color wise since I know I won't get that exact same armor set up; I also just gave him the Imperial double eagle symbol thing since I didn't want to associate him with a chapter. So, can you guys give me tips on how I can go about making him? You know, aside from the two colors I named, what other colors would I need and what should I avoid doing. *Holds up a box of doughnuts above his head* I have sweets.
Ok. Here's that tutorial. Everything's slopped on and was all done with the Games Workshop Small Drybrush and a black sakura marker.
This is a black reach marine, out of the box, primered black. The real ones are a zillion pieces. First, we'll hit him up with foundation red.
Then, once you have a nice, smooth red, come in with thin layers of blazing orange. Make sure you keep some of the darker red where shadows would be.
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For that, if I'm doing infantry, I simply chose one direction. With the smallest amount of paint on the brush, work up to down so that the parts that would get hit with light get the most paint.
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We'll do a very light highlight with yellow. I am not a fan of edge highlighting you see on a lot of 40k models. I think it looks rather tron-ish. We're going to do what we did with the orange, but you're just going to hit the edges of the surface and bring the yellow towards the orange.
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You can -barely- see the yellow. In fact, it looks like the orange is simply brighter. Your orange is done. Let's bang him up a bit. Get some black paint. I don't have any black GW paint, but it's... Chaos Black.
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Dip the tip of a dry brush you don't care about in the black paint and then dab it on a piece of paper until you get a dotted surface. The better option is to use the sponge the metal models in blisters comes in. Tear off a tiny piece and dab it on paper until you get those little specs. You'll dab it on your marine where damage would occur.
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Then, dip another piece of sponge in boltgun metal. Try to dot the inside of the black with the metal. Battle damage! The orange part of armor is done.
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I don't own foundation grey. Or any GW grey. Imagine I did and covered the shoulder in that. Once its dry, put a very thin wash of badab black on it. Don't let it pool, or it will dry and you'll get water spots.
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Plop down the image you want. I slopped this on with a marker, then battle damaged it up with the same technique from earlier. For real space marines come with a decal sheet. If you use decals, use a solution called microsol and microset. Microsol will soften up a decal so it bends around rounded surfaces. Microset kind of melts away the plastic film of the decal so it gets a painted on look.
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And... wallah! Your basic table-top quality marine. Once you get the hang of it, you could get a squad of 10 done while watching a movie.
Thanks for all the tips guys, I really appreciate it =)
@Zelyre Dude, you went through a lot of trouble making that guide for me; now I feel like I've burden you and everyone else lol. Thanks, when I decide to buy my stuff I'll use your guide for referenece =)
I don't really have anything to contribute to this thread, but I just want to make sure you guys keep posting in it. It's really awesome to read through. Amazing work.
I don't really have anything to contribute to this thread, but I just want to make sure you guys keep posting in it. It's really awesome to read through. Amazing work.
Agreed, though I'm kind of disappointed that I didn't get any teasing for my pink Chaos Marines. C'mon guys, I served that one up to you on a platter!
I find it difficult to believe that since the advent of video games that there are still people out there that want to play table top games. I mean what's the point now?
There are times when video games can feel very hollow as a hobby. Sure, you had fun, but what do I really have to show for my time playing WoW, for example? Nothing but lost time, really.
There's something very satisfying about actually producing something from your hobby. You pour your time, money, creativity, and skill into it to create something unique, a trophy. Something tactile to show for your troubles. It's an art project with a batshit crazy sci-fi backstory, and you can play a pretty fun game with it once you are done.
Honestly, the game itself is secondary to me. Sure it's fun to come up with different builds and tactics, but the real fun is just seeing two cool armies on the table while you chat with the other like-minded people in the store. See the cool conversions people have come up with, admire the paint jobs, or just tease the poor guy who's had a grey plastic space marine army for as long as you've known him. It's a fun core to socialize around.
I don't really have anything to contribute to this thread, but I just want to make sure you guys keep posting in it. It's really awesome to read through. Amazing work.
Agreed, though I'm kind of disappointed that I didn't get any teasing for my pink Chaos Marines. C'mon guys, I served that one up to you on a platter!
I'll not be drawn in to fraternizing with heretics! Even if they are adorably pink. Like cotton candy, or bubblegum. Such a lovely shade of...uh...
Excellent thread, I can't believe how much effort must go into some of those paint jobs. I just love the design and atmosphere of that universe. Personally I'm going to stick to Dawn of War though since having all the audio too just tops it of so very nicely for me.
I've noticed a lack of warhammer (not 40k just regular ass warhammer) and Lord of the Rings in this thread. For anyone curious about the hobby I think Lord of the Rings is a good entry point for a few reasons. Its cheaper because you don't need quite as many miniatures to get some good games going and its a very well known fiction so there's plenty of characters to recognize right off the bat. Here's a few of my lotr figures.
I've noticed a lack of warhammer (not 40k just regular ass warhammer) and Lord of the Rings in this thread. For anyone curious about the hobby I think Lord of the Rings is a good entry point for a few reasons. Its cheaper because you don't need quite as many miniatures to get some good games going and its a very well known fiction so there's plenty of characters to recognize right off the bat. Here's a few of my lotr figures. Dain and Balin
Gandalf the Grey
Frodo and Sam
Pretty cool stuff man. Anybody have any dragons? =D
I've dabbled in painting some on and off, I hardly ever played a single game though.
These guys I use as the player characters in Castle Ravenloft, a D&D boardgame:
And here's some GW stuff, a wood elf lord and the chaos terminator lord leading my never-ever-gonna-be-finished legion of chaos marines!
Chaos lordWood elf lord
And by the way, if you are looking for inspiration, I suggest visiting http://www.coolminiornot.com, they have an awesome gallery of amazing miniatures and their messageboard is an interesting place to hang out for work in progress-reports and tips and tricks :)
Finally finished my Plague Furnace. I made a rookie mistake on this one: I assembled before painting, so there were a ton of areas I couldn't reach. Not very happy with it because of that, although the Plague Priest which I did seperately (like a year ago, lol) I am quite happy with. Got to do a bit of experimentation with it though, and I think I've finally got drybrushing down. It's also convinced me to buy GW's spray gun, would have saved so much time.
@protomessiah: I played choas too dude. My Champion of Khorne is one of my favorite miniatures. @GunslingerPanda: Do have the warp lightning cannon? If you do can we get some pics.
@Anund: Love, love that terminator lord. Its probably one of my favorite GW model kits and that paint job you've done really makes me want to drive down to the GW to pick up that model. But then buying an HQ leads to buying some troops. Then transports. Then Forgeworld silliness. Then the next thing you know, I'll have another GW army that doesn't do well on the table, heh.
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