I've plugged it before and I'll plug it again - Reaper's Learn to Paint kit is probably the most budget-friendly way to dive into mini painting. It comes with a set of paints, some brushes, three minis to practice on, and a handbook that introduces you to painting techniques that get progressively more complex on each mini. Plus, it's easy to add paints to the kit's storage case if you end up enjoying the hobby.
If you go that route, I also recommend adding a bottle of red paint and a few better brushes, because the kit doesn't come with any shades of red and the two included brushes are just average. Otherwise, it's got everything you need to get started and the practice minis are a godsend (I didn't want to touch my Gloomhaven minis until I had a couple less important ones under my belt).
Edit: Just saw that the kit is a little pricier on Amazon CA. If you can find the kit on another site or at a local game store for under $45 USD or so I would still recommend it, otherwise it's worth hitting up the minipainting sub and seeing what other options they recommend for beginners.
I would suggest looking in to some actual modeling paints. Especially for the blacks and metallics you'll need for those Deathwatch models. That set of inexpensive artists acrylics will not have the pigment saturation that you'll need for quality coverage.
This is a great starter set and comes with a wash and a quality brush - https://www.amazon.com/Miniatures-Highlighting-Miniature-Army-Painter/dp/B01MTXRU2L/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1546629959&sr=8-5&keywords=army+painter
The Tamiya stuff I use is a liquid and you just touch the tip of the brush to a corner in a groove or something and it just kinda fills in along the sides/contours. There are pens as well but I prefer this stuff.
TAMIYA 87131 Panel Line Accent Color Black For Plastic Model Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HDJ7BR0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_ZFD3JMBSG087NB0S44ZG
YES!
Buy this. It will change your life.
I have been playing D&D with a group of friends for two years now. They've all got painted minis, so my lone unpainted mini has been looking a little out of place this whole time! To rectify that I ordered this Reaper Learn to Paint Kit off Amazon a few weeks back. I finally had some time today to sit down and give it a whirl. It's far from perfect but I was so happy with my first attempt at painting minis that I just had to share!
I have plenty of other minis to keep practicing on (and more colors to buy!) but I'm slowly gaining experience and confidence with the process. I think I'm ready to order and paint a custom Minotaur Paladin off Hero Forge for my current character =)
What's your experience with painting minis? Are you a seasoned vet or a newbie like me? Share your handiwork!
Not a Board Game, but you can buy the reaper kit on amazon that comes with everything you need including a few minis to practice on.
Reaper Miniatures 08906 Learn To Paint Bones Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NTMC49G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Bc9CybJAZXE9K
I doubt you're going to get an answer that you want. Amazon sells paint kits at totally reasonable prices for what you get, most FLGS sell individual bottles for like $5 a pop. It's a specialty item - you're going to be hard pressed to find it less expensive than "the price everyone charges for it." It can be expensive, though if you're judicious about it, you can pick and choose colors and get a lot of bang for your buck.
I'd also suggest /r/minipainting, whichi s dedicated to this sort of thing, and has guides and the like.
I highly recommend starting with a Reaper Learn to Paint Kit: https://www.amazon.com/Reaper-Miniatures-08906-Learn-Paint/dp/B00NTMC49G/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1A97SK0HV75PX&dchild=1&keywords=reaper+learn+to+paint&qid=1622556431&sprefix=reaper+lear%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-2
It has some good instructions to help you start, a couple miniatures to practice on, and a good start to a paint set (The big thing missing is red). The paint alone is worth around $30, so it is a pretty good deal.
You are so very kind! It’s not overly hard but it is very time-consuming. I think all eights of these took around 30 hours over the course of several weeks to get done.
The easy answer though is gray primer spray paint and then just have your favorite set of paints.
These are washes that bring out a lot of details: https://www.amazon.com/Army-Painter-Warpaints-Quickshade-Wash/dp/B0714QL55V/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=army+paint+miniature+wash&qid=1611450927&sr=8-4
As far as brushes go, do you need one round base coding brush, one highlighter, one level zero fine detail, and if you want to get crazy, a dry brush.
My best advice after doing this for five or so years is to get the real paint. Things that you pick up at hobby lobby or Michaels will obliterate all of the details.
If you have any other questions, I’m more than happy to give you more resources.
Have a great night!
People are going to have opinions, lol. Here's mine: Army painter sucks, vallejo is good, most GW is good, most P3 are good.
As for what colors you should buy, I think I would start with a vallejo model color starter set. There are many, but maybe something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU/
Maximum bang for buck would be an Army Painter Mega Set. You can achieve basically anything with this selection. For varnish/mediums skip Amazon, just use the half-off daily coupon for a bottle of artist's medium/varnish (Liquitex, Golden, W&N, whatever) at Michael's/AC Moore/Hobby Lobby/whatever is local to you.
You can start with one of the learn to paint kits.
They include instructions, paints, brushes, even a few miniatures to practice on. I linked the Core Skills set, there are a couple of other kits on Amazon as well for learning more advanced techniques.
Meh, if you screw it up there's always another mini. You can always use a paint stripper like Simple Green and try again.
If you're looking for somewhere to get started but don't just want to randomly pick up paints, Reaper makes a nice starter set that gives you a bunch of base colors and walks you through a lot of the basic techniques.
Good luck! Follow up with me when you paint your first mini! I'd love to see it!
Welcome to the club. If you want to make the models really stand out, you can try panel lining (making the recessed lines darker). A surprisingly easy way to do this is using Tamiya Panel Line Accents.
https://smile.amazon.com/TAMIYA-87131-Panel-Accent-Plastic/dp/B01HDJ7BR0
Good Luck to your wallet and enjoy.
https://www.amazon.com/TAMIYA-87131-Panel-Accent-Plastic/dp/B01HDJ7BR0
This is what you want. It's a pre-thinned paint that comes with an ultra fine-tip brush attached to the bottle cap. You simply shake the bottle, take off the lid and hold the tip of the attached brush to the panel lines and they will fill through capillary action. Leave them to dry for a few hours and then wipe off access with either Enamel Thinner (Tamiya has some but its pretty expensive) or certain lighter fluids (Zippo being a known example) and q-tips. It's not only the easiest way but the most clear method as well, as Gundam Markers usually don't get into tiny crevasses.
I mostly have citadel paints right now, but they can run fairly pricey. Reaper has good options and are usually a bit cheaper. I've had luck with Vallejo as well.
You could always start with something like this, which will include what you need to get started as well as decent guidance on how to do the painting itself.
If you have a local game shop that sells Warhammer, they likely have a paint section, and I'd bet a worker could help guide you.
For this guy, I did a base of dark green, dry brushed a couple other green shades, then did an ink wash to help the shadows. I then went back over to edge and highlight with lighter colors to help everything pop, and then did the details.
I will say, I use Blood for the Blood God on so many minis. It's a citadel "technical" paint that makes blood effects really easy, but it also works for anything deep red that you want to look wet. So I did tongue and eye tendrils with that, and then diluted it a bit and did a wash over the eyes. That let them keep their yellow, but also gave a bit of a bloodshot look, and helps transition to the tendrils.
Also, there are about a million youtubers putting out great tutorials, from beginner techniques all the way to pro shit.
Something like this would be a good place to start.
I use this Vallejo primer - doesn't need thinning, can be applied with brush or airbrush and is cheap and effective! Is available in a variety of colours too and can be bought worldwide.
The Reaper learn to paint kits are a great place to start! Most of the paints I used came from the core set, with some additional army painter washes.
https://www.amazon.com/Reaper-Miniatures-08906-Learn-Paint/dp/B00NTMC49G
I still have non... except painting minis for some reason.
people have confused my drawings with my 3 year olds. (he asks me to draw a horse in his coloring book and then later someone says 'thats not bad for a 3 year old')
Reaper sells a painting tutorial kit, different levels that include minis, instructions, paints and brushes and i got good at it, so look into them if you had fun! (amazon link, much different than the ones i got years ago)
p.s. Is your enchanter named Tim?
Testors will not flow the way you need for fine detail or realistic finishes.
I only paint occasionally, so I didn't want to invest a ton of cash. The Army Painter kit sold here on Amazon suits me.
It's an affordable kit with good reviews. You get most of the basic colors that can be blended or used alone. I just supplement with pre-made mixed colors when I know I need a lot of one particular color and it has to be consistent from piece to piece.
Here's the listing on Amazon for the set comes with a brush as well. There's a brush kit from them as well with miniature brushes for like $13 and a spray cost about $15 as well but if you get the off white it's saving you so much time and effort to begin with
I bought a reapers learner's kit on Amazon to learn and then some extra reapers paint after once I got the hang of it for my gloomhaven minis.
So far, so good as a casual painter. I don't have to prime it seems though I don't do anything fancy. Here is where I'm at with the original 6 (currently working on the rest). https://imgur.com/WPmC0wb.jpg
Just looked it up. I was thinking of the Army Painter Kit from "The Army Painter Store". Which is $117 for 50
GW is $242 for 53, and they're out of stock to boot.
https://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Base-Paint-Collection-2019
Personally I think it looks nice. Sometimes giving the model a gloss coat first gets the washes to flow into the lines better, so you can try that.
Or Try tamyia panel liner. It might be what your looking for.
TAMIYA 87131 Panel Line Accent Color Black For Plastic Model Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HDJ7BR0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_3expFbCK65XPJ
this is the best value starter paint set you're gonna see... $2.20 per bottle is a really good value. Army Painter is generally regarded as decent quality, so you're getting good paints as well, not just crap. You can add in Vallejo and GW stuff to it (Vallejo's Liquid Metal alcohol based paints and GW's Contrast line are some of my favorites) but it makes a solid starting point.
Repear learn to paint core set. Comes with good instructions. Models specific to the instructions, models don't require priming, but I'd recommend it for learning and it comes with all the colors you need to follow the directions. Also includes a brush, minis are whole and require no glue. It's a great starter kit if you're truly starting as other than water and a palette you need nothing else, it's all in the box. It isn't the best brush, not the best paints, but it is a cheap starting point to dip your toe in. Just remember to wash the minis with dish soap and dry properly before painting with repear minis. When it comes to primer I know you said no cans, but paint on primer is a pain in the was, it recommend Vallejo for brush or airbrush either way. For rattle can army painter had a rather affordable can, relative to rattle can sprays.
I also highly recommend flow aid or airbrush thinner, both work very similarly. Flow aid is cheaper at a Michael's if you have one nearby, but I'll include an Amazon link. Airbrush thinner tends to work a bit better but is also nearly double the price.
Good luck.
I have spent over 20 hours on a single model before, Most high detailed small "centerpiece" characters will easily be about 4 hours work when you aim to build colour with layering. I obviously speak as an hobbyist and not a professional painter, but I imagine the latter would take longer xD
At the end of the day, the game will be just as fun to play with unpainted minis, but learning to paint is almost a reward in its self. There are plenty of cheap sets out there you can start to play with. Matter of fact the "Dungeons and Dragons Nolzurs Starter Kit" has your basic colours, a brush and a mini to paint with a picture or video tutorial. And all of that is only around £20. Highly recommended. I'll provide a link just in case it tickles your fancy (not a sponsor!)
I started with this
Reaper Learn to Paint Core Skills
Followed by this
Reaper Learn to Paint Layer Up
And then went to the stuff other people are mentioning. The kit gives you really clear step by step instructions, recipes for mixes etc and is just generally awesome. I had more success with the Core Skills set than the Layer Up because the second has more advanced techniques and are just more difficult to pull off.
I recommend these to people that ask me about starting all the time and so far everyone I know that uses them has had success and is continuing to paint today.
Hope that helps. Happy painting!