I have been painting miniatures since 1984 and I can tell anyone reading this 100% the best intro for new painters I have ever watched using it as a training tool for my new gamers!
nah you should never be afraid to pick up new knowledge. the part about drying in a hexagonal lattice was new to me so today was a good day since i learned something new
So glad you took the time to do this Vince, it's invaluable for people starting out into the hobby. I'm sure it's all stuff you've mentioned about 10 times elsewhere, so appreciate your patience in refreshing it and putting it all in one place.
@@VinceVenturella Great review. Even though I'm about to dive into oils for the first time (as soon as I get my hobby room set up. I'm in the middle of a remodel) this was a great overview of basics. My girlfriend and I are both really champing at the bit to dive back into the hobby. We are intrigued, excited, and a little daunted by playing around with oil paints on models for the first time. It never hurts to go review the basics of acrylics. I'm sure we will be using a combination of both in the future.
Vince you are THE mini painting Ambassador, everything you do is Gold. Information like this 30+ years ago would have saved me years of trial and error, fails and frustration. Great content 👍🏻
this is so excellent. I watched hours of all-in-one beginners guides on youtube and still had to figure out a lot of this on my own. It's the little things experts take for granted and forget to mention like exactly how to thin your paints, remember to wash your brush - I went through so many brushes in the first couple weeks thinking it was impossible to not get paint in the ferrule because I was dipping my entire brush into the paint pot to get it onto the palette and was not washing it. This is the most comprehensive beginners guide and your video quality is improving markedly as well. I was going to make a dumb joke about saliva being an acrylic paint solvent in addition to water, but now I'm wondering if Vince V is a fellow member of the Paint Eating Legion.
I've been painting off and on for the last 20 years and only recently started wicking the paint on a paper towel. For were I was at prior to this, it made a big improvement and can't recommend it enough for newer painters.
It is getting better and better, some polish needs to be done on cutting of videos and changing them, pictures poping in front of your face! But always like to hear the wise words and watching those artists hands in work mode
I'm an experienced painter, intermediate stage I'd say. This is the best starter video out there. It might not be flashy, but it covers many of the overlooked details when starting out, while trimming all the unnecessary fat and noise. It offers no shortcuts, but the non-negotiable skills to build upon. Good stuff.
The comment at about 3:00 is the thing that the painting interwebz community needs to hear every day - the particular paint (as long as it is mini paint) doesn't really matter until you find your painting style (and both you and Ninjon have mentioned about certain paints being suited for different styles). Seems whenever someone asks a paint question on the book of face, the comments explode into a full-on 12 sided no-holds-barred grudge match and almost no one ever says "what you can get at your local store and works for you"
Wow, you are awesome. Thanks so much for this. I've watched countless 'beginner painting" videos and this is the only video that talks about the real basics. You are a seriously good teacher, well done!
Amazing timing. :D I'm about to pick up a brush again after almost 30 years. I painted 100s of minis back in the Warhammmer Fantasy Battle 3 and original 40K days, but haven't touched a mini since. I'm a professional 3D artist/sculptor and now that I'm printing my own sculpts I've decided it's time to do something that me as a kid would never have dreamed of. The amount of tutorial resources around these days is fantastic, and to think in the 90s we just learned this stuff as 10 year old kids ourselves with nothing more than Mike McVey's 3 page painting booklet! Haha! Thanks mate, will be sure to binge your vids.
This is a wonderful “ back to basics” or for the new folks it’s (as you said) ‘basics”. Well thought out, covers all the essentials in a short time with clear explanations (as always) and practical advice and tips. BRAVO, and many thanks to you!
22:45 "experimentation will lead you to truth". I find this part of the hobby the most fun part of it. Theres so many variables it always gets me excited. Also even if something shouldnt work (like coffee grind for bases) it sometimes works, if something should work (like purple and yellow paint scheme) it sometimes doesnt work.
Always great content, Vince. While you covered the how-to, an additional tip is to get a cheap set of minis to practice on. When I started a sticking point was being too afraid to get started on the mini I wanted to look good. Experiment on something you don’t care about.
There are some pitfalls to going _too_ cheap with minis, the biggest being that some cheap minis have very poor detail in the sculpt. So you might get less practice working with detailed figures. But other than that, simple army men can work for getting the basics. (My initial forays into mini painting were minis from a company called Twilight Creations, whose figures are detailed in some respects and less so in others). Another source of figures that's less cheap but have more detail are historical miniatures. Things like Ancient, Roman, Medieval, and Napoleonic figures. These tend to be cheaper per mini, because (depending on the kit) there's a lot more models on the sprue, and historical miniature companies have to keep their prices competitive (because you can't copyright the uniform of a Roman legionnaire or French rifleman). Painting roughly the same pose over and over can get tedious, yes. But it also means you get a lot of practice on the fundamentals.
Another good tip also is, you can strip the paint off these minis, there are a few solutions to this process, id advise anyone looking into it to do their own research, because some liquids will melt the Mini, some wont strip the paint, some will strip glue, some wont, it depends what's available to you. But what this opens up is "never be scared to make a mistake" and also falls into your tip, but you can repaint the models you like, painted 10 of the same model, and by the 9th or 10th you figure something you like, Strip the previous 8 and then you have a better 1st model to copy for the rest of the army. I looked into this because A: good way to buy cheaper models B: i also had hesitation to painting, but £10/$12.0 will get you enough liquid to strip a good amount of models.
Sure, my honest answer is paint anything. I get why people say that, and if you have the hang-up, that's cool, but the trick is, that's a moving target. You will never be "good enough" that you don't still grow and then look back and fel you could have done better. If you wait for a year to paint that thing that you're excited for, you might feel you did okay or not, but 6 months later, you will definitely look back and go - darn, I could have done wayyyy better. :)
I've got an Ogre Mk V that has its primer coat drying I'll be using as my first step back into painting after some decades away. After that, I've got a pile of HeroScape minis to repaint; they look to be just 'base colors + wash', and light on detail, but they have the advantage of being 'free', as they're an old sunk cost.
Really good video. I am more 2 years in and I wish I had seen this video sooner. I learnt heaps, and it condensed lots of useful information into one video.
'Drink 72 Red Bulls and don't sleep'? You're still affected that much by caffeine? Piker. But, then, I was a computer programmer for forty years, so I built up a huge tolerance.
I've been painting for 45 years and still I got a lot from this video, thanks Vince! I can't see the mentioned "Links above" How do I enable them please?
@@VinceVenturella I've solved it my end. YT had disabled all my settings for some reason, including the 'links above'. Apologies for mucking you around.
Truly man! Im an artist of over 30 yrs who sculpts and paints his own sculptures and I do full size pieces and have only recently begun delving into the miniature world and you have heightened my skills and awareness here with this one video tenfold. I have ALOT of bad habits that you just pointed out! And my brushes go fast!!!!!! I will start rinsing my brushes more regularly and I really do need a GOOD new detailer! All my my brushes that are new synthetic garbage and my detailers are all 20 yrs old now and I do use Americana paints too but Im good with them. Need to master my airbrush still but all of your guy's videos have been an extreme help! Changed my style of painting completely! Crossing over from the ceramic painting world.. and in a couple of yrs when I own my own mini customizing shop in town here the skills are gonna come in extremely useful so a really big thank to you and all miniature artists for lvling me up in ways I didnt even know were possible.
A great video. It is like a pro bodybuilder giving you tips but yet going in detail to avoid future bad habits. I been painting a long time and def. learned a thing or two like holding the brush etc. Thumbs up.
The phrase ‘Bases become the mid tone’ (after applying washes) really clicked for me. It seems obvious when you think about it of course. I’m new to the base/wash/highlight method since I’ve only messed with Speedpaint so far.
Not a beginner, but truly a great video. You lay out the most important stuff in less then a half an hour which I had to search the net for hours when I was starting out. Definetly the video I will be recommending to anyone starting out.
I started painting minis maybe 2-3 years ago, and Vince's guides have been immensely helpful in my hobby journey. I'm so happy to see new videos every Saturday, and I reference at least one video before starting basically every project. Here's hoping this video will help more people start in this wonderful hobby!
Excellent video Vince. Very concise and clear for beginning painters. With all the content that is out there, it is very easy for a beginner to get lost in the jungle, so to speak.
Another great video, Vince. Every Saturday is a treat. Love that throughout the video you linked to the deeper dives on the topics as that will definitely help people navigate the huge Black Library that is HC. I thought that was, especially, a nice touch. It really is incredible that you do this out of love of the hobby, its community, and the teaching experience. I'd never heard the ~1 minute rule and that makes a lot more sense. I was probably going 3+ minutes and wondering why it would slowly become more difficult to rinse the paint off my brush. Why this simple change never occurred to me...I am not a smart man lol. I also love that you do spend time about thinning paint too as that is probably my most anxiety-inducing step to painting. I either definitely thin too much and get a wash and have to start over or I am unsure if I've thinned it enough and constantly second-guess it, even when I probably did just fine, and give up, too. As simple as it is, this is one of the areas I wish I could find someone to just sit down for 30 minutes with me and try a bunch of different paints and get it down. Given this video and the two (I think it was two? or maybe three?) classes you are teaching at Adepticon that are for beginners; do you find it more rewarding to teach beginners or intermediate or advanced students; and if there is a specific group, why do you find it most rewarding working with that skill level?
Honestly, I like teaching at all levels, I know that sounds like a dodge, but it's really not, if I can help someone learn and take their next step, that's incredibly rewarding.
@@VinceVenturella Definitely don't think it's a dodge. I assumed you would probably give a response something along these lines due to the content of your channel and how you've said you just really enjoy teaching and never gave specifics in the past. Cool.
I don't think I'll ever get bored of these basic videos. I learn best by repetition and your videos are a constant flow of information. Thank you so much! What I think beginners should most appreciate is that you are not trying to sell them a specific product but work with what they can find. Many content creators push too many products and it becomes overwhelming very quickly.
I’ve been using Citadel’s paints with their base/wash/layers system. I’ve noticed when I apply the layer paint (like on an Ork boy), the green layer paint I put on the muscles shows brush marks. What might be causing that?
I would love a playlist with the next steps one should learn... There are some already but there's hundreds of videos with hundreds of topics. Any tip on how to best progress trough various techniques? Examples: painting Armour, your series on colours, understanding mixing, valour... Etc. I myself have a problem with dilluting my Paint too much...my everlasting palette simply keep hydrating the Army Painter paints I own and they turn unto washes...
In my country i can find either Rust Oleum Primer (mate gray and white) or Krylon (PAINT + primer; mate black and white). I want to paint my first viking collection from footsore. Which primer should i get? Is it ok if its "paint+primer"?
Love your videos! I was wondering about the: "thin your paint with water" part ... Do you prefer distilled water? Is tap water fine or will having a high pH (hard/soft water) have an effect on the paint? TY ❤️
When diluting paints, is using thinner medium instead of water better (while using wet palette)? And would diluting with thinner medium only and painting the base coat cloak up the fine details? My understanding is thinner medium is composed of pigment binders and they dont evaporate like water and might cloak up details, am I wrong?
If at the proper dilution, you should be able to apply 100 layers of paint without hurting anything. You can certainly dilute only with thinner, it’s more expensive for sure, but nothing wrong with it at all. The key is really just getting to that right dilution for your intended application.
Thank you for that u speak quite slow and clearly. Im not native english and its sometimes difficult to me to understand youtubers whos use some slang mix with fast pronunciation (especially when im not using subtitles couse i want to look at the video - not letters). Great video!
What do you do when you over thin your paints? When I transferred my citadel paints into dropper bottles, I used too much flowaid. All of my dropper bottle citadel paints are really watery. Other than trying to wick away some of the moisture, what else can I do to make them less watery?
So it's always tough to unthin honestly, but here is one option. Let the paint sit for a while and don't move it. It should separate the flow aid, and you can then carefully remove it from the top with a pipett and then remix. That's about your best shot.
Stupid question to all youtube pros out here: I never do see mentioned linked videos. I know they are supposed to be visible as clickable layers above the video, but I don't see them... Is there any way to deativate them and maybe I did that by accident? Its a bit annoying cause I never see mentioned videos which I would like to watch as well...
I'm new to the hobby and have spent the past two months convinced that I was thinning my paints too much. Nope, just needed to use a paper towel. Thank you
Thank you so much for this video :) I noticed that using washes for skin on 3D resin printed minis is not always a good idea, because it will increase the visibility of layers :(
I gave my friend some of my old paints and a couple brushes, and this is the perfect video to send to her to help her make sure she has a great time! The only thing I thought could be touched on was trying to avoid getting paint into the ferrule of the brush at all, but hopefully that was implied with your commentary about making sure you wash your brush frequently Other than that, if possible, I would recommend you put this video at the top of your Beginner Guide playlist! It currently sits at the bottom, and this is the one that should definitely be seen first! Thank you for your help!
the rib muscle is called serratus. advice from a fellow beginner: get a small "base set" of paints so you get multiple colours so you don't end up ordering new paints every week for the first two months ;')
Absolutely. So with the hand shaking, if it's not dervied from a medical condition, (and somewhat if it is), you can minimize it through how you sit and hold the model. So sit straight and tall back, feet flat on the floor, elbows resting on a surface at a 90 degree angle. Use a miniature holder (don't hold the model directly). Put your two wrists together and rest the bottom of your palms against each other. That is your maximum stabilization, as the only thing that is moving there is your fingers. LukeAPS also has a great video as I believe he has a medical condition that his hands shake and he talks about how he deals with it. No, as to make colors look good, that's a much larger topic, I have many videos in the playlist on color theory and picking schemes and things of that nature, as well as an entire Exploring Color series that I would recommend, it really explains all the colors, how to use them and how to make them look good. Hope that all helps.
This is so useful, all those little things that I didn't understand about why my painting didn't work aswell. As a newbie the tip about dabbing the brush after loading it was a game changer for me
I wouldn't call myself a beginner but I feel I've learnt so much and struggling to put it all together. :/ might be that I don't paint often enough 🥺 Recently I did a face, it is slightly pasty but not bad. I feel in part it the paints. They seem to apply in blobs of water more often ever since I diluted my paints a bit when transferring them over to dropper bottles. This can dry pasty, but I think this is occurring more with the already chalky kinda paints in gw. I'm not sure what that means? And glazes I still havnt gotten hang of. I seem to revert to using shades and perhaps also inks in select recesses, perhaps this is part of my style. I just want to move away from gw style of painting, but it seems i get mixed results whenever I try something new. That said I have airbrush which can give nice undercoats with xenethal highlights. But then I'm not sure if I'm covering it after correctly. As I'm using colours underneath.
It's a journey, don't worry, if you're just starting or done it for years, there are still always issues you'll have to navigate. THings like paint handling and control largely come with time. You're doing the right thing by experimeneting. You will fail more than you succeed and that's a good thing. That means you're pushing yourself to learn. :)
@@VinceVenturella yeah your right. If I didn't try painting I wouldn't know. I believe it is the paints that are mostly to blame as the gw ones mostly. Might explain the smoothness of red but chalking of the white and more desutrated light colours. Can benefit with glazing. Gonna attempt mixing with ink and glaze medium. Maybe get better results 😂. But yes I think I need to perhaps change brands and for most part stop using all chalky paints.
I really appreciate your effort. Helps me a lot. I have a mildly related question. I am currently thinking of getting some new paints but am not sure what to get. I recently started painting again for my boardgame miniatures with the help of some of your content, mostly the speedpainting stuff, and as I have some more miniature heavy games coming up, I thought it would be a great time to get some new paints. First I was thinking about the big army painter speedpaint set as an alternative to the expensive contrast paints for quick paintjobs but after watching your reviews on pro acryl and kimera kolors those two are now also an option as they are both in my price range as well. I am willing to mix my colors, although I need to learn it properly, but that's fine, but I also like some shortcuts for quick but nice results, as boardgames with 300+ miniatures tend to be intimidating projects, and if one of those ist 62cm tall it is even more intimidating. In the past I used zenithal priming and some inks, washes and glazes, so I guess speedpaint would be the obvious choice? And work well with only getting one bright silvery vallejo metallic color and just tint it. The Speedpaint set is the cheapest to get and seems like it fits my current approach but will bind me to that approach but will not work well on bigger flat surfaces. Kimera Kolors looks great and versatile but as I am new to mixing and all that I would like to pick it up with the expansion as it includes some mixing guides, so it would be a bit more expensive. Pro Acryl also looks great, hast some more ready to use colors than Kimera in the base set and seems to have similar properties but I will probably still need to mix colors. So I guess Kimera Kolors vs. Pro Acryl is just a personal preference and availability and the real question is speedpaints or "normal" paints. Maybe you have some advice for me? Thanks in advance and keep up the great work.
Sure, so here is my advice, go for a set of Pro Acryl and grab the new speed paints. I haven't personally used them yet, but based on Adam and Goobs reviews, I think they are going to be a great, easy alternative. In the end, you want some traditional paints and if your' speed painting, those speed paints will serve you well. Honestly, you can easily use them in tandem as well.
@@VinceVenturella Thanks for the answer, I will see if I can up my budget enough for the two sets. Was hoping to be fine with only one set and some cheating :)
Is there any reason, after applying the wash, to reapply the base tone (leaving the recesses darkened from the wash untouched) before applying the highlights? I’ve seen some people do this and I wondered what the thought process was.
@@VinceVenturella I had just noticed that in this video (as well as a few of Duncan Rhodes’ videos) you went from wash to the highlight stage. I tried that while using Citadel base/wash/and layer paints and got very jarring transitions. Your model in this video doesn’t have those; it looks nice and smooth. I’m not sure where I’m coming up short.
Nah, you can't ruin a model with paint, I have whole videos on that. :) - That being said, when you have some contrast over everything, you can always just layer some thin flesh highlights over the broad areas of the muscles and build it back up.
I love this video. I consider myself a total n00b. I've been painting about a year, but in very limited amounts, and had been taking a little bit of a break. This makes me want to jump right back into my painting project with a renewed understanding of what thinning my paints actually means, etc.
Hi, Vince. I've painting miniatures for two months. But until now, nobody explained me so clearly and concisely some basic aspects like washes and lights. Thank you!! Greetings from Spain
Thanks for the time spent making a recap for anyone who needs it. I'm currently trying some liquitex soft body as an model paint erzatz, that got a compatible viscosity (between model paint and model airbrush paint). You sepnd some time introducing paint brands, you may try this liquitex soft body, as the golden so flat and such similair "soft artist" acrylics for a short review ? Have fun.
Hey Vince! I've been watching for over a year now and FINALLY got myself a used air compressor, harbor freight clearance airbrush, and my pile of board game minis. Now I need to get the Vallejo paints (and cleaners/flowaid/brushes) and I'm all set. Thank you for the top tier advice from a true sage in the mini painting scene.
The brush handling / holding tip just made a light go off in by brain. An "a-ha" moment if you will. Thanks, Vince for sharing your wisdom and experience. Very very much appreciated!
Man, I wish I had this video and many of the other videos when I started painting 2 years ago. For some reason, I just jumped into painting and dismissed EVERY SINGLE tip you give here.
The place to start as a beginner IS Vince’s channel. And he does answer every question- a rarity in the UA-cam world!
I really want to make sure people have the info they need.
I totally agree!
I’ll second that!
I have been painting miniatures since 1984 and I can tell anyone reading this 100% the best intro for new painters I have ever watched using it as a training tool for my new gamers!
Is it bad I've been painting over 15 years and I'm still watching all this 😆
Nah it's good I'm in the same boat
nah you should never be afraid to pick up new knowledge. the part about drying in a hexagonal lattice was new to me so today was a good day since i learned something new
I hope not because I'm the same.
Nope, it's a refresher course...
Nothing wrong with refreshing the basics once in awhile.
So glad you took the time to do this Vince, it's invaluable for people starting out into the hobby. I'm sure it's all stuff you've mentioned about 10 times elsewhere, so appreciate your patience in refreshing it and putting it all in one place.
That was the goal, I really wanted an evergreen resource for people. :)
@@VinceVenturella Great review. Even though I'm about to dive into oils for the first time (as soon as I get my hobby room set up. I'm in the middle of a remodel) this was a great overview of basics. My girlfriend and I are both really champing at the bit to dive back into the hobby. We are intrigued, excited, and a little daunted by playing around with oil paints on models for the first time. It never hurts to go review the basics of acrylics. I'm sure we will be using a combination of both in the future.
Vince you are THE mini painting Ambassador, everything you do is Gold. Information like this 30+ years ago would have saved me years of trial and error, fails and frustration. Great content 👍🏻
Thank you, that means a great deal.
this is so excellent. I watched hours of all-in-one beginners guides on youtube and still had to figure out a lot of this on my own. It's the little things experts take for granted and forget to mention like exactly how to thin your paints, remember to wash your brush - I went through so many brushes in the first couple weeks thinking it was impossible to not get paint in the ferrule because I was dipping my entire brush into the paint pot to get it onto the palette and was not washing it. This is the most comprehensive beginners guide and your video quality is improving markedly as well. I was going to make a dumb joke about saliva being an acrylic paint solvent in addition to water, but now I'm wondering if Vince V is a fellow member of the Paint Eating Legion.
I do sometimes eat the paint, try not too, but old habits and all.
I've been painting off and on for the last 20 years and only recently started wicking the paint on a paper towel. For were I was at prior to this, it made a big improvement and can't recommend it enough for newer painters.
100%
This intro, whatever light/framing you have, use it more often please!
It is getting better and better, some polish needs to be done on cutting of videos and changing them, pictures poping in front of your face! But always like to hear the wise words and watching those artists hands in work mode
I love the drama in the lighting Vince!
Working on improving all of it for sure. :)
I'm an experienced painter, intermediate stage I'd say. This is the best starter video out there. It might not be flashy, but it covers many of the overlooked details when starting out, while trimming all the unnecessary fat and noise. It offers no shortcuts, but the non-negotiable skills to build upon. Good stuff.
Thank you, that is wonderful to hear!
The comment at about 3:00 is the thing that the painting interwebz community needs to hear every day - the particular paint (as long as it is mini paint) doesn't really matter until you find your painting style (and both you and Ninjon have mentioned about certain paints being suited for different styles). Seems whenever someone asks a paint question on the book of face, the comments explode into a full-on 12 sided no-holds-barred grudge match and almost no one ever says "what you can get at your local store and works for you"
Exactly right. :)
Wow, you are awesome. Thanks so much for this. I've watched countless 'beginner painting" videos and this is the only video that talks about the real basics. You are a seriously good teacher, well done!
Glad it was helpful!
vince your video an audio has really come along man . im lovin it
Awesome!
If it's alright to ask, what model is that? it looks real good!
Looks like one of the Darkoath Savagers from the Warcry: Red Harvest box from Games Workshop.
@@Raresh789 AH! so it is, Thanks very much!
This is correct. :)
Amazing timing. :D I'm about to pick up a brush again after almost 30 years. I painted 100s of minis back in the Warhammmer Fantasy Battle 3 and original 40K days, but haven't touched a mini since. I'm a professional 3D artist/sculptor and now that I'm printing my own sculpts I've decided it's time to do something that me as a kid would never have dreamed of. The amount of tutorial resources around these days is fantastic, and to think in the 90s we just learned this stuff as 10 year old kids ourselves with nothing more than Mike McVey's 3 page painting booklet! Haha! Thanks mate, will be sure to binge your vids.
Awesome, thanks for watching and glad it was helpful.
This is a wonderful “ back to basics” or for the new folks it’s (as you said) ‘basics”. Well thought out, covers all the essentials in a short time with clear explanations (as always) and practical advice and tips. BRAVO, and many thanks to you!
Thank you, that's very appreciated. :)
22:45 "experimentation will lead you to truth". I find this part of the hobby the most fun part of it. Theres so many variables it always gets me excited.
Also even if something shouldnt work (like coffee grind for bases) it sometimes works, if something should work (like purple and yellow paint scheme) it sometimes doesnt work.
Always great content, Vince. While you covered the how-to, an additional tip is to get a cheap set of minis to practice on. When I started a sticking point was being too afraid to get started on the mini I wanted to look good. Experiment on something you don’t care about.
There are some pitfalls to going _too_ cheap with minis, the biggest being that some cheap minis have very poor detail in the sculpt. So you might get less practice working with detailed figures. But other than that, simple army men can work for getting the basics. (My initial forays into mini painting were minis from a company called Twilight Creations, whose figures are detailed in some respects and less so in others).
Another source of figures that's less cheap but have more detail are historical miniatures. Things like Ancient, Roman, Medieval, and Napoleonic figures. These tend to be cheaper per mini, because (depending on the kit) there's a lot more models on the sprue, and historical miniature companies have to keep their prices competitive (because you can't copyright the uniform of a Roman legionnaire or French rifleman).
Painting roughly the same pose over and over can get tedious, yes. But it also means you get a lot of practice on the fundamentals.
Another good tip also is, you can strip the paint off these minis, there are a few solutions to this process, id advise anyone looking into it to do their own research, because some liquids will melt the Mini, some wont strip the paint, some will strip glue, some wont, it depends what's available to you.
But what this opens up is "never be scared to make a mistake" and also falls into your tip, but you can repaint the models you like, painted 10 of the same model, and by the 9th or 10th you figure something you like, Strip the previous 8 and then you have a better 1st model to copy for the rest of the army. I looked into this because A: good way to buy cheaper models B: i also had hesitation to painting, but £10/$12.0 will get you enough liquid to strip a good amount of models.
Sure, my honest answer is paint anything. I get why people say that, and if you have the hang-up, that's cool, but the trick is, that's a moving target. You will never be "good enough" that you don't still grow and then look back and fel you could have done better. If you wait for a year to paint that thing that you're excited for, you might feel you did okay or not, but 6 months later, you will definitely look back and go - darn, I could have done wayyyy better. :)
I've got an Ogre Mk V that has its primer coat drying I'll be using as my first step back into painting after some decades away. After that, I've got a pile of HeroScape minis to repaint; they look to be just 'base colors + wash', and light on detail, but they have the advantage of being 'free', as they're an old sunk cost.
While I'm not a noobie, it's always good to go back to basics! Vince out here doing the lords work, keep at it brotha, ive learned alot!
Thanks!
Really good video. I am more 2 years in and I wish I had seen this video sooner. I learnt heaps, and it condensed lots of useful information into one video.
Can we get a video on the recipe for Vince's Paint Water, please? :)
Step 1: turn on tap, Step 2: complete. ;)
I keep my worn brushes for basing essentially.
Agreed I haven't thrown a brush away as they are handy for other things like basing etc
Oh yeah, for sure, they always remain useful for something as they degrade. :)
Great that you are covering the basics. Can you include glazing at some point, especially the consistency.
Hes got a great video on glazing already!
Yep, here is a glazing video - ua-cam.com/video/N88NtHNmz1Q/v-deo.html
But I'll return to this again. :)
'Drink 72 Red Bulls and don't sleep'? You're still affected that much by caffeine? Piker. But, then, I was a computer programmer for forty years, so I built up a huge tolerance.
I've been painting for 45 years and still I got a lot from this video, thanks Vince!
I can't see the mentioned "Links above" How do I enable them please?
Strange, let me go check to make sure something didn't happen to them.
@@VinceVenturella I've solved it my end. YT had disabled all my settings for some reason, including the 'links above'. Apologies for mucking you around.
This was the best investment of my time in learning about the terms and techniques that apply to miniature painting. Thank you so much Mr. Venturella.
Truly man! Im an artist of over 30 yrs who sculpts and paints his own sculptures and I do full size pieces and have only recently begun delving into the miniature world and you have heightened my skills and awareness here with this one video tenfold. I have ALOT of bad habits that you just pointed out! And my brushes go fast!!!!!! I will start rinsing my brushes more regularly and I really do need a GOOD new detailer! All my my brushes that are new synthetic garbage and my detailers are all 20 yrs old now and I do use Americana paints too but Im good with them. Need to master my airbrush still but all of your guy's videos have been an extreme help! Changed my style of painting completely! Crossing over from the ceramic painting world.. and in a couple of yrs when I own my own mini customizing shop in town here the skills are gonna come in extremely useful so a really big thank to you and all miniature artists for lvling me up in ways I didnt even know were possible.
A great video. It is like a pro bodybuilder giving you tips but yet going in detail to avoid future bad habits. I been painting a long time and def. learned a thing or two like holding the brush etc. Thumbs up.
The phrase ‘Bases become the mid tone’ (after applying washes) really clicked for me. It seems obvious when you think about it of course. I’m new to the base/wash/highlight method since I’ve only messed with Speedpaint so far.
Thanks so much Vince even as an intermediate mini painter this tutorial is GOLD!
Good boy Vincey boy! 🥰🐶
Thank you!
18:31 Haaaaa
Double subscribe???
Is GW going to take my house now ?
Not a beginner, but truly a great video. You lay out the most important stuff in less then a half an hour which I had to search the net for hours when I was starting out. Definetly the video I will be recommending to anyone starting out.
Awesome, always happy to help. :)
I was just looking for something like this!
I'm getting someone into mini painting and I'm not a great teacher, but I know a certain Vincent who is.
Awesome, always happy to help.
Do they make glow in the dark paint for miniatures?
Thank you for all these tutorials and helpful videos just getting back into the hobby. This is a great starting point.
Glad it was helpful!
I started painting minis maybe 2-3 years ago, and Vince's guides have been immensely helpful in my hobby journey. I'm so happy to see new videos every Saturday, and I reference at least one video before starting basically every project. Here's hoping this video will help more people start in this wonderful hobby!
I hope it can get people over the fear and have them understand, there are some really simple things to get painting and it's not scary. :)
Excellent video Vince. Very concise and clear for beginning painters. With all the content that is out there, it is very easy for a beginner to get lost in the jungle, so to speak.
Very happy to help and I wanted to make sure beginners had a solid reference. :)
Another great video, Vince. Every Saturday is a treat. Love that throughout the video you linked to the deeper dives on the topics as that will definitely help people navigate the huge Black Library that is HC. I thought that was, especially, a nice touch. It really is incredible that you do this out of love of the hobby, its community, and the teaching experience.
I'd never heard the ~1 minute rule and that makes a lot more sense. I was probably going 3+ minutes and wondering why it would slowly become more difficult to rinse the paint off my brush. Why this simple change never occurred to me...I am not a smart man lol. I also love that you do spend time about thinning paint too as that is probably my most anxiety-inducing step to painting. I either definitely thin too much and get a wash and have to start over or I am unsure if I've thinned it enough and constantly second-guess it, even when I probably did just fine, and give up, too. As simple as it is, this is one of the areas I wish I could find someone to just sit down for 30 minutes with me and try a bunch of different paints and get it down.
Given this video and the two (I think it was two? or maybe three?) classes you are teaching at Adepticon that are for beginners; do you find it more rewarding to teach beginners or intermediate or advanced students; and if there is a specific group, why do you find it most rewarding working with that skill level?
Honestly, I like teaching at all levels, I know that sounds like a dodge, but it's really not, if I can help someone learn and take their next step, that's incredibly rewarding.
@@VinceVenturella Definitely don't think it's a dodge. I assumed you would probably give a response something along these lines due to the content of your channel and how you've said you just really enjoy teaching and never gave specifics in the past. Cool.
I don't think I'll ever get bored of these basic videos. I learn best by repetition and your videos are a constant flow of information. Thank you so much! What I think beginners should most appreciate is that you are not trying to sell them a specific product but work with what they can find. Many content creators push too many products and it becomes overwhelming very quickly.
Thank you, very happy to help as alwyas. :)
I’ve been using Citadel’s paints with their base/wash/layers system. I’ve noticed when I apply the layer paint (like on an Ork boy), the green layer paint I put on the muscles shows brush marks. What might be causing that?
It's the wash drying unevenly, I have videos on how to use and apply the washes, so check those out, they're in the playlist.
I would love a playlist with the next steps one should learn... There are some already but there's hundreds of videos with hundreds of topics. Any tip on how to best progress trough various techniques?
Examples: painting Armour, your series on colours, understanding mixing, valour... Etc. I myself have a problem with dilluting my Paint too much...my everlasting palette simply keep hydrating the Army Painter paints I own and they turn unto washes...
There is a beginner playlist with this very focus. That is a much more focused playlist. :)
In my country i can find either Rust Oleum Primer (mate gray and white) or Krylon (PAINT + primer; mate black and white). I want to paint my first viking collection from footsore. Which primer should i get? Is it ok if its "paint+primer"?
Answered over in the other video. :)
As always fantastic content and very in-depth. Wish those kind of tutorials were available years ago :D.
Many thanks!
I wish I had seen that years ago, it would have saved me a whole year of learning or so. Great tutorial.
Thanks!
Thank you so much for this video.
Love your videos!
I was wondering about the: "thin your paint with water" part
...
Do you prefer distilled water?
Is tap water fine or will having a high pH (hard/soft water) have an effect on the paint?
TY ❤️
Any water is generally fine. Don't need any special water. :)
This is an excellent guide on everything you need to know when starting out in the hobby!
Thank you. :)
That mini looks like Eddie Izzard !
I bought this box set, just wish this mini was more feminine looking. Red Sonja was always a hot chick with an Athletic but muscular figure..Not China
GW faces are always somewhat suspect with female sculpts.
I’m watching my way through these now, thank you for the help in all things beginner.
Glad to help!
When diluting paints, is using thinner medium instead of water better (while using wet palette)? And would diluting with thinner medium only and painting the base coat cloak up the fine details? My understanding is thinner medium is composed of pigment binders and they dont evaporate like water and might cloak up details, am I wrong?
If at the proper dilution, you should be able to apply 100 layers of paint without hurting anything. You can certainly dilute only with thinner, it’s more expensive for sure, but nothing wrong with it at all. The key is really just getting to that right dilution for your intended application.
Thank you for that u speak quite slow and clearly. Im not native english and its sometimes difficult to me to understand youtubers whos use some slang mix with fast pronunciation (especially when im not using subtitles couse i want to look at the video - not letters). Great video!
Glad I could help!
Every time you mention a link I keep expecting an 'Uncle Atom' style 'Pachow'.
He really nailed it with that one.
What do you do when you over thin your paints? When I transferred my citadel paints into dropper bottles, I used too much flowaid. All of my dropper bottle citadel paints are really watery. Other than trying to wick away some of the moisture, what else can I do to make them less watery?
So it's always tough to unthin honestly, but here is one option. Let the paint sit for a while and don't move it. It should separate the flow aid, and you can then carefully remove it from the top with a pipett and then remix. That's about your best shot.
Can you review Vallejo mecha paints soon? Interested in the
But not sure they are right for my AoS minis. Always great to see your videos!!
As near as I can tell, they are pretty equivalent to regular vallejo paints, I've used a few and I don't see any functional diference for painting.
Stupid question to all youtube pros out here: I never do see mentioned linked videos. I know they are supposed to be visible as clickable layers above the video, but I don't see them... Is there any way to deativate them and maybe I did that by accident? Its a bit annoying cause I never see mentioned videos which I would like to watch as well...
Sometimes I just forget to add them, but if you never see them there is some browser setting that blocks them.
I would suggest you keep your dead brushes. They can be used to create unique patterns for texturing, weathering and the like.
Absolutely!
this is like a CLASS
Thank you for this video tutorial. This has really helped me improve my mini painting.
Glad it helped!
I'm new to the hobby and have spent the past two months convinced that I was thinning my paints too much. Nope, just needed to use a paper towel.
Thank you
Very happy to help. :)
This is a great video. I get lost as a beginner. This clarified a couple of questions I had for sure. Best watch the rest...
Glad it was helpful!
A beginners guide, by Vince? Immediately put on my miniature painting playlist... Thanks Vince!
Thank you so much for this video :) I noticed that using washes for skin on 3D resin printed minis is not always a good idea, because it will increase the visibility of layers :(
instructions unclear
I added reikland fleshshade to my belly and 6 pack did not appear
You forgot the highlight step. ;)
Asa complete beginner, I really appreciate this excellent advice.
ALways happy to help. :)
What is that first, deep red you used on the clothes? it is glorious
Kimera Burnt Red
The 72 hour redbull challenge sound cool, actually. I do am tented to give it a go.
I am not held liable for any consequences of this choice. ;)
I gave my friend some of my old paints and a couple brushes, and this is the perfect video to send to her to help her make sure she has a great time! The only thing I thought could be touched on was trying to avoid getting paint into the ferrule of the brush at all, but hopefully that was implied with your commentary about making sure you wash your brush frequently
Other than that, if possible, I would recommend you put this video at the top of your Beginner Guide playlist! It currently sits at the bottom, and this is the one that should definitely be seen first! Thank you for your help!
I'm new, let's gooo!
the rib muscle is called serratus.
advice from a fellow beginner: get a small "base set" of paints so you get multiple colours so you don't end up ordering new paints every week for the first two months ;')
You're a good guy Vince.
What about the apron?
I know it's not needed but would love to know why you always wear one.
Keeps the pants clean, not ruining your pants is good for my wife not losing her mind. :)
What a wild ride, when you come back to older content like this and see the weight loss Vince has done. Well done on you Vince. :)
I cant keep my hands steady and dont know how to make colors look good so sadly this didnt help me much any advice?
Absolutely. So with the hand shaking, if it's not dervied from a medical condition, (and somewhat if it is), you can minimize it through how you sit and hold the model. So sit straight and tall back, feet flat on the floor, elbows resting on a surface at a 90 degree angle. Use a miniature holder (don't hold the model directly). Put your two wrists together and rest the bottom of your palms against each other. That is your maximum stabilization, as the only thing that is moving there is your fingers. LukeAPS also has a great video as I believe he has a medical condition that his hands shake and he talks about how he deals with it.
No, as to make colors look good, that's a much larger topic, I have many videos in the playlist on color theory and picking schemes and things of that nature, as well as an entire Exploring Color series that I would recommend, it really explains all the colors, how to use them and how to make them look good.
Hope that all helps.
Finding contrast, and the color wheel give me the most trouble
It's a lifetime of learning with those two topics. :)
This is so useful, all those little things that I didn't understand about why my painting didn't work aswell. As a newbie the tip about dabbing the brush after loading it was a game changer for me
I would love a deeper guide to highlighting. It is the thing I am struggling to understand the most.
I will see what I can do, but I am going to be talking about it in some coming videos.
Thank you for this wonderful tutorial!!!
Glad it was helpful!
Can't you add glycerine or gardening sufectant .
What is this in response to?
I wouldn't call myself a beginner but I feel I've learnt so much and struggling to put it all together. :/ might be that I don't paint often enough 🥺
Recently I did a face, it is slightly pasty but not bad. I feel in part it the paints. They seem to apply in blobs of water more often ever since I diluted my paints a bit when transferring them over to dropper bottles. This can dry pasty, but I think this is occurring more with the already chalky kinda paints in gw. I'm not sure what that means? And glazes I still havnt gotten hang of. I seem to revert to using shades and perhaps also inks in select recesses, perhaps this is part of my style. I just want to move away from gw style of painting, but it seems i get mixed results whenever I try something new. That said I have airbrush which can give nice undercoats with xenethal highlights. But then I'm not sure if I'm covering it after correctly. As I'm using colours underneath.
It's a journey, don't worry, if you're just starting or done it for years, there are still always issues you'll have to navigate. THings like paint handling and control largely come with time. You're doing the right thing by experimeneting. You will fail more than you succeed and that's a good thing. That means you're pushing yourself to learn. :)
@@VinceVenturella yeah your right. If I didn't try painting I wouldn't know. I believe it is the paints that are mostly to blame as the gw ones mostly. Might explain the smoothness of red but chalking of the white and more desutrated light colours. Can benefit with glazing. Gonna attempt mixing with ink and glaze medium. Maybe get better results 😂. But yes I think I need to perhaps change brands and for most part stop using all chalky paints.
I really appreciate your effort. Helps me a lot. I have a mildly related question. I am currently thinking of getting some new paints but am not sure what to get. I recently started painting again for my boardgame miniatures with the help of some of your content, mostly the speedpainting stuff, and as I have some more miniature heavy games coming up, I thought it would be a great time to get some new paints. First I was thinking about the big army painter speedpaint set as an alternative to the expensive contrast paints for quick paintjobs but after watching your reviews on pro acryl and kimera kolors those two are now also an option as they are both in my price range as well. I am willing to mix my colors, although I need to learn it properly, but that's fine, but I also like some shortcuts for quick but nice results, as boardgames with 300+ miniatures tend to be intimidating projects, and if one of those ist 62cm tall it is even more intimidating. In the past I used zenithal priming and some inks, washes and glazes, so I guess speedpaint would be the obvious choice? And work well with only getting one bright silvery vallejo metallic color and just tint it.
The Speedpaint set is the cheapest to get and seems like it fits my current approach but will bind me to that approach but will not work well on bigger flat surfaces.
Kimera Kolors looks great and versatile but as I am new to mixing and all that I would like to pick it up with the expansion as it includes some mixing guides, so it would be a bit more expensive.
Pro Acryl also looks great, hast some more ready to use colors than Kimera in the base set and seems to have similar properties but I will probably still need to mix colors. So I guess Kimera Kolors vs. Pro Acryl is just a personal preference and availability and the real question is speedpaints or "normal" paints.
Maybe you have some advice for me?
Thanks in advance and keep up the great work.
Sure, so here is my advice, go for a set of Pro Acryl and grab the new speed paints. I haven't personally used them yet, but based on Adam and Goobs reviews, I think they are going to be a great, easy alternative. In the end, you want some traditional paints and if your' speed painting, those speed paints will serve you well. Honestly, you can easily use them in tandem as well.
@@VinceVenturella Thanks for the answer, I will see if I can up my budget enough for the two sets. Was hoping to be fine with only one set and some cheating :)
Sorry if I missed it in the video, but what model is that?
One of the Darkoath barbarians from Games Workshop.
Is there any reason, after applying the wash, to reapply the base tone (leaving the recesses darkened from the wash untouched) before applying the highlights? I’ve seen some people do this and I wondered what the thought process was.
Washes will stain all areas to some degree, this restores it back to the orignal tone.
@@VinceVenturella I had just noticed that in this video (as well as a few of Duncan Rhodes’ videos) you went from wash to the highlight stage. I tried that while using Citadel base/wash/and layer paints and got very jarring transitions. Your model in this video doesn’t have those; it looks nice and smooth. I’m not sure where I’m coming up short.
Thank you so very much for this video ❤️
Glad it was helpful!
I tried painting darkoath salvagers with all contrast. Really not happy with how the skin came out. Really like the models. Feel I ruined them
Nah, you can't ruin a model with paint, I have whole videos on that. :) - That being said, when you have some contrast over everything, you can always just layer some thin flesh highlights over the broad areas of the muscles and build it back up.
Thank you for replying. I will have to see what I can do.
I love this video. I consider myself a total n00b. I've been painting about a year, but in very limited amounts, and had been taking a little bit of a break. This makes me want to jump right back into my painting project with a renewed understanding of what thinning my paints actually means, etc.
Thanks, glad to help!
Loving the hand gestures at the stat, very Italian 😜
Oh yes, I always talk with my hands.
Thank you great inf to get me started the right way great job
Great to hear! That's absolutely the goal. :)
Can we get a miniature of your mascot looking guy?
I will see what I can do!
Your great Vince! Keep’m coming.
Thank you, certainly will!
There's always something new to learn. Even at the basic levels. Great teacher.
Hi, Vince. I've painting miniatures for two months. But until now, nobody explained me so clearly and concisely some basic aspects like washes and lights. Thank you!! Greetings from Spain
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for the time spent making a recap for anyone who needs it. I'm currently trying some liquitex soft body as an model paint erzatz, that got a compatible viscosity (between model paint and model airbrush paint). You sepnd some time introducing paint brands, you may try this liquitex soft body, as the golden so flat and such similair "soft artist" acrylics for a short review ? Have fun.
I'll check it out!
Love that Red Bull comment Vince!
Thanks!
Hey Vince! I've been watching for over a year now and FINALLY got myself a used air compressor, harbor freight clearance airbrush, and my pile of board game minis.
Now I need to get the Vallejo paints (and cleaners/flowaid/brushes) and I'm all set.
Thank you for the top tier advice from a true sage in the mini painting scene.
Always happy to help!
I need this for air brushing now please
Well, I have several videos specifically on airbrushing in this playlist, so definitely check them out. :)
The brush handling / holding tip just made a light go off in by brain. An "a-ha" moment if you will. Thanks, Vince for sharing your wisdom and experience. Very very much appreciated!
Awesome!
Thank you for another great video!
You bet!
Man, I wish I had this video and many of the other videos when I started painting 2 years ago. For some reason, I just jumped into painting and dismissed EVERY SINGLE tip you give here.
Never too late. ;)
Always helpful guidance from the Paintfather!! Thank you for the basic reminders Vince! So good!
Thanks!