I've watched about 6 or 7 tips videos the past two days. All of them about; "things I wish I knew when I started painting" those other youtubers waffled on about tips and then plugged their other videos rather than giving detail on the actual tip or showing a demo. Thank you for not being like them, I really feel like I learned more in the first 3mins of your video than I did collectively watching the tripe they posted. Well done!
Thank you Sayton. Our aim for the Academy is to be able to help anyone learn to paint their miniatures to a standard that they will be proud of 😊 We are so glad you found the tutorial useful and it helped you out
1:02 Thin your paints 3:49 Two thin coats 4:18 Why use a Palette 6:25 What brush to use 8:47 When to be Messy/Neat 10:48 Don't fear making mistakes 11:51 Undercoat your minis Man, I really always fear making mistakes. That's the best advice.
And don't forget, a paint error on your mini can also be a big character definer for it. "This marine took a hit from a tank and growled, got up and shot the gunner! That is where it hit him, they couldn't get the damage out!"
Seeing his first mini reminds me that even people like Duncan weren't always as good as they are, and that is really encouraging. As someone new to detailed painting, I appreciate that Duncan shows his own mistakes to demonstrate progress. Thank you!
A few other things I would add (having learned them the hard way, through experience): 1) Clean your mold lines because they are *not* just additional detail and look absolutely terrible when painted. Also, if you come across one you missed before priming, scrape it off anyways; the relatively small surface area of unprimed material isn't going to effect anything and your miniature will look *so* much better after painting without that nasty mold line. 2) Take frequent breaks, both to get up and move around and to change out your water. You might not realize it when painting, but you're going to be sitting for long periods and in some pretty uncomfortable postures; when you're young this might not seem like a big deal but as you get older it catches up with you pretty quickly. Changing out your water also might not seem like a big deal, but if looks like some sort of toxic sludge because of all the mixed colors now floating in it and/or you can see swirling sparkles from metallic paints, that *will* contaminate your brush when you rinse it and thereby contaminate other paints. Few things are more disheartening than seeing sparkly flakes in a color that's not supposed to be metallic. 3) Many acrylic metallic paints are difficult to work with; they tend to be thicker and chunkier than normal paints and generally have terrible coverage. This does *not* mean they can't be thinned and you absolutely should do so because if you think regular matte paints can gunk up details, metallic paints are so much worse. Yes, thinning them down makes then even more finnicky and you'll definitely need a few coats for good coverage but the final results are absolutely worth it. 4) Let the paint on your miniatures cure completely before varnishing. Few things are more heartbreaking than seeing a painted miniature go all cloudy because varnish is reacting with paint that's still drying and its a pain to try to fix it. If that happens, I almost always opt for stripping then mini and starting again, which is why I now remind myself to give the paint plenty of time to dry before varnishing.
Sparkles....yeah. I've had my fair share of high elves that looked like they were fresh from either a rave, strip club or unicorns asshole. That's how much glitter would end up on their faces and or other parts. Lmao.
Hey guys; new to the hobby. I've heard that some people say you have to wash (scrub) the mini with warm soapy water to remove any chemicals or residue from the molding process before you can prime the mini. Any truth to this or can you prime the mini straight out of the box? Is this something you guys do?
@@ZebraCatfish73 it depends on what the miniature is made of. I've never had a problem with either styrene plastic or white metal but if its made from resin you should absolutely wash it; the mold release they use for resin is silicon based and is very oily. If you don't wash it off, you're almost guaranteed to have problems with paint and primer adhering to the surface. This goes Reaper Bones miniatures, Forge World and pretty much any line of resin minis.
I decided painting miniatures would be my final hobby that I undertake lol. I'm old, 49 years old to be exact and I'm grateful you made this video because these are things I did not know about and an glad I discovered before I began painting. Thank you very much, this video was much appreciated.
@@HO-bndkI feel you on the health issues, I had 2 strokes and 4 mini heart attacks, is why my now 50 " feels " so old. My sense of balance is shot and I don't have the depth perception I used to have and my entire left side is very noticeably weakened. Rock on with getting back into painting my friend!
Reminds me of the lesson our local GW manager gave us in drybrushing: "Rule one: You are using too much paint. Notice I didn't ask how much you are using at the moment..."
[1] You see Duncan using a paper towel to wipe off excess paint from the brush, to gain more control of the paint. Do this almost all the time when painting to get more control of the paint, but also with things like layering and glazing to significantly reduce the negative impact of tide marks when painting. Almost nobody mentions wicking off your brush, but it is one of the most important things to up your painting game. [You can even use unused paper napkins from restaurants for this, blotting paper, old fabric, lots of things will work for this purpose.] [2] Use more lighting and if that is an impossibility, take pictures of your miniature with flash photography. This will reveal areas where the two thin coats were not enough or you have a colour or primer showing through the paint. This will happen because all acrylic paint is transparent to some degree. It isn't a problem, but stronger lighting or flash photography will give you a heads up on these problem areas, so you can correct them. [Additional] Don't use expensive organic brushes like sable hair with metallic paints, not only do the flakes get everywhere like Duncan said in your water pot and wet palette, but the tiny flakes of aluminium used will damage the outer fine hairs of each bristle, gradually reducing the brushes ability to hold paint or water as each bristles surface area is reduced. So get some synthetics for the task.
From a 65 yr old who is just starting to paint miniatures you have been a great help, Duncan. Thank you for some clear, concise tips. You must do more although your interested audience would be too small. Fantastic video.
I really want to say thank you. This is exactly the kind of video me and my friend needed, we were always so anxious when painting, like is it gonna be good enough? Your video helped us with the basics and with these our minis look better. Thank you!
One thing that's helped me with my awful painting anxiety is remembering that paint stripper exists. It's easier to strip paint from metal minis than plastic or resin, but I'm fairly sure you can do it to all three. If you make a mistake, you can fix it. If your colour scheme doesn't look good, you're going to have plenty of time to tweak it as you work. Then, if all else fails and all hope is lost, there's always acetone and a toothbrush.
same here, zaack! i've painted a lot of my models and was pleased to see that I had some good habits already but i needed some reenforcement from Dunc.
I started painting 40k since 1991. Back in the days you had to figure everything out as a kid. I have stopped painting for a long time now and your videos are so wonderful and inspiring. I sure can learn a thing or two from your lessons. Thank you for your videos. Much appreciated.
I had a brief dalliance with warhammer back in the early 90s as a kid. It lasted about a week, but I'm pretty sure during that time I bough an issue of a war hammer model magazine and it basically told you all this stuff in that haha. It was a while ago though, dunno how I ended up here I've been watching 3d printing stuff, maybe UA-cam thought I needed to nerd out even fudging more
I started painting just because of your videos. I was horrible at everything that had something to do with art. But now i love it and my models look great.
These videos are fantastic 👏 i painted a few minis back in the 90s and didn't do a bad job, only got back into it and painted my first Ultramarine in about 25 years and he turned out great, i made loads of mistakes along the way but the tutorial videos really helped 😀
11:00 As a beginner painter, I've somewhat learned to not bother being too precise with the SECOND color either. Basically because I found that, at least my skill level, it's easier to just coat stuff with the second color (and possibly even third, fourth, etc.), and then go back and apply fixes in the first color. I'm gonna make mistakes and go back to fix them anyway, so may as well use that to make applying the second color, especially to harder to reach areas, a bit easier.
I’m a veteran painter, learned everything through trial and error. I wish I was told these sort of things at the beginning, I’d be a veteran AND good, by now 😂
Out of all the mistakes listed, I only made one: painting straight out of the pot. Thankfully, GW had a lot of resources available to help me out: like your painting guides, Duncan. Thanks.
Thin your paints is definitely a good one. No one ever told me that when I was younger so simply didn't know to do it and never understood why my models never looked the way I wanted.
I love 'basics' videos like this. When I started out, I had try to learn what to do by looking at photos and guessing. It makes me so happy that now people can learn by actually seeing and hearing what to do and get better and more confident so much faster than I did. Thank you.
I watched a FEW intro to painting videos, this was the BEST calming, clear, this is like a dad talking to his kid trying not to stress him out with all the info, bob ross energy greatly appreciated
I'd like to add to your list if I may: There's nearly always an "ugly phase" in the process - keep going! Don't give up (or strip it and start again) when you're still part-way through because you think it's looking a bit crappy, hold off on that judgement until it's finished.
This keeps catching me a lot. I'm very new to painting and miniature painting especially, and I feel like giving up every time I apply a coat of paint and it doesn't have the effect I wanted. I've been trying to think of it more like cooking. You wouldn't want to eat white flour, cocoa powder and a raw egg, but mix them into cake batter and they're delicious. When you actually /bake/ the cake batter, they become even better.
That's especially true when you use a good hobby lamp with a daylight bulb. Under the lamp, I can see every little flaw that doesn't appear under normal lightning.
Also sometimes you can correct mistakes when it's finished that you would not know how to in the beginning. For example brighten up areas to distract from the mistakes, adding details to areas that were too dull and so on..
@@Eisenwulf666 One mistake I make is trying to touch-up coats before they dry. All I end up doing is pushing paint around and leaving obvious brush strokes. It's thin acrylic, you'd think I'd have the patience to wait thirty seconds.
Started painting miniatures about 3 years ago but the time i spent on the hobby was kinda sporadic due to work but I got de-motivated coz of making mistakes and stopped for about a year...will paint my first miniature in months tonight...thanks to your video that got me motivated again...awesome work...thank you
I just use a plastic chinese food tub for my pallet, works shockingly well and really lets you get a feel for how the paint's going to apply on your miniatures.
Ah yes, my first Clanrat was also known as the 'Blob'. Straight from the pot, one coat, thicker than a whale omelet. There were six nubs protruding from the mounds of paint, roughly where the limbs, head and tail should've been. I still struggle with the paint consistency, but going a bit too runny is still more fixable than fattening the mini like it's getting ready for winter with that chonker looking paint job :D
Haha, I imagine in the past it was difficult, without proper internet coverage of the hobby and such. I started this year and while I wouldn't call myself a pro, I never had a mini that bad, cause I spent maybe a month watching videos about the hobby before even trying it.
Honestly, sometimes making mistakes can actually makr a nice effect on the mini. When i did my necrons, i ended up going slightly on to the head when doing the eyes, it was great! It made it look like the eyes were really glowing and got me to enjoy making mistakes while painting my minis
You have no idea how much this video is worth to some one who is new to this hobby!!! A BIIIGGG THANK YOU as that advice you just gave is priceless !! 😊
Go two sizes up for your fine detail and go bigger again for the bigger stuff. You rarely find that youll need a tiny brush. I paint marines lenses with a number 4 i belive it is. You can do an awful lot with a relatively large brush.
These 6 things took me over a year to learn when I started painting, would have been nice to have this video then. I am glad I found this so I can show it to anyone interested in starting to paint because it's so far the only one I have seen that shows WHY we do these things. Awesome.
I've been watching beginner tutorials all day and this was my favorite. This tutorial really helped to put some things into neat boxes for me to check off. I recently got my hands on an airbrush kit and my first set of washes. I can wait to really dig into these techniques and tips. Your miniatures look amazing btw. Thanks a bunch. 🥰🥰
I can’t say how many hours I’ve seen is Gawd of Rhodes paint. I painted my Blood thirster to a T after his UA-cam tutorial. Just the material and the presentation is professional. Such a fan of this content
Thanks for taking the time to post this! Almost 40 and going to embark on my first minis, a blood bowl team. It is a little intimidating but I've been admiring the hobby from afar for a while now. Time to jump in!
Thanks for this Mr. Duncan. My 5 year old girl has become very interested in painting. I have been letting her have free reign on models my local shop gave me and models i never had any intention to paint. She was watching this video very intently. She is showing improvement if you can keep he focused im sure she will blow me out of the water soon. I never had any instruction on painting at all and learned everything the hard way. Times have changed
When Duncan talks about the brushes: The golden two that anyone should get is a medium base brush and a small layer brush. I have now round about 20-25 brushes and I tend to go back to these two most of the time. The citadel medium layer is kind of unkillable workhorse and I do almost all my base coats with that. It holds a lot of paint and it works like a champion. I do have some kolinsky sable brushes too that I love using - but even still I tend to use the Medium Base and the Small layer for most basic purposes. SO for all beginners out there I suppose these two are the ones that anyone should pick up when starting out. Cheap, and excellent ones! And you do not absolutely need a brush soap! I looked up my local soap makers and got one basic soap (for about 1$) that has lanoline inside. I had a rather beat up M Base ( my first ever one that I still use) where the paint got up in the ferrule. After a bunch of soaking in water the soap got it all out and restored it to near mint condition. For the Citadel brushes this solution works nicely. For the natural hair ones I can not tell at the moment :)
I'd recommend getting a set of Winsor and Newton series 7 kolinsky sable brushes. They are expensive but the quality is very good on them and you'll find them much easier to control. I also use The Masters brush cleaner and preserver, a pot of this will last years and it will condition your brushes if you leave it on for 30 mins or so. I also highly recommend the army painter wet palette, but you can make one using a plastic food tub, some kitchen towel and some parchment paper.
@@leegarner4592 But I definetely would NOT recommend a full on beginner to get a Winsor and Newton just to murder it in a few months. I suppose a beginner is still better of with the Citadel ones as they are kind of dirt cheap to begin with. It is not a good idea to invest in this at the beginning - maybe they quit then it was a waste of money.... Offering beginners pro level brushes makes entry to the hobby unpleasant for some. Now that I have some experience I pulled the trigger and invested in some proper brushes but beginners should not do this. This is also why I propose a middle ground solution woth natural soaps and not a proper one for 10+ times the cost :) It makes entry way easier and when the newcomer has a good foundation he can extend the repertoir with proper tools
@@HuntersOA Sure, I agree here. It's also easy to rack up a lot in costs - I've spent a couple of hundred quid on materials this year. New brushes, palette, more technical paints, thinning medium, microset/sol, varnishes, opus D brushes, AK pencils... it all adds up quick. It's been an absolute lifesaver for my mental health in lockdown though, and not spending money in the pub means it can be spent for something more productive :)
@@leegarner4592 Same here haha :D I had to invest in some small carts to be able to move the things around :D I also got an airbrush which is a blast :D
Lemme just say man, your vids are why most of my stuff is painted. While I don't have the mountainous paint collection you do, I finally got past being too scared to mix stuff to get the right colors. Patience, experimentation, and repeated... repetition of your mantra "two thin coats" have gotten me a good way from those paint layers so thick they give a 3+ invulnerable save! Thank you, God bless, and keep on improving!
50 year old here - totally new, not to 40K in general by any means in lore/videogames, but the tabletop game - so just scratching long felt itches and checking off another bucket list item. Getting Indomitus set Saturday for my first foray into painting. Subscribed immediately after what I learned here today.
When I started painting miniatures, I knew I had to thin my paint, because every tutorial said so on the internet.... ...Well applying about 20 watery coat of paint because you can be excessive in both sense was a peculiar experience, but at least the details was preserved. ...On a side note I started and still only use the finest brush possible, I at multiple time tried bigger brush for base coat and always found I prefered The finner one... Well I'm not painting a rhino with it however...
Been watching a lot of youtube tutorials on painting and this was the best one! Answered so many of my questions I had when anyone talks about painting and doesn't make assumptions.
I painted a necron army something like that about 12 years ago. I've watched hours of your videos to prepare painting ninth edition and dark imperium. Thank you so much for all your content. My wife and I share this hobby, and she loves it.
Tilt the bottle a little forward and grip it really tight when opening it, also when closing it I like to punch the lid shut with the inside of my palm
I recently experienced this. Best thing I can say is use an x-acto knife or scalpel to cut the plastic you are trying to rip through. If you look at the bottle horizontally, just under the top part of the cap on the left and right sides, you'll see then. Cut them, and it opens normally.
Thank you; super useful. Most painting "tutorials" just show an expert experting, showing off their color-matching. This stuff is exactly what a newbie like me needs.
@@TheCrimsonArchivist lots of people making videos for UA-cam are too busy to take open commissions, since they'd have too many requests from subscribers to actually make videos if they took them. For professional artists, they'll probably have a website and a portfolio, with contact details and possibly even information on their rates. Pretty much everyone will at least have a social media account that you can PM. Generally the artists I know will have it mentioned somewhere in a profile header or website home page if they're taking commissions!
I had to share this to a few groups. New hobbyists/painters need to see this. I have learned quite a few tricks through the years that i wouldnt have known without the videos from the great almighty two thin coat master.
They can't get into your other paints through the wet palette paper, but there's still a risk that you'll mess up and get metallic pigments directly on the sponge. Glitter man, it gets everywhere.
@@Ninjat126 Oh yeah, if you overfill the water and it flows over the paper then you may get pigments in the paint, but the same goes if you are using metallic paints, clean your brush in your water and then use normal paints and clean your brush in the same water. Personally I haven't had any issues using metallics on my wet palette (or inks/shades for that matter though if I am using them extensively I prefer a porcelain palette)
Fun to see the first and then a newly painted mini in the same scheme... I did that a few months ago... minis from the same box but painted roughly 25 years apart... a lot of difference both with skill level, tecniques and paints. Would recomend that fun exercise for most that have the opportunity
I've still got the first miniature I ever painted - the elf from Heroquest. He's........terrible but I love him and am never going to paint him again. I like keeping him around as he has some great memories tied up in him.
OMG, a visual aid for how watered down you need your paints to be, this has always been my biggest struggle and no ones really managed to "explain" it well, what a great visual! Thanks Duncan!
Thanks, from a newbie who has only painted a few minis in the last 60 days. I avoided some of these mistakes, but many of your tips are quite helpful for me. Cheers.
The 'metal flakes through parchment paper' really seems to be an out-there myth. I literally just took the paper off my army painter wet pallette, it's been there for three weeks with absolute tons of re-applied Vallejo Dark Aluminum airbrush paint and there's not a single speck of reflective material on the sponge. This is super fine metallic paint meant to go through an airbrush, so if anything would go through the paper, that'd be it. Far more likely people have water on the paper that goes over the edge and into the sponge that way. The 'contaminating' flakes are just flakes lifted from before because people dip their brush into the edges. I'm fairly certain this is a complete and utter myth.
I've got a big ol' leadbelcher stain on my sponge that says otherwise. Maybe it's the brand but my metallics seem to leach through if I leave them overnight like my other colors.
@@jacobwilson7191 I've had several big globs of leadbelcher on it too along with other citadel metal paints, with no issues. My guess is that there's a difference between what sort of parchment paper people use, I've never had any paint leak through. I used to use just regular parchment for cooking on a cleaning towel in a jewel case, never had it bleed through that either. The paper I use now is what came with the army painter wet pallette.
@@Smilomaniac I use the Masterson Sta-Wet palette. Works great but for the mettalic issue. I've resorted to using a metal well palette for metallics, washes, and any enamels I may use.
@@jacobwilson7191 It's probably for the better, considering that my metal paints seem to dry out quicker on the wet pallette, for whatever mystical reason. In fact now that you mention it, I'll remember to get one myself for the same purpose.
Duncan! OMG I left mini painting for another 6 years and I was shocked to not see you on the WHTV videos anymore. Glad to see you are still sharing your knowledge with us, and happy to see you found some of the success you deserve with that amount of subs!
haha, imagine being a 12 year old that is painting minis like the first one, and you watch this and think holy crap if I thin my paints it going to look like 4:05!
I've got a Haqqislam Azra'il from Corvus Belli sitting on my worktable right now. It's currently wearing nothing but a coat of tan primer and some all-over olive acrylic, but if I was feeling lazy I could give it a once-over with a wash and call it "table ready". Just a few simple tips like "two thin coats" can elevate your painting from "blob monster" to "kinda alright". Then you spent a lifetime trying to get from "kinda alright" to 4:05.
Thank you Duncan, not only did you inspire me to pick up a brush and start painting but you also helped eased some of my nerves blocking me from painting thank you.
Man, I’ve been discovering and watching over channels about this hobby, and really loving it, but you are on another level. I want to return to 40k soon and you are the best online teacher I could wish. Big thank you
The thing that helped me, and i learned from Duncan, is really understanding and breaking down the details on the model. Before id look at the book and be completely daunted. Looked like there were a million different colours. But you break it down, take this one colour and do all the browns, take this colour and do all the golds, these colours require this shade, then we highlight with this colour and so on. It about building up colour.
Dunkan, I'm totally in debt. I painted my first mini like a year ago and haven't touched it since: too high hopes with a mediocre first-time result. It's you who resurrected hope in me to try one more time. Thanks a lot!
Man I just started painting after only ever painting a couple when I was 9 years old (I'm 40 now, it's been a long time since I held a brush). This set of tips gave some context to other tips I've read online. I appreciate the content, instant sub!
I am so glad I watched this beginner guide, you really showed how your paint looks when its not watered down and when it's over watered! And the base coat effects the overall color thanks again!
Duncan I sympathise with you. I wish I had found your videos when I first started. Stil I am happy I found them later on and redemmed myself with the painting. Also hearing you talk about painting really gets me in a painting mood. Thanks for your helpful advice throughout the years.
Great video. My first space marine back in the early 90’s looked very similar and like you, no one told me about primers or thinning paints. Then because the miniature was prebuilt lead figures, trying to get details in the tight gaps between gun and chest was almost impossible. As someone getting back in to it, in an attempt to pass on to my son 30 years later, these tips are absolute gold to new starters!
Great point about not letting fear of a stray brush stroke affect your base coating. Indeed, if you thin your paints and accept that you must do more than one coat to do a competent job, you will almost instantly improve your results.
I think all of us keep around that first one...I have mine still floating around that was painted with craft paints and glued badly, they are some Empire Militia I used for Mordhiem. So happy that Duncan was willing to show off his first, helps new painters know that no one is perfect to start off with
I think one of the things that disheartens new painters is that they always see those beautiful finished products, and not all those failures and learning experiences that happened along the way.
One of the best intro tip videos I have seen. Describing what you're doing as you paint in a super steady even voice is just fantastic. I love the tricolor examples of undercoats, its something I always wonder and think about.
Thank you for making this video! It was especially helpful to SEE what a properly thinned paint is supposed to look like. I've been on both sides of too globby and too thin.
Every time Duncan holds up that marine, all I can hear is muffled screaming.
for the emperaaaaaaaAAAAAAAGH
@@mrandursun My Emperor I am MELTING
I guess it's time to escape to one place that hasn't been corrupted by thick paint...
A little bit of well-written lore and just a few touch-ups by a skilled hand here and there would bring a new perspective, I think.
@@kiryans5 in the grim darkness of the far future there is only paint
I LOVE the fact that you still have Glob Marine. Awesome to see the humble beginnings of a legend!
Oh, that first Space Marine. Brother, I am PAINT!
MY PAINT IS MY SHIELD
BROTHER I AM PAINTED HERE
Paint marine 😂
BROTHER I AM MELTING
I AM STUCK IN THE PAINT BROTHER
I've watched about 6 or 7 tips videos the past two days. All of them about; "things I wish I knew when I started painting" those other youtubers waffled on about tips and then plugged their other videos rather than giving detail on the actual tip or showing a demo. Thank you for not being like them, I really feel like I learned more in the first 3mins of your video than I did collectively watching the tripe they posted. Well done!
Thank you Sayton. Our aim for the Academy is to be able to help anyone learn to paint their miniatures to a standard that they will be proud of 😊 We are so glad you found the tutorial useful and it helped you out
1:02 Thin your paints
3:49 Two thin coats
4:18 Why use a Palette
6:25 What brush to use
8:47 When to be Messy/Neat
10:48 Don't fear making mistakes
11:51 Undercoat your minis
Man, I really always fear making mistakes. That's the best advice.
You wen't through all that and didn't mention that there are seven tips? Sure, one really does slide into the other but still...
@@johanhalvarsson2148 can I be cheeky and ask why you didn't mention the seven tips?
And don't forget, a paint error on your mini can also be a big character definer for it. "This marine took a hit from a tank and growled, got up and shot the gunner! That is where it hit him, they couldn't get the damage out!"
this is the first time I have seen someone explain what a "thinned paint" is supposed to look like. My next project will thank you.
"He said the thing" had me in stitches xD
Two thin coats 😀😁
@@DuncanRhodesDRPA he said it again!!!!
Gatta love it when someone embraces their meme without overdoing it!
@@DuncanRhodesDRPA HE SAID IT BOYS, WE CAN GO HOME!!!!
Insert Leonardo dicaprio pointing here
Seeing his first mini reminds me that even people like Duncan weren't always as good as they are, and that is really encouraging. As someone new to detailed painting, I appreciate that Duncan shows his own mistakes to demonstrate progress. Thank you!
Absolutely!
Even my first mini looks better but I'm not as good as he is now and probably will never be but the sky is the limit, right? :D
@@noodles6390 he was also 12
A few other things I would add (having learned them the hard way, through experience):
1) Clean your mold lines because they are *not* just additional detail and look absolutely terrible when painted. Also, if you come across one you missed before priming, scrape it off anyways; the relatively small surface area of unprimed material isn't going to effect anything and your miniature will look *so* much better after painting without that nasty mold line.
2) Take frequent breaks, both to get up and move around and to change out your water. You might not realize it when painting, but you're going to be sitting for long periods and in some pretty uncomfortable postures; when you're young this might not seem like a big deal but as you get older it catches up with you pretty quickly. Changing out your water also might not seem like a big deal, but if looks like some sort of toxic sludge because of all the mixed colors now floating in it and/or you can see swirling sparkles from metallic paints, that *will* contaminate your brush when you rinse it and thereby contaminate other paints. Few things are more disheartening than seeing sparkly flakes in a color that's not supposed to be metallic.
3) Many acrylic metallic paints are difficult to work with; they tend to be thicker and chunkier than normal paints and generally have terrible coverage. This does *not* mean they can't be thinned and you absolutely should do so because if you think regular matte paints can gunk up details, metallic paints are so much worse. Yes, thinning them down makes then even more finnicky and you'll definitely need a few coats for good coverage but the final results are absolutely worth it.
4) Let the paint on your miniatures cure completely before varnishing. Few things are more heartbreaking than seeing a painted miniature go all cloudy because varnish is reacting with paint that's still drying and its a pain to try to fix it. If that happens, I almost always opt for stripping then mini and starting again, which is why I now remind myself to give the paint plenty of time to dry before varnishing.
This is some great advice and thanks soooo much for sharing 😊
So that's why last time i varnished something it fucked it up in a big way :o i've been afraid of varnishing ever since ...
Sparkles....yeah. I've had my fair share of high elves that looked like they were fresh from either a rave, strip club or unicorns asshole. That's how much glitter would end up on their faces and or other parts. Lmao.
Hey guys; new to the hobby. I've heard that some people say you have to wash (scrub) the mini with warm soapy water to remove any chemicals or residue from the molding process before you can prime the mini. Any truth to this or can you prime the mini straight out of the box? Is this something you guys do?
@@ZebraCatfish73 it depends on what the miniature is made of. I've never had a problem with either styrene plastic or white metal but if its made from resin you should absolutely wash it; the mold release they use for resin is silicon based and is very oily. If you don't wash it off, you're almost guaranteed to have problems with paint and primer adhering to the surface. This goes Reaper Bones miniatures, Forge World and pretty much any line of resin minis.
*"XENOS!!!"*
No captain, I'm just covered in paint.
Lol
thats no paint
@@claymoreroomba2921 ohno
"There are no mistakes. Only happy accidents"- Bob Ross
Never a truer word has been spoken 😊
Just beat the devil out of it
Bob ross
@@DuncanRhodesDRPA I view most "mistakes" as great opportunity - battle damage, dirt, extra details/markings, all of those can cover mistakes.
@@lokalnyork I actually leave some of my silver/gunmetal mistakes as they just are battle damage on my mini if I do a little work to it.
"Painting miniatures is the fine art of correction."
~ Anonymous
I decided painting miniatures would be my final hobby that I undertake lol. I'm old, 49 years old to be exact and I'm grateful you made this video because these are things I did not know about and an glad I discovered before I began painting. Thank you very much, this video was much appreciated.
Glad it helped 😊
49 is "old"? I'm almost 60 with a life-limiting disease and I'm just about to restart figure painting after a hiatus of about 40 years.
@@HO-bndkI feel you on the health issues, I had 2 strokes and 4 mini heart attacks, is why my now 50 " feels " so old. My sense of balance is shot and I don't have the depth perception I used to have and my entire left side is very noticeably weakened. Rock on with getting back into painting my friend!
@@Kataklyzim it's been a year how far have gone into painting minis?
I did minatures when i was 8-11! Now in my thirties and relearning some of my ols hobbies. You never get too old for new hobbies!
Ah, so the trauma behind "two thin coats" is revealed... It's like a Marvel origin story hmnnnn
@@Jkhorvschki I'm mean he kind of did didn't he?
How can we be sure Uncle Ben isn't under all that paint?
The plot thickens...
VulfII so does the paint......
VulfII hahaha good comment
Reminds me of the lesson our local GW manager gave us in drybrushing:
"Rule one: You are using too much paint. Notice I didn't ask how much you are using at the moment..."
[1] You see Duncan using a paper towel to wipe off excess paint from the brush, to gain more control of the paint. Do this almost all the time when painting to get more control of the paint, but also with things like layering and glazing to significantly reduce the negative impact of tide marks when painting. Almost nobody mentions wicking off your brush, but it is one of the most important things to up your painting game.
[You can even use unused paper napkins from restaurants for this, blotting paper, old fabric, lots of things will work for this purpose.]
[2] Use more lighting and if that is an impossibility, take pictures of your miniature with flash photography. This will reveal areas where the two thin coats were not enough or you have a colour or primer showing through the paint. This will happen because all acrylic paint is transparent to some degree. It isn't a problem, but stronger lighting or flash photography will give you a heads up on these problem areas, so you can correct them.
[Additional] Don't use expensive organic brushes like sable hair with metallic paints, not only do the flakes get everywhere like Duncan said in your water pot and wet palette, but the tiny flakes of aluminium used will damage the outer fine hairs of each bristle, gradually reducing the brushes ability to hold paint or water as each bristles surface area is reduced. So get some synthetics for the task.
From a 65 yr old who is just starting to paint miniatures you have been a great help, Duncan. Thank you for some clear, concise tips. You must do more although your interested audience would be too small. Fantastic video.
I really want to say thank you. This is exactly the kind of video me and my friend needed, we were always so anxious when painting, like is it gonna be good enough? Your video helped us with the basics and with these our minis look better. Thank you!
That's why we do it, We hope this helps out😊
One thing that's helped me with my awful painting anxiety is remembering that paint stripper exists. It's easier to strip paint from metal minis than plastic or resin, but I'm fairly sure you can do it to all three.
If you make a mistake, you can fix it. If your colour scheme doesn't look good, you're going to have plenty of time to tweak it as you work. Then, if all else fails and all hope is lost, there's always acetone and a toothbrush.
same here, zaack! i've painted a lot of my models and was pleased to see that I had some good habits already but i needed some reenforcement from Dunc.
I started painting 40k since 1991. Back in the days you had to figure everything out as a kid. I have stopped painting for a long time now and your videos are so wonderful and inspiring. I sure can learn a thing or two from your lessons. Thank you for your videos. Much appreciated.
Wow, thank you for the kind words 😊 And yes, back in the day that was sure the case lol
I had a brief dalliance with warhammer back in the early 90s as a kid. It lasted about a week, but I'm pretty sure during that time I bough an issue of a war hammer model magazine and it basically told you all this stuff in that haha. It was a while ago though, dunno how I ended up here I've been watching 3d printing stuff, maybe UA-cam thought I needed to nerd out even fudging more
I started painting just because of your videos. I was horrible at everything that had something to do with art. But now i love it and my models look great.
Practice makes progress.
Glorious progress.
These videos are fantastic 👏 i painted a few minis back in the 90s and didn't do a bad job, only got back into it and painted my first Ultramarine in about 25 years and he turned out great, i made loads of mistakes along the way but the tutorial videos really helped 😀
11:00 As a beginner painter, I've somewhat learned to not bother being too precise with the SECOND color either. Basically because I found that, at least my skill level, it's easier to just coat stuff with the second color (and possibly even third, fourth, etc.), and then go back and apply fixes in the first color. I'm gonna make mistakes and go back to fix them anyway, so may as well use that to make applying the second color, especially to harder to reach areas, a bit easier.
Can we get that "He said the thing!" graphic on a t-shirt? lol
Ohh, good idea.
@@DuncanRhodesDRPA
I'd buy a tshirt with the first ever mini on it ^^
@@DuncanRhodesDRPA do it
I’m a veteran painter, learned everything through trial and error.
I wish I was told these sort of things at the beginning, I’d be a veteran AND good, by now 😂
Out of all the mistakes listed, I only made one: painting straight out of the pot. Thankfully, GW had a lot of resources available to help me out: like your painting guides, Duncan. Thanks.
Thin your paints is definitely a good one. No one ever told me that when I was younger so simply didn't know to do it and never understood why my models never looked the way I wanted.
1 very incredibly thick coat
Very lol
That wasn't a coat..... He was wearing a duvet.
always remember to thicken your paints with corn starch
So thick it granted its own armor save.
@@horuslupercal2385 comforter
Thanks for the tips. I like especially that you talk about errors and how to fix them. It seems too many others pretend they don't happen.
I love 'basics' videos like this. When I started out, I had try to learn what to do by looking at photos and guessing. It makes me so happy that now people can learn by actually seeing and hearing what to do and get better and more confident so much faster than I did. Thank you.
I came here to hear you tell me to thin my paints, and you didn't make me wait. Good man.
"Battle-Brother... do you love me?"
"Be strong... Be Strong for Duncan."
I watched a FEW intro to painting videos, this was the BEST
calming, clear, this is like a dad talking to his kid trying not to stress him out with all the info, bob ross energy
greatly appreciated
I'd like to add to your list if I may: There's nearly always an "ugly phase" in the process - keep going! Don't give up (or strip it and start again) when you're still part-way through because you think it's looking a bit crappy, hold off on that judgement until it's finished.
This keeps catching me a lot. I'm very new to painting and miniature painting especially, and I feel like giving up every time I apply a coat of paint and it doesn't have the effect I wanted.
I've been trying to think of it more like cooking. You wouldn't want to eat white flour, cocoa powder and a raw egg, but mix them into cake batter and they're delicious. When you actually /bake/ the cake batter, they become even better.
That's especially true when you use a good hobby lamp with a daylight bulb. Under the lamp, I can see every little flaw that doesn't appear under normal lightning.
Also sometimes you can correct mistakes when it's finished that you would not know how to in the beginning. For example brighten up areas to distract from the mistakes, adding details to areas that were too dull and so on..
@@Eisenwulf666 One mistake I make is trying to touch-up coats before they dry. All I end up doing is pushing paint around and leaving obvious brush strokes.
It's thin acrylic, you'd think I'd have the patience to wait thirty seconds.
@@Ninjat126 ikr? It happens to me sometimes too. I mean wet blending is a thing though, right? 😁
Been painting for years but these type of videos are my favorite, always great to relearn thr fundamentals
Duncan's first model is a product of one thick coat? It all makes sense now.
It's a super hero origin story
This is the best video for beginners that I've found. My paint hasn't even arrived yet and you're already correcting some mistakes I would have made.
Started painting miniatures about 3 years ago but the time i spent on the hobby was kinda sporadic due to work but I got de-motivated coz of making mistakes and stopped for about a year...will paint my first miniature in months tonight...thanks to your video that got me motivated again...awesome work...thank you
I just use a plastic chinese food tub for my pallet, works shockingly well and really lets you get a feel for how the paint's going to apply on your miniatures.
Ah yes, my first Clanrat was also known as the 'Blob'. Straight from the pot, one coat, thicker than a whale omelet. There were six nubs protruding from the mounds of paint, roughly where the limbs, head and tail should've been.
I still struggle with the paint consistency, but going a bit too runny is still more fixable than fattening the mini like it's getting ready for winter with that chonker looking paint job :D
Skavens may be the best starting faction for new painters. Whatever abominations you will create, Skavens really can create them in Hell Pits :D
Haha, I imagine in the past it was difficult, without proper internet coverage of the hobby and such. I started this year and while I wouldn't call myself a pro, I never had a mini that bad, cause I spent maybe a month watching videos about the hobby before even trying it.
Honestly, sometimes making mistakes can actually makr a nice effect on the mini. When i did my necrons, i ended up going slightly on to the head when doing the eyes, it was great! It made it look like the eyes were really glowing and got me to enjoy making mistakes while painting my minis
Paint a new version of him for us. For like a before and after.
We have, we actually show him in the video 😊
@@DuncanRhodesDRPA i see that now. I got over excited before watching all of it. Apologies.
Jeremy Witt oh I did not see that either.
@@TheStoid It was a Primaris marine
This is the sort of instruction I've given for 20+ years and I really wished GW had dished out years ago, bravo!
Why do I feel like 2000 point of terrible painted space marines would actually look kinda cool
Chaos to the extreme
Because 2000 points of unpainted Space Marines are worse?
@@philhelm1318 speak the truth
If they are consistently terribly painted it may as well be its own gimmick.
because you are in fact blind
Omg we can comment on Duncan's videos now.
Hey guys, loving this content, the production value is wonderful.
You have no idea how much this video is worth to some one who is new to this hobby!!!
A BIIIGGG THANK YOU as that advice you just gave is priceless !! 😊
He’s not lying! Everyone only uses a fine detail brush when they start!
And I still do :(
i didn't start with the fine detail. I think the store i first got models from was out so i had med base brush
Go two sizes up for your fine detail and go bigger again for the bigger stuff. You rarely find that youll need a tiny brush. I paint marines lenses with a number 4 i belive it is. You can do an awful lot with a relatively large brush.
Go on ebay and get a pack of about 12 brushes ill send you a link
Those are pretty much what im using. U dont need super expensive fancy brushes to make some awesome minis, its mostly about the skill of the user
I'll join the chorus. Use the largest brush that gives you the control that is sufficient for whatever part of the model you're working on.
These 6 things took me over a year to learn when I started painting, would have been nice to have this video then. I am glad I found this so I can show it to anyone interested in starting to paint because it's so far the only one I have seen that shows WHY we do these things. Awesome.
That's great madtree933. Thanks
I've been watching beginner tutorials all day and this was my favorite. This tutorial really helped to put some things into neat boxes for me to check off. I recently got my hands on an airbrush kit and my first set of washes. I can wait to really dig into these techniques and tips. Your miniatures look amazing btw. Thanks a bunch. 🥰🥰
Glad it was helpful!
I can’t say how many hours I’ve seen is Gawd of Rhodes paint. I painted my Blood thirster to a T after his UA-cam tutorial. Just the material and the presentation is professional. Such a fan of this content
Thanks for taking the time to post this! Almost 40 and going to embark on my first minis, a blood bowl team. It is a little intimidating but I've been admiring the hobby from afar for a while now. Time to jump in!
Thanks for this Mr. Duncan. My 5 year old girl has become very interested in painting. I have been letting her have free reign on models my local shop gave me and models i never had any intention to paint. She was watching this video very intently. She is showing improvement if you can keep he focused im sure she will blow me out of the water soon. I never had any instruction on painting at all and learned everything the hard way. Times have changed
When Duncan talks about the brushes: The golden two that anyone should get is a medium base brush and a small layer brush. I have now round about 20-25 brushes and I tend to go back to these two most of the time. The citadel medium layer is kind of unkillable workhorse and I do almost all my base coats with that. It holds a lot of paint and it works like a champion.
I do have some kolinsky sable brushes too that I love using - but even still I tend to use the Medium Base and the Small layer for most basic purposes. SO for all beginners out there I suppose these two are the ones that anyone should pick up when starting out. Cheap, and excellent ones!
And you do not absolutely need a brush soap! I looked up my local soap makers and got one basic soap (for about 1$) that has lanoline inside. I had a rather beat up M Base ( my first ever one that I still use) where the paint got up in the ferrule. After a bunch of soaking in water the soap got it all out and restored it to near mint condition. For the Citadel brushes this solution works nicely. For the natural hair ones I can not tell at the moment :)
I'd recommend getting a set of Winsor and Newton series 7 kolinsky sable brushes. They are expensive but the quality is very good on them and you'll find them much easier to control. I also use The Masters brush cleaner and preserver, a pot of this will last years and it will condition your brushes if you leave it on for 30 mins or so.
I also highly recommend the army painter wet palette, but you can make one using a plastic food tub, some kitchen towel and some parchment paper.
@@leegarner4592 But I definetely would NOT recommend a full on beginner to get a Winsor and Newton just to murder it in a few months. I suppose a beginner is still better of with the Citadel ones as they are kind of dirt cheap to begin with. It is not a good idea to invest in this at the beginning - maybe they quit then it was a waste of money.... Offering beginners pro level brushes makes entry to the hobby unpleasant for some. Now that I have some experience I pulled the trigger and invested in some proper brushes but beginners should not do this. This is also why I propose a middle ground solution woth natural soaps and not a proper one for 10+ times the cost :) It makes entry way easier and when the newcomer has a good foundation he can extend the repertoir with proper tools
@@HuntersOA Sure, I agree here. It's also easy to rack up a lot in costs - I've spent a couple of hundred quid on materials this year. New brushes, palette, more technical paints, thinning medium, microset/sol, varnishes, opus D brushes, AK pencils... it all adds up quick. It's been an absolute lifesaver for my mental health in lockdown though, and not spending money in the pub means it can be spent for something more productive :)
@@leegarner4592 Same here haha :D I had to invest in some small carts to be able to move the things around :D I also got an airbrush which is a blast :D
Lemme just say man, your vids are why most of my stuff is painted. While I don't have the mountainous paint collection you do, I finally got past being too scared to mix stuff to get the right colors.
Patience, experimentation, and repeated... repetition of your mantra "two thin coats" have gotten me a good way from those paint layers so thick they give a 3+ invulnerable save! Thank you, God bless, and keep on improving!
I figured you would mention doing a zenithal prime , this is one huge trick that will instantly make your models look better
50 year old here - totally new, not to 40K in general by any means in lore/videogames, but the tabletop game - so just scratching long felt itches and checking off another bucket list item. Getting Indomitus set Saturday for my first foray into painting. Subscribed immediately after what I learned here today.
When I started painting miniatures, I knew I had to thin my paint, because every tutorial said so on the internet....
...Well applying about 20 watery coat of paint because you can be excessive in both sense was a peculiar experience, but at least the details was preserved.
...On a side note I started and still only use the finest brush possible, I at multiple time tried bigger brush for base coat and always found I prefered The finner one... Well I'm not painting a rhino with it however...
Been watching a lot of youtube tutorials on painting and this was the best one! Answered so many of my questions I had when anyone talks about painting and doesn't make assumptions.
That's fantastic, thanks so much. We are glad it helped you
“I’m a bloody meme, two thin coats, baby!”
-Duncan, a few years ago
I painted a necron army something like that about 12 years ago. I've watched hours of your videos to prepare painting ninth edition and dark imperium. Thank you so much for all your content. My wife and I share this hobby, and she loves it.
Have you ever thought about recreating that model, preferably with one of the old Marines, but even in a modern style would be amazing.
Edit. 4:04
Oh.
It’s cool to keep you’re old mini’s so you can see where you came from and just how far you’ve came!
Never have I clicked a video faster.
Fantastic! This is the first time anyone has demonstrated how to find the correct paint to water ratio.
Can duncan give us a tutorial on how to open up citadel bottle without spilling paint at the back?
I truly believe they were designed that way on purpose to make you waste paint, thus need to buy more. personally I just snip the hinges off.
@@Jacob-kq4cw Agreed. And they design that lid to purposefully not make a good seal so it dries out and you gotta buy more.
Tilt the bottle a little forward and grip it really tight when opening it, also when closing it I like to punch the lid shut with the inside of my palm
I recently experienced this. Best thing I can say is use an x-acto knife or scalpel to cut the plastic you are trying to rip through. If you look at the bottle horizontally, just under the top part of the cap on the left and right sides, you'll see then. Cut them, and it opens normally.
Marc T thx for the tip, is it only for sealed paint pots?
Thank you; super useful. Most painting "tutorials" just show an expert experting, showing off their color-matching. This stuff is exactly what a newbie like me needs.
That's what the Academy aims to do 😊 Thanks for taking the time to comment too.
"A little bit of a meme" ah British understatement.
I just started Warhammer 40k and this video is absolutely invaluable to a person who has never modeled anytime before.
If I may ask, is painting your main job or you have an other one?
Painting is my main job and I run the Academy with a friend of mine 😊
Duncan Rhodes Painting Academy do you do commissions, I am looking for a commission painter for my Silent King when he comes out
@@TheCrimsonArchivist siege studios is supposed to be good.
siegestudios.co.uk/
@@TheCrimsonArchivist /\
I
Also I've seen Miniac do a commission model before don't know how you would contact him though.
@@TheCrimsonArchivist lots of people making videos for UA-cam are too busy to take open commissions, since they'd have too many requests from subscribers to actually make videos if they took them.
For professional artists, they'll probably have a website and a portfolio, with contact details and possibly even information on their rates. Pretty much everyone will at least have a social media account that you can PM. Generally the artists I know will have it mentioned somewhere in a profile header or website home page if they're taking commissions!
I had to share this to a few groups. New hobbyists/painters need to see this.
I have learned quite a few tricks through the years that i wouldnt have known without the videos from the great almighty two thin coat master.
You're like the Bob Ross of miniatures
I really LOVE to see that difference, on the two 'white' spacemarines. Soooo recognizable...
The metallic miscoloring other paints if you get them in the sponge is a myth. Miniac even did a video disproving it.
They can't get into your other paints through the wet palette paper, but there's still a risk that you'll mess up and get metallic pigments directly on the sponge. Glitter man, it gets everywhere.
@@Ninjat126 Glitter the STD of crafting.
@@Ninjat126 Oh yeah, if you overfill the water and it flows over the paper then you may get pigments in the paint, but the same goes if you are using metallic paints, clean your brush in your water and then use normal paints and clean your brush in the same water. Personally I haven't had any issues using metallics on my wet palette (or inks/shades for that matter though if I am using them extensively I prefer a porcelain palette)
I saw that video but still not convinced. Mine are staying in the "wavy" well pallette attached to the side of the wet pallette.
Fun to see the first and then a newly painted mini in the same scheme... I did that a few months ago... minis from the same box but painted roughly 25 years apart... a lot of difference both with skill level, tecniques and paints. Would recomend that fun exercise for most that have the opportunity
We are legion. We are Duncan. As the emperor has decreed, "two thin coats!"
So glad I watched this before getting into the hobby. I never would have thought to do half of the things on your list.
I've still got the first miniature I ever painted - the elf from Heroquest. He's........terrible but I love him and am never going to paint him again. I like keeping him around as he has some great memories tied up in him.
OMG, a visual aid for how watered down you need your paints to be, this has always been my biggest struggle and no ones really managed to "explain" it well, what a great visual! Thanks Duncan!
1st mini: Rraaaaaaagghhhh
😄
brother i am paint
Thanks, from a newbie who has only painted a few minis in the last 60 days. I avoided some of these mistakes, but many of your tips are quite helpful for me.
Cheers.
The 'metal flakes through parchment paper' really seems to be an out-there myth.
I literally just took the paper off my army painter wet pallette, it's been there for three weeks with absolute tons of re-applied Vallejo Dark Aluminum airbrush paint and there's not a single speck of reflective material on the sponge. This is super fine metallic paint meant to go through an airbrush, so if anything would go through the paper, that'd be it.
Far more likely people have water on the paper that goes over the edge and into the sponge that way. The 'contaminating' flakes are just flakes lifted from before because people dip their brush into the edges. I'm fairly certain this is a complete and utter myth.
I've got a big ol' leadbelcher stain on my sponge that says otherwise. Maybe it's the brand but my metallics seem to leach through if I leave them overnight like my other colors.
@@jacobwilson7191 I've had several big globs of leadbelcher on it too along with other citadel metal paints, with no issues.
My guess is that there's a difference between what sort of parchment paper people use, I've never had any paint leak through.
I used to use just regular parchment for cooking on a cleaning towel in a jewel case, never had it bleed through that either. The paper I use now is what came with the army painter wet pallette.
@@Smilomaniac I use the Masterson Sta-Wet palette. Works great but for the mettalic issue. I've resorted to using a metal well palette for metallics, washes, and any enamels I may use.
@@jacobwilson7191 It's probably for the better, considering that my metal paints seem to dry out quicker on the wet pallette, for whatever mystical reason. In fact now that you mention it, I'll remember to get one myself for the same purpose.
In general it's been tested and debunked, BUT paints as well as the papers come in different varieties so it's not impossible to happen.
Duncan!
OMG I left mini painting for another 6 years and I was shocked to not see you on the WHTV videos anymore.
Glad to see you are still sharing your knowledge with us, and happy to see you found some of the success you deserve with that amount of subs!
haha, imagine being a 12 year old that is painting minis like the first one, and you watch this and think holy crap if I thin my paints it going to look like 4:05!
I've got a Haqqislam Azra'il from Corvus Belli sitting on my worktable right now. It's currently wearing nothing but a coat of tan primer and some all-over olive acrylic, but if I was feeling lazy I could give it a once-over with a wash and call it "table ready".
Just a few simple tips like "two thin coats" can elevate your painting from "blob monster" to "kinda alright". Then you spent a lifetime trying to get from "kinda alright" to 4:05.
As a 12 year old, the first model is how everyone else sees your work but the model at 4:05 is what it looks like to you.
Thank you Duncan, not only did you inspire me to pick up a brush and start painting but you also helped eased some of my nerves blocking me from painting thank you.
The 6 things I wish I knew when I started Painting:
1. How to be Duncan
end of list
Man, I’ve been discovering and watching over channels about this hobby, and really loving it, but you are on another level. I want to return to 40k soon and you are the best online teacher I could wish. Big thank you
The thing that helped me, and i learned from Duncan, is really understanding and breaking down the details on the model. Before id look at the book and be completely daunted. Looked like there were a million different colours. But you break it down, take this one colour and do all the browns, take this colour and do all the golds, these colours require this shade, then we highlight with this colour and so on. It about building up colour.
Dunkan, I'm totally in debt. I painted my first mini like a year ago and haven't touched it since: too high hopes with a mediocre first-time result. It's you who resurrected hope in me to try one more time. Thanks a lot!
Man I just started painting after only ever painting a couple when I was 9 years old (I'm 40 now, it's been a long time since I held a brush).
This set of tips gave some context to other tips I've read online. I appreciate the content, instant sub!
I am so glad I watched this beginner guide, you really showed how your paint looks when its not watered down and when it's over watered! And the base coat effects the overall color thanks again!
Duncan I sympathise with you. I wish I had found your videos when I first started. Stil I am happy I found them later on and redemmed myself with the painting. Also hearing you talk about painting really gets me in a painting mood. Thanks for your helpful advice throughout the years.
Great video. My first space marine back in the early 90’s looked very similar and like you, no one told me about primers or thinning paints. Then because the miniature was prebuilt lead figures, trying to get details in the tight gaps between gun and chest was almost impossible. As someone getting back in to it, in an attempt to pass on to my son 30 years later, these tips are absolute gold to new starters!
Great point about not letting fear of a stray brush stroke affect your base coating. Indeed, if you thin your paints and accept that you must do more than one coat to do a competent job, you will almost instantly improve your results.
As someone who is starting painting next week this was VERY useful. Thanks !
I think all of us keep around that first one...I have mine still floating around that was painted with craft paints and glued badly, they are some Empire Militia I used for Mordhiem. So happy that Duncan was willing to show off his first, helps new painters know that no one is perfect to start off with
I think one of the things that disheartens new painters is that they always see those beautiful finished products, and not all those failures and learning experiences that happened along the way.
The messy vs. neat thing really hits home for me. I always apply every colour with perfection. Wich takes foreveeeeeeeer.
Glad it helps 😊
HE SAID THE THING! Glad to see Duncan in the saddle again.
This video PERFECTLY helped me understand what I needed to do with thinning paints. Thank you SO MUCH for this!!!!
It's videos like this that allowed my first miniatures to look kinda presentable from a distance.
you should have a video with you repainting your first miniature using all the techniques you learned.
One of the best intro tip videos I have seen.
Describing what you're doing as you paint in a super steady even voice is just fantastic.
I love the tricolor examples of undercoats, its something I always wonder and think about.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for making this video! It was especially helpful to SEE what a properly thinned paint is supposed to look like. I've been on both sides of too globby and too thin.