Golden Demon Painting according to our readers!


I posted a little tirade about my adventure in painting land and received some really thoughtful and helpful comments. Not wanting to have all these tips be invisible in the comment section, I have put all these wonderful tips in a short list. I edited some of the words to make it work and took out duplicates. If you want to visit these bloggers yourself, go to the comment section of this post.

What to do if your primered model is grainy anyway?
an old mini that might have oxidised slightly will have a powdery surface to begin with. a bit of a rub with gentle wire wool should sort that

and

If the metal's not smooth enough, use a file carefully.

How do you keep your paint from drying up too quickly after you have mixed it to the color you want?

If you cant complete a colur in a single sitting a wet palette might help. a quick google should show you some you can buy or build. they can keep paint wet for days

and

If you have problems revisiting shades, maybe paint a section at a time? aka, do the arm from dark to light, then a leg, etc. (I don't actually recommend this, as I prefer to do a single colour/shade at a time.) Maybe try thin washes between each layer to help blend. I also _always_ paint with a wet brush so that I'm never painting solid colour on. Takes longer, but blending gets more gradual.

and

Pre-mix your colours, and store them in an empty paint pot (one which is clean). Or else, keep practicing your blending.
A colour wheel may be a helpful reference guide. Or just mix your blend on top of the previous day's until it's the same.

And here are some links to check out:

There are lots of good sites for inspiration, Mike. My favourite is the Finnish painter Vesa Makela's:

http://nomadpainter.blogspot.com/

Here's a brief tutorial specifically on blending:

http://www.jenova.dk/Blending.htm

And the Citadel books on how to paint miniatures are helpful as well. I refer to Mike McVey's old one all the time.

Other than that, there's no substitute for practice and study.

My primer is sandy and grainy. What's going on?

"
>Sometimes that Just happens. It can be down to the weather, the paint, the distance you hold the can from the mini, a lot of things. most commonly though, a powdery finish is caused my particles of paint drying on the way to the mini, was it hot when you primed? wait till it's cooler, or hold the can closer.

and:

When it comes to spray primers - they are too touchy (same with spray sealers). If the model has got to be really nice and you don't want to run the risk of ruining it before you begin - or when you end - paint prime with non-diluted gray/white/black Gesso and paint seal with non-diluted well shaken Matte Varnish. I love the convenience of sprays myself, but for army commanders and characters I take a spray-less approach.

and

I use gesso to undercoat miniatures. It's the undercoat you use for proper acrylic paintings. (Using Google Images for 'Gesso warhammer' brings up some good examples). You can buy Gesso in black or white; and thin it with water as with regular acrylics. Or you could just use regular white acrylic paint and thin it with water. I based my miniatures that way for years.

Hope this inspires!

Mike

Comments

  1. I had a big problem with grainy primer.

    the main thing that fixed it was switching brands, but also check the local humidity and only priming when it's low. I'm in florida so I have to prime inside.

    Also, changing primer brands can help. I use Krylon. Armory is not great primer I had HUGE problems with it. Also, the distance at which you prime can have an effect. If you hold the can too far the primer can partially dry before it gets onto the model.

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  2. I just found Clear Gesso at Michael's a couple days ago and remembered it when it fell down from my shelf while I was setting up the new air compressor for my airbrush. I'm curious as to how it will perform as a primer when mixed with an acrylic color. I will give it a try sooner or later.

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  3. Now, I tried using some white Gesso for priming my metal miniatures, but I found that it filled in small details (chainmail an obvious example). It was the only kind available in my local paint store. Are there different types of Gesso available? I believe this type of gesso was mainly meant for priming canvas.

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  4. So I thought Id share of some things I found and heard on several blog sites. This is in regards to your 5 issues you had in your latest road to the Golden Demon. I didn't know where to put it so the latest blog wins out.

    1. Havnt had a issue with primer being grainy. Maybe I havnt noticed. Most of the quick searches I looked on have said solid maintenance advice that has already been mentioned. I Did run across last year a tutorial that caught my eye. Spray nozzles
    here is the article

    http://thepaintingcorps.blogspot.com/2009/06/from-corps-spray-nozzles.html

    "Yes the tips/nozzles/caps whatever you want to call it. That also helps regulate the flow of the paint/primer. One can take a high pressure primer, and slap a low pressure "fat cap" on it, and it will have a wide soft spray that even if you hold the cap down wont group together or run. OR you can do a really fine angled/directional high pressure cap on there and turn it into a monster of a can. For most model making I would recommend a low pro cap" Food for thought.

    2. Nothing to add that hasnt been already added

    3. Dropper bottles. A neat tip that was given in awesomepaintjob
    videos mentioning putting paints in the dropper bottles similar to vellajo paints. He stated he puts everything in the dropper bottles that way he can measure out what mix he is using and keeps a notebook of the mixtures.

    Ill plug his site and his tutorial videos are great.
    http://awesomepaintjob.blogspot.com

    4. Have the same issue. :) One extreme tip ive heard but never used was having two water containers. One container containing regular tap water to clean the brush and one containing distilled water to mix with paint. The idea is to keep the paints clear of your tap water impurities. Like I said extreme.

    5. Ive cant seem to find the reference but one artist used miniput to coat the divots and holes that metal miniatures seem to have. this smothed out any un forseen issues that would be caused latter when painting I thought that was a bit extreme as well but we are talking the Golden Demon!

    Hope some of these help you in your goal to get first place. You guys are always great on a budding hobbyist such as my self

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