How to paint finer detailed minis?

[ErikB]

I just discovered Hasslefree minis and I'm dazzled.  But I am having a problem with the very fine detail.

I'm used to GW's and Copplestone's minis where I can paint several layers, apply a GW wash, re-apply the base coat and then highlight.

With the over-emphasized GW features this worked great but the viscosity and surface tension of the washes just shade the paint on the finer details of the HF minis as do the multiple layers of paint.

So, how does one adjust his style for these smaller, finer minis?  How do I get good shadows (especially faces and hands) with without the washes?

[Ray Rivers]

The experts will surely weigh in here with marvelous techniques...

As for myself, I encountered the same problem with the Hinterland Hussars.  I think you have to start right with the primer.  My figures were going to be light, so I primed white.  To make sure I didn't "over paint" them so as to get to the detail, I used a lot more water to dilute my paint.  So in some cases I was actually putting down 2 or 3 well watered down layers until I had a good color, being very careful to avoid slopping paint all over the place. 

It took a bit longer to do, but I wanted the details to jump out, so I took my time and used the minimum paint necessary to get the job done.

I think if you go with the "light" touch of watering down your paints heavily for the base coat and putting on only the minimum required, you should then be able to wash and highlight and still have lots of detail.

[JollyBob]

Most definitely not an expert, but...

I agree with Ray completely. Thin your paint and use multiple layers, and try to fit another stage or two of highlighting in if you can.

I think the HF mini I am most proud of painting is this one:



That's painted from a black undercoat, by the way.

I still used the GW washes on it too, especially the Ogryn Flesh on his uh... flesh... The good thing about them is that they lose very little of their viscosity and depth of colour if you water them down so you can still use them as normal and retouch the highlights. That's what I've found anyway.

Oh, and invest in a couple of decent quality brushes if you haven't already. Makes all the difference when doing detail.

[Major_Gilbear]

Agree with Ray And JollyBob:

Really thin your paints, paint in thin layers, take your time to build up colours and depth. Use a decent brush too (we had a brush discussion a short while back, so if you search for it or look in my recent posts you'll find it!).

My current preferred technique is to start with a really good smooth thin coat of light grey automotive primer (or white if the model will be white), and wash super-diluted colours over the areas. The washes gradually build up the colour and the shading for you, and the light grey primer does the bulk of the highlighting as the washes don't really 'stay' on the raised areas. After that, pick out little details as you would normally.

Some examples of this technique below:


I think it works well; for example the dusters are a 50:50 mix of P3 Menoth White Base and P3 Menoth White Highlight, washed with GW Graveyard Earth, and then with P3 Cryx Bane Base. Very dilute white was used to pick out a few spot areas. Total number of layers is probably about 10, which is pretty typical for me.

I use acrylic Matte Medium and some drying retarder (from Vallejo 'cos it is convenient) to help extend the paint into thin wet washes that dry gradually without leaving 'tide marks'.

[Calimero]

I use acrylic Matte Medium and some drying retarder (from Vallejo 'cos it is convenient) to help extend the paint into thin wet washes that dry gradually without leaving 'tide marks'.

Would a tiny drop of liquid dish detergent in the thinning water will have the same effect?

[Greystreak]

Would a tiny drop of liquid dish detergent in the thinning water will have the same effect?

Since the 'active' ingredient in any 'retarder' is glycerin, yes liquid soap will probably have a simlar effect, assuming you can introduce to the paint/water mix without bubbles.  It's what we all used before 'commercial' drying retarders were marketed.

[Orctrader]

I paint all of my figures the same way.

Black primer/undercoat.
Dark to light
Thin paint.
Good quality brush.

I love painting HF figures and have done some of their smallest miniatures.






Link to my HF Gallery

The "trick" is to find a style that you are comfortable with and develop it.  And it will suit all figures.  Helpful advice can be very confusing.  Example:  "You should use a white/grey primer for bright colours..."  But I always prime black and am complemented on my "bright" painting.   

[ErikB]

Orcy and Bob, you're my heroes.

I just can't seem to get my stuff to look like yours.

[Bako]

A very fine brush also helps.

[Calimero]

... and a lot of patience and practising shouldn’t hurt either

[ErikB]

I've been doing this for years and can get a consistently good table-top level mini. 

It's just this switch to such fine features that I'm washing out.

Also, I think I'm in a hurry with a 3 year-old wanting attention (actually, to be honest, she's a-okay.  It's the wife who is the bother...  )

[6milPhil]

... and a lot of patience and practising shouldn’t hurt either

Aye taking your time is a good move, even if it means a higher mountain of unpainted pieces...

[Heldrak]

Just to jump on the "Hey, dig my painted Hasslefree figs...!" bandwagon...  



These were painted with a process similar to that used by Jolly Bob and Orctrader (thin layers up from a black undercoat).

I find that Hasslefree figures are actually easier to paint than those produced by many other manufacturers, because the quality of the sculpting and the production process is usually so high that you don't need to compensate for sculpting flaws with paint as you do with some other lines (those beady little copplestone eyes, for instance). With a Hasslefree figure you just need to paint what's already there in a straightforward manner and you get better detailed results.

I think that the smaller/sharper brush, thinner paint/more layers and take more time advice you've gotten so far will go a long way towards improving your results.

Be sure and let us see the fruits of your new-and-improved labor.

P.S. Excellent tutorial on the Hasslefree website here:

http://cp.nemo.phpwebhosting.com/~libertywhite/kjarantutorial.php

[ErikB]

Here's a baseline.  I would love your comments and criticisms.  It would help me learn more.

And sorry about the horrible photos.  I took them with my camera phone in the office while eating lunch in my cube.

Uh oh, how do I re-size the photos?  They're HUGE - sorry!

[Heldrak]

Those look like pretty solid paint-jobs Erik, with very nice basing. Well done!

For my (perhaps worthless) two cents:

1. It does look like your paint may be a bit too thick (Your Shaun of the Dead figure's shirt looks like you're losing a little detail due to the thickness for instance). While it can be frustrating to experience the slowdown/delay in results that you get with thinner paints, it's worth it to keep more detail. Work with thinner paint (you shouldn't even get proper coverage with a single layer) and see if that helps you keep more detail.

2. It may be the camera phone photography, but they do look a bit flat- A couple more layers of highlighting with perhaps a few extreme highlights will make them look more dimensional. You don't have to highlight them up to white, just use some lighter shades of the colors you have.

3. The flesh color looks far too pink/red/purple to me. Again, this may be an effect of the photography, but it might also be an effect of too thick a wash, or a wash with the wrong color. I usually find that the various GW-type flesh washes are the wrong shade out-of-the-bottle and you have to add other color elements and thin them significantly to get the proper tone. A browner or more neutral wash color followed by another couple of layers of highlighting with some extreme highlights will make the flesh pop a lot more. A little more shading between the fingers of Shaun's left hand would not go amiss.

4. Kudos to you for doing the eyes (I'm firmly in the "do the eyes" camp). You do have a bit of an oversized fried-egg stare going on though (not surprising if you've been doing a lot of Copplestone). I would consider narrowing the eyes from the top and bottom so that they are more slitted and they follow the natural contours of the sculpt more accurately. You don't need to re-paint them, as your pupil placement looks pretty good and that's always the hardest thing to get right. Just narrow them/shrink them a little from the top and bottom (and sides where necessary) with a dark color and then add your flesh shade over that color until you've covered all but a tiny thin line of the dark color at the top and bottom of the eye (you really don't want the dark color in the corners as it then tends to look like mascara). When doing eyes, I always find that it is better to think in terms of a thin, steely slit, rather than a round dab (even for relatively wide-eyed expressions).

If you find that your eyes are crooked (Shaun's look a little bit uneven), you can also use the narrowing technique to even them up.

Good color choices on these, nice subtle execution on the hair (particularly the women), nice basing. There's really a lot to like with what you've done already on the figures you have.