Basic paint colors for starting to paint

[Davros]

    I am planning to get back into painting for 2017 and I am wondering what basic paint colors should I get first?



   David P.

[Westfalia Chris]

Generally, I would suggest getting a good selection of the basic spectrum. Depending on your style of painting, this could be as simple as getting one each of the primary colours, plus white and black and maybe washes to get you started into shading, but I would consider using a triad approach if you haven't been painting for a longer time.

This would mean getting a set of three matching tones of any colour to provide a base, shade and highlight. Personally, I prefer to apply shades as washes, but that is a matter of taste.

My personal paint "collection" has three to five shades each of red, green, yellow and blue, plus a large variety of browns (because I like "Earth" tones) and various "whites" (e.g. bones, sand, beige) for convenience, so as not to have to mix them up anew all the time. Added to that are two "silvery" metals (Vallejo Gunmetal, Revell Aqua Aluminium) and three to four tones of "gold", usually copper and brass in various shades. The Revell Aluminium in particular combines very nicely with Vallejo transparent colours to create some interesting metallics.

[Nord]

Depends what you are painting. A list of paints for an undead army would be very different to a list for Napoleonics, or Western figures, etc. What are you painting?

[Sir_Theo]

Personally I'd take the thinking out if it and just pick up a starter set. Army painter do a very good one but just about every paint make do something similar. Coat D'Arms do a number of good sets as do Wargames Foundry.  In fact if you want to go down the triad route Foundry is a good place to start.     

It does depend on what you are going to paint but start with the basics and then when you've painted a few things and have more of an idea of where you want to go start picking up other colours,  trying other ranges etc.  Ultimately you'll end up buying loads of different paints if you are anything like me!

[Davros]

    Okay gentlemen here is what I am planning to paint for 2017

     1) Old style deepsea divers
     2) Late Victorian era sailors
     3) Late Victorian era civilians (mostly gentlemen)
     4) Lead Adventure Post Apoc survivors.
     5) Various science fiction miniatures
     6) Morrow Project Personnel

      I am looking to put together a collection of paints for the items mentioned, also any military miniatures will be
non camo patterns