Fly Molo back again with a painting article. And I do love painting. Actually, more accurately, I like having painted models. I assume you do too!
Yet, think back,... out of the last 20 or so games you've played, how many times have you used a completely painted army? How many times have your opponent?
Why is that?
1. Time!
2. Planning!
3. Skill!
4. Cost!
5. Focus!
There you have it. The five reasons you and your opponent's stuff aren't painted. Until next time!
...
That can't be it. Had you there for a second.
Problem 1: Time. Time, man, as we get older, it sure seems like there is never enough time for anything. Between work, family, school, work, family, friends, work and family, there's barely enough time to take a leak, let alone paint an army. Well, that is correct. There isn't enough time to paint in army in there. There is NO WAY you can paint an army between all of the things that we fill our lives with.
Solution 1: But there is time to paint five bolters in there. Then tomorrow, you might find a minute to get five belts done, you know, when your wife is getting ready to go out to dinner (you'll probably have time to do TEN!). Then the next day, you might not get anything done. Then the next, you have time to hit your basecoat with a wash.
You see what I'm doing there? Convince your wife or girlfriend to let you keep a few models out in the corner of the dining room, along with a few brushes and a few pots of paint. Do not move your entire paint station to the kitchen. That would be impractical. Instead, move just what you need to work on what you are working on. Make sure it is somewhere that is easily accessible and visible to you. Then, you'll find yourself gravitating over there a few times a day to finish up that highlight, or shade those lenses.
Problem 2: Planning. This makes problem one so much worse. You get your first squad out of your basement, still faintly smelling of primer. Ah, where to begin. Heck, do you even know what chapter/coven/sisterhood/war band/god you are using? Do you have an idea of what your army is going to look like? Do you even have the supplies? When I started painting, I really didn't. I didn't have a wide range of paints, so I was kind of stuck with what I had. In turn, I never really got off of the ground.
Solution 2: You need to have some sort of plan before you even spray your models with primer. Why? I prime my Nurgle Daemons white and use washes to paint them, and prime my Deathguard black and use layering and drybrushes to paint them. If I didn't have a plan, I wouldn't get the look I wanted. And if my time and effort produce results I'm not happy with, I might not finish what I'm working on.
Next, get a vision for what you want your finished models to look like. What colors will you need? If you want to do a good red, go to google and type in "Warhammer how to paint red," and read the first couple of hits. You might see some good ideas. You might learn a thing or two.Next, paint a test model. This is my test model for my upcoming charity army. Take one trooper of your soon to be painted army and go to town on the guy. Paint him to completion. Admire your results. If it is acceptable, or even awesome, leave him on top of your little work area that is set up in a really predominate space. He will be your inspiration.
Lastly, get an inventory of your current force and procure enough paint to get them all painted. I find that a little bit of paint goes a long way. You might only need two pots of each main color and probably a single pot of detail colors.
Problem 3: Skill. Simply, you are worried that your painting skill is either too low or will take too much time to get the desired results. Solution 3: You are good enough. You are good enough. You are good enough. You are good enough. You are good enough. You are good enough! YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH!!! (read this every day, you can apply it to any facet of life)!
In case you didn't catch that, believe it or not, you are good enough. I get quite a few compliments on my models and I must say, it feels good to hear them. I've put in a lot of work over a long period of time to get all of my models where they are at. But I don't consider myself to be any better a painter than anyone else I've met, just someone who has applied what skill I have on a consistent basis. And my skill isn't that great.
I'm serious. I don't do non-metallic-metallic. I have only tried "light sourcing" a few times. I've only actually used my airbrush on 4 or 5 occasions. I use washes regularly to mask my at-times unsteady hand. I rarely line highlight.
I simply apply the simple techniques I use carefully. I love the dry brush. I love washes. I love directional highlighting. I love layering. I use less paint rather than more. I paint more recessed areas first. I keep my themes simple. I like high contrast. And knowing that I do those things well, I use those techniques the most. I am extremely happy with my results.
If I can do it, so can you.
Problem 4: Cost. Paints cost money.
Solution 4: This is true. I can't really help you in this aspect. But I can help you with what you spend your money on. This goes hand in hand with problem five. Warhammer can get expensive fast, as can any hobby. But Warhammer is a looooooooooong hobby. A very long hobby. When did you start playing? When did you buy your first model? Most of us have been at this for quite some time. Imagine if you had purchased every single model, book, paint pot, brush, tube, bottle, box and sprue that you own in one day. Imagine that number. If you're anything like me, that number would be insanely high. I mean, astronomical. But you didn't buy it all in one day and you probably didn't buy it all in one year either. Spread the cost out, find what you like and stick with it.
Solution 5: Sound familiar? You will never get an army painted if you allow yourself to fall victim to the flavor of the month. And in the new 6th edition, it sure seems like there is a lot of flavors lately. Find your army and stick with it! You'll find that you will get mighty excited when they update your specific army or ally. Otherwise, you get to experience every new army as you play against them and learn how your particular force works in relation. Having a little stick-to-it-av-ness will go a long way. And as we can see here, painted models always win versus unpainted ones.
Any other tips for getting your guys painted on the table top?