How much painting is "enough" to call it painted?

BobbiJay

Member
How much paint does a model have, how much detail and effort is required, before you call it "done"?

I ask this thanks to a long-standing and ongoing disability I have, a genetic disorder with my hand that manifests in pain and loss of fine detail control of fingers long-term. It's degenerative and will only get worse with time. I've never been a prolific, quick painter, but I've always enjoyed it and used to be "pretty good", at least among my local friends anyway. I still love to play and I want to paint my models, but it's simply the case now that I can't physically manage to paint for more than a few minutes at a time, a few times a week before the pain from painting makes other day-to-day necessities impossible.

So, thus my question. How much detail, how much highlighting, shading, how many colours, at what point would you consider a model "painted" enough to not be a shameful display?

Additionally - a plea - if you have any tips on quick short-cuts to spend less time but get "decent" results, my hand (and my armies) will forever thank you! Drop them here, or DM me, perhaps I'll start a thread of short cuts for all to share. :)
 

Orjetax

Member
Re: How much painting is "enough" to call it painted?

I sure wouldn’t judge negatively the efforts of anyone who was in that position.

More generally, if everything has a base coat and a wash, I think that’s plenty “painted” for gaming purposes.

This technique, using a wash of Payne’s Grey over base colors, might be a good approach for you to try

https://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/The_ ... by_Iffy%29


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ardyer

Member
Re: How much painting is "enough" to call it painted?

I think that you have to look at the person's situation before you judge, but I also think I'm not too horrible of a person too. But by that I mean, you can't expect a new player to be a golden demon winner but you can hold a golden demon winner to a higher standard.

As far as quick tips go, I would suggest an intense wash over an off-white or very light color. Especially with magical creatures. A simplified version of this, basically: https://www.warhammer-community.com/201 ... ge-post-3/ but adjusted with the appropriate under color and wash.
 
I'm in a similar position, albeit not as advanced yet. Due to spinal problems, my arm/hand starts to go numb after about 30 minutes or so at a desk, and it's only gonig to get worse as time goes on.

What I can say it that coloured aerosols are a quick way to get a lot of base colour on a model without all the time and faff involved in using an airbrush, and dark washes hide a multitude of painting slip ups if you're a bit shaky, as I am occasionally. A few fine (and quick) details like faces and insignia to draw the eye can make up for an otherwise quick paint job on a model.

Don't bother mixing up custom colours, or mess about with blending or wet palettes, it all takes too long, and if you're only painting for short periods of time, it's far too difficult to replicate quickly.

As an example, here are some of my Imperial Guard:

IMG_4698.JPG


These are just a GW blue spray coat with a lighter drybrush over the whole model, with the weapons, boots and skin base picked out after, then a dark wash all over, and a few details picked out at the end. The orange stripes, for example, and the shoulder pad logos just give a bit more detail without taking much time. Easily done in a few minutes per model, you can just pick up, paint a bit and come back later. Even without the details and just the block painting with a wash over the top, they'd be perfectly fine on a table, in my opinion.

Also, basing helps. The ones in the photo are just sand, painted brown with a dark wash over the top. Doesn't matter if you get brown paint on the boots, it's mud, innit! Then a drop of superglue in a few places, drop static grass on it, hold the model upside down and shake the loose grass off. It'll stay on in clumps and stand vertically. Dead easy, no fine detail control needed and just adds a bit more colour and detail to the model.

Really, when it comes down to it, no one's going to judge you for anything, painting is a skill, some people have it, some don't, and every one is at their own level. I'd rather play against badly painted models than unpainted ones, it show you've made an effort.
 

EricF

Administrator
I've never tried one, but perhaps an airbrush with a "pistol grip" might be easier on the hand? The recent Imperial Fists I've painted had 90% of the hard work done with my (conventional trigger) airbrush - base of yellow, brown shade shot from underneath, white highlight from top and an ink wash. Alas of course an airbrush can be a bit of an investment.

Personally having played far too many games with "ghost armies" all in white primer I'd say any paint is better than no paint - models look so much better on the battlefield with some paint on them. Certainly some base colours and wash and quick dry brush make for more than adequate gaming models. You can always come back and add more paint! I guess it depends somewhat on your goals - if you play games with the models then having painted armies is brilliant, so some basic colour is more than enough (remember the distance you see them from on the gaming table). If you are simply painting for the joy of painting them spend as long as you want/can I guess!
 

Orjetax

Member
Re: How much painting is "enough" to call it painted?

EricF":3im1mj3h said:
if you play games with the models then having painted armies is brilliant, so some basic colour is more than enough (remember the distance you see them from on the gaming table). If you are simply painting for the joy of painting them spend as long as you want/can I guess!

‘Paint until you are satisfied’ is really the best approach of all.


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SamusDrake

Member
Hello Bobbijay. Sorry to hear about your condition and the impact it has on your enjoyment of the hobby.

When you get into art, proper, you'll find that less is more. A black undercoat provides the classic silhouette( a good start! ) and then just a light dry brush pass is enough to pick out the most raised details. Using a dark grey is enough to bring out those details without spoiling the thin undercoat. It sure beats grey plastic!

After that, just pick out the most distinctive feature( the green skin of an Ork's face ) and provide its base coat colour. Once you have two thin coats applied( separate sessions if you have to ), apply a wash.

Gun barrels and weapon blades are usually metal, so a gentle drybush of dark silver will probably do the trick.

True, your miniatures will look dark and minimal, but effective for the tabletop. In the case of the Ork his face and weapons will stand out, and will show the opposition the features they should be most concerned with. The rest of the model can rely on the dark grey highlight.

Bobbijay, I hope this has helped and we invite you to share with us photos of your work.

Steve.
 

Brokk

Member
Hi BobbiJay,

Do you know Quickshade from Army Painter ? (https://shop.thearmypainter.com/product ... tGroupId=1)

This is used after you have applied the base colours to a mini. You just need to dip the painted mini in the Quickshade pot and to shake it to remove the excess of liquid. This will give shade to your minis and at the same time, it is also acting as a varnish.

The result is good. But your minis will be glossy. This can be addressed by using a matt varnish (spray) afterwards.
 

Berkut666

Member
I use the Army Painter system. It’s really good and relativly quick and simple. Don’t get me wrong you will get far superior results from multiple ink and highlights layers on a model but to get a large amount done in a short time it’s great. Ideal system for rank and file, and then spend more time on vehicles or characters
 
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