The simple answer is practice
and trying new methods. I started in 5th grade with the simple one color
paint
job(its an efrret so I'll
paint him red). Back then (1979) there was not many sources for techniques,
plus I was young and didn't care.
I start improving my techniques
in Junior High in Germany. At that time Heritage USA (the only miniatures
available on the base) provided painting guides and tips with there box
sets. I read the tips and tried some of the methods usng the acrylic
paints they provided in some of the kits. Dry-brushing was the first
and easiest to learn. I quickly found out that washing was to complex
for me at that time and put it off.
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Once we got back stateside,
I started painting in full force after a trip to the local hobby stores.
Again reading tips that came with boxes of miniatures (Ral Partha, Grenadier,
Citidel, etc...) Since most of my friends did not paint I did not
get any other input, besides what I would read.
It was in the Army at Fort
Lewis, my skill increased drastically. I had a friend that painted
and we would compare techniques and give each other some constructive comments
(don't use white for the eyes,it makes it look fake use gray, etc...)
We would bounce ideas off of each other on color schemes. Thisis
when I decided I'd stick with acrylic paints since they give more benefits
for the side effect of drying too fast. Started messing with washes
and inks |
In college being a broke
student I spent most of my spare time painting (when not partying).
The biggest reason for the
change is practice (over 2K of mini painted)and not being afraid to try
something. If I still had that efreet painted with Testor's red I
would have scanned it in. If it seems you are not doing it right,
strip the mini and try again. Like any skill with practice you get
better and finally, listening to all comments. I still find that it is
nice to get input, many times I draw a blank on a color scheme for a figure.
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