Once upon a time, while all the world was young and I did not have a child who considered smearing peanut butter on the walls as high art, I painted miniatures.  And I was uniformly awful at it, but by damme, did I love it.  I likely had over 100 different colors from Repaer (and a few from Vallejo), and though nearly every mini I did sucked ass, it was fun.

Well, over the years, the US Air Force managed to lose a good deal of my paints through the move, and on a whim I gave the rest of 'em to a young lad who was just getting started.  So here I sit, with boxes of unpainted minis, no paint, no brushes, no primer, nothing.

I'm not looking to jump in whole-hog again; with kid #2 here next month, I can't afford it, for one.  I'm looking for the most basic but functional/diverse mix I can get, perhaps a few extra brushes, adhesive, and primer without going broke in the process.  I'm looking at Reaper's Learn-To-Paint kits, but there's a couple different ones to start from.  Can anyone give me advice for the best way to do this on the cheap?  Hell, save me enough money, and I'll even send you some random dice or a random RPG book from my collection to say thanks.  

It's a crapshoot, but I've gotten most of my minis, paints and brushes (good ones: red sable and everything) REALLY cheap by perusing local garage sales.  I always turn up something fun and related to gaming every summer.

If you're not averse to that kind of thing, it's a nice way to spend your Saturday mornings.

Quote from: KenHRIt's a crapshoot, but I've gotten most of my minis, paints and brushes (good ones: red sable and everything) REALLY cheap by perusing local garage sales.  I always turn up something fun and related to gaming every summer.

If you're not averse to that kind of thing, it's a nice way to spend your Saturday mornings.

Actually, I have a grandma and mother-in-law who are big into garage saling, and I've had a standing order with them for just that.  Our Saturdays are usually family time, but I do get to peruse now and then.  Not much luck yet, but I do have my eyes open.

The Abyssal Maw cheap-Painting Kit:

You need cheap-ass craft store acrylics that you can get anywhere.

You need white, black, brown, yellow, red, green, blue for colors.  

You need black spray paint for primer.  

Priming with black is very quick and leaves everything you don't hit with color as a shadow.

Quote from: Abyssal MawThe Abyssal Maw cheap-Painting Kit:

You need cheap-ass craft store acrylics that you can get anywhere.

You need white, black, brown, yellow, red, green, blue for colors.  

You need black spray paint for primer.  

Priming with black is very quick and leaves everything you don't hit with color as a shadow.

Like, you're talking Wal-Mart acrylics here?  I usually primed in white, but that's an interesting idea.  Any certain type of spray paint here?

Quote from: Zachary The FirstLike, you're talking Wal-Mart acrylics here?  I usually primed in white, but that's an interesting idea.  Any certain type of spray paint here?

Yeah, Wal-Mart or Michaels or Joanns or whatever you got. Water soluble acrylics are mostly alike-- if you aren't like a world-class painter, I suspect you'll get just as much use out of craft store acrylics than the high end stuff. (Well, I do, anyhow.)

Black spraypaint for primer- I use plain old Krylon matte black.

So then do you just pick up your brushes at like Hobby Lobby too, then?  The ones at Wal-Mart are dirt-cheap, but too coarse even for me.

Quote from: Zachary The FirstSo then do you just pick up your brushes at like Hobby Lobby too, then?  The ones at Wal-Mart are dirt-cheap, but too coarse even for me.

AM speaks painting wisdom.  I usually skip the expensive Vallejo paints in favor of the 99 cent hobby acrylics that you find at Hobby Lobby and the like.  I think the brand that I have used in the past that comes to mind is called Americana (or something like that).

As for the black primer technique, it is one of my favorites and gives you pretty decent results quickly and easily.  It doesn't produce award winning paintjobs, but it does produce very serviceable figs for a game table.  The trick is, as AM has pointed out, that the black primer can do the shading of the fig for you so you don't have to mess with washes, etc.  My technique relies entirely on drybrushing, which takes a little practice, but is worth it.  The first drybrush layer is in the figure's base color, and is really barely a drybrush because you want to have enough paint on the brush to cover most of the fig, while still leaving the recesses (folds in clothing, chainmail, etc) dark.  Then you due a couple more layers of much lighter drybrushing and add some spot colors to make details (eyes, lips, sword pommels) stand out.

It works for me at least!  I'll see if I can dig out a photo of a fig I've done this way.


TGA

Quote from: Abyssal MawYeah, Wal-Mart or Michaels or Joanns or whatever you got. Water soluble acrylics are mostly alike-- if you aren't like a world-class painter, I suspect you'll get just as much use out of craft store acrylics than the high end stuff. (Well, I do, anyhow.)

Black spraypaint for primer- I use plain old Krylon matte black.

Dear Abyssal Maw,

That was going to be my answer, pretty much item-for-item.  Either we are very much alike, we are both right, or you are a colossal jerk trying to make me look bad by totally upstaging me.

...

...Naaah, it's the second one.

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!Dear Abyssal Maw,

That was going to be my answer, pretty much item-for-item.  Either we are very much alike, we are both right, or you are a colossal jerk trying to make me look bad by totally upstaging me.

...

...Naaah, it's the second one.

It's the second one. You are unsullied!

I feel that white primer makes colors stand out more, but black primer is just way more reliable, because you hit it with build ups and dry brushing, and anything you miss just becomes a shadow. I usually get cheap brushes too.

I could teach you drybrushing in 5 minutes. (or you could learn it offa the internetz like I did!).  I taught one of the players in my campaign who had never really painted. He brought in this gobby testor's enamel coated monstrosity one time. I gave him the 5 minute drybrushing demo and he's now a far far better painter than I am, just using a really simple technique and regular acrylics.

Quote from: Zachary The First......       I'm looking at Reaper's Learn-To-Paint kits, but there's a couple different ones to start from.  Can anyone give me advice for the best way to do this on the cheap?  Hell, save me enough money, and I'll even send you some random dice or a random RPG book from my collection to say thanks.  

The Reaper Learn-To-Paint-Kits are a pretty good way to go.

 Our store has sold those for the past 3 years.  We did a piece for piece price comparison  and you save anywhere from 10 to 12 dollars compared to if you got/bought all those paints and minis seperately.

IF yu get one of those - try to get one made more reecently in the REAPER pruduction run. The newer ones have the better master series paints that REAPER has been selling. These boxes may be marked with a bright pink flash sticker on the back saying that it has the newer paints.

 TRUST me on this you'll be happier with the newer paints. The majority of our customers prefer them to the old pro-paints.

Also, several of the customers that I talk to have told me they get pretty alright effects on details by using "paint-pens" that you get in the plastic model sections of places like WAL-MART, TArget, K-mart and even KROGERS.  They use these pens for colors that use quite a lot. Also, some permanent markers are usable for fine detail like eyes, moths and writing on bits of clothing and equipment on the figures.  It sounds cheezy - but I've been told it works ....and I've seen the results.


Have fun.


- Ed C.

Hey, Zach.  I'll send you everything I got for painting minis, admittedly a cheapass and haphazard collection of stuff, for whatever it costs me to ship the lot.  Hell, I'll send you some primed but unpainted figs as well, if you want some vintage D&D lead.

I can second cheap acrylics at Walmart.  I used to go to the gaming store and buy the expensive Games Workshops paints but it was getting expensive.  At Walmart one day I noticed some cheap paints (Apple Barrel I think is the brand).  They aren't quite the same but they are very close.  They were a bit more gritty and "dry" when they dried on the mini (I always found GW paints to be very smooth when dry).

Quote from: jrientsHey, Zach.  I'll send you everything I got for painting minis, admittedly a cheapass and haphazard collection of stuff, for whatever it costs me to ship the lot.  Hell, I'll send you some primed but unpainted figs as well, if you want some vintage D&D lead.

Dude, you got yerself a deal.  Send it 6th-rate or whatever, 'cause there's no hurry.  At all.  Should I PM you my address, then? Aside from springing from postage, when you're set up wherever you're set up at, perhaps I could send you a book or two as a token of my gratitude as well?

And I thank everyone for the "cheapass" suggestions--I'll augment whatever I need with a choice trip to Hobby Lobby.