- contact@scarhandpainting.com
Welcome to another entry in the ‘Painting Philosophy’ series, where I let you in on ‘how’ and especially ‘why’ I do some things in a certain way. In my opinion a proper approach to painting is crucial to maintain a healthy, rewarding experience and to produce satisfactory results. Today I will focus on brush handling and hand support during painting.
Handling a brush is a personal thing. It depends mostly on your experience, preferences and muscle memory. It would be inappropriate for me as a painter to tell you how to handle your brush, but I can definitely share some of my own habits. For starters, brush control and hand support, both heavily impact precision of the painting process. I found these skills worth practicing early on.
When painting, I usually hold a brush with three fingers (see pics) and control it with small movements of my fingers and wrist. This is where most of the brush movement originates from, regardless of inclination. I tend to hold brushes close to the “crimp” on the ferrule, which gives me better control over the tip. Most of the time I loosely support the handle of the brush on my hand, between the pointing finger and thumb. This decreases brush vibrations and makes it follow the movement of the hand much smoother. On occasion, in the midst of painting, I might raise the handle off of my hand to gain access to a spot that is otherwise difficult to reach (such as painting obscured eyes), but most of the time it stays in the resting position. All of this combined allows for a wide range of smooth, precise movements with which to work with.
Shaky hands or just unnecessary movement might render even the most professional brush handling ineffective. I always keep my wrists supported on the edge of a painting desk. This is to properly immobilize the miniature but also reduce any macro movement (breathing, elbows etc.) translating onto the brush. To make this a bit less uncomfortable for my wrists I use smooth edge covers for furniture permanently glued onto a working desk (you can learn more about this life hack here).
When in need of increasing precision even further, I like to ‘link’ my hands, supporting brush hands pinky on the hand that I hold the miniature with. Both hands micro movements synchronize and I get more control over the tip as a result.
Frankly speaking, the aforementioned methodology does not work the same for every painting technique. Depending on the size and type of the miniature I sometimes deviate from the norm. Some techniques, such as drybrushing or washing, might not require much precision, whereas detail heavy techniques will definitely benefit from proper brush handling and hand support.
I hope you found this tutorial interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate if you’d consider sharing my content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally, if you are looking for a professional Warhammer miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me via this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours. If you don’t see anything from me by then, please check your spam folder.
Third time’s a charm thus welcome to the third ‘Painting Philosophy’ article, where I let you in on ‘how’ and especially ‘why’ I do some things in a certain way. In my opinion a proper approach to painting is crucial to maintain healthy and rewarding experience. Final result depends on it in the same way as on techniques, know-how and tools being used. Nowadays internet is full of painting tutorials yet it takes some inner understanding of our own capabilities to find what suits us best and fully benefit from all acquired knowledge. That being said – In this series I will reveal what works best for me as a painter. I hope you will find some wisdom in it…
In last article I wrote a lot about the edge of a base and what it represents. Do not let yourself be fooled by a similar title, as today we’re talking a completely different topic. I introduce to you the ‘Edge highlight technique’. Something that I used to avoid, but at some point got lured by Games Workshop to try out. Before that I struggled to keep colors juicy and interesting, preferred dark, murky color schemes and avoided any type of lining, including edges. I was a bit disappointed with my own work as a result – so a not very healthy relationship with paints and miniatures. It all changed once I got my hands on GW’s Edge paints, which was the first step to realize how important strong edges, combined with proper lining, are.
Edge highlights is a technique of applying paint to the natural edges of a surface, resulting in strong contrast and nice surface outlining. I find edge highlighting, combined with lining, to be a great way to make a color pop and literally change how an eye can perceive it. It works especially well with multi-layered surfaces of detailed miniatures but should work for you regardless of what miniatures you paint. Here’s an example of edge highlights in action – two sets of miniatures painted the same, except one set was then edge highlighted (with barely few extras):
I’m not a guy that looks at miniatures through magnifying glass. Being a commission painter I paint projects related to gaming and this kind of miniatures should be able to catch an eye while being used on the gaming board. I like my miniatures to pop, to be sharp and ‘edgy’, to have personality and coherent color scheme. For me edge highlights provide all that and more.
First of all, like with most painting methods, I avoid overloading my brush with too much paint. This is very important as too much paint would run down and ruin a crisp, sharp edge. Other than that I try to:
Now you know how I approach edge highlighting and with that I would like to close third the Painting Philosophy article. Please take note that what works for me, might not necessarily work for you – still there are many ways to accomplish certain things – mine is just one of them. I encourage you to try and experiment with this technique. As usual I put a lot of effort into preparing this article, but if it helps at least one painter out there – I consider it a time well spent.
I hope you found this tutorial interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate if you’d consider sharing my content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally, if you are looking for a professional Warhammer miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me via this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours. If you don’t see anything from me by then, please check your spam folder.
Keeping a clean and tidy workspace might seem like a chore, but it does not have to be so. In this article I will share with you some tips on organizing your hobby workspace, based on my own experience. I will also let you in on what benefits are there from working in a well organized environment.
Before we start, it is worth noting that I am a full time, professional commission painter. For years now I have been testing different solutions to try and improve my personal workspace. Moving from town to town required me to build my workbench from the ground up multiple times and provided a lot of insight into what to aim for. You might not necessarily have space, funds or need to achieve a similar setup, but if my adventure has taught me anything, it’s that there is always the space for improvement. Here’s the best proof of that – some previous iterations of my trusty workspace:
Regardless of you being a weekend hobbyist or a professional, a workspace’s main purpose is to provide comfort of your painting process. This includes the ease with which you access tools, manage projects and even how you feel when painting miniatures. A tidy, clean workspace translates directly into your work and motivation. It is far easier to take on a new project when you don’t have to take care of the mess first. Less time spent in search of tools or bitz means more time spent on the actual thing you want to do. Most importantly keeping things in established spaces allows to train muscle memory, thus increasing productivity.
For the purpose of this article I have narrowed down the list of useful advice to a few tips that greatly improve the quality of life while not being too hard or expensive to implement. Without further ado, let’s get into it!
With how popular the hobby has become, a variety of innovative brush storage utensils are being introduced to the market every year. Still when it comes to it, there’s nothing better than a good old mug. Well… not entirely. Toothbrush cups come in a variety of shapes and styles, bringing all the best that mugs have to offer, but without cons. Bathroom cups are usually plain, without handles, occupying less space and being easier to store around the workspace. Plus, depending on your tastes, they might up the visual style of your hobby area.
Trays ain’t on a list of your typical miniatures painter must-haves, but they definitely should! One of the things that used to frustrate me the most was having to switch projects or move stuff around in order to dig for a tool. It became a none-issue once I introduced trays into my hobby. Nowadays groups of hobby tools, paints and even entire projects can be moved around freely, saving me a lot of time. More so, on top of clean and friendly work conditions, setting up ongoing projects on trays defines particular stages of the work, helps me to define goals and keep the motivation up.
Self adhesive, rubber cable organizers are a useful tool to help keep all those nasty air hoses and cables in check. More so, with a bit of a lifehack’ish mindset, they can be used as a fantastic mid-work brush holders.
And while we’re at it, airbrush air hoses are usually very difficult to tame. They’re rather stiff and tend to curl. Fortunately, it’s nothing that a sailing block can’t handle! These puppies will keep the air hose where you want it and allow for rapid airbrush deployment when the time comes!
It is easier to switch a cover than an entire desk. Respect your desk and it will serve you longer, plus there’s probably nothing worse than dusted, grainy, irregular, dried paint surface irritating your skin when painting. Don’t even get me started on a sharp desk edge cutting a side of a wrist (shivers internally). Personally I use a thick cutting mat and a self adhesive PVC corner cover, but anything will do as long as it’s water resistant, easy to clean and stiff enough.
‘Enlarge your p’ …ainting space with a single pull. This simple solution expands your working area when needed, but does not take up much space when not being used. I sometimes find my desk overwhelmed with miniatures and instead of transferring a part of work to secondary space, I just extend a shelf from underneath and continue working. It’s especially useful when I have something messy to do, like applying static grass or pouring resin, but don’t want to risk the entire project getting dirty.
These can be found in almost every house & decor store. Plastic baskets, food containers, tool organizers, clothes storage boxes. Instead of keeping all the boxes, packaged miniatures, spare paints and other stuff stacked on shelves and one another – why not keep it more accessible? Pulling a box from a shelf is much faster and more comfortable than ‘excavation’.
Some stuff is not very comfortable to stack around the workspace. This is especially true for large tools and packages of hobby tufts. There are of course some workarounds. Here’s a pretty simple way to store these items. These self-made tool racks are thin bamboo planks with small hooks and handles, screwed to the ceiling. For tufts I used a metal rod mounted on a piece of plastic on one side and inserted into a hole in a wall at the other. Tuft packages have then been cut on one side, as seen in the picture below, to allow them to be taken off and put back on the rack individually. This made an otherwise unused space into a nice storage area.
I think I should dedicate an entire article to the water bowl and how superior it is compared to a cup. Maybe even a book! But in all seriousness, the more water there is, the longer it will last. It is easier to clean an airbrush, or a regular brush in a larger area of water. Cups and mugs are prompt to topple and need to be cleaned and refilled more often. Plus there’s the lid. This magnificent contraption protects your desk from water when put on, allows for safe transportation to and from the sink and allows to use the space otherwise occupied by the bowl. Just epic!
When it comes to bitz, they tend to take up a lot of space. A good way of dealing with that is cutting all the separate parts from the sprues and zipping them in a thematic zip bag. These can then be stored in translucent plastic boxes to allow faster bag identification. Bitz of particular type in a single bag and a tray should let you fish out any bitz you need much faster, than searching through a room full of mixed, half emptied sprues.
At this point you might see a certain pattern so there’s no need for me to hide it anymore. I admit I might have a little fetish. I tend to bring home a fancy looking food container, a bamboo tray, or some sort of other cool looking stuff whenever I go shopping. If only you saw my kitchen… Anyhow, stylish food containers combine fine looks and functionality. They can be stacked on top of one another and tend to take up less space than standard, flatter boxes. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, made of either wood, plastic, metal or glass. There’s something to fit any workspace and they have a wide range of storage uses.
This is a well known classic, so I decided to throw it in. There is a variety of paint racks, tiny drawers and even entire Modular Workshop Systems in the market, such as the popular HobbyZone. Although dedicated painting racks can only be obtained through hobby related companies, tiny drawers and wooden organizers can be found at house & decor stores. In my experience these are similarly priced so there’s not much difference, other than looks, style and in compatibility with other Modular Workshop System.
Have you ever found yourself reluctant to throw out an almost empty drop bottle paint, because ‘there is still some left!’ ? Personally I dislike keeping two paints of the same type on a hanger rack, but am also not keen on wasting paint. To avoid diving into backup paint box mid-work, I ‘retire’ old paints to a special self made rack (a box with a few holes drilled in the underside). I keep them close, ready to use at all times. Took a while to make a habit of prioritizing old paints over the new ones on the hanging rack, but once it kicked in I started to save a lot of time.
I’ve been using the above solutions for some time now. They’ve been my allies in a fight against workspace entropy. Now it’s your turn to put them to a test. Let me know if any of these spiked your interest. Are any of the above completely new to you? Which, if any, do you plan to implement in the nearby future? I am eager to read your feedback in the comments below. I’m also available at Facebook and Instagram if you’d rather prefer reach me there. Finally I would appreciate if you shared this article with your hobby buddies.
If you are looking for a professional Warhammer miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me via this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours. If you don’t see anything from me by then, please check your spam folder.
When it comes to spicing up your miniatures naval games, there’s nothing better than nice looking scenery. This is especially true for games full of finely detailed miniatures, such as Kings of War: Armada. Today I would like to take you on a Step-by-step trip through the process of creating and painting an alternative scenery for Armada – the Sargasso. These can be used as either Sandbanks proxy, or as something completely new, as you see fit.
Some notes:
High end materials right from the get go. I do prefer my scenery to be durable and high quality, thus I went with laser cut translucent acrylics. That being said, there’s nothing preventing you from using a cheaper and more accessible material, such as clear plastic – maybe food packaging leftovers, or miniatures blister package? As long as it’s clear and sturdy enough you should be fine with any substitutes.
I started by applying some Citadel Militarum Green Contrast in a random pattern all over the base. I used a large, soft brush and applied few large drops of the paint, then added some more to link them.
Next I used a large, round brush to stipple Citadel Nurgle’s Rot paint on top of still wet Militarum Green. This was a bit tricky and I used a paper towel to clean the brush very often. The idea is to apply Nurgle’s Rot from the top by touching the previous layer, bot not smear nor mix the two paints too much.
Once the paint dried I decided to add more live to the mix. Using a large, round synthetic brush with a flat tip I stippled wet Vallejo Heavy Khaki paint all over the previous layer.
Next I applied a thick layer of AK Interactive Pacific Blue. I usually go with Atlantic Blue instead, but this time I aimed at a brighter, more translucent effect.
Finally I applied few lines of AK Interactive Water Foam texture. I then used a clean synthetic, flat tip brush to reduce volume and shape thin waves.
And that is basically all. Sargasso, Seaweed, alternative Sandbanks or some sort of awesome new Armada scenery is now complete.
I hope you find this tutorial interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally if you are looking for a professional miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.
Here are some Color Recipes for Warhammer 40,000 Tau Empire from Gallery: Infinity Varuna. Please take note that this is a simple color scheme, not covering multiple overlapping layers and blends in between, that lead to the final product. It is supposed to be used as guideline not a step-by-step.
Purple Armor:
Mix Alien Purple (val) 1:1 Water, *
Lustful Purple (val), flbr
Mix Deep Purple (val xp) 3:1-1:1 Water, wash
Lustful Purple (val), l&p
Mix Lustful Purple (val) 1:1 Warm Grey (val), l&p
Turquoise Armor:
Hydra Turquoise (ap),
Aquamarine (val), flbr
Mix Snake Green (val xp) 1:3 Water, wash
Verdigris (val), l
Verdigris (val), p
Black Armor:
Panzer Dark Grey (val a),
Fenrisian Grey (gw), flbr
Pallid Wych Flesh (gw), flbr
Dark Tone Ink (ap), wash
Pallid Wych Flesh (gw), l&p
Off White (val), l&p
Skin:
Tan (val),
Mix 1:1 Tan (val), Dwarf Flesh (val a), flbr
Strong Tone Ink (ap), wash
Dwarf Flesh (val a), l&p
Brown:
Gorgon Brown (val),
Khaki (val), flbr
Copper Brown (val xp), wash
Strong Tone Ink (ap), wash
Strong Tone Ink (ap), wash
Lights:
Aquamarine (val),
Verdigris (val), p
Dark Turquoise (val ink), wash
Verdigris (val), p
l&p – lines and points,
l – lines, edge highlights,
p – points,
dl – deep lining,
bl – blend,
gl – glaze,
drbr – drybrush,
flbr – flatbrush,
lobr – loaded brush,
stpl – stippling,
*Airbrushed (with multiple layers and mixes)
Welcome to Painting Swamp Bases tutorial. Here I will take you on a Step-by-step trip through the process of creating Swamp Bases the same way as seen at: Gallery: Infinity Varuna.
Before we start, some notes:
Step one: Undercoat
I started with a relatively smooth layer of Vallejo Elfic Blue. Any similar color would fit and I encourage you to experiment.
Step two: Underwater Plants
Next I applied spots of Games Workshop Militarum Green Contrast mixed with a bit of water, followed short by Games Workshop Nurgle’s Rot on top. I used relatively large, soft brush to ‘stipple’ Nurgle’s Rot on top of still wet Militarum Green. These paints do not mix well, precipitating and creating interesting patterns in result.
Step three: Water Effect
Once the previous layer dried, I covered entire base with a thick layer of AK Interactive Atlantic Blue texture and left it for half an hour to dry well.
Step four: Tufts
Finally, (after some black edge ninja painting) I applied some tufts. I used a mix of Gamers Grass Swamp and Dark Moss tufts to add volume to the base.
As you can see the process is super easy but provides an interesting, eye catching final result. I strongly suggest you take the process further and experiment with different colors and overall volume. I believe there is a lot of potential in this method.
I hope you find this tutorial interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally if you are looking for a professional warhammer 40k miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.
Carrying your miniatures around should not be a challenge. No need to waste time and risk miniatures getting damaged with foam or other old school transportation methods. Once you go magnetic there’s no going back – at least for the vast majority of us, hobbyists. And when it comes to magnetic it would be difficult to argue the A-Case is at the very top of the food chain, producing high quality, stylish and user friendly miniatures carrying cases.
Today I will present to you the latest A-Case’s release – the “Carrier” magnetic backpack for miniatures.
Side note: Before we dig in, please allow me to emphasize that the reviewed item was purchased and not a gift. That being said, throughout the years of using A-Case products I got to personally know the owner and we became real life friends. I am a big sucker for anything A-Case, do my best to support the company and as such, my opinion is surely compromised.
That out of the way, let’s focus on the backpack itself. A-Case Carrier is a fourth magnetic transporter for miniatures in the current “Hybrid” series . It follows the same design philosophy. Black, powder coated and lightweight aluminium frame inside a poliester binding. Three to six removable shelves and some metal pins to lock them in place. I have already covered the basics in previous A-Case Review, but what sets this particular model apart is definitely it’s size. 39,5cm height, 19cm width and 15cm depth of transportation space packed within a more or less 45cm x 35cm x 20cm backpack with straps and extra pockets. Thanks to increased height the Carrier can pack anything between a skirmish and a medium sized forces from any mainstream range. Plus, being a backpack, is is very comfortable to carry around.
The Carrier, just like all other A-Case transporters, is very user friendly. This includes a simple and intuitive build, presented below:
The A-Case Carrier seems like the very peak of magnetic transportation. I know for a fact that the designer had put a lot of thought into its creation. I myself had thoroughly tested the beta and must admit that all the extra features, size and weight had greatly exceeded my expectations. Still, what some prefer, others might find to be inconvenient. For the purpose of this review I will set aside the basic pros and cons of magnetic transportation and focus on immediate differences between the Carrier and the rest of A-Case’s range.
The Carrier expands Hybrid series range in a previously unexplored direction offering a relatively compact, airline friendly, carry-on size combined with extra height and additional peripheral space. Suitable for both skirmish and low points battle sized games, it is a transporter that you can simply put on your back and take to a gaming event. In my biased opinion, the Carrier is a fantastic miniatures transporter and I am very happy with the purchase. Once again the A-Case did not disappoint.
I hope you find this review interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments at Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally if you are looking for a professional miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.
Here are some Color Recipes for Warhammer 40,000 Tau Empire from Gallery: Tau Empire. Please take note that this is a simple color scheme, not covering multiple overlapping layers and blends in between, that lead to the final product. It is supposed to be used as guideline not a step-by-step.
White Armor:
Desert Tan (val primer),
White (val primer),
Scrofulous Brown (val),* stencil stripes
White (val), scratches
Clothes / Mesh:
Panzer Dark Grey (val a) *
– White Armor –
Panzer Dark Grey (val a), wash
Cold Grey (val a), flbr
CLOTHES: Strong Tone Ink (ap), wash
Weapons:
Panzer Dark Grey (val a),
Cold Grey (val), weathering, edge highlight
Weathering:
Smokey Ink (val), stpl
Desert Yellow (val a),*
German Red Brown (val primer), *
Blue OSL:
Light Sea Blue (val a), bl / *
White (val), l&p
Guilliman Blue (gw), glaze
Bases:
German Red Brown (val primer),
Mix Martian Ironcrust (gw texture) 1:1 Martian Ironearth (gw texture), texture
Orange Fire (val), flbr
Lugganath Orange (gw), drbr
TUFT: Army Painter Wasteland Tuft
TUFT: Gamers Grass Burned Tuft
l&p – lines and points,
p – points,
dl – deep lining,
bl – blend,
gl – glaze,
drbr – drybrush,
flbr – flatbrush,
lobr – loaded brush,
stpl – stippling,
*Airbrushed (with multiple layers and mixes)
Here are some Color Recipes for Warhammer 40,000 Adeptus Mechanicus from Gallery: Adeptus Mechanicus. Please take note that this is a simple color scheme, not covering multiple overlapping layers and blends in between, that lead to the final product. It is supposed to be used as guideline not a step-by-step.
Metal:
Rust (val a),*
Gun Metal (ap), flbr
Shining Silver (ap), flbr
True Copper (ap), alternative spots
Strong Tone (ap), wash / wash*
Shining Silver (ap), l&p
RED Vehicles:
German Red Brown (val primer), *
Desert Tan (val primer), *preshade
Mix: German Red Brown 1:1 Red RLM 23 (val a),*
Bonewhite (val a), stencil stripes
Smokey Ink (val), weathering
Red Clothes:
Hull Red (val),
Strong Tone (ap), wash / wash*
German Red Brown (val primer), flbr, bl
German Red Brown (val primer), bl, edges
Scarlet Blood (val), edges
Black Clothes:
Panzer Dark Grey (val a),
Fenrisian Grey (gw), flbr
Hero: Ghost Grey (val), l&p
Strong Tone (ap), wash
Hero: Ghost Grey (val), l&p
Hero: Off White (val), l&p
Blue Light:
Light Sea Blue (val a), *
White (val a), *
Guilliman Blue (gw), wash
Off White (val), l&p
Purity Seals:
Hull Red (val),
Strong Tone (ap), wash
Rosy Flesh (val), p
/
Flayed One Flesh (gw),
Pallid Wych Flesh (gw), flbr
Strong Tone (ap), wash
Black markings,
Skulls:
Ghost Grey (val),
Strong Tone (ap), wash
Ghost Grey (val), p
Skin:
Tan (val),
Dwarf Flesh (gw), flbr
Flesh (val a),
Strong Tone (ap), wash
Hero: Flesh (val), l&p
Hero: Pale Flesh (val), l&p
Bases:
Earth (val a), *
Light Brown (val a), *
European Dust (val), *
Sandy Desert (AK texture),
Ice Yellow (val), drbr, flbr,
TUFT: Wasteland Tuft (ap),
TUFT: Burned 6mm wild (gg),
l&p – lines and points,
p – points,
dl – deep lining,
bl – blend,
gl – glaze,
drbr – drybrush,
flbr – flatbrush,
lobr – loaded brush,
stpl – stippling,
*Airbrushed (with multiple layers and mixes)