posted by roman, jarhead, kong


Another round of Painting Jam rolling in - this time with the following frequently asked questions I try to answer with all the information possible to me. Check the link above to get directed to the Painting Jam Overview to maybe find your question already answered :)

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Reggie asks via mail:

"Roman,
I have followed your blog now for about 2 or 3 months.
I love your painting and your attitude toward life.

I just got some spending money and was looking at picking up some paints, minis, and/or tools.
I have been playing miniature games for over 20 years, although I have spent much of the time not painting. I was wondering if you had any recommendations as far as paints, brushes or tools...
or even some places to find nice miniatures for someone coming back to the painting hobby.

Thanks,
Reggie"


My answer:
Thanks for your kind words about the work and spirit on the blog. Sorry for my delayed answer, I am often very busy and press the hold-button of daily work to answer these. Button pressed :D
So getting back to the hobby is your goal and find the right material for it. I would say in todays painting miniatures world it ain't an easy task. You find many products for the same task, all described as the best of the best. In the end I can recommand you only one thing you definatly need for maximizing your painting skill and it is a good high quality brush. I can recommand a Windsor&Newton Series 7, short (miniature) or long (without further describtion), seize 1. You will be able to do most of all the work to find on a figure with these swords. Colours, mmh - no real recommandation - there are so many out there. My proposal is to just catch a small number of different brands or colours for different tasks and test them to find what you exactly like with your growing experience. Figures, wow - there are so many figures out there - it depends what you want to bring paint on. I can only recommand choosing a figure from your heart - if you see the figure and think "Yes, I want to paint this one!" - do it! Don't buy too many figures because you think maybe someday you will paint it or they are praised as the best of the best. Choosing from the heart leads mostly to finished projects. Don't set your own goals to high and be happy with the results you achieve. Painting skills grow from painting. I am not sure if this is the answer you wanted but these are my thoughts and I hope they can help you.

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Norbert asks via mail:

"Hi Roman,

For a competition in december I wanted to paint this model.
But I would like to have an extra 3d magical effect around it, where on one side water, on the other fire goes up in the air and where they meet steam is formed (all in a geometric pattern).
What I don't know, and here I need tips is: how can I 'sculpt' / create convincing water-fire-steam? What are the best materials to use for it and how would be  the best to work with those?

thanks for the reply and best regards, 
Norbert"


My answer:
For the water I would work with the techniques described in this article. Oli once did a nice base with water swirly things, maybe this could be a good inspiration too - link. I would sculpt the fire parts from sculpting putty. Check some photos of fire or how it is done on other figures to get the right feeling for it. About the smog: I would say this is the most tricky part and in the end I have no idea for a perfect convincing result. You can sculpt some swirls, recast them in clear resin, but they might look like water. I can show you some figures from Smart Max who in particular did these kind of things. I think the dynamic of realismus comes from the dynamic sculpting of the parts and the way they are painted in the end. For example this lady together with this dragon works well - there is the illusion of a dragon born from fog. Here you can find fog too, which works due the sculpting of the form and the paintwork. Another one - link! In fact I would recommand doing some sculpting tests for it, followed by some colour testings. This sounds so epic and as I am not really sure on I would give this a go I can only wish you the best for this task. I hope my answer helped you somehow in the end.

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That's it for now - a small Painting Jam :)