Adventures in Mini painting with my Daughters...Part I

[Jack Nastyface]

Attended a recent "paint and take" event with my 12 year old.  Here are the results.
Mine is the bug-eyed cleric on the left; my daughter painted the warrier princess on the right.
I chose the cleric because of the robes.  I used the following method:  paint mid-shade first, then do dark shadowing, then do 2 layers of high-lighting for the "stand out" areas.  If I was to do a robe/cape mini again, I think I would do a base coat of dark shadow, then blend (which I am not very good at) the medium tone, then finally do high-lights.  Admittedly, lighting conditions were not ideal in the hobby store and I see f**k all detail without some good reading glasses.
I suppose practice makes perfect, but there are lots of simple techniques I could have used, but our instructor was just a little timid with the class.
Comments or recommendations on technique appreciated.
Yours in gaming,
Jack Nastyface
 

[GDS_Starfury]

how was the teacher timid?

[GDS_Starfury]

and you might want to browse the missing lynx figure forum:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/47212/

[GDS_Starfury]

as for painting eyes, I've always found that the less you do the better the effect.  for what they are your daughter nailed it.

less:



the problem stems from the fact that you paint minis up close and personal but you play with them at a distance.  I'd say 90% of people don't even think about the latter.   hold them at arms length and see how they look. 
great job on the sleaves btw but your daughter is naturally better at it then you.  O0

[Jack Nastyface]

Star,
Oh Captain, my Captain...I knew I could count on you for meaningful feedback.
The instructor showed up, opened her collection of Reaper paints and said (I am quoting almost verbatim): "look at your figure and figure out what you want the main feature to be (a shield, a robe, etc) then do a base coat.  After that, do some shading and some highlights."  No explanation of why, how, technique, etc.  I basically had to ask her leading questions like "so how should we paint chainmail?" or "would you dry-brush the hair?" and "primer: white, grey or black?"  Although she was a talented artist (her sample figures were very good) she had no presentation skills or instructional material.  Perhaps I am being too critical (I facilitate presentations for health care professionals as part of my job), but I was hoping for something more than "free figure and paints".  She didn't even critique student work / progress, and if I hadn't thrown her about 8 or 9 softball questions she would have said about 10 sentences over the course of three hours.

I saw a youtube a little while ago that featured a good demo on how to do skin etc for 28mm figs.  Basically the artist started with the whites of the eyes, then builds up from there.  I think I like that technique cause it seems to allow you to "shape" the eyes with your first base coat of flesh.  It's funny...but looking at the close up photo (taken with a flash) shows all kinds of flaws that I couldn't see with my nekkid eye under crappy hobby store florescent light.   Maybe I will use "progress photos" for QA in the future...

Best regards and kind thanks again,

Jack Nastyface

[GDS_Starfury]

Im glad to help.
a thing to keep in mind is that Ive never seen flesh colored paint that looks like skin.  the example picture I posted is more a light yellow with washes over the base.  though I admit this is far easier to do with 1/35 scale figures and larger because the body parts are usually separate pieces that can be held by toothpick.
you should also consider what kind of tools and paint youre using.  its a good idea to go raid your wifes makeup applicators as theyre great for shadows and buffing.

[skeptical.platypus]

as for painting eyes, I've always found that the less you do the better the effect.  for what they are your daughter nailed it.

less:



the problem stems from the fact that you paint minis up close and personal but you play with them at a distance.  I'd say 90% of people don't even think about the latter.   hold them at arms length and see how they look. 
great job on the sleaves btw but your daughter is naturally better at it then you.  O0

I don't know who's work that is above, but is _very_ impressive. Congrats!

[Staggerwing]

He looks a bit like Ryan Stiles.