How to Set Up to Paint RPG Figures
Tutorial: Getting Started Painting Figures For Role Playing
Nov 14, 2008
A stop into any gaming and hobby store will reveal a wondrous miniature world just waiting to be brought to life. Dozens of gaming companies have produced thousands of miniature metal figures. Originally these tiny treasures were intended to act as visual aides to enhance role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. In the years since the first crude figures hit the market, a culture of painters and diorama artists has grown up and taken the art of painting to heights that the original miniature creators could scarcely have imagined.
Work Space Is Everything
Without a proper place to work, painting miniatures would be an exercise in futility. Ample space and proper lighting are essential to the process. Choose a space where all the necessary tools can be laid out and painted miniatures can be left to dry undisturbed. Many miniatures require that parts be glued together and paint fumes can be noxious, so it is also important to set up shop in a well ventilated room.
Brushes
Brush quality is far more important when working on miniatures than in other hobby areas such as model building. A size 0/10 brush only has a tiny number of hairs making up the brush head and a poor quality brush will degenerate quickly. Rather than a hobby store, brushes should be purchased from a reputable art supplies store and the budding miniature artist should purchase good quality brushes that fall into the mid-range on the price spectrum.
Three basic sizes are necessary: A fine point for detail, an edged brush, approximately 1/8 inch wide for shading and a brush with a 1/4 inch head for priming. The standard role playing miniature scale is 25mm, or one inch for every six feet, so larger brushes than these are usually not necessary. Many painters will have dozens of brushes to hand, each with a different function, but the three basic sizes are enough to start with.
Paint
Choosing paint is a matter of some trial and error. Some painters swear a certain brand, some prefer to use different brands for different reasons. Hobby and gaming stores will usually stock two or three lines of appropriate paint for the miniatures they sell. There are acrylic paints, enamels and even oil paint has its uses. The beginner should experiment to see which brands and types will produce the desired results.
Basic colours are used the most, so a pot of a blue, red, yellow, green, brown, flesh tone, silver, gold, steel, black and white are essential. In real life, most clothing and equipment doesn't have a glossy finish, so with the exception of metallic colours, flat colours are the best choice. For the beginner on a budget, learning to mix different versions of the basic colours is a money saver, so investing in an easy to clean plastic pallet for mixing is a good idea.
Other Necessary Equipment:
- Hobby knife
- Small nail file or hobby file
- Tweezers
Handy But Optional Extras:
- Gooseneck magnifier lamp
- "Helping Hands" articulated hobby clamp
The Figure
The best way to learn how to create the effects that enhance the smallest parts of a figure is to practice the techniques required on something larger. A beginner should not start with a human figure carrying weapons and gear, since the results are likely to be disappointing regardless of the effort.
First time painters should choose a figure that is not too detailed and somewhat larger than the standard 25mm human figures. A monster or better still a giant, will allow a beginner to practice painting a figure using techniques that will eventually be put into practice on a smaller, more demanding scale.
Next: Prepping, Planning and Priming
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