Painting Tutorial

 

Hi Gamers, I have created this guide to aid you in bringing your Mansions Of Madness miniatures (mini/s from now on) to life, the techniques I use are very straight forward and can be carried out by complete novices, you may have to obtain certain items to aid you on your quest but some you will find around the home.
I have aimed this guide at the gamer who thinks he can't paint.

OK, Lets Start!

As you follow my guide if there are items you do not have use something similar, nothing is set in stone, if you don’t have masking tape you can use blue-tack, double sided etc so don’t be afraid to use your own ingenuity.
If you decide to have a go and I really hope you do anything you have to purchase will always be there for your next project.

Step 1 Preparing your minis

Materials;
Fine Abrasive Paper
Modelling Knife (you can get away without using this)
Small File ( you can also get away without using this)

OK using the modelling knife (Young ones please do this supervised or get help,take great care)use a scraping motion, as you would peel a potato Do Not Cut! remove any unsightly mould lines then smooth over with the fine paper, I use a file for tight spots.
You don't have to get every little line, just go for the really obvious ones.

I have used some plastic bases to hold my minis in place; I just pushed the peg of the mini into the slots.

Step 2 Undercoating

Materials;
White Spray Primer
Glove (for protection)
Masking Tape
Wood Rail
Double Sided Tape

I wrap masking tape (sticky side up) around a wooden rail.

I then simply push my minis onto the tape leaving a small space between each one.

Then out side you go Do Not spray indoors!
I put on a rubber glove to minimize getting paint all over my hands
Follow the instructions on the spray can.
Hold around 12"away from your minis. Spray using a sweeping motion back and forth along the line of your minis (about the speed as if you were passing a card to someone) try to spray from every angle you can even turn them upside-down, you are aiming to build up 3-4 light coats rather than 1 heavy coat.
Allow to dry a little between each coat, usually around 2-3 minutes.
When done allow to completely dry.

Using double sided tape I stick all the minis to corks, this makes painting so much easier as you hold the cork not the mini.

Step 3 Lets Paint!

Materials;
Fine + Medium + Large size Paint Brushes (See image below)

Mixing Pallet/Tile. (I have used the same 4 white ceramic tiles for over 15 years, they clean up like new every time)
Water Container. (Tip,use a septate container for metallic paints)
Paint selection. (I use Games Workshop colours, just primary's will suffice if on a limited budget, secondary s help + Black + White + Silver. (Seek out a basic colour wheel if just using a limited pallet this will be a great help to you).
Kitchen Towel.
Music. I prefer a random shuffle of extreme Metal

I took a look at the pre-painted Arkham minis to help with the colour scheme, I just noted them down on paper, the character cards were at hand also. Don't try to copy exactly the colours you see as using the dip method darkens everything, you have to paint roughly 40% lighter than the colour you want to end up with. You will get the hang of it have confidence

OK, pick a colour, once you have mixed your chosen colour do all the minis in turn that require that shade, in my example flesh tone (above image)
Add water (50%) to paint (50% )until it flows like Hmmmmmm......lets say milk, just let it flow onto your mini with the tip of your brush, cover evenly as you can, as the paint dries it will naturally go darker in the creases and recesses and lighter on the raised areas, this is what you want.
If you end up with flat heavy colour add more water to your paint next time.

Work your way through your minis with each color, take your time, I tend to do the monsters in one batch and characters in another but you can go right through the whole lot with your chosen color.
Apply your paint just the same for every color a simple 50/50 wash as before.
I am not going to show every stage for every color instead give you these images to aid you.
your works of art will soon start to take shape.

Here I will show you exactly how I painted the Shoggoth, you are free to use your own choice of colour. I have added some dry-brushing (DB from now on) over our usual colour wash.

First a quick Dry Brush lesson.
Using a large brush dip in to your colour

Roll the brush handle round in your fingers on some kitchen towel to spread paint over the bristles.

Next wipe the paint off your brush until no heavy streaks show.

Simply brush over your mini as if you were dusting it quite heavily.
I have used black on some kitchen towel so you can see just how much colour still comes off, this is what will happen when applied to your mini
As you get the hang of it you can leave more paint on your brush without leaving streaks on your mini.

Shoggoth

Colour wash with (Hormagaunt Purple),do the whole mini.(Image A)
As you may have noticed I quite often paint over areas of the mini which will eventually be a different colour than the final colour, this saves a lot of time, the rule is generally paint large areas first and add the smaller areasdetails over the top, at times it is easier to just go back with a little white paint than try to paint round a particularly fiddly bit.
DB the next colour (Ultramarines blue) over the whole mini.
Next DB(scorpion Green)onto the legs, tentacles, head and down the middle of the back, finally DB iyandern darksun yellow to the ends of the tentacles (Image B)


A

B

C

D

Paint all the eyes white (Image C) ( dont miss the three under his head, as I nearly did).

Add black for the pupils, I then mixed Red ink with a tiny amount of green ink to darken. Flood this mix onto the eyes and particularly round the sockets this may take 2-3 washes until you are happy, (Image D)

Stage 4 Dipping

Materials;
Wood Stain/Varnish EDIT Army Painter Dark Tone
Clear Matt Varnish EDIT Army Painter Anti Shine Flat Matt Spray
large brush (shown below)
Kitchen Towel


When you are happy with all your master pieces its time to apply the wood stain/varnish, I use a Polyurethane dark oak varnish, there are some very good water based varnishes you can use, its a case of looking what you can obtain in your area, I would recommend going for a dark one rather than some of the red/yellow shades.

Although the method is called dipping I don't actually like to submerge my minis into the varnish I prefer to brush it on. Once applied (don't be afraid to really blob it on) simply wipe your brush on some kitchen towel then brush over any large runs/puddles the varnish will still creep into the textures leaving a nice smooth finish.
Go right through and do all your minis.
Allow to dry completely.
Paint the character bases your chosen color (I like black) almost straight from the pot add just a little water.

I have then given all minis except the Shoggoths and Chthonians (wet + slimy looking) a coat of matt water based acrylic varnish to take away the high gloss shine, you may like this shine but I prefer a duller finish
Allow to dry once again, then glue your minis to your game bases.

Congratulations! if you made it this far you have finished!

I would love to see your work if you decide to have a go, it really is very easy.
Work through my guide one stage at a time and you will have minis that look similar to these in a reasonable amount of time.

You can paint minis from any game just using this guide.
I painted these (below) exactly the same way.

Any comments would be greatly received ( are nice to) as this is my very first tutorial.

Im here to help so mail me if you get stuck

Enjoy Your Painting

Hi, Since Putting this guide together I have been getting to grips with the Army Painter Quick Shade dark tone And Matt anti shine spray, If your budget will allow the expense I can highly recommend them both.
I have been very impressed with the results so far as the dark tone does not dull the colours as much and flows over the mini better, as for the flat matt spray, incredible!