15 Beginner Questions ANSWERED!

[@Miniac]

If you're new to miniature painting, I have a playlist of videos covering beginner techniques in detail in each video. Check it out! kzbin.info/aero/PLJ94-fHMfAt1hH_gvkj5bWaxqtlXcPOpf

[@Lomhow]

Dope playlist, btw I would love to still see your space elf boy video even if parts are missing

[@wolfensteinf0017]

As someone brand new to this hobby you have given me fantastic beginners skillset but also a fantastic mindset and motivation to enjoy this hobby for years to come THANKS SCOTT!!

[@tabletoppainter7390]

Its a good list. As i am not a beginner i still enjoy the beginner videos

[@paintinghistory1475]

Could you paint a mini from perry miniatures they have an insanely largest selection with the best minis in the world in my opinion

[@Kyle_R_Wolfe]

Dude. I would love to see the rest of that paint job even if we didnt get to see the beginning parts. Even though it looks like a little more than half way done. Think of it as a way to exercise some new video ideas. Honestly I like your videos many because the videos are really good. Not because of the content. I know that may be hard to believe and dont worry I actually did go out and get a bunch a painting crap because of your videos. So I soak up all that mini- knowledge. Take your own advice man and PAiNT MORE MiNiS!!!!!

[@huntersigler9895]

Seconded

[@samd5466]

Agreed. Give us a "finishing touches" video or work some other topic into finishing the model

[@lilpixie25]

Same, I would love to see the rest of the painting, sorry you lost all the footage you had already taken!

[@fuzzythoughts8020]

My first thought is to use what he had as a base for a deep dive on the aspects involved in what he had to finish, alongside the intended video topic as a way of getting a full Miniac video’s worth of content now that he lost a good portion of what he made.

[@JohnathanJWells]

I second this.

[@BlackMagicCraftOfficial]

I can't believe you didn't address my very important and thought provoking questions.

[@ChazCharlie1]

what were your questions?

[@michaeltuite5510]

I love when I stumble on comments from other KZbinrs I follow - your "how to's" were the very first I ever watched.

[@PissedOffNerd]

Hell yeah we wanna see that Drazhar video-- love watching your vids Scott

[@lorgarmor5886]

"Your hobby is about your journey with your models. It's special, it's unique." These are strong and important words, every beginner should hear at least once.

[@soapmode]

The 'shame' thing is an interesting one. At 43 and only just getting back into the hobby, I'd be lying if I hadn't looked at myself and thought, "Really? Back to little monster figurines?" But it's totally the wrong way to look at it. What comes across in abundance from channels like yours, Black Magic Craft, Luke APS, TerrainScapes, and of course Goobertown Hobbies, is that this isn't merely about painting little figurines. It's a meditative, creative process which demands patience, determination, a willingness to get out of your comfort zone, and the ability to enjoy your own company. Miniature painting is as much about genre fandom and wargaming as it is about wholesome self-care, personal development, and building something worthwhile. It's good for you.

[@x31omega]

Lol in exact same situation lol.

[@MaskedRiderChris]

I'm 51 and have been painting miniatures for a good 10 years or so, and I'm only now getting to a point where I'm considering myself as becoming anything resembling halfway decent. To any who would disparage my "still" doing so, well...all the things you mention come into play. It's creating art, and I'd rather do that than waste time playing video games that get you nothing but empty points. Creating art takes all the traits you mentioned and then some. Works for me!

[@soapmode]

@@MaskedRiderChris I completely agree!

[@Insane_Kane]

Back when you grew up it was shameful to pursue things beyond the few accepted adult things. WE are the adults now and we pretty much universally decided that you are allowed to have fun after 30 :P

[@Kathdath]

I’m only 34, but recently decided to start painting miniature again as found myself playing D&D again. I stumbled on the idea of using the 3D printer I have ordered to just make a bunch of bust figurines to paint. I can have an identical model to experiment on, and will be able to have a timeline of improvements and set backs. Back when I was a teenager/early 20s I was not game to experiment on my limited supply of expensive (relative to my very limited budget) plastic and metal models, and the desire to do good job the first time resulted in not even starting to paint a lot of stuff.

[@nedeleavitt]

"Paint isn't permanent" - laughs in Testors Enamel from when I too was 10

[@fuzzythoughts8020]

On thinning paint, here’s my little dollop experience based knowledge, presuming that you use a wet palette like scott encourages. All thinning done with water. Put paint on the palette after its been all shaken up, and using a brush, drag it out, looking specifically at the edges , you don’t want the paint thick enough to build into thick ridges, but you also don’t want it so thin that the paint retreats into a tight rounded shape due to surface tension. I find you usually want it closer to the thick end of the spectrum for coverage, but watered down enough paints can become pseudo washes that adds a large variety to their use situations.

[@timbrown4928]

Wow! That Duchess mini is breath taking! The colors are stunning!

[@craigs7678]

#15 14:05 Finishing wargaming minis: I like to clear gloss coat for durability and then apply a clear matte coat for effect. Protects my minis and looks like when I finished painting. When the mini gets shiny from handling, it gets the matte again.

[@lordshadow3822]

Tip for black pupils, you can use 0.1 (or bigger as needs be) black waterproof permanent marker. I use 0.1 black uni pen fine line water and fade proof pigment ink

[@ger5956]

I can’t speak for everyone, obviously, but I definitely still want to see that video regardless of the missing footage. Keep up the awesome content and stay safe dude!

[@x31omega]

WTF you stole my Avatar! Give it back. 🤣😂👍🇺🇸👍

[@ger5956]

x31omega 😂

[@TheRunesmythe]

All in all, a very cool video though the best point (in my opinion) was your answer about the fear of messing up; I see this coming up a lot and its great that more and more often the answer is "don't be afraid, paint isn't permanent and you can't learn without trying". I hung my head in sympathy when you said you lost the video cataloging such an extensive painting project, but I would still very much enjoy seeing the remainder of the project because it looks like its going to be amazing.

[@Josh-ur6dx]

Beginner here going to paint my first mini this weekend. Your explanations are simple and easy to follow, been binging the how to and beginner ones. As I haven't really done anything artistic since my freshman high school art teacher 20 years ago would use my projects as examples of what not to do just want to say thanks for the videos. Painting miniatures has always intrigued me and even if they come out looking terrible I'm looking forward to trying.

[@coalitionofrob436]

Your comment on hoarding your favourite mini is true I think. I held off painting Characters and Hero’s for ages. Then I decided I’m just going to paint, no fear, trying new techniques without stress etc, Man have I improved! Just paint more minis. Ive started multiple edge highlights on the army I play with my kids!

[@jaanikaapa6925]

Yes, want to see the video :)

[@blueish2285]

Q: ~"Would you like a video about how long it took to paint to top skill level?" A: Yes, Please. The map of time on parts, steps, colors, etc... would be very enlightening.

[@SpaceEng]

I will never complain about having more Miniac Videos!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

I honestly think half the reason I click on your videos every time is to enjoy the growl and get a bit of headbanging in at the end to that sweet riff.

[@Clear-As-Mudd]

Yes dude! Definitely want to see the rest of the paint job! Do the video!!

[@robertblake6028]

Heck I would love to see whatever you have footage for! Just an explanation of how you painted that model would be amazing.

[@looee5798]

Last time I was this early Chestnut ink was still on sale

[@daniel.likes.sharks]

I would to like to see Drazzar (?) finished since I watched the livestream for that project.

[@casperbrndstrup2496]

I'd love to see that, especially since you logged most of the progress and the "Journey" to get there - and seeing you finish it up would be amazing!

[@kellygillis7415]

Yeah bud - let's see that 100 hour paint job vidya, even if some footage is missing. It looks super nice already - would love to hear more about the process.

[@OzzyBen07]

hey new subscriber here from Australia! Been watching hours and hours of mini painting vids over the past few weeks, curiously getting more and more intrigued to give it a shot. Great tips thanks

[@procrastianArt]

You should for sure finish that mini for a video, it would be a shame for that juicy job to not get finished! Maybe you could have part of the video relating to "what you do when a project goes unexpectedly sideways" or something?

[@brad781]

Definitely would love to see the Drazhar video, I'm still very new to painting and your video's are the ones I turn to first when I am suck.

[@AmateurBarbarian]

I’m sitting here hoping my super funny question gets asked.

[@Miniac]

I'm ashamed I thought it was a MST3K reference when it was originally a breakfast club reference.

[@B0redom13]

What non model (gw) paints would you recommend for the budget conscious

[@AmateurBarbarian]

Miniac I thought it was too, I could have sworn it was when they watched “The Screaming Skull”. I got it from The Breakfast Club, yes, but I thought the line was reused in MST3K.

[@zoltanfisher3140]

@@B0redom13 Reaper and Vallejo are both as good as/better than citadel paints, and are way cheaper

[@25pixels87]

Dude! You have to make that Drazhar video! I can’t wait to see what the mini looks like. Who cares that you lost some footage, I think we will all love it regardless

[@MegaSneetch]

On the topic of "fear of ruining a mini" I think there's a nuanced situation where it could apply. For me it only really applies if you have a very rare, OOP mini that could be considered a collectible due to it's nature (like some very early Kingdom Death prints). You mentioned paint not being permanent however just imagine that some people don't exactly glue models together with the idea of easy disassembly in the future, as has been the case with several used models I've gotten. Otherwise I agree that it's a bad idea to worry about because they're your models and for the most part, if thing really aren't going that well, you should be able to strip it and come back with a clean slate.

[@uthgartwillhelm5676]

I'd like to see the rest of the space elf boi paint job. But you could consider going into your twitch vods and taking some footage out of there if it is something that you particularly want to include

[@alfyb4512]

In the intro, it looks as you’re in a cannabis field. That explains soooooo much. By the way, it’s not that satin or glossy paints are more vibrant than matte paints per se. What happens is that because satin and gloss surfaces have reflection points, instead of seeing one color, close to that point you see the gamut between the actual color and the white/color light highlight. Basically, you get little gradients rather than one unified color, and that gives the illusion of vibrancy.

[@MrStatistx]

My tip for eyes: Only paint demonic minis with a 1 color iris. If you can't even fill that properly, you probably get some easy glowing eyes OSL around it :p

[@MiniaturesofDeath]

The talk of color dilution is the most sensible thing I've heard since I was a teenager.

[@ramblingbadger]

Great vid, reminds me of when I used to binge watch your tutorials when I were a lad, starting out.

[@perkinsdearborn4693]

Please pull together that unfinished video. I would love to hear more about how long you take to do your "very best" effort. I am working on getting "okay" with speed painting a few armies - so I can actual play a few games. Thx!

[@miniaturepainting]

is that Max Brooks's Zombie survival guide in the rack behind the stormtrooper helmet and next to the hand?

[@miniaturepainting]

Yonkers still gives me the chills....

[@twitchblues]

Yeah. Finish the Drazhar. Also: paint a second one - paint all the Drukhari....I just really like Drukhari. Maybe paint a Talos if you don't want to paint the full line. Please.

[@doctortomato9520]

Thank you :)

[@davidrickey8841]

#1 in a nutshell. "Geez, I did a FIFTY MINUTE video and covered this already. Here it is in fifteen seconds." You somehow even make Q&A entertaining. Thanks for making so many vids for us and keep up the good work

[@JayhawkBoulevard]

Would totally be down to see the rest of the paint job on the Drazhar! Wouldn't be too difficult to run through a description of what you did during the lost footage, since you took such meticulous notes. Haha

[@FrancosteinSA]

Hell yeah I want to see the video on the rest of that model

[@diSTUD013]

Drazar!!! Let's see it! If you put in over a 100 hours I want to know what that was like!

[@chim3ric4l]

I'd watch that video even without the unavailable footage!

[@CaptnBeardy]

It would be cool to see a Miniac starter kit that came with your choice of good paints, brushes etc and a really easy to paint mini that took a lot of the hassle off the shoulders of those who wanna start mini painting. I've been spending the past month trying to find some decent and affordable stuff to get started but I have no idea what I'm doing.

[@Thaxsar]

I need to know Scott! I did catch it when this was put up originally, was it just published early or didn't like something in it? Didn't have any complaints with the video, so not sure what was the issue. Except your moisty tease. As always I enjoy and appreciate your content. So of course we want to see that video. Don't doubt yourself and not everything needs to be perfect. Stuff happens and you just roll with it.

[@Miniac]

I accidentally published the video before it was reviewed by the sponsor!

[@Thaxsar]

That makes sense. Thank you for answering!

[@Xopie96]

I think my first every D&D character was a wood elf who ended up becoming a vampire... I was 13 though so cut me some slack

[@djetronakanorte]

yes please lets see the vid Scott :)

[@torchfi5522]

Yes! Please show us the process of your lost video, I would love to see it even though the footage isn't complete. Love the content!

[@paintinghistory1475]

Could you paint a mini from perry miniatures they have an insanely largest selection with the best minis in the world in my opinion

[@robertthurman9866]

Thanks!

[@KiwiSpartan01]

I've never thinned my paints and I've never had a problem

[@thursty4boardgames944]

I’ve painted over 40 minis and now I’m working on this new army but I’ve pretty been sticking with Citadel contrast paints, with a few of their off-white base paints and technical paints for the metal on armor and for gems (also the nuln oil which i use as a final wash for a majority of my army). The only other paints I have are the acrylic paints from apple barrel. Been watching your videos and it increased my motivation to paint the 40 other miniatures for my army (I use mantic’s KOW minis, they are much cheaper than GW but still look real nice). I just wanted to say thanks for motivating me to finishing up my minis, I started painting just last year and I’d love to get better.

[@krishIyer23]

Yaaaayy it's out!! I was so confused when it said deleted I need my weekly miniac vids to get me going!

[@Frostfox42-y7z]

Super interested in seeing how long it takes you paint

[@thomasprice3887]

Okay Scott, I have to ask- have you been in a metal band or at least supplied your vocals to a track somewhere? Bc the guttural that you do at the end of the video is quite good.

[@KaajTheDuck]

So painting with a exacto knife is not something i should be doing? welp back to the drawing table.

[@alexr.5389]

I go back and repaint my minis because I CAN'T AFFORD TO BUY MORE. So I go through and update my minis with my new skills and paints.

[@suzannemacmillan9135]

For number 11, I am interested in the times it takes to paint stuff.

[@ffsrekt]

Hey Scott would you please paint one of the pathfinfer or D&D nolzurs marvelous miniatures for tabletop RPGs? They're considerably smaller than Warhammer stuff and I want to see how someone really good could make them look. The larger ones like trolls and dragons are easier to paint, and the reaper miniatures ones are larger in scale as well, but i wanna have a baseline to compare myself to as I progress. I wonder if the small scale of these miniatures is putting an actual ceiling on how well they can be painted. Thanks!

[@ffsrekt]

These are the only miniatures I use so im curious

[@acunningplan486]

I am starting to think of your sign off whenever any other youtuber tries to remind their viewers to subscribe and like their respective channels. I cant help but lament how inferior they are to "SUBSCRIBE OR DIE" and my joy when that ripping guitar and dulcet growl comes tearing towards me a few seconds later.

[@eyflfla]

Alright, I've watched a dozen or so of your videos. I like your style. You can be subscription #19. For what it's worth I found you because of the Jazza crossover, it happened just before I started really getting into mini painting.

[@sloppyjoe400]

Don't be affraid to strip a model! I stripped a scale 75 figure FIVE times before I finally got it right! Windex will easily strip acrylic paints! So, if you screw up, just strip it and give it another go!

[@tiredtgirl]

I have some Marines that I gotta paint, and I've given the gold areas 3 coats, yet I still missed some spots. I feel useless.

[@Tony4ancis]

awesome video and some great tips but was wondering about the painting order, you said that you usually start with the largest area but I have always been taught to paint in order of deepest detail first and then outward e.g skin first then hair, shirt etc. was wondering if you have ever tried this or does it even matter?

[@Miniac]

Never tried that. On paper it makes sense, but I can imagine multiple scenarios where painting a deep detail that's tiny, surrounded by a sea of another color might not be the wisest. There is no "one size fits all" answer, unfortunately.

[@ThatPaintGuy40K]

About airbrushing: *ALWAYS* wear some kind of respirator when airbrushing! If you're atomizing plastic (acrylic) into a fine mist and breathing it, it's going to be a problem.

[@ApolloTagaris]

How is it that I have seen this one before?

[@carlmayne3519]

Really enjoyed this one :D - As for the cold face .. I have a fantasy football team of valkyries that need to look cold .. so I'd watch a video of painting that effect if you ever made one :D

[@danepatterson8107]

Another excellent product, Scott. I've also just subscribed to Ninjon. sometimes I have to remember to stop and Paint.More.Minis.

[@mothball7170]

You really had an internal struggle with the moist-part, huh. At least you couldn't bring yourself to go completely without slurping.

[@Jalin3516]

Same video??

[@travisellis9230]

The last one was deleted shortly after it was uploaded but I'm not sure why.

[@Anecron1]

9.2 - No. There has not been a new model out that got me even slightly excited since GW killed fantasy. Saving your special oop models for last and being a bit scared to mock them up is a good thing. Stripping plastic and metal is an option, but it can leave marks on the model and stripping the old oop resin models is generally a bad idea if you care about detail.

[@TimKapow]

Already subscribed to Ninjon, looking forward to seeing more of his vids!

[@cmdrsausage]

Very happy to see the video with your remaining painting on the elf dude. Lots to be learned and I reckon the sting of the lost footage might be less if you got a video despite the setback.

[@adnegranumkjersheim2306]

hey man, would be awesome if you revisited LoTr for a video! and yes, release that video, even though its not the whole mini, it would be cool to see!

[@fuzzythoughts8020]

Hey Scott, something I’ve wondered is, can you do the reverse of a zenithal coat, where you dust the light tone from the underside to try and make them look more imposing?

[@Miniac]

absolutely! here's one of my favorite examples of that: www.puttyandpaint.com/projects/9082

[@spawnlordgaming7826]

Wow that looks epic, 😊

[@JohnClark-tt2bl]

You definitely need a respirator if you're airbrushing enamels. The smell alone is enough to tell you it's toxic.

[@thephilifluffy1838]

Hell yeah I would love to see you finish that Drukhari mini! Big deal that the recording was lost, I'd still love to see the finished result and I'm certain you'll be satisfied as well!

[@dandan2160]

Have you noticed a big uptick in people just starting the hobby during these covid times?

[@kevinstapp328]

Be sure to wear a filter mask when airbrushing polyurethane primers like vallejo's range.

[@RagnarTheGrey]

My tap water smells like sulphur. The temptation to switch to distilled water hits me nearly every time I open my wet pallet and the smell rears it's ugly head again.

[@cordial001]

Some good questions, but some really great answers. Thanks man.

[@vathrris9198]

this question is for comments and miniac if he sees this. my question was do you mini painters find it easier to just go with the buckets or would you rather put in the time to swap to drop bottles i feel like with buckets i end up taking more than i need or not enough any tips would be helpful

[@craigs7678]

I found some fantastic dropper bottles from Amazon but be warned: they were the second set of bottles I bought. Cheap is NOT your friend with these. Cheap = caps that leak. I also put in an agitator ball and my paints from 1990something are still great.

[@vathrris9198]

@@craigs7678 thank you for the insight!

[@joshbecka6110]

I saw some coffee called brush licker coffee at my lfg store. I thought of you and bought it immediately.

[@MrDavs1985]

For the cold face, check out squidmars spacewolf vid

[@liamroche1295]

You managed to get 2 videos out of the prehistoric woman. Fair effort.

[@getsbaked]

hey just want to say i think you're mega cool, keep it up bro!

[@zachdevenney1307]

Good job Spanky...the hair though, find some scissors!

[@piece1309]

Drop that video

[@visuellegedanken]

I'd love to see the video about the eldar guy whose name I totally forgot. :D

[@SiskoMaSu]

"Paint more minis" is the best advice for beginners that there is. I have been interested of minis couple of years, but always find an excuse not to star painting them. This year gave me time like never before and I was out of excuses, so now I'm a 37 years old noob and loving it 😁 It's crazy to see how my lines are getting sharper and I get more detail right just because I keep doing it again and again. My first one was nice from other side of the house, latest is OK to look at in same room 😁

[@M104-q9y]

Fear of ruining a mini is strong when trying OSL for me. Painting some bright vibrant colour over a (hopefully) well painted miniature is frightening. So I don't do it often. Meaning my OSL doesn't get better very quickly. Making doing it more frightening still. It's a horrid feedback loop of not practicing OSL and getting bad results from OSL.

[@Miniac]

I think the key with training OSL is to start on something very simple. Maybe it's a small headlight on an otherwise large vehicle, maybe it's a glowing LED on the base that only casts light on the bottom of the legs of the mini, maybe it's fire burning in a wizard's hand and it only goes up his forearm. Do like 10 small OSL examples, and then start ramping it up!

[@jeremiahbachmann3901]

What typically happens when a Wood Elf gets bitten by a Vampire?

[@Vanye111]

Haven't watched it yet, but Vince Venturella addressed thinning paints this weekend, on his latest Hobby Cheating vid

[@RIPjohnbonham]

I definitely want to see you paint the rest of that model, it looks so cool! Plus the white armour looks really impressive. Maybe you can talk us through some of your decision making for the first half of the model before diving into finishing it up? Great questions, great answers. Keep it up, Scott!

[@cmdrwraithe1857]

I need public opinion....what are your thoughts about priming and at least base-coating pieces on the sprue. I've been tempted to try it, especially for small pieces that may be difficult to paint on the model, like space marine heads. I've only painted wizkidz minis so far, so this wasn't an option. Also...faces....they are a constant disaster for me. Any help/advice for that would be very much appreciated!

[@parksnarr]

😂 #9 came up as I was doing some weathering effects on my Aggressors with an exact-o knife and a hobby drill

[@devineyre5545]

More of that paint job that didn't record properly! The process of your journaling / recording is important too!

[@mirandahickman2813]

It's so hard for me to NOT rock out at the ending of the video... Also yes I would love to see the video even if some of the footage is gone