FIVE Painting Mistakes That I Try Not to Make

[@torros1839]

Biggest mistake I think is watching painting videos and think there all painting their models for gaming and getting disheartened with your results. Most of the time there painting one off display models...

[@mouseketeery]

I think this is an important point about painting tutorials, especially for those who are relatively new. People often don't bear in mind the purpose of the content creator - that he's not painting an army.

[@axlefoley6330]

I tend to follow older tutorials or battle-ready tutorials. But I agree intent is ultra important. Also I am not an artist so I know that at some point I have to move on, I can get decent results but I have to spend a truck load of time. So know your limits is also important.

[@evilfuzzydoom]

Pay attention to your posture when painting! Don’t sit like a prawn, you’ll get horrible neck and back pain.

[@PEEMZEE]

I think my main problem with being heavy handed during steps like edge highlighting mentioned in Step 4 (I think it was), is that by the time I come to do that step I’ve more often than not been sitting at the desk for a very long period of time. A few hours. And I’m doing the tiny, finishing touches on a model. And I’m rushing them and I’m making mistakes because I want it to be DONE NOW. That might be a good time to have a break, go for a walk, whatever, and come back to it without the panic and urgency.

[@Mikey__R]

Or you could do the fine details on a different day entirely. Get all your models to a good tabletop standard, then over the next few weekends paint the highlights, the eyes, pouches, holsters, bags of dog treats etc.

[@wittlegoblin]

I'm the same way, when I'm going too heavy or not thinking things through it's often because I'm hungry or antsy!

[@thousandcold]

That's one thing I like about batch painting. Each session are for one step of the process. When you're at the edge highlights, you only do edge highlights for like 30 to 60 minutes.

[@ThomasGallinari]

Glad I'm not alone with this issue 😅

[@SeanHoltzman]

I found the following to manage my ADHD and to minimize time needing medication to help me not stress out/lose focus/feel rushing or rushed: I need to grind out a particular color/step on as many models as I could as a step. That is the only goal for my sit-down time, and take a get up, grab water/coffee (& snack if needed) and stretch/walk around for 5min every 15-25min, then repeat as long as I have hobby time. I set a phone timer/calender reminder to go off even through silent/vibrate mode so I only get the one thing breaking focus and just finish the model I'm on once it goes off before I do my 5-min of break. Really prevents the emotional/focus grime setting in that way because I found a LOT of mine is generated from being seated too long/not active enough

[@salemsloane5820]

Commenting just to say I really appreciate the title of this video. So many of these videos have titles like “Five painting mistakes YOU’RE making”, which puts the viewer on their back foot. This one is saying you, the instructor, still make mistakes, which puts the viewer at ease. Just speaking personally, it makes it a bit more pleasant to watch. 👏

[@EkeiShao]

Very true

[@lorenzovive5801]

Your point about assembly line painting was SO TRUE. 15 years ago, I did 16 LOTR elves...thought I would die. 8 years ago, I painted 22 Blood Angels for Hours Heresy....the men in white jackets almost took me away....5 years ago, I attempted 44 skaven. What the Hell was I thinking?! I have really come to reason that I ENJOY the painting of models in smaller groups. No one is rushing me, but ME. Self control is needed. Currently, I am FINALLY painting my Space Hulk set, and it is one Blood Angel at a time (as they are quite detailed) or just a few Genestealers at a time. In short, finishing a project is great, but this hobby should be ENJOYED.

[@LeonValenti]

What helped me satisfy both finishing models quicker AND improve painting technique is a sort of battlefield merit system. If I'm painting for a game, I paint a force to be table ready. Basic stuff, no frills. Then, if they kill something, survive an onslaught, etc... Before the next game, that particular model gets an upgrade: more layering, more highlighting, weathered leather, trim on a cape perhaps. It does take longer, but you can get models to the table and have a good reason to come back to them later to try more advanced techniques.

[@alwoodsmodellingmayhem]

That's cool.👍👍😉

[@philippk819]

Good idea! Are you "varnishing" in between?

[@LeonValenti]

@@philippk819 depends on the next step that I'm doing. Most of the time no, but if I do things like oil wash then definitely.

[@Christian_from_Copenhagen]

Great idea!

[@Zarkil]

Dude that's awesome and the creative side of my brain loves it! My non creative side would explode if I did that in a squad based game 😂

[@VentiChristopher]

My biggest mistake was trying to take on too much batch painting at once. It got VERY overwhelming. Now I know to batch paint in 3 model sets, and to alternate with a different project at the same time as a palette cleanser.

[@desertzombie]

I think a lot of us have that problem lol

[@Zarkil]

Exactly what I was going to say 👍

[@PRC533]

I do this as well because it's nice to see progress as you go rather than feel like you're getting nowhere with 10 models at once.

[@Perkustin]

One problem i find is that i can batch really high on certain things, mostly basecoating and drybrushing, but Washes surprisingly and EDGE HIGHLIGHTING doing more than 3 is agony so i often run into burnout.

[@iowagrognard7715]

I'd add over-correcting a paint job early. All miniatures seem to go through an "ugly duckling" stage that can be discouraging and cause a painter to correct mistakes that aren't even there or abandon a miniature part way through. Trust the end result and enjoy the process. Great video and advice as always.

[@dkerr200]

I finally reached a state of zen with my painting. I am no pro but I’ve reached a good tabletop standard. Channels like this helped me get there. Thanks, keep the tips up.

[@charlescarpenter9098]

There's a hidden #6 that you missed. One of the biggest mistakes in painting... is not painting. I'm guilty of this. I'll spend way too long debating on color schemes, or just getting sidetracked with other hobbies and don't put paint to model nearly enough.

[@Mikey__R]

These days, I paint vicariously through Twitch.

[@duartecruz5635]

I'm almost the same. I'll meticulously plan paints and layers, and then start painting, take ages doing it, but then everything is awful and I hate it, and I'll get demotivated from painting, and not touch a brush for months (last disappointment put me off for about 2 years), negating any practice I might've acquired. And it's not like I can just go buy other miniatures: I've hyperfixated on 40k, and that shit is expensive. "Oh, you can just strip the paint." Bitch, I barely have enough will to breathe, let alone dunk, scrub, dunk, scrub a model over and over again. Fortunately, I've got a friend that has offered to strip the paint off of my disappointments and give them a decent primer for a change, and will guide me through the process of painting my plastic men again, so maybe I'll be able to actually make something decent.

[@geroschorch1365]

@@duartecruz5635 hang in there bud.. i know your situation.

[@triplet7788]

My first mini was an owlbear, and I was just starting to test a gold paint. The bottle was clogged and burst onto my table, and part of my owlbear. I was frustrated and soon had the idea after immediately cleaning as much of the paint off my table to use it as gold feathers on my owlbear. Now, I'm always looking at accidents and mistakes as an opportunity to fix and improvise.

[@briangarber4232]

A big issue can be putting everything away after each painting session. I'm way less motivated to come back and finish up a model if I have to get things ready all over. I recently bought a plastic bin to set over my painting area when it's not in use so I can leave my set up without a nosy cat running off with a brush.

[@travelminipainter]

A dedicated hobby space, even a small one, definitely helps to get things done.

[@CorndogBilly]

Yes, this. If I'm batch painting, I leave the paint bottles, water cup, and brushes I'm using next to the models so I can pick them up at random times and add a coat here and there.

[@tabletopminions]

Yes, cats can be jerks. 😺 That’s why I don’t let them into my hobby room. Thanks for watching!

[@tempusavatar]

I have a dedicated hobby space, and for me this problem has flipped, if I don't clean up and put things away the work space gets too cluttered and chaotic which will have a demotivating effect. Keep your hobby space tidy!

[@hankutah6716]

Something that really sped up my Necron Army was deciding to prime them in a dark silver metallic then douse them with nuln oil and say "i like this, we don't need to do anything else to the body" so I could focus on one or two armor panels and the weapon.

[@Ramage7070]

Pixel peeping my painted models is the #1 mistake I use to make. For those that are not sure what I mean by "Pixel peeping" this is when taking pictures of your finished models and then zooming into the details. This pretty much always results in seeing "mistakes" or missed areas. Sure they are there but if I cannot really see these "mistakes" when just looking at the models normally no one else will either.

[@fransaacs]

I found the sweet spot for a guard kill team was 5 & 5; based with sand and coffee grounds and zenithal primed all ten at once, then base layer painted the first five followed by some very, very simple highlights. After giving the first five an umber oil wash I began base painting the second five returning to the first now and again to adjust the recess shading with thinners and make-up sponges as the oil slowly dried. Eventually all of the models began to reach a similar stage of completion with the first five receiving pigment powders and weathering with a soft (6b?) graphite stick followed by the second five an evening later. Finally everything got a dusting with a matte rattle can of lacquer about a week later. Anymore than ten models at a time and my attention and ability to complete the project gets sorely tested.

[@alphaleigpyne]

I used to used paint from the pot when I first got started in the hobby mostly as a drybrush style basecoating until I added a drop of water to thinned them to improve one of my first mistakes. It was one of the Citadel Foundation paints I did a one coat over the miniatures, sometimes two coats. Most models when I start an army or small squad I take my time to decide which colour I'll go with before I paint them in the colour scheme I'm happy with.

[@danmanning6664]

One of my bigger mistakes is painting for too long in one setting. There is a point of diminishing returns and I now recognize when it's time to put the brush down and walk away. I get sloppy and impatient after a given time and need to let things rest for fresh eyes.

[@arnaudn.5675]

I used to paint squads somewhere between 6 and 12 models per batch. And that was OK back then when tabletop level was good enough for me, cause playing the game was the important part of the hobby (and all I could pull of anyways cause KZbin miniature painting channels didn't existed back then. Nobody I knew ever considered thinning down a paint). I even got 20 skaven clan rats at once, a bit tiring but not exhausting. Nowadays I favour quality over quantity as I like pretty miniatures, and I have, thanks to y'all content creators, all the technical knowledge to do so. And since a mini is meant to be painted only once, better do my best on the first try. I usually go for 1 or 2 minis at a time, maximum 3 because if I do more I get bored and start to rush things to get to the next step quicker. And while I was happy with an hour or two per model in the past, I feel like 3h is the bare minimum I have to spend on any 28mm mini to get "acceptable" result, 5h being a more reasonable timeframe to get to an end result that I'm happy with.

[@travelminipainter]

#1 If I have more than 5 models I work on, I just don't do it. Sometimes I only do 2-3 at the same time. Otherwise I go nuts and into a painting hiatus. #2 THIS!!! Took me a while to grasp how thin paints need to be to suit my paint-style. I am a glazer, thanks to Vince Venturella, duh. #3 Huge issue. I am a perfectionist. I recently tried to convince myself I can get away just with using one-coat paints to do my armies, but no. It does not give me the joy I am looking for when painting miniatures. #4 Patience is a virtue and meditative. That's why I love painting miniatures. #5 I noticed getting quicker the more I paint deliberately slow. Practice the craft makes better craftsmen.

[@Trinioutsider34]

Since,I’ve come across your channel,there’s so much I’ve learned. It was because of your wet palette video,I actually made my own.

[@JachymorDota]

If you have spare models to test stuff, I'd try to see how many colours do I really need. Start with a single colour miniature (of course, you can shade and drybrush), but then try another one with two colours, three and more. You'll learn which details are important, which go under and where your time is best spent. Even a monochrome army can be impressive if the right bits are highlighted correctly.

[@TendiesMcNugget]

I have a squad of old beat up cadians that I try out new paints and paint schemes on and it is a super useful resource.

[@spacedock873]

As a noob to mini painting (been doing it less than a year) and an inherent perfectionist my biggest mistake was putting too much pressure on myself to produce high quality results too soon in my journey. Thanks to the kind advice from yourself and Vince I have (mostly!) overcome this tendency and have learned to become more comfortable with and accepting of my competency level. At this stage I don't feel I make mistakes as such - I treat each hiccup as a learning experience: what did I do, why did it happen, what effect did it have and how can I do better next time? It does still take me ages to paint my minis (about 2 weeks so far for six Burrows and Badgers minis) but I only get a couple of hours per day to paint and I go to what I guess is tabletop+ standard or maybe display (at home) quality.

[@cainedicarde]

My biggest and most consistent mistake is trying to use old/dry paint. Sometimes the paint on your palette has indeed been there too long and you just need to put some fresh paint on there. Messing up your paint job because you're being stubborn is much more frustrating than wasting a little paint.

[@meinfreundfranz]

Still not sure about the »2 thin coats thing«… I just don‘t have the time and will to paint everything minimum 2 times. You double the amount of minis you have to paint, theoretically. Thin paints, and if they don‘t cover up well (yellow for example) go for a second coat. Sure. But painting a black armor with contrast paint doesn‘t require 2 thin coats. Set some »shadows« unter the contrast paint, maybe with some dry brushing over the highlights and you are good to go. A normal space marine does not need 2 thin coats to look good. Nobody will notice anyway if the model is on the table with 20 other guys standing around him, ready for battle.

[@MoadikumMoodocks]

I Just finished batch painting with a brush 1 Marshall, 43 Skitarii, 15 Sicarians and 3 Ironstriders (I was doing several other characters too, but stopped painting them at the highlighting stage). It was too much to do at one time. Small things took a long time. And I got pretty sick of it by the end. I think 10-12 infantry is a good number. And that goes down as the model becomes more complex. I'm planning to paint 12 Serberys dog riders, but I will do all the dogs first, and then all the riders. So essentailly 12 models at time in 2 batches.

[@timbuktu8069]

I never understood the concept of cheating at painting. I put paint on figure, figure looks good, I'm done.

[@brianshobbyspace3569]

I find that forgetting to rinse my brush frequently can really mess up a paint job.

[@Marshallo.o]

Knowing when to stop is my personal challenge. Gotta get al the details highlighted etc. One other thing i will add about painting mistakes, is that folks should have more haste and less speed. Worse case example for me was finishing a lovely Klingon battlecruiser, from star trek the motion picture, reaching over to what i thought was a rattle can of varnish and then spraying what was actually a rattle can of black primer over it........ Sad times indeed and I learnt that lesson a hard way (I did end up repainting the model, but 1 mistake cost me a huge amount of time).

[@SavageBehir]

After batch painting 20 night goblins I decided to go with 5 at a time for the next unit - this way I make less mistakers, miss less places and see more progress done faster, which is also quite important, I think

[@johnthomson6481]

The first point is something I realized recently. I use to try and do a whole big line up if models. But recently I have been finding that painting 1 or 2 things at a time I get them done better and quicker and don't lose focus. Thanks for the video!

[@dmeep]

Personally I dont care for the airbrushed only look. I find they look "dead" and videogam pre-order bonuses. I find you need to get in there with a brush to remove the dead airbrush look and make the mini come alive. This is a matter of personal taste as some people seem to love the look or at least not hate it enough

[@jaeledwards1367]

The assembly line question is interesting. I wonder if Historical players/painters just have a higher tolerance for this due to the nature of what we have to do to get those blocks of infantry on the table. When my city's endless lockdowns kicked in and I turned to commission painting as a way to make up the shortfall in my income I found myself batch-painting armies of up to 150-ish figures. "Today is boot day" was a thing - grab a pile of albums, que up some good podcasts because you are painting 150 pairs of boots today, and at the end of the day there will be 150 pairs of boots but not one finished figure. And tomorrow is pants day and so on ad infinatum. But it's a bit like the Zen masters thing about "sweep the floor, carry the water, chop the wood". If you have been at this for a while maybe you dont need the reassurance of getting progressive "wins" day by day because you have the confidence that it all comes together in the end. That said, what I absolutely do in smaller batches is "sign off" units in small batches - check everything, do minor touch-ups and so on.

[@ausaskar]

We're also not following breakneck model release cycles and rules metas, so some armies are decade long projects with large breaks in between.

[@Zarkil]

I have a friend who has a list of things he needs to get done for that day. If things change and he needs to move something to tomorrow's list or move something forward he does and his day is done when he completes the list. I've long maintained that this is proof that he is an alien.

[@jaeledwards1367]

@@ausaskar True that. I have a pet theory that on a long enough timeline everyone ends up with an ancient Roman army either through painting or buying one or a combination of the two. At this point in time there are probably more miniature roman legionaries than there were flesh and blood ones.

[@johnmcconnell9979]

This is likely true. I almost ALWAYS paint all of the figures for my historical units. I paint 25/28mm American Civil War units of 35+ models. My record is 72 Mordor Orcs at once.

[@Benjam311]

Assembly line is extremely effective for me. That being said, my cap is around Uncle Atom's at about a dozen. Any more than that and it becomes a grind, isn't enjoyable for me, and isn't enjoying it the entire point? I spent last Winter finishing about 7k of WHFB High Elves using assembly lines for pretty much every unit. 100% recommend.

[@Sorrowdusk]

🤔I usually felt good not thinning Reaper Colors too much (and sometimes 👀not at ALL. That's why I liked them)

[@jonathanllewellyn5053]

One mistake I believe is; not thinking your finished model looks good. Which, in todays age, where we have access to so many talented painters, while inspiring, can also dishearten and even dissuade us from even starting the hobby. I started painting during the pandemic after clearing through my attic and finding my old models. I found my first ever painted model from 15 years prior, a 7th ed. (I think?) Warhammer fantasy brettonian rifleman that was primed white and painted red and yellow (not thinned, I was 13 at the time), I remembered I had painted a Champion of Slaanesh a year later and had even edge highlighted it and thought it looked amazing. When I found that model, it looked nothing like what I remembered it being (it was not great; VERY thicc edge highlights, and still not thinned paint!). I keep those two models out when I paint, and now, whenever I finish a model, I compare it to those models. While my current models are no Sam Lenz pieces, simply seeing such a vast difference in quality and improvement gives such a morale boost, and even encouragement to keep going and improve further (I'm currently painting Kill Team Talon and am just finishing basing and highlights of Dreadnaught Chyron, and honestly, it's taken me 4 weeks of slowly going about each step, but man, has the result been worth it!). TLDR: Always keep one of your first ever painted minis at your desk. Only you can judge what looks 'good' to you. Being able to 'see' how far you've come is INVALUBLE for personal growth! Be your own Sam Lenz, and always point out to others how far they've come too!

[@Direwoof]

My biggest mistake is I take wayyy too many steps to achieve roughly the same result, if I speed paint a model in an hour it looks like 85% as good as a model i spent like 4 hours on.

[@TheGamerZapocalypse]

is that a photo of RoboCop paying Nixon a visit in 1971 after he took us off the Gold Standard??? XD "You took us off the Gold Standard creep!"

[@King_of_Sofa]

Another mistake I made in the past was model selection. I thought I needed a variety of different minis for different game scenarios and I was biting off more than I could chew. I didn't even actually like some of those models. Having the feeling that what you're painting is super cool is that biggest thing that will fuel your drive to painting completion

[@bruced648]

the most I painted as assembly line was 35 goblins and 30 T'au. for me, 10 is a good number. 4-6 is best. I always track the amount of time I spend per model. 4 hours to paint 4 models is one hour per model. however, painting 10 models in 4 hours is 24 minutes per model. if I can get the same result of tabletop ready, it's a success. I'm not trying to win awards. if that was my goal, I would never get thru my mountain of gray!

[@kristophermelin7160]

To your point about it taking some time - I think people get an unrealistic expectation when they watch a KZbin video. They see some regular looking guy sit down with a primed miniature, and within 15 minutes, he is showing off a competition worthy figure. We don't get to see how long those steps actually take. We also don't see the out-takes and editing that makes that paintjob look so simple. Way back in the 90s, when we had regional GW Battle Bunkers, I got to sit next to a former Golden Demon winner and watch him work on some of his figures (while I was doing the same.) He was very practiced, and highly skilled. And it still took him a lot of work.

[@SockimusPrime]

The big mistake I make way too often is not being satisfied with a layer I just put down and trying to fix it while it’s still drying. This inevitably tears the paint, leaving a strong outline of the “mistake” and an empty interior that will require many layers to properly cover up again. Just let it dry, and come back to it later

[@rodento3220]

My biggest issue was forgetting on the table you will be at least 1 meter away. every once in a while just put the mini down and step back, literally. Yes do some details but dont go too crazy...

[@acidum984]

Taking time and reviewing minis within spans of several days between crucial steps is kinda my best looking quality receipt. So rushing and doing everything at once is a mistake.

[@edwardclay7551]

I prefer 5-10. But I have a Stormhost that is 40-50 models. A Slaves to Darkness army that will be 65 models. And a Marine Battle Company that is literally 125 models.

[@tabletopminions]

This is why I like skirmish games and Combat Patrol - my Imperial Guard Combat Patrol has 20 Acadian Shock Troops in it, but that’s the most I’ll have to do. Keeps me sane. Thanks for watching!

[@TFZ.]

I love the "Pachow"! It's become sort of your thing!

[@exmrn22]

I would say most will do the heavy paint / skip watering it down mistake the most. When I see someone struggling, the first thing I find is that it always looks like they used too much and began to make extra texture. It may seem a brazen mistake but it truly is one. Once you kind of point to the wet palette and thinning portion, people seem to then be happier. It’s important most of all to quit comparing your self to the mini painting “ Celebrities”. You need to figure out what your real goal is - it’s just like learning a new music instrument, you may want to be like Robert Plant and Hendrix but there’s some required learning and practice before you get there - ease off the comparison. These dudes do this for a living and made it their mission to be that good… but you don’t need to be like that to enjoy this hobby.

[@xreev0x]

Knowing when to leave well enough alone is definitely one of my problems. So many times I have finished a model, cleaned my area and as I went to go wash my brushes got a visit from the “idea fairy,” which resulted in me spending another 2-3 hours fixing my great idea.

[@danwindler]

Needed to see this today. I've got 34 models in the same army, and i've basically been doing one color all the way through (say German gray for the weapons) and then coming back with another color for the gadgets/gear, and then another color for ____ and after 4 passes i'm kinda done... so hearing this is helping me figure out my own "meh". Appreciate it!

[@EridianX]

The thing i have learned from painting for the last two years, is to learn how to turn a mistake, into a success. I have painted a total of three boxes. The warhammer 40k recruit edition, the elite edition, and a box of Mk.IV marines. And I am currently painting the wrath of the soul forge king box minis. And being so new, whenever i would make a mistake it would really bum me out, because i want them to look good. I don't have anyone to play warhammer with so i just paint them for display currently, so my goal is to get them looking good. But whenever i make a mistake, i try to turn that from a mistake into an opportunity. I bought a speedpaint set for this new box i am doing and was painting the cultists, i wanted to get a decent skin tone going on them but was having trouble. It seemed like no matter what i did i just couldn't get it right. So i decided to use the white paint, which really is grey especially on primed black models, to give them a pale skin. And it looked pretty good. They pretty much looked like harkonnens from dune, big pale skinned brutes. But i wanted to add something to them, and i wasn't quite happy with the overall look i had. So, since i now had them pale toned on the skin, other colors could go on much better. So i sat and thought for a while about how i could turn this around to get something i really liked. And then i thought about what they are, chaos cultists, with little horns and tentacles or other corrupted parts on them. So i decided to dive into the corrupted look. I painted them in the army painters speed paint: purple alchemy. It turned out fantastic. The combination of the black primer, covered in white, then covered in the purpleish pink of the purple alchemy, ended up making them look exactly like i envisioned them. After several planned skin tones all failed, the combination of trying several things finally ended up with something i really liked. So when things just are not looking how you want, try and think about how you could use your mistake to build up to something good. Had i never struggled with skin tone i would never have painted them pale, and if i never painted them pale, the color i did end up with would not have looked as good as it does.

[@almostmeek]

I think my biggest thing is "trust in the process" i always find myself getting demoralized when i am at the 30-50% done a model stage, things are messy, lines are everywhere, there is bleed and mistakes ..... but in my brain i know if i just keep going, its all easy to clean up i just have to do it. Overcoming that "it looks bad now" hurdle is so hard but its always worth it to just keep putting the effort in till the project is done. Models look bad when you are only done 50%, ya just gotta keep pushing. Also dont worry about perfection, perfection is the enemy of great, if you try and be perfect you will never be happy

[@no.6minis]

I assembly lined 80 Orks at once before. And also 80 Night Gobbos. Wasn’t bad. Now, if I did 80 Lumineth realm lords, I’d go absolutely insane.

[@savagex466-qt1io]

Best part in Robo cop was when he got hit with the .50 cal or whatever that big bullet was. I cant stand law dogs, however it would be fun to watch Robo Cop fight Judge Dred lol

[@angrychainaxe2803]

I think one of the biggest mistakes I made was not knowing what different types of paint were supposed to do. I didn’t know the difference between washes, base paints, technical paints, and glazes which led to some wasted paint and weird looking minis. I love your channel, by the way. It’s a great resource no matter where you are in the hobby.

[@christianvoorhees69]

Thank you for the tips! You got yourself a returning customer

[@Mikey__R]

For a while, my problem was giving up partway through, stripping back to plastic then starting again. If you never finish a model, every model takes an infinite number of hours.

[@TheThewhatnow]

I like batch-painting, however last year i did 100 Deathwing Terminators and 60 Dark Angels Space Marines in 2 big batches, and i’m stubborn so I finished them all, but that really killed my hobby enjoyment for a while. Then i started doing character models and a few small units and things were going great, but now i’m finishing up a group of 140 Ork Boye/Nobz I have been batchpainting, and I honestly hate myself for never learning.

[@Chromed84]

Because of the weirdness of metallic paint, I will generally do big batches of silvers and golds, I’ve been painting Ultramarines here lately. I’ve noticed before that the flakes will stay in brushes and cleaning water and can show up in other non metallic paints. Once done with metallics, I clean everything really well and move on to nonmetallic paints.

[@Alecboudreau]

Don't make the mistake of being afraid to try something new. I recently painted a bit of free hand stuff that actually came out good and the boost of confidence I got was huge. It made my mini look even better and now I'm trying other free hand stuff that I probably would have avoided.

[@Daealis]

The batch painting limit: One thing that affects it for me is the method. I've batch painted four guys and felt like I'm going insane with that shit. I was painting them with layers and adding simple highlights. But just last week I finished a batch of 13 and I was having fun all the way through. This time I was using contrast paints. Testing techniques and different approaches to painting your minis will give you a max limit on each. It's a good idea to see where your limits are on a whole lot of things, so you'll know to adjust expectations depending on whether you need to paint 3 heroes or 60 rats.

[@andysavage5504]

well just now throwing in to this .. AS A HISTORICAL MINI PLAYER , my normal batch on figs for line painting is 24

[@Aisaaax]

My painting mistake: Oh, I have these thick Citadel paints that I'm transfering to dropper bottles. While I'm at it - why don't I thin them right now? Thinned some of them too much. Turns out, you cannot un-thin them. Mistake #2 - too much rocks and foilage on the bases. Sometimes less is more. Mistake #3 - messing with sand and glue for bases. Seriously, buy yourself a can of texture paste from vallejo or something - it will last forever and will save you lots of disappointment. Mistake #4 - buying Citadel paints. Just don't buy them...

[@RavenMorpheus]

In this video Adam joins Painters Anonymous and owns his errors. I'm not technically a beginner (been painting figures on and off for 25-30ish years), I can do tabletop quality reasonably quickly (if I have the enthusiasm), but I'm also not at a Vincy V or Sam Lenz level of quality. The biggest error I often make is not thinning my paints. I'm often just too impatient and want that instant one coat coverage. I also don't use a wet palette, I don't often leave figures for long enough to need to come back to pre-mixed colours. Doesn't help, that even today, details on GW's figures (and other brand's figures) are not always well defined and it doesn't take much paint to fill them in, even with "two thin coats".

[@brushhammerdice4438]

The easiest improvment for me was how to drybrush correctly and it took mee 2,5 years in the hobby: Don´t drybrush after whiping the brush over paper towel! use a textured suface instead. The results are much better.

[@Born_Stellar]

I actually do 1 model at a time now. I started doing batches of 10 or so. I'm still working on a batch of 66 poxwalkers. its been years. now I just do one and now I like painting!

[@demon1103]

When it comes to assembly line painting I find my limit varies depending on the model. If I'm painting Necron Warriors, I can paint a thing of 10-20 in a single painting session (well 2 due to oil washes) due to their simplicity. However if I'm painting a thing of Ork Boyz the max I can handle is 3-5 due to the different details. I usually like painting 2-3 at a time if it's squad, and of it's a character just the 1 (though I did paint my Techmarine and Chaplain in 1 session, but that's a rarity )

[@tempusavatar]

Thanks for the video. My personal biggest mistake is when I don't respect my paint-to-play ratio. I enjoy painting, I like practicing a practical skill, I like conquering my grey mountain, but if I get stuck painting for over a month without playing, the intrusive thoughts creep in. "What am I doing, why am I doing this, nobody cares, I'm wasting my time, I'm wasting my life" and that can be extremely demoralizing. After I get out and play a game, I'm always fired up to get work done and bring more models to the table for next time.

[@kazegakun]

I can't batch paint in groups larger than 10. By the time I get to the brush on my Marines, I've airbrushed the white zenithal over black primer and then airbrushed the main armor color over pretty much everything (AP Alien Purple). All the brushing is the secondary stuff, so I'll get the first coat of wraithbone on the areas, then move to the next model while the first one sets up properly. By the time I get to model 10, model 1 is totally dry and I can put the next coat down. When I tried to do my Votann (>70% contrast), I tried to do 20 Warriors in series and nearly went insane. I had to break them up into 10 man squads.

[@hawkgamedev]

great advice thank you!!! it might come across silly, but when I started I also believed the paint went straight from bottle to model, and giving that advice is super relevant, it makes total difference on y our end results. Also I painted some bolt action army recently in production chain and I got super burntout you are totally right, better to have less quanity and more quality.

[@fredclasson7865]

1: Got a pretty high tolerance, painted some 30 Bloodletters at once. However, can't stand painting terrain. Many small are better than one big. 2. I tend to avoid this because of drybrushing. 3. Amen, when I started out I kept a list of everything I "should" go back and fix. Too much anxiety, stopped that fast. 4. This was the reason why I never had anything that "popped" on my first models, plasmas, demonic swords etc, just looked like everything else. I needed some more experience. 5. A good lesson, like many people I tried to do both when starting out. Now I've realized that playng is more fun than painting. I mean, even when I put a lot of time into a model my opponents didn't even pay attention to it until I mentioned it. I mean, I was proud of the work I did, but if you paint to play then everyone involved will be more busy with tactics and rules etc instead of looking face to face with a model.

[@km304]

17 is what I'm currently doing as my batch...and it's not like I know what I'm doing, it's just how many pillbottles I have as painting handles. But hey there's a lot of Skaven.

[@allenkitching6902]

I don’t know if it’s a “mistake” as such, but I was over-reliant on the old Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade for a while. When I dialled back on the washes, and in many cases, dumped them entirely, I really found my own style and felt happier with my work. I now work much more in the “triad” style.

[@Amphiron]

I know this video is 10 months old, but my biggest mistake is getting upset when my minis don’t look like Ninjons or Scott from Miniacs after working on it for an hour. Especially starting out. They’re great for inspiration, and even learning stuff. But they also do it for a living.

[@kartchner7]

Sometimes when i watch this channel, i feel like i have to look for hidden cameras around my house, because someone is doing a parody of my life. Of course my life is boring as heck and no one would spend the time and money doing that, but this list is incredibly personal to me. 1) assembly line. went from trying to do a regiment (20+)to 5. starting painting the whole 20 in less than half the time when i bit it off in 5 model chunks. 2) for years, i "knew" this and still did it anyway because i was impatient..Especially near the end of a model. PRESTO! cakey flesh tone on the most detailed part of the model! 3) *hides face in shame* I am soo much better at walking away instead of trying to "fix" things than I used to be. 4) see #2. that is why i love speedpaint so much! 5) this is why i paint alone. painting around other painters who paint fast ruins your day. thanks as always for the reinforcement. I love this channel!

[@TheWilcoxExperience]

You shoulda put this out 5 years ago. Before I started painting 15 stormboyz at once-- That I keep putting aside to paint other things. One day I'll finish them. One day.... 5 years.

[@nossarian]

Painting mistake I've made in the past: priming on sprue. I thought it would be a neat simple way to speed up, but now I dread clipping the parts off, sanding the mold lines, and undoing all the priming. I have a kit of CSM Raptors that I don't think I'll every be happy getting off the sprue (though at some point I'm just gonna have to do it and work with the mistake) Though if you've found ways that this has worked for you, please lmk!

[@TerrierHalo]

Not putting down the model on the table like it will be when I play and look at it is still a mistake I do every now and then.

[@3Xero3]

I think my two biggest mistakes i still repeatedly fall for: #1. Don't bite off more than you can chew. It would be easy to get one unit and paint it up as i go, but why do that when I can mass purchase a 2k point army in one fell swoop? And... now I've got to paint them all. #2. Getting frustrated when your painting skill level doesn't meet your expectations. It's easy for our imaginations to think up something that looks similar to the box art or other amazing models we see shared by pro painters. The tutorial videos make it look SO EASY that we sometimes forget that painting is s skill you get better at with practice.

[@jellysandjamz250]

Maybe it’s my wrestling background with hours of cutting weight, but I assembly lined 30 sisters of battle (the squad ones) 😅

[@TendiesMcNugget]

I follow rule one with one big exception, which is necron warriors. I batch paint them in groups of 30-40 because it's kind of meditative and is just drybrush metal, paint tube on the guns.

[@tmorton42]

Wow, listing my mistakes? I think that would be a thesis level document. I'm not a very good painter and am a 1000 light years from Atom's quality. I'm pretty fast, but to say that my paint jobs are mediocre is...generous. here's the beginner issues I have: 1) look at the model at all angles. Shows errors 2) I have the most terrible time where the colors come together: this part is skin, that part is armor. Get the armor on the armor and the skin on the skin...as it were. So I slosh some skin onto the armor, and then get trepidations about that so then actively fail to get other parts of skin painted at all. I'm currently at a point trying these things: A) don't swipe with the brush in that spot, dab B) it's better to at least get paint on the primer than to leave glaring gaps that catch the light C) yes, I will paint it, fix the error, fix the fixing error, then fix the fixing fix error, if you follow. Then draw a line of some form of shade that sort of obscures that line a bit. So the line isn't quite so narrow. Anyone else, please feel free to chime in and explain how that should be done for us newbies. Thanks as always Atom! Got me thinking, you did.

[@thomasfox5369]

My two biggest painting "mistakes" both apply to planning: 1) not having a deliberate plan when I start. Whether it is a large centerpiece model, or 10-20 deep on some infantry, a basic plan of how I will prime, base, layer, and finish the model is key to me maximizing my time, effort, and enjoyment. 2) becoming too reliant or "stuck" to the plan. Plans are not instructions, they are a loose guideline. As I continue through my one or many models, I may determine that the layering scheme I was going for does not work with where the model is headed, and may adjust my plan to match what I now see as a finished model. Sticking too closely to the original plan as step by step instructions has created some painting fatigue (get bored or frustrated) or just altogether stopped me in my tracks. Being flexible allows me to stay fresh and stay engaged.

[@euanthompson]

A massive mistake is trying to make horde units look like your main characters. Don't bother. They will look just as good with 1 brighter highlight than 2 highlights. Skip the first one, jump straight to the second. Literally no one will notice. This is how I can do 10 Gaunts in a couple of evenings.

[@violetcorvidgaming4507]

Hahahaha I feel you! I painted 30 Chainrasps, 4 Mymourn Banshees and 4 Glaivwraith guard all at the same time! It was honestly the worst thing ever! But because I'd started I made sure I finished. I only wanted tabletop quality, I got that but honestly the tradeoff was far too steep. It put me off painting for a long time. Same as when I painted up my space wolves, each single infantry felt like a character with the level of details.

[@DaneSaysStuff]

The "pick your number" advice is legit. Mine is 5 at a clip. That, to me, is nothing. Start adding to it and I start to bog down and a set of 10 all at once begins to take me longer to finish than 2 sets of five at different times.

[@MrLigonater]

So I’ve batch painted in an assembly line 20-40 miniatures at a time. However, I am finding my patience for doing that is waning. Especially after having so much fun working on small characterful minis, doing a big batch becomes creatively mind numbing. Also, what is hard is trying to apply assembly line batch painting to units that are similar but not uniform. I was doing some early medieval guys, and they all used the same pallets, but they were slightly different, so each color was going on a different part of the model, etc. once I got to the weapons and armor it wasn’t so bad, but the tunics and trousers in seven different plaids… kind of annoying.

[@andrewwrobel2786]

Number one hits home. It takes me two days to paint 4 models of good quality for PCs in my RPG game, but I'm staring at these 60 orcs have taken like 3 months and counting. Burnout is real.

[@brionl4741]

When I'm working on a squad or similar I usually do about 10 at once. Maybe a little more if it's a Blood Bowl Team, or fewer if it's cavalry or light vehicles. Big vehicles I'll do one at a time.

[@khadorstrong]

FINISH. This is my biggest issue, and hurts my commission painting service, regularly. I always want to do something original, or different or out of the norm and then im stuck in analysis paralysis mode.

[@hatmaker101992]

My two biggest mistakes that I learned from 1st dont count how many guys you have left to paint in a hoard army got discouraged, painting them for a bit because didn't seem like I was making progress. 2nd, remember who I'm painting for and doing this hobby for stopping when I'm happy. Yes, you can always add or do more, but dont take the fun and relaxation out of it (one of your videos helped with that cant recall which but its something I try to pass on to other hobbies and kids/friends)

[@goodtimeluke3382]

The assembly line note is so true. I’m starting out and wanted to do 6 Blood Bowl Sauruses. It was aggravating and felt silly to take a break after 4 or 5, but by 6 I was rushing and my eyes hurt. They turned out great in the end. My stamina is building, but my rhythm of working and taking breaks is improving as well. Thank you for the video!

[@KelstenGamingUK]

There are no mistakes. There are only happy little accidents or FUBAR'ing a model beyond redemption :D

[@vermillionhugh]

#2 chalky…. I would also add …ASHEN appearance, attributed to low grade paint. 🍊👍

[@battleshipman56]

I do sets of 20-30 at a time usually, the trick is to make your mind think that its just 1 more and and then say yeah im going ro make this one rhe best

[@chadnine3432]

You can usually add another thin coat. Taking a thick coat off is not so easy.

[@eyeh8u1]

Have a clear idea of what exactly you're trying to achieve with painting. When I first started, I treated every single miniature like I was painting it to enter into the Golden Demon (and I was along waaaay from that. Still am.) But when you spend 5 hours painting a single rank and file Imperial Guardsman and all you really want is to paint and play, you're wasting your time. I still struggle with this on occasion.

[@michaeltribou4261]

Batch painting works for historical as well as figures with the same uniforms. The size of the figure also matters too. When I did 15mm Soviets I could do 24 at a time. However; Star Wars Legion storm troopers slowed me down to do seven at once

[@frederickflores8152]

Batch painting varies for me. My word bearers? Five at a time because of the trim. My anvils of heldenhammer? Ten at a time. Whenever I assemble a squad of either they get stuck to a paint stick. My word bearers are hit with army painters chaotic red and boom! Base coat done. Same with my anvils. Army painters matte black. Spraying is so much faster and easier than hand brushing each one at a time

[@foreverfornever1124]

Your #3 I like, mainly because Ill get a model in a unit to a certain level of completion, and move on to the next, feeling pretty content with it. However, what I end up doing is going back to my models some time later. I further their completion, with added highlights or shadows on any number of models I feel like doing at the time. I keep a list of all of the completion rates of models in my necron army. Mainly my HQ and characters are fully completed, and when Im pushing those models to my painting limits I will occasionally grab a few random mostly finished Necrons and use what paint I have left and complete them.

[@shadeling6717]

I tend to buy and build in big batches. Trying to paint in that bug batches is extremely daunting. Especially for someone like me that does not enjoy painting in general. I've recently decoded regardless of how many are built and prime to paint a single "box" amount at a time. I also have decided to paint only a few hours (usually 2) a day often on the weekends

[@chriscongemi2109]

Painted 30 Admech Skitarii at one time. Wanted to jump out the window before the project was completed. My max is about 15 models and prefer to keep it to 10.