Painting eyes on miniatures made easy - Warhammer!

[@bg5886]

I use a toothpick, cut the end off which gives it a nice circular look. Dip it in paint and gives me a perfect iris every time.

[@FreddieMercurytheSharkWrestler]

Holy fuck that is the single most genius painthack.

[@EvidenceFragmentary]

BRO

[@theshithawk7507]

i owe you a drink!

[@JJJacey]

Also worth mentioning, if your character doesn't have red blood instead of using the reddish brown for the area around the eyeball you could use the color of their blood mixed with their base flesh tone.

[@AristeidisKypriotis]

Micron pens of various sizes are also a decent hack for "painting" text on purity seals and similar areas if you have trouble doing it with a brush

[@angelobatista7005]

Aristeidis Kypriotis why was I reading micro penis lol

[@MrBizteck]

Ive used them for tattoos too.

[@fatboymisk]

Angelo Batista me too, i came to check comments to make sure i wasn’t the only one!

[@carlinvoker2532]

Cat whiskers work well too. Don't pluck them, just collect the ones that fall out. Or ask a friend to collect them if you don't have a cat.

[@Karina-Loves-Andreas]

@@angelobatista7005 Micro penises are fairly worthless, but enthusiasm, humor, and kindness helps compensate...

[@willthorson4543]

Another tip that works really well, whatever your strength is in painting left or right paint the eye like normal, your weak side, turn the head upside down and paint it. It actually works really well. I paint 1/35 and 1/16figure eyes that way.

[@3DPrintedTabletop]

Those eyes look so good, and that micron pen tip...amazing! I'm gonna try this. Thanks, Emil!

[@martinw.8842]

I can only agree! Every Video helps me getting better at painting and gives me new ideas. Thanks alot Emil!

[@JulianSloman]

Agreed, the white dot on top didn't work though (since it was bigger than the pupil! :D )

[@rickbruins6562]

If you have an old micron pen you can also use it to dip the tip in paint . I use one for the white. I also have a small metal toothpick which i use for really small spots. Just dip it in the paint.

[@redhotswing]

I've been working on a beholder for a few days, and was a little daunted by the eyes. Someone on r/minipainting linked this video this morning, and I put the technique to use right away.. many times on the same model lol. Worked a treat! Thanks Emil :-)

[@Karina-Loves-Andreas]

Wow. These eyes are AMAZING!!!

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

👑👑 I'm in the midst of releasing my dream miniature brush as well as some wonderfully sculpted miniature busts. It's something I'm really proud of and been working on for the better part of the last year. Late pledges from the Kickstarter are up and You can check it out here: www.squidmar.com/latepledge 👑👑

[@TeeVeesGreatest]

well done bud! nice video. I also dip a pin into white to get the light relect spot on the eye. It works well and guards against over painting on the eye by accident. All the best!

[@svenscholz3412]

After over 15 years you brought me back to Warhammer.. got pretty much no time for playing it rn. but just some painting after a stressful day at work or universty is just so relieving. Thanks for that! :')

[@AllyKazaamm]

Thanks for the micron pen tip! I have a buttload laying around from before I switched to digital art and now I can put them to good use!

[@DustyTheKitty]

Having no depth perception, trying to paint eyes has been the absolute bane of my mini painting hobby. Just ordered some 0.03mm pens off Amazon, looking forward to trying them out, cheers Squidmar!

[@DustyTheKitty]

Just a follow up after finally getting a batch of archers ready for detailing. These 0.3mm pens are superb, it's turned the worst part of something I love into something i can do far more easily, thank you so much

[@jackwhorton6826]

A tip that helped me for basic eye painting is once you've painted the white/off white of the eye ball, paint a dark line down the middle. When you then finish the skin around the eye that will sort out any over run and with the size that eyes are in warhammer, looks pretty good. Not as good as Emil's methods but a useful stepping stone nonetheless!

[@Accia121]

For dotting tiny blobs into awkward crevices, you can try using a pin, paint won't stay dry long but you really dont need it if it's just for dotting, you could use this for the light reflections too

[@ZadyBankZ]

The micropens is such a great hack!! Thank you!!! I already have those pens for my other drawing/sketching, and never thought of using that.

[@RageBadgerGaming]

Definitely very helpful. Honestly your technique of just taking apart the eye and figuring out what it's made of, what colors to use and not just comic book black/white was worth noting.

[@AcoylteKraven82]

12:11- I’m curious……. Why red-ish brown? Is it because of the pink-ish red corners of the eyes? I usually start with gray and then work my way up my shades of white! But I only use the pure white for the reflection!?!

[@BlackMagicCraftOfficial]

This is a bit nicer looking than my usual technique of using a bent cheap brush to fill the eye recess with dark wash. Not sure. Official Squidmar wife reveal.

[@ElijahRhyne]

What is this? A crossover episode?

[@johnrichardwilliams]

Michael Gallimore He’s obviously revealing himself as Squidmar’s wife.

[@tacticalgamer7777]

Black magic craft Hi dude!

[@peteoconnor6388]

Btw, make sure to include some sort of image of the killer in any dead eyes you do.

[@thedabblingwarlock]

@4:00 Your iris is also concave. The top part actually faces down. So part of it is the lid, but it's also the shape of the iris.r

[@ashclayton3273]

I actually bought a pack of those exact micron pens about a week ago for doing the purity seals and scrolls on the new sisters... how did I not even think to use them for this aswell!! Thanks for the tip :)

[@gregmccormack5709]

Oh man those Micron pens work sweet for eyes! just got one totally worth if you find pupils with a brush frustrating. (make sure you grab the smallest pen size) Thank you Squidmar!!!

[@alejandromengualdiana9531]

el mejor vídeo sobre pintar ojos que he encontrado... con mucha diferencia! Gacias!!

[@alexrenxa7700]

This makes me feel so much better on getting the eyes done on my space wolves. Hope you feel better, Emil!!!!

[@PetersTreasury]

Thanks, this improved my second attempt on eyes massivly.

[@chrispatty8953]

Just want to say thank you for sharing all your tips and talent. Thanks to you and other great artist I have seen my painting greatly improve over two years.

[@HamboneWilson]

Way to hang in there while you were sick. Ironically it ended up being one of your most helpful technical videos imho

[@andrespestchanker3443]

Wow Emil!!!!! That's totally spectacular!!!!!!

[@edsontarrillo6464]

Mate, you are so talented and helpful and also beautiful. Thank you, I'm starting to customizing my action figures and I'm following your tips

[@davidanddragons5339]

I never realized you could use a pen for the eyes! Before watching this video I was using a brush to brush on white and than this tiny brush to put a black dot on and wow those eyes were rough. I can't wait to try this. Also that micropen was incredibly affordable. 5 dollars right now due to a sale so I got it with your link. This video was super helpful thanks

[@Tastylettuce12]

Is it worth mentioning that your eyes are stunning? legit like an oil painting

[@elfhighmage8240]

That's crazy good. What I have done for my 28mm Reapers is that I start from the inside out. First I coat the face with the skin tone. Next I paint a dab of black right where the iris should be. From there, I paint around the iris with the select pupil color, then the eye, the eyeliner (default is usually brown or black). Perhaps I've been doing it wrong...

[@justanothercaptain6566]

OMG that was an amazing cheat! Thank you Sir! I hope you feel better soon. Cheers

[@sebastianklapdor1492]

Big thanks for this tutorial! The technique worked right away and makes the most daunting task on my miniatures so much easier! Also bought the pens you linked and they are terrific!

[@StarBoundFables]

Neat micron technique! Do you ever apply fine black shadow lines elsewhere with microns? Seems like it could be useful

[@28russ]

I find when doing tiny areas like eyes sometimes it's hard to tell exactly where the brush tip is going to contact the mini....But I find if I look at the brushes shadow I can tell where the brush tip and the shadow will meet and more easily judge exactly where the brush tip will contact the mini.....Anyway .....That's my little tip for eyes.....And the micro sharpies are great....I just used one for doing the netting on a Predator mini I'm painting......It was damn near impossible with a brush and my shitty skills lol :-)

[@quimninja]

I support my hand and fingers across the model with my index finger and thumb with brush...doing the motion of painting the tiny area..and move closer and closer....only way i can do it...my eyes arnt what they used to be

[@TheMartinChronicles]

The brush and shadow meeting point is an excellent tip. Thank you!

[@Rogelio_007]

This was an excellent tutorial. Especially considering you were not feeling well. Thanks

[@stuartmees7822]

I've been painting dwarves and doing the eyes justice has been killing me 👍👍👍 Great work thanks

[@thomasshrum4006]

I watched you paint those eyes and yet somehow I still don't understand how you made them look so amazing! I'm going to have to try this myself. Great video!!

[@johnleach8553]

Great video thanks for the tips. Got paints and some minis for Christmas. Be painting my first soon. Your tips will be a big help. Thank you

[@malabor_paints]

Once again, the SquidKing nails it with another great tutorial video. Thanks for all that you do!!

[@jonatan2969]

Thanks for this video just tried it on a larger mini and it looks amazing. 2 questions 1: Im wondering whether i should give the eye some Ardcoat or similar thing to make them shiny, would you recommend that or keep them as is? 2: Any chance you could make a video on animalistic eyes, like cat eyes or reptile eyes?

[@TheDigitalThreat]

I dont have a lot of mini painting experience but what I have worked on, for me at least - just using micro pens with colored inks (depending on the mini) is much easier than with a brush, in regards to actually painting them. Your points on the shapes is spot on as its actually a subject of a few lectures I had to sit through in the late 90's while in art school. Thing is I dont see it fitting in the scale of minis. With minis so far I've only needed one dot. I wont even bother with whites like I would if I was making a cartoon or portrait because if we are using true scale we shouldn't be able to see them, even with the mini in our hand. At most you would see just a tint of grey/blur as the whites and one dot to represent both iris and pupil (if its human like eyes).

[@christiantaylor7422]

Don't know about everyone else, but I just came to stare into Squidmare's beautiful eyes - and I was not disappointed. :)

[@mandersson1979]

Great tutorial! I'm a novice when it comes to painting miniatures but armed with this knowledge I think I can paint some decent eyes at least :-)

[@bartdevuyst]

Excellent video. As a graphic designer, I loved the Photoshop part a lot!

[@8halfnhalf8]

Hey Squidmar! love ur vid, just wanted to say that painting eyes on these busts are incredibly easy compared to on a small warhammer or equivalent infantry unit where you need a 3/000 brush lol

[@justinhuber5371]

Your eyes ARE beautiful! Great tutorial!

[@rodtheworm]

8:40 - "almost done for what makes a simple eye on a miniature" ... These days I have trouble painting in the white without going outside the eyes, let alone this. The best I *ever* managed was to get an iris as well as a pupil. This is madness.

[@jurekzavadil6965]

Haha, I am using nail dotting tool for eyes. I have like tons of these micro pens at home and never even think about using them :D Thank you so much for this idea

[@HeadPhones80]

holy squidmar your a god damn genius using a micron pen to dot eyes definitely gonna try that out on my new sisters love your stuff man

[@BrausamM]

Awesome Video. Great Job on the Orc 👌

[@AaronAlcaraz]

At last! The long awaited eyes video!!! Thank you!

[@TheFryPo]

Great idea to show the process of painting in photoshop, way easier to understand what exactly you're doing.

[@GTXanatos13]

Love that hack, going to try with the pen.

[@chad2687]

that pen tip is amazing lol my mom has that exact pen so Im definitely gonna borrow it. thanks for the the vid squidmar. Loved the lil theory bit aswell.

[@chad2687]

Also get well soon!

[@RPRsChannel]

I have always used needles to paint: the eye color, a smaller one for the iris and a super fine point for the reflection. The results have amazed people for decades, I have even won a competition where the eyes were especially mentioned.

[@cyberbum9688]

RPKsChannel Wow I need to try that trick! Never thought of using a needle, I have a bunch of sewing needles

[@RPRsChannel]

@@cyberbum9688 Also....what are they called again.....lead in mechanical pencils? They type you refill wil these thin rods? You know what I mean? They were the perfect pupil size, but they come in many sizes, look at a bookstore that also sells supplies, I'm sure you used one in math class.

[@cyberbum9688]

@@RPRsChannel Finally the micron pen didn't work (I have a very fine 005) because the mini's eye is recessed in its socket and the pen tip didn't fit. I tried with a needle but that was also hard because the paint would dry so fast on the tip. And the paint had a tendency to bunch up around the pin head, instead of directly underneath it. In the end I painted the socket white, and for the pupil I drew a straight vertical line. Then I cleaned up the top and bottoms as much has possible.

[@matthewsnyder66]

What size sewing needles were you using for each effect?

[@MKalavera111]

Get well soon. Anyways I like the pen trick :-D What I'm usually do for the 28mm scale: - Paint the whole eye black. Even being sloppy and maybe painting on the skin a little. - Adding a second layer of screaming skull. This layer is more centered and represents the white part of the eye - Adding a third "layer" of pure white. just a very centered blob of white paint. - At this point the eye has a black outline and white center. - Now the eyeball is painted, by using any color (blue, green, brown, grey) and a brush with a good tipp. I practice the stroke I will perform 10 times on my palette before applying it to the miniature. What I do is basically an "upstroke", beginning with placing the brush tip in the middle of the eyeball and pulling it gently up to the upper eye lid. It will look less like a round, circular thing, abut it is amazingly simple. The best thing: What ever happens you can cover up by painting white over this. Final touch is to clean up the initial black layer.

[@paultapping9510]

Yes! This is pretty much exactly how I do it too! It's so much easier not having to worry about being super-precise while painting the eyeball. I've also found, as mentioned in this video, using greys rather than whites works really well.

[@MKalavera111]

@@paultapping9510 sound great.

[@C0NTRACT2]

I struggled for years with painting eyes then I found if you use a toothpick it becomes a doddle

[@carlinvoker2532]

Cat whiskers work well too. Don't pluck them, just collect the ones that fall out or ask a friend to collect them if you don't have a cat.

[@AdreyM978]

Not sure if these are jokes lmfao I will try both though haha maybe there is a hack withing these jokes 🤣

[@cthonia]

God painter you got mad talent

[@Talon0524]

That’s freaking awesome. 👍👍

[@sableandscalpel1139]

Hope you feel better! Awesome video and super helpful. I've always had trouble with eyes. I've heard of the pen trick, but never looked into it. Definitely going to try it on my next mini. Keep making the videos!

[@Perfidious_Hollow]

Just a little tip I have come up with in answer to how especially Warhammer minis seem to always have their hair or hoods in a way that partially covers one eye. Or it's great if you just don't feel like painting 2 eyes. Find a bit that is rounded and roughly a little bigger than the eye socket and cut a small chunk off (I like using scope ends). Then just cut around the eye enough to fit it and you get one of those cyborg looking lense-type optics. It has come in handy on more than several occasions.

[@iamphL]

your painting skill is beyond amazing! really great and informative stuff you put out there! :) thanks!

[@teritras41]

Nice tutorial Emil ! Keep up the good work !

[@mxpxdude]

Fun to watch, very educational

[@grimgar3048]

Happy new year Emil, looking forward to more great vids & tips 'n' tricks this year

[@gbevan-c1n]

never thought of the pen for eyes . ive just had to leave them till now great tip

[@FAQComputers]

Thank you for this video. My eyes have always looked so generic. I am nowhere near as good, but these techniques have help a lot in the 3 models I have tried it on. Thanks! Keep up the great videos!

[@capidano6248]

Happy New Year! Hope ya get healthy soon, and super solid video to start the new year.. I never looked at painting eyes this way, and have learned a TONNE!

[@capidano6248]

I also used your idea of larger brush with a very fine tip and it works MUCH easier then a very small brush, this alone I think has helped me the most with doing eyes now!

[@juliowissing3382]

Great Video as always, Emil! Keep up the good work.

[@ricardowashington4447]

Thanks for the tutorial. Great teaching work explaining the why's and not just the what's. I have a question. What does the paint look like close up on the eye? I'm painting a McFarlane Space Marine Reiver with eyes. From normal distances it looks OK (still a novice, so not great) but when I take a magnified pic it looks chunky and rough. How do I avoid that or is that a reality of acrylic paint on plastic models?

[@plumfun6750]

Ahhh...the old "technical pen" trick. I never learned this. I discovered it on my own back in 1987-88 when "Warhammer 40000 Rogue Trader" was published (well, I guess it was a few years later..call it 1990'ish). Painted a Blood Angels space marine but gave him a 'spiderman' motif. I drew on the webbing, spider, and wording ("Spider-Man"; indicating this particular marines 'nickname'). It worked out amazingly well! .. Not sure who came up with the idea of using a technical pen (nowadays called "fineliners" or "multiliners" in the art/comic drawing community), but I never read about anyone doing/using them in any books or magazines. It is a great technique though! Highly recommend it! :)

[@Chemclskinz]

Hope you feel better soon dude! Thanks for the awesome tips, love your vids!

[@deadlotus4445]

LOL "I'm high as a kite....LET'S LEARN SOMETHING!" Awesome!!

[@HuntersOA]

I was thinking for a while to try a tooth pick for the tiny white dab. Just lightly touch the white paint and than use it as a really sturdy brush for that one dot. What do you guys think? Would it work?

[@HuntersOA]

@Epic I have a 00 brush from a local brush maker and yesterday I had some time to play with it. It was absolutely epic for this task. I think it is way more accurate than a toothbrush :D (Unless I sharpen it :D ) But I'll have some more time this week so I'll give it a go with the toothpick too :D

[@ryancarter6876]

wow looks great

[@ScottyMcLagan]

(apologies if someone already made this joke). Steadying your hand again the desk or your arm is all well and good; so too is using brush/pen hydbrids. But what you really gotta do is make like Snake in Metal Gear Solid when he fights Sniper Wolf i.e. take some Valium/diazepam. That'll steady your hand perfectly, according to to that game (a great scholarly source, of course....)

[@Lokenplays]

I'm fairly sure you've probably gotten this question before, but could i ask what camera your using both for the video, and for the still shots? The quality is outstanding! Thanks in advance!

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

Check my website www.squidmar.com all listed there

[@morningstar2180]

Golf clap for the fine liner XD

[@prisk1970]

Thanks for the eye painting tips :)

[@playaway69ify]

Thanks for the really helpful tips, great video! - Just thought you might like to know that the micro pen you used actually has a 0.15mm tip, the '003' is the pens number in their range (I think!).

[@StMansur]

Thanks. I have a few other ways, but thanks for new ideas!

[@TheExiledTyrant]

Excellent video! Love your work man!

[@JacobHo161]

Thanks for the video! The difficulty I have on painting eyes is that I don't have good eyes. I cannot see small objects clearly. I am thinking how practical it is to buy a macro camera lens and stream the image to a monitor when painting. I can see that your videos can capture the miniature in a very good quality but is it possible to use it as your magnifier for painting?

[@AcoylteKraven82]

The “tool” you use at the end, How did you get it to stick? I thought of this a long time ago as a cheat for freehand…… but I never could get it to stick to the paint!?! And yes, I’ve tried with that brand and many others!!! I have a nice collection of stuff like it because I’ve always been a artist!!!

[@juliehamel8330]

I learned from doll costomisers that watercolor pencils can be usefully for small details. You can sharpen them to a vary fine point and they come in different color.

[@docwex]

Brilliant! Thanks!

[@cwj138]

I like your jumper. This video is good.

[@missingclerk]

Great tip, wish I'd known about it sooner.

[@jamesclews233]

I feel like fine paint pens work aswell with varnish for shine Montana have a wide selection

[@karenwoolley4279]

15:00 I take it as varnish might be a problem with the mircon pen?

[@gregmccormack5709]

Because it's archival ink I would imagine it has a longish dry time compared to the paint ....... brush on varnish might be dicey put on quickly, good point.

[@jondavidev]

Wish I'd had this before I made another shambles of my eisenhorn eyes. However! So many "just the tip" opportunities. Great video .

[@28russ]

Just the tip.......That's what she said hahaha

[@nosavepoints]

Im currently painting Eisenhorn at the moment too! I haven't dared to attempt the eyes yet, but the pen trick just might get me to finally do it.

[@jondavidev]

@@nosavepoints WIP required!

[@nosavepoints]

@@jondavidev Still much a WIP. Waiting for my browns and greens to arrive, and only most of the colors blocked in. photos.app.goo.gl/UopG7Fv7GaxLbHSXA photos.app.goo.gl/jhjVhyLmCqFQGxf68

[@boardsandstuff5008]

I use the tool used by nail technicians to make dots or circles. Cool

[@ChrisHolman]

I don't have the eyesight nor a steady enough hand to do eyes like this. Bravo to all who can

[@lordshadow3822]

I got that pen! Awesome, thank you. Yeah eyes are the bane of my models as they're the size if pin hoop lol

[@Beornious]

Where did you buy that wide lamp on an arm?? I'm also from Sweden Would be super useful!

[@derrekingledue3138]

Thanks for the video, just got into the hobby. Painting the eyes has been a struggle. I did pick up a micron pen. My only concern, my father mentioned he tried this earlier, but the varnish made it run. Is that due to a bad kind of varnish, a different type of pen, or just not letting it dry long enough? I'll experiment a bit before I use it on a model I care about.

[@erikbaumann965]

What kind of pain brush are you using? Or which one would you recommend for small lettering