The Ultimate Guide to Hobby Essentials | Starting from scratch

If you are considering taking up the tabletop hobby, here are some things you need to know! There are different parts to this hobby not everything will be for you, but in this video, we cover the bare bones basics if you are thinking of starting in the miniature painting hobby and some tips to help you along. Enjoy!
Timestamps ⏱
0:00 intro
0:59 Your Friend
2:01 Your hobby friend
3:59 Brushes
5:40 Why these brushes?
8:09 Why these Drybrushes?
8:51 Paints
9:12 Why these paints?
11:29 What to get
16:25 Paint range discussion
20:52 Wet palette
23:07 Model construction
24:35 Clippers
26:08 Knives
28:44 Glues
31:47 Paper towel & other basics
33:52 Primers
35:58 Why do you need Primer?
36:49 The Lie
43:19 Recommendations
47:23 Non Hobbyist Recommendations
50:26 Final tips
51:18 Conclusion
53:09 Outro
53:41 After Credit scene
Hobby Tools list🎨:
3 brushes:
a small, medium and large brush,
size 0, 1 and 2 brushes
- Israel Sable Rekab brushes
- Vallejo Toray Detail Set (0, 1 & 2) Paint Brush Set
Drybrushes:
Jessup 15 set zinfandel t284
1 Wash:
- Citadel’s Nul Oil or
- Army Painters Strong Tone
Paints:
- 1 Red
- 1 Blue 1 Yellow 1 Black 1 White 1 Skin 1 a shade lighter skintone
- Clippers
- One Dull Knife and One Sharp Knife
- The Glue appropriate for your model, different models have different glues
- Paper Towel and other basics
- Wet Pallet (SHOULD BE MADE AT HOME)
- Primer
- Either two rattle/spray cans black and white
- An Airbrush, compressor and three colours, black, grey and white
OR
1 Friend
Recommended Channels/ Videos 🎬:
Brushtroke Painting Guides
HOW TO THIN YOUR PAINTS: A Step-By-Step Guide
• HOW TO THIN YOUR PAINT...
zumikito miniatures
Painting explained in 5 minutes playlist
• Painting explained in ...
Vince Ventrurella
/ @vinceventurella
WAYPN
How to get better at Painting? playlist
• How to get better at P...
Understanding Colour Playlist
• Understanding Colour
Do you want your Hobby Work reviewed? Come and join us at
/ waypn
Black magic craft
Make Modular RUBBER ROADS for Tabletop Gaming!
• Make Modular RUBBER RO...
Make Easy FLEXIBLE RIVERS for Tabletop Gaming!
• Make Easy FLEXIBLE RIV...
Luke Towan
Ultra Realistic Trees - Cheap Trees That Look Amazing!
• Ultra Realistic Trees ...
Barbatos Rex
www.youtube.com/@barbatosrex9...
The songs we are using are
Retrowave / Synthwave - Galaxy
• Retrowave / Synthwave ...
#warhammer #warhammer40k #paintingwarhammer #paintingwarhammer40k #miniature #painting #miniaturepainting #miniaturepaintings #waypn

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Timestamps 0:00 intro 0:59 Your Friend 2:01 Your hobby friend 3:59 Brushes 5:40 Why these brushes? 8:09 Why these Drybrushes? 8:51 Paints 9:12 Why these paints? 11:29 What to get 16:25 Paint range discussion 20:52 Wet palette 23:07 model construction 24:35 clippers 26:08 Knives 28:44 Glues 31:47 Paper towel & other basics 33:52 Primers 35:58 Why do you need Primer? 36:49 The Lie 43:19 Recommendations 47:23 Non Hobbyist Recommendations 50:26 Final tips 51:18 Conclusion 53:09 Outro 53:41 After Credit scene Hobby Tools list: 3 brushes: a small, medium and large brush, size 0, 1 and 2 brushes - Israel Sable Rekab brushes - Vallejo Toray Detail Set (0, 1 & 2) Paint Brush Set Drybrushes: Jessup 15 set zinfandel t284 1 Wash: - Citadel’s Nul Oil or - Army Painters Strong Tone Paints: - 1 Red - 1 Blue 1 Yellow 1 Black 1 White 1 Skin 1 a shade lighter skintone - Clippers - One Dull Knife and One Sharp Knife - The Glue appropriate for your model, different models have different glues - Paper Towel and other basics - Wet Pallet (SHOULD BE MADE AT HOME) - Primer - Either two rattle/spray cans black and white - An Airbrush, compressor and three colours, black, grey and white OR 1 Friend That Or can be An And... AND don't forget to... Keep those brushes wet!

[@aaronwindham6065]

I appreciate the video, I've been painting for about a year, 10 months. But I considered swapping over to airbrush or mixing and matching you like some of the better ones do. You guys explaining airbrushing to me like this as much better

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

@@aaronwindham6065 Glad to help ☺ - Cal

[@artistpoet5253]

You guys are the only other channel aside from Baldermort that'll I'll listen to for more than 20 minutes. Bookmarking this one for the content and the channel recommendations for sure.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Being compared to Baldermort is a high honour for us. Sunny says Yay old man Warhammer everytime he's on - Cal Yay, old man Boldermort! ~ Sunny

[@ShockArcl1te]

I had to learn about contrast paints the hard way back when I started. I've come to settle on the idea that they're a handy tool for very specific effects, like glowing eyes, gems, or tiny lights, but it's such a let down for most other things. More over, it gets worse the bigger the model is. What was satisfactory for my Termagaunts looked awful on my larger monstrous creatures. Inconsistent, blotchy, required multiple coats, and difficult to fix mistakes. In addition, I couldn't just switch to regular paints for the monster without it looking radically different from the contrast shades on the gaunts. Basically I had painted myself into a corner.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

We like contrasts if like you tick all the right boxes, preshading, even coats and all that stuff... but we don't think it is a good handy cap to put on beginners because its nothing like anything else in painting - Cal

[@izzydarkhart4144]

It is all in the technique honestly. It is not a fix all. A lot of transient paint and washes get a lot of hype and flack for being easy and a fix all and good for beginners when actually it takes a lot of effort and technique to do so so. I feel transient paint such as contrast paint works the best with the slapchop technique and models with a lot of detail that can take advantage of it. All different kinds of paint, transient, washes are simply just tools and not one is good at everything and all require a specific technique to bring specific results. In my personal opinion contrast is for more experienced painters wanting to paint on a larger and faster scale. All forms of contrast paint techniques require you to already be good at a mix of different skills.

[@pbkobold]

@@izzydarkhart4144 +1. You have to work fast to keep a wet edge, and be accurate for best results. Mixing retarder in helps too. Not super beginner friendly.

[@FastBoyBrax]

Thank you for making this guide, it was super helpful! I know this took a TON of work! I am looking to become that friend in the hobby people can utilize. Cheers from Utah, USA!

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Thanks, if you want to help us, you can share this video and that is honestly worth so much! - Cal

[@antongunther3977]

Tips for paint ranges: Dont get married to a single brand. Different brands to different things well. For example AP has good washes and speed paints, Vallejo metal color has great metallics (their air paint line does as well), Golden has great fluorescent paints, ect. They also have different consistencies, for example reaper bones is fairly fluid and you dont need to thin it very much while AP is kind of gel like. Play around with different paint brands (just buy one or two paints as you go from different ranges to see what you like). If you want a great all in one kit that will get you started with brushes, some minis, painting instructions, paints, and a neat carry case than you should consider a Learn To Paint Kit: Core Skills from reaper. Its a great set and will get you started instantly for about 45USD. There is also a sequel set for the same price with more brushes, paints and minis.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

"Tips for paint ranges: Don't get married to a single brand. Different brands to different things well." Totally bang on if in the future we ever have to redo this or talk about paint brands I am stealing that line. So concise and straight to the point fantastic - Cal

[@draketurtle4169]

Watched the entire video because it’s so informative and interesting.I’ll keep it saved so that if I ever get into painting minis I’ll have a great guide for starting out.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

I am glad that we helped, but just remember if you don't want to get into the painting aspect, you don't have to! Lots of commission painters out there, totally an option. Your hobby is your own - Cal

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

This is it! This comment was exactly what we were waiting for because we aimed for it to be your go-to video guide that will tell you everything you need to know upfront so you don't have to go to many different videos to find what you need out of each. So I am very glad we hit the goal ~Sunny

[@davivanatorable]

I really like that you adress the wash/contrast "liquid talent" thing because the first model I drowned in nuln oil it looked like it drowned in nuln oil. Same goes with contrast, a model painted with only contrast and without any thought definetely looks like it and I prefer it when I use it in conjuntion with other techniches and most of all a plan

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Totally! I am glad our opinion as well thought out as they are, aren't totally dunked on in this one ! Thanks for the comment I hope this video was helpful for you ☺️ - Cal

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Thank you very much many people get upset with us for mentioning that fact but it's good to see that there are people who watch our videos who see why we say what we say ~Sunny

[@SigurdBraathen]

Great video! About Army Painter, I would tell of their "updated" paints and urge those people who want Speedpaint get only Speedpaint 2.0 and people who want opaque paint get Fanatic only, not any of their non-fanatic opaque paints. (Source: I am a bad amateur painter who's been using A.P. paints up to now but I'll replace them with ..something else)

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

We haven't had any experience with the new fantatic update so we didn't comment on them because we didn't feel it was fair if we didn't actually have any experience with them - Cal

[@Gorketh]

Completely agree with lacquer acrylics. I use SMS, I wear a Sundstrom SR100 to protect my lungs (but I'd wear that when airbrushing standard acrylics anyway).

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Yeah we didn't get into protective gear because... the video is already so long as we said, we feel like we left out even more stuff the longer we made it - Cal

[@Kukezh]

I'm a simple man. I see a video about hobby tools - I press "like".

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Hope it was helpful too haha 🤣😆🤣 - Cal

[@jamesflanagan3086]

I like videos about tools that don't suck. WAYPAN's videos don't suck. And I love the facebook group, are you a member yet? :-)

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

@@jamesflanagan3086 I like videos that don't suck too ha ha ha - Cal

[@Kukezh]

@@jamesflanagan3086I am, but the problem is that I deliberately avoid social media, FB specifically. So I usually check it like once a week, maybe.

[@Soseman]

Over the past few years I've watched various videos with tips, tutorials and guides to get into the warhammer 40k painting hobby, and I can say that this video is definitely my favorite.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Glad you enjoyed it very basic stuff but hope it was helpful - Cal

[@soffren]

I've been in the hobby for a few years, and I have to say, all of the extra tools are things I have and have used often.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

I am really glad to hear a fellow hobby veteran say that ☺️ - Cal

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Glad to know we were hitting the right points ~Sunny

[@abgea]

I really did find this guide useful. I like to paint a few things but often get frustrated when I don't have a good next step. This type of guide will help me to be able to lay out things in a way to help keep me engaged with my current project. Love the not only the content but that it keeps budget in mind, as when I do buy models I tend to buy just a small warband and find it hard to justify large cost external of the models themselves. Keep up the good work.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Glad it helped! I hope this helps with some of your frustrations and being budget conscious is always a good idea - Cal

[@romangl9070]

really great back and forth

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Thanks - Cal

[@thrrax]

In my opinion, brand availability is an important factor in the process of choosing paints. For example, here in Romania it's easier to get Vallejo more than anything else, the price beats any other brand, and the quality is stellar. Doesn't matter if we're talking physical stores or online shopping.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

100% that is why we talked about it - Cal

[@barbareusz6595]

22:21 Wet.Wipes! Thank You!

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Glad to help - Cal

[@Sanne9586]

I really love the "don't start with contrast paints". Someone finally mentions it! I didn't learn to paint with Warhammer or d&d but with paint on canvas, drawing with pencils and some time later digital painting. I learned a lot about color theory in my past and worked my way up with that knowledge. I'm just starting with contrast paints, glazes and washes, but they are really difficult to master (Sure they walk their own way to, hopefully, the right spot, but if their not then what?). Thank you guys for all the useful information and nice way to educate people on your channel. Really appreciate the different view you have from other miniature hobbyists.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Oh we have mentioned it before... our biggest short with something like 140K views... People were not a fan of the take ha ha We are very glad to be a help, because that's our goal to help people - Cal

[@someguy2441]

Great work, wish you were around when I started painting so many years ago. Love your clarity, angle, style, speed, text on screen, all of it. I especially love your recommendations for other channels too. Love that you give reasons for your product recommendations and techniques, so we can make informed decisions for ourselves. Just an all around great approach to making videos and teaching. Thank you for your work!

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Well someguy thank you very much for your response because I do try to think about what is the best way to deliver visuals and when I see your comment it makes me feel like the time spent thinking about the best way to benefit the audience had paid off ~Sunny

[@someguy2441]

@@WhatareyouPaintingnow it absolutely has! I also find it helpful when you talk about alternatives, especially popular ones, and then do an analysis of them. More good stuff for the “critically evaluating techniques” pile! 😁 Please be confident in your style because it works on many levels! Thanks again!

[@MrFiremagnet]

I don't need to watch this per se, but I'm sure this will send this if I'm ever to invite someone new to the hobby. I'd like to add that it's okay to start with official GW or any other tutorials when you are only starting. My recommendation - buy basic colors and than some from the chosen painting recipe, just find the least unique paints tutorial (that's pretty tricky because the sole purpose of GW tutorials and recipes is to sell more paints). Because, for me personally, it was hard to both learn the techniques (brush control, drybrushing, washes and highlights) and to even remotely start to understand the color theory. My personal opinion - when you are only starting, learning the techniques is the main priority, and once you are comfortable with them, than you can start to learn working with colors and more complex techniques. I would argue that the perfect way to learn mixing all tones from the basic tones is the same time you learn to blend/wet blend. And after being comfortable with painting with the recipe, than it's time to branch out to mixing needed tones as much as possible. After that point, the perception naturally shifts from following the recipe to improvising. But all that I said above is applicable to people without prior art experiences. Probably people with some art background would have a smoother transition and can start with only basic colors from the get go.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

I understand what you are saying there, however because we approach this as someone learning the basics of painting colour mixing is one of the basic techniques or first few techniques taught in beginner art classes so we approached a lot of this video from that in mind as well, it also helps with practicing brush control. But I do understand what you are saying, to go for the instructional step by steps first to help get a hold of things ~Sunny

[@GoodGuyGeno]

Love how you guys do videos. Making it seem like a conversation and asking each other common misconceptions makes it very easy to understand

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Glad it helps you ☺️ apparently you are not alone with that - Cal

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

I'm really glad we found the method to "teach" people because I think this style is sort of like the student has certain questions in their head about things as the teacher is teaching and the person playing the student (i.e either me or Cal) speaks out loud questions you're probably thinking about yourself and you go "OOOOH yeah thanks for asking that now I will know the answer" and perhaps that is why it feels more comprehensive? ~Sunny

[@GreifRitter]

I've been building and painting models, miniatures, dioramas and everything from asses to zebras, from ancients to SCIFI for over fifty years and I have NEVER seen a better introduction to our hobby than yours! Well done! I'm very glad I came across your channel and look forward to watching more of your excellent videos!

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

I am really glad it was helpful! We put ALOT of work into this one, we were up to 3 am getting the final touches on it last night. So comments like these really push us I am going to show this comment to Sunny! - Cal

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! When we were doing this video script I kept telling Cal that this video had the same feeling as our In-Depth colour psychology and theory video I think people will really find this very comprehensive, so hearing you say that makes me feel good that I was right on that! ~Sunny

[@ironknight132]

On glue, two things: Loctite brand glue in the US is a great all purpose glue that won't melt stuff and has a killer hold. Baking Soda, if you have a really hard connection, need a fast drying time, or like want to glue heads on tooth picks to paint apart, dip one part in the glue, dip the other in baking soda. Brush away any excess baking soda that you don't want to show, and then press the two parts together. Baking soda will speed up the trying time and create a stronger bond.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

We haven't had experience with Loctite so we can't say one way or the other but I did know about baking soda trick 😁 - Cal

[@pumellhorne]

Excellent advice well presented. I've been in the hobby for a long time and I still learnt things. Thank you! One thing I'd add is that zenithal highlighting can be done with dry brushing if you don't have an air brush or, like me, live somewhere that it rains a lot

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

So one of the things we didn't go into was why we don't like that for beginners because despite brushes feeling more natural the way people use them are inherently wrong without being taught because they like to go back and forth, up and down... which kind of hinders things but... We only have so much time in the video and we felt we covered as much as we could... - Cal

[@wackyzaky]

Great video! I still remember how game changing it was to use a wet palette! One more piece of advice: Dont repaint your miniatures! Some people want to go back and update / repaint their minis after they've improved. I would suggest to always paint a _new_ mini over your old work. 1. You lose evidence of your improvement (which can feel really good when you compare over time). 2. You'll have more finished miniatures! If you repaint, think of that as one less painted mini. And frankly, even a beginner or simple paint job looks fine on the table.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Yeah the don't repaint is great advice... But ATM I understand more and more people why people do it at the moment with it's cost 😞 - Cal

[@MarkusJackDijkgraaf]

I'm a contrast paint advocate: If you like to build and play, but hate the painting part they're great to get something battle-ready. Also for people who are motorically challenged, like me. If you like the painting part, I agree with them. Avoid contrast for the start.

[@calvanoni5443]

Excellent video. I watch all the channels you recommended.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Awesome, I guess we made the right choices - Cal

[@calvanoni5443]

@@WhatareyouPaintingnow Sorry I didn't get to this sooner.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

All G

[@ericred5305]

Black Vallejo, White Pro Acryle Titanium, I like Vallejo and Pro Acryle...I also quite like SMS, especially their fluoro and transparent lines for specific effects. I suspect that the issue that a lot of people have with airbrushes is with the acrylic paints and the drying times; thinner disperses the pigment, basically adds to the medium, and reduces the viscosity; I think not using flow improver is a part of the issue; it breaks the surface tension and allows it not only to flow but as important it has a retardant which aids in reducing the clogging of the airbrush...add a couple of drops before you add paint, push it through to lubricate the gubbings and mix the paint externally using both and it will make a world of difference...contrast paints, great on nids, terrible on Space Marines, I like them with shades and contrary to popular belief you can airbrush them with great effect, some are more useful than others, skeleton hoard, for example, is brilliant for all sorts of things but they are just one more tool in the box and learning the blend and drybrush is in my view much more important. It's nice to see some Aussie content and I like the video; Sprue Goo is a must-have, especially with the move to push-fit minis; great work, keep it up...your recommendations are spot on; I follow all of those great artists along with a few others like Tirvorian, Ninjon, Lyla Mev, Eons of Battle and of course Squidmar...but I fear I will keep buying stuff I don't need and I will keep adding to the unfinished pile...

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Very comprehensive comment didn't see anything I hard disagree with but when it came to the recommendation from us we have to have tested it extensively and unfortunately for some of your recommendations we just have not had a lot of access and experience with them - Cal

[@versta9484]

I've got into hobby last September, after years of saving money and probably dozens of hours worth of videos on how to get started with painting. And after seeing multiple videos showcasing how "quick" contrasts are I ended up getting Vallejo Xpress line. I got myself a nice starter promo box for Space Marine 2, so there was 20 gaunts and a Spesh Marin to have fun with. First error I made was not reading the building manual. For some reason I assumed that the pieces can be interchanged, kind of like Legos, so I got all my tyranids out of sprues and neatly sorted them in matching piles. Dear Emperor what a surprise was I in for. I casually started building and to my terror the pieces didn't match! One after another I tried fitting them in place and it just didn't work. So my friendly afternoon with Warhammer turned into a whole day of struggle against the vile horde of plastic xenos! But that's the end of the problem, right? Nope. I learned about zenithal quite early into my research, and heard everybody stress the importance of an airbrush, so that's what I bought. (It's not like I had much of a choice between that and rattle cans, it's really cold where I'm living, and we just got a new 6cm batch of snow today.) Anyway I've started the priming process with a Vallejo black primer. That day I had learned I hate priming. Using the airbrush wasn't so bad overall, the nuzzle sometimes got clogged with dried paint, but that's alright, I can clean it up in minutes. The problem was the battery. I can't afford a full blown compressor, and even if I did, I suspect that people on campus and my dorm wouldn't appreciate a foreign student to buzz with it on the weekends like mad, so I had to resort to a small compressor with a battery. And oh man it sucks. I wanted to take time to learn with the models and slowly go through the process, but nope, I was maybe 10 minis into priming when the compressor died and I had to wait over an hour for it to charge. After finally being done with priming with black, I moved onto grey, but because I misunderstood the assignment, instead of putting the paint at an angle, I just yoinked whole models in grey on top of black without a second of a thought. So after a week of work I had my Zenithaln't priming done (I didn't notice it at the time, it's just something I realized recently), so I moved onto painting. I found some example tyranid schemes online, picked my favorite, and so started the experiment. To be fair I loved the process of trying to mix and match my contrasts together to achieve a similar effect as the one I had on my reference picture, I even added my own spin to it, and after a few hours I had my first minis done. And I loved how they turned out! I didn't do highlights, shades or other shenanigans for which I didn't have skills nor time for, as I just wanted to have "good" looking minis to play with. I then moved onto the space marine, and that was interesting experience to say the least. I chose Blood Ravens for the scheme, as they were my introduction to the setting all those year ago in DoW2, and started my research into how they should actually look like, except red, bone and black. After some time I began painting and quickly noticed how differently red paint worked in comparison to blue and purples of my nids. Red wanted many, many layers to actually cover how I wanted it to, while blue or purple basically were 2 coats and done. But that was fine. What wasn't fine was the face. I think I'd spent over 2 hours trying to get it right. I didn't. It's not "thin your paints" meme bad, but it's not great either. The flowing of contrasts and their weird behavior just didn't want to work for me, and after having so much fun with the armor, botching the face in the end was quite painful. The only good thing I have to say about it, is that putting some black contrast in eye sockets and splashing it thinly over face looks as if my Marine actually had "eyes" and was just dirty after the battle. And so I had my first minis done and painted, happy with the overall results, I could go play with my friends. Then I realized that none of my friends are interested, and I don't have a LGS to go to, so my figures sit idle at my desk, stuck in perpetual fake diorama of a battle, waiting to see some use. That doesn't mean I decided against continuing with the hobby, I actually got some more space marines and tyranids, as I liked the painting. So I started building the new minis, this time in line with the manual, which was much more slower and painful than just snipping it all off, but in the end there was no mismatching issue, so that's a lesson learned there. I also got myself a box of sororitas and orks, looking bright into the future. I primed my tyranids and marines black, and that was it, total burn out. The priming was so painstakingly slow and boring I just couldn't touch the thing for over 4 months. I wished for being able to just buying a rattle can, but the temperatures were against me, and my brain didn't connect the dots to try priming with a brush, so I was stuck in that limbo until 2 weeks ago. That's when I decided it's time to put an end to my procrastination, and I did! Sort off... Because of the pile of shame I amassed, I had more figures to build. Thankfully that's when spring break began, so I had a whole week to get all my minis build and primed, so I could start painting after it's done a week later. The entire week, day and night, I sat at my desk and fought against the sprues, glue, and compressor's battery. And I almost ended up victorious. I managed to get everything but orks and last box of sisters built and primed black, and even some of them are now correctly primed in zenithal. And I probably would have had all my sisters of battle done, if not for the fact, that I have 7 paragon warsuits to build, 5 done at this point, but each of them is over 30 parts, and cleaning them up takes literal hours. I'm not kidding, I have spent around 6 hours yesterday to do 2 models (though I think I've lost an hour on just scraping glue from a part that didn't want to connect correctly). I have my last warsuit to do, and then Morven Vahl to be 100% done assembling, but unlike usually when I enjoy the assembly (except that first time), this is tedious and unnecessary. Like why there are 2 microscopic parts of a power cell printed out separately, when that could be included as a part of the chassis? Those things are maybe ⅓ the size of my nail, and my large hands managed to lose them in the carpet 2 times already. (Carpet is not my choice of furniture, it's bolted down to the entire floor in my dorm room). But I digress, point is, this hobby can be both heaven and hell. When you're doing things correctly, have experience or the time doesn't matter, you're here for lots of fun! Especially that you can use your art later on to play with friends, if you have those. But when things go bad... The spiral is eternal. Often one mistake leads to another, and I'm sure there's lots of mistakes I'm going to cover in the upcoming years, so I can't wait to make them! I think it's part of the fun, or I'm just weird like that. I don't usually post comments online, honestly I don't remember when I did it last time, so if you got to the end of this story I cooked above, thanks, I wish it was somehow interesting or helpful if you're also a beginner. I also want to thank the creators of this channel! I remember watching some of your videos on color schemes as I prepared to buy my stuff, and the cool chemistry between you, as well as the amount of useful information and good editing just pulled me in. The group on Facebook sounds great, but I don't have an account to join with, so if you'd ever create a discord server please advertise it! I'm sure lots of people would be happy to join, I mean, I sure would! Also while writing this comment your new redux video came on autoplay, and the audio quality difference is really night and day, the rest is top notch as always!

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Thank you very much for the comment... it's a little long. But I would agree with the statement "this hobby can be both heaven and hell", you're not wrong. And thanks for the comment on the audio quality we have REALLY been working on making it better. I hope that the channel helps you with your hobby, because you are obviously passionate but, if I could ask a favour, a little shorter 😂 for the comment next time - Cal

[@morganwang7902]

Def adds to the discord suggestion

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

@@morganwang7902 Thanks - Cal

[@pbkobold]

Paint ranges I’d wholeheartedly recommend to add to your list: ProAcryl, AK Interactive, Vallejo (both game color and model color lines)

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

I believe you ☺️ but we have to have personal tested the product extensively before recommending it. Feeling that's only fair. Do you think we're fair on the other paint ranges? - Cal

[@pbkobold]

@@WhatareyouPaintingnow of course WRT personal experience! Just wanted to add paint lines I've used that are 1) uncontroversial as "good paint" and 2) I've seen often in US shops. I thought you were absolutely fair. I also did not include any controversial paints I like (artist, gunpla paints). 😁

[@MrTrenttness]

🔥🎸🔥 I will confess I don't do social media outside of some video streaming sites, and therefore never share. But I'll always give a like and comment. I do enjoy and appreciate the work you do. And in this video's case the advice you give. Wishing you both the best.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

We often see your comments and Sunny and I know our regulars also cause you always have the fire in your comments makes you very unique! Our WAYPN is open to the public to view on the Facebook so you SHOULDN'T need to log in and we always have the WAYPN reviews channel if you would like to see more from us - Cal

[@MrTrenttness]

@@WhatareyouPaintingnow Hey Right on, Thanks!

[@ccgear4367]

This is a ton of good information.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Thank you! - Cal

[@Br0therjames55]

As a newer painter who is finally feeling like they’re getting their legs under them, I will loudly second the advice of not learning with contrast paints. They behave very differently from normal paints. Learning to paint more traditionally will make you better at using the contrasts as well vs just learning with them. They’re great tools, but not intuitive to beginners. Also the advice about skin tone seems so obvious but I haven’t heard many others say it. Usually they just say “use this for light skin, use this for dark skin.” But using yourself as a reference is just one of those simple easy things that I think a lot of people overlook. Cheers on that one. Also as someone who initially started with army painter paints, I have a hard time recommending them. They get the job done for sure, and if it’s all someone has access to that’s great. But I would look for Vallejo paints, even just model color paints at regular hobby stores. The overall consistency of the vallejos makes for a much better technical experience. Army painter consistencies have been all over the place. Thick and gloopy to insanely watery right out of the bottle. Great video and advice though!

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

We really like Vallejo but have only used them for a few months and believe it would be unfair to say they are great with out full testing them. But on your other points we are glad to hear a bit of vindication in that regard so thank you - Cal

[@Br0therjames55]

I totally understand that. Standing on your own experience is much better than automatically deferring to internet randos.

[@howardcoates6985]

Interesting video, been at this painting thing for 2 years myself, I find it amusing how many of your suggestions i followed myself without any previous direction. Couple fast comments: Pro Acryl Paint and Cuttlefish colors are excellent over all paint lines for anyone to start with. Very pigmented and fairly thin out of the bottle so easy starter in that respect. 2) the hardware store is your friend, small files, clippers, picks etc, better quality then you get from any game supplier and cheaper as well. 3) spend the money to get sable brushes, and some decent brush soap. Cleaned properly a decent sable brush will keep a good point and be usable for a looooong time. 4) High % isopropyl alcohol for cleaning dried paint out from deep in your brushes (near the ferrule) 5) Scale 75's Fantasy and Games range of paint has all the benefits of Scale Color but is a bit thinner and easier to learn with for beginners. 6) I prefer to use Acrylic primers through an airbrush as i have allergies to the enamels and because I live in northern Alberta(Canada) where it is too cold to prime outdoors a lot of the year, with this in mind the simple acrylic primers dont have any real odor so they can be sprayed with a simple cardboard box as a 'booth' and not cause any issues. Fun video, keep up the good work guys! PS: do you ever show your faces? Just what are you hiding.......

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Well... what we are hiding is the KZbin description... see if you go there you can see our faces quite easily... but no one ever checks. The secret is out, now I must return to the soil of my homeland and drink the essence of- okay the joke is getting a bit old but yeah We are really glad it hit home properly we did a shorter version as we said but I don't think our points came across as well So we are glad to hear its working better! - Cal

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Yes it is quite easy to find out our pokemon features if you follow the most obvious link that is in the description 🫣 but as you might know...no one reads the description 🤣 As for your excellent points, I would say those are great advice but I would say that the advice we give is keeping in mind that someone is trying out the hobby, they might not want to invest in it afterwards and feel its not for them and we didn't want to give advice that goes too deep. I think once they feel they do want to do painting long term a lot of these other tips you mentioned will be perfect for them ~Sunny

[@BrushpointJ]

Price being a negative for Army Painter is surprising, I didn't realize they were so much more expensive in Australia! It's usually the cheapest out of the miniature paint brands I see in America, and it's quality reflects that IMO. I'm eager to try Fanatics, it seems like it's on par with some of the more premium brands out there!

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

We didn't expect it either! Totally caught us off guard. Because if I had of done research before hand I would have had cheap as a plus - Cal

[@Krojester]

I'm in that getting ready to jump phase. My biggest hold up is getting a work space set up., but we keep making a little progress each week. This is going in my saved bookmarks for future reference.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Glad this has been helpful for you, but just hitting those key points again, start small with stuff, get a friend in the hobby, and local store(s) will make so much of a difference! - Cal

[@BlommaBaumbart]

Very nice video and good approach. I would have liked a mention that primer can be brushed on too, which is important for certain areas of the planet where sprays are virtually or literally impossible to use, but other than that it's very thorough in bringing each required topic to mind.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Totally fair but we're running pretty long. There is always more to add 😞 - Cal

[@goforitpainting]

Cool 🎨🖌

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Thanks - Cal

[@Shadow0nth3Sun]

Such a great video ❤!

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Glad you liked it ☺️ - Cal

[@danielturner444]

Excellent video!

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Thank you very much! 😊 - Cal

[@SgtT8ie]

I'm not sure if you didn't want to reference mixing of most acrylic colours resulting in muddy colours, due to the pigment formulations, as a warning to beginners. AP Warpaint starter set was awful for this because of their Ultramarine Blue. It couldn't mix a decent green or purple. Luckily the set came with a green. Hoping that their new Fanatic formulation is a better entry point for new painters.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

It's @SgtT8ie! Sorry for taking so long to reply. We mostly just wanted to show, learn to mix colours, it will save you money more than anything else ha ha - Cal

[@Elzihime]

great advice, I agree that contrast is bad for beginers

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

I am glad we communicated it better this time round - Cal

[@ChrisLee-infin8eye]

Awesome video. Love yer work!!!

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Thank you very much! 😊 - Cal

[@Elfangor567]

Great video since I've been considering getting into this. I helped a friend do some painting, very basic, but I liked it. Very informative, I still don't really understand what Zenithal painting is, but I'm hoping I'll figure it out.

[@terricon4]

No mention on AK paint range? I got the AK starter set, super cheap, like around $1.50 per paint, priced the same as the other paint sets with only 6 paints, when it's got like 14. Good black, good white, and all other basic colors to blend things into. Does lack a good skin tone out of the box though, but you can mix them from what you got. You can mix almost everything with what you got fairly easily from it honestly. Most AKs are pretty solid paints in general. Availability... that's the issue. I got mine online from Hobby Heaven, paid a bit extra for overseas shipping but since I was getting other things too it worked out fine. Had gotten GW, craft paints, and citadel stuff before, along with some Golden and other fine arts paints, but have been very happy with the AK paints I got and now use them as my go to for most things.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

We don't have easy access to the AK range, which is why we didn't talk about it. We only talked about stuff we had access to so if didn't we thought it would be wrong to say if something is good or bad if we didn't have experience with it - Cal

[@Texas_montantero]

I actually bought one of the battery powered mobile airbrush and compressor kits from Amazon, specifically so that I could easily take it outside

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Totally! But we have limited time and space you may have noticed we tried to pack a lot of information in. But we didn't feel adding information on compressors would be key. But you are 100% right - Cal

[@Texas_montantero]

​@@WhatareyouPaintingnowI fully agree that a discussion between different types of compressors would be way out of place in a beginner ot basics video. I see them in a very similar light to bow strings in the archery hobby, as long as you aren't buying junk, there is a long list of things to worry about first, but once you're experienced enough, the difference can be quite noticeable

[@Ironsides1985]

Me after recommending slap chop exclusively to a friend 😅. I will say that my friend doesn’t have a lot of free time to devote to the hobby so I thought that the slap chop method would work better for him.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Well I think Zenthal is better than slap but yeah... I hope this video may be helpful for them - Cal P.S. I hope what we said made sense and I hope this can help you and your friend in your journey

[@MrCheezeus]

You can just use the back of your sharp knife as your dull knife saving you from needing to buy two knives up front. Also the blade holders on these types of knives are all roughly the same with small quality and ergonomic differences , the biggest difference I've noticed is with the blades, so experiment with the blades to see what you like the most and just get a handle that's comfortable to you as the blades are all interchangeable. Oh , and glue has a shelf life super glue lasts about 6mo to a year from when you open it most other glues last 1 to 2 years at best

[@John-zm3eq]

Completely understand and agree with you on your point regarding Contrast/Speed Paint, however it's almost impossible to avoid watching a mini-painting video without someone using it for something. Would a good compromise be to buy one bottle of contrast like bone color or some color that you would use as a base just to see what all the hype is about?

[@wolf-xf6hf]

6:06 so valid

[@aaronwindham6065]

I mean games workshop does have availability down pat, but I think they're like the worst investment in paint you could make, I only got into the hobby a year ago. I have six or seven pots that I bought when I first started that I've already gone bad, and it's not the cap not closing all the way, or any of the sort but they're whites and as are some of their metallics. I've had good experience with two thin coats and pro Acrylic. Contrast paints were wonderful for starting out for me, but it jumped in to full force

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Yeah. We did say cost was a minus for them right?

[@xiuyoalli]

jejeje my mexican local hobby store dosent sell citadel or army paint, just vallejo, scale 75 and the mexican brand Ronin. And always have full stock of scale 75

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Oh man, we want scale 75 at our store they have the art ones in the tubes but not the bottles which we use often. What is Ronin like? And how is it's cost? - Cal

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

It's very interesting to hear of this brand Ronin I have not heard of it before ~Sunny

[@davelogeman]

Great video! Since paints are not light they are subtractive so maybe CMYK is better for getting colors from mixing?

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

While those colours can make any colour the understand of them is less intuitive and most education systems we know use the primary colours when teaching. So we want to cast as broad a net as possible and help as many as we can - Cal

[@Amfortas]

Who's the best artist/company to paint my minis? And will it cost an arm and a leg?

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

I don't know where you are located, but I am Australian at caladors dot com (censors won't let us write websites 🙄) and if that is helpful but if you go to your local store they will usually know someone in your area.

[@aaronwindham6065]

I wish somebody had told me to use a wet pallet from the start would have saved a lot of money on all the pain I wasted

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Yeah I had a lot of pain with my painting too haha 😂 - Cal

[@Nallenbot]

Talk about comprehensive, wow.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Thanks, but the more we did the more we felt we should add more but we made a promise to respect peoples time so we tried to cram as much as we could into a short a period of time as possible! - Cal

[@kathyoettle4983]

Do you have any leads on where to find rekab brushes in the us? I did googling, looked on amazon and eBay and didn’t have any luck.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

As we said that is why recommend going to stores because it's all about what is available for you that is what is available for us - Cal

[@rallyrobx7604]

Will the soap from a wet wipe in a wet pallet affect the paint? I am making a wet pallet and have never heard of using wet wipes before. It seems like it would help control the amount of water coming through the baking sheet.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

So the soap should a great deal due to the flooding of the palette we show. And yes it is to help control the flow of water - Cal

[@rallyrobx7604]

@@WhatareyouPaintingnow awesome, thank you.

[@RobespierreHadItComing]

The Morathi proxy at 36:02 , where is it from?

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Heroes Infinite by Raging Heroes - Cal

[@RobespierreHadItComing]

@@WhatareyouPaintingnowThanks!

[@KhrisKillerX]

My eye twitched every time these two said "Nulun oil" where did the extra "u"come from??!!?!?!😂

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

English doesn't like words said that way without vowels but, it's cool pronunciation irks certain people - Cal

[@johnhildenbrand2642]

So legitimate question for you guys, you recommend starting with limited paints and building your ability to roll your own colors, but then you also recommend a wet palette to start, meaning that learning to manipulate paint moisture (a skill that definitely hurt me by not having early on) is not going to be learned, is there a reason you prioritize one of those skills above the other?

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Wet pallet is going to keep colours viable for longer and really helps people from using too much paint. Also, it helps a lot with keeping paint at the right level of thinness longer. In addition it allows people to have shorter sessions while keeping the same mixes with the ability to come back to it. That is why we recommend Brushstroke as the first person with the video on How to thin your paints - Cal

[@johnhildenbrand2642]

@WhatareyouPaintingnow I can see some of that, but I definitely believe that spending the last few months on a ceramic tile has really helped me learn to manage and learn a given paint, some of them are quite thirsty, others (speed paints, looking at you) definitely do not want you adding any water early on, I have found that I can generally tell at a glance (and certainly when my brush interacts with the paint) if I'm too wet/dry. I am going to break out the wet again, but I feel it's an important skill to be able to manipulate viscosity of paint for edge highlights on certain models where paint running would be a disaster, the wet gives you only one choice really.

[@antongunther3977]

I agree that contrast paint shouldn't be a starting point if you want to be a painter (those paints are designed for people that want to just get paint onto models quickly). But you are lying when you say you can't just paint over them. You 100% can. It was a problem with AP 1.0 speed paints where the paint would reactivate but with the 2.0 range you now can. Furthermore if you use the contrast style paints as base coats (which are inherently messy because you dont need precision during the base coating phase) than you absolutely can paint over them to highlight and you can also just paint with your primer color over a spot you messed up on. Contrast paints shouldn't be a replacement, but as an augment they are 100% beginner friendly. Especially once you start to use them as glazes, washes, or for wet mixing. They can actually teach you how to properly use glazes and washes since those consistencies are fairly similar.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Can't paint over it with contrast and have it look the same - Cal

[@thrrax]

"Be quiet woman!"

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

We're a family friendly channel, how could she say such things! - Cal

[@claylord4457]

Use your skin tone, it makes it easier to check. Me: covered in freckles

[@PrzybyszzMatplanety]

Mixing paints as second nature? Learning techniques? Growing as a painter?! Silly things, ain’t nobody got time for that! I need to quickly slap my choppa and bring it to battle ASAP! Seriously, this is hobby with many faces - there are people out there who think that all this painting business is nothing more than necessary evil. For them speedpaints are like gift from heaven. Also Scalecolors are absolute shit at coverage and it's not even a bug. They're designed for more experienced painters who work with advanced techniques like glazing and multiple thin layers with perfect transitions. High quality paints indeed, but inexperienced painters should stay away. Fantasy & Games line is a different matter entirely. And you can paint over speedpaints with other speedpaints, that's why Scale 75 created their Instant Colors line. They're not one coat solution S75 sell them as (again, not that level of coverage), but I encourage you to watch their 5 videos on painting dwarf bust with Instant. No Contrast, Speedpaint or Xpress can do that.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Yes, grow as a painter, we are truly the face of evil... if you are to believe the comments from our shorts. I get why contrast paints, speed paints and all of that are so popular but, the reason we don't recommend them to begin with is essentially that things go wrong. And they can't be fixed like normal. And if new mistakes will happen - Thanks of the comment - Cal

[@PrzybyszzMatplanety]

@@WhatareyouPaintingnow You live in Australia, certainly no good thing ever came from that place! I even suspect you're all giant spiders or something like that. =D I think this hobby have at least three faces: 1. modeling, 2. painting, 3. gaming. In ideal world each of us is each three equal parts. Reality is different, some people love the idea of assembling small fantasy soldiers and gaming with them, but painting is a chore. They don't want to "grow as painters" as there is no value in it for them. What you see as painting mistake can be perfectly acceptable paintjob for them. Contrasts/Speedpaints are ideal for such people from the start. Overall they'll just increase in skill with practice alone. My understanding is that both of you have art backgrounds so it's natural you focus on no. 2. Well, years ago there was guy in my area who wanted to play WFB so bad but hated painting. Unfortunately there was a rule that each of your miniature had to be painted with three colours minimum if you wanted to use them in official tournaments. He basecoated them with black, painted half of each model red and did one blue line in the middle. The judges had to let him play as he fulfilled tournament regulations. ;p As I said, this hobby has many faces.

[@kscott2655]

I agree that mixing paints is a *valuable* skill. However, I strongly disagree that it is a *natural* skill as you stated. It is extremely difficult, especially for beginners, to accurately mix colors. Artists work for years to be able to do this. It's an excellent place to start and mixing is a great skill to try to learn. But it may be frustrating to a beginner also.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

We said "Mixing colours should become second nature to you" rather than it comes naturally. That it is something you should learn - Cal

[@kscott2655]

This is a direct quote from the video. "There is literally no downside to having this as a natural skill". And while you start out by saying mixing should become second nature, the next sentence is that it should BE second nature to you, implying that it is natural and easy.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

@@kscott2655 "There is literally no downside to having this as a natural skill" We said until it becomes second nature so it was talking about how you need to develop the skill. I am not sure what the issue is here - Cal

[@kscott2655]

@@WhatareyouPaintingnow - If you have to learn and cultivate the skill, it is not natural. You had to learn it. A natural skill is one that you did not have to invest much time and effort into learning. It came naturally.

[@kscott2655]

Having something become "second nature" and something being a "natural skill" are totally different things.

[@jerrumonline6705]

This was extremely patronising

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Why? - Cal

[@rfvtech3261]

Some good advice but far to preachy, and some absolutely terrible advice! overall OK video accept I feel like ive just been scolded by my mother

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

Okay I will bite, why do you feel scolded? We aim for educational first and entertainment second but I have to say your comment confuses and intrigues me - Cal

[@rfvtech3261]

@@WhatareyouPaintingnow Its a good video, my gripe is your guys tone is slightly condescending. You do not suggest things, you require the listener to render your advice as gospel even when it could be considered bad advice, hence my "preachy" comment.

[@WhatareyouPaintingnow]

@@rfvtech3261 uncertainty is not helpful for beginners. And we are certain in our choices. If you want us to be more anxious which is what your comment is suggesting I don't know what to say - Cal

[@rfvtech3261]

@@WhatareyouPaintingnowThis is exactly what im talking about, even your tone in the reply above is condescending. On the average the content of your videos is good, perhaps work on the writing.

[@xXSEGISMUNDOXx]

​@@rfvtech3261 They are not condescending, they are not equal to their audience, they are teaching their audience. Your comments, on the other hand, are extremely condescending. If you thought there was some bad advice in the video just write a comment pointing it and explaining why it's bad, it'd help both them and the viewers.