For a couple years after I started painting I was convinced that the models on the GW boxes were all five times the normal size, and that's why they looked so good.
My main issues with improvement are mostly mechanical, things like getting/keeping a good tip on my brushes or getting paint to the right consistency (I tend to over/undershoot a lot). I'd love to see some folks tackle tutorials on these sort of things that aren't "just do [THING]." Very few people actually give actionable advice in this area. But thanks for laying this out, some really good info here.
Maintaining a tip on a brush is to only pull down or sideways lightly when painting, never jab unless you want to damage the tip. Clean with brush soap then use hair conditioner on real hair brushes, shape it to a point, then let dry sideways. Getting paint to the right consistency is just one of those things that come with experience, as some brands/pigments will thin out faster than others. My recommendation is to dip the brush into water and slowly thin it out till you think it feels right, then test it on your nail before applying to model. At the end of the day your rate of improving depends on quality of learning and how much time you are willing to sink into art, some people are only willing to spend a few hours while others spend days to months on one painting ^^
Every video you post proofs that you are my favourite yt mini painter, balanse between tips & tricks and pure content is ideal for me! Thanks a lot, cheers from Poland!
I painted my first Infernus Marine mini at a mini convention last Sunday and after that, I've been binge watching your videos. I relate because I painted my mini with a base coat, shade, and then dry brushed it. Looking forward to seeing more videos from you.
The biggest jump in skill for me was jumping from 40k to infinity. The its such a different style, and i went from painting grimdark with heavy drybrushing to a cleaner sci-fi look with more layering and glazing. But as you said, posting your work and looking back on previous paint jobs is also very helpful! Great video!
My advice would be to not be afraid that the model would turn out bad. I improved the most when I tried new things that I was sure would just ruin my work until that point (they usually didn't). This fear is usually what is keeping me from learning new techniques and instead repeating the workflow I feel comfortable using.
This, when I started out I just painted cheap reaper miniatures and I was never afraid of ruining the model. Trying new things is fun if you don't actually care about the dirt cheap model.
Exactly. A technique won't necessarily look right the first time or even when you start to apply a layer, you got to try out and get comfortable with different things.
I've just sold my Indomitus box as I realised I'll never play or paint it. And on the way home I have picked up the exact mini in this vid as it inspired me to paint it :D I have to finish a commision before it, though. Or rather, 2... But I am soooo looking forward to doing it during my winter holidays :O
Love your take on concious improvement to painting! My friends and I started a mini painting group to keep each other motivated. Two of them were brand new to painting and didnt have much confidence begining. Friend A did a few mini's with some tips from is and they came out...well poor, but since then they've been going at it steadily, applying new techniques and challenging themselves with a variety of models so they've gotten way better in about a year. Friend B is always asking for tips from us and GW store people on how to paint quickly, puts themselves down saying they're going to be bad and has been researching batch techniques and paints for.... Months at this point. They have a huge unpainted pile they arent making a dent in because they're so worried they'll be bad and they want them done quick... But all the speed painting research/studying in the world won't help him improve and progress unless he ACTUALLY starts painting. Friend A I think has the right go of it, Friend B we've got to keep encouraging until they put paint to plastic.
Honestly, just watching loads of TH-cam video's has launched me forward. I'm a naturally good artist, but there's so much technique to pick up that would take years to learn naturally, and video tutorials are a massive hack.
Great video, dear Sun Tzumikito 😂 I've been painting, on and off (mostly off) for more than 20 years. Probably I've painted for three or four years in that period, total. And until the last time I retook the hobby, when I had TH-cam channels like you, I did not improve vastly. I mean, i painted better, but not because I was better at painting, it is just I put a sh*tload of additional time on each mini, that is all. With all the information I have NOW, with videos like yours, like this one, I have gotten better in one year than in my entire previous "career". And still, I lack a lot of talent and technique, I'm never going to paint like you, not even near, but I'm better and my minis now make me prouder than before, and I paint them faster. So, thanks A LOT for videos like this one, and of course for the rest of your channel, it is just incredible, and you're much funnier than other painters! Thanks Zumikito!
Thank you so much for your videos. I just got into the miniature painting hobby last weekend. I have been painting Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion minis (after seeing your vids I know these minis suck) and I’m having a Blast!!!!! Your videos have been a great help to me in my new hobby haha
This is a fantastic video with a brilliant attitude to approaching painting (or any art!) and a great way of expressing it to newer painters. Thank you.
Great video man. Getting out of comfort zones is really hard for me, but it's absolutely necessary. I'm trying to get into painting stuff at army scale, and it's really hard not to just spend 8 hours on each guy. LOL!
I spent about 20 hours from assembly to finish on a recent project and it's by far the best thing I've ever done, and now I feel like it's the minimum I expect for myself. Not efficient for breaking through the pile of shame, but I'm more focused on an end product I'm happy with. Personally I found the biggest jump in my growth from going outside any factions I played. I did a sort of "guest model" for my friend's Tyranids, and painted a couple DnD minis, and that forced me to branch out into new styles
Depends. Tool quality makes a big difference. I remember my first wet pallet almost a decade ago and the improvement was immediate. My work went from “well it’s painted, I guess” to “wow. I’m proud to have this in a display cabinet” immediately.
I completely agree with the reference to awareness and intentionality in a matter of doing something. Watching many tutorials it's obvious that the professional painters mostly not guessing which color to pick or what tone step to apply but do that automatically. The only time-investment is applying proper technique in a proper way. When painter upgrade their skills to this level, the process begins to take much less time for doing obvious things. For me it's still stage of wondering approximate result and finishing it in a most acceptable way (when start idea may totaly vary in the end). Not sure that someday I'll reach out stage when I'll just apply image from my brain to the model, but still, for 2 years of intense painting and learning from different sources I see the progress. Hope every painter would find their own inspiration to develop their hobby (or professional) skills!
I've been painting for almost 30 years. I improved a lot in the first years, quickly landet amongst the best painters in my area. Then i plateaued hard and just didn't know how to improve. (Minipainting didn't exist on TH-cam at this point) it was very demotivating. In the past few years I've gotten a second wind, and started improving again. It's never too late!
Very good tips to pass on to novice or expert painters. I always enjoy watching your videos as it always has: a blend of humor / memes with learnings and insights. Keep it up!
I enjoy watching talented painters as you get a lot of ideas and inspiration from them. At the same time I know my limitations and how good of a painter I aspire to be. As much as I love painting I'm still more of a gamer and I have different hobbies as well, so my painting time per miniature should be limited, otherwise we would still game with unfinished miniatures :) simple mobs gets 1h per miniature max while heroes and bosses get 3h max :) I like trying different approaches as I'm using oils for a quick NNM look or I go for a TNN with contrasts/washes and different metallics, I like using may airbrush and doing zenithal underpainting with a quick brush with opaque titanium white over the brightest spots to make those contrasts/speedpaints really shine, I like oil washes and I avoid regular washes as I want the colors to pop, etc. long story short, unless we stop playing board games, I'll never really stop "sucking" altho I still think my minis look great and I improved a lot in these 8 months since I started painting and also my friends are easily impressed when they see some color on the plastic ;) one day I'll try a display miniature :P
I'm maybe 6 or 7 months into this hobby, and having entered from watching mini painting TH-cam for a couple years did give me a nice little head start that my exhausted ADHD ass needed. The improvement (and sticking with it) is definitely going to be a hard part for me. But the functionality of this hobby is a boon. I can spend as much time as I want on a mini, and when I'm sick of it, it's easy to walk away and move on. My current focus is primarily on brush control, glazing, highlighting, and a smidge of dry brushing. Basically whatever's interesting or exciting me the most right now. I'm curious how much I'll have improved or not in a few years time, or if I'm still engaging in this hobby regularly at all, but I'm not putting any pressure on myself. It's nice to have a hobby I feel like I can actually finish things in, while still engaging with my love of lore and storytelling. Cheers to your videos! They've grown on me immensely as I've joined the hobby proper, and the tips are always running around the back of my mind, even when I'm just in "f it, I'm doing whatever I want without thought" mode.
Great advise as alwys, only every few months do I put some real time into a single Mini and its always the hing that ups my game, I will from now on always have at least 1 mini that I'm pushing myself on
I'm happy with my "from this" stage. I mean. I suck. I just want to have minis ok-ish and playable (basecoat, wash, (or zenithal+contrast paint) some details, grass/stonec/etc on the base, and I'm good). I'm usually awestruck by other people's painting, and always by your videos!
Some people paint 20 years and never reach past a basic painting skill. U gotta reach and strive to be better constantly challenging urself and wanting to get better.
I think getting good at painting is a lot like leveling up an RPG character. Know what kind of method/process you want to spec into and level up that path. Experiment with new things after you've established a method that works for you. Personally my preferred process is glazing over a zenithal prime pre-shade, dry brushing raised areas to catch highlights a which also gets rid of some "coffee staining", and then oil wash/wipe away to tie it all together and desaturate it a bit. Brush control comes simply from getting your reps in
My personal advice: watch a bunch of videos, discover techniques you like, and then take 1 or two units of Warhammer troops of the race you like and paint them 1 by 1. Don't re-paint them, experiment with color schemes, techniques etc. but every time paint to the highest level you can - shade them, highlight them, edge highlight them, etc. You're not painting those models to be part of your army. You're doing it to get comfortable with paints, brushes and techniques. I so far painted a total of 23 models. 12 termagants (actually was pleased with color scheme so they're all the same) and 11 Necrons warriors - all different as I was searching for color scheme I liked. Now I am pretty confident that my painting lies between high tabletop and mid display level. I am now noticing that my models look good enough to post on the internet - and way better than those on display in my local WH store. And just a bit motivation - I am still struggling with dry brushing. My first edges were thick and uneven. I couldn't stay within the lines when I started. I have a tremor in my fingers so I thought I would never be able to paint the eyes - turns out after 40 pint-sized eyes it's a task requiring concentration but not at all intimidating. TLDR - Don't paint an army. Paint each model as if it's a hero unit and put as much effort into it as you can, but don't beat yourself up. If those edges are too thick - just leave them. Keep doing them as best you can. Watch more videos. For me it was probably 15th+ model where everything finally clicked and I finally learned the paint consistency I need and the way to load my brush to make it good. I am an engineer, so my first instinct was to learn as much as possible. You could say I started with conscious incompetence. I tried once painting decades ago in school and had the same experience as you described with unconscious incompetence. I just knew I didn't like painting because the result sucked. 😮
This is EXACTLY what I did, thank goodness I’m not alone, I painted each model from the same box as if it were a “competition” piece (basically just having high standards) and used a different colour and technique every single time, I’ve improved so much in only around 20 models it’s genuinely insane
I don’t think that’s the best advice for these 60$ + models. I would buy cheap models if all you’re doing is practice. After two boxes your over a 100$ and you have 20 different colored models. I would focus on getting an army if that’s what you want battle ready which is just the base coats and then go to the next step and do some shading then edge highlights. The biggest thing is don’t be a perfectionist because you will never finish and you will always be unsatisfied.
@@lordhelwintr283 the thing is I don’t play the game, I just paint, and it’s not a waste of models as each single one is use as a separate display piece
@@lordhelwintr283 IDK, this is an expensive hobby to begin with. Cheap models lack detail and provide less ground to develop your skills with. I would say that if spending 30-60 dollars on developing your skills is too much for you - then the entire hobby is outside your budget to begin with. An army + paints + tools will easily set you back 800-1000, at which point 30 bucks is a sensible investment if you want to learn to paint well.
I don't think I was ever unconsiously incompetent...I knew at the start my minis were very basic level compared the ones in the magazines (this was pre-internet days). I was just happy to paint something to even a sloppy standard. My first mini look goopy and horrible, the yellow was splochy and uneven, zero neatness to the brushwork, but it was a start and I was proud to pick up a brush. As we do more, we pick up a spectrum of techniques and our work inproves. Maybe at different rates, but there are so many resources now, we can instantly find guides with a quick google search if we are stuck. The rest comes with time.
Number one tip for becoming a better painter overnight that is conveniently skipped by every youtuber… BUY A PAIR OF MAGNIFYING GOOGLES! I repeat… BUY A PAIR OF MAGNIFYING GOOGLES. Unless you have super human resolution sight, as every youtuber will have you believe they do, you will need these. If you don’t have super human resolution vision or googles your minis will always look like trash, especially if you try to photograph them with a high resolution camera like that on your phone. Next, buy a wet palette so you can mix colours and keep your paint flowing. Then buy some cheap brushes with sharp tips that can be easily replaced when necessary. Keep everything clean and as pointy as possible. Done.
I struggled with magnifying lenses for a long time before settling on a magnifying glass on a table base, one of those helping hand deals with alligator clips on ball swivels. They're cheap. At first I didn't like the clips because they're harsh/sharp and I don't really paint too many modular minis with subassemblies, but now I use them to hold small battery lights or even to hold a brush in water, like a little 30 ml medicine cup, without resting on the bristles. Makes my setup quite portable, and I can do basic work in environments where I otherwise couldn't paint minis and at all.
Just one year if you actually focus on improving as a painter and have plenty of time to paint. It should also be about getting better, not simply getting models done. Like watching tutorials from Vince, Marco, and Richie G and then actually spending entire painting sessions to learn a specific technique will improve your overall painting ability rapidly. Like, instead of just getting X amount of models "done" try deciding something like 'Today I'm just learning wet blending' or any other technique, and spend the entire painting session just learning, rather than whether or not your models are done. Spending time learning specific techniques, along with painting like every other day, should result in you being better than vast majority of people who have painted models for a decade in just one year. Just painting loads of models doesn't actually make you better after like a month or so of painting. To put it blankly, slap chopping 100 models won't really make you any better at anything other than slap chopping.
I started following Warhipster, dude has nice tutorials for beginners (even when you have like 10 out of 40 colours) At least one Stormcast takes me +- 5 hours which I can live with But I also love your videos and sometimes try something from them
same here, I started playing 40k like 7 year since i am in university, and I just paint them god damn bad. But after I leave my own country and finally living my own, I really started to learn how to be a better people who is taking their hobby serious.
I have a test request that you might like. Alcohol Inks. They are crazy cheap on Amazon and probably flow incredibly well through an airbrush. I wonder how well they work on minis
i can confirm that for me about 8 of the years i've been in the hobby my painting skills didn't really improve it feels like i only started getting better at painting around 2018 or 2019
Thats...encouraging to hear..12 years 😄..but whatever, better late then never right !? Im just about to start with painting but I try my best... I just discover your channel and I like it more then others! I was little suspicious about your accent tho 🤔..."why he sounds kinda like me!?" AAAAH, hes CZECH 😅!!! Im surprised, youre first czech I discover in this "WARHAMMER painting universe"... I started to think its not exist in Czech Republic. And Im glad its not true😁!!!
A tip: Paint one standard Space Marine per year in the colors of your choice. Started with an Ultramarine in '20. And since then I have noticed a continuous improvement in my skills.
Thank you, very inspiring. right now im at the point of conscius incompetence. But im tryng to make better and better miniatures. The problem is that this is not satisfacting enought. I know i`m improving, at least i feel like, but everytime i show to the people around me, just say its pretty and no real critic. Still, for example, I`m doing right now a valkyrie. And i realy feel like each part of the valkyrie is different, becouse each part i finish, i understand better the technique im tryng to do, and I do it in a different way. I realy feel that when i glue all the parts togheter is going to be pretty weird, but im actualy enjoying the process and how i am learning. The problem is that i dont realy know if those advances are just my mind or are real. So maybe ill do a instagram acount where i can hang my work, so people can critize (people on internet is very cruel, so thats what i am looking for).
I wouldn't advise to do a 30 hour model from the get go. Chances are it's gonna be like asking a beginner carpenter to build a house. You just lack purely technical skills at this point - how much to thin paint, how to hold your brush, etc. That's why I advise doing a unit of troops and just spend 2-3 hours on each. Once you get confident with paints - then go for that big project.
okay im starting with this hobby but there is one particular thing i dont get. when buying a warhammer army or other models the colors are usually not included (except with some newb sets) how do i exactly know which colors to buy ? are they listed in the set ?
Every time I watch videos on TH-cam of how awesome someone draws figures, I get scared of drawing my own figures. I get the feeling that I just draw badly and I ruin everything in drawing.
I totally get you. I'm much the same with my acting and writing, and would be with my drawing if I did it more. A mindset I really like that my creative friends push is one of seeing our art and someone else's art as two cakes. We might look at ours like "my cake isn't good enough", whereas the audience/everyone else is ecstatically banging their utensils on the table yelling "HOLY SHIT TWO CAKES". It's okay to not like something you're working on, but give yourself grace. Find the good things, enjoy what was good or what you enjoyed about past works you've done and the process of making them, even if you've drastically improved, and let yourself pursue what makes you excited and happy. What you put your effort into is valuable, no matter what. Now I wish we could share images or stuff in TH-cam comments, I'd love to compliment your work ^-^
Spending more than 10 hours on a piece while learning is just a waste of time. Lots of classic art teachers repeat that like a mantra and that's quite true. Cause 1) You don't learn to understand light placement. 2) You don't learn "looseness" 3) You just practice motoric skills really and 4) You will most likely make a lots of mistakes. And a lot of people do what is commonly named "Warlock's Apprentice" - meaning trying to learn advanced stuff before mastering the basics. Ps, Instagram is trash. I'm getting 40 views if I'm lucky ;)
I don't even paint miniatures but I've been binge watching loads of these painting videos do you think these methods would work on larger scale figures?
How big are we talking? Check out my previous video - I painted Morrigan from Darkstalkers and that was 13cm. If we are talking about big big statues, it might still work, but it just depends
@@Zumikito the fig I'm trying to paint is 1/12 scale and that Morrigan is 🔥🥵 I want to try to incorporate that type of glowing and shading I see in miniatures to my figures
I look at everything I do and just go "wow, there's no conscious or unconscious incompetence here, this is 9th dimensional spiritual hyperincompetence."
Hahahaa I remember buying my first box of orks back in like 2002 and looking at the box art and saying, yeah that must be a fake painting its imposible to paint something this good XD
The thing is you should have been able to buy six paints and get reasonable results, but because we don't have single pigment paints you can't mix a reasonable purple from red and blue (for example). Or a green. And so on.
This video just came at the right moment. I was just painting a werewolf and realized that I just changed the standard to another whole level. I just arrived to Conscious Incompetence stage. But never knew that that was a thing until I saw this video. Thank you, Zumikito!! Now I know what to do!!
I'd advise you to work on being ok with where you're at rather than focusing on where you're not *when it comes to voluntary hobbies*. A job, safety, romantic relationship, parenting, that's different. Take it seriously and don't accept less than your best. But hobbies are for fun. It's ok to "suck" at guitar, painting, karaoke, videogames, sculpture, writing, anything "arts", with no intent to improve and no motivation besides amusing yourself.
Nah, took me three days, a few youtube videos to learn enough to be happy with my models. Black or boltgun primer. Base coat. Basic details. Wash. Touch ups. Necrons and Space Marines. Fantasy models for dnd get a touch more love. I havw t pai ted aince before my son was born 😂. So its been almost a year n a half
Most dont make any improvements at all as they dont try to. They just learn the really basics and never branch out ever. I see this all the time on r/minipainting where people are over 3+ years into the hobby but still look like beginners. I am only 3 months in now and I try to push myself with each model, learning new things. I attempted a full nmm space marine and it came out pretty ok for my first go at it, just needed to blend it more. If all you do is paint the same things over and over you will never get better.
It's awesome having the drive to always improve! I super respect that! In the mini painting hobby, I follow my whims, so sometimes it's gently pushing to improve and other times it's just slapping down paint for the sake of it. I'll probably improve much more slowly than you and many of my peers, haha. I think I've been at it about 6 months now? What's currently your favourite thing to paint or favourite technique? I'm currently super enjoying larger surfaces (robes, armour plates, skin) where I can experiment with brush control, blends, and glazing. I'm really, really enjoying glazing now that I'm learning to effectively load & unload my brush.
@@UriskOfTheFae My favourite thing to paint is marines of any chapter, my main being black templars ( not so black lol, mostly dark blues and blacks ) in a grim dark style, look up trovarions grimdark as that is what I am mostly going for. Dark but still has that contrast. Don't really have a specific part of them. I will likely advanced at a faster rate than most purely because I have been doing art in many different forums throughout my entire life. 3D models? Creating textures? Drawing? Landscaping in engines etc. Hopefully all goes well in journey and you get to where you want to
As an engineering student, we have various acronyms to help cement these very concepts in our brains. My favorites are IFF (intelligent fast failure) and KISS (keep it simple stupid).
The thumbnail nurgle guy shows an A+++ in painting skill, but an F- in taste, nice comic figurine as in like the cleanest, most kid-friendly Soldier of Death and Decay ever. Oh you have super smooth blends ? Cool, tell me something new. There is painters way below your skill level doing a way better job of creating an atmosphere and make their models tell a story, the only story this model tells, is how good of a painter u are, boring.
![SAFEPLANET - ดาวเคราะห์ [ THE PLANET ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4X1XL3I_k3c/mqdefault.jpg)
For a couple years after I started painting I was convinced that the models on the GW boxes were all five times the normal size, and that's why they looked so good.
It's a valid point. Do we know they don't use 50mm or 75mm prototypes for box art? 😉
They also modified the pics with whatever method was available.
@@benmiles00 id say it’s not that deep, but lately life’s been throwing nothing but curveballs
My main issues with improvement are mostly mechanical, things like getting/keeping a good tip on my brushes or getting paint to the right consistency (I tend to over/undershoot a lot). I'd love to see some folks tackle tutorials on these sort of things that aren't "just do [THING]." Very few people actually give actionable advice in this area. But thanks for laying this out, some really good info here.
This is where I’m at too. Such a barrier for it to not be second nature
Maintaining a tip on a brush is to only pull down or sideways lightly when painting, never jab unless you want to damage the tip. Clean with brush soap then use hair conditioner on real hair brushes, shape it to a point, then let dry sideways. Getting paint to the right consistency is just one of those things that come with experience, as some brands/pigments will thin out faster than others. My recommendation is to dip the brush into water and slowly thin it out till you think it feels right, then test it on your nail before applying to model. At the end of the day your rate of improving depends on quality of learning and how much time you are willing to sink into art, some people are only willing to spend a few hours while others spend days to months on one painting ^^
Every video you post proofs that you are my favourite yt mini painter, balanse between tips & tricks and pure content is ideal for me! Thanks a lot, cheers from Poland!
I painted my first Infernus Marine mini at a mini convention last Sunday and after that, I've been binge watching your videos. I relate because I painted my mini with a base coat, shade, and then dry brushed it. Looking forward to seeing more videos from you.
The biggest jump in skill for me was jumping from 40k to infinity. The its such a different style, and i went from painting grimdark with heavy drybrushing to a cleaner sci-fi look with more layering and glazing. But as you said, posting your work and looking back on previous paint jobs is also very helpful! Great video!
this might be one of The best videos i've seen to actually improve on mini-painting!
My advice would be to not be afraid that the model would turn out bad. I improved the most when I tried new things that I was sure would just ruin my work until that point (they usually didn't). This fear is usually what is keeping me from learning new techniques and instead repeating the workflow I feel comfortable using.
This, when I started out I just painted cheap reaper miniatures and I was never afraid of ruining the model. Trying new things is fun if you don't actually care about the dirt cheap model.
Exactly. A technique won't necessarily look right the first time or even when you start to apply a layer, you got to try out and get comfortable with different things.
Zumikito with glasses is a vibe and I’m here for it.
I've just sold my Indomitus box as I realised I'll never play or paint it. And on the way home I have picked up the exact mini in this vid as it inspired me to paint it :D I have to finish a commision before it, though. Or rather, 2... But I am soooo looking forward to doing it during my winter holidays :O
Love your take on concious improvement to painting!
My friends and I started a mini painting group to keep each other motivated. Two of them were brand new to painting and didnt have much confidence begining. Friend A did a few mini's with some tips from is and they came out...well poor, but since then they've been going at it steadily, applying new techniques and challenging themselves with a variety of models so they've gotten way better in about a year. Friend B is always asking for tips from us and GW store people on how to paint quickly, puts themselves down saying they're going to be bad and has been researching batch techniques and paints for.... Months at this point. They have a huge unpainted pile they arent making a dent in because they're so worried they'll be bad and they want them done quick... But all the speed painting research/studying in the world won't help him improve and progress unless he ACTUALLY starts painting.
Friend A I think has the right go of it, Friend B we've got to keep encouraging until they put paint to plastic.
Honestly, just watching loads of TH-cam video's has launched me forward. I'm a naturally good artist, but there's so much technique to pick up that would take years to learn naturally, and video tutorials are a massive hack.
Great video, dear Sun Tzumikito 😂 I've been painting, on and off (mostly off) for more than 20 years. Probably I've painted for three or four years in that period, total. And until the last time I retook the hobby, when I had TH-cam channels like you, I did not improve vastly. I mean, i painted better, but not because I was better at painting, it is just I put a sh*tload of additional time on each mini, that is all. With all the information I have NOW, with videos like yours, like this one, I have gotten better in one year than in my entire previous "career". And still, I lack a lot of talent and technique, I'm never going to paint like you, not even near, but I'm better and my minis now make me prouder than before, and I paint them faster.
So, thanks A LOT for videos like this one, and of course for the rest of your channel, it is just incredible, and you're much funnier than other painters! Thanks Zumikito!
Thank you so much for your videos. I just got into the miniature painting hobby last weekend. I have been painting Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion minis (after seeing your vids I know these minis suck) and I’m having a Blast!!!!! Your videos have been a great help to me in my new hobby haha
Good for you
Your videos always offer great tips and hints but I have to say this video offers excellent advice on how to improve. Thank you!
This is a fantastic video with a brilliant attitude to approaching painting (or any art!) and a great way of expressing it to newer painters. Thank you.
Great video man. Getting out of comfort zones is really hard for me, but it's absolutely necessary. I'm trying to get into painting stuff at army scale, and it's really hard not to just spend 8 hours on each guy. LOL!
I spent about 20 hours from assembly to finish on a recent project and it's by far the best thing I've ever done, and now I feel like it's the minimum I expect for myself. Not efficient for breaking through the pile of shame, but I'm more focused on an end product I'm happy with. Personally I found the biggest jump in my growth from going outside any factions I played. I did a sort of "guest model" for my friend's Tyranids, and painted a couple DnD minis, and that forced me to branch out into new styles
Depends. Tool quality makes a big difference. I remember my first wet pallet almost a decade ago and the improvement was immediate. My work went from “well it’s painted, I guess” to “wow. I’m proud to have this in a display cabinet” immediately.
Same here. Wet pallette was a game changer. So was utube, The airbrush and having a permanent table set up. Those are my 4 big ones.
@@padanfain7466 and decent brushes
I just skipped the unconscious incompetence stage lol, I was watching miniature painting streamers long before I tried it myself.
I completely agree with the reference to awareness and intentionality in a matter of doing something. Watching many tutorials it's obvious that the professional painters mostly not guessing which color to pick or what tone step to apply but do that automatically. The only time-investment is applying proper technique in a proper way. When painter upgrade their skills to this level, the process begins to take much less time for doing obvious things. For me it's still stage of wondering approximate result and finishing it in a most acceptable way (when start idea may totaly vary in the end). Not sure that someday I'll reach out stage when I'll just apply image from my brain to the model, but still, for 2 years of intense painting and learning from different sources I see the progress.
Hope every painter would find their own inspiration to develop their hobby (or professional) skills!
The title had me suspecting something more Hawk Tuah-themed, but thank the gods it was just brilliant advice on painting 🥰
I've been painting for almost 30 years. I improved a lot in the first years, quickly landet amongst the best painters in my area. Then i plateaued hard and just didn't know how to improve. (Minipainting didn't exist on TH-cam at this point) it was very demotivating. In the past few years I've gotten a second wind, and started improving again. It's never too late!
3:17 missed opportunity to call him Sun Tzumikito
Very good tips to pass on to novice or expert painters. I always enjoy watching your videos as it always has: a blend of humor / memes with learnings and insights. Keep it up!
Thanks for the tips Z 😊
Thanks. For that eye opening video! Ahoj!
I enjoy watching talented painters as you get a lot of ideas and inspiration from them. At the same time I know my limitations and how good of a painter I aspire to be. As much as I love painting I'm still more of a gamer and I have different hobbies as well, so my painting time per miniature should be limited, otherwise we would still game with unfinished miniatures :) simple mobs gets 1h per miniature max while heroes and bosses get 3h max :) I like trying different approaches as I'm using oils for a quick NNM look or I go for a TNN with contrasts/washes and different metallics, I like using may airbrush and doing zenithal underpainting with a quick brush with opaque titanium white over the brightest spots to make those contrasts/speedpaints really shine, I like oil washes and I avoid regular washes as I want the colors to pop, etc. long story short, unless we stop playing board games, I'll never really stop "sucking" altho I still think my minis look great and I improved a lot in these 8 months since I started painting and also my friends are easily impressed when they see some color on the plastic ;) one day I'll try a display miniature :P
When I was learning music one of my teachers said "Practice doesn't make perfect, but perfect practice comes close." That always stuck with me.
When I started in 2004 as a 13 year old, all we had was magazines to learn from. We are spoiled with content now, no excuse not to learn!
I'm maybe 6 or 7 months into this hobby, and having entered from watching mini painting TH-cam for a couple years did give me a nice little head start that my exhausted ADHD ass needed. The improvement (and sticking with it) is definitely going to be a hard part for me. But the functionality of this hobby is a boon. I can spend as much time as I want on a mini, and when I'm sick of it, it's easy to walk away and move on.
My current focus is primarily on brush control, glazing, highlighting, and a smidge of dry brushing. Basically whatever's interesting or exciting me the most right now. I'm curious how much I'll have improved or not in a few years time, or if I'm still engaging in this hobby regularly at all, but I'm not putting any pressure on myself. It's nice to have a hobby I feel like I can actually finish things in, while still engaging with my love of lore and storytelling.
Cheers to your videos! They've grown on me immensely as I've joined the hobby proper, and the tips are always running around the back of my mind, even when I'm just in "f it, I'm doing whatever I want without thought" mode.
Great advise as alwys, only every few months do I put some real time into a single Mini and its always the hing that ups my game, I will from now on always have at least 1 mini that I'm pushing myself on
I'm happy with my "from this" stage.
I mean. I suck. I just want to have minis ok-ish and playable (basecoat, wash, (or zenithal+contrast paint) some details, grass/stonec/etc on the base, and I'm good).
I'm usually awestruck by other people's painting, and always by your videos!
Great video!!!
Some people paint 20 years and never reach past a basic painting skill.
U gotta reach and strive to be better constantly challenging urself and wanting to get better.
I think getting good at painting is a lot like leveling up an RPG character. Know what kind of method/process you want to spec into and level up that path. Experiment with new things after you've established a method that works for you. Personally my preferred process is glazing over a zenithal prime pre-shade, dry brushing raised areas to catch highlights a which also gets rid of some "coffee staining", and then oil wash/wipe away to tie it all together and desaturate it a bit. Brush control comes simply from getting your reps in
It’s been 4 years so far of being meh, then I watched your tutorials for the 7 millionth time and something clicked 😂 (finally)
My personal advice: watch a bunch of videos, discover techniques you like, and then take 1 or two units of Warhammer troops of the race you like and paint them 1 by 1. Don't re-paint them, experiment with color schemes, techniques etc. but every time paint to the highest level you can - shade them, highlight them, edge highlight them, etc.
You're not painting those models to be part of your army. You're doing it to get comfortable with paints, brushes and techniques.
I so far painted a total of 23 models. 12 termagants (actually was pleased with color scheme so they're all the same) and 11 Necrons warriors - all different as I was searching for color scheme I liked.
Now I am pretty confident that my painting lies between high tabletop and mid display level. I am now noticing that my models look good enough to post on the internet - and way better than those on display in my local WH store.
And just a bit motivation - I am still struggling with dry brushing. My first edges were thick and uneven. I couldn't stay within the lines when I started. I have a tremor in my fingers so I thought I would never be able to paint the eyes - turns out after 40 pint-sized eyes it's a task requiring concentration but not at all intimidating.
TLDR - Don't paint an army. Paint each model as if it's a hero unit and put as much effort into it as you can, but don't beat yourself up. If those edges are too thick - just leave them. Keep doing them as best you can. Watch more videos. For me it was probably 15th+ model where everything finally clicked and I finally learned the paint consistency I need and the way to load my brush to make it good.
I am an engineer, so my first instinct was to learn as much as possible. You could say I started with conscious incompetence. I tried once painting decades ago in school and had the same experience as you described with unconscious incompetence. I just knew I didn't like painting because the result sucked. 😮
This is EXACTLY what I did, thank goodness I’m not alone, I painted each model from the same box as if it were a “competition” piece (basically just having high standards) and used a different colour and technique every single time, I’ve improved so much in only around 20 models it’s genuinely insane
I don’t think that’s the best advice for these 60$ + models. I would buy cheap models if all you’re doing is practice. After two boxes your over a 100$ and you have 20 different colored models. I would focus on getting an army if that’s what you want battle ready which is just the base coats and then go to the next step and do some shading then edge highlights. The biggest thing is don’t be a perfectionist because you will never finish and you will always be unsatisfied.
@@lordhelwintr283 the thing is I don’t play the game, I just paint, and it’s not a waste of models as each single one is use as a separate display piece
@@lordhelwintr283 IDK, this is an expensive hobby to begin with. Cheap models lack detail and provide less ground to develop your skills with.
I would say that if spending 30-60 dollars on developing your skills is too much for you - then the entire hobby is outside your budget to begin with. An army + paints + tools will easily set you back 800-1000, at which point 30 bucks is a sensible investment if you want to learn to paint well.
3:34 you got me there
If you love the hobby, and take the time to research techniques and products, then you will improve. Just take your time, and get decent lighting
I don't think I was ever unconsiously incompetent...I knew at the start my minis were very basic level compared the ones in the magazines (this was pre-internet days). I was just happy to paint something to even a sloppy standard. My first mini look goopy and horrible, the yellow was splochy and uneven, zero neatness to the brushwork, but it was a start and I was proud to pick up a brush. As we do more, we pick up a spectrum of techniques and our work inproves. Maybe at different rates, but there are so many resources now, we can instantly find guides with a quick google search if we are stuck. The rest comes with time.
Number one tip for becoming a better painter overnight that is conveniently skipped by every youtuber… BUY A PAIR OF MAGNIFYING GOOGLES! I repeat… BUY A PAIR OF MAGNIFYING GOOGLES. Unless you have super human resolution sight, as every youtuber will have you believe they do, you will need these. If you don’t have super human resolution vision or googles your minis will always look like trash, especially if you try to photograph them with a high resolution camera like that on your phone. Next, buy a wet palette so you can mix colours and keep your paint flowing. Then buy some cheap brushes with sharp tips that can be easily replaced when necessary. Keep everything clean and as pointy as possible. Done.
I struggled with magnifying lenses for a long time before settling on a magnifying glass on a table base, one of those helping hand deals with alligator clips on ball swivels. They're cheap.
At first I didn't like the clips because they're harsh/sharp and I don't really paint too many modular minis with subassemblies, but now I use them to hold small battery lights or even to hold a brush in water, like a little 30 ml medicine cup, without resting on the bristles. Makes my setup quite portable, and I can do basic work in environments where I otherwise couldn't paint minis and at all.
8:03 feels like a personal attack, having watched dozens of videos on how to paint but the actual painting isn’t getting done XD
Just one year if you actually focus on improving as a painter and have plenty of time to paint. It should also be about getting better, not simply getting models done. Like watching tutorials from Vince, Marco, and Richie G and then actually spending entire painting sessions to learn a specific technique will improve your overall painting ability rapidly.
Like, instead of just getting X amount of models "done" try deciding something like 'Today I'm just learning wet blending' or any other technique, and spend the entire painting session just learning, rather than whether or not your models are done.
Spending time learning specific techniques, along with painting like every other day, should result in you being better than vast majority of people who have painted models for a decade in just one year. Just painting loads of models doesn't actually make you better after like a month or so of painting. To put it blankly, slap chopping 100 models won't really make you any better at anything other than slap chopping.
I started following Warhipster, dude has nice tutorials for beginners (even when you have like 10 out of 40 colours)
At least one Stormcast takes me +- 5 hours which I can live with
But I also love your videos and sometimes try something from them
same here, I started playing 40k like 7 year since i am in university, and I just paint them god damn bad.
But after I leave my own country and finally living my own, I really started to learn how to be a better people who is taking their hobby serious.
The most important stage is: "What am I painting for?" And this is what determines how much time you should spend on a miniature.
I have a test request that you might like.
Alcohol Inks.
They are crazy cheap on Amazon and probably flow incredibly well through an airbrush.
I wonder how well they work on minis
I watch all your videos and just realised I wasn't subscribed! Have fixed that now.
i can confirm that for me about 8 of the years i've been in the hobby my painting skills didn't really improve
it feels like i only started getting better at painting around 2018 or 2019
Thats...encouraging to hear..12 years 😄..but whatever, better late then never right !? Im just about to start with painting but I try my best...
I just discover your channel and I like it more then others!
I was little suspicious about your accent tho 🤔..."why he sounds kinda like me!?" AAAAH, hes CZECH 😅!!!
Im surprised, youre first czech I discover in this "WARHAMMER painting universe"...
I started to think its not exist in Czech Republic. And Im glad its not true😁!!!
Clever dude... 🦖
A tip: Paint one standard Space Marine per year in the colors of your choice. Started with an Ultramarine in '20. And since then I have noticed a continuous improvement in my skills.
For me I bought a crap ton of Orks and just went through them all.
That title 🤣🤣🤣 well done
That succubus (?) is so cool! Where is it from? Also the lighting looks insane
Thank you, very inspiring.
right now im at the point of conscius incompetence. But im tryng to make better and better miniatures. The problem is that this is not satisfacting enought.
I know i`m improving, at least i feel like, but everytime i show to the people around me, just say its pretty and no real critic.
Still, for example, I`m doing right now a valkyrie. And i realy feel like each part of the valkyrie is different, becouse each part i finish, i understand better the technique im tryng to do, and I do it in a different way. I realy feel that when i glue all the parts togheter is going to be pretty weird, but im actualy enjoying the process and how i am learning.
The problem is that i dont realy know if those advances are just my mind or are real. So maybe ill do a instagram acount where i can hang my work, so people can critize (people on internet is very cruel, so thats what i am looking for).
Honestly, if it wasn't for your ultramarine tutorial... id probably still suck.
I wouldn't advise to do a 30 hour model from the get go. Chances are it's gonna be like asking a beginner carpenter to build a house. You just lack purely technical skills at this point - how much to thin paint, how to hold your brush, etc.
That's why I advise doing a unit of troops and just spend 2-3 hours on each.
Once you get confident with paints - then go for that big project.
okay im starting with this hobby but there is one particular thing i dont get. when buying a warhammer army or other models the colors are usually not included (except with some newb sets)
how do i exactly know which colors to buy ? are they listed in the set ?
2 golds & a silver, well done.
Only reason I am getting into airbrush is to do artwork on custom fishing rod.
Contrast+drybrush, model under 10 minutes is the only way how to paint :))))
I've been at it for 8 years and I still suck. You've convinced me. Time to give up.
"Spend 20 hours painting a model"......listening to this while staring down 200 unpainted termagant, hormagaunts and neurogaunts..😭😭😭😭
Every time I watch videos on TH-cam of how awesome someone draws figures, I get scared of drawing my own figures. I get the feeling that I just draw badly and I ruin everything in drawing.
Stop placing hurdles in-front of yourself, You need to champion your work!
Now go and draw!
I totally get you. I'm much the same with my acting and writing, and would be with my drawing if I did it more. A mindset I really like that my creative friends push is one of seeing our art and someone else's art as two cakes. We might look at ours like "my cake isn't good enough", whereas the audience/everyone else is ecstatically banging their utensils on the table yelling "HOLY SHIT TWO CAKES".
It's okay to not like something you're working on, but give yourself grace. Find the good things, enjoy what was good or what you enjoyed about past works you've done and the process of making them, even if you've drastically improved, and let yourself pursue what makes you excited and happy. What you put your effort into is valuable, no matter what.
Now I wish we could share images or stuff in TH-cam comments, I'd love to compliment your work ^-^
@@UriskOfTheFae me at Bgg (pilgrim_paint) There i post some of my painting minis
@@UriskOfTheFae Bgg (pilgrim_paint)
Hot take: Warhammer box art isn't actually that good. It shows off the plastic, not makes a good paint job. You should be striving for better.
Stupid take.
*the best looking miniatures very often take up to 100 hours to paint*
Marco Frisoni: Hold my beer.
Well that’s when talent comes into play
and this line is when cope comes into play
Spending more than 10 hours on a piece while learning is just a waste of time. Lots of classic art teachers repeat that like a mantra and that's quite true. Cause 1) You don't learn to understand light placement. 2) You don't learn "looseness" 3) You just practice motoric skills really and 4) You will most likely make a lots of mistakes.
And a lot of people do what is commonly named "Warlock's Apprentice" - meaning trying to learn advanced stuff before mastering the basics.
Ps, Instagram is trash. I'm getting 40 views if I'm lucky ;)
I don't even paint miniatures but I've been binge watching loads of these painting videos do you think these methods would work on larger scale figures?
How big are we talking? Check out my previous video - I painted Morrigan from Darkstalkers and that was 13cm. If we are talking about big big statues, it might still work, but it just depends
@@Zumikito the fig I'm trying to paint is 1/12 scale and that Morrigan is 🔥🥵 I want to try to incorporate that type of glowing and shading I see in miniatures to my figures
I look at everything I do and just go "wow, there's no conscious or unconscious incompetence here, this is 9th dimensional spiritual hyperincompetence."
This video just earned you a "Like," as well as a new Subscriber! :)
I have always been incompetent when unconscious. ;)
yo what's the book you're reading? it looks interesting
Faq2 from Arnau Lazaro and published by Ak interactive
I've been painting for 4 years at 3 hours a day or some days was 24hrs straight on a guard shift.
Hahahaa I remember buying my first box of orks back in like 2002 and looking at the box art and saying, yeah that must be a fake painting its imposible to paint something this good XD
The thing is you should have been able to buy six paints and get reasonable results, but because we don't have single pigment paints you can't mix a reasonable purple from red and blue (for example). Or a green. And so on.
Sucking…. Then discovered shade paints - Agrax Earthshade!!!!!
Here for the "REsult"
1:36 minutes that was quick
Where did you go Zumikito?
I will be back, expect something next week
🔥🤘❤️
This video just came at the right moment. I was just painting a werewolf and realized that I just changed the standard to another whole level.
I just arrived to Conscious Incompetence stage. But never knew that that was a thing until I saw this video.
Thank you, Zumikito!! Now I know what to do!!
Where are you my friend, I hope everything is OK with you?
All good, will be back soon with an explanation
@@Zumikito I'm glad you're doing okay.
See you around :)
Wise guy, eh? 😂
I spent 20 years painting armies. Am I a better painter now? Not sure. But I now can do mediocre paintjobs up to 20 times faster for sure
So if I don't think I'm stupid it's because I ignore I am?^^
Don't find time and energy for painting, forget what you figured out and still suck after years!
Not true! Following Zumikito is enough to get great at painting.... and rimming of course!
Yeah, yeah that nice, BUT HOW DO I GROW THAT BEARD
I started painting 7 years ago. Honestly, i fucking suck and i had the feeling that this hobby worsened my mental health
I'd advise you to work on being ok with where you're at rather than focusing on where you're not *when it comes to voluntary hobbies*. A job, safety, romantic relationship, parenting, that's different. Take it seriously and don't accept less than your best.
But hobbies are for fun. It's ok to "suck" at guitar, painting, karaoke, videogames, sculpture, writing, anything "arts", with no intent to improve and no motivation besides amusing yourself.
Wise guy, eh?
For most of us though we want to spend 20 hours on a unit of 10 dudes to a decent standard not 1 dude to a super standard
5 seconds in and F my life... I'll never be good
Answering the title-question:
"Ask my ex-girlfriend".
Im not here...
Nah, took me three days, a few youtube videos to learn enough to be happy with my models.
Black or boltgun primer. Base coat. Basic details. Wash. Touch ups.
Necrons and Space Marines. Fantasy models for dnd get a touch more love. I havw t pai ted aince before my son was born 😂. So its been almost a year n a half
Most dont make any improvements at all as they dont try to. They just learn the really basics and never branch out ever. I see this all the time on r/minipainting where people are over 3+ years into the hobby but still look like beginners. I am only 3 months in now and I try to push myself with each model, learning new things. I attempted a full nmm space marine and it came out pretty ok for my first go at it, just needed to blend it more. If all you do is paint the same things over and over you will never get better.
It's awesome having the drive to always improve! I super respect that! In the mini painting hobby, I follow my whims, so sometimes it's gently pushing to improve and other times it's just slapping down paint for the sake of it. I'll probably improve much more slowly than you and many of my peers, haha. I think I've been at it about 6 months now?
What's currently your favourite thing to paint or favourite technique? I'm currently super enjoying larger surfaces (robes, armour plates, skin) where I can experiment with brush control, blends, and glazing. I'm really, really enjoying glazing now that I'm learning to effectively load & unload my brush.
@@UriskOfTheFae My favourite thing to paint is marines of any chapter, my main being black templars ( not so black lol, mostly dark blues and blacks ) in a grim dark style, look up trovarions grimdark as that is what I am mostly going for. Dark but still has that contrast. Don't really have a specific part of them. I will likely advanced at a faster rate than most purely because I have been doing art in many different forums throughout my entire life. 3D models? Creating textures? Drawing? Landscaping in engines etc. Hopefully all goes well in journey and you get to where you want to
@@lilpain1997 That's awesome! I'm pretty sure I've seen that video, but I'mma watch it again
As an engineering student, we have various acronyms to help cement these very concepts in our brains.
My favorites are IFF (intelligent fast failure) and KISS (keep it simple stupid).
First of all the one on the left side of the thumbnail doesn’t even look bad. Stop exaggerating so much.
First
The thumbnail nurgle guy shows an A+++ in painting skill, but an F- in taste, nice comic figurine as in like the cleanest, most kid-friendly Soldier of Death and Decay ever. Oh you have super smooth blends ? Cool, tell me something new. There is painters way below your skill level doing a way better job of creating an atmosphere and make their models tell a story, the only story this model tells, is how good of a painter u are, boring.