Best paint and brushes?

[Izeya82]

Hello all I am curious to what paints and brushes people think are the best to use. (warhammer)Right now I use Citadel. But would like to open up my options. Thanks in advanced.

[mrrshann618]

I use 3 paints, one of them are no longer available (That I know of)
I have a ton of Partha Paints that still work great (I've had them for over 15 years on some pots) - as far as I know, these are no longer available
I use alot of Citadel paints, though they lost favor with my when the used the "screw you" cap
I recently found that Vallejo have some REALLY nice colors.

My metalics are almost exclusivly Partha, I've tried some citadel, but they were mostly substandard in my oppinion
Citadel white, imho, is really good, I also liked their last run of inks, I have yet to try the new batch I alsos like alot of their blues and dark greens
Vallejo has recently gained my favor, they have very nice bottle design (eyedropper top) if you only want 2 drops of paint, no need to leave the bottle open and have the rest dry out
So far Vallejo has shown better light/normal greens, browns, yellows, and some of the orange and reds cover better.

Either way, a tip for you. Toss 2 BB's in your pot, it will help mix your paint, like an agitator in a spray can.

brushes I use Synthetic bristle local hobby store brushes, Robert Simmons and Princeton Art and brush Co. (have a few promodler and Citadel brushes mixed in, they are mainly large bristle 3 t o 4 sized brushes)

[MagickalMemories]

I don't have a preference for brushes (whatever's in the $4 to $5 range at the craft store and holds a good point on the tip).

For paints, though, your two "top" choices are (in no particular order):

Folk Art craft paint
Apple Barrel craft paint

What?
What's that you ask?

Why, yes. Of COURSE I'm kidding.

I *DO* use craft paint for SOME colors, but I am almost exclusively Ceramcoat. I like them for metallics. They are the BEST metallics I've used. Plus, they work well with ink (Vallejo colors do NOT work well with inks). Besides metallics, I also like them for white, black, burnt sienna and a couple other colors. They last forever. I have one that I bought in 1994 that's still kickin'.

I use GW inks, exclusively.

Vallejo is the only brand of paint I buy, except for the few aforementioned craft paints. They don't dry up like GW paint and the dropper bottle is spectacular. It allows for FAR better measuring when mixing custom colors (which it seems I'm ALWAYS doing). If only they worked better with inks, they'd be PERFECT.

Eric

[mrrshann618]

(Vallejo colors do NOT work well with inks). Eric

This would explain the lack of performance recently in the Inking I've done on a few Eldar test models (Ulthwe aspect warriors)

[Izeya82]

Thanks for all the info, last night I picked up some Vallejo paints from my local hobby/game store. It seemed that they had all allot of the highlighting colors that I needed. Nice to know about the inks and Vallejo paints. I have always wondered about the brush topic. As it is I just use the brushes from those 3 packs (many) and have one polinsky sable brush for fine detail. Thanks again for the replies.

[mrrshann618]

I buy specific brushes for specific jobs. The princeton brushes are no larger than 0/6 with most of them being around the 0/12 range. I use them for Eyes, runes, inscriptions and other tiny details. Most of my Icons (Chapter badges, craftworld runes) are done with a mix of the 0/3 and 0/6 brushes

[MagickalMemories]

(Vallejo colors do NOT work well with inks). Eric

This would explain the lack of performance recently in the Inking I've done on a few Eldar test models (Ulthwe aspect warriors)

WARNING.
THIS IS TOP SECRET.
DO NOT POST THIS PUBLICLY.


If you want your inks to work better with vallejo paints, add Elmer's glue to the ink. I find that adding about half as much glue as you did ink does the trick. Also... I use this on ink WASHES, not pure ink. I don't know how pure ink would turn out. My washes are typically 5:1 Water:ink (some people go as far as 10:1. I'm thinking about changing to 10:1, myself).

It thickens the ink wash, so it adheres better.

The pros:
Better ink adhesion with Vallejo paints.
More forgiving (if you screw up, just get it wet. That causes the glue to liquify again and lets you fix your mess up).

The cons:
Needs patience. You have to babysit the ink until it's a little tacky from the glue.
If you overuse it, you will have large ink "globs" on your model that are hard to dissolve/liquify with water (as mentioned above).
You have to seal the mini after inking it or anything wetter than paint (stray water droplets from a recently cleaned brush, ink, etc) will liquify the ink again.


Remember:
THIS IS TOP SECRET.
DO NOT POST THIS PUBLICLY.

Eric

::edit::

D'Oh!

[Shirokuma]

I was just wondering if you all are using the term "inks" synonymously with "washes" and/or "glazes", as Citadel no longer produces "inks" or "glazes", but have a new set of "washes".

Ink = a. a painting medium; b. an illustration technique
Wash = a. a painting medium; b. a painting technique
Glaze = (see Washes)

As for paints I prefer, I am more motivated by color than brand. If a certain paint range has a color I want or need, I'll pick it up. If after using a certain brand I find the paint is too difficult to work with, I'll not purchase it in the future (ie: Citadel paint in a boltshell jar, circa mid-90s to present).

I have a collection of old Citadel paints, inks & glazes (from the late '80s and early '90s) that I acquired from a closing game store. These are pre-boltshell jar, for those that understand the term. I love those glazes & inks, and the paints are premium from that era -- the formula is what is currently being manufactured as P3 paints for Privateer Press (same paint company, anyway). Also, Citadel's new Foundations are quite nice, and their new washes rock, as they are waterprrof when dry! That means after your mini is completely dry, you can touch-up without worrying about muddying your previous wash-work.

I also love the color ranges of Vallejo paints. I actually picked up a box set of their Panzer Colours, and can use that one set exclusively for the colour scheme of my one DIY SM army.

As for brushes, I am an elitist. I buy sable brushes whenever I can afford them. Camel hair, goat hair and synthetics are fine for most drybrushing, though.

[MagickalMemories]

I was just wondering if you all are using the term "inks" synonymously with "washes" and/or "glazes", as Citadel no longer produces "inks" or "glazes", but have a new set of "washes".

Ink = a. a painting medium; b. an illustration technique
Wash = a. a painting medium; b. a painting technique
Glaze = (see Washes)

As for paints I prefer, I am more motivated by color than brand. If a certain paint range has a color I want or need, I'll pick it up. If after using a certain brand I find the paint is too difficult to work with, I'll not purchase it in the future (ie: Citadel paint in a boltshell jar, circa mid-90s to present).

I have a collection of old Citadel paints, inks & glazes (from the late '80s and early '90s) that I acquired from a closing game store. These are pre-boltshell jar, for those that understand the term. I love those glazes & inks, and the paints are premium from that era -- the formula is what is currently being manufactured as P3 paints for Privateer Press (same paint company, anyway). Also, Citadel's new Foundations are quite nice, and their new washes rock, as they are waterprrof when dry! That means after your mini is completely dry, you can touch-up without worrying about muddying your previous wash-work.

Actually, I've heard nothing about GW discontinuing their inks. Only adding foundation paints & washes.
GW washes are, essentially, pre-thinned ink with a litle something extra thrown in to make them cover and fill better.
I've heard almost nothing BUT good stuff about them.


((As an aside, I looked on the GW site for inks, and I don't see them there. I hope this does not mean that they are no longer carrying them, as their current range of washes is WOEFULLY small. Perhaps I must stock up on my inks, or see who has a comparable range. Does Vallejo have inks that copy GW colors, similar to their "Game Color" line?))

When I create a "wash," I thin my ink. I use it to wash the area.
I don't consider it a true glaze.

If I create a paint "wash," I specifically call it a "paint wash" for the same reason, re: glaze. Also, so it isn't confused with the ink wash.

I tend to stick with Vallejo Game Color because it mimics the GW color line, and I like that line. If/when I ever get the opportunity to go outside that line of minis again, I'll expand my paints.

I love the OLD (pre-boltshell) GW paints. They were great.
As for inks and the new washes... my ink washes are waterproof, too.
They only lose that when mixed with Elmers to adhere to Vallejo paints. It's the white glue that causes that. Not the ink. Ever see a kids grade-school art project after getting wet? Same principle. The glue gets runny and... well... runs.


As for brushes... I'm not elitist. I'm cheap. LOL
I've had sable brushes. They make no difference in my work.


Eric

[mrrshann618]

I was refering to the Inks that they first launched, I hoarded that stuff when my LGS went out of business. Those stupid bottles however has cost me a few pots once I crack the seal.
I also have a ton of older washes from the old Rubber bottle days, I barely use them, The flesh wash is my most used.. on metal to give it that "rusty" look.
I've never tried their "galzes" then again there is no hobby store within 60 miles of me so I'm using old hoarded pots from several years ago. (Partha paints over 15...)

[Ironhide]

Here's an article on choosing brushes:
http://miniature-painting.net/guides_brushes.html

[Shirokuma]

Nice site, Ironhide. Thanks! I learned some things I didn't know before.

Here's an article on choosing brushes:
http://miniature-painting.net/guides_brushes.html

[Izeya82]

Thanks for all the information. Do I score extra points for good topic?

[Lormax]

Ironhide, thanks for the link. Printed out and I'll be using the info shortly, as I was thinking about updating my brushes a couple days ago anyway.

[MagickalMemories]

Thanks for all the information. Do I score extra points for good topic?

Yeah. Sure.

::Pat. Pat::
::tousles newbie's hair::


There you go.

Eric