My first issue is highlighting models.
When the minis are painted up I give them a layer of wash. And then I am done. This often make my models look dirty or dark, and sometimes that is a good look, but other times that is no good at all.
When I see painting videos it looks so simple to add highlights, but when I try to do that I end up with not getting the thin lines needed, either because I have too much paint on the brush or because the tip is not sharp enough (or a combination). Also I have a small shake in my hands, and that is a drawback. That can cause me enough problems painting details on the miniatures, so painting very thin stripes can be a problem even if I have a sharp brush with just the right amount of paint on it.
Also it doesn't help a lot that I'm not that great at painting anyway...
My second issue is making bases.
I see so many great bases when I look at other peoples work. But my stuff get very basic in comparison.
It's not that I don't have the skills to do something , it is just that when I get to the base I sort of feel tht the mini is done and I just wan't to get it over with.
Also, making all different bases for my armies makes me have to use a lot of different technical paints.
Well, I like to think I have found a solution to both these issues, but I will have to wait until daylight tomorrow to see if this is right or not.
The solution to the highlighting is adding just a thin layer of wash all over, this will give me some contrast and shades while not clouding the original details.
Another solution is to use more Agrax Earthshade instead of Nuln Oil as Agrax is brown instead of the black Nuln Oil.
Hopefully this will make my models look less dark. I have tried this on a Kastellan robot and his Mechanicus handler tonight, and I will take a look at it in daylight tomorrow to see how it looks.
The base problem I think I have solved with using only technical paints that add structure and that does not crackle. I like the effect you get from the crackling paint but I find it hard to keep the paint on the base and to do something with it without damaging it and chipping off pieces of cracked paint.
I will try and make as many armies as I can with the same type of paint to keep from buying tons of different pots, and this will also make the armies fit better together as they will appear to be on the same battlefield when the bases look alike.
I have three main bases that I plan to use. For my dwarfs I have a gray rock base, and this will also be used in a modified version for my Deathwatch and Kharadron Overlords
The second base is a woodland base using a brown base with Stirland Battlemire and then drybrushes with three green colors as a drybrush for the big bases like on my Sylvaneth Treelords and maybe just one or two greens on the smaller bases.
The third one is a desert base, and this is the one I have worked on tonight and it will (if it works) be the base for most of my 40K armies. I am implementing it on my Mechanicus army now, and will use it on my Imperial Guard army next. I will see how it works on a fairly large base tomorrow as I finished a base for my Kastellan robot tonight.
I also have a fourth base, but that will only be used for my Ogryn army (who has a brand new name I can't remember now). That is a snow base. I might redo that to a rock base with patches of snow as I have only made 3 bases for this army so far so it will not be much work to change it.
If I have found a solution to two of my biggest problems, I will post pictures ones I have finished a unit or two.
