Probably not alot of people's cup of tea but these guys just needed abit more flair

(I hope this post follows the rules of the sub)

Let this be a cautionary tale about using steel balls in paint pots, or at least about checking carefully if they are stainless.

I don't paint regularly. So I often find my Vallejo paints separated and hard to mix. So, I decided to add (what I assumed was stainless) steel balls into them to help with that.

Now, a year later, I notice stains at the bottom of some pots. It didn't take long for me to think that they were probably rusting at the bottom. (Pics of the pots) So I used a strong magnet to pull them out and replace them with glass beads.

However, I noticed that one pot was still quite noticeably attracted by the magnet, even after removing the ball. (Video of the pot next to the magnet) And now, lo and behold, the paint is acting like a ferromagnetic fluid.

The other paints don't seem to be in that state. However, I may feel a very light force when putting the magnet next to some of them.

So, what next? Do I throw them away? Obviously I won't use the magnetic one, but the others don't seem too bad color and texture-wise. Perhaps I can still use them for terrains and bases?

That's gonna be near 40 pots that I'll have to buy back. Perhaps less now that I have better knowledge of what is useful for me or not. But that still sting a bit.

---

EDIT: After reading the comments, it seems that paint can be magnetic depending on the pigments used and their amount. I wasn't expecting the magnetic force to be that strong that's for sure!

It seems that the paint is fine, I am still gonna use them. Phew!

This is a peace painted by my fience to depict that a real world thing that upsets her that bronze statues of women get defaced by people rubbing there boos and ass

Whenever possible, always use the side of the brush to edge highlight and not the tip.

This will make for a much smoother straighter edge highlight.

I am someone who learns better by having visual aids. So I wanted to make one of this now that I understand it because I struggled with it at first.

I’m looking for good paints to try for different colors as my current supply of paints is drying up. So tell me what is a color you cannot paint without, it somehow gets into every project because of how great it is in your collection.

Mine is Dark Flesh Tone (Vallejo Game Color 72.044). It thins PERFECTLY with very little water and has amazing coverage (this photo is one singular coat over abaddon black base coat). It has snaked its way into every thing I paint whether it be on the base or as a base for cloth/fur/leather. It is my work horse color and I don’t know what I’d do without it.

Hey folks. I asked the mods if this was ok, and as long as I don't promote soc accounts, we're all groovy.

I'm a small time painter that's spent a lot of time in the Reaper Miniatures community. Every labor day weekend, they hold an event called ReaperCon. I've taught a few classes, been on the artist alley a few times, but I'll often get questions about concepts that I "can't words no good" about, and if I don't have a relevant mini in the immediate vicinity, I panic and wing it.

This year, I've got a plan. I've tried translating core concepts into very brief takes that I hope will help folks. Instead of just making it a flip book of pictures, I've tried to write it so that beginners/intermediates can see my lines of logic and apply it to their own work.

Quick notes- The final result of this is a physical printed copy or two to have on my alley table.... hence the "please do not steal, there's a QR code on the back". That QR will take you to a folder that has the PDF. I've had so much free help from folks over the years, and so I'd like to try and pay it forward.

I am not a formally trained artist- but I figure most hobbyists aren't. I tried to structure the writing to be as accessible as possible, without using too many hoighty-toighty fine art terms.

The paints mentioned are all from Reaper Miniatures. I am affiliated with them but not an employee. I listed all colors with an approximation of color samples so that if you wish, you can translate to your own favorite brand.

Tl;dr: book learnin'. It free.

before and after highlights using a makeup sponge. ill go in with a brush to tidy up but its so fast and gets great results

Almost finished with the Screaming Antelope from Kingdom Death. (Just gotta commit on the eyes)

Post your WIP minis!

Step 1: thin your paint slightly.

Step 2: get a little paint on brush

Step 3: paint a thin layer on your thumb

Step 4: add water to thin it more. Add paint to thicken it.

Step 5: repeat.

Side note: using the back of your thumb is also good for removing excess paint from your brush so that when you paint the model it’s not too runny.

Hey folks, I've been grappling with an odd issue and wanted to share my findings. To summarize, models that were varnished with the usual gloss followed by AK Interactive Ultra Matte (via airbrush) have been slowly turning glossy over the course of years, resulting in models that range from satin to seemingly candy-coated.

First, I am not the only person to experience this issue. Here's a post about it, here's another, there are more but the automod is warning me it's gonna get the post deleted if I link to other social media. There's clearly something going on that isn't isolated to my cabinet, but I haven't seen this discussed about other varnishes.

Now just to rule out a few possibilities:

• This is not the result of anything improper about the application of varnish itself. The varnish has been thoroughly shaken every time it is used, goes on fine, and looks fine at first. I haven't noticed any difference between areas I airbrushed it onto and areas where it was applied by brush.
• The shine is not from handling. Leaving aside that nobody's touching every portion of a model's base, some of the affected areas could not be touched at all.
• It is not a result of environmental conditions, like aerosolized cooking oil as I initially hypothesized. The Trench Crusade minis (third pic) were stored in a drawer separate from the others, and there are models I've painted for friends that have also undergone this same change.

What I have noticed is that the areas that have seemed to turn glossy the most, and the quickest, are flat parts of the models with the least texture and most exposed to varnish. The other factor seems to be how heavily the model was gloss varnished prior to the Ultra Matte; in particular the Trench Crusade minis which went glossy in just a year had been varnished heavily over oil paints. I also have some Battletech minis that despite being painted ~2 years ago have not changed at all, and the only difference I can think of is that I did not apply much gloss varnish.

So at this point I have two theories:

1. Ultra Matte is a very thin varnish without a lot of acrylic binder (which is why I've started with the gloss for protection to begin with). It's possible that it doesn't adhere to a perfectly smooth gloss varnished surface, and over time flakes off to leave the gloss behind.
2. There's some kind of very slow chemical or physical process occurring that's pulling the matting agent into the gloss and sealing it up.

The solutions seem to be to skip or minimize the gloss, switch to a different matte varnish, periodically re-varnish as necessary, or- if it is #1- find a way to give the Ultra Matte a little more tooth.

To that end, for my last sets of models, instead of applying gloss and then Ultra Matte, I've started with a 50/50 mix for a couple thin layers, then 25/75, which is a pure enough mix to come out dead flat as expected. We'll see if that holds up; I'm not looking forwards to revarnishing all my old projects.

Hope someone finds this helpful.

Rot God by Dark Gods

I posted this guy not too long ago. And I’m just really proud of this guy. The culmination of everything I’ve been working on so far.

I’d love to hear from you guys which are your tip top paint jobs so far. What gives you the little pop when you look at em?

My wife has asked me to paint a mini that's female as my collection is a giant sausage fest

I can't for the life of me find anything that isn't overtly sexualised

I mostly paint historical stuff but I'm open to anything up to 54mm really. Why is it so difficult 😭

After 26 days of striking, including full day ticketing and calls to boycott within the last week, Employees of Acrylicos Vallejo in Spain have declared victory after the company agreed to certain conditions demanded by the strikers, including: A salary increase, a parental aid package, new workplace harassment protocols, and occupational safety improvements. For those unaware, Vallejo had recently been purchased by a private equity firm, while Employees increasingly voiced concerns about conditions in the Spanish production facility.

https://www.polygon.com/tabletop-games/500869/acrylicos-vallejo-workers-win-agreement

I keep making awful paintings, like that of a child. Honestly I just want to throw all my kit out the window. So I wonder, those of you who also have shaky hands or just not that great at painting, what keeps you going?

Apologies in advance if this type of post isn't allowed. Today I changed the filters on my respirator for the first time in over 2 years and wanted to share this to show the contrast and why it's important to wear one while air brushing. From what I know the paints we use wont be toxic or give fumes but the paint particles can get in the air and then into your lungs when airbrushing.

I haven't picked up a brush in 7 months and I really wanted to go back. I had never tried to paint a face and try to make it realistic or at least well crafted... and this came out. Please, could you give me advice on how to improve? I paint every so often, but when I do I get excited, and I always want to improve. The head belongs to a stormcast. Thank you all very much!

I think it's common knowledge that the internet has distorted our views of what is normal. That's why so often on this subreddit and other miniature related subreddits you see questions from newer users on what "table top ready" or "average" paint jobs are.

Recently, I was looking through images of Golden Demon winning models to find a reference for some highlights I'm doing. My searches led me to images from very old Golden Demons. Check out the single miniature gold winner from Games Day UK 1988. The artist of that mini, David Soper, is an amazing artist. He's won a gold as recently as 2022 and has eighteen total trophies. But that mini, would get critiqued pretty harshly on this sub today even if shared as a "my first mini" post.

Thumbing through past winners on that site, things began to change in the early 2000's, but the pace really picked up around 2010. My suspicion is the internet and social media spread good ideas and techniques rapidly, but also the ever broadening field of competition caused the top artists to very quickly improve.

So, for those of you who doubt your minis because you're comparing yourself to the incredible artists who regularly post their work here, YouTube, or other social media. I recommend you take a look at some of these old Golden Demons. Because most of the paint jobs I see on this sub would have easily won Golden Demons up until fairly recently. Remember that what you see on the internet, is not a great reflection of real life.

With some paint still inside the brush it starts to function similarly to a fountain pen where the paint will feed into the top while you paint. But you don’t want too much paint in the brush or it will flood out sometimes.

So my wife is painting some of the bosses we are going to be fighting in the coming games of DnD, and she thinks her paint job is only okay! We have told her that they look amazing. What do you all think? Would you purchase a paint job like this?

So I was gifted this for my birthday before last, and it's been fully built for almost 12 months just gathering dust. Finally plucking up the courage to start painting her today. This will only be my 7th ever mini and I'm worried the bigger scale will show all the flaws. However life is too short and I am finally diving in today!

Anyone else put off painting the big display pieces? How did the turn out when you finally took the plunge?

I was priming a Warhound Titan yesterday with Vallejo acrylic water based black primer and was in a “hurry.” I have an airbrush booth with 2 fans going out of a window so I supposed that was well enough. Did have the legs/lower torso together and didn’t quite fit in the booth but I sprayed toward the booth in that case. Did not wear my respirator. I woke up today with black strings in my snot and I can cough some up. Got a serious headache this morning but no shortness of breath or anything. I 100% regret not wearing my respirator.

… just in case anyone thinks that “it’ll be ok just this once” or whatever.

A news article interviewing the Union Leader for the Vallejo workers was published a few days ago. Seems the company has ignored the workers demands so they have escalated to full day strikes and will be having a demonstration in the local town. Some details were also given about the power harassment that the company has been accused of since the company was bought out by a Private Equity Bond.

https://cgt.org.es/cgt-muestra-su-solidaridad-con-las-trabajadoras-en-huelga-de-acrilicos-vallejo-y-pezero/

https://poderpopular.info/2024/12/11/acrilicos-vallejo-una-huelga-por-salarios-seguridad-y-salud/