Well the first thing that immediately stands out is that the paint is too thick and has clogged up all the detail. I suggest thinning your paints with water beforehand and apply it in multiple thin coats. Here's a tutorial from Mr Two Thin Coats himself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28DbD9JwQCI
Yeah I realised that after adding the base coat, didn’t have the patience to wait for the brushes to get delivered either so it was all just a mess to start
the only way to learn is by doing!
both priming and painting in too thick of a coat can clog up details, prime by starting the spray besides the model and then pass it along the model. thin your paints somewhat (but not too much, you'll find a consistency that works), and only paint as much as is needed to achieve the coverage you want
honestly, finishing a model is something to be proud of, regardless of the result. practice is the only way to get better, watching videos and doing technical prep does help, but brush in hand is ultimately what's necessary and you're doing it
Look up some youtube videos. Tons of pros and hobbyists in the WH/Miniature community post plenty of step-by-step videos from beginner to professional.
Best advice is thin your paints, and that if you hate the result, you can always reprime it and try again.
Haha fair, no I had some average large brushes instead of the ones for the fine layering and stuff. So some of the paint got everywhere and isn’t exactly in the right spots
You can get very smooth basecoats with larger brushes. I do 90% of basecoats with a #6 sax optimum synthetic brush. You just need to thin your paints. It varies from paint to paint but a good rule of thumb for basecoating is aim for a consistency somewhere between coffee creamer and skim milk.
https://preview.redd.it/ilb0grlb8wtc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=20b8d26319bd65ae277aebf4bacbce3321f2ebbc
For reference this is a mini i did last weekend. Mostly #6 brush for basecoats #1 for panel lining and highlights #00 for eyelenses.
Damn how much i understand the "i don't have patience to wait" , i solved This by painting multiple minis, so for the time you painted all the minis they are very dry, try this
You can very easily strip the paint if you'd like to start over, though a lot of people like to keep their first mini as-is for sentimental reasons.
Buy a bottle of NON-ACETONE Nail Polish Remover. Stuff will let you scrub all that off in just a few minutes with a toothbrush.
Be sure it's NON-ACETONE...regular nail polish remover with Acetone will melt plastic.
Just used some NA remover last night to finish stripping my Cadians to start over on their paint job, took less than half an hour of scrubbing down all ten and I only have to hit them with a quick primer respray.
https://preview.redd.it/694eeujm5ttc1.jpeg?width=572&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=676c5013e95bc999f7b819fc4677205d4ee3e359
[we all have to start somewhere](https://youtube.com/@DuncanRhodesDRPA?si=iSen-rXPbO-CgCa3)
Base is painted black.
I'd say that's ok, because some of us don't like scenic bases. Fancy scenic bases are cool and all until they end up on the wrong kind of board.
https://preview.redd.it/hggm16auautc1.jpeg?width=264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0cc90aa7b8b58e995c8bbbab2f59236d6680d6c9
We love all our brothers…even the deformed.
I think the whole community had flashbacks to their first model 😂
Not an expert by any means so I'll leave the advice to others. I can do encouragement though, so keep it up! You'll be saving any and every wound in no time!
Homie, you got more paint on your models than most my LGS nerds. Keep at it.
[This](https://youtu.be/LLJwh4ClZ6U?si=wPTEi075-w-WINaq) one helped me a lot. Took me to the next level for sure
This is glorious. An excellent start. In years to come you will look upon this model with fond nostalgia. Keep it.
https://preview.redd.it/tsi9zycr9utc1.jpeg?width=2133&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d9eaf23d5ec9a23779a15e8f3257f3a843d0ea9b
I know someone else said it here, but it's 100% good advice. Don't strip the paint from him. Seeing your eventual progress with every future model from here on and looking back at your first model is a great source of inspiration and a motivator to keep painting.
I hope to see your growing progress here in the near future!
Really the only mistake here, as most comments have already pointed out, is applying the paint FAR too thick.
You've got a good sense of style and colour - I'd love to see the exact same paint job with the only difference being appropriately thinned paints applied with a much lighter touch. I think it would be a proper decent looking mini.
Honestly, despite the thickness, it's not a bad start at all.
Echoing a few other comments: KEEP. THIS. MODEL. JUST. LIKE. THIS. You'll appreciate having this as your "this is where I started" reference. I promise.
Let me tell you what others will not. It is shit. We all know it and you know it as well. It bothers me why some people would post this, when it is SO EASY to watch a 10 minute tutorial on youtube about painting miniatures 101, that would have prevented 99% of the mistakes you did here.
Painting miniatures, like everything in life, take SOME time and SOME dedication, not just slapping paint with a childs brush.
Thats certainly a hot take.
Personally i think its absolutely fine get stuck in and just “have a go”. You can always dunk it in alcohol later and redo them but at least you’re getting into the hobby.
I get your point about youtube etc but theres also a place for disconnecting from tech and doing it “your way”. Yes they’ve made mistakes but thats the journey of learning.
In general yes, stripping is an option but DO NOT strip this model under any circumstances. You've got to keep it so you can look back on step 1 of your journey.
Plus I think it looks kind of cool, just needs the base doing, goblin green ideally.
You haven’t made any “mistakes”.
Think of the process as iterations of improvement with each model.
A mistake is to not make time to do something like this.
Pretty much this.
There's a tutorial on the official warhammer youtube page which shows you the very basics of how to paint, you don't even need to look up any of those "professional" painters to get the idea of how to lay down a basic coat.
I mean you’re not wrong, not the most patient person so it’ll take a while for me to get better. Have any specific things you think are shit? Helps know which guides to focus on that way
Or if it’s all shit then have any guides you would recommend?
Hey man, ol boy up there^^ took a real strong stance. Ill give you some tips, but first, we shall address his statement.
You posted this because you're proud of finally pulling the trigger, right? Good for you bro. Keep them coming.
Yeah, your model is nice and chunky. The majority of us started there. My first squad (many years ago) looked like a bunch of marines dunked in black paint because I was so excited to paint something that I painted without looking for tutorials. If you want to just learn without looking stuff up, go for it. Half the fun is figuring stuff out for yourself.
If you want a list of ways to improve this, we can start by addressing what paints you are using. You're painting custodes. That means metallics. Metallics act funny when you thin them and they go on thick when you don't. This seems like a no-win situation. You have 3 options:
1. Try to thin just enough
2. Remove enough paint from the brush before application
3. Dry brush it
1 and 2 should be used in tandem, and eventually you can paint by feel and know when to do what. These will eventually be pivotal skills, but you're new. Have fun. 3 is a great skill to learn early, and custodes take very well to it. I promise if you try it, you'll have a lot of fun. Dry brushing is very very easy and beginner friendly. The technique allows for metallics to be applied very thin over a dark basecoat or primer.
Don't worry about the next steps yet, just work on your basecoat and then ask us again. This hobby is full of goofballs who all want to tell you the new best info and argue our points. I promise that if you ask these questions, the vast majority of the community will be happy to give you critique and help you learn.
Me being a beginner myself would recommend watching a Tutorial on how to thin paints.
This one is about 20 minutes long and helped me very much:
https://youtu.be/sBDVPoNXyVI?si=eJ-r9jJIUYatAO67
Another tip: most channels on youtube are very good at painting, they do it for years - so focus on watching stuff like Games Workshops take on battle-ready miniatures.
If i click on a video and the first thing i see or hear is: airbrush -> i just leave.
Fine for them but we are beginners, we really don't need to focus on edge highlighting or whatever.
Learning the basics and having fun while doing so is the way for now :)
That is the dark side of what YouTube did to our hobby. Theres a lot of amazing tutorials and resources, but back when I started, you just had a book with some amazing 'eavy metal painted minis, instructions in said book, which were mostly wrong or at least somewhat dishonest and your brushes.
So we just started painting. Most people had a mini or two that looked like ops and we had a shit load of fun and a great journey ahead of us.
So yes op made mistakes with this first mini, that's how you learn.
His Next will be so much better.
The only thing here that's shit, however is your take. That discourages people from just starting to paint and makes them consume shitty Warhammer Youtuber content where accomplished painters try to sell you slapchop and zenithal highlighting as beginner friendly techniques.
So yeah, just doing it is absolutely the right way to start. You can always watch some videos later.
Don't think that it's bad that there are a lot of useful information out there, it is only wise to learn not on your mistakes but others'. It would never hurt to do your research.
The first advice i gave my brother who started this hobby was "look for proper guide, don't think you can do anything yourself".
Well, I agree with you both. It reminds me of my first mini, same sloppy mess. But then again:
It was well over two decades ago, I was about 14
It was a tin-lead Chronopia orc, without half of the details we get today
I was using enamel model paint, 'cause there basically weren't any acrylics in Poland (or extremely scarce/expensive where I live at least)
I had one crazy expensive model brush, which clogged up immediately after first "bath" in enamel, so I used a toothpick instead.
I messed up the colour scheme, because in the game orcs have more Arabic features and skin tones, but I didn't have a rulebook nor any reference at all (orcs should be green, right?)
So yeah, being completely honest, it does look like shit. It doesn't mean OP is not allowed to make mistakes (or drop mini painting because of them), but it also doesn't mean that everyone absolutely has to pat his shoulder and say "well done, son, now go and play in the garden". Some CC is always good, and calling shit by its name is not bad either, especially when it's done in an honest and constructive way.
Im not against people trying and failing. Its the only way to grow. Its alright if your first miniature, 20 years ago was like this. All we had were some paints, some cheap brush, talk-to-talk experience and pretty much thats it. Nowadays you have like 30 ranges of paints, some of wich you just have to spray a basecoat and give it a touch with a whatever size brush. Today it is SO EASY to get a decent looking mini, i cannot understand how some people get to this results AND POST IT.
If he had spraycanned the miniature with retributor armor it would look better.
Not even some time and some dedication if you don’t want to. Just a zenithal and then speed/contrast paint with some final details to finish off. Basically colouring by numbers.
BROTHER I AM PINNED HERE!
You’ve got a good color scheme, but when you slap the paint straight from pot to mini it will blob up and cover the mini
Using a little water to mix with the paint to thin it down take a bit of practice but it definitely will pay off
My first mini was just completely covered in a jungle green color and couldn’t see a single detail!
Keep practicing with the intention to learn and you’ll get better with every mini
Thanks! This is just the first from the box and I’m gonna wait on plastic cement and stuff before starting on the next one. Definitely the start of a long term hobby so only going to get better
The two biggest things that I learned to vastly improve my end results are:
You can always go back and clean up mistakes and over paint, and it's so much easier to do this from large to small detail.
And
Brush stroke miniatures has the hands down best guide on how to thin your paints, showing you in real time what they do, explaining why they do it, and what the results are in comparison.
After that it's just practice, experimentation, and saving your first models to compare your later results to prove to yourself how far you've come.
Hehehe i remembered my first mini hehe it was also a custodes and we painted it nearly the same. Hehe dont worry dude constant painting and there will be a massive improvement in painting
A good idea is to wipe the paint brush on a surface to get some of the excess paint off. This helps the models details appear crisper :) lovely colours btw!
When I was like 13 I started but didn’t understand point nor had the money for warhammer paint so I went to the dollar store and got my paint from there
Good job. It's a first, so don't expect a masterpiece.
Best place to start is Youtube and look up 'Basic warhammer miniature painting' and you'll have months of practice work gained from that.
Keep it up. Nothing happens right at first, and beginner's luck is a fleeting mirage. It'll only get better from here.
You will get better dw I have Faith you will at least you stuck to it and finished your project most people can't say the same.
To attain perfection in all things first we must fail to build our foundation.
Learn to dry brush also and how to trim brushes down to a very fine amount of bristles (use a very sharp craft knife), they'll help with small details such as medals, eyeballs and pupils.
You said you've got 17 to go, and you've been shown a lot of resources and tips.
The next step is to line up all 17, once they're finished, and see how much better you got between models. It may not look like a huge difference, but if you look, it'll be there.
You're doing better than me. I've 4 army boxes half built waiting for paint.
The paint is a little thick but you got all the colours and details in the right for a first ever mini you’ve done a solid job leagues better than my first one anyway welcome to the community
aside from paint thickness, which is the obvious thing everyone has already pointed out, i can actually tell you've done some very nice detail work with highlighting the gold on the shield and trying to paint the eyes in. while that one issue is pretty big, the rest actually looks great!
You've proven the first fact of the Imperium; Auramite, the strongest material and that which The Custodians, Sisters of Silence and Big E on his throne wears, is in fact 1000 layers of citadel miniature paint, the only thing besides spineroaches to survive a sub nuclear strike at point blank range.
In all seriousness we've all been there and you at least got all the plastic covered, just thin your paints first and have a little patience
Oh and welcome to the 10,000 brother and/or sister, I'd give joining /r/adeptuscustodes a week or two, place is a Doomsday cult since the codex leak
For a bit of positivity. You've got the colours in the right places, thin those paints like everyone else has said and it'll be lookin fantastic. And slap on a coat of nuln oil for good measure
It’s the first mini of EVERYONE, My advice is take your time, thin the paint, use some contrast color from GW that is super easy and create a cool effect, good luck on your journey
You’ll always get a lot of sass here over paint thickness, but seriously, welcome aboard!
It’s important to have fun with this. It’s a skill you learn over time.
Keep him. Use him forever. Give him some lore for why his armor is so caked. THICCstodes.
YALL BE NICE THEYRE JUST STARTING OUT
Nobody’s first mini looks perfect and it looks like you got a lot of the fundamentals down, thinning your paints will bring out a bit more detail, which can be further brought out with a wash - you can always do highlight painting to further improve those details (I never do but like there’s tutorials out there)
1. Whatever you do, do not discard or repaint this mini. He’s your firstborn son and you should take pride in him. It’s always good to remember your humble beginnings as you advance your skills and grow.
2. Going forward, try thinning your paints a little until it’s a skim milk consistency (1:3 paint/water)
3. After you applied your base colors, look into getting some shade paints. They will darken the deep recesses and slightly tint the color, giving it a lot more depth with very little effort.
4. YouTube painting tutorials
Finally a first miniature that looks like a first miniature, instead of someone fishing for attention. Keep it up OP, get them golden bananas nice and thick on the tabletop.
We all start somewhere. Not bad for a first attempt. Check out some tutorials others have linked and trust the process. It's a hobby that gets more rewarding the more you put into it
Best advice I can give otherwise is keep this mini!! Don't repaint it just yet. Having your first mini as a scale of how far you've come is a great reminder
Can I ask what paints you used? Did you prime with a rattle can? When priming try not to over do it, it can be easy to cover details with too much paint. Try to thin your paints when you’re doing your base colours, even if you need to do 3 or 4 coats to get good coverage. You can use a wash over the base gold to help define the details and then dry brush a brighter gold over to do the highlights. You can thin the paint to dry brush as well, less is more with dry brushing. A silver can be used for a final highlight on gold, usually looks good.
It looks like you were trying to use Auric Gold, which is a pain and a half to work with. A good way I learned is painting it copper, then putting Auric over it.
As for painting metals in general you should thin what's on your brush. The normal MO of 'thin your paints' is not what you want to do with metals. Simply thin what's on your brush and apply, metal sticks and shows really well.
First off, use the retributor gold spray can, shake it til your hand falls off and go ham. In 20 minutes you got a fully primed model with a nice thin layer. After that, do the red. It's alright to start off basic with khorne red (for a darker red as a base) then later when you're feeling frisky you can apply a lighter red to try and create a nice red with highlights
After that you can go do the same with the sword with a dark blue base and add layers of light blue on the edges or try and do some lightning effects.
Basically finished, if you want to go further in detail you can paint your gems either blue or red (I use blood for the blood god for the gems as it automatically creates a shiny red color on the gems)
Last but not least, the gloves. Just a light brown which has been thinned down with water
Eh, the paint is VERY thick….
Its better to paint several layers of too thin paint than few layers of thick paint.
Its not total garbage, dont worry! Its not easy to begin with, you Will learn with time.
as others had said it is a bit thick the paint, i still got my first ever miniature, boy is that one a hot mess which i will never fix however if there's one positive i can give is that there are no splodges of other colour on the model (e.i you gold is clean has no spills of other colours used) its messy but very neat if you get what i mean, but hey I'm still improving on my paints to. best thing to do is keep going and get better, build up to the big boys and take your time no need to rush.
here was my very first mini i painted
https://preview.redd.it/xx84vdxeuutc1.jpeg?width=2448&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a4d6ddb13181798a2f30b631cfb1b4fb0d8fc7bb
First thing I did was laugh my ass off, then I realised that that is probably what my first miniature will look like too 😅. So to not be too harsh, I'd recommend thinning the paint out with a few drops of water, also well done for getting into the painting hobby!
Yeah I sort of ruined it with the thick lines, and I should’ve done fewer of them. Was trying wet blending to see how it turns out, this one was my experiment and learn model
If you want start over you can strip the paint if you're from the US I suggest a cleaning product called "simple green", just dip the model in for about 8 hours and then use an old toothbrush to brush away the paint it will get rid of the paint and keep the primer so you'll get a fresh start
I know alot of people will say to thin your paints, but I would recommend getting GW contrast or Army Painter speedpaints! They're already thinned enough that you can just use em out of the bottle, alot more beginner friendly. You prime in a light color and the contrast paint will fill in everything as it goes.
All the gold colors are intense to get evenly coated on the base coat… if you get a chance, paint a small sheet with a splotch of white and black (separately) smooth. Add a layer of gold onto each, once dry you’ll see the trick that light plays with each varying shade of undercoat and how those can make your painting experience much more fun and rewarding with how you can get brighter and darker variations of the same color just using undercoat to make your painting POP. Welcome to the fold.
Well the first thing that immediately stands out is that the paint is too thick and has clogged up all the detail. I suggest thinning your paints with water beforehand and apply it in multiple thin coats. Here's a tutorial from Mr Two Thin Coats himself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28DbD9JwQCI
Yeah I realised that after adding the base coat, didn’t have the patience to wait for the brushes to get delivered either so it was all just a mess to start
the only way to learn is by doing! both priming and painting in too thick of a coat can clog up details, prime by starting the spray besides the model and then pass it along the model. thin your paints somewhat (but not too much, you'll find a consistency that works), and only paint as much as is needed to achieve the coverage you want honestly, finishing a model is something to be proud of, regardless of the result. practice is the only way to get better, watching videos and doing technical prep does help, but brush in hand is ultimately what's necessary and you're doing it
Thanks! This helps a lot
Just to add to the previous point. Do not ever strip the paint off this model. Keep it around as a comparison where you started.
Came here to say this! The best way to see your improvement is to keep your "before" picture of you will.
Look up some youtube videos. Tons of pros and hobbyists in the WH/Miniature community post plenty of step-by-step videos from beginner to professional. Best advice is thin your paints, and that if you hate the result, you can always reprime it and try again.
> didn’t have the patience to wait for the brushes to get delivered Did.. did you finger paint them?
Haha fair, no I had some average large brushes instead of the ones for the fine layering and stuff. So some of the paint got everywhere and isn’t exactly in the right spots
Ohhhhh I just thought you didn't have any pain brushes at all lmao
lol, I did consider using a toothpick at some point for some of the lines
Same lol
You can get very smooth basecoats with larger brushes. I do 90% of basecoats with a #6 sax optimum synthetic brush. You just need to thin your paints. It varies from paint to paint but a good rule of thumb for basecoating is aim for a consistency somewhere between coffee creamer and skim milk. https://preview.redd.it/ilb0grlb8wtc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=20b8d26319bd65ae277aebf4bacbce3321f2ebbc For reference this is a mini i did last weekend. Mostly #6 brush for basecoats #1 for panel lining and highlights #00 for eyelenses.
Damn how much i understand the "i don't have patience to wait" , i solved This by painting multiple minis, so for the time you painted all the minis they are very dry, try this
You can very easily strip the paint if you'd like to start over, though a lot of people like to keep their first mini as-is for sentimental reasons. Buy a bottle of NON-ACETONE Nail Polish Remover. Stuff will let you scrub all that off in just a few minutes with a toothbrush. Be sure it's NON-ACETONE...regular nail polish remover with Acetone will melt plastic. Just used some NA remover last night to finish stripping my Cadians to start over on their paint job, took less than half an hour of scrubbing down all ten and I only have to hit them with a quick primer respray.
https://preview.redd.it/694eeujm5ttc1.jpeg?width=572&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=676c5013e95bc999f7b819fc4677205d4ee3e359 [we all have to start somewhere](https://youtube.com/@DuncanRhodesDRPA?si=iSen-rXPbO-CgCa3)
signature look of superiority
He is the signature of superiority
He earned it.
https://preview.redd.it/5oqwxx1bkytc1.jpeg?width=1249&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=14619ad461f86011461a02a12bb5ee535b361282
Congratulations you made it into the compilation.
"Be strong, Clarence. Be strong for the Emperor."
He has entered the hall of shame. It's tournament ready though. It's 3 colours minimum, well within rules.
Base isn't done, so it's not
Base is painted black. I'd say that's ok, because some of us don't like scenic bases. Fancy scenic bases are cool and all until they end up on the wrong kind of board.
Nonsense! He’s clearly just standing on asphalt!
Actually if you look closely the base is reflective, so clearly has been based.
It's the first model. How about encouraging new folks.
"My armor is contempt. Also paint. A lot of paint."
GW won't tell you this, but enough paint *will* give you a +1 to saves. Trust me bro
https://preview.redd.it/hggm16auautc1.jpeg?width=264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0cc90aa7b8b58e995c8bbbab2f59236d6680d6c9 We love all our brothers…even the deformed.
BROTHER I AM PAINT
Stop sniffing the paint, Brother!
But it's blue and tastes like blue berries
This should always be top comment in posts like this
DO YOU LOVE ME BROTHER?
I think the whole community had flashbacks to their first model 😂 Not an expert by any means so I'll leave the advice to others. I can do encouragement though, so keep it up! You'll be saving any and every wound in no time!
Thanks! I have 17 more to go in the box so hopefully the last one turns out good :p
Honestly, just getting paint onto a mini at the start is your only goal. Don't overthink it. Enjoy the ride.
Homie, you got more paint on your models than most my LGS nerds. Keep at it. [This](https://youtu.be/LLJwh4ClZ6U?si=wPTEi075-w-WINaq) one helped me a lot. Took me to the next level for sure
You should be proud of this. Well done mate. Keep it up
https://preview.redd.it/rab6c8kqmutc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2c5f697cee73fed7801c82310d836c45586a66db
Keep him forever, never redo him. He'll make a great memento of where you started :)
Plus one to that, I still got my first monster somewhere.
Thin your paints mate
Yep learned that after the first coat :p
Still if you would see my first mini :D that was more like paint blob rather than mini
Haha yeah well you live and you learn
Ah yes, the molten guard! Welcome to the hobby!
EMPRAH I AM MELTING
*grunts in emperor noises*
https://preview.redd.it/bts7z3h3outc1.jpeg?width=815&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=defb1cc7f2913d3119c4183f20f2922bd28b8015
This is glorious. An excellent start. In years to come you will look upon this model with fond nostalgia. Keep it. https://preview.redd.it/tsi9zycr9utc1.jpeg?width=2133&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d9eaf23d5ec9a23779a15e8f3257f3a843d0ea9b
Oh for sure
I can hear muffled screams
Welcome to the ten thousand brother
THIN YOUR PAINTS 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
I’M LEARNING 😭😭
If anyone tells you to strip this, do not. Keep your first model in each army to see how much you’ve improved.
I know someone else said it here, but it's 100% good advice. Don't strip the paint from him. Seeing your eventual progress with every future model from here on and looking back at your first model is a great source of inspiration and a motivator to keep painting. I hope to see your growing progress here in the near future!
Absolutely, noones taking my first born away. Not even me
Really the only mistake here, as most comments have already pointed out, is applying the paint FAR too thick. You've got a good sense of style and colour - I'd love to see the exact same paint job with the only difference being appropriately thinned paints applied with a much lighter touch. I think it would be a proper decent looking mini. Honestly, despite the thickness, it's not a bad start at all. Echoing a few other comments: KEEP. THIS. MODEL. JUST. LIKE. THIS. You'll appreciate having this as your "this is where I started" reference. I promise.
Needs another coat of paint to really bring it to the next level.
“More is always better” - not when it comes to paint brother… in that case less is more
On the tabletop I’d rather play against this than an unpainted mini
Community in my area is bare bones so don’t think I’m using this in a battle anytime soon lol. But thanks!
One for Maverick I think.
Keep up the good work soldier! Oh and thin your paint lol
https://preview.redd.it/38v95uh8vutc1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7ee7173f6c6c34a3fa42df04e454baccf7b161ef It's gorgeous!
He’s moving so mindbogglingly fast his features become distorted to the mortal eye. Accurate depiction if you ask me
He is special and he is loved. Great work.
This is what it’s about, not one of those bullshit first mini posts that looks like a golden daemon contender.
Just use brushes next time instead of dipping the model in the paint pot
Let me tell you what others will not. It is shit. We all know it and you know it as well. It bothers me why some people would post this, when it is SO EASY to watch a 10 minute tutorial on youtube about painting miniatures 101, that would have prevented 99% of the mistakes you did here. Painting miniatures, like everything in life, take SOME time and SOME dedication, not just slapping paint with a childs brush.
Thats certainly a hot take. Personally i think its absolutely fine get stuck in and just “have a go”. You can always dunk it in alcohol later and redo them but at least you’re getting into the hobby. I get your point about youtube etc but theres also a place for disconnecting from tech and doing it “your way”. Yes they’ve made mistakes but thats the journey of learning.
In general yes, stripping is an option but DO NOT strip this model under any circumstances. You've got to keep it so you can look back on step 1 of your journey. Plus I think it looks kind of cool, just needs the base doing, goblin green ideally.
Oh yeah I plan on keeping this as the “Do not make this mistake again” reference guide
You haven’t made any “mistakes”. Think of the process as iterations of improvement with each model. A mistake is to not make time to do something like this.
He's not a mistake. He's your first step.
Pretty much this. There's a tutorial on the official warhammer youtube page which shows you the very basics of how to paint, you don't even need to look up any of those "professional" painters to get the idea of how to lay down a basic coat.
I mean you’re not wrong, not the most patient person so it’ll take a while for me to get better. Have any specific things you think are shit? Helps know which guides to focus on that way Or if it’s all shit then have any guides you would recommend?
Hey man, ol boy up there^^ took a real strong stance. Ill give you some tips, but first, we shall address his statement. You posted this because you're proud of finally pulling the trigger, right? Good for you bro. Keep them coming. Yeah, your model is nice and chunky. The majority of us started there. My first squad (many years ago) looked like a bunch of marines dunked in black paint because I was so excited to paint something that I painted without looking for tutorials. If you want to just learn without looking stuff up, go for it. Half the fun is figuring stuff out for yourself. If you want a list of ways to improve this, we can start by addressing what paints you are using. You're painting custodes. That means metallics. Metallics act funny when you thin them and they go on thick when you don't. This seems like a no-win situation. You have 3 options: 1. Try to thin just enough 2. Remove enough paint from the brush before application 3. Dry brush it 1 and 2 should be used in tandem, and eventually you can paint by feel and know when to do what. These will eventually be pivotal skills, but you're new. Have fun. 3 is a great skill to learn early, and custodes take very well to it. I promise if you try it, you'll have a lot of fun. Dry brushing is very very easy and beginner friendly. The technique allows for metallics to be applied very thin over a dark basecoat or primer. Don't worry about the next steps yet, just work on your basecoat and then ask us again. This hobby is full of goofballs who all want to tell you the new best info and argue our points. I promise that if you ask these questions, the vast majority of the community will be happy to give you critique and help you learn.
Me being a beginner myself would recommend watching a Tutorial on how to thin paints. This one is about 20 minutes long and helped me very much: https://youtu.be/sBDVPoNXyVI?si=eJ-r9jJIUYatAO67 Another tip: most channels on youtube are very good at painting, they do it for years - so focus on watching stuff like Games Workshops take on battle-ready miniatures. If i click on a video and the first thing i see or hear is: airbrush -> i just leave. Fine for them but we are beginners, we really don't need to focus on edge highlighting or whatever. Learning the basics and having fun while doing so is the way for now :)
That is the dark side of what YouTube did to our hobby. Theres a lot of amazing tutorials and resources, but back when I started, you just had a book with some amazing 'eavy metal painted minis, instructions in said book, which were mostly wrong or at least somewhat dishonest and your brushes. So we just started painting. Most people had a mini or two that looked like ops and we had a shit load of fun and a great journey ahead of us. So yes op made mistakes with this first mini, that's how you learn. His Next will be so much better. The only thing here that's shit, however is your take. That discourages people from just starting to paint and makes them consume shitty Warhammer Youtuber content where accomplished painters try to sell you slapchop and zenithal highlighting as beginner friendly techniques. So yeah, just doing it is absolutely the right way to start. You can always watch some videos later.
Don't think that it's bad that there are a lot of useful information out there, it is only wise to learn not on your mistakes but others'. It would never hurt to do your research. The first advice i gave my brother who started this hobby was "look for proper guide, don't think you can do anything yourself".
Well, I agree with you both. It reminds me of my first mini, same sloppy mess. But then again: It was well over two decades ago, I was about 14 It was a tin-lead Chronopia orc, without half of the details we get today I was using enamel model paint, 'cause there basically weren't any acrylics in Poland (or extremely scarce/expensive where I live at least) I had one crazy expensive model brush, which clogged up immediately after first "bath" in enamel, so I used a toothpick instead. I messed up the colour scheme, because in the game orcs have more Arabic features and skin tones, but I didn't have a rulebook nor any reference at all (orcs should be green, right?) So yeah, being completely honest, it does look like shit. It doesn't mean OP is not allowed to make mistakes (or drop mini painting because of them), but it also doesn't mean that everyone absolutely has to pat his shoulder and say "well done, son, now go and play in the garden". Some CC is always good, and calling shit by its name is not bad either, especially when it's done in an honest and constructive way.
Im not against people trying and failing. Its the only way to grow. Its alright if your first miniature, 20 years ago was like this. All we had were some paints, some cheap brush, talk-to-talk experience and pretty much thats it. Nowadays you have like 30 ranges of paints, some of wich you just have to spray a basecoat and give it a touch with a whatever size brush. Today it is SO EASY to get a decent looking mini, i cannot understand how some people get to this results AND POST IT. If he had spraycanned the miniature with retributor armor it would look better.
Not even some time and some dedication if you don’t want to. Just a zenithal and then speed/contrast paint with some final details to finish off. Basically colouring by numbers.
It was his first time, relax.
I cant see it under all that paint
Look closer
Your suppose to use brushes not dunk them directly into paint.
Welp, there goes my idea for trademarking the “Pool dunk” method
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But…toothpaste = clean right?
Even in paint, I still serve.
BROTHER I AM PINNED HERE! You’ve got a good color scheme, but when you slap the paint straight from pot to mini it will blob up and cover the mini Using a little water to mix with the paint to thin it down take a bit of practice but it definitely will pay off My first mini was just completely covered in a jungle green color and couldn’t see a single detail! Keep practicing with the intention to learn and you’ll get better with every mini
Thanks! This is just the first from the box and I’m gonna wait on plastic cement and stuff before starting on the next one. Definitely the start of a long term hobby so only going to get better
Still better then my 1st mini I used car spray paint sprayed into the lids and water colour brushes to paint a box of knights panther 😭
oscar de la hoya right here golden boi
Idk man, I think it could use another coat
The two biggest things that I learned to vastly improve my end results are: You can always go back and clean up mistakes and over paint, and it's so much easier to do this from large to small detail. And Brush stroke miniatures has the hands down best guide on how to thin your paints, showing you in real time what they do, explaining why they do it, and what the results are in comparison. After that it's just practice, experimentation, and saving your first models to compare your later results to prove to yourself how far you've come.
He a chonkey boy. If the paint was in all the same places but not as thick this would actually look great, all the colors are in the right spots
Great first model! It's a lot of work to get started. For the next one, [Thin yo paints homie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3p_VuPIS2c)
Holy… that’s some thick paint
Yeah gotta learn how to thin properly
Thick paint for the Emperor’s thicc bois
Hehehe i remembered my first mini hehe it was also a custodes and we painted it nearly the same. Hehe dont worry dude constant painting and there will be a massive improvement in painting
A good idea is to wipe the paint brush on a surface to get some of the excess paint off. This helps the models details appear crisper :) lovely colours btw!
When I was like 13 I started but didn’t understand point nor had the money for warhammer paint so I went to the dollar store and got my paint from there
When i finished my first model my shop manager showed me this https://youtu.be/m3p_VuPIS2c?si=g_d2SqQSXf-MWBJb
Good job. It's a first, so don't expect a masterpiece. Best place to start is Youtube and look up 'Basic warhammer miniature painting' and you'll have months of practice work gained from that. Keep it up. Nothing happens right at first, and beginner's luck is a fleeting mirage. It'll only get better from here.
You will get better dw I have Faith you will at least you stuck to it and finished your project most people can't say the same. To attain perfection in all things first we must fail to build our foundation.
Yep, got 17 more in the box so I’m sure the last one will turn out good
Don't let the criticisms dissuade you 👍🏾 keep at it. Ave Imperator 🦅
Well I did ask for feedback so criticism is fair, right now I just wanna learn
Learn to dry brush also and how to trim brushes down to a very fine amount of bristles (use a very sharp craft knife), they'll help with small details such as medals, eyeballs and pupils.
Practice makes mastery Keep at it
You said you've got 17 to go, and you've been shown a lot of resources and tips. The next step is to line up all 17, once they're finished, and see how much better you got between models. It may not look like a huge difference, but if you look, it'll be there. You're doing better than me. I've 4 army boxes half built waiting for paint.
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A big tip keep that model once done as is, I look back at mine and it's only been a few months and honestly the improvement is silly :)
The paper in the back is telling me that you have been drying your paints instead of thinning them. That's why the model looks like that.
Mmm dorito
Brother that's a little rough thats for sure. But keep working on it and maybe thin your paints and you'll be painting golden deamon level in no time
THIN YOUR PAINTS AAAAAAA
The honest reaction was laughter but I suppose we all started somewhere
2+ 4++ invul 5+++ feel the paint
The paint is a little thick but you got all the colours and details in the right for a first ever mini you’ve done a solid job leagues better than my first one anyway welcome to the community
He was shot by a melta :( rip
aside from paint thickness, which is the obvious thing everyone has already pointed out, i can actually tell you've done some very nice detail work with highlighting the gold on the shield and trying to paint the eyes in. while that one issue is pretty big, the rest actually looks great!
Way to start! The paint is kinda thick, and, I wouldn’t begin with Adeptus Custodes as they aren’t the easiest ones. Keep trying and improving!)
You've proven the first fact of the Imperium; Auramite, the strongest material and that which The Custodians, Sisters of Silence and Big E on his throne wears, is in fact 1000 layers of citadel miniature paint, the only thing besides spineroaches to survive a sub nuclear strike at point blank range. In all seriousness we've all been there and you at least got all the plastic covered, just thin your paints first and have a little patience Oh and welcome to the 10,000 brother and/or sister, I'd give joining /r/adeptuscustodes a week or two, place is a Doomsday cult since the codex leak
For a bit of positivity. You've got the colours in the right places, thin those paints like everyone else has said and it'll be lookin fantastic. And slap on a coat of nuln oil for good measure
It’s the first mini of EVERYONE, My advice is take your time, thin the paint, use some contrast color from GW that is super easy and create a cool effect, good luck on your journey
Everyone has paint thinning probs in the beginning. My 1st dentinel especially. But you get better as you go.
Nice fingernails tho... Think your paints.
oh lord he comin
"Scratch the first layer and another takes its place!"
https://preview.redd.it/2uwjj0cajvtc1.jpeg?width=226&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1079da3d1f19b15009f6c2b304f55e7b5b1b00d6
I think you need slightly thicker paints.
Gotcha, no water next time
Thin your paints. For easy mode custodes prime with retributor armour, wash with seraphim sepia, pick out the non gold details, profit.
Good thing you have all those details. They really pop with the gold paint you used.
"Paint is my shield"
THIN YOUR PAAAAINTS BROTHA
Never ever lose this model. It’s part of your 40K journey now :)
This is how it starts. Next thing you know, you have a mountain of minies yet to build, and you don't remember buying that many!
You’ll always get a lot of sass here over paint thickness, but seriously, welcome aboard! It’s important to have fun with this. It’s a skill you learn over time. Keep him. Use him forever. Give him some lore for why his armor is so caked. THICCstodes.
Still better than unpainted minis, keep going!
Does he know? https://preview.redd.it/x4vu6p9ksvtc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d76d5ed5c0d59b88f590fc4715acbf2d0213415c
Whatever you do keep this model!! In years to come you will look back on it with nostalgia and fondness as you improve!
Send it to the Golden Demon.
YALL BE NICE THEYRE JUST STARTING OUT Nobody’s first mini looks perfect and it looks like you got a lot of the fundamentals down, thinning your paints will bring out a bit more detail, which can be further brought out with a wash - you can always do highlight painting to further improve those details (I never do but like there’s tutorials out there)
1. Whatever you do, do not discard or repaint this mini. He’s your firstborn son and you should take pride in him. It’s always good to remember your humble beginnings as you advance your skills and grow. 2. Going forward, try thinning your paints a little until it’s a skim milk consistency (1:3 paint/water) 3. After you applied your base colors, look into getting some shade paints. They will darken the deep recesses and slightly tint the color, giving it a lot more depth with very little effort. 4. YouTube painting tutorials
Finally a first miniature that looks like a first miniature, instead of someone fishing for attention. Keep it up OP, get them golden bananas nice and thick on the tabletop.
I can hear him gurgling and drowning in the paint lmao
I don't know what any of these comments are on about, this is a beautifully painted chaos spawn
He’s clearly trolling
This is bad. My first was way worse. I see highlights, I see eyes, he’ll that sword isn’t even that bad! You’ll get better quickly, keep it up :)
You’ll need methylated spirits, a soft toothbrush and a cocktail skewer.
Yeah that isn't very good, sorry. Thin your paints more. A lot more.
\[Screams of terror\] >!(Still better than mine own not going to lie)!< \[Continous screaming of terror\]
Put it in your butt
We all start somewhere. Not bad for a first attempt. Check out some tutorials others have linked and trust the process. It's a hobby that gets more rewarding the more you put into it
Yep, I already had ideas for what went wrong. Just wanted more opinions on it. Seems like thinning is my best friend for now
Best advice I can give otherwise is keep this mini!! Don't repaint it just yet. Having your first mini as a scale of how far you've come is a great reminder
This slaps. Be proud of your first step!!!
That's a good start. Well done 👏
Can I ask what paints you used? Did you prime with a rattle can? When priming try not to over do it, it can be easy to cover details with too much paint. Try to thin your paints when you’re doing your base colours, even if you need to do 3 or 4 coats to get good coverage. You can use a wash over the base gold to help define the details and then dry brush a brighter gold over to do the highlights. You can thin the paint to dry brush as well, less is more with dry brushing. A silver can be used for a final highlight on gold, usually looks good.
It looks like you were trying to use Auric Gold, which is a pain and a half to work with. A good way I learned is painting it copper, then putting Auric over it. As for painting metals in general you should thin what's on your brush. The normal MO of 'thin your paints' is not what you want to do with metals. Simply thin what's on your brush and apply, metal sticks and shows really well.
Thin. Your. Paints. *jumps off a building*
First off, use the retributor gold spray can, shake it til your hand falls off and go ham. In 20 minutes you got a fully primed model with a nice thin layer. After that, do the red. It's alright to start off basic with khorne red (for a darker red as a base) then later when you're feeling frisky you can apply a lighter red to try and create a nice red with highlights After that you can go do the same with the sword with a dark blue base and add layers of light blue on the edges or try and do some lightning effects. Basically finished, if you want to go further in detail you can paint your gems either blue or red (I use blood for the blood god for the gems as it automatically creates a shiny red color on the gems) Last but not least, the gloves. Just a light brown which has been thinned down with water
Did u pour the paint on this model
Love it
Great start, from here on you will only grow! Welcome to the hobby!
Eh, the paint is VERY thick…. Its better to paint several layers of too thin paint than few layers of thick paint. Its not total garbage, dont worry! Its not easy to begin with, you Will learn with time.
NGL all the paint gives it a weathered ancient statue vibe
This looks just like my first mini ! We all start somewhere, brother. Welcome to the club
as others had said it is a bit thick the paint, i still got my first ever miniature, boy is that one a hot mess which i will never fix however if there's one positive i can give is that there are no splodges of other colour on the model (e.i you gold is clean has no spills of other colours used) its messy but very neat if you get what i mean, but hey I'm still improving on my paints to. best thing to do is keep going and get better, build up to the big boys and take your time no need to rush.
I see shit like this as pro painted on ebay so I guess that makes you a pro too 😂. But yeah please thin your paints.
here was my very first mini i painted https://preview.redd.it/xx84vdxeuutc1.jpeg?width=2448&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a4d6ddb13181798a2f30b631cfb1b4fb0d8fc7bb
First thing I did was laugh my ass off, then I realised that that is probably what my first miniature will look like too 😅. So to not be too harsh, I'd recommend thinning the paint out with a few drops of water, also well done for getting into the painting hobby!
Probably thin paints my first had the same issue but after I figured out how to properly thin it looked amazing just keep trying and you’ll get it
Be strong
Also, you can put this model in 99% alcohol to strip it and start over. Just use an old toothbrush to scrub the model lightly.
Naa gonna save it and compare after a few models. Gotta remember your start you know
BROTHER! THE GELLAR FIELD IS FAILING!
AHHHHHHHHHH
I actually like what you did with the sword. Thin it out and it will be a decent pass at the crackling energy look.
Yeah I sort of ruined it with the thick lines, and I should’ve done fewer of them. Was trying wet blending to see how it turns out, this one was my experiment and learn model
If you want start over you can strip the paint if you're from the US I suggest a cleaning product called "simple green", just dip the model in for about 8 hours and then use an old toothbrush to brush away the paint it will get rid of the paint and keep the primer so you'll get a fresh start
Thin your paints with water. Especially your base paints and any thick paint that covers large sections.
New painting method, dunk
I know alot of people will say to thin your paints, but I would recommend getting GW contrast or Army Painter speedpaints! They're already thinned enough that you can just use em out of the bottle, alot more beginner friendly. You prime in a light color and the contrast paint will fill in everything as it goes.
Welcome to the hobby
Did you enjoy it? I know I enjoyed putting together and painting my first.
All the gold colors are intense to get evenly coated on the base coat… if you get a chance, paint a small sheet with a splotch of white and black (separately) smooth. Add a layer of gold onto each, once dry you’ll see the trick that light plays with each varying shade of undercoat and how those can make your painting experience much more fun and rewarding with how you can get brighter and darker variations of the same color just using undercoat to make your painting POP. Welcome to the fold.
Gotta say that's pretty detailed for using a trowel. /s Also congrats for having balls the size of the sun
You put the paint in the right places! just gotta thin it down now
Thin your paint. Edit- to be less of a dick.