Most of the time, it'll be seen from at least three feet away, in poor lighting. And probably by people with less than perfect vision.
An OK paint job and a good base looks twice as good as a great paint job with a lousy base - or no basing at all.
The smaller the figure, the easier the paint job. (But the more you'll have to paint, usually.)
Also, the smaller the figure, the brighter you should make it if you want it to be seen at the usual tabletop distances. For very small figures, such as 6mm, you may want to make sure the figure contrasts with its basing. This can be tricky to pull off well for camouflaged figures...
Contrast makes for good, easy color schemes - whether it's contrast of hue, saturation, or texture.
You're not painting a single figure, you're painting a collection. Consistency in the work will look better on the table than individually beautiful models that present an incoherent whole. (Unless, of course, you are painting a single figure.)
Always work on two projects at the same time. This gives you something to work on while the first job is drying, or curing, or if you're sick to death of painting ambush camo and need to take a break, but still want to paint something.
Never work on more than three projects at the same time. That way you'll actually get stuff done and on the shelf or table, and you can feel a certain sense of accomplishment instead of being overwhelmed by all the unfinished junk staring at you from around the painting table.
It is - as a rule - more satisfying to have a complete army with an ok paint job than to have a few figures with great paint jobs and several more trays of lead waiting to be painted - or worse, fielding them unpainted.
Take breaks. Every 20-30 minutes, stand up, stretch, and look at something that's at least ten feet away for a few minutes.
If it stops being fun, stop doing it.
No comments:
Post a Comment