by Sam and Max
Introduction: This painting tutorial is written for boardgamers who want their playing pieces painted fast, don't want to spend much money, and are new to painting. It emphasizes "quick and dirty" techniques, so don't expect display-level results. If you read my previous painting tutorials, the mold lines and priming steps are (almost) the same.Tutorials from easiest to hardest:
Elemental painting tutorial: http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1158890/painting-tutorial-el...
Shadow Dragon (white) tutorial:
http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1169158/painting-tutorial-sh...
Zombie painting tutorial: http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1148047/painting-tutorial-zo...
Cave Spider painting tutorial: http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1150793/painting-tutorial-ca...
Ettin painting tutorial: http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1140289/painting-tutorial-et...
Merriod painting tutorial: http://boardgamegeek.com/article/15623280
Goblin painting tutorial: http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1144852/painting-tutorial-go...
Flesh Moulder tutorial: http://boardgamegeek.com/article/15540400
Mold Lines: Mold lines are the "lines" of excess plastic on the miniature that should be cut off with a hobby knife, and filed off with small files. An engraving pen (under $10 at some craft stores) is a small handheld battery-operated "drill" with an industrial diamond-tipped head that will remove mold lines *much* faster. After removing mold lines, clean the figures in hot soapy water to remove the mold release agent, an oil. If you find mold lines after priming, you can still remove them. You can either spray primer again, or use clear gesso (about $8 at craft stores) to paint over the plastic to "prime" the model for painting.
Pre-shading with Primer: To get the paint to stick to the plastic, spray the miniature with primer. Hardware stores sell spray primer, and make sure to purchase primer that says it will bond to plastic. When spraying primer, first clear the nozzle with a quick burst not aimed towards the miniature, then spray in sweeps starting a few inches to the side of the miniature. To pre-shade, first completely prime the miniature black. Then lightly coat it in grey, then white, inspecting the miniature between sprays. You want the raised surfaces to be white, and recesses to be black. The black will give you a head start with shadows on the miniature, and the white areas will make highlights easier.
Washes: The Barghast is supposed to be a black dog from York, so the minions will be painted black, while the master will be painted reddish, to better match the Descent pictures. The minions were washed in Secret Weapon's Concrete wash, a greyish wash. The master was washed in Secret Weapons' Red Black wash, a dark red wash.
