Hi drakhaus All markings are done freehand with 5/0 brush. Trick is to break down markings into simple geometric shapes of circles, lines and squares, etc. I do this to outline the location and size of markings, maintaining consistency and then I just fill in gaps. I also do a fair bit of touch ups around the shapes to get them sharp and neat looking. With a bit of practice it can be done relatively easily.
Not sure about the fluff as I don't have the book (only have enough pennies to spend on models, but really want books so I can digest fluff as this determines how I go about painting minis... 1st world problems). However, using a bit of "google fu" I was able to get some images and used this as a reference: Note sure if he is "guard of the Japanese Emperor," but it makes sense given his "Komon" or "Mon" (heraldry/crest) is: The name is probably based on the family name of one of the emperors of Japan (Emperor Konoe) However I used different mon on my Domaru, inline with the Infinity Domaru herladry, which is likely based on: ASAHINA All in all I just liked the colour scheme as I wanted to stick to white, grey and red like most JSA but differentiate my army from the studio models. With this in mind I developed a colour scheme on my Keisotsus etc that would match up with the Domaru colours. :-)
If 5/0 becomes "impossible, I give up", try bigger size with sharp tip (which means quality brush, so you will have to expend a bit of money... from top of my mind look for Raphael 8404, W&N s7, Escoda 1212). That is how others do it, fine point with enough hair belly to keep paint flowing. Support your hands, and use glasses or magnifiers if you need. It's not cheating, in some cases a must to keep healthy eyes.
Ultimately the size of the brush makes no difference to the final result of painting markings, numbers etc neatly. As Mob of Blondes points out, it is really the tip of the brush that is important. I use many different size brushes myself depending on the task at hand. Larger brushes provide more paint flow so you can cover more areas quicker. However given that miniature paint tends to dry fast (even with water added) you cannot get too much covered at a time without paint caking up. I prefer smaller brushes when painting markings as they provide me tighter control. Plus I don’t need to cover large areas of the mini all at once when doing these details of only small sharp lines to create geometric shapes (as I described before) and thus it is better for me not to have to much paint flow. One big tip to getting smooth looking paint jobs, especially when doing markings, is to always add thinner to the paint. In fact, I never put paint on a model without first thinning it. Water works just fine for me but you can buy various acrylic thinners if you want. Lastly I have never bothered too much with expensive brushes as I consider (from experience) all brushes to be disposable after a time regardless of cost. It is better however to get brushes with natural hairs rather than synthetic, since synthetic ones tend to curl rather quickly. At the moment I’m quite happy using sable hair brushes that are relatively cheap for around $5-$10 AUD, but I do check very carefully when purchasing them that they have good tips on them. The points on these brushes stay sharp for the brush’s entire life which is satisfactory for me and not hard on my hip pocket.
TANKO ZENSENBUTAI Working on this guy in the last week. Some don’t like the big hats but I think this dude look kinda badass as the posing reminds me of samurais in Kirosawa movies who lounge around likes slobs and then suddenly spring into action destroying everything in their wake. Funny how attitudes to the aesthetics of hats can be quite culturally specific... Work in progress: 1. After Base colours and shading 2. Grey parts and black fibre bundles finished first 3. Red armour on legs - Stage 1 highlight Note: Base colour and shading already complete. 4. Red armour on legs - blending 5. Red armour on legs - Stage 2 highlight 6. Red armour on legs - Stage 3 highlight 7. Red armour on legs - Stage 4 highlight TANKO ZENSENBUTAI Complete: Maybe a few weeks untill the other guys get done as Im heading off on vacation next week .
Bucket head :) nicle done but you may easy with no risk push red even drighter at same time incesing contrast in it :)
Your level of painting is really inspiring. The two perfect circles on the hat, the little hand fan on the shoulder pats, the fine lines on the sword blades and the scriptures are so amazing. I cant believe you did that free hand . These are levels above mine, I had to check mine in nature to see that they dont suck . I have to work hard to achieve similar results someday, minis like these keep me motivated to get better. Greetings Oni
Oni You can do it I’m sure! It just takes practice and confidence. Your minis are very neat and clean looking, plus you’ve had a go at doing like markings on the Tanko already. This indicates to me you have the skills to do markings and text if you try
Thanks for the encouragement. I will try it on the next minis. After all you only can learn new things if you go out of your comfort zone . May I ask what kind of brush do you use for that? I guess my cheap 5€ things wont do the job, the brush tips are lousy sometimes.
I don’t use expensive brushes as none last forever. I use sable brushes that cost around $5AUD to $10AUD depending on size from a local art store. Natural hair is better than synthetic, which tends to curl. When choosing brush I really make sure it has a good tip, otherwise I don’t purchase. That’s it :-)
Thank you a lot. I usually buy mine over the internet at my miniature supplier, so no checking of the tips until now. The other problem is that mine "puff up" after paintig with them for a while. Maybe the colour is diluted to much. I think its time to plunder an art store or something and put them to a test (after purchasing them of course). For the free hands. What is the consistancy of the colour you use? I guess it has to be fairly thick or do you go over it multiple times? Sorry for the continuous questions.
No problem with questions (happy to chat about the hobby as my wife pays me no heed or interest in it lol!) For free hand (and all painting really) you need thinned paint. Water is good and cheap! If you use thick paint it cakes up on models and obscures detail. Thick paint can mess up free hand also. The trick is to build up layers slowly. In free hand you need to trace out areas first and the fill in detail. Slowly build up detail with layers, then fix mistakes by reapplying the background colour. Another tip about brushes is that you need to rinse them with water a lot (even if you are painting the same colour). This will stop them puffing up with dried paint between the bristles and the ferrule. If they puff up you can clean them a by wetting them and scratching out the paint with your nails in a pincer movement. If you are careful you can give them a bit more life this way. However it may be hard to get a good tip again and bristles can break so it is generally best to get a new brush. I keep old puffed up brushes for dry brushing, applying glue and/or weathering powder.
Escoda 1212 are 4 to 6.50 euros for the sizes up to 2 (and some shops discount them 10-20%). Every place probably has a similar brand, good sable hair at reasonable prices. You may want to apply alcohol and liquid soap to the bristles at the end of the paint session, it should get rid of any dry acrylic. Once clean, apply hair conditioner for some minutes and rinse. That is DIY brush cleaner & restorer. They will be poofy, but in the good sense, soft tip when pushed dry against things, but sharp when wet (may need a "magic wand shake" to get the tip to form, best as last drying step before storing).
Yeah it the same with me, my wife reacts with general boredom when i start talking about mini´s . I will try it maybe next week, if I have any more questions I will annoy you once more. Thanks very much for the tips. Greetings Oni
Cheerleaders inbound! Keisotsu Butai Support Keisotsu HMG: Keisotsu Missile Launcher: Keisotsu Hacker: Painting guide to follow soon :-)
I've been re-watching GITS ARISE recently which motivated me to post this: This image of Motoko Kusanagi was the inspiration for my infinity paint job and minor conversion of the female Ryukan Unit 9 mini: The miniature was painted to match the above pic and the arm was re-positioned and some sculpting of arm and shoulder strap was done to capture the pose. It turned out like this: Gotta say that it was this mini alone that got me into Infinity. Motoko and Batou (ahem, Ryukan Unit 9) are still the favs in my JSA collection to date.
