For years I was inoculated "Take Nuln Oil", "Put a layer of Nuln Oil on it", "Use Agrax Earthshade for faces ... is like Nuln Oil for weapons ...". And now: "You are using Nuln Oil ..... sit in the back row and think about what you did". Apart from that, it was a very informative video ^^

I live by the "have the courage to suck at something new" philosophy when trying new things especially painting techniques. We are all our own worst critics. Trying new skills is no exception. Having the courage to suck at something new means understanding you're probably not going to master a new technique on the first go around but you aren't afraid to keep trying and you don't give up because it doesn't look like you had hoped.

Vallejo paints really are a game changer. That stuff is smooth AF. I don't even have to thin them.

Saved in my "Miniature Painting" folder!

im just starting to get back into painting miniatures again for the first time in years and this has helped inspire me, thanks for the tips Lyla!

What has helped you improve the most? *In regards to the thumbnail, I use washes in my work flow, too! If they work, they work, and don't let my silly thumbnail tell you otherwise!

Thank you for all your advice and help I'm new to painting minis.i have been building mostly tanks and millitary items and dios from the ww2 era.i happened to see 1 of your videos on painting minis and I was hooked.thank you for opening another door for me to explore and enjoy

Great to see more love for the reaper paints, they're my favorite!

Brilliant, absolutely perfect efficient explanation, thank you for your advice.

Thank you for this video. Great information and wonderful pieces :) Cheers

Enjoy your style very much and always great to see these tips videos. I feel like you do more tips videos than anybody else and even if I've heard something like these tips before it's almost like an affirmation or a mantra to hear them again. Thanks for making awesome videos and giving up kitty snuggles for to share awesome painting with us.

Great video. Thank you for sharing all these greats points. Still new and learning and found this to be very motivating.cheers

I'm glad you made a point of saying that you should stick with techniques that are difficult and not give up. That is great advice for mini painting

This video is nice and genuinely helpful! Also, I just want to say how impressed I am with how great your speaking in front of the camera has become! I just watched a video from 2019 from you, such a massive improvement!

Great vid and great channel!! Thanks!!

This is becoming one of my favorite channels. I’m a pretty bad painter but I’m trying to get better.

Practice makes improvement.

"Add more contrast" - top tip!

Great tips, that necromancer was fire!

Awesome! Always love the tips and tricks you provide and getting to see the amazing work you do.

You hit really good points. I think planning is really over looked. I have painted quite a bunch of Blood Bole Teams and a few sisters of Battle and until now I really started to plan techniques and paints

Something I actively do to try and improve my painting is picking something to work on per model, then doing a big model to bring it all together. For example I did a blood angels terminator where I chose to focus on improving my highlighting, so that's where I devoted most of my time. I did a few others to work on blending, and now I'm doing a big tyranid and putting everything I learned individually into it. The big model to bring it together I find lets me look back at all the big models I've done and makes progression easy to see, which is really just there to give me the fuzzies.

I love the idea of a ‘game plan’ but I’m clueless unless I’m copying someone on KZfaq. I would love a video going over what factors to consider when making a game plan, how to develop a game plan, as well as tips, tricks and best practices. Great video and great content

I love your videos witch . You have taught me lots thank you very much and please continue., like the cats too.

What took my painting from potato to au gratin back when I first started was when GW first came out with inks way back in...well, I hate to think about how long ago that was (oh, Rogue Trader and beaky marines, how I miss you...). It really helped me understand things like washes, glazes, wet blending, and thinning. I needed something that I felt was new enough to give me some recipes with which to experiment and play. Now I like to try all kinds of things and find the fun! And it should be fun; sure, there are parts that are going suck in any project, but if you give yourself permission to play, it's like when parents make cleaning up toys a game. Too often we're waiting for someone to make it fun when we have the ruby-slippers power to do it ourselves all along.

Wet blending is amazing once you learn how to do it. Definitely the trick to learning it, is in knowing how and what tools and paints / other stuff to use.

Thank gods. I need as many new techniques I can get my grubby mitts on. I saw that Q&A, it was adorable. #NotiSquadAsAlways

a realy great vid for beginners and hobbyists that are somewhat stuck at the painting aspect of the hobby =) much appreciated ^^

So proud of how this channel hasbeen growing!!

Great video Lyla!

Great stuff friend 👏 👍

I LOVE these videos

I asked the question about how to paint pumpkins and i'm super happy with the response. I gave it a go and never looked back, thank you for the tips and help!

For me quality makes the difference and you get what you pay for.

Great advice!

and damn, ur models look amazingly painted! definitly earned a sub for future inspirations ^^

I know this is old but I have just discovered your videos, your shading is awesome

I started trialling Scale75 paints and I found my painting improved massively. I usually use GW paints, which are great, but I found the slightly translucent nature of Scale75 to be fantastic for my painting style. The same for brushes, I switched to a Rafael 8404 and that just enables better brush placement. Great video :)

Supplies! I started painting mini's about 2 months ago and brought the cheapest set of brushes off amazon, just invested in a decent set of brushes and the difference is insane! The paint actually goes where I want it too now. I see a lot in this hobby(As it is an expensive hobby!) of trying to get the cheapest stuff possible and making it work which is fine when you have years of experience but I wish I'd of seen this video before and invested in one decent brush from the start.

Great video, thanks for sharing

Back in the hobby after 25 years out. Got some reaper bones minis to get back on the horse, and I'm glad to see someone calling them out for how crappy they are haha

@lyla I end up using the same brushes. Love them....almost always using a #1 except of course when i've got to end up basing or covering massive areas.

I didn't know of this channel three days ago and damn! She spits fire! Lol

Sticking to blending for now and try to get better at that. With a mix of Revell (the square bottles, not the round email ones) and Citadel paints, but that is more because those 2 are easier to get for me atm.

Winter says this helps the machine spirit.

I used to use the absolute cheapest brushes I could find, with the working theory that they were 'good enough', and being so cheap they were basically disposable, so I didn't need to treat them with care and it didn't matter if they didn't last long. Then a friend of mine bought me a Raphael 8404 (her brush of choice) and after trying it out, it felt like I'd spent years finger-painting minis while wearing mittens. The difference in the level of control and accuracy I had was legitimately astounding.

Awesome video

I must admit, I am a noob. I love washes for what they do however, I am not of the school of thought that all you have to do is put a shade or wash on a base coat and you're an instant pro. That is fine for table gaming ready and it depends on someone's goals I guess. I highlight after washing, not sure where that rates exactly. My home is really dry and paints dry constantly, is that normal? I'm constantly adding water to my wet palette. I add more layers, highlights and edging on heroes, BBEG and important NPCs. Most bread n butter monsters, I get them table ready then layer or highlight. That dry home really makes wet blending a problem for me. My goal is NMM looking really nice and I'm guessing I need to get a grip on wet blending for that eh? Thanks for all of the help with painting techniques, I really enjoy seeing your work. It gives me a good goal to shoot for.

Very informative

A wet palate, good brushes (also a W&N S7 #1 fan) and consuming content on KZfaq from people who know more than me were the biggest things that helped me.

Great video

Just a bit of a testament to your and a couple of other creators video's - You mentioned it took you months to get the wet blending technique going, well I got it in three days. Not because I'm special (I'm definitely speshul though), but the sort of advice allowed me to adapt my painting style. It's funny though, there was a definite "shit - I'm actually in the zone" feeling when it clicked and everything went perfectly in this little zen place. Take pride in your advice and vids, they are making a difference as this wouldn't have happened without your points of reference.

Been painting for almost 6 years now. Still learning. I started with tabletop miniatures, using AP paints, and art brushes. I painted a squad of really bad miniatures, and kept wondering why?. then, I guess it was primer, or the paints i was using...were missing something. I could never show details regardless. Below is my journey and learning. - Primer was Gesso, cheap, and light, but never suited. 85% of my miniatures were primed that way. But learning viscosity, density you get slightly better, but it was not a choice for primer. Now using hardware shop primer cans, cheap and does the job- however some technique is still to be learnt. I needed to pay slightly more for spray can as oppose to a big slab of gesso (for art painting). - Paints and technique. Those glaze, highlight, blending, etc ... hardly use most of them, I paint them with base, and expecting the shades/washes to do the end job. Now, I do more highlights on flesh, more contrast, more blending... IF I have more patience and dedication, i will do more layers....else, I leave it as it is...semi-pro (in my level). I have since moved away from washes/ shades. I do rely more now for speed painting with Contrast. Scale75 paints are good, and so are GW, but Scale75's "contrast" paints works better with "their" expensive primers...and I wouldn't spend money on them ( ever!). GW is ever so better, and more higher pixels for me. - Brushes. I started using USD$0.50 to $1 brushes. Buy them in stacks...once the bristle is not possible to detail, I use them for other purpose... I then bought USD$10-20 brushes, and found few differences,....bristle carry more paints, and your brush strokes somewhat less "scratch" marks, and more fluid. Worth investing once you know differences. I would suggest that to you. When you know it's brushes making your painting crap...try better brushes. - Detailing and going for the eyes. I started painting more detail eyes, eyebrows, glow, reflection on the eyes after I worked on my Kingdom Death Monster miniatures. Not those board games one, that slightly lacks details compare to KDM. I noticed...if your miniature has the details, it does help you paint better results. - Passion/Interest/Happiness - Painting should not be a work. It should be a joy. I know there are pro painters that does them as work, but for the rest... pls enjoy your painting. We can always improve. - Next level..... airbrush. Only stopping me is ...a safety spray booth and not being lazy cleaning it. For the rest of avid painters, all the best in your journey.

I like your painting tips and I agree that good models, brushes and paints makes a differnce.

Thanks lyla

I got my first Dark Sword minis last week. They sure are nice, and they seem like a good deal for the level of quality.

Really interesting now I'm the way to be less noob 👍

Nice vid! I wondered what brush/brushes you would recommend for fine detailing?

a very importent tool i have in my kit is a cleaning product that i used to scrub off with a toothbrush. Simple green is super safe on plastic. don't know about resin though.

Really great video, though I would say keep practicing and don't give up are my tips. But you are far more motivated and technical than I am.

My preferred paints are Privateer Press and Reaper

subscribed!!!

I really appreciate that you suggest using techniques that come naturally to you vs ones that make you want to rage quit. Most instructionals I have seen are very much "If you want a decent mini, THIS IS THE ONLY WAY." As an artist, that always seemed so wrong! There are so many ways to create. Thanks for the encouragement, as well as your videos introducing lots of different techniques. Going to order myself a wet palette and try wet blending! :)

Hi. Great video. I am very new to painting minis. I was wondering if you could explain a bit more about what you said about “seeing light”? Specifically, you said “parallel is highlight and perpendicular is midtone”. How does that work on a 3D mini? Thank you. This feels like a really important point and I hadn’t heard it before and would like to understand. Thank you!

Great tips. Thanks. You should consider giving Reaper another look. They have come a long way since their original Bones material. The Bones Black and Bones USA lines hold much more detail then the old Bones Classic.

I love the path of 1000 glazes :D

You rock girl! Always useful advice and obtainable goals! Thank you!

I’ve been going through my Reaper Bones and yeah... the eyes are definitely something to look out for. But I also like the durability of the plastic.

Thank you. And yeah, cats do love to try to cuddle when you start painting. Makes me wonder what they put in those Reaper MSP bottles.

I love the little display shelf behind you. Where did you get it at?

Hahaha painting a lich and looking at Washington for reference never hurts.

Love the Idea of contrast on mini's but how do you balance that with the lighting? Doesn't that give contrast already?

I love Lyla

😍

You mentioned Dark Sword Minis. What other sights are good for finding great models to paint?

Hi Lyla I’m a new subscriber, great vids, thanks for the tips. Btw, what are you using to hold your figs while painting. Cheers! T

Great video as always! Have you done any tutorials on how to paint velvet yet? If so, link a brother up?

Do u use a magnifying object with light when painting? How long does it take u to paint one mini?

Where did you get that color wheel behind you on your wall? I'm just starting to paint and I think it'd be cool to have something like that; it looks like it has small text with info or tips or something on it too Edit: also what kind of wall mounted light is that? Would you consider that something most people should get?

You should try AK interactive and greenstuffworld's paints. They blow reaper out of the water (IMO).

Good points. However, I've been painting miniatures in more than 10 years, and still haven't been able to figure out lights (other than zenithal, like OSL) and NMM

Hey love the videos! Where did you get that model at 6:17- 6:18?

I agree with you about the quality of the miniatures. I've been painting since 93 and now I'm painting a d & d party for my friends and it's a nightmare, but you also need to figure out how far to go In miniature painting. In the sense that if the miniature is not in detail or is not printed very well, you have to stop at a point AND be satisfied with what you have done.

Love the tips! Re: supplies, when do you think (if at all) it's about the right time in the mini painter's career to invest in that 'oh so daunting' airbrush?

Hey! As a total beginner looking to improve I really enjoyed your vid! Just was wondering what you meant by check if the eyes are sculpted? Thanks!

I want to cuddle and paint. "I just Caint" WAKKA WAKKA

Everytime I paint I still hear Mathieu Fontaine behind me and saying it needs to be darker (painting course) so more contrast it is. Right you are. But I thing there is a place for quick painting using ink and washes for instance for boardgame minis or big army's. And yes he didn't`t like washes either but it does speed up painting a lot for a tabletop standard.

Hi can anyone tell me what the model is at 2.43, it’s the guy in a hat with a mini crossbow (I think), thanks

Im needin a true white glow media. I do uv landscapes. Its been a long time I played stormbringer. All my characters are chaotic good. Warrior/ magician

How to improve faster, Step 1: PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE Step 2: everything else. Step 3: MOAR PRACTICE

I too love purple and green! I just finished up my Vampire Lord in purple and green, it looks so crisp!

What other model brands do you like?

I don't know if you can or will answer this question but in the range of army painter Vallejo or citidel I'm looking for base coats for African American skin tone. You know black folks skin tones? I have no idea where to start and I'm partially color blind (no pun intended) but seriously I struggle with browns and shades of that range. If Google some tips and im not fully into blending my own paints comfortably yet. But was wondering if you or anyone for that matter would be able to suggest a....yeah this paint will do the trick. I can lighten and darken it with white or black to add variations. I got this kit and there's a few darker fellas in it and I'm stumped. I'm not going for display contests or perfection. Just a simple black skin tone. They make like 10 for caucasian but I can't seem to find 1 that says black dude on it lol because obviously everyone gets bent out of shape with words lately. which in my opinion is stupid. I can't seem to find the political correct super fancy way of what they call black skin paint. Anyway any help with that would be appreciated. Like I said a simple....here get this something paint color and that should be perfect.

Reaper paints are the best. They're just hard to find.

With regards to light, if I paint my mini in the same flat (for lack of a better term) layer all over, wont the natural light of the lightbulb or the sun or the window make my mini look more real than any light I attempted to paint?

I use apple barrel and all kinds of cheap paints but I’ve also been gifted a large amount of “used” paints and that’s how I acquired my loud colors like neons and fluorescent,pearlescents. I’ve no clue if they’re cheap or expensive or what. But anyway I feel like if you’re persistent,you can get good with cheaper paints.

My orange kitty is so very curious as to how the paint water tastes. I do not let her drink it. Conflict ensues and eventually the kitty gets all the attention.

Hello! I'm new here. I am currently working on a miniature for the game Gloomhaven, and I also paint D&D figures. I am very new to the hobby but have a lot of crafting experience. The spellcaster I am painting wants some bright neon blue, pink, and purple and I have no idea what brand paint to look for, or where to find it. I purchased the huge Army Painter set as my base, my local game shop only sells citadel paint, hobby lobby carries neons for air brushes......not sure if that would work for brush painting, and my figures are a bit tiny for an airbrush. Advice would be appreciated. Also, have you ever used gel pens with any degree of success? I'm going to try it and see if it works. I have used sakura's in mixed media art with decent success followed by a spray clear coat for durability. Thanks in advance for any advice.

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I thought "contrast" was not about highlighting and shading so much as a contrast between different unique hues. Or is it both?