#tipsandtricks

The paints I use are lacquers, enamel and acrylics, in order from most to least used (that's also the order I apply them in, if I'm using all three). I actually have a little write up on these you can find here, where I mention the pros and cons, etc : https://www.tumblr.com/ckao03/732539670237478912/okay-i-could-talk-about-each-of-these-topics-in?source=share

As for the tips...

- If your acrylics aren't sticking, whether water downed or not, the most likely culprit is your primer, or potentially lackthereof. Paint needs a surface to stick to, or else it'll run or flake off, and if you're applying it to the surface of a figure right out of the box, leftover mold release from the factory can be too slippery for paints. For acrylics, I use Citadel Color spray (available in White Bone, Grey Seer, Chaos Black. I stick with white or gray by default.). I've also used Krylon back in the day, which you can typically find in a hardware store. For lacquer and enamels, I use Mr Base White (or Mr Super Clear, if I want to keep the color underneath). Even though lacquer and enamel stick very well, you still need a primer.

That being said, I did my first model ever with enamels and hand painted it, and she still had some brushstrokes, lol, so the self-leveling can only help so much.

-It takes a little practice to know how much to thin your paints to where they really work for you, but the overall goal is you don't want the paint too runny to control, but it should also glide easy from your brush with little effort to move it. Start with a couple drops of thinner, test it out and adjust from there, and see if you can find that magic consistency that works.

Waterbased acrylics dry CRAZY FAST, so you'll want to add a drop or two of water to rethin every couple of minutes. Enamels and lacquers can self-level to a smoother surface, but the downside is they take up to 24 hours to fully cure.

-Multiple thin coats will always look better than one thick coat. Apply your first layer, wait until it's dry, then repeat until you get the desired coverage. Don't worry if you can still see your model through the paint for the first few layers.

This was Mr Base Coat, Two layers of Vallejo for the first layer of color.

-You can buy a product called acrylic paint retarder, which will slow down the drying process and make it workable for longer. I've never used this personally, so I can't attest to how well it works.

-Alternate your brushstrokes. Paint your first layer by applying it in one direction, like up and down. When you paint your second layer, go side to side and continue alternating for each layer. This will help smooth out any brushstrokes as you go.

-Clean your brush frequently. Because paints can dry so quickly, it's important to clean your brush periodically (with water if water based, or the appropriate solvent), to stop clumps from forming.

-Brand of paint can matter, too. I successfully used FolkArt acrylics for about ten years with no issue, and you can find it cheap in department store craft sections. It has good pigments! Vallejo game color and Citadel can be found in hobby shops, and are great as well. These are the ones I used this week, and I have minimal brushstroke issues and they coated the model really well. Only needed two coats for a decent layer. Green Stuff World is hit-and-miss for me, but they have some cool products.

My small collection of acrylics:

-And a little trick from when I used to use acrylics: If you want really soft shading without using an airbrush, look into chalk pastels. They're little chalk bricks of pigment that flake into a dust when you scrape them with the flat edge of a blade. Then you can use a flat edged brush to apply it onto your model, kind of like applying makeup. It can rub off, so you'll want to use a matte or gloss sealant spray to lock it into place. These stick best to acrylics.

This Miku was done with airbrushed acrylics, but the shading in the cracks of her twin tails were chalk pastels. (OMG, this was 2011-2012 already... Time flies!)

Tamiya also makes 'Weathering Masters', which basically ARE little makeup kits for this purpose, but there aren't many colors available.

(And if you ever decide to try out an airbrush, I've found that the $15-$30 'Air-Goo' ones on Amazon are pretty decent to start with.They're cheap, but I still get good results, and I use it interchangeably with my pricier Iwata HP-C Eclipse. Just make sure you get a gravity feed airbrush. The compressor you would need to use it are around $100-300 though...)

I recommend checking around for YouTube guides on how to paint miniatures; even though figures are a different scale, a lot of the techniques they use for minis work great or the same for larger items, and there's a ton of resources, since mini are so popular. I've seen some of Paintman Journeying's videos, I've liked them so far.

Most of the tips and tricks I've learned are from garage kit forums back in the day that aren't around anymore, but I do also follow 製作代行 Aslan (旧MASKED MODELER), かりんとう Karinto painting, and Sideshow Collectibles will sometimes post behind the scenes paint tips and recipes.