Rick Priestely on painting standards.

[Spevna]

http://gencdn.karwansaraypublishers.com ... ley_65.pdf

I think he has a point, to a degree. I really enjoyed looking at the dioramas and minis in the Bolt Action rule book. While they are nowhere near the quality of what graces the pages of a GW codex, they do have a certain, dare I say je ne sais quoi that the Evil Empire's publications lack.

And for the record, I prefer the Kevin Dallimore school of painting to the Mcvey one. That is nothing more than personal preference mind you.

[Primarch]

An interesting read. As someone who paints to have painted models on the table rather than someone who enjoys painting in and of itself, I quite agree with him.

[Spevna]

An interesting read. As someone who paints to have painted models on the table rather than someone who enjoys painting in and of itself, I quite agree with him.

That is the approach I think I will take with my eldar. Im going to dip (carefully) the whole bloody lot. It will be quick, and it will be soul destroying for MiJ to see a dipped eldar army

[Primarch]

An interesting read. As someone who paints to have painted models on the table rather than someone who enjoys painting in and of itself, I quite agree with him.

That is the approach I think I will take with my eldar. Im going to dip (carefully) the whole bloody lot. It will be quick, and it will be soul destroying for MiJ to see a dipped eldar army

I've seen dipped models and I have seen models with dip painted on. The latter looks far superior to the former.

[Spevna]

An interesting read. As someone who paints to have painted models on the table rather than someone who enjoys painting in and of itself, I quite agree with him.

That is the approach I think I will take with my eldar. Im going to dip (carefully) the whole bloody lot. It will be quick, and it will be soul destroying for MiJ to see a dipped eldar army

I've seen dipped models and I have seen models with dip painted on. The latter looks far superior to the former.

Agreed.

Im going to paint my RT Space Elves the regular way, but the actual army will get it quick and dirty!

[me_in_japan]

Interesting read, and I can total see where he's coming from. I had the exact same issue a couple of years ago. It all boils down to how a wargamer views minis. To a wargamer, a minis is automatically a gaming tool. They naturally flock together into armies, and are at home being picked up and moved around a table. So, when a gamer sees a 9.3 on CMoN he naturally thinks "wowza, that'd make a bitching' good centrepiece for my army." Then he does what Rick did in this article, which is extrapolate the number of hours required to do the army to that kind of standard, lament that he can't do it, cry for a bit, and eventually, grudgingly, go back to drybrushing and feeling inadequate about it. It took me a long time to stop thinking this way.

From a painter's perspective, army painting and display painting is apples and oranges from day 1. There's these guys here, who spend 6 months painting 1 mini, and those guys there who need to field 100 of the buggers this time next week. I used to beat myself up because my armies weren't painted to my "best". What I've (painfully) learned over the past few years is that army painting is difficult. It requires skills A, B and C. Display painting is also difficult, and requires skills X, Y and Z.

So, to Spev I say, dip away. Dip to your heart's content But, out of respect for the old school coolness of the old Eldar, dip em carefully, yeah?

[Spevna]

So, to Spev I say, dip away. Dip to your heart's content But, out of respect for the old school coolness of the old Eldar, dip em carefully, yeah?

The dip shall be lovingly applied in gentle stroked of a very loving brush.

Back on point, yep, army painting and display mini painting are two very different things. What you see on the boxes and in the rulebooks doesn't happen to reinforce that though.

When I look back at my old issue of White Dwarf, I cant help but think that while the 'Eavy Metal stuff was well painted, it still seemed within the realm of possibility, and something I myself might one day achieve.

[me_in_japan]

I think it varies, although in general I agree that box art tends to be at the highest level. I haven't looked at WD recently, but it wouldn't surprise me if the minis in it were up to the same standard. The box art is top-level because pretties sell minis. The WD pics are also top-level because WD is just a sales brochure (and so the folks in charge of marketing will make the same decisions for WD pics as they will for box art.)

One thing I think GW need to do is put a how-to-paint section in the codexes. PP have a very effective, clear and simple section in their army books, and it's well pitched at the beginner, without being patronising. As with many things, GW could do with paying closer attention to what their rivals are doing...

[Spevna]

One thing I think GW need to do is put a how-to-paint section in the codexes. PP have a very effective, clear and simple section in their army books, and it's well pitched at the beginner, without being patronising. As with many things, GW could do with paying closer attention to what their rivals are doing...

They used to do that in WD. I have issues that have painting guides where the finished mini is no higher than tabletop. Offers the noob (many of who are pretty young) a realistic target to aim for.

[Primarch]

GW have a How To Paint book available. It is ring bound and comes with a built in stand, so you can stand it open on your painting table to reference it easily when you are painting. It covers lots of different techniques rather than focussing on specific armies or units. It also comes in multiple languages and contains a colour reference chart for the full Citadel range.
Like everything GW do, it is high quality, well presented and priced at a level that means I will never buy it.
White Dwarf usually features some painting tutorials, often they cover painting one individual model that was just released as well as How To Paint X tutorials covering faces, armour, guns etc.
One big shift I did see recently was in the starter paint sets GW sell. Rather than having golden daemon award winning minis on the boxes, they have minis painted to a (very accurate and cleanly done) beginner level using only the paints and the minis in the box.

For all their faults, GW do do a good job of encouraging new players to paint their minis.