Painting some Followers of Bone

[PaulinKendal]

A number of people (Tim Marlow Mini Me and AlanG ) have asked me to do a step-by-step showing how I paint up miniatures for the tabletop wargame A Song of Ice and Fire, by CMON.

I'm flattered, of course, as I'm no expert - I only restarted painting in February 2021. I last did any painting like this many decades ago, as a lad.

I do love that I now have the disposable income to treat myself to any kit I "need" - and as you'll see, that's what I've done!

This is certainly not a "how-to" - it's more a demonstration that anyone can get pretty good results with a bit of patience and lots of time pinching ideas off the internet.

I'd also say this isn't a step-by-step presentation of a set technique. I'll try to show that the process is a series of false starts, changed approaches and corrected mistakes. I can honestly say the entire army (100+ figures) has been painted using a wide variety of techniques - no unit has been painted in the same way as any other. I'm continually trying new ideas and learning as I go.

Anyway, here goes.

[adt70hk]

Watching with EXTREME interest!!

Thanks for sharing.

Andrew

[Tim Marlow]

Looking forward to this….I’m not proud, I’ll steal from anyone LOL….

[PaulinKendal]

I will get to the actual painting soon, honest.

But first, a word about equipment. Without some of this, I'd be hopeless.

I'm very short sighted, and as a lad I used to take my specs off, hold models very close to my face and would thus be able to see a remarkable level of detail. I now wear contact lenses so that's not an option.

Instead I've got a really good illuminated magnifier (from Cambridge Optics, who offer a bewildering choice). It's by no means a perfect solution, as there's often a clash between magnifier and paintbrush handle, which needs managing. But on balance, I just wouldn't be without it.

You'll see I also use reading glasses - what a performance getting older is, eh?

The Anglepoise has a cool daylight bulb in it - not really cool enough, but the best I could get. The ring light in the magnifier is perfect.

Having a decent office chair for comfort is also a must. I often paint with the chair on its lowest setting so I can brace my forearms on the table edge, which helps to keep things stable.

The towel keeps the table clean and stops stuff I drop from rolling onto the floor. It also softens the very sharp table edge (I really must chamfer that off sometime).

[adt70hk]

Looking forward to this….I’m not proud, I’ll steal from anyone LOL….

It's not stealing..... It's learning!!! At least that's my excuse.....

[PaulinKendal]

I've also got an airbrush. This has taken some getting used to. In the early stages it would clog all the time, and in repeatedly cleaning it I managed to destroy two needles in short order, at £10 a pop.

Learning to balance pressure, paint consistency and technique takes time, and no-one can give you the whole answer - you simply have to find your own way to get there.

My only advice would be to buy multiple needles at the outset so you can keep going when you inevitably bend one early on. And learn to treat the dual purpose control as two separate functions (which it is, of course) - the sequence needs to be: air on, start paint flow, stop paint flow, air off. If you stop air flow and paint flow at the same instant, the nozzle clogs up with un-expelled paint immediately. And practise, of course.

I have an Iwata Revolution HP-CR3, and a generic AS-186 compressor with reservoir tank. And airbrush cleaner, thinner, retarder and flow improver.

For cleaning, interdental brushes in a larger size are absolutely brilliant.

[PaulinKendal]

Paints - we're getting closer! I use Vallejo, mainly because of the dropper bottles (I just don't get why GW persists with their snap-caps). The paints in the picture below are the ones I've started painting these figures with. Browns, greens, plus bone (obviously), black and white.

I've also get a wet palette, which is brilliant, and again, I wouldn't be without it. Mine is a DSPIAE one, which works just fine. I started out making my own one, which is dead easy, and worth doing if you're not sure of the merits of wet palettes - it'll convince you they are worth investing in, for sure.


My only gripe with them is that some paints absorb water from the palette and become excessively diluted rather quickly. And I don't mean some brands, but some individual paints in the Vallejo range, but not others. Not a big problem, but worth being aware of.

There's a little jar (originally full of a tiny amount of extortionately expensive face cream) with a wet sponge in it. It doesn't get used often, but is useful if you do get in a bit of a mess.

[PaulinKendal]

Brushes - I'm using good quality sable, with most of the work done with a size 2, plus a tiny brush (7.0, whatever that means) for fine detail.

They don't last forever, especially if you push them into crevices - I try to pull not push, but it's hard to avoid scrubbing brushes into corners, which destroys them very quickly.

And I have a housecoat! Bonkers idea, but it has saved me ruining clothes with paint and, especially, with cyanoacrylate. Mine cost £30 from Footplate Equipment Ltd - money very well spent, I assure you.

[PaulinKendal]

Enough already!

I need to cook dinner, so I'll finish for today with a picture of the unpainted figures blu-tacked to kitchen spatulas, ready for zenithal priming.

[Tim Marlow]

I will get to the actual painting soon, honest.

But first, a word about equipment. Without some of this, I'd be hopeless.

I'm very short sighted, and as a lad I used to take my specs off, hold models very close to my face and would thus be able to see a remarkable level of detail. I now wear contact lenses so that's not an option.

Instead I've got a really good illuminated magnifier (from Cambridge Optics, who offer a bewildering choice). It's by no means a perfect solution, as there's often a clash between magnifier and paintbrush handle, which needs managing. But on balance, I just wouldn't be without it.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1156905[/ATTACH]
You'll see I also use reading glasses - what a performance getting older is, eh?

The Anglepoise has a cool daylight bulb in it - not really cool enough, but the best I could get. The ring light in the magnifier is perfect.

Having a decent office chair for comfort is also a must. I often paint with the chair on its lowest setting so I can brace my forearms on the table edge, which helps to keep things stable.

The towel keeps the table clean and stops stuff I drop from rolling onto the floor. It also softens the very sharp table edge (I really must chamfer that off sometime).

Nice set up. Quite similar to mine actually. Funnily enough I had to stop wearing contacts when I was diagnosed with RA so have gone back to the “looking over my glasses“ trick :tongue-out3: Before that I wore a donegans optivisor. I haven’t got on with an illuminated glass, but to be honest the last one I used was in the days of incandescent bulbs and I found they got too hot. LED bulbs have probably eliminated that problem. I also have a good quality chair, after all, we spend a lot of hours sitting in them, but mine has adjustable arms so I can set it at what height I want and still have arm support.
Great start to the SBS!

[Tim Marlow]

Paints - we're getting closer! I use Vallejo, mainly because of the dropper bottles (I just don't get why GW persists with their snap-caps). The paints in the picture below are the ones I've started painting these figures with. Browns, greens, plus bone (obviously), black and white.

I've also get a wet palette, which is brilliant, and again, I wouldn't be without it. Mine is a DSPIAE one, which works just fine. I started out making my own one, which is dead easy, and worth doing if you're not sure of the merits of wet palettes - it'll convince you they are worth investing in, for sure.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1156909[/ATTACH]
My only gripe with them is that some paints absorb water from the palette and become excessively diluted rather quickly. And I don't mean some brands, but some individual paints in the Vallejo range, but not others. Not a big problem, but worth being aware of.

There's a little jar (originally full of a tiny amount of extortionately expensive face cream) with a wet sponge in it. It doesn't get used often, but is useful if you do get in a bit of a mess.

More good info here!
Agree ref dropper bottles. I think GW keep the others because it sells more paint when they dry out LOL. Interesting that you use the game colour range. I mostly use model colour, but I understand they are formulated slightly differently. Do you find any difference between them when painting? A wet palette is definitely a must have if you want to push your painting on a level or two. What is the purpose of the wet sponge, removing inaccurately applied paint? It is a good idea if so. I keep a damp brush nearby but sometimes the paint dries by the time I have it ready. I too get that dilution issue with some VJ paints. Not sure what causes it, but I wick off excess moisture with a scrap of tissue to bring the paint back to the right consistency.

[Tim Marlow]

Brushes - I'm using good quality sable, with most of the work done with a size 2, plus a tiny brush (7.0, whatever that means) for fine detail.

They don't last forever, especially if you push them into crevices - I try to pull not push, but it's hard to avoid scrubbing brushes into corners, which destroys them very quickly.

And I have a housecoat! Bonkers idea, but it has saved me ruining clothes with paint and, especially, with cyanoacrylate. Mine cost £30 from Footplate Equipment Ltd - money very well spent, I assure you.

More good stuff….
What make brushes? My most used are Rosemary and Co, but I have a couple of Windsor and Newton and Raphael top end jobs for best qua work.
I find it’s all about the point. A sharp point on a size one or two will give you much more control over fine lines and dots and not tip dry like a three hair 10/O brush. Several things can increase brush life…not torturing your best brushes being one of them LOL…..using Masters brush cleaner is another….I find the hardest thing is keeping the paint at the right consistency so it flows properly off the brush….
I just wear old clothes, if I bought a housecoat I would get even stranger looks than I get now

[PaulinKendal]

Hi Tim, I can't comment on any differences between Game Colour and Model Colour, because I've never had any Model Colour! The wet sponge is just for moistening and/or cleaning fingers when paint gets everywhere. I too have a spare brush to hand to remove misapplied paint but agreed, you do have to be quick.

I'm using Marta Kolisnsky brushes, but I have got a Winsor & Newton Series 7 no. 2 that I've not yet started using - I'm making my other brushes last as I try to improve my technique before breaking out the W&N.

[Tim Marlow]

Fair enough……I’ve used game colour inks and washes but not the paint….
As to brushes, not tried Marta Kolinsky. The best I’ve used are Raphael 8404 series. Windsor and Newton series 7 are a close second….workhorse quality Rosemary and Co series 93 are worth tracking down as well.
Two or three hints to improve brush life….don’t use them dry. Moisten the brush with water before dipping it in the paint. It stops the paint migrating to the ferule and wrecking the point. Don’t use your best brushes for metallics or dry brushing, it kills them very quickly. Lastly, at the end of the session clean the brush with this….

Finish by rinsing them under the tap, then repointing them before replacing the plastic protector sleeve. Lastly, a tip I got from the Windsor and Newton web site…..Once the brushes are in the sleeve, store them point downwards. It’s what the plastic sleeve is for. Any residual paint will then not dry in the ferrule, wrecking the point, but migrate to the bristles where it is easily removed.
Doing this I get a couple of years out of my workhorse Rosemary and Co brushes (used every day) and an indefinite life out of the top quality jobs.
Hope some of this is useful, I’m finding your posts really informative by the way. It’s always useful to compare my techniques and set up with someone else’s..

[PaulinKendal]

That's really interesting, Tim. I do store them in the sleeves, but not point down - I must try that. At the end of a session I clean and condition them with Abteilung 502 Magic Gel. I'll look out for Rosemary & Co series 93.