In 1984, a neighbor introduced me to the game of Dungeons and Dragons and miniatures. The miniatures fascinated me more than the game. I went to a hobby store and bought a box of 'Fighters, Rangers, and Paladins' by TSR. I loved them even though they weren't very nice figures.
I had no idea how to paint, but managed to place the colors approximately where they belonged. To the left is the the first miniature that I ever painted. It serves as a wonderful reminder of how far I've come since then.
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It wasn't long before I realized that a miniature should have some sort of shading. I did not know how to go about this so I tried painting thin dark lines into recessed areas. The centaur on the right is an example of this. I only attempted to shade the horse body and the lines are barely noticable.
My realization that miniatures need some sort of shading was a very important development for me. All I needed to do was to find a better method.
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The knight on the left was painted using a similar style. Instead of simply painting the lines as a thin strip, I first painted the miniature with dark colors. I then painted the lighter color on top. This made the shadows show a little better, but they are still barely noticable.
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I discovered a small pamphlet about painting miniatures. Inside, a technique called drybrushing was briefly mentioned. I didn't know exactly what this meant, but I figured it had something to do with a dry brush (obviously). I experimented for a while and eventually discovered what it meant to drybrush on a miniature. I
loved it so much that I used it for all of my shading. The priest and warrior to the right display what I was able to accomplish with drybrushing.
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Just like most people I've known, I had a very difficult time painting eyes. I was often happy with everything on a miniature except for its eyes. This was very frustrating, but after years of practice I finally worked out a good technique. The miniature to the left shows what I was able to accomplish.
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The wizard to the right represents an order of wizards called the Night Watch. According to the background, they wear black cloaks with star insignias. I needed to paint the stars, but I had no idea how to blend them into the black background. I found that a little water mixed with white forced the paint to spread out and blend. This
is the first time I tried this technique. It opened the door to other shading styles.
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My miniatures to this point had a chalky or dirty look to them because of drybrushing. The effect on skin to annoy me. I knew there had to be a better way. I experimented and discovered the layering technique for shading. I shaded the skin on the cleric to the left by layering flesh tones onto orange. I was extremely happy with the result.
This style began to slowly replace drybrushing until I learned to use each for different reasons.
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Now that we've examined the stages from which I learned to paint, it is time to view a comparison. The pictures included here show the first elf that I painted in 1984 and an elf that I painted in the year 1999. Take a close look at the improvements. The newest elf displays a wide array of techniques and is a perfect example of what a person can do with practice.
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