Anybody bought droppers off aliexpress here?
I would like links to droppers where the caps won’t crack like old Vallejo caps did.
I’m hoping for a good option so I don’t have to shell out for the Ak empty droppers if they are as good as some say.

>>98353831
Did I mess up in putting I think 5mm glass agitators in glass artist acrylic jars?

>>98353911
Only if the balls touch

>>98353916
Maybe I’m being too paranoid then.
Hopefully the 5mm is not big or heavy enough to shatter the glass if I shake the jars.

>>98353911
What kind of jars?

>>98353198
not a full day, but it takes a couple hours to be fully set. for me that's a long enough of a break to come back to it the next day.

Has anybody bought synthetic long rigger brushes in bulk for really tiny detailing? I haven’t found a bulk purchase option yet.

How about makeup “disposable eye liner brushes?”
Anybody use those and will brush soap make them last longer so I can get more use out of them?

>>98354016
The glass artist ink jars. I have daler rowney and liquitex jars.
They are both glass but of different shapes and sometimes the inks are more intense than their alternative.
I was interested in inks and ink washes and inks for glazing like they were used in the grog days before I was born.

>>98354055
put one in the jigsaw miggser and find out.

>>98354055
I don't know those, but if they're like most ink jars, they're way too thick to shatter from some tiny glass beads, especially when filled with liquid, which slows them down.

>>98353381
>>98353458

seconding the thinned pva layer for rigidity but if you want to be a bit more careful and less likely to over soak it you could always just do a rattlecan or airbrush several varnish coat layers.

What’s a good kind of container to put my sand in then into the oven to bake the sand to sterilize the batch?
How long and what settings? I don’t want to accidentally make glass.

>>98354203
I doubt your oven can reach 1,700°C.

>>98354203
Disposable aluminum bread loaf or pie pan or mason jar unsealed, probably 250f for 40 minutes is fine, honestly i wouldn't even bother, I'd just put it in a mason jar sealed and sit in the the summer sun but that's just me

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converted a salamanders, green stuff is as tough to work as i remember

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Working on my painboy.
Very happy with the new Ork reveals today. Lots of kino on those sculpts.

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Did some minors touch-ups and better photos.
Being a bit of an attention whore, but Im pretty happy with it !

>>98354454
very cool stuff, anon.

>>98354336
That's more likely to breed bacteria than kill them. Put them in the freezer for a while if you want the easy route.

>>98354490
Its 111f today, it'll be 185f in a glass jar. No bacteria can survive the desert sun.

>>98354454
Rocking
>>98354423
Looking good
>>98354422
Nice work base is great

>>98354505
Doubt, and most of us don't live in a desert.

>>98354505
>No bacteria can survive the desert sun.
lol
lmao even

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History. 1980s Bon artiste acrylic paint used for plaster and bisque was sold in plaster shops also could use on leather and models etc. Basically the precursor to delta ceramacoat. No longer made. Professional artist here

oh lawd he comin'

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History. Partha paints by ral partha were sold in jars with screw top lids. Partha has the best primer and varnish on spray cans available. Also had pearlescent paints good for dragons. The company was a tsr brand. Some of the jars bore the tsr stamp. This was a later catalog from 1990

>>98354637
>Professional artist here
What are we mini painting plebs still missing out on that even the companies haven’t caught on to milk in overpriced resellings?

>>98354687
Stop feeding him with yous.

>>98354687
Hmm, I'd have to think, but dry pigment is way cheaper bought from artist paint making supply houses, but some are very toxic so you have to know what you are buying. Like only 8 dollars or 10 dollars for 100 grams for earth tones, way cheaper than pigments especially sold for mini modeling. They come in bags though so you need a jar. Gets messy to transfer them, but yeah that's cheaper. Using a regular moist kitchen sponge for wiping your brushes instead of paper towels or a wet palette saves your brushes. Regular ivory bar soap and human hair conditioner can clean your brushes just fine. For black primer use cheap flat black acrylic craft paint. The flatter the better. Use graphite pencils to make marble effect on stone.

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Progress so far - armour looking a bit desaturated, any idea how to fix? Don't have any yellow for highlights to will see what I can do with just bright red.

>>98354846
>>98354687
Oh and for wet palette just use that kitchen sponge and tracing paper, works better than parchment paper. More porous.

>>98354849
Actually i love it, looks like real paint, not so garish, but if you want to brighten it use a brighter red for edge highlights, the red you are using is more of a crimson, edge highlight with a bright red like wild rider red, it has more yellow so you can just add yellow to the paint you have to make it, but not too much or it'll turn into a desaturated orange.

>>98354203
use the oven tray covered with tinfoil

for times and temperatures you can look up dry heat sterilization, like here
>https://www.cdc.gov/infection-control/hcp/disinfection-sterilization/other-sterilization-methods.html
>The most common time-temperature relationships for sterilization with hot air sterilizers are 170°C (340°F) for 60 minutes, 160°C (320°F) for 120 minutes, and 150°C (300°F) for 150 minutes

>>98354637
>Professional artist here
Are you the same guy that drew comics for Marvel or is that a different guy?

>>98354924
It's the same autist, don't reply

>>98354924
Marvel dc archie dreamwave idw etc whatever they pay me to do.

>>98354898
>The most common time-temperature relationships for sterilization with hot air sterilizers are 170°C (340°F) for 60 minutes, 160°C (320°F) for 120 minutes, and 150°C (300°F) for 150 minutes
or 360 for 30 minutes?
or 380 for 15 minutes?
or 560 for 6 seconds?

>>98354936
i see why the industry is dying

>>98354898
That's for medical level sterilization. Way beyond what is necessary for models

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Anyone have any tips on sculpting? Epoxy mixes, advice for handling and improving anatomy or finer details - that sort of thing.

>>98354980
t's dying because it's gone woke and they dislike hiring conservatives who make the few comics which still sell well.

>>98354996
stupid sexy flanders sculpt on the left lol

>>98354996
Would. Still headless? Still would.

>>98354996
References are your best friend.

>>98354996
Lots of references, drawing and art anatomy books are available on archive org for free, but also adult type entertainment nude pictures especially those in black and white are very useful to learn anatomy, draw as much as you can and apply what you learn or just sculpt from the photos , learn to make the shapes out of a bunch of smaller ones making each muscle and then going over those to fill in the fatty tissues which gives you a more realistic and more sexual shape helping to distinguish the gender differences. Also for practice use playdoh or chavant clay, playdoh is cheap but will harden and crack, chavant is expensive but never hardens entirely though it does stiffen over the years since it has linseed oil in it. So either one makes good practice material. Another good option is polymer clay. It doesn't harden unless you bake it so it's good for practice. That way you don't have to waste epoxy clay for practice. Epoxy is very stiff and sticky, so lubricate your tools with a very very light coat of Vaseline or generic ky jelly applied to a moist sponge first, by wiping tool on sponge you can lubricate the tool. Make your own tools out of wooden dowels sanded into different tool shapes. Use toothpicks, skewers, dental tools, etc whatever you can find.

>>98354996
bruh

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>>98355033
Is there any decent software for 3D model references, or am I stuck using the old-fashioned method of looking around until I find an image that has a pose similar enough to be usable?

>>98355092
>books are available on archive
I've actually grabbed some already. I really have to get in the habit of using them more, though.
>draw as much as you can
I can see the knowledge crossover, but does it really help that much? My wife has a drawing tablet or two lying around, so I suppose it would be pretty easy just to bang out some practice for 10 or 20 minutes every day.
>learn to make the shapes out of a bunch of smaller ones
Should you let the epoxy set a bit before you add onto it, or should you add established sections while they're still soft(er)?
>use playdoh or chavant clay, polymer clay
Good idea. I've just been sort of going off a wing and a prayer, and falling back on a lot of sanding to clean up any mistakes and patchwork after the fact. Does polymer clay require any water to work with, or can you just use it as is?
>Epoxy is very stiff and sticky
I've been using a bit of water, but I suppose something like Vaseline is better - unless I'm trying to smooth or taper something down.
Big help, anon. Cheers.

>>98355154
>>98354996
God speed anon i like it

>>98355154
>Is there any decent software for 3D model references, or am I stuck using the old-fashioned method of looking around until I find an image that has a pose similar enough to be usable?
Yes, but I don't know them because I'm a 3Dfag who just uses maya. You could always generate a pose with AI.

>>98354996
>>98355154
>that painting handle
Very good taste anon.
I wish there was a vendor of rustoleum shaped surplus caps so I can buy some instead of having to keep the five I’ve managed to go through over the years. They’re nicely sized for vehicles and larger minis.
>sculpting mentioned
I have greenstuff that might run out from this but is it a good idea to use something like bent paperclips to create a “skeleton” for the greenstuff to go around?
I plan to sculpt a big shroom and give it a silly face.

>>98355154
>Is there any decent software for 3D model references
Daz, unironically. It's free, and you get the gen 8 and 9 figures (imo the best human figures) straight away.

>>98355198
Nta but
How’s maya for sculpting miniature stls? I’m stuck on Linux because I tried and somehow liked it. But it is a bit of a handicap.
I want to sculpt my own stls and so far blender is like my only option. When I get my graphics card back.

>>98355206
Blender is fine, anon.

>>98355154
Yeah drawing has been called the probity of art, in other words you learn more by sketching because it's a simple way to explore ideas, like lets say you want to know if elongating a muscle in a certain pose will make the model better, draw it first, no that looks like shit, okay don't do that, yeah this looks better by squaring up the corners of the muscles, I'll do that etc, plus as you draw more and more you are doing something called observation and study, that makes you memorize things naturally without stress but also you simply notice more because you are looking at the reference longer, so yeah the ass does look like a butterfly, I'll remember that! Oh the hand reaches to the upper thigh, that's the right length, yeah that's good, etc.
Yeah usually when doing epoxy we make small shapes, get them right, wait for them to harden adding texture as they stiffen, then build on top of that, that is actually the advantage of epoxy, the fact it cures as you build so an armature isn't always necessary, you start with the little guy's feet and those get hard, then the lower legs, now we can do the knees and then the upper leg, then the pelvis etc, but with soft clay we have to build armature or guy falls over, so epixy is perfect for minis
Polymer stays soft, its made of a type of pvc plastic basically and requires so water, it also doesn't stick to tools very much, it will be slightly stiff when you first open a package which is good for minis especially for adding texture, but to make larger smoother shapes you work it with your hands for a while to soften it up. You can get different degrees of softness prepackaged. Now polymer does require an armature to support the legs or extended arms etc, so often we make the legs arms head etc as separate parts, bake thrm to harden and then stick then together with more clay and bake again, you just have to be careful to not overbake polymer because it can give off toxic fumes and smoke and smells terrible but

>>98355225
... but at low temps for thin objects like minis it doesn't take long to harden them in the over or a little toaster oven, but even if you don't bake them it's still a good way to practice. We often adjust the figure pose to the medium, for example if we don't want to use an armature we keep the legs together or make a robe or cape so the base is wide, arms close to the body holding the sword close or straight up, that also makes it easier to make a mold and castings from the piece later, the old heroquest characters were made like that from chavant clay.
There's a really good youtube channel for drawing anatomy, he does live classes, great teacher. Richard smitheman https://www.youtube.com/@RichardSmithemanArt/streams

>>98355216
Thanks!

>>98355225
Meant to type epoxy Requires NO WATER, not so water. I hate typing on tablet, sorry

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More of an aesthetics question, but reposting from 40kg because they'd rather argue about primaris the 5000th time:
Are there any non-default color schemes for thousand sons that looks good? I was looking at the metallic paints at my LGS that were 50% off (pic semi rel, it was mostly army painter metallics but I don't think it was their speed paints).
I was thinking about GWs paint scheme for the sekhetar robots having a bone white main color and wondered if it would look nice on the main army. I was thinking something like AP's mithril as trim and skeleton bone as the base but 2 whites might be hard to tell the difference from. I also really like their bronzes but I cant find a good color that meshes with it, but again, I was thinking an off white like skeleton bone or pale sand.
I got one anon suggesting against two white tones and instead use a metallic bronze, and also to avoid Army Painter. I could sacrifice a model to test it but I'm a sperg about wasting models/money. Can I get a second opinion on these or would a desaturated white + light yellow look bad across the table?

>>98355198
>>98355205
>Daz & Maya
Thanks, anons. I'll give them both a look.

>>98355203
I like them because they don't crack when I drill into them. Makes it super easy to slap magnets or fixtures for claps onto them.

>>98355225
I'll stick with epoxy for my minis, but I'll definitely pick up some sort of clay to practice with. I think the main hurdle will be just getting the build-up of shapes down.
>>98355225
I'm actually kind of surprised there's no niche economy for mini sculpting/kitbash tutorials on YouTube, like there is for painting minis. I tend to be pretty visual, so when I see someone do it, and repeat the process myself, I can usually apply what I learned there to other things no problem.

>>98355331
Look up greenstuff and milliput, you'll find results for epoxy putty sculpture
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=milliput+sculpting+tips

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>>98355307
I know there are rubric marines in black legion colors but generally I think that doesn’t count.

Have you considered ancient Egyptian inspired colors based off their symbolism from ancient Egyptian culture?
Ancient Egypt is kind of the thousand son’s thing.

Pic related is page 12 of the phone viewer on a big pdf from https://www.uc.edu/content/dam/refresh/cont-ed-62/olli/21-fall/egypt%208.pdf

Hope it helps!

>>98355307
>could sacrifice a model to test it but I'm a sperg about wasting models/money.
Me too but sometimes it pays to just pay up and give it a shot. It ain’t as bad as investing in an onlyfans or dumping thousands for a steamer hoe to say you’re name.

That’s what I should have thought when I was buying paints.
I’m gonna try some ap speedpaints and Ak and see how those go.
Is it worth removing the stainless steel balls out of the ap jars to replace with glass ones?
I have a funnel somewhere.

I had another spraying session after a long hiatus and it was once again enjoyable and the airbrush worked as I wanted it to. If this keeps up I'm legit going to believe I finally got the hang of it.

>>98355437
As opposed to illegitimately beleiving so?

>>98355437
What primer and airbrush and airbrush related stuff did you use?
When I finish fixing a house related thing if I break laziness I clean my airbrush, and try out priming again.
Except to prime white. To be able to zenithal.

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Almost done with this and postponed painting the blades for a better times. Gods if you even know how I hate painting eldar faces

>>98355525
I really love those blue lines.
What brushes are you using and are you using a hand bracing technique to steadily draw those lines?
I’ve found my line work gets ruined from too much paint or too little as the extra sharp tip dries.

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>>98355538
I use 00000 brush from aliexpress and draw this somehow automatically or on zoomer language called "vibe". But I could recommend you to training on paper before painting, it help me a lot.

>>98354996
For round, bouncy surfaces like these, you can add a layer of milliput over the green stuff. It will be sandable afterwards to ensure maximum roundness

>>98355525
Woof, is that eggshell housepaint?

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How should I go for shading the white of the hair and pants? Not sure if I should use a black wash or just paint a darker shade

>>98355582
>00000 brush
Excuse me for my apparent retardation but what the hell? 5 times 0? How thin it is, nanorod instead of single hair?

>>98353911
I severely doubt you could shake it hard enough to cause any damage

t. I also put agitators in ink bottles

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>>98355614
Its just thin enough

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>>98355307
white and silver can work if you imagine something like a cream colored car with chrome bumpers. I think you would want a 3rd highlight color somewhere though and it would probably only look good clean and look like shit if it's messy or dirty looking. white and bronze is a worse combination I think.

>>98355614
It means literally nothing, there are no standards for brush sizes. Size 0 from Company A might be wildly different from Size 0 from Company B.

>>98355605
Next time basecoat in grey and work your way up to white highlights.

>>98355582
Thanks I’ll search aliexpress for the bulk stuff.
Any particularly good deals you bought from by chance?

>>98354423
contrast slop

>>98355779
fuck off back to /40kg/ and stay there, faggot

>>98355600
Is it better to work with mixes, or just layer them one on top of the other?

>>98355808
that's amusing coming from the fag who can't paint and also plays 40k

>>98355752
https://ali.click/dex6h19

>>98355869
Thanks man!
Hope you have a good one and many fun models to paint!

>>98355743
yeah I thought of taking a shortcut and basecoated green

>>98355605
try a blue gray for the hair and tan for the pants

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How's my blood splattering here? Tried the toothbrush method and touched up the heavier areas with a brush to make it seem like a good amount of blood was splashed on him.

>>98355779
Nice to see some things never change.

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>>98355825
I prefer layering milliput on top of green stuff. You can let the GS cure completely in the rough shape and then do fine sculpting and a top layer with the milliput.

That being said, my mods are a little more, uh, extensive. This one doesn't go in the display case.

>>98356168
Wow, you can stroke a toothbrush? Truly masterwork.

>>98356168
I’m gonna give the toothbrush a try after seeing that.
It looks good.
Does it work for dirt and mud spatter on vehicles too?
I might paint a pinup mini with a shapely butt and if I mess up the rear I’ll brown toothbrush spatter the butt too.

>>98356287
I'd imagine so if you use a brown paint instead of the red. Same concept, different color?

>>98356216
Based pervert
I have a l'il bits jar full of dicks sculpted out of leftover greenstuff that I'll put on models...someday.

>>98356216
Sounds a bit like what the other anon was talking about with layer shapes. I've got a bunch of models to work through that need varying levels of work, so it'll come down to what method produces decent results without eating up too much time.
>This one doesn't go in the display case.
Don't be a pussy. People can call you a degenerate, but they can't say you don't put effort in. I have infinitely more respect for people in this hobby who try to constantly improve and create stuff, rather than just stagnate and consume.

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painting a tank dude

>>98356308
I guess it will work.
Now I’m thinking of toxic waste dioramas where green paint is used as a spillage from an exploding barrel or just green blood.

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My eyes aren't what they used to be and I'm struggling to paint small details (e.g., eyes, skulls, decorations, etc). I tried a set of cheap Chinese magnifying goggles and they were worthless. To get the 4X lenses to focus the mini had to be maybe 3" away from my face, and then I no longer effectively had binocular vision & depth perception, so guiding my brush was out of the question. Thankfully they were only ~$20, so into the trash they went.

Is there a solution to this problem, beyond a fountain of youth? Perhaps a digital microscope like people use for soldering (pic related).

>>98356408
The problem with a single-screen magnifier is that you'll lose your depth perception for brush placement. Someone needs to invent one that uses VR goggles or something crazy like that.

>>98356312
post jar

If only I could enlarge my models 200% for painting details and then shrink them back down.

>>98356437
Didn't think of that. I guess I'll try a slightly more expensive set of magnifier goggles with a different design.

Is AP's Desert Yellow just Zandri Dust?

>>98356323
very nice so far

>>98354637
>professional artist
So you draw gay furry porn

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Finished my Repentia Superior.

>>98355605
A very thin sepia or other light brown for the pants helps with them seeming like fabric

>>98356216
Cooming aside, do you have tips for painting "stretched" skin?

>>98356323
Rip and tear

How do you use a real hair brush correctly? It keeps fraying after a couple of minutes of use. I have to constantly put it back into the water and only put paint on the very tip of it for it not to split apart.

>>98356545
If you mean stretch marks specifically, some lighter and darker skin tone and some wavy red lines in the right places will read well on a mini.

>>98356636

You really only want Kolinsky sable. Most natural fibers are shit for minis.

Never, ever let paint get under the ferrule. This is death for brushes. Rinse often in a cup of water to prevent this. As in, every 2-3 times you apply paint to the brush. If you are loading the brush with paint to the point that it reaches the ferrule, you are painting wrong. Use a larger brush if you need to paint a larger area. 0 & 1 are good for most tasks, 2 if you're basecoating large sections of the model by hand.

After rinsing, dry the bristles by running the brush across a paper towel, in the opposite direction of the brush tip. You should really never do any sort of movement that causes the bristles to spread apart, but if you're using acrylic, you can use your lips to reform the point. A good quality brush like an AK Interactive Abteilung502 will last for years if you use it right.

>>98356636
After you wash it out when you're done painting try using a little extra soap to sculpt it into a clean point and let it dry on there, it'll gently reshape the bristles and make it keep a good form for a little longer next time you use it. Make sure you remember to thoroughly rinse it off before using it next session though.

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>>98356323
>>98356548

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>>98354637
Normally I wouldn't give a schizo a (you), nor would I try to correct a delusional rando on the internet, but I don't want you confusing the anons here so today is your lucky day.
>we did use gw paints
Not if you could help it. They were thick as fuck and the opacity was a joke.
>humbrol
Oil based, and basically unavailable in the US anyway.
>testors
Oil based, but the one correct thing you've said so far. I actually still use Testors metallics.
>ral parta
Difficult to find, better than GW but still shit compared to enamels.
>Bon artiste
Anyone not into minis *and* pottery would never have heard of it, which was almost everyone. The internet didn't exist back then broski. If it wasn't in the trade mags or relevant to another hobby of yours, you didn't know about it. Information just didn't spread like it does today. It's hard for people under 30 to understand this.

In the US, you used Testors. In the UK, they used Humbrol. Why? Because the acrylics sucked, and in the days before Amazon you usually had to go to a physical store to buy something. Every toy, hobby, and department store had Testors. The other stuff required a specialist vendor. And it's not like we didn't want acrylics to be good, because what's not to like about water cleanup and longer lasting brushes? We kept trying it and it kept sucking, right up into the early '00's.
>I still have my old paints
I threw most of mine away. How was I to know they'd be collectible one day when most of them were terrible? The inks were (and are) great though. I know this because I was there. I'm not so sure that you were though.

>>98356408
Would actual prescription glasses help? Maybe if you already have some you could talk to your eye dr about it and they could get you a "fine detail" pair with better magnification?

I’m going to be teaching a handful of complete newcomers to the hobby a lesson on painting in the next few weeks. Does anyone have advise on best miniatures for beginners?

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terminator progress

besides testors what paints brands are american?

>>98356842
I'll have to remember to ask next time I go to the optometrist.

>>98356851
Honestly probably monopose Intercessors. They're big, lots of flat areas of a solid color. Even the details are pretty beginner friendly. I'm guessing that GW designed them specifically with that in mind. If you start from the sprue you can teach them all the basics pretty quickly.

BattleTech mechs might also be a good choice.

>>98356851
Something simple with a balance of some flat surfaces and some different textures and materials like knights or vikings