I will be teaching two online classes this week as part of CYBËR WÅRS, an online convention! The classes will air on my Twitch channel. They should remain available for viewing for two weeks on Twitch. I will be recording the classes to make the videos available to members of my Patreon in thanks for their generous support of this blog and my general teaching efforts.
Painting Fur
Thursday, November 12, 2020 from 8pm to 10:30pm Eastern
Fur is found not only on miniatures of animals and monsters, but also as part of clothing and accessory items on figures. I will demonstrate several different techniques for bringing out the sculpted texture of fur. I will also discuss tips for colour selection and referencing real life to help achieve attractive and realistic results.
(I probably will not talk much about detailed fur patterning. I have two previous articles on that topic though! Article one, and article two.)
You are welcome to paint along during the class! Suggestions for good practice miniatures, paint colours, and other supplies are included below.
NOTE: I will not start the class material until after the Reaper Live Twitch stream concludes to give people an opportunity to attend both. I will take painting questions from the chat for the first 10-20 minutes until we begin the main class subject. So this is a great opportunity to corner me and ask me questions on other painting topics. ;->
Painting Feathers and Scales
Saturday, November 14 2020 from 2pm to 4pm Eastern
There are several different techniques you can use the paint the sculpted textures of feathers and scales. Which is best to use depends on the time you can spend on the miniature, and the level of results you’re looking to achieve. I’ll demonstrate various techniques and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each. I’ll also discuss some thoughts on colour choices and research and reference.
(I have a couple of articles available about painting a scaly hydra – article one, and article two.)
You are welcome to paint along during the class! Suggestions for good practice miniatures, paint colours, and other supplies are included below.
Class Materials
My goal is to share general techniques and information you can use to paint a variety of texture types in the colours of your choosing. Please don’t stress out about whether you have the exact same supplies as I do. The following are suggestions for figures and tools to get the most out of the class.
Class Materials: Miniatures
For both classes, aim for figures with well-defined sculpted texture. Try to choose something at least 28mm humanoid size or larger. You can use some of these techniques with tiny familiar size figures and small areas of texture, but it will be easier to practice on something larger, especially if you want to paint during the class. Here are some photo examples of options that are better and not as good for both topics. These are all Reaper Bones figures, but you’re welcome to use whatever figures you have on hand and would like to use.
For fur I will probably use the large wolf in the centre and the fur cloak figure on the far left.
For scales I will probably use the cobra on the far left, and the angel second from the left at the front. I may switch to the griffon wing if people are having trouble seeing what I’m painting onscreen.
Class Materials: Paints
My goal is to demonstrate general techniques that should work with just about any colours. To follow along in the class it is much more important to try to match the value of the colours I’m using rather than worrying about whether you have exactly the right colour. Value is how light or dark a colour is.
I’m going to use a range of grey and brown paints. Aim to have on hand a range of lighter, medium, and darker grey and/or brown paints as well as white and black, and you should have little trouble following along with what I do in the class.
The following is a scan of some suitable paint colours from Reaper Miniatures with their product code numbers. You do not need to have all of these paints or even any of these exact paints! These are just examples of the colours of paint I will use so you can try to find something similar in your collection.
These are examples of greys and browns of various values. The far left column are true neutral grey examples. True neutral greys do not look as natural as warmer greys, but if you find the chart confusing you might find it easier to just use simple grey paints during the class.
Each row is an example of browns and more natural greys that are similar in value to the example on the left.
The top row includes examples of light colours you could use. Try to have one of these plus white on hand.
The second and third rows are examples of medium value colours. Try to have at least one of these available to use.
The fourth and fifth rows are examples of darker value colours. Try to have one of these available.
The bottom row is an example of very dark colours – black or nearly black. Have one of these on hand to use.
Class Materials: Brushes
I will be using a selection of round and flat brushes. The picture is examples of brushes I might use. As with paints, I don’t expect you to have all or even any of these exact brushes to be able to follow along! They’re examples to help you find a few brushes in your collection that should work for the class.
Try to have a medium to larger flat or filbert brush. Also a medium size round brush that forms a smooth end without a lot of stray hairs sticking out to the sides. Have on hand whatever brushes you feel comfortable with for doing base coats and washes.
If you have a brush with a fine tip like a Kolinsky sable, that will be useful for lining on scales and feathers. You don’t need something super tiny like the two second from the bottom in the picture, just brushes that form a nice sharp point. The two second from the bottom in the picture are what I would use to paint faux fur texture on smooth surfaces. There probably won’t be time to demonstrate that, but I’ll have them on hand just in case.
If there is time, I want to experiment with a few different brushes for drybrushing to give you an idea how different ones work. The three brushes at the top are super soft makeup brushes. The green handle one just below it is a similarly soft brush I got from the art store. I have really enjoyed working with these for drybrushing lately.
I hope that I’ll see some of you on Twitch in a few days!
I am pretty busy right now, so I’m not able to spend the time to round up links to every miniature and product mentioned in this post. If you need to know the name/product code for a particular miniature, let me know in the comments and I’ll find that info for you.
Bird with a Brush 