Seriously, teach me like I'm five--write something here, point me toward a tutorial, or whatever, but I want to start learning how to do this.

I see a lot of really beautiful work going around here, and I don't have the first clue how to even start. I don't know what kind of brushes or other tools to get (or where to get them), what paints work best in general or specifically with X-wing models, etc.

I have an Interceptor that needs to be distinguished from its fellows--I wanted to do bloodstripes, but of course now I have a 181st from Imperial Aces--and it would be nice to have a TIE Fighter or two that stand out from their brethren. Those might (I hope) be easy places to start...?

You realize, or maybe you don't, that asking which paint is best is a Very Dangerous Question.

Can't.

This has been another addition of Short Answers to Long Questions. (quiet fitting the creator gets it pulled on him )

But seriously, I can't do squat with paint either.

Go to your local hobby store, get some decent brushes.. they can help here. Get some paints. I use Vallejo, but there are many others just as good.

Find something you won't miss. Experiment.. honestly this isn't me trying to be a smart ass... there are a tone of youtube videos about painting search there. There's one guy that posts them he's on here and AFM as well, I forget his name. His videos are pretty good as they follow his process fairly well.

You just have to be willing to paint and find ways to improve. Watching others is a good place to start. If I can show someone I would prefer to do that, as its easier to correct them as we go along in the process.

Get some blue tape or modelers tape, those are your friend when painting stripes on a squint. I use a dry brush technique when doing those.

Dry brushing just means you get your brush wet with paint and then dab it off until it will leave very little paint on your surface.. it is one of the kost used techniques used on these models, it is good for weathering and good for a 'dirty' look on the ships. That used and worn look.

This is basics.. there are plenty of great artists on this board, hopefully some will give their ideas and tips.. it's a fun aspect of the game for me.. I love making my ships more .. personal..

I recommend looking up warhammer 40k painting tutorials on youtube. There are probably hundreds, many of them aimed at new painters. 40k painting is pretty similar to x-wing painting; a lot of the guys doing repaints cut their teeth painting for 40k.

I transitioned from 40k, and found simple repaints to be pretty easy. My work isn't anything approaching the repaint superstars, but my ships look unique and reasonably well-painted I think. You can usually skip any paint-stripping or priming steps, as the factory paint job is usable as a base for most repainting.

I agree with everything oneway has said.
I've been painting minis (badly) for decades, so I learned the hard way (trial/error, books, friends), but I hear this YouTubes thing is pretty good for such things.

One point that bears repeating though - buy good brushes! Then look after them!

And be willing to mess up minis and destroy a few brushes during the learning process.

Oh wow. I really want to help here, but this is a big topic. I'll try to get you started as best I can with the limited time I have at the moment.

1. Use Acrylic Paint. Acrylic is water-based, dries quickly, and isn't nearly as prone to cracking, particularly on plastic models. Do NOT use enamels, such as the Testors paints you find in the model section at Walmart. Enamels take a TON of effort to get right, take days-to-weeks to actually set, and have to be cleaned up with spirits/thinner. Try Citadel Paints (Games Workshop), P3 (Privateer Press), and Foundry. Most games store carry 1 or more of these.

2. You can get brushes at most hobby stores (such as Michaels in the US). Windsor & Newton is a go-to brand for miniatures painters, though a bit pricey. You do NOT want to get a 10-pack of whatever for $1.50. Decent brushes make a world of difference, especially when you're learning. Games Workshop has an entire line of brushes, though quite overpriced. I can't remember the brand I usually get, but I think they're around $2-3 each.

3. Models -- pre-painted like X-wing or assemble yourself -- should be washed before being painted. This is more important with certain manufacturing processes, but to be safe, just do it. Warm water, a little bit of mild dish soap, let them dry.

4. Undercoat, or not. This usually involves using a can of spray primer (such as GW's Chaos Black) to coat a model you've put together. Primer adheres well to plastic/metal, and helps your paint adhere & go on smoothly. I haven't painted any of my X-wings yet, but I hear you don't really need to do this with the pre-painted stuff (still wash it, tho!).

5. Thin your paints. Acrylics, being water-based, thin with a tiny bit of clean water. You'll probably need to use multiple coats, but thin layers ALWAYS looks better than a single chunky coat.

Hit up some wargaming forums (Warhammer, 40K, Flames of War, Hordes/War Machine, Malifaux, Firestorm Armada) -- a lot of times they'll have painting tutorials & other helpful threads.

Hopefully someone can point you to specific tutorials and/or videos. Painting is great -- it really makes your models yours . I highly recommend getting into it. Good luck!

For as much heat as GW can get sometimes, I have a few of their (granted older) miniature painting guides that they published. Even with a fair bit of experience, I found them to be quite useful and take you through the total step-by-step guide from prepping the model, to a high degree of finishing techniques.

I use GW brushes and paint. I know it's hotly debated and GW are jerks, but their stuff is the most accessible and easily identifiable with hobby painting. I want to use a wash I use the brush labeled "wash brush," I want to drybrush, I use the labeled "drybrush." Definitely get painter's tape and I would also recommend a sponge brush. I have yet to use a sponge to paint, so I couldn't tell you how wet to make it, but I can say for a bloodstripe on an Interceptor some painter's tape and the sponge should create some nice worn looking stripes.

The order I paint in is usually:

Paint each section the desired color

Use washes to darken recessed areas

Drybrush over using the desired colors, giving a layered look between the protrusions and recessed areas

Highlight harsh edges as you like

As stated (in sig), stripping and priming are unnecessary and I believe can cause more issues.

This is such a massive topic. Some people have tried to get you started. I had similar questions (though I have some prior painting experience in ither areas). I went to YouTube for video tutorials myself. I like to actually see what people are describing, especially in this kind of work.

One guy that has dozens and dozens of videos, not only on x-wing, but other miniatures and on various techniques and painting questions (like what brushes etc) Jay Adan:

I'd spend some time going through his archives and watching his videos (not just the x-wing ones, the techniques transfer) and getting an understanding of what you want to do and how to do it. Then be prepared to fail, and fail a lot. This takes practice!

I would love to learn to paint and kit-bash... But, I am an immortal klutz... Terrible with paint... No random plastic bits...

As for paint, there are 2 main types. Enamel and Acrylic . The latter is water based and is nowadays the most used paint for miniatures. You can use water to make it less thick, and to remove the paint until it is dry. Enamel is renowned for having to use turpentine to wash your brushes, but has always been used in the past for modelling. Im saying this, because the local store where I buy paint sells both in large quantities. Acrylic is the way to go for x-wing. As has been said in many topics before, you can just paint over the existing paint, so probably the easiest thing is to try a bloodstripe on a tie. Put 2 pieces of masking tape

and paint the red in between. See how fast it dries, how fast the drop of paint you used to paint from dries and you will get a feel of how to work with it. You will see that it probably dries within minutes, unless you make it very wet. Thick paint becomes thick, thinned paint flows a bit across the service. So in between is best. A wet but not soaked brush. Dip it in water, dip on a paper towel and it will be fine.

pointy small brushes are good for details, the smaller they are, the finer of course. Good brushes are good, because the amount of paint that comes from the tip is constant and there will be enough paint inside the brush hairs to paint at least a couple of strokes without having to put more paint on it. Cheaper brushes will form thicker drops at the tip. Hold the brush like a pen and make small strokes like you are sketching. Flat brushes are good for dry brushing. Dip in paint, and than get most off again by cleaning the brush in a paper towel, so you leave just enough on the brush to give the slightest color. This is very useful for a couple of reasons. The paint that comes of wont flow to much so if you lightly go over a surface with relief, the paint wont go into the creases. You can also easier paint a gradient pattern. Where the color needs to be stronger you make multiple strokes and the more you come to the edge of where the color should stop, you make less strokes.

The rest is up to youtube and the 5 posts that were posted while writing this

I don't think it can be 100% taught. People can show you the way but its something you need to pick up.

I know they aren't a customer friendly company but GW have got good videos on YouTube. Just stick it on and try to pick up what's going on.

Without a person there it will be hard.

OK, I've been painting 20+ years and have painted thousands of points of 40k to display standard.

I've been trialling army painter brushes, the white ones, for about a year. They are fine and affordable.

I base coat Halfords(UK automotive store) plastic primer grey as I find:

Black leaves even bright colours dark

White hides detail in the early stages.

I wash models with a watered down black wash after priming. There's your shade and detail in one go.

Use a ceramic plate to paint off so you can add water until its the consistency of milk.

Don't put too much on in one go. The acrylic paint is actually building a layer of plastic over the model, multiple layers give control.

If you are painting white......don't. Either paint light grey(cool) and edge highlight white or paint a very light beige(warm) and again a pure white highlight.

Best advice I can give? The absolutely best? Copy someone else's. I've spent years painting studio paint schemes purely because there is so much reference material available. If you try and improvise then it could end in tears. I recently stripped 60+ models because I wasn't happy with a base colour

And definitely try washes, army painter soft, strong and dark. They hide a multitude of sins

http://www.crowvalleycrusaders.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=734&hilit=interceptor&start=100

http://www.crowvalleycrusaders.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=734&hilit=interceptor&start=140

http://www.crowvalleycrusaders.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=734&hilit=interceptor&start=80

http://www.crowvalleycrusaders.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=734&hilit=interceptor&start=10

http://www.brookhursthobbies.com/paintingclinic/

That's a good starting point. There are a ton of other painting guides and videos out there. Better to hunt through a lot of them, the scope is just too big for here.

The one thing I'd recommend personally - do some reading on classical art techniques. Good miniatures painting is all about recreating natural lighting, which the mini itself is too small to do. It also covers concepts like color selection. The recent "Best B-wing repaint ever" thread is a good example of high technical skills applied in a poor manner due to a lack of appreciation for what the result should look like.

Lots of good advice here..

Thanks for chiming in guys, I knew there would be lots of great ideas and different perspectives.

One of the most helpful things I've heard in a while, and I'm almost positive I read it on this forum, was to never paint your base color with either pure black or pure white, even if your desired result is something black or white.

You cannot shade darker than black or highlight lighter than white, and both will ultimately make your model seem very toy-like.

Instead of black use a very dark gray, and as stated already, instead of white use a very light gray.

To an extent that is a true statement, but there is a... but.. to add to that.. when you want really bright colors, a white base coat is really good for making those colors pop...

If you have a Games Workshop store near you, not always possible, go in and check when they are doing painting demos. Most GW stores do these quite regularly and usually charge the princely sum of nothing. They'll give you a cheap plastic figure, some in store brushes and in store paints and give you the basics. You'd be surprised at how easy it is to pain a figure. Sure you are going to mess up a few times, but such is life. The great thing I've discovered over the years is acrylic paints can be stripped quite easy with green stuff or break fluid (Some softening may occur) so nothing is unfix-able. I admit that I don't have nearly the skill with vehicles that I would like and have been browsing around in bargain bins at my local game stores and swap meets for tiny figures I can ruin, hot wheels and matchbox fear my arrival. Dollar stores are also great to get cheap toys to practice re-painting skills.

The truth is in the end your paints and brushes will cost more then your practice figures/models. Good brushes help, but if you are just getting into it, buy a package of $2 brushes from your bulk craft store (Michaels, Blick, Hobby lobby) and some of the cheaper acrylic model paints and destroy a few dozen thrift store Hot Wheels (I once got a bag of 10 off brand for a buck) and have fun. You can only get better with practice. Also I will say that depending on your eye sight and such, a good set of magnifying goggles will make your life a lot easier and may save your eyes.

Teach you to paint? I've been painting miniatures for 34 years and I still don't know how.

Paint has been covered off pretty well, so I can add some suggestions on brushes.

Most of the time you'll want Round Point brushes - you can get them from any art supply store, either for far less than an equivalent gaming company version, or at a much higher quality. If you're brush-painting anything particularly big (Imperial Shuttle, etc) I recommend getting a flat brush as well.

There are three main types of brush material to consider:

Synthetic (taklon, etc) bristles are the cheapest out there, and still hold a good point. Fine for learning with, still handy to have later on for messy jobs. They don't last particularly well, and will often develop a hooked or split point - but that's why they cost $2 instead of $20. Most painters start here.

Sable brushes are the most expensive. They use a natural fibre that holds an excellent point, and they will outlast synthetic brushes by many years. Top of the range watercolour brushes (Winsor & Newton Series 7, Raphael #8404, etc) use sable, but there are also some cheaper brands using reasonable quality bristles.

There are also " synthetic sable " brushes that sit between the two in terms of cost and performance: they cost more than taklon, but have some of the better properties of the sables.

Artist brushes come in numbered sizes (larger number = larger brush), rather than being labelled "detail" and "drybrush." I tend to use a #2 brush with a good point on it to do 90% of my painting, and then a #1 or #0 to do the fine detail. I have a 1/4 flat brush that I use to paint large vehicle hulls - it doesn't leave brush marks as much as a smaller round brush does.

Resist the temptation to buy something like a #000000, thinking that the tiny brush will help you paint small things - you'll find that paint simply dries on the bristles before you get it across to the model surface

In general, the sharpness of the brush tip is much more important than the overall size of the brush. With good quality sables, I use larger brushes (almost always a #2) as they hold a lot more paint, so you don't need to keep loading up the brush as often. Cheap brushes generally fray a lot faster, so I tend to need smaller ones in order to have a sharp enough point.

Look after your brushes and they'll last you years. Don't dip them in paint as far up as the metal ferrule (collar), and clean all the paint out of them before it dries. Expensive sable brushes should occasionally be cleaned with some brush soap. I've been using the same pair of W&N brushes for almost ten years, and have painted many, many hundreds of figures with them.

I wanted to say thanks to everyone who's replied so far; this is exactly the kind of help I need. (Even/especially the references to YouTube tutorials--searching for "miniature painting" wasn't terribly helpful or specific, so it helps to be pointed toward high-quality resources there.)

The best advice I can offer is just practice! With painting it is not something that is taught, it is something you learn by doing... I have been into minis for the last few years and I am just now getting to where I feel like I am doing 'ok' paintjobs.

I don't particularity care for the GW brushes as in my experience the tips do not hold up as well as others. IMO as far as starter brushes go, you can't beat Testor's Model Master brushes... cheaper than GW and will last a good bit longer with the proper care... In between colors and when you finish just remember to always clean your brush and reform the tip, the best brush soap I've found is The Masters Brush soap, I love that stuff!

There are so many paints out there to try so I recommend getting some and just experiment and see which ones you prefer, I use Alot of GW paints (especially the metallics) and Vallejo model color and game color but I assure you there are more out there to try that are equally just as good so just try them out!

This is some of my recent work (Empire-Jedi dark blue Tie Fighters). GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR PAINTING! :-D

ImperialBucketHead, the dark blue TIE looks really stunning. Can you tell us what color(s) you used?

Miniature Painting 101 on youtube. Watch all of these videos and you'll be off to a good start.

https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB0292071C3B38CAC