I'm brand new to games with miniatures/painting them. What does everyone do with the bottoms of the bases? Is painting the bottoms necessary for anything but aesthetics?
I'm painting some figures using the Dip Method as spelled out in this forum on BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/43744/dip-method-step-step-guide-painting-miniatures
I don't touch the bottoms, myself. Just whatever junk 'under' laps the base stays there...
I don't paint the bottoms - no-one should see them, and the paint / coating would be rubbing against the board. (I also don't paint the rims for the same reason.)
I also don't paint or prime the bottoms of the bases either
Don't bother doing it. You have more figures to paint!
The dip method is intriguing. It seems like it's just a simplified version of applying a wash.
In those terms - yes, Its effectively a Single-Tone Wash applied Heavily as well as a Sealant of sorts. Which is why, in Australia, you'll often hear about people using a certain Wattle brand Floor Stain as a Dip.
You can't do different tints in different strengths to different areas - its just a one shot, all over, tonal wash, which means it works best in the Sepia to Brown tones, as they generally have a Neutral Bearing.... That being said, Black Washing is also one of the more common things - but generally speaking, you won't see many Dip-runs being done outside of those, unless its something REALLY funky (like specifically mixing up a Dip of Green for mostly Bare-chested Orcs, or something)
Could it work with stormtroopers or would the shadowing be too dark and require highlighting?
I think the shadowing would be too dark. The Stormtroopers I've painted have mostly used light grey as a recess color, with black only being used on the sections wear you could legitimately see their bodysuits. I find when looking at pics of Stormtroopers, they're generally just white and while washes of black can be used, I don't find they provide the same effect as the real world Stormtrooper. Their armor tends to layer white on white and the shading becomes too much at this scale.
I think I agree.
I'm not sure how it could be made to work on something so white.