Good Morning,

I’m completely new to painting miniatures, but a friend bought into Legion at GenCon so I did as well. Examples of my first efforts are below. I am very greatful to Sorastro’s excellent guides, but my hands aren’t super steady, and I am not 100% pleased with my work. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

This is the first one I painted

Here is the best from my second batch

And here’s the best from the third

I haven't painted the bases yet, waiting until I get them all done

as mentioned many other places on this forum, add a little shading (ink works great) to bring out the raised armor highlights. A little black or brown ink will make the different white surfaces pop or stand out from each other. There are many methods. Sorastro used different techniques for his Imperial Assault and Legion Stormtroopers.

I think they are pretty good as a newcomer tbh.

One thing to remember with painting figures..on pictures...especially close up pictures...they look worse than the normally are. Pictures have this horrible habit of somehow highlighting every little error that the normal eye view dosnt pick up on ;] I bet from 2 feet away they look pretty good?

I think your white paint (the white armour) looks a bit 'thick'. Getting the white right on STroopers is half the battle.

A method I used was to spray them in a ver very light grey(its almost white) and then another spray from above in white...(very lightly) which game me a lovely base coat to work from. They arnt the best, out not the worst either(see below). a lot of it comes from learning actual methods...rather than actual skill imo.

I chose to line my armor with Sorastros method, but a light wash can do the same(but very very sparingly imo...put it onto the areas you want it only...if you splash it all over your lovely white gets a bit messed up.

The face detail...well that comes with practice imo..sotrmtrooper faces are quite difficult imo for a newcomer...as you are working 2 such contrasting colours. I think the mouth is something that looks like it needs a bit of work if you want to try improve(its not easy). your looks a bit 'flat' where its more of a 'V'(upside down). IMO always search google for a pic of your subject matter so you can see what you should be aiming at.You can even try a black wash...applied very carefully into the mouth depression...might take 2 applications tho to be dark enough.

I think you have made a good start tbh. Stormtroopers, for a newcomer to the hobby are not as easy as you might think to get looking right.

For a beginner they look decent enough, honestly Stormtroopers might be the worst minis to start learning to paint with, White is probably the hardest colour to get right (maybe yellow) and smooth armour is a paint too. I don't know if you only do imperials, but if you also have rebels, i would advice to get a bit of practice on them first, the sculpts and paintscheme are a bit more organic and are much more forgiving.

But for your stormtroopers, the best advice I can give is thin your paints, you want them to be of a milky consistency, also don't think you need complete coverage with 1 coat, several thin coats of diluted paint are better then 1 thick coat. Another tip is instead of white use a verly light grey for the bulk and only use pure white for your final highlight. I've been painting for over 20 years and I've tried several white's from several manufacturers and I still haven't found a white I'm happy with, for some reason they're all a bit grainy or chalky compared to other colours, so I only use it to mix with other paints or as a final highlight.

I say so far so good. As stated above Troopers are the hardest ones to jump into the hobby with. I also agree with the thinned down paints as well. I feel that if you somewhat assembly line them it doesn't seem so tedious when doing Troopers.

I personally prefer a pristine look for my Troopers. That shiny white armor with no washes. I honestly use the Kenner/Hasbro line for inspiration when painting my miniatures. Don't get me wrong, as seen in Vayasans' post you can get some amazing results when using washes and shades.

Sorastro is a good resource but I suggest looking at other players threads to see what others have done. Most everyone here seems eager to share tips and tricks and makes for a great community.

White is a bear. It's best to think of it as grey being worked up to white. It's definitely the hardest to make look great.

I'd definitely recommend Sorastro's guide as doing a base of grey and then the zenithal highlight in white does a lot of the work for you. The perk of this setup is if you do it right, you won't need to use shading (or limit it).

If painting it all by brush, thin paint and a few layers are going to be super helpful. Washes can do wonders on paint that's a little less than impressive as well.

On 8/22/2018 at 7:39 PM, VAYASAN said:

One thing to remember with painting figures..on pictures...especially close up pictures...they look worse than the normally are. Pictures have this horrible habit of somehow highlighting every little error that the normal eye view dosnt pick up on ;] I bet from 2 feet away they look pretty good?

^^^^^^^^^

So much this.

First, I think your models look great. No one is going to look at them and be confused about what they are and you have done a good job keeping it simple and recognizable. Second, it can’t be said enough how difficult stormtroopers are to paint. They have literally no color variation to create interest so you can either just leave them all white or spend a LOT of time and effort.

So, ask yourself why you are painting. If you want to become a famous miniature painter it’s going to take some time and effort. But frankly if you want some models to play with that are better than gray plastic you at already doing great. You will improve your techniques over time just as you paint more and more and try new things.

Thank you all so much for the suggestions and encouragement. They really aren’t so bad from two feet, and you’re right, I mostly just want something to look suitable for the game, so I won’t freak out too much. Honestly it never occurred to me that the rebels might be easier, since more colors/shades are involved but now that I’m a little further in it makes so much sense. I got some of the Vallejo thinning medium and their White (I had been using some paint for model trains which may have been contributing to the ‘gloppy’ effect) and I’ll see how that goes in the future. Thanks again!!

I would agree that the rebels are easier to paint. I was new to painting when I first started painting legion and I couldn't figure out white so I just painted my stormtroopers forest green and they turned out nice. Also, remember to have fun! ? Nothing with paint is permanent and you can always go back later and fix something if you want to.

One thing you can do is after giving the troopers an initial coat of white and picking out the black recesses is giving them a wash with a black or brown ink as mentioned, then painting the white areas again with more white paint, leaving the recesses alone so the ink still shows there. This will heighten the contrast between the raised white areas and the shaded recesses.

Alternately, if you like the dirty white look, just do the wash and skip the highlighting.

There is a reason that inks and washes are referred to as "liquid talent" in wargaming circles. Anything looks 10 times better when given a wash. It really makes details pop.

Also seconding that white is a really awful color. Its probably the most challenging of colors to get to look good.

6 hours ago, BadMotivator said:

One thing you can do is after giving the troopers an initial coat of white and picking out the black recesses is giving them a wash with a black or brown ink as mentioned, then painting the white areas again with more white paint, leaving the recesses alone so the ink still shows there. This will heighten the contrast between the raised white areas and the shaded recesses.

There’s no question this works great. However, it takes a small bit of forever - especially if you are still learning to control your brush on a miniature scale. So if you want to do it this way make sure you use thin paints in layers and don’t be in a rush.

It’s also worth noting that if you do this you want a really nice brush with a good fine point especially to pick out the highlights on the faces without glopping paint into the recesses you’ve darkened with the wash.

16 hours ago, KnnOs said:

I had been using some paint for model trains which may have been contributing to the ‘gloppy’ effect

The pigment count makes a lot of difference in miniature painting. Invest in some good paints; GW, Vallejo. army painter, etc. These paints also thin better than 'hobby' acrylic paints.

As others have stated, white is difficult and can lead to clumping, gloppy messes sometimes.

Otherwise, my advice is: "Do what you like". Personally, I think besides the usual white issues, they look good to go for the table. Many people are suggesting you shade/wash/ink them but only do that if *YOU* want it.

I personally hate the "hyper-shaded WH40K" style of painting and, like C3POFETT, I much prefer a pristine look to my stormies. I found my Empire painting preference while doing so much darn white armor for Imperial Assault figures: prime in white, paint the black areas and then finish up with an inexpensive, glossy white paint I got for $.84 a bottle at Wal-Mart on all of the armor. Surprisingly, it has less issues with clumping than normal, expensive white paints.

Find what works for you and get them to the table to play!!

16 hours ago, FSD said:

As others have stated, white is difficult and can lead to clumping, gloppy messes sometimes.

Otherwise, my advice is: "Do what you like". Personally, I think besides the usual white issues, they look good to go for the table. Many people are suggesting you shade/wash/ink them but only do that if *YOU* want it.

I personally hate the "hyper-shaded WH40K" style of painting and, like C3POFETT, I much prefer a pristine look to my stormies. I found my Empire painting preference while doing so much darn white armor for Imperial Assault figures: prime in white, paint the black areas and then finish up with an inexpensive, glossy white paint I got for $.84 a bottle at Wal-Mart on all of the armor. Surprisingly, it has less issues with clumping than normal, expensive white paints.

Find what works for you and get them to the table to play!!

Honestly all my paints are from Michaels Arts & Craft, Hobby Lobby and the like. They are a fraction of the cost. (usually $0.79 to $0.99) I can get every color I need in a "Satin" or a "Gloss" finish depending on what I am painting. I prefer to paint my miniatures using "Satin" finish paints. They do not have a high sheen to them once dry and I can honestly say they are table ready as soon as they are dry without having to spray coat them. (Even white). Although I must admit I do own a set of 12 washes from Citadel. I just didn't like the results from my homemade washes.

I do occasionally use washes but that is usally to get a desired effect in fabric, otherwise I really only use it on weapons. I paint all weapons with a Gunmetal Silver and give them a heavy coat or two of Nuln Oil. It gives them a desired dark look and helps break up where the Stormtroopers hand ends and the blaster begins.