Back when I started painting minis, I had NO idea what I was getting myself into. I didn't do any research, I didn't know acrylics from oils, nothing. Paint was paint, and a brush was a brush. I picked minis that I liked, and chose colors that I thought looked good. My goal was to simply apply paint evenly, stay in the lines, and make it look good. Little things like small details and eyes were icing on the cake!
Recently, I found the small booklet shown here on eBay that I truly wish I had stumbled across, oh, 20 to 30 years ago. It's an interesting read, and if I could go back in time, I can only wonder how much better a painter I would be now, if only to read Section 7 - Special Painting Techniques. It's all there: Shadowing, Highlighting, Washing, Staining, Dry Brushing, and yes, even Blending.
Of course, it would also help if I was a more motivated painter, because there's nothing like practical application (practice makes perfect) to bolster one's skill level. I'm just happy that there is an abundance of information freely available today, from sites like Dr. Faust's to instructional DVDs along the lines of Hot Lead.
I feel like I've learned a lot over the past five or six years, and just being able to look at what kind of results I can produce now compared to a few years back is the best kind of reinforcement that I'm heading in the right direction. I just need to paint more, so it's time to wrap up this entry and head back to the workbench.
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