I’m about to invest in some Acrylic paint used for figure painting and I was wondering which brand is best for the buck for a beginner. I’ve tried to paint using some Tamiya acrylics, but they just dry to dang fast so I stripped those figures and I’m looking at either getting some Vallejo or Andrea Miniatures paint.
For those of you experienced with both brands, which brand is more forgiving for a beginner. After seeing some of the work on here, I am inspired to try my hand at figures.
The only advantage of Vallejo is the greater palette. As far as usage, shelf life, price and just about everything else, there is no significant difference. They are also fully compatible and I use both on my figures, including intermixing for specific shades, highlights and shadows.
Being a professional illustrator by profession, I have experience with just about every paint medium out there. I long ago abandoned the expensive, sometimes hard to find and small jars of specialty model acrylics (for both figures and armor/aircraft/ships) in favor of the simple, cheaper, larger bottles of acrylics one finds in the Arts and Crafts department of Hobby Lobby etc. Make sure you get the opaque paints, and not the semi-transparent, glazing variety though.
Provided you have a keen eye for mixing colors, there is no real difference what so ever. Using a mixture of distilled water and rubbing alcohol is the key, and will assist in adhering and coverage when brush painting as well as airbrushing.
To keep acrylics from drying out too fast, add a small amount of retarder to some decanted paint—don’t put the modified stuff back in the bottle, either! For tiny amounts and touch-up, dip your brush in a thimble of clean thinner (whatever is appropriate for the brand of paint you’r using) before dipping it in the decanted paint.
“Provided you have a keen eye for mixing colors, there is no real difference what so ever.” —Mike S.
Mike, as a professional illustrator, this is a skill you had to acquire fairly early in your career, and it is not an easy skill for many, perhaps most, to acquire. I once color-matched paint for a living, so I have an idea of how difficult it can be. But I agree that for figures, it could be a good economical approach. I just wanted to add a caveat so that someone doesn’t try it once and give it up as too hard. It takes time, practice, good color vision, and good light—basement modelers take note! But it’s a good skill for a modeler to learn.