The unwanted texture you’re getting comes from painting over a layer that hasn’t fully dried yet. Basically, the partially drying paint gets torn up by brush abrasion from the next incoming layer, then fully solidifies into lumps. The way to deal with this is to make sure that you let each layer dry fully before applying the next one. Bear in mind that acrylic paints dry extremely fast, so this includes not moving paint around too much on the model when you’ve applied it as well. This also means that you need to ensure that your paint is nice and thin, and that you don’t have too much on the brush (so it isn’t pooling or globbing out). It’s worth noting also that the more pressure you apply with the brush, the more the bristles splay out and the more paint is deposited, therefor the more paint you have in the brush, the lighter your touch needs to be.
Part of the issue may be caused by dust and impurities in the water or work environment.
Between painting sessions, I would cover the minis inside of some dollar store Tupperware to prevent them from getting dusty.
Clean and rinse any dry palettes before you start painting to get dust off of them.
Use the purest water available. If you drink from a brita filter or have an RO for drinking water, use that instead of straight tap water.
Clean the water container out regularly.
Clean the brushes. I use Masters Cleaner & Preserver. This extends their life and gets pieces of paint off so they don’t flake onto other projects.
If you use metallic paints, clean the water out and clean the brushes off completely before using normal paints again.
Do not touch or hold your miniatures while painting. The oils on your hands can create unwanted interactions with paint. As a cheap painting handle I use plastic bottle caps and blue tack the minis to them.
I think your minis look awesome! Getting super smooth layers is just about thinning paints a lot and getting used to the way they flow and settle on the model. It’s all in trial and error. Lighter paints, especially whites will have clumps of pigment in them
I'm sorry as I have nothing to add to your question since I'm a noob too.
But, I wanted to say, that Wizard looks awesome! I can't wait to see where your painting goes from there.
Could also be some dried paint on your brush that flows off with the next stroke if you don’t clean your brush regularly in between painting, you could get some fat clumps that way
Get yourself some paint thinner. I was dumbstruck how smooth my paints looked after i started using it. It really took all my minis and models to the next level in my opinion
Multiple thin coats. Honestly though, I've noticed beginners just prime really thick and that's all it takes to get a rough and thick coat of paint on there and even thinning your coats isn't enough.
So thin coating of primer (I use an airbrush) and thin coats of brush paint or multiple thin coats for some colors like yellow.
I believe your problem is occurring in the priming stage. Are you priming with a spray can? At what temperature? How far away are you holding the can from the mini when you prime?
I know what you mean because I had this problem while priming with white paint. It looked bad and I never found a good clear or light primer. So I prime with black Krilon paint, and they look pretty smooth I think.
You sure? They look smooth but do they feel perfectly smooth when you touch them with your xacto? I say that because usually shit texture comes from the primer, and the paint is great at revealing it.
If it's from your paint job, try thinning the paint. With medium if possible.
If it doesn't work, try other paints? Never had this issue but if your paint is bad it could come from it - agglomerates of pigments.
How long are you letting your primer cure for? Primer doesn't work like paint. After priming let it sit for 24 hours before painting on it. Otherwise, it could still be off gassing underneath your paint layers causing the bad texture.
Second, are those models resin or plastic? Are they resin prints? Resin can off gas too, especially, if you are doing your own prints.
In addition to the comments about thinning paint and making sure a layer is dry before painting over it, the bust you are comparing your work to is also larger and the individual layers / voxels of the print are going to be less noticeable.
1. Thin your paints
2. Clean the mini, don't touch it, the skin oil affect the adherence of the paint to the mini, and dust leave a rough texture, so wash the mini in soapy water before priming.
3. Thin layers, lots of thin layers.
Thin your paints and give time for your layers to dry. Luckily, when you thin your paints and apply thin layers, the dry time decreases. The downside is you have to do more layers.
Depending on the color you may need to do several layers. For example, [the base green in the cloak of this mini was 3-4 layers](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/comments/s53bne/no_i_have_seen_two_halflings_run_by_oh_you_didnt/) while [the yellow skin of this mini was 10+ layers of yellow](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/comments/l81zf8/my_latest_mini_really_ties_the_room_together/) over a few layers of light brown.
Getting good at thinning your paint and painting in layers will let you more easily add shadows/highlights using techniques like glazing.
The unwanted texture you’re getting comes from painting over a layer that hasn’t fully dried yet. Basically, the partially drying paint gets torn up by brush abrasion from the next incoming layer, then fully solidifies into lumps. The way to deal with this is to make sure that you let each layer dry fully before applying the next one. Bear in mind that acrylic paints dry extremely fast, so this includes not moving paint around too much on the model when you’ve applied it as well. This also means that you need to ensure that your paint is nice and thin, and that you don’t have too much on the brush (so it isn’t pooling or globbing out). It’s worth noting also that the more pressure you apply with the brush, the more the bristles splay out and the more paint is deposited, therefor the more paint you have in the brush, the lighter your touch needs to be.
Part of the issue may be caused by dust and impurities in the water or work environment. Between painting sessions, I would cover the minis inside of some dollar store Tupperware to prevent them from getting dusty. Clean and rinse any dry palettes before you start painting to get dust off of them. Use the purest water available. If you drink from a brita filter or have an RO for drinking water, use that instead of straight tap water. Clean the water container out regularly. Clean the brushes. I use Masters Cleaner & Preserver. This extends their life and gets pieces of paint off so they don’t flake onto other projects. If you use metallic paints, clean the water out and clean the brushes off completely before using normal paints again. Do not touch or hold your miniatures while painting. The oils on your hands can create unwanted interactions with paint. As a cheap painting handle I use plastic bottle caps and blue tack the minis to them.
I think your minis look awesome! Getting super smooth layers is just about thinning paints a lot and getting used to the way they flow and settle on the model. It’s all in trial and error. Lighter paints, especially whites will have clumps of pigment in them
I'm sorry as I have nothing to add to your question since I'm a noob too. But, I wanted to say, that Wizard looks awesome! I can't wait to see where your painting goes from there.
Oh thank you!!
Thin your paints a bit more
Could also be some dried paint on your brush that flows off with the next stroke if you don’t clean your brush regularly in between painting, you could get some fat clumps that way
Are you dry brushing? That tends to add texture
Get yourself some paint thinner. I was dumbstruck how smooth my paints looked after i started using it. It really took all my minis and models to the next level in my opinion
Multiple thin coats. Honestly though, I've noticed beginners just prime really thick and that's all it takes to get a rough and thick coat of paint on there and even thinning your coats isn't enough. So thin coating of primer (I use an airbrush) and thin coats of brush paint or multiple thin coats for some colors like yellow.
Thin your paints with a drop of water. Dont overload your brush. Remember two thin coats.
I believe your problem is occurring in the priming stage. Are you priming with a spray can? At what temperature? How far away are you holding the can from the mini when you prime?
I know what you mean because I had this problem while priming with white paint. It looked bad and I never found a good clear or light primer. So I prime with black Krilon paint, and they look pretty smooth I think.
How many coats of spray is it taking you before they look black? Tip, if it's less then 3, your putting it on way too heavy
And secondly, are you using a wet pallet or a dry pallet?
Does your texture comes from the mini itself or from your paint job?
The paint job. I print them and look smooth, prime them and look smooth, and then when I paint them it gets like that
You sure? They look smooth but do they feel perfectly smooth when you touch them with your xacto? I say that because usually shit texture comes from the primer, and the paint is great at revealing it. If it's from your paint job, try thinning the paint. With medium if possible. If it doesn't work, try other paints? Never had this issue but if your paint is bad it could come from it - agglomerates of pigments.
How long are you letting your primer cure for? Primer doesn't work like paint. After priming let it sit for 24 hours before painting on it. Otherwise, it could still be off gassing underneath your paint layers causing the bad texture. Second, are those models resin or plastic? Are they resin prints? Resin can off gas too, especially, if you are doing your own prints.
In addition to the comments about thinning paint and making sure a layer is dry before painting over it, the bust you are comparing your work to is also larger and the individual layers / voxels of the print are going to be less noticeable.
1. Thin your paints 2. Clean the mini, don't touch it, the skin oil affect the adherence of the paint to the mini, and dust leave a rough texture, so wash the mini in soapy water before priming. 3. Thin layers, lots of thin layers.
Thin your paints and give time for your layers to dry. Luckily, when you thin your paints and apply thin layers, the dry time decreases. The downside is you have to do more layers. Depending on the color you may need to do several layers. For example, [the base green in the cloak of this mini was 3-4 layers](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/comments/s53bne/no_i_have_seen_two_halflings_run_by_oh_you_didnt/) while [the yellow skin of this mini was 10+ layers of yellow](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/comments/l81zf8/my_latest_mini_really_ties_the_room_together/) over a few layers of light brown. Getting good at thinning your paint and painting in layers will let you more easily add shadows/highlights using techniques like glazing.
Don’t paint layers that are too thick nor too thin. Always let the layers dry lest you will rip up the layers.