Steps to Being a Better Miniature Painter – Part 7

The Importance of Painting Outward
Hey Everyone,
So, I am currently working on my next basing and painting tutorials, and I decided to take a break and put up another post tonight.  So, todays topic; Painting Outwards.  Now, some of you are probably not familiar with the term.  What I mean by painting outwards is that, when painting a miniature, it is typically easiest and quickest to paint starting at the "innermost" layer.


For example, if you have seen my Ork painting tutorial, the skin is typically the innermost layer, as clothing is on top of the skin. That is why I begin by painting the ork skin, followed by the pants and shirt.  I would not paint the straps before these two layers, as straps and belts are the most outer layers. You may be asking, "what is the advantage to painting outwards?".  Well, the main advantage is not having to go back and re-touch up your miniatures after every colour.  When painting outwards, you do not need to be concerned if you accidentally paint over parts that go over that layer, just as long as you do not paint over parts from more inner layers. The end result is typically a faster, smoother paint job.


Another example is, as most of you have probably already noticed, on many marines painting tutorials, the person paints a general basecoat on the innermost layer, then highlights the other colours over the basecoat layer. If you were to paint the miniature using the opposite strategy, painting the outermost layers first, you would have to be Extremely Careful not to paint over the already painted parts. Therefore, this would results in a slower paint job.


Well, that is it for the day. I will try to have my new tutorials up within the next few days.


Thanks for reading and talk to you again soon.


Sincerely,
J