Hello all,

I received my Hobbit starter set (limited edition) from green dragon games past friday (2 days ago as of this writing), and i have spent almost all weekend reading the rules, playing my very first game, and also painting my very first figures!

I thought i'd share what i've done, so i can get some tips as to where i should improve. I'm not looking to be a top artist, so please don't throw in 1000 advices on how to get every little detail perfect, but a rough advice here and there so i know which direction to head in is most welcome! I heard about "washes" or something, and "drybrushing", no idea what it is, but maybe something i need to look into?

They aren't great i know, but hey, gotta start somewhere! My first goal is simply to get the whole set painted, and hopefully i'll get better along the way There are a lot of spots i missed, especially on the goblin and gandalf, but i really didn't notice it before i took the photo with blitz.

The goblin were primed black, and Gandalf + Thorin were white primed. Was that the right call?

Thanks for watching!
http://imageshack.us/g/689/img0552hl.jpg/

Hello Seerex.
Painting any mini requires a little preparation - you need images of the finished versions as a basis, or maybe you want to do something slightly different - you still want some images to look at as they help with planning your approach.
The plastic minis should all be washed in a soapy water (a few drops of Fairy or similar in a plastic basin), then left to dry out. This is done to remove a residue from a mould-release agent.
You cut the parts from the sprues and remove flash, mould lines, then assemble using plastic glue (some people use superglue even on plastics).
Base coating has more than one school of thought. A dark base is great for a darker mini like an orc or an uruk. A bright base could be great for something much lighter like Tom Bombadil. Black and White are not the only colours you can use as a base. It is important to paint everything and not miss bits - better to take your time, less of a rush.
A base coat could be the underlying colour of a mini so for the dwarves many have predominantly brownish clothing so a dark brown would be suitable. Then paint the individual items of clothing in their base colours. A wash is simply a watered down version of a colour, usually applied as a shading that helps provide depth and definition to a mini, for example a dark skin wash brings out the eyes, mouth and wrinkles on a face. Highlighting is the opposite - instead of emphasising the deeper details, you are picking out the outermost, like the ridge of the nose, the blade of a sword and so on.
Some of the other guys are great painters and could probably explain this better than me. There are many mini-painting tutorial out there on the internet - the principles will be fairly similar, but I sense that you want help with the specifics of how to do The Hobbit set. I know some independent bloggers and sites are working on those right now. As are some people hereabouts...
Best of luck!

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Published ebooks:
Instrument of the Empire
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More to come!

They're a good start.

Couple of quick things.
1. GW paints are a bit think to use straight from the pot. It's a good idea to put a small amount onto a pallet and add some water just to thin it a little, this will help preserve detail.
2. The techniques you mentioned are for adding light and shadow to the appearance of a miniature. The wash is normally a watery dark colour that you cover an area with and it sinks into the folds to create shadow.
A dry brush is the opposite where you use a little bit of not very watery paint and brush it over ridges and high points on a model to give highlights.

I would recommend heading into your local GW and asking for a free paint lesson. They cover most of the techniques and you'll get a free miniature to add to your colection

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QOTN: "Bronzed flesh is a terrible name, it should never be used for painting flesh or bronze" - at the local GW

Not bad at all for your first minies. I especially like the eyes.

Some general tips: - make sure the basing material only covers the top of the base (just stroke the excess off with your finger).
-Make sure you get complete coverage on all parts - go over it again when it's dry
- A wash is a special paint (or watered down normal paint) that is smeared over the washed part after painting the basecoat (the first coat of paint). It pools in the recesses, making those darker then the rest of the mini. This really helps with shading your miniatures, and it's very easy to do.
-A drybrush works like so: You put an (old, as it's hard on your brush) brush in the paint you want to drybrush, wipe off a Lot of it on a tissue or something, and then drag it over the part you are drybrushing. It will only leave paint on the ridges of the model, allowing you to make those lighter then the rest. If you're unsure if you've wiped off enough, drag it over your finger. If enough is gone, it'll only paint your fingerprint.
-Keep going. Every mini you paint will be better then the last.

Succes, and have fun!

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"... Telchar wrought it in the deeps of time."
-On Andùril, The Lord of the Rings

Get a few good brushes, and clean them consistently. I use the GW brushes and am satisfied with them. Recommended the Fine Detail Brush, Small Drybrush, and Wash Brush. I assume you have the starter brush.

This will sound weird now... You should develop a "Style". By this I mean a standard method or approach to painting. Since I am a novice painter, I let the miniature and the brush do the work. Try not to over think it.

I use Drybrushing a lot. This allows the details to "Pop" off. Leaving a shadow or relief. My Style I would call more "Weathered" almost an antique look. I am satisfied with the result.

Working in Layers is important too. Start with the darker colors/tones first. Then on top of that paint another lighter color/tone. You do not want to obliterate the darker color with your lighter color.

I buy the GW paints and make a color swatch card. This is so I can see what the "Dry Down" color of the paint really is. It changes from the paint pot to the final color.

Note on Drybrushing, get a lot of the paint off the brush. I would equate it to "Dusting" over the miniature.

"Pick" the raised areas where Drybrushing is not useful. I will take the Fine Detail brush and roll the brush on it's side to bring out the details.

Go slow, Rome was not made in a day!

This is the 4th Half Troll I have ever painted.
Before this I have only painted 24 Warriors of Minas Tirith.

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Not bad at all for a total noob. As i once was many a year ago. You will notice a massive improvement once you discover your abilities. The correct brushes to have is a good tip, Standard, detail and fine detail. An undercoat spray is always the best start as well.

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You would of had me crawling on all fours like a BEAST!

Certainly better than the first models I ever painted, I'd say you're off to a good start. It sounds like you've already chatted with a few people and both ink washes and drybrushing are great methods for bringing out the detail in models and very easy to learn.

We can tell give you a feel for how those techniques work or what the purpose is, but I definitely think Smorg gave the best advice which is to head down to your nearest GW (or any gaming store, for that matter) and see if there's someone who can show you the techniques first-hand and with whom you can practice. That's easily the best way to learn any new painting technique.

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Well, that's my 2 cents.