Figure painting is the hobby of painting miniature figures and/or model figures, either in its own right or as an adjunct to role-playing games, wargames, military modeling, etc.
Miniature figurines come in a variety of sizes. Most figurines used in Tabletop gaming range in size from 2mm all the way up to 54mm. Figurines also come in a variety of materials, with plastic, metal and resin being the three most prevalent. The miniatures themselves once finished are primarily used for either War games, Tabletop roleplay, or for general collecting purposes.
[edit] Materials
One of the most common paints used in Figure painting is acrylic paint, but certain paints sold especially for painting miniatures and other scale models do exist. Some other paint kinds used less commonly include enamel paint, oil paint and lacquer.[citation needed]
Sculptors often use a high amount of detail in the figures, and painting may require the finest brushes, good quality brushes like Kolinsky sable brushes that take a fine point are preferred, although hog or synthetic brushes are better for "rough" work: undercoating and dry brushing. An Airbrush is also a commonly used tool. Airbrushing facilitates leveled painting surfaces and allows for effects like gradiants and soft blended edges. A palette is used for mixing and thinning paints before application.
[edit] Competition
Some figure producers promote Figure painting through competition. As an example, Games Workshop runs the Golden Demon competitions at Games Day events, which is restricted to Games Workshop's own figures or scratch-built figures for Games Workshop game settings.
[edit] References
