Is the new GW how to paint book a worthwhile investment?

[paintadikt]

I am getting back into the hobby and am mostly interested in the painting side of things, I am intermediate but want to get good and am debating whether to get this book or the new masterworks dvd with Jen Haley and Natasha? I think anyway one other lady. My concern is that it will just be a catalogue that like so much of their stuff just leaves you wanting and looking at the hole in your wallet. Anyone bought it and recommend it?

[ctsteel]

I don't think it's out until tomorrow?

[xxRavenxx]

The obvious thing that it depends on is:

Can you paint?

If you can paint, there is nothing there for you.

If you'd like to learn about colour pallete, blending, layering, washes, and drybrushing, then yes, its a good book.


In terms of which is better, the masterworks dvd looks ok, but I suspect the book showing steps that comes with GWs book/dvd set will be useful as reference while trying to recreate something. (I personally hate the idea of having to paint along with a dvd, I'd want to watch it, then use queue cards later.)

Most importantly, what will you be painting? Clearly the masterworks dvd is painting nothing but dark sword minis. And the GW one will be nothing but GW minis. That would be a big factor if you're purely doing GW models.

[lbecks]

The new GW book looks useful for army painting and, of course, using the new GW paints.

I haven't seen the masterworks DVD but I do have Jen Haley's standalone DVD. It focuses on female miniatures with a white undercoat and she mainly uses Reaper Master Series paints.

[paintadikt]

@ctsteel- Doh!, thanks for the pickup, I will change the title of the thread so I can get some reviews
@xxRavenxx- I have a grasp of what to do in terms of blending and washing, I am just looking for something that is gonna help me do those things technically right and get better, I would also like to try NMM and airbrushing. I am going to be painting a coolminiornot griffin commander with an Empire general and a regiment of the new demigryph knights.

Its a good point you make about masterworks using the reaper paints on a white undercoat, but I will definately be using GW paints as I already have alot.

Thanks for the response,now I know its not even out yet I wll have to wait a little longer and see

Cheers

[lbecks]

If it's blending, washing, and NMM you're interested in then the Masterworks DVD is probably better for that as Jen Haley's style (and standalone DVD) incorporates a lot of blending and NMM.

[DarkMark]

You could have a look at the FW painting book, lots of people say its very good:

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Modellin...OLUME-ONE.html

[gilljoy]

You could have a look at the FW painting book, lots of people say its very good:

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Modellin...OLUME-ONE.html

Its a really good book but its doesn't teach you any techniques such as blending etc, its more for how they paint and weather there minis and tanks.

I'd like to know if the book is worthwhile purchase myself since I'm trying to learn how to blend properly atm

[lbecks]

Its a really good book but its doesn't teach you any techniques such as blending etc, its more for how they paint and weather there minis and tanks.

I'd like to know if the book is worthwhile purchase myself since I'm trying to learn how to blend properly atm

If you want to learn how to 2 brush blend (the backbone of Privateer Press' painting technique) this video by the McVeys/Ali McVey (Awesome painter and wife of former Lead Painter for GW and PP Mike McVey) is the free-est and one of the best ones out there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw6QjE2a7A0

[paintadikt]

@Ibecks- thanks for the link, I watched it and another by obsidian on sanguinary guard wings which will help me with my project immensely
@Darkmark- thanks I will have a look at that because one thing I want to do at some stage is some killa kans with weathering powders, or some statue using the powders or pigments to create a colourful patina effect. The forgeworld stuff is class

Happy painting

[paintadikt]

Just one bump as I preempted the release and am still very interested in the contents of the book, the 8 sample armies and the aforementioned things, would appreciate if anyone has now had a look at the book if they could shed some light.

Thank you

[odinsgrandson]

I haven't seen the new book yet, but I would be very surprised if it strays from GW's long standing appeal to the lowest common denominator.

GW's painting guides have pretty much always been "take you from next to nothing into tabletop quality." The worst ones were written by Adrian Wood a while back, but overall they tend to keep away from really bringing your technique up to the top.

Now, I personally think that there are so many strong resources online for every level of painter that I would hesitate to recommend any books on painting. I mean, Mike McVey was one of the first great painters for the 'Eavy Metal team, and his advice is free, the tutorials by the Brushthralls, the ones on Coolminiornot.com or Dr. Faust's Painting Clinic can all bring you to a higher level of painting.

(As an additional plug- the Studio McVey miniatures line is totally brilliant).

[Horace35]

Have not properly read it or watched the DVD yet but it contains:

General painting tips as you would expect for washing, drybrushing etc with mini guides how to paint bone, fur, metal, skin and stuff using those techniques.

The Army projects in the book are:
Tyranids (termagant, warrior, trygon)
O&G (Boyz, Boar boyz, Spiders)
Haradrim (warrior, cavalry, mumak)
Empire (swordsman, knights panther)
Space Marines (tactical, scouts, vehicles & captain)
Tomb Kings (skeleton, liche priest, necrosphinx)
Gondor (warrior, ranger, knights)
Dark Eldar (warrior, wyches, archon)

From a first glance I think I prefer the older Eavy Metal Masterclass - more detail and a nice selection of stuff painted
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/ca...d=prod1390070a

[ctsteel]

There's a youtube video of the book here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wJ8w...eature=related

[paintadikt]

@odinsgrandson- Thanks for the additional resources, I have checked out a few already on cmon and am impressed, particularly with something I found about shading using metallics with differect tonal values lightly glazed with colours to realise the surface, much more authentic metal than just NMM in my opinion. will keep referring to them for starters and explore your other suggestions.
@Horace35- Thank you for the summary, I am working on Empire but I would rather see how to do greatswords or demigryph knight as the examples, swordsmen are super generic, which I understand, and I plan on buying the new Perry miniatures mounted men at arms for my knights, because I subscribe to the common view that the knights are dated
@ctsteel- Thanks for the link, watched the review and hes done a fair job, would be good to get his opinion of the DVD content but judging from their level of media presentation I am not expecting all that much. He also states its pretty impressive for $50, but for me even with a discount im lookin at 75. What I mostly took from seeing most pages is that its just a reiteration of the army book painting content, they honestly are so bad at it. I would have liked to have seen step by step of every colour possible, right through to shades of tertiary colours, because thats kind of the point of the new range isnt it, that that level of broadness is now available.

Final thought- wont buy it, colour charts more or less give me what i need to know, and in time quality tutorials will no doubt appear on the more specialised techniques eg. their dry pigments. Sadly, and this is coming from a positive person, but they seriously charge a fortune for regurgitated stuff all dont they. I might add that removing old tutorials from their support articles section of the website is rather contemptuous, backing my view that there really isnt that much new material.