Getting my kid started with painting - any advice

[Rogue]

Hello

 

My oldest (almost five, just started school) has become interested in watching me paint models, and is asking about painting some for himself. Does anyone have any advice as to how to approach this is in a positive way that'll leave him enjoying the process but without me getting frustrated at spilled paint or trashed brushes. Should I be teaching him to water down paints from the get-go, for example, or just keep it as easy as possible?

 

As background, both he and his younger brother have been 'playing' HeroQuest with myself and RogueChaplain, which they both enjoy in short bursts. I've been painting all the models, and he's enjoyed popping his head into the hobby room to see how the painting process is coming along, and asking if he can have a go. I have a number of older models lying around (2nd ed. marines, push fit Orlocks, that sort of thing), and lots of older brushes.

 

Thanks

[Grotsmasha]

I'd start with less complex things, and larger things.

 

Hero Quest is perfect, I'd start with terrain, predominantly base coats and dry-brushing, with small amounts ot detail, such as metallic clasps on the chests etc.

 

Another alternative is dollar store toys. Prime over them and let them take it from there 

 

In regards to Brushes, go to an Office Supplied store (Office Works in Oz), they'll have super cheap brushes that'll last long enough for a good couple of learning sessions without breaking the bank, and aren't trash like dollar store brushes.

 

For preventing paint spills, GWs pot holder released with contrasts is a god-send, and I can't recommend it strongly enough,

 

[INKS]

Accidents will happen, roll with it. prepare for a spill. At some point it's going to happen. 

All the above advice from @Grotsmasha is very good.

leave the fine details to yourself. have him base coat or paint one color over the minis. water the paints down a little. show him the proper way you paint and so on.

make it fun. I don't know if you watch tv, or listen to podcasts or whatever but put on a show he likes or something. some music and so on. set him up a little painting station like you have next to you.

 

This will build memories for years to come.

 

[Firedrake Cordova]

Probably a good starting point would be to pick some simple miniatures (those without lots of extra details on them), and just help them through base-coating them. That will get them to learn basic brush control, and also give them a sense of achievement (the perceived difference between a primed and base-coated model is more than the difference between a base-coated and highlighted model). As @Grotsmasha said, terrain is a good option as it can generally be drybrushed to good effect.  

 

One thing which held me back from painting was "fear of failure", so knowing that if you mess up, 10 minutes with some IPA and a toothbrush can fix it may be helpful.

 

On brushes, have a look for some size 2-4 synthetic brushes - they're big enough to hold a reasonable amount of paint (and shouldn't dry out too quickly) and resist the tips "hooking" too quickly, whilst being small enough for use on a mini. The main thing with synthetic brushes is you can use IPA to clean them if paint gets in/near the ferrule (and it will!) without worrying about affecting the bristles (plus, they're normally a fair bit cheaper). Personally, I like the W&N Cotman range, although they're not as cheap as they used to be, so maybe some "craft store" ones might be a better bet. 

 

 

Edited September 21 by Firedrake Cordova

[TheArtilleryman]

If you have any old/unwanted minis lying around, they are an ideal start. I started my kids off with a bunch of old monopose space marines.

 

I tell you what though, the best army for a kid to start painting is definitely necrons. We got a bunch from the first few issues of imperium and because all you have to do is drybrush them silver to get a decent look, they are awesome for kids. The drybrushing picks up all the detail and all you need to do then is a few dots of colour for eyes and some of the gun bits. 
 

No word of a lie, my daughter painted these at about 7 years old:

 

[SwordMasterJ280]

@TheArtillerymanAs her brother I can say I am still better...

[TheArtilleryman]

 

@TheArtillerymanAs her brother I can say I am still better...

At least it’s better than her mum’s pink blood letter with rhinestones on it 

[LameBeard]

The key thing (which I failed to do) is not to take over. Let them make mistakes, let them ruin brushes. Prepare for the spills. And try to act like it’s not a big deal. Kids often just want to get stuff on the battlefield, whilst we want some “perfect” experience. 

I agree that some models are much more forgiving than others. I suspect that’s why they designed early Stormcast the way they did: metallics do their own highlighting, helmets not faces. Similar ish to the Necrons. 
 

let them go their own way and break the rules you are used to. Including pink bloodletters!

[Madao]

Go with Kill Team/Warcry/Underworlds of their choice, if you have budget for new minis - this way they can use their minis quite fast and it is a great motivator. Do not fix, do not interfere. Show them how to do it (simple things - base coat, shade) and let them take control of the project, colours and so on. Always compliment the progress and keep advices at bay when not asked - the time for them will be after the project is done.

If you have yours old minis (usually badly painted) show them and explain, that everyone starts somewhere and it is perfectly fine if the minis turn out not as good as expected.

 

And let them ruin the brushes - just buy some cheaper ones for that, they will be good enough for learning.

 

Edit: do not push easy minis (like necrons) if they want something else. Just tell them the chosen ones are challenging and ask if they want to practice on something easier (like 1 SM o necron) before, but if not - let them take the hard road

Edited September 22 by Madao

[TheArtilleryman]

 

Edit: do not push easy minis (like necrons) if they want something else.

Yeah I wouldn’t say push them in any particularly direction necessarily, but in my experience, at that age they don’t care what you give them; they’re just happy to be involved. Mine got given old marines, chaos guys, necrons, some Easterlings from Middle Earth, even just some green toy soldiers at one point, and never a complaint about any. They just wanted to join in with me. The thing about the necrons was because they look good very easily, it was a big confidence builder for them. 

 

If you give them the choice of the whole shop, I guarantee they’ll pick something really expensive lol…

 

 

[Magos Takatus]

 

Yeah I wouldn’t say push them in any particularly direction necessarily, but in my experience, at that age they don’t care what you give them; they’re just happy to be involved. Mine got given old marines, chaos guys, necrons, some Easterlings from Middle Earth, even just some green toy soldiers at one point, and never a complaint about any. They just wanted to join in with me. The thing about the necrons was because they look good very easily, it was a big confidence builder for them. 

 

If you give them the choice of the whole shop, I guarantee they’ll pick something really expensive lol…

 

 

My Nephew loved Dawn of War, and walked out of the GW with a Baneblade... 

He eventually settled into Tau but drifted out of the hobby because he didn't enjoy painting. One I get into commission work properly I might try experimenting with the idea of a small Farsight Enclave force for him, either for display or gameplay purposes. I already painted him a Riptide, but a few more suits wouldn't hurt, and he does like his display shelves. 

[Grotsmasha]

 

If you give them the choice of the whole shop, I guarantee they’ll pick something really expensive lol…

I did this, and my boy choose a box of Squigs, and i took a breath of relief considering some of the other boxes he looked at.

[TheArtilleryman]

 

I did this, and my boy choose a box of Squigs, and i took a breath of relief considering some of the other boxes he looked at.

Very lucky indeed! And you know what, perfect starter models. Bit of red contrast paint and paint the teeth and boom, done 

[LameBeard]

Yeah check out @Blindhamster’s Blood Angels thread. His son started tyranids and with a couple of Contrast Paints and a little bit of detail on claws and teeth they look amazing already. Putting me and my son to shame, since my son now says he “hates painting” and has made no progress this summer on his army, even though (at his insistence) I’ve signed him up for a tournament this autumn.

[Deus_Ex_Machina]

I would advise practising painting with metal models. Those can be cleaned easier afterwards with detergents without ruining the model as it is the case with plastic models.

[Rogue]

Thanks chaps - lots of helpful ideas and pointers.

 

We had a first go at things yesterday, with an old marine sergeant I had spare. The colour choices and brushwork are all the boy's, and he's pretty pleased with it :)

 

[LameBeard]

Tell him he got lots of kudos on the forum! Seriously, the advice with kids is not so much to complement them “that’s a good picture” but to point out details you’ve noticed “you were careful to stay in the lines there” “you chose a nice bright red for the sun”. This builds confidence more than bland statements which might cut across what they are actually feeling (often they know it’s not a “good” picture, saying it’s good doesn’t help). Validate the feeing! 
 

here, I’m impressed that a young person has thinned their paints so we can see the detail.

[Frogian]

putting either everything or just the paints on a dinner tray with a bit of a lip will help a lot with spills. stops it running off the table on to clothes and the floor at least.

[Rogue]

On 10/7/2024 at 10:34 PM, LameBeard said:

here, I’m impressed that a young person has thinned their paints so we can see the detail.

 

Yeah, that was something we talked about as he was painting. I put paint on the palette for him, and watered it down; he did all the brushwork, and when it went on thick, I got him to clean his brush, then use it to lift the excess paint off until the detail came back.

 

I showed him my previous post, and his first comment was "But I haven't done the base yet". Turns out, telling him we weren't using shades and basing whilst the first coat of paint was still drying has left him desperate to shade and base...

[Firedrake Cordova]

1 hour ago, Rogue said:

Turns out, telling him we weren't using shades and basing whilst the first coat of paint was still drying has left him desperate to shade and base...

Maybe you should have told him he had to apply the Shade and base whilst the base coat was drying? That way he'd go "nuh-uh"  

[LameBeard]

7 hours ago, Rogue said:

 

.

 

I showed him my previous post, and his first comment was "But I haven't done the base yet". Turns out, telling him we weren't using shades and basing whilst the first coat of paint was still drying has left him desperate to shade and base...

Faces and Bases! This young man is gonna be the next Duncan Rhodes. But better. After all, we’ve all seen Duncan’s first miniature, right?