I've read somewhere that cat hair makes good brushes. Just tape the hair to a skewer and Whalla, a brush.
I do a fair amount of looking at other hobbies like military modeling and fantasy figure painting. Most guys that paint figures usually use very good quality natural hair brushes such as Sable and Kalinsky types. The natural fibers usually have better spring in the brush and tend to keep their shape better than hobby brushes you would buy in your LHS. Also different manufacturers have different styles and sizes of brushes. For instance, in an art supply store you may see 10 different brushes each labeled number 0 but clearly different sizes. Some have longer bristles and hold more paint others are very short. Each has their own purpose.
Chris
I try to find the smallest brush i can and buy a few of them, and cut about half the bristles off near the top and use the brush then. Be careful and experiment by cutting a few at a time, also the local hobby shop should carry the tiny micro brushes in a 10 pack I think.
Unless it's O gauge folks or larger, I don't think anyone attempts to paint the eyes (that is if you mean painting the white and blue, green or brown parts).
The local hobby shop or art supply store should have a good supply of very small-tipped brushes. If they're Preiser figures (white plastic) I paint the "flesh" color first, face, hands and legs (for ladies in skirts). If it's a man you can leave the shirt white and paint the pants blue, grey or brown. If the figure is wearing a suit, you can paint the jacket the same color as the pants. Then I paint the hair brown or black or pale yellow (for blond) and the shoes black or brown.
I like to do them as much as possible while still on the sprue, and do them in "assembly line" fashion. Paint the flesh color on say 10 figures then set aside to dry. Then add blue pants to some figures and set aside to dry. Then paint some figure's pants brown and let dry. Come back with some pink for the ladies dresses.
Like anything else, you just have to take your time and practice. At first just try to do simple paint jobs and do them "good enough" to use say inside a passenger car or in the backgrounds. Over time you'll get better and better at it.
Can anyone offer tips on painting those little figures. Someone just gave me a bag of about four billion of them. What kind of brushes are good? What does one use to apply tiny amounts of paint to eyes and ears? I was thinking the end of a needle dipped in paint might work. All helpful hints greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Brent
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