On the Shoulders of Giants 2.
“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Sir Isaac Newton
The previous on the shoulders of giants I talked about Model Trains and how it predates the hobby by some time and it has a large influence on our hobby… However this on the Shoulders of Giants I want to talk about a titanic industry one that makes the hobby industry look truly miniature.
The Beauty Industry
And I quote from Statista
”Revenue in the Beauty & Personal Care market amounts to US$571.10bn in 2023. The market is expected to grow annually by 3.80%”
That is BILLION with a B.
Let’s Imagine for a minute that there is nothing you can learn from the beauty industry, there are no transferable skills (you’d be wrong to believe that but) let’s imagine it…
There are so many hobby products within the beauty industry that you want to look for the next big revolution for miniature hobbyists. Let me tell you it’s coming from the beauty industry. But let’s go with the classic
“Jessup 15 set zinfandel t284”
What is that? Its the best drybrushing and pigment powder application set money can buy, and it cost less than any drybrush set out there, as of the writing of this article it is $25.40 AUD Considering that the ‘Master’ set from Army Painter is minimum $20 dollars for three brushes and a single drybrush from the Citadel line (Games-Workshop/Warhammer) is $10 dollars minium can you really afford to ignore the beauty industry?
Dollar sixty for a brush compared to ten dollars for one brush.
Okay, so it is possible I have your attention now so I am going to hand you over to an expert…
Hey everyone, it’s the wife, Sunny here!
Henry has harped on these brushes long enough, let’s talk about the real gold mine of the beauty industry that I promise hobbyists wouldn’t even think to look into.
The Nail industry
Not this
Now…Now, you see the monstrosity that can only be described as pure skill. Everything you see here is 100% freehand painted or sculpted artwork…including the nail itself!
Oh yeah, you thought these were naturally long nails? Nope these nails were sculpted with acrylic powder mixed with monomer on top of the natural nail using on of these bad boys…
They’re called Forms (Sparkle sparkle) or tips
There are so many wacky nail shapes that people do you wonder how anyone get’s anything done Check these out!
Why do women do this? I am a women and I myself can’t answer this question, my only thought would be they must really enjoy doing this…
Anyway, my point is:
Nails are small.
Minis are small.
Nails have an entire industry surrounding ridiculous levels of artistry.
Minis have an entire industry surrounding ridiculous levels of artistry.
Are we making the connections here guys? Yes, the nail industry produces some of the most innovative tools and accessories to achieve this public art level of confusion on your fingerz.
Let’s take a look at some of them, and how they can improve your Mini painting skill level, workflow and not to mention your wallet hole.
Electronic nail file:
An Electronic Nail file or as the pros call it, ‘E-file’ is exactly what it sounds like, the more elegant and efficient version of this
Dremel $219 dollaars, bunnings
E – file ranges anywhere between $30 to $100 dollars
An E- file comes with many different micro heads that do anything from filing down Super hard acrylic nail tips to buffing and preparing a nail surfaces with different grits to polishing and sculpting. A nifty tool that fits perfectly in your hand providing absolute control, almost like… a pencil (Almost as if it was made for this hobby)
You are probably using or wanting a Dremmel for the exact same reasons nail technicians use an E-file, for sculpting and preparing surfaces easily and quickly, especially when plastic or resin-like materials are involved. An E-file is much easier to use and control with a wider variety of bits that can be used to make certain things done way easier than a Dremel will and won’t break the bank.
Hardware tools are great but the Nail industry basically adapted those same tools into a smaller scale.
Nail art brushes and tools:
As you have seen in the above pictures in this article where I show intricate nail art designs, all those freehand artworks that are so precise they look printed on, were created with these.
These are some of the brushes and tools that nail technicians use to achieve intricate designs perfectly. This shows how each of the brush types is used to achieve different effects.
These are some of the brushes and tools that nail technicians use to achieve intricate designs perfectly. This shows how each of the brush types are used to achieve different effects.
The artist’s tools matters just as much as his skill, Striper brushes are great for creating stripes or perfectly straight lines. This can be used for blacklining your models, it’s especially fantastic if you don’t have the steadiest hands in the world because of how long the brush head is. It still requires getting used to but I can see this improving a hobbyist’s workflow.
Here’s a close-up look into some other brushes that come in a set, you might be more interested in tapered, and ombre brushes. Tapered brushes are used to create flower petal designs or can be used to freehand some pointed shapes as you see fit, but ombre! Ombre is a term that means, Fade.
Ombre brushes help to fade/ blend two different nail polish colours in the middle to create a gradient. This could be effective for blending and achieving similar effects.
There are even brushes created specifically to create flower petal designs, they get pretty nuanced once you start exploring, but right away you can see how some of these brushes will be effective for weather and battle damage effects!
Well, well, well, look who else is into Kolinsky brushes, Yes! Nail technicians! Crimped Kolinsky brushes are used as sculpting brushes, these brushes are designed to keep their shape and point for the purposes of sculpting sometimes silicone tip brushes are used as well but nail technicians sculpt and paint almost entirely with brushes…Isn’t that insane? So these are some brushes that you might want to look into when you are trying to sculpt something.
Finally, the Angled striper brush is a fantastic brush for painting hard-to-reach areas, and we all know there are many of those in sub-assembly.
Here is something to take note, these brushes are designed for nail polish, acrylic and gel-like consistencies, its something to bear in mind when trying to make your tools work for you sometimes a brush is better for acrylic paints and some are better for use with technical and contrast paints like the Ombre brush.
So how much does it cost? Depending on the grade, you can get them minimally starting from $20 dollars for a set. Some of them can be found at discount stores and most can be purchased for cheap online just like the Jessup makeup brushes.
Nail laquer and other matierials:
Let’s talk about the stuff that actually goes onto a nail. You have standard nail polish that drys with air and time, Gel polish that cures under UV light, Acrylic and monomer a sculpting paste, builder gel, buttercreams, dip powders, colour shift powders so on and so on and so on.
But I’d like to start off by briefly explaining Acrylic powders and Builder gels.
Acrylic powder becomes a wet malleable paste when mixed with liquid acrylic known as a monomer. This paste is brushed on and pushed around and sculpted onto the natural nail to create the desired extension length and shape. This product dries as you sculpt.
Similarly, builder gel is a very thick and hard clear sculpting gel that performs the same way but only cures under UV light so it gives the nail technician more time to work with it.
So now the point! There’s a product that combines the best of both of these. POLYGEL!
Polygel is a thick paste that looks and acts like acrylic but only cures under UV light! Why do I talk abut this? Well you saw those 3D roses and bows didn’t you? Well, those are hand sculpted so these are a great dupe for Green stuff! Without having to use as much skill with acrylic and builder gels, those take years to master.
But Sunny, I don’t have a UV light curing machine, well behold!
Finally, the thing you really wanted me to talk about, chrome and colour-shifting powders ooooo…
This is probably by far the best way to achieve these effects if you are not using SMS paint line to do this but the concept is exactly the same. You apply a black gel polish, cure it, and rub the chrome or colour shift powder into the tacky top layer of the black gel and voila, mirror finish in any colour you want! Please remember you must use gel polish not the regular kind.
You would also have better precision using a gel nail polish with a brush of your choice than with an airbrush and masking putty.
Starts At $25 Dollars for a set.
As mentioned before, these products are made with the consistencies of nail products in mind, so play around with them and explore, your wife will be proud of you I am sure of it! But who wants to learn through experimentation when you have Youtube! This was my final clickbait. Learn from the masters and get a better understanding of all these products, I promise it is as entertaining as it is mesmerising and educational. Here is a channel I recommend Nail Career Education, there’s even a short on how to make your chrome powders work if they aren’t sticking on.
Back to the Brute
Sunny got a little tired after doing a pretty comprehensive look at the nail industry just a tiny part of the beauty industry but I hope that you can see that you are only barely touching the tip of the iceberg. Want to get better at painting faces? I am sorry but Duncan Rodes the two thin coats legend pales in comparison to some mid teir YouTubers as an example, this is just some of the top results.
Understand face shape, understanding how to lay down various base layers, under toning and so much, so very much more…
Looking for Skintones?! Don’t know what to call a skintone?! From the Pantone Exhibit to everyday colour charts… The make-up industry has you covered.
What about just references?! Pintrest and beauty-related terms will get you more the most popular of all Warhammer factions. Ultramarines have nothing on Nyx. There is so much out there.
Listen to me well and hear me on this one thing if nothing else.
The beauty industry is the undiscovered country for miniature hobbyists and like the new world of America, it’s got a whole lot more to offer than just potatoes and tomatoes. It is a literal gold mine if you are willing to jump outside of your comfort zone.
Stand taller than you could imagine, by stepping on the shoulders of these not giants but titans.
In the meantime