Hot Lead - Miniature Painting Tutorial DVD

A few months ago I bought the Hot Lead miniature painting tutorial DVD by Laszlo Jakusovszky. It's taken quite a while to get through the 8 Hours of content but now that I have I feel able to review it and, more importantly, thoroughly recommend it. So what do you get for your money? The box contains three DVDs with over 8hrs of content in total. The DVDs are in NTSC format so can be played on any NTSC/PAL DVD player. The first DVD covers the Basics while the second and third discs look at advanced techniques. However as an experienced painter even I found the Basics tutorials useful and informative. The Advanced tutorials develop these basic skills and walk you through taking your painting to the next level.

• Disc One - This DVD starts by looking at the world of Miniature Painting before heading into the technical stuff. Subjects covered include; Preparing miniatures; Basing; Tools, Basecoating; Washing, Drybrushing & Outlining; Skin and Faces; Metallics; and Finishing.
• Disc Two - This DVD covers the following areas; Advanced Painting; Working with Colours and Paints; Blending Technique; Layering Technique; Fixing Flaws; and The Human Form.
• Disc Three - This DVD focuses on; Non-Metallic Metallics; Painting Gems; and Advanced Basing.

Each of the sections can be reached through the DVD menus so its easy to go back and watch a particular section if you want to.

Throughout the DVDs Laszlo provides a clear and informative narration which makes this easy to watch and makes you feel like your getting a one-to-one tutorial. I also liked the use of close up video of the techniques being demonstrated. These are all from the the painters perspective so you can see every brush stroke as you would if you were painting the miniature yourself. Scattered throughout the DVD are some excellent tips and suggestions for making life easier or improving your technique. I also liked the fact that Laszlo's style of teaching feels more like someone giving you advice rather than teaching you hard and fast rules. You can pick and choose what techniques suite you and your level of skill. However you are also always encouraged to experiment, practice and push beyond your comfort zone.

I'd thoroughly recommend this Tutorial DVD to any painter, beginner or expert alike. The $40 plus shipping is money very well spent in my humble opinion.