Think of the way gems are done, or the spirit stones on the Eldar.
Smooth transition with a sharp dot of white. The whole model can have smooth transitions, but the dot of highlight makes it appear like "glass"
The "smoothness" by it self in a miniature painting is a technique that can be used to paint any material or texture. It's knowing where to put the highlights that sells the illusion of shininess.
It comes down to the ability to render texture, and that comes from practice. You can ether draw and paint from life objects to accumulate that skill through practice or follow miniature painting nmm guides step by step to get used to the technique.
You can try this:
Two things that can help with wrapping brain around how light reflects from objects would be to:
1-Find a shiny object around the apartment like a metal cup or lamp, ets. Grab piece of paper and a pencil, and try to draw/render it with the reflections the best you can. After that, paint the mini and see if it is easier to tell where the highlights should go.
2- Look up images of (silver surfer by alex ross) print it out and trace the character, and then try to replicate and render the reflections. During the exercise your brain will begin to take note of the details that will later help with the painting a none metallic reflections on a mini.
Generally, the more practice the easier and faster it will become to render nmm with a better result.
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