Lothaar's WIP log

[Lothaar]

This community has blown me away. Such a great resource. Thank you all for sharing your works and critique. It has been a such great help in my new hobby.


I am new to mini painting but have a bit of experience as a visual artist in my youth.
So here is how it started:


Started buying board games during lock-down, got into legacy games, all roads lead to Gloomhaven, was very off-put by unpainted minis, and decided to fix that.


Geared up best I could, started watching/reading/viewing every video/blog/instagram I could find from so many of the great mini painters, started putting paint on a couple bones minis to practice a bit, Painted a larger scale Formian Giant from Nolzur's collection for more practice, and then stated painting the Gloomhaven starting classes as my first official project.


So here is where I am at.
http://www.coolminiornot.com/450116


Some Vallejo pumice texture paste for the bases. (Nothing fancy as these models need to be able to fit back into the character boxes for my Gloomhaven insert.)
Vallejo black primer with airbrush
Daler Rowney white ink zenithal highlight
Played with a varierty of techniques across the models: washes, contrast paints, layering, glazing, volumetric and edge shading/highlighting.
Just hit them all with a Vallejo matte varnish to lock everything in.
Took some photos with phone.
Noticed the metallic paints got dulled a bit and I may come back through and brig back at least the highlights with metallic paints. I kind of like the overall uniform look of the models though, so maybe not.


We may not play a ton of Gloomhaven or play with a high frequency so I am not sure how far I will take these models as they will not be seen much.
I could tinker with them for days, but I think, right now, I might learn more if I work on new stuff.

Any feedback is welcome regarding what I can work on and whether to linger on a current project or move on to another one when in the early learning phases in mini painting.

Thanks

[Dragonsreach]

Welcome.

Those look nice pieces.

[Dexter0015]

Welcome to the hobby and the forum.

Well, if it's that you produce for a first try, I looking forward to see how good you will progress in a couple of months.

Really nice work!

[gorb]

Welcome to the forum! Nice work on these, they look great!

[Lothaar]

I did a bit more to the Gloomhaven models; I still want to take them a bit further. I will post more pics of them when I feel they are done enough.


I have started a new project. Just a single model, but my first bust.


Sculpt by Romain Van der Bogaert
Fernando Ruiz Miniatures.
1/12 scale
Edgar Allen Poe




This first picture is
the model with no primer or paint,
my chosen lighting to be painted,
my ab screen for the initial zenithal highlight
two shots of the zenithal applied (Daler Rowney white with a touch of Vallejo matte varnish added in)
two shots of the initial light and shadow blocked in with 2-3 tones (skin only)



The second picture shows
my first round of lighter tones and highlights for the area in the light and the very beginning of lighter and darker tones in the shadow area. (skin and hair)



The third picture
A nice close up so you can see what is going on at the brush level. (no changes to model from second picture)





Turn table video (no changes to model from second picture)
cause why not



I have deviated from my initial choice of lighting just a bit as, well, things seem to change for me a once I start painting the model.
I will make lighting adjustments on the neck and chest area to follow along with any changes I have made to the line of light/dark on the face. Not much should need to change down there; I plan to have most of that in the light with some nice light/dark play along the lapel, kerchief, and collar area.
The ides is he is coming through a sheet of light projected from his left while also barely lit from above in the dark environment from which he is emerging.


Not sure if I want to try to play for a wool/rougher texture for the suit.
Have not thought about the bird much, but it does have the initial zenithal highlight so it should be easy to paint up and integrate toward the end.
I just know I want the bird to be darker than the suit.


I am next, split between working more on the skin and hair or blocking in the initial light/dark on the rest of the model to get a better sense of how everything will work.
I feel I will be spending a lot time refining the skin and hair, my wet pallet is set with those colors and I am keen to keep developing them.
That said, it may work better in larger scale painting to paint the model as a whole sooner than later.

I had not originally planned such a complex light set up for my first bust, but here I am... Having got things to this point, I feel I can take it much farther and hopefully once all the areas are built up, I can start to sell the effect I am after, even if only on camera.

Speaking of cameras, this was all shot on my Galaxy note 10 with no live or post processing; I do have high CRI lighting though. I plan to get an appropriate lens for this type of photography for my 4/3 camera and will use Adobe when needed for focus stitching and whatnot. So, picture/video should get better, later in my projects.

Your thoughts are most welcome.

[Dexter0015]

The idea of building a complete setting just to create masks for the first pass on lights is brilliant.
I will definitively still it .

[Lothaar]

A bit more time on the skin and some initial shadow/light on the suit.

[ekipage]

Really neat idea for this bust the way you went about the zenithal. Poe is looking really good

[gorb]

This looks awesome Lothaar, love that practical approach to figuring out the lighting.

BTW The last image you posted seems to be behind some kind of google login, I can't see it without logging in.

[Lothaar]

Not sure why that happened with that last image. Here is a more up to date shot from today. Bit more light sketching on suit and some initial color/light on the necktie and shirt. A bit more work across the flesh overall as well. Things are getting a bit glossy from glazing and what not, so going to hit it with some Matte varnish and then be able to see a bit better on how the light/dark are playing and what to focus on next.



Overall, things need to push a bit more on the volume mid and light tone to make the dark seem dark enough so that I can bring in more blueish highlight in the dark area and it still feel dark. I think a picture post matte varnish may illustrate this desire and its potential effect a bit better.

[Dexter0015]

the atmosphere that emanates from this piece is unbelievable. Well done.

[gorb]

The eyes are striking, well done!

[Lothaar]

Thank for the comment about the eyes but I have to really give it up to the sculptor: Romain Van der Bogaert
https://romainvandenbogaert.com/projets-personnels/

He is just so expressive with his sculpts. While I believe with my choice of lighting angle and color pallet have reinforced the look of "Maybe today is the day I just just end it", That look was already most defiantly cast in the model itself.

The eyes themselves on the sculpt are actually hollowed out in the area of the iris with a small notch that is not hollowed out in the iris where you see the main reflective painted highlight. It gives this amazing depth to the structure of the eye overall that I could not fake with paint with my current skill set. This also allowed for me to place a circular painted highlight on the left inner edge of the sclera (as you look at the model) as there was an edge there where the concavity of the iris began.

My current progress: A bit more work on darkening everything down in the shadow areas; I will come back over that with the subtle blue highlights. I am just trying to get my shadow line developed down the collar, kerchief and suit. I may bring down the intensity of the suit wrinkles as I have exaggerated them a bit as that area is so flat and void of texture. Also the suit was supposed to be be a black suit but I am having trouble getting the suit to read black when it is transitioning such stark differences in shadow/light. Right now the suit reads "grey".I may glaze over the suite with a dark brown to give it a tone I can then sell in this stark light effect. Not sure yet; I will play with trying for a black/dark grey suit a bit more before I give into a specific color tonality.

[Lothaar]

Trying some color on the suit and still playing with the flesh area, Planning on a bit more blue highlights on the suit shadowed areas as well. Will start painting up the bird as well.

[ekipage]

Looking very good! I like that purple for the jacket and that face is looking really good.

[gorb]

Those sculpts are great, you are right.
I like the purple jacket too!

[Lothaar]

Some more work over last couple days. Desaturated the suit purple with a few light grey glazes. Brought up the blue highlights a bit. Added in the bird and made a light/shadow pass on him. Still need to tinker with the bird and then the model overall a bit more...

[Dexter0015]

Beautifully sad.

[Lothaar]

I think I am done with Poe. At least for now; can't rule out coming back to him, but I want to start another project.

[ten ball]

Great atmosphere, good work