Alastriel, Elf Mage

[mrrocknroll]

Finally got round to putting what I hope are the last pieces to her. And call what I call finish, I know there\'s some bits not done but for the moment I\'m happy and not so worried about the smallest of details since my painting experience isn\'t the best.

As I said before I\'m still inexperienced but I spent more time on this model than any I\'ve done before she was a real joy to paint and watch her unfold, and yes I\'m happy with the way she\'s turned out.
She\'s my first real go at blending my paints and the first model I\'ve strayed away from Dry brushing.
I just wanna say a HUGE thanks to Meg for all the help and patients she gave me whilst I asked her for advice, Honestly I wouldn\'t have done even half the job if it wasn\'t for your advice.

Please criticise anything you wish to, I know she\'s not perfect but for the moment that\'s not what I\'m looking for, only to improve is my goal.
Thanks all.

Nick

P.s If you can Vote / comment that be nice to.

 

[Maron]

For a first attempt away from drybrushing you have done a great job.

The areas that stand out for praise most for me are the dark cloth (really nice contrasts and smooth blends) and the greeny blue gem.

In general I would say you need to take the shadows down darker on the rest of the mini. It is very difficult to see the variations in skin tone (maybe due to the photo) and some areas could do with some shadow to distinguish the areas (or maybe just some blacklining).

The brown cloak looks nicer from the back than the front. It seems the blending was given a little more priority there and it seems smoother. Sometimes the highlights are a little too sudden though.

The NMM on the sword also needs to be more contrasting too...much darker in places and much lighter in others.

Finally the rock on the base looks nice enough but I am not too keen on the furry white stuff.

However I think it is a nice first attempt to take you painting to a higher level.

 

[Dragonsreach]

It\'s a nice piece and a good step forward.

What I\'d suggest now it that you take the levels of work that you\'ve employed on this figure and increase the number.
That way you\'ll be able to smooth out the transitions between shadows and highlight making them more subtle.

Further than that all I would suggest is that you practise with some underpainting and glazes to enrich the skin tones.

 

[mrrocknroll]

Thank you for the feed back guys, always nice to read it even if there\'s criticisms, which I like more.

@ Maron. I totally agree with what you say about skin tone, my photo skills ain\'t the best and don\'t do me any favours, but its the thing along with blending that I aim to be working hardest on in my future models. I\'ll be taking what you\'ve said about shadows more on the rest of the model in too account. Also the white stuff is the GW snow flock. For the moment though I\'d rather just pour stuff like that on to bases and work out how to display them better when my paintings improved.

Thanks once again.

Nick.

 

[pez5767]

As mentioned great job on the dark cloak and gem. I also like the hair quite a lot. It can be tough to balance out the appropriate highlights on hair and I think you did a nice job.

Areas to consider as you move forward: As mentioned, the skin is a little flat, and believe me when I say, I understand how frustrating the photography part of the hobby can be. One other thing that caught my eye is your transition points between colors. (where her leg meets the purple cloak for example) Try to keep these lines as clean as possible, a very thin (both brush and paint thickness) line of a darker tone to \'black line\' those edges will really clean things up. Perhaps a few higher highlights on the sword, all the way to white where you want to really catch the light.

Overall a really nice job, especially for your first attempt at blending. Can\'t wait to see more from you.

Good luck. vote and comment

 

[mrrocknroll]

@Pez: Thanks dude, comments like that always inspire me and its definitely made me wanna knuckle down and paint to try and get a better job done. Like I\'ve said in my other comments, the skin is somewhat new to me as well, and I\'ve made sure that the models I\'ve just ordered have plently of skins and cloth to work on.

 

[fieldarchy]

Nick if you need any other questions answered just feel free to email me.

 

[mrrocknroll]

Your so gonan regret that part Meg , I\'ve just been painting a new model (3166_Alistrilee by Reaper) and been stumbled cause I lack the paints I needs, so in a week or so I\'ll be in touch if thats alright?

 

[fieldarchy]

Any time Nick, any time.

That goes for anyone. If anyone ever has any questions and would like one on one advice just feel free to email.