back again for some tips and tricks [pic heavy]

[phreak0]

hi
so im in a dire need to get some tips and tricks from you guys, i want to evolve as a painter and feel that i have come to a place where im comfortable and i do not evolve enough. im stuck in the mid sevens on the site and i would like to get another point or two....

most of all i just want to get better at painting.

some examples of my work

all kinds of help is good right now

cheers

 

[Einion]

As close as it seems there's a big gulf between 7s and one or two points higher than that (especially the 9s of course).

And scores here aren't necessarily the thing to go on since it's partly a popularity contest based on the mini itself and who makes it. But improving your photography alone would see some improvement in your numbers I'm sure. Some of the photos aren't at all bad, but they could do with being a little sharper in a few cases as one thing and a few little post-processing tweaks wouldn't hurt.

Your stuff shows a lot of promise but for those final bits of improvement, a lot of it is just down to plugging away, keeping at it. Being critical of your own work and striving to improve the techniques you already use as well as trying new stuff periodically to see what you'll incorporate into your repertoire should give slow but steady improvement once someone has the skills to get to a decent level, like you're already at.

Two key questions are how long have you been painting and how much time do you spend doing it over say a typical month?

Einion

 

[10 ball]

I agree with Einion, it depends a lot on which mini you choose. Some of the headsculpts I see should be getting 9s but are getting 7s ?
Anyway some bloody good painting here don't get discouraged, most of these should be mid 8s.
Some of the photos don't give justice to some of your minis as well.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Most of the stuff you show here isn't to be sneezed at and certainly wouldn't disgrace you in a competition.
If you want to take stuff a stage higher then look to concentrating on specific aspects, colour theory, warm and cool shadows, key highlight placements, things like that.

One suggestion I'd give you is to concentrate on getting NMM 'right' on a few test pieces, then you can apply the techniquies to other non-metallic parts to get the same concentration of light effects. This of course will mean that you may well need to start observing real world light effects, so an hour spent in the garden on a sunny day looking at light falling and reflecting on plants and leaves could well give you the grasp on light falling on a figure, similarly observe a piece of clothing in differing light. (Hey the washing pile isn't just floor decoration).
Years ago I had the very good fortune to see an Edward Weston photographic print 'in the flesh',(*) the quality of light, shade and texture was an eye opener. Expecially when I learned that some of his still lifes were taken with exposures lasting over an hour.
Taking the same level of detail and quality into painting a miniature isn't wrong in my view, in fact with some figures it's equaly important to be time consuming and almost obsessive to get the best out of them.

(Examples View attachment 6719
View attachment 6720)