BloodFather of Kharnath
Active member
You the man Dave, thanks. Will follow these instructions to the tee.
Also, you say the threads are metallic. Really?
Also, you say the threads are metallic. Really?
Bailey03's WIP
- Thread starter Bailey03
- Start date
Bailey03
Well-known member
Just saw your other post. I'm guessing you were talking about this orc pirate over at P&P
http://www.puttyandpaint.com/projects/6177
The level of detail on these guys is fantastic. Each new sculpt they show makes me want to up my pledge. I'm trying to keep it under control, after all just because I want all of them doesn't mean I'll ever get around to painting all of them. Right now I'm in for 3 figures but there's still more to unlock and hopefully more pictures of WIP sculpts, so we'll see where I end up.
Yeah, the officers would have some pretty ornate uniforms including gold and silver braid/lace details. Here are some examples I grabbed off google
http://www.militaryheritage.com/militarybraid.htm
http://www.puttyandpaint.com/projects/6177
The level of detail on these guys is fantastic. Each new sculpt they show makes me want to up my pledge. I'm trying to keep it under control, after all just because I want all of them doesn't mean I'll ever get around to painting all of them. Right now I'm in for 3 figures but there's still more to unlock and hopefully more pictures of WIP sculpts, so we'll see where I end up.
Yeah, the officers would have some pretty ornate uniforms including gold and silver braid/lace details. Here are some examples I grabbed off google
http://www.militaryheritage.com/militarybraid.htm
Bailey03
Well-known member
With the Napoleonic figure finally fixed to the base I could finish off the pants. I extended the red down to the boots and then layered on the top levels of highlights (Fire Red + Fair Skin). Up next are the boots and hat.
The pants were a good exercise in highlight and shadow placement. You've got all the small folds, so top surfaces are lit and bottom surfaces are in shadow, it's simple but I see a lot of examples where people don't do it. In areas where the light would be blocked like between the legs and under the coat the highlights are dimmed. And you've got the major shapes, the bent left leg with a large highlight on top and shadow underneath. I did a slight gradient from light at the top to dark (well, less light) and then light again at the tip of the knee. On the straight leg you've got more medium tones but still there's that gradient from top to bottom. Finally there are the fine details, the seams. These are sculpted in but can be done freehand the same way. The lines are drawn with the shadow tone and then a highlight is placed just below, where the edge catches the light. And of course, all over you get variations in the highlight and shadow levels. Major features get darker shadows while minor ones get more subtle shadows. Clothing with folds like this, capes, etc are great places to practice your zenithal lighting (and blending).
The pants were a good exercise in highlight and shadow placement. You've got all the small folds, so top surfaces are lit and bottom surfaces are in shadow, it's simple but I see a lot of examples where people don't do it. In areas where the light would be blocked like between the legs and under the coat the highlights are dimmed. And you've got the major shapes, the bent left leg with a large highlight on top and shadow underneath. I did a slight gradient from light at the top to dark (well, less light) and then light again at the tip of the knee. On the straight leg you've got more medium tones but still there's that gradient from top to bottom. Finally there are the fine details, the seams. These are sculpted in but can be done freehand the same way. The lines are drawn with the shadow tone and then a highlight is placed just below, where the edge catches the light. And of course, all over you get variations in the highlight and shadow levels. Major features get darker shadows while minor ones get more subtle shadows. Clothing with folds like this, capes, etc are great places to practice your zenithal lighting (and blending).
AndyG
Active member
Splendid work there especially on the red (bloody awful colour to get right I find). I see you went pink on the red which I got told off no end for doing myself and it looks right as far as I'm concerned! I might be tempted to push he contrast a little bit more on his upper chest other than that super!
Demihuman
Active member
Yeah, looks real nice Bailey. I think the highlight on the pointed knee really set's off some 'sheen' for the pants. I think you might have to go back and perk up the feathers though now. After extensive internet research i have come to the conclusion that dyed feathers are a little translucent and very saturated. If you do a search for red feather boa you will see some good examples ... ahem.
BloodFather of Kharnath
Active member
I'll start by saying that this guy's face is amazing. Really just so realistic, I hope to have half your skills at painting faces. You've made me take a long look at what I am doing. Also, the way you paint hair is just incredible. I'll have to talk with you about that when I gety historical 
I have to say, your red is very rich and it looks good to me. The pinkish highlightCAN work, as you have displayed here. However, I think if you want a less satin look, there's nothing wrong with starting with a standard red or vermillion and simply darkening from there. The red as you have done fits this mini though. This period had such rich and gaudy garments....
...but his face....ugh....
I have to say, your red is very rich and it looks good to me. The pinkish highlightCAN work, as you have displayed here. However, I think if you want a less satin look, there's nothing wrong with starting with a standard red or vermillion and simply darkening from there. The red as you have done fits this mini though. This period had such rich and gaudy garments....
...but his face....ugh....
Bailey03
Well-known member
Thanks, everyone. Andy, were you talking about the reds on his chest, the greens, or both? As for the pink transition, I used skin tone to highlight but it did take it a bit pink. In my opinion the issue is more the amount of pink. If there are a lot of pink highlights then the whole thing ceases to look red. Here I think the pink spots are pretty small so I don't mind it. Of course I could also go back over with a red glaze to tweak them a bit.
Demi, yeah, what color dyed feathers should be is tricky. Our modern dyes behave a lot differently from ones back then. A guy over at the medrom forum did a study on dyes and experimented with feathers, but if I recall correctly he had a hell of a time getting the dyes to take. Anyway, that's an area I'm going to take a bit of artistic license with. As for the relative highlights between the plume and the pants, the top of the plume is brighter, you just can't see it from the angles in the photographs.
BFK, thanks, although it helps to be working at 2 1/2 to 3 times the scale of the gaming figure faces. And a nice sculpt is a big advantage too. I'll be interested to see what everyone does with Gokan. Roughly twice the size of gaming figures and with a much greater depth of detail in his face than you get on GW or most of the gaming stuff.
By the way, you don't have to go that far back in my painting history to see some pretty crappy looking faces. There's this one from four years ago, same 75mm scale but ugh, what a mess.
http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/union-artilleryman.37286/
Demi, yeah, what color dyed feathers should be is tricky. Our modern dyes behave a lot differently from ones back then. A guy over at the medrom forum did a study on dyes and experimented with feathers, but if I recall correctly he had a hell of a time getting the dyes to take. Anyway, that's an area I'm going to take a bit of artistic license with. As for the relative highlights between the plume and the pants, the top of the plume is brighter, you just can't see it from the angles in the photographs.
BFK, thanks, although it helps to be working at 2 1/2 to 3 times the scale of the gaming figure faces. And a nice sculpt is a big advantage too. I'll be interested to see what everyone does with Gokan. Roughly twice the size of gaming figures and with a much greater depth of detail in his face than you get on GW or most of the gaming stuff.
By the way, you don't have to go that far back in my painting history to see some pretty crappy looking faces. There's this one from four years ago, same 75mm scale but ugh, what a mess.
http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/union-artilleryman.37286/
Yeap you have definitely been improving your skills since then, wish I will leap the same length of progress you have done soon. Thanks for posting link to older picture, always nice to see the progress of people. (I do have some very ugly pictures, I would say even worse in my cmon gallery )
http://www.coolminiornot.com/280403
/K
)http://www.coolminiornot.com/280403
/K
Gandalf the Grey
New member
Another wow moment !!!
fluisterwoud
Active member
I'm painting a Hussar with all that gold threaded lace and it's annoying me so much. You make it look so easy, great work. And thank you for posting that pirate orc kickstarter, those minis look amazing, definitely going to back that.
BloodFather of Kharnath
Active member
Bailey stays VERY informed on the miniature world. I've tried in the past to throw curve balls his way just to see if he has heard of an obscure sculpt, and not only does he always know of the sculpt, he likely owns it.
Yes, that old civil war painting is pretty poor, considering where you are now. What I noticed more than anything, though, was overall how your layering has improved. What I mean is that many painters dilute just right, and even control then paint on the mini just right. But where they fail is adding too many layers. I read somewhere, long ago and I can't find the write up, about how acrylics react a certain way after multiple layers are added. They tend to go glossy. And your sculpt is a great example of this. The Civil War guy's jacket has too many layers. They may have been diluted properly, but when we put so many layers down it destroys the smoothness AND the matte finish. This is something I am just now learning, and still failing at from time to time. It is especially noticeable on skin, and I've actually found that you can use it to your advantage. For instance, with watercolors oftentimes painters will highlight simply by slowly making the layers more translucent, rather than adding white. We can do the same with acrylics. So if you're painting a big fat gut, add fewer layers at the top of his gut. You have just highlighted without changing any colors.
I digress. Simply an observation made about your improvement, and how others might mimic your success.
Yes, that old civil war painting is pretty poor, considering where you are now. What I noticed more than anything, though, was overall how your layering has improved. What I mean is that many painters dilute just right, and even control then paint on the mini just right. But where they fail is adding too many layers. I read somewhere, long ago and I can't find the write up, about how acrylics react a certain way after multiple layers are added. They tend to go glossy. And your sculpt is a great example of this. The Civil War guy's jacket has too many layers. They may have been diluted properly, but when we put so many layers down it destroys the smoothness AND the matte finish. This is something I am just now learning, and still failing at from time to time. It is especially noticeable on skin, and I've actually found that you can use it to your advantage. For instance, with watercolors oftentimes painters will highlight simply by slowly making the layers more translucent, rather than adding white. We can do the same with acrylics. So if you're painting a big fat gut, add fewer layers at the top of his gut. You have just highlighted without changing any colors.
I digress. Simply an observation made about your improvement, and how others might mimic your success.
Bailey03
Well-known member
Is that a politer way of saying 'has no life?' :wink: Well, between here, facebook, KS message boards, and paintings groups I hear about a lot of projects. Though BFK, you were the one that clued me into Bouchet's work. Speaking of new projects, this one popped up today
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ragnarok--3
It's an indiegogo campaign by Nocturna for 75mm figures based on Norse mythology. I'm really tempted by their Freya model. Unfortunately my hobby budget has been stretched pretty thin lately so I may have to pass on this.
Fluisterwoud, that lace is pretty tricky. The 75mm scale gives me a bit more room to work though. If you're using metallics, I suggest mixing in at least 50/50 matte paint for the darker tones to give you more control over the shadows. And don't worry if you go outside the lines. Those fine details are hard to do perfectly clean. I go back with the background color and touch things up when I'm done (and then back to the lace color if needed, and so on).
Zab
New member
Bailey03
Well-known member
Yeah, flesh is a great highlight color. Mix it into red, blue, black/grey, brown, etc.
I had some time the other day and decided to start working on the Gokan figure for the paint along/competition here at CMON. Someone on the Gokan thread pointed out that the figure looked a lot like the comic book character Slaine. After a little google image searching I decided I'd paint him as that character, so that helps make a lot of my color choices for me. I'm doing a step by step as I work on the figure, so if you want more detail on how I did any part of him check out the link below. As I work on the figure I will continue to add to the tutorial.
http://powellminipainting.blogspot.com/p/painting-gokan-slaine.html
I had some time the other day and decided to start working on the Gokan figure for the paint along/competition here at CMON. Someone on the Gokan thread pointed out that the figure looked a lot like the comic book character Slaine. After a little google image searching I decided I'd paint him as that character, so that helps make a lot of my color choices for me. I'm doing a step by step as I work on the figure, so if you want more detail on how I did any part of him check out the link below. As I work on the figure I will continue to add to the tutorial.
http://powellminipainting.blogspot.com/p/painting-gokan-slaine.html
