Bailey03's WIP

[Zab]

I stick by what i said on your blog. less is more. I think the floor, railing and archway behind him will paint enough of a picture. I would nix the door as it blocks an entire side of the mini. People ill want to lean in and look at this one and that wall will preclud that. Whatever you decide keep it very toned down and it will be awesome.

 

[BloodFather of Kharnath]

Too big??? Nonsense!!! You are telling a wonderful story with this base. I see him skulking about, his target mere feet away through the door. He is a very tall and angular mini, so you can either make his surroundings tall and angular and contribute to this, or you can contrast this by making the base short and wide/squat. It appears you are going with the former. Cast most of the scene in shadow, but keep a circle around him that is illuminated. Maybe add a cat. I love it too much to see it go. Such craftsmanship....

If you choose not to heed this advice, I would then make a city street base. Use plasti and other materials to build the shells of buildings on either side (perhaps an inn with a nice sign), laundry strewn across the street via a clothesline, cobblestone street, water effects showing some medieval sewage, his shadow cast, even more long and angular, on the cold and dark street, a street lamp casting a dull glow...you get the picture. I've seen a similar scene before on bases and it is quite effective. But again, keep what you have...

 

[ten ball]

Loads of character in this one Bailey.
Once you've darkened down the base it won't look so overpowering.

 

[Bailey03]

Thanks for the feedback and advice, everyone. I'm not abandoning the base, but I'm trying to come up with a couple other options. As soon as I posted the photos I was realized how big it was. As a couple of you have mentioned, darkening the surrounding area and lighting the center should help with the focus. And I can always crop the photos (though that doesn't work when viewing in person, at a show, etc). Whatever I do I want to play with light, of course not too much as I don't want to draw the focus away from the figure. In this one I was planning to have the monochromatic look fade into regular colors up ahead of him, like he's walking towards a lit area. Another thought would be to have him walking across the top of a building or ledge. I would include a window with a yellow light inside. Another thought would be to do an alley or some sort of walkway. This would be a much smaller base, just a few details around the figure to help convey the scene. It's a bit tougher to include a touch of light/color here... I could do a street lamp or a hanging lantern and then do a bit of yellow OSL on the figure. I don't want to do too much with the OSL light and color, just a bit to make it obvious this is a color photo and emphasis the monochromatic effect, but not too much so as to draw the focus of the scene away from the character.

Anyway, I'm keeping the first base but, if I can come up with a concept/design that I like then I'll try to build a second. Then I put the figure in both and see which looks best.

 

[BloodFather of Kharnath]

I appreciate the dedication if nothing else...

 

[oistene]

And then you have a spare for a different project!

 

[MightyChad]

I like the look with the hand rail on the base, what about doing a handrail on each side, like a catwalk? Then below him you could have Windows with a bit of colored light, maybe his target is in the window. Then you could have a lot of what you like, but still have a well constructed base.

All that said, that mini is brilliant, as most everything you paint ends up perfect I know you'll figure out what works.

 

[Bailey03]

Well, while I take some more time to think about the Dark Elf's base, I decided to give my Knight of the Holy Sepulchre another try. This is one of my longest running projects, started way back in Nov of 2013 (page 16 of this thread). I've hit quite a few road blocks on this figure and, although I'll put it to the side for a while, I have not abandoned the project. If I hadn't already put in a lot of work over the weekend, this would have been a good project for the February 'I Loathe this Model' challenge since this figure has been causing me trouble for well over a year. One of the biggest sticking points was the horse. To contrast with the mostly white knight, I wanted to do a black horse. Black is a color I don't quite feel comfortable with, but a number of recent projects have given me some more experience. Plus I'd really like to take this to Crystal Brush, so hopefully I can wrap this up without any more problems.

I decided to go with a blue-black for the horse. Maybe not super realistic, but I like to look. I used pure black, Scale 75's Abyssal Blue, and then gradually mixed in Reaper's Fair Highlights. This is just the first step in the process. Once I finish up the last few sections on the horse, I'll go in and make some tweaks to the blends, shadows, and highlights. Then I'll give the whole thing some glaze layers to further help with the blends and tie it all together. After that I'll most likely go back in to redo some of the highlights that the glaze knocked down. Even though I'm not finished with the black, I am already much happier with the horse this time around. Once I finish the black, I should be able to wrap up the rest of the figure relatively quickly. So I'm optimistic this will be the fourth of my Crystal Brush entries.

And here's a quick comparison with my last attempt. I had only done the head, neck, and front leg. But you can see the difference in the highlights and contrast.

 

[Zab]

It's very dramatic. Can't wait to see the rest.

 

[Khonner]

I like your color choice.. Looking forward to seeing more.

 

[BloodFather of Kharnath]

I think the blue black works quite well. Would work incredibly well on a certain historical vampiric figure....

Perhaps some textured painting could help the skin appear less smooth and more furry? Not that this is entirely necessary, just might be worth a try in places. I believe there are some good tutorials out there on this.

 

[Gandalf the Grey]

Talk about an obtuse statement - for all the colour scheme, blue black is unrealistic, the painting has made it look realistic. Looking at this with interest.

 

[GreenOne]

That's a black horse, with blue light reflexes, pretty common, and thus id say 'realistic'. At any rate, looking fantastic if not fantasist

 

[Demihuman]

That looks really good! I especially like the wrinkles at the top of his neck below the mane and on his cocked knee. I think your next steps with the glaze and re-highlight will make it really pop.

Hey, BTW Banshee is doing a workshop in your area. it's not cheap but it might a good one for you. From Facebook:

Alfonso Giraldes aka "Banshee" is going to be teaching a painting class in LA, the last weekend of May (5/30&5/31), and the organizers are trying to fill the last few spots. Anyone interested should contact Anthonyw.wang (at) gmail.com or Roguepainter (at) gmail.com. The class is $350, and includes a resin bust and two days of instruction.

 

[Bailey03]

Thanks, everyone! And Demi, thanks for the heads up. I just sent them an email for more info, but it looks like a really cool course. I was poking around for more info online and he's doing one in San Francisco too. I didn't see a date, but I'd assume it would be part of the same US trip.

BFK, maybe I'll experiment with some directional strokes to add a bit of texture. Although this figure has a lot going on (and the black is already a challenge) so I might wait for my next mounted figure to experiment on. Don't worry, I've got plenty of other mounted figures on my to-do list. There's a 75mm mounted hussar from Pegaso on my workbench that's about 80% assembled. If I wasn't trying to focus on the CB projects I'm pretty sure I would have already started painting it. But that will have to wait until after March. It's a great figure but at 75mm I know it's going to be a huge time suck.

 

[Demihuman]

Monkeyman has a nice review of the class here:

http://monkeyman7x.com/2014/08/03/a-lesson-in-flesh/

I am thinking about going to the SF one, but $350 is a pretty big price tag. It does seem like a really important class that addresses a lot of stuff I need to learn more about. I am fully committed to going to some competitions up here this year though, maybe we could meet up?

I am really interested to see the next step in this horse! I mentioned before I think a black horse in the sun could be very shiny looking. I have been thinking a lot about blending and lately. One thing I am not super good at is, I guess, the 'rate' of my blends. I focus purely on smoothness but you can have a smooth blend that uses a very small area, like a scale of armor or a very big area like a panel on a vehicle, but if you do a short blend on a large flat area it looks more reflective or glossy. Check out the chrome on the Thor and the grill of the car here:

http://www.coolminiornot.com/361507?browseid=11128350

I think it might be neat to go towards something like that with the horse. Maybe not so crazy graphic but big patches of highlight with short blends? I don't know just something I am thinking about right now. I think I could have made the shadows on Robot Witch's skirts bigger is all.

Finally, Flesh tones for high lights FTFTW! (For The Flesh Tone Win) That's what the Infinity guy, Angel Giraldez, does too. You guys might be on to something.

 

[Bailey03]

Thanks for that link, Demi. I remembered someone had talked about the class but couldn't remember who. Very helpful! It's not cheap, but for two full days of instruction it's probably not that bad. They said the price may come down if they get more people, but I'm guessing the price won't change that much.

Yeah, you should definitely get to some in-person competitions! There's the Bay Area Open (San Jose) and Califaux (Sacramento) which are pretty close to you. Looks like the painting comp at Califaux is just for Malifaux, but the Bay Area Open one will take anything. The BAO didn't have a lot of entries but, assuming it's the same as last year, it's still a Crystal Brush Qualifier and had some nice swag for the Best of Show. I'd like to get back up to the BAO this year, if I'm able I'll definitely let you know. By the way, there's also a show down in LA in April put on by SCAHMS. It should be a lot larger than Califaux or BAO, just figures no gaming, and the open system for judging. And there's the Las Vegas Open in a couple weeks. Probably not enough notice for this year, but something to keep in mind for 2016. They have some nice looking seminars lined up.

You're right about the rate of blending/transitions. It can definitely change the feel of the material. For shiny black I was attempting to do light highlights but only over small areas and with more rapid transitions. When I go back in with the glazes I'll be trying to emphasize that, using dark glazes to make the transitions happen over shorter distances. Of course I don't have the level of control over it that I'd like, so the results might not read that way. But painting materials so they look like a specific material (be it metal, leather, shiny, dull, or whatever) is something I want to keep improving.

 

[ten ball]

Loving the blue tones on the horse mate :good:

 

[KruleBear]

I'll throw out my 2 cents. Love the new approach on the horses colors. I know i've been around sweating black draft horses that reflect some blue in the color. That being said, from the pictures the right sidelooks more realistic to me than the left side. The highlights on the left seem to have a greenish or turquoise tint to them...reminds me of PP Coal Black.

 

[BloodFather of Kharnath]

KB, I believe what you are seeing is just starker highlights due to his positioning of his light source. See the knight's helmet as reference.

Hey Bailey, do you mind telling me when/where the competitions are in Cali between now and summer?Particularly interested in the BAO if you plan on being there. It's starting to look like a trip to Schaumburg, Illinois may be out of the question. Originally it coincided with a trip to see family in Ohio, but the family rendezvous has been cancelled. Therefore, the missus and I figured we'd drop about 2 grand on Crystal Brush in total, and we (she) finds this difficult to consider with all our future expenses. Anyway, sorry for blabbing but we have agreed that a trip to Cali would be much more feasible and acceptable (to her). And so the interest in Cali comps.