BloodFather's Axis of Chaos

[Maenas]

*Gandalf on the bridge of doom tells you: Paint you fool!!*

Whether it be a canvas or a mini, it does not matter it will do good to you!! Arch's suggestion is a very good one

I am actually sending some good vibes from Spain.

 

[wargamesculptor]

Good to see your still around, if the need to paint is there use it as the motivation to get your painting area sorted. We'll still be here to support you

 

[AndyG]

Pull your socks up and crack on MAKE time to paint when you pick up the brush the tiredness drops away even if you only do 45min a night it keeps your hand in. Plus its a great de-stresser.


Also paint station? Whats one of them ? Keep your paints and a brush in a carrier bag and paint any where job done.

 

[KruleBear]

I feel the pain. When I was getting my MBA I was doing so much reading that with work I didnopainting for three years and very little pleasure reading. Keep after it though as you will look back proudly on what you accomplished...of course we will keep calling you a slacker for not getting any painting done!

 

[oistene]

I suggest trying something new! You usually spend hours upon hours on your projects - what about looking into James Wrappel's shaded basecoat, and try to finish a mini in an hour?

 

[Demihuman]

Oh man, a nice break will have you back painting better than ever. All the crazyness right now will make your happy painting time all the better. Remeber to write down any great ideas you have while day dreaming about painting!

 

[BloodFather of Kharnath]

Wow, good vibes from all over the world! This is why, even though painting I am not, I love this website and the people who frequent it. These are my 3 painting options right now:

1) Finish the KD Flower Knight. This is the best mini I have ever painted and when I stopped this Spring I was not far from complete. Proud of it, but what little work is left of it is tedious and challenging/I haven't creatively made my mind up.

2) Paint my first ever bust of Sir Thomas Wentworth. A very characterful face with a half body of armor. Good opportunities to use oils and acrylics, fun factor seems very high. However, I bought him with the intent to use silver leaf as my metallics, which I know of only 1 artist to ever attempt. Plus, Baroque armor was basically black in appearance, so whatever technique I choose it could get complicated--fast! Maybe start with his face and see where it takes me?

3) Finish my oil and canvas painting, pictured above. I truly love portraiturs right now, and it's all ready for the fun layers as I've already laid down the imprimatura and sketched the portrait with India ink. Next will be a quick umber layer, like water color painting almost, followed by putting all the values in black to white range. Normally I'd glaze a few colors layers after this, but the photo is a B&W and chosen for this exercise. Oils figuratively melt into one another, coalescing to form a myriad of unexpected hues. Yummy. Cons? I've been looking an aweful lot at mini's lately and I have an urge to start a diorama or something. Miss Minis.

 

[BloodFather of Kharnath]

I suggest trying something new! You usually spend hours upon hours on your projects - what about looking into James Wrappel's shaded basecoat, and try to finish a mini in an hour?

Interesting you mention this. I just got done talking to someone on FB about how Wappel's SB technique is basically derived from the layered oil painting I have described above. This is where Wappel admits getting his idea, as he used to paint all sorts of media. This is the technique used by Baroque Flemish and Venetian painters more or less.

So this begs the question. Could One truly paint a mini like on canvas? This means that first you very roughly paint the values with a brownish hue, basically a bestial brown. Use only this color, and in the lightest spots make it highly diluted. In the darkest shadows the brown is almost undiluted. So your light to dark scale is based on dilution and layers, not on adding darks and lights to your brown to change its hue. The value changes based on how much pigment is put down (how diluted).

Next, paint the entire mini in monochrome gray. Darkest shadows are black if it warrants this, lightest whites can be pure white. Gray midtone. The brown under layer should show through in some of the mid tones/early shadows. Here the value is changed traditionally, not by dilution as in the brown layer.

Finally, glaze the colors over. Now, with canvas there is confusion over this. You don't let the B&W underlayers control the colors value. IOW, don't dilute your colors so much that you intend to make the black of the shadows underneath make your color layer darker, or the white underlayers make them lighter. Otherwise it tends to look washed out, like a B&W photograph that has been colored. Instead, you paint it almost anew, simply using the layers underneath as a guide for how to darken or lighten your color layer. Although in some select places you WILL let the underlayers shine through, especially on skin and other semi transluscent areas.

Ok that's it. Anyone think this has any probability for success? Jason Martin is supposed to be trying it eventually. Would love to see this. Must email Wappel for his thoughts....

 

[MAXXxxx]

Could One truly paint a mini like on canvas?

I'd say yes.

the first you describe is basically what preshading is + using the transparency of the paint for transitions. On http://www.figurines-tv.com/ you can find a video from JBT where he shows the differnece between making a transition with many colors and with playing with transparency. (he paints a LotR - Galadriel figure there)

the second you describe looks like the way A.Giraldez (Banshee) paints. At least in the MM video it looked like: first painting a more or less monochrome transition, then colorize it.
Also Thomas David's speedpainting is very similar. First he makes a zenithal transition with an AB, then basically adds the colors. (again MM video)

 

[oistene]

I think yes as well. You'll have to adapt to the medium slightly, but the process should be similar.

Also, if I remember correctly, Wrappel comes from a background of watercolor, but the thoughts are the same. I think all of this is very interesting, it is hard to let go of the 'traditional' way, but doing something different can be very rewarding.

Maxxx, the Thomas David method is something I intend to try. Saw it recently, looks very efficient.

 

[KruleBear]

Do it. Do it. Sounds like you need to start slapping some paint around to try some of these great ideas. Seems to suugest you start a new mini using one of the new techniques and alternate with your 2D painting. That may keep you motivated and the technique differences of the two should strengthen the results if both. Then if that works to have you all jazzed up, go back and finish the flower knoght, because he is looking very cool.

 

[Bailey03]

Interesting idea. There are definitely people who get the mini to look like it was painted like a 2-D image. I'm thinking more of the strong light source/OSL stuff and the work of Banshee. However I'm not sure how closely they follow that step by step process. I'd expect you'd make some changes, I assume a certain amount of the underpainting is just to get the shapes in there but, since you're working from a sculpt, that would be redundant.

As for which project to do... I say just do all three. I'm always jumping back and forth between projects. Of course since your painting time is a bit limited, maybe do the Flower Knight first. That piece was really coming along well and I'd love to see it finished. Honestly, my best advice is sit down with all three in front of you and see what inspires you, which feels like the most fun.

 

[BloodFather of Kharnath]

I'd say yes.

the first you describe is basically what preshading is + using the transparency of the paint for transitions. On http://www.figurines-tv.com/ you can find a video from JBT where he shows the differnece between making a transition with many colors and with playing with transparency. (he paints a LotR - Galadriel figure there)

the second you describe looks like the way A.Giraldez (Banshee) paints. At least in the MM video it looked like: first painting a more or less monochrome transition, then colorize it.
Also Thomas David's speedpainting is very similar. First he makes a zenithal transition with an AB, then basically adds the colors. (again MM video)

Thanks for the links just what I was looking for, haven't watched yet but will tonight!

 

[BloodFather of Kharnath]

I'd say yes.

the first you describe is basically what preshading is + using the transparency of the paint for transitions. On http://www.figurines-tv.com/ you can find a video from JBT where he shows the differnece between making a transition with many colors and with playing with transparency. (he paints a LotR - Galadriel figure there)

the second you describe looks like the way A.Giraldez (Banshee) paints. At least in the MM video it looked like: first painting a more or less monochrome transition, then colorize it.
Also Thomas David's speedpainting is very similar. First he makes a zenithal transition with an AB, then basically adds the colors. (again MM video)

Thanks for the links just what I was looking for, haven't watched yet but will tonight!

 

[BloodFather of Kharnath]

Guess who's back?
View attachment 44088

 

[BloodASmedium]

Awwwwwesome now get to some painting....by the looks of this wonderful bust you've been doing just that....my boy it's wonderful....welcome back (welcome back carter theme!)

 

[BloodFather of Kharnath]

Here is a better pick. Obviously lots of work yet to be done but this is my first bust and I am loving it. After the face and hair will be some TMM black armor, as was the style at the time. By the way, this is Thomas Wentworth, a significant English pre-civil war figure.
View attachment 44094

 

[Zab]

Nice start! Looks like a bit of pitted metal on the chest. \that armour should be fun

 

[BloodFather of Kharnath]

Doesn't it? I think this may be an example of a where a casting error works to my advantage. I plan to use some oils on the armor too. The armor is supposed to be so black that I plan to paint it all using Scalecolour's Black metal and flat black everywhere. Then progressively highlight with pure black metal, then heavy metal, then a mix of heavy metal and thrash metal. Then target highlights with speed metal and maybe a bit of white alchemy. Then finally use some Lamp Black oil paint in the darkest of the dark recesses. This should really mute those areas.

His is pommel is gold. Here I will use the famous SkelettetS method: a silvery type of metal (speed metal of GW silver) and then progressively shade with increasingly layers of VMC smoke.

 

[SkelettetS]

nice work mate, nice to see you back over here!

...minis are so much more fun than politics