EndlessAnagrams Ongoing WIP

[EndlessAnagrams]

I decided to make a thread where I keep track of the things I am currently working on. I just recently got into the world of minis (about 2 months ago now) and have a large backlog of stuff to work through already! I started by posting an image directly to the gallery but figure it makes more sense to wait until the entire unit is finished before sharing in there so I will keep this thread open with all of the half finished squads, along with notes on any touchups that remain or next steps. These are also numbered in accordance of when they were painted. So number one is the very first "finished" mini I have ever completed. I figure this is a good log for myself to see progression as well as keep notes on things. I will produce finished photographs when the whole unit is finished so these images may not be entirely consistent but I will do my best to keep them in the same format. And to get it started here is my first mini ever!

#1 Primaris Space Marine Intercessor
View attachment 61541

Notes

1. I may still redo the helmet. The wash didn't turn out well and it needs touch up around the eyes anyways.
2. I have paint splatter occuring due to aggressive drybrushing, something that needs to be watched for in future jobs.

 

[Ddmkr]

This is a very good first attempt. Way better then most first attemps I've seen to be honest. You're off to a good start!
My suggestions (and I'm not really that good myself, so take this with a grain of salt):
- keep your paints thin. You can see some brushmarks on his shoulderpads. With thinner layers of paint this will be smoother.
- take time prepping minis, removing mouldlines (like the one on his left leg on the back photo). Mould lines stand out on a painted mini way more than on unpainted one.
- drybrushing has it's uses and it's definately a quick way to get some results, but I'd rather go with manual edge highlighting. Not only it looks way cleaner, it's also a good way to learn brush control.

Keep up the good work!

 

[EndlessAnagrams]

Here is an update with some Poxwalkers I finished as well as a WIP of an Inceptor.

#2 Death Guard Poxwalker
View attachment 61542

Notes:

1. I might rip off the grey rocks and remount them in a way that feels more natural.
2. The edge of the base will be painted black once the entire unit is finished.
3. Around the mouth needs to be touched up.

#3 Death Guard Poxwalker
View attachment 61543
Notes:

1. The edge of the base will be painted black once the entire unit is finished.
2. Around the mouth needs to be touched up.

#2 and 3 Death Guard Poxwalker's
View attachment 61544



WIP Primaris Space Marine Inceptor Squad
View attachment 61545
Notes:

1. This was primered black and then airbrushed with 3 different colors of blue to build up highlights from the top and ending in dark shadows towards the bottom and in the recessed areas. Some portions were left nearly black to provide the contrast.

 

[EndlessAnagrams]

This is a very good first attempt. Way better then most first attemps I've seen to be honest. You're off to a good start!
My suggestions (and I'm not really that good myself, so take this with a grain of salt):
- keep your paints thin. You can see some brushmarks on his shoulderpads. With thinner layers of paint this will be smoother.
- take time prepping minis, removing mouldlines (like the one on his left leg on the back photo). Mould lines stand out on a painted mini way more than on unpainted one.
- drybrushing has it's uses and it's definately a quick way to get some results, but I'd rather go with manual edge highlighting. Not only it looks way cleaner, it's also a good way to learn brush control.


Keep up the good work!

Thanks for taking the time to comment! I thought I had my paints thinned sufficiently until I finished and realized it needs even more. There is a definite learning curve involved with figuring that part out. I noticed the mold lines a little too late on this guy and didn't feel like starting completely over so I'm just paying attention to that going forward.

 

[Ddmkr]

Not thinning paints enough is a typical new painter mistake. Learning proper paint consistency for different tasks is an art in itself and something I've not yet learned properly as well. Better to err on the side of "too thin". I'd rather put an additional layer of paint than have bad looking brushstrokes! I do not remember where I saw this quote, but it helped me understand minipainting better (I guess you can apply that to thinning paint as well): if you think your highlighting is enough, then they are 50% done. (english is not my native language and this have more sense in my native tongue, but you can probably guess what I meant).

 

[EndlessAnagrams]

Not thinning paints enough is a typical new painter mistake. Learning proper paint consistency for different tasks is an art in itself and something I've not yet learned properly as well. Better to err on the side of "too thin". I'd rather put an additional layer of paint than have bad looking brushstrokes! I do not remember where I saw this quote, but it helped me understand minipainting better (I guess you can apply that to thinning paint as well): if you think your highlighting is enough, then they are 50% done. (english is not my native language and this have more sense in my native tongue, but you can probably guess what I meant).

That makes perfect sense! Things also look better in person then they do up close with a camera and lots of light. But it does let me understand the areas I need to work on more so it is still good to do. Thanks for commenting!

 

[Coyotebreaks]

hello welcome to the hobby and posting here. Ddmkr has mentioned thinning paints, and yes there a knack to it. I find testing it out on my thumb or thumbnail before committing to the mini is a good check, to see the consistency is like.

 

[KruleBear]

Welcome to the forum. Ddmkr has good advice. Your color placement is darn good, especially for your first minis. If you just clean up the yellow of the eyes on the Space Marine it will look even nicer.

 

[Zab]

Good, more contrast - more!

 

[Arkaan]

As for Primaris Space Marine Inceptor you made nice contrast layering colours with airbrush. As for advice you could add more blue colours on some other angles to parts that are more hidden like his hand under the bolter and his legs and feet. Because now it will feel like his armour is changing colour from blue to black on limbs


As for #3 poxwalker it looks like drybrushed with metallic paint, when #2 looks much better.


Really nice work on first minis, keep that good work!

 

[Zab]

You may also want to consider painting in sub assemblies to make your life easier when painting complex minis with hard to reach places

 

[EndlessAnagrams]

Welcome to the forum. Ddmkr has good advice. Your color placement is darn good, especially for your first minis. If you just clean up the yellow of the eyes on the Space Marine it will look even nicer.

Thanks for the comment! Now that I got a better finer brush my control is a bit better and I can get the eyes looking better. Can't wait to get it finished up!

 

[EndlessAnagrams]

Good, more contrast - more!

The story of my life in everything.

 

[EndlessAnagrams]

As for Primaris Space Marine Inceptor you made nice contrast layering colours with airbrush. As for advice you could add more blue colours on some other angles to parts that are more hidden like his hand under the bolter and his legs and feet. Because now it will feel like his armour is changing colour from blue to black on limbs


As for #3 poxwalker it looks like drybrushed with metallic paint, when #2 looks much better.


Really nice work on first minis, keep that good work!

Thanks for the comment! Good eye on the poxwalker! I didn't get my brush cleaned enough from when I painted a metallic before and it went EVERYWHERE! I didn't go back since it is a poxwalker and he will blend in with the crowd of poxwalkers by time I'm finished.

 

[EndlessAnagrams]

You may also want to consider painting in sub assemblies to make your life easier when painting complex minis with hard to reach places

I'm experimenting with some different units using that method. I figure it makes sense to try a bunch of different approaches from the get go and see what works the best for me.

 

[EndlessAnagrams]

#4 Primaris Space Marine Inceptor Squad

View attachment 65576
View attachment 65577View attachment 65578View attachment 65581
Notes:
1.) Finally photographing this guy after he has sat on my shelf since last year. I was discouraged by the results but posting anyways for documentation purposes. I got sidetracked with work and life and just started painting again yesterday.
2.) He has a very messy look with the wash. I kind of wanted him to be dirty looking but once again my paint wasn't thin enough and my detail strokes were not very good. Something to focus on in the future.

 

[EndlessAnagrams]

#5 Cypher
View attachment 65582
View attachment 65583View attachment 65584View attachment 65585
Notes:
1.) First mini painted this year. Happy to be back at it. Pretty happy with how this guy turned out.
2.) The cloak turned out too dark but I liked the contrast I created with the airbrush on it.
3.) A few mistakes throughout that a touchup would have fixed. I really just wanted to get a mini finished and push it out to get back in the swing of things so I accepted it and moved forward.

 

[ricardo523]

Glad you're back into it! The extreme close ups can be disheartening- but remember that a lot of mistakes you see that close are probably invisible to the human eye. It took me ages to get over that, and it still bugs me sometimes. Those mini's are really complicated too, so they are pretty hard to paint. I reckon you could increase the contrast on the cloak, and really make that stand out, and maybe try some highlights elsewhere like you have on the bases.

 

[EndlessAnagrams]

#5 Cypher Redux
View attachment 65622
Notes:
1.)Decided to add some contrast to the arm with some silver edge highlights. Cypher has been around for a long time and appears throughout the lore at different times. I'm not a loremaster but I imagine him with beat up armor and as a renegade so I thought some wear and tear on the armor not only adds some visual interest but helps the contrast.
2.)I redid the cloak. I started adding contrast and kind of messed it up but used it as an opportunity to lighten the cloak up to contrast the armor better. Still undecided if I should add another wash on top of it. Thoughts?
3.) I missed an insignia on the back of the arm. It has since been fixed.

 

[EndlessAnagrams]

Glad you're back into it! The extreme close ups can be disheartening- but remember that a lot of mistakes you see that close are probably invisible to the human eye. It took me ages to get over that, and it still bugs me sometimes. Those mini's are really complicated too, so they are pretty hard to paint. I reckon you could increase the contrast on the cloak, and really make that stand out, and maybe try some highlights elsewhere like you have on the bases.

I took a stab at just that! You can see it in the above reply. Thanks for the feedback. The extreme closeups are always fun for that reason haha. I work as a fulltime product photographer and have lots of equipment and things to play with so I go ahead and shoot it anyways!