Feedback on Shaka - Painting and Photography.

[Coyote]

http://www.coolminiornot.com/62246

He\'s not doing so well. Infact, he\'s .1 higher then some RaF historicals I painted. Of course, that leads me to believe it has more to do with the wierdness that we all accept from public voting then quality.

All the same, I\'d appreciate some feedback. While \"wow, that\'s great\" is nice to read I\'d also like some ideas of what I can approve.

I think part of the problem might be the photography. I\'m using two lights, small aperature and a white background. However, he looks a little funny, and not as smooth and clear as other people\'s pictures, so I\'m wondering if there\'s anything I can do.

Thanks in advance.

 

[the_balloon_dog]

had a look and tried to post a sorta useful reply....

 

[Astonia]

Well the mini is wonderful, but I think you forgot to do the base, and that\'ll draw down your scores. People often see the base as an important part of the mini, or at least of the presentation of the mini (and I agree). You would probably have at least 7.5 with the base done.

 

[airhead]

OK,

I see shadow color on the skin, but no highlights.

The base is not done.

It is for ebay.

These things will hurt your score (I don\'t care about ebay, but it seems that they don\'t score as well if they are done for auction.)

 

[Coyote]

let\'s ignore the base. I asked around and most people preferred unbased so it will match their army.

 

[Gypsy]

I think the tattoos are highly distracting, especially those on the face, there\'s just too much going on. Maybe it would have looked better if you had used a bit more muted colours and just painted the arms and left the face bare.

 

[Coyote]

Actually, I agree with you there. Especially since I personally think I did a superb blending job on the flesh. Unfortunately that\'s covered with tattoos and hard to see.

It\'s just one of those things. Decent tattoos always get compliments and have a wow factor. But look at the tattoos with a more critical eye and you may find that they don\'t always work.

Probably just the arms, and with a less random geometric shape would have looked better.

However, in this case I was following the card that came with the miniature.

 

[Coyote]

Hmm, that was depressing. he just went for $26 on ebay. Something\'s wrong. Either people aren\'t telling me the paintjob is crap when it is, or someone just made a steal on ebay.

 

[cento]

A few things...

Yeah, some players may want a plain base so they can match it to their armies later, but in the mean time it really hurts the overall presentation - makes it look unfinished. I have no doubts that it hurts your CMoN score, and it likely hurt your auction price as well, despite the asking around you may have done.

Second, the tattoos are really contrasty when combined with the white background. It makes the figure look too \"busy\". I generally reccomend photographing against a softer, more neutral background, like a soft light blue. It is easier on the eyes.

Third, it really isn\'t a large pic. In my experience, small pics hide sloppy painting. With a detailed fig, your picture should be a bit larger to show that off.

It looks like it is well painted, but it is hard for me to be sure due to the image issues I mentioned above. Assuming the figure is as good as I am thinking it must be, I\'d probably call it a 7.5 or 8. I typically chop a point of any of my CMoN scoring for an unfinished base, because it\'s a pet peeve of mine.

At least that is my brutally honest assessment. I am guessing you have a really good figure there hampered by presentation.

YMMV...