Hot babe dilemma

[SaxonAngel]

I\'m trying to get back into the full swing of things by clearing some of my old projects off my desk.
My painting has developed some real kinks in the technique since I sort of took a hiatus from the brush a few years back.

So... today\'s subject is lighting effects and fire. I have an old Rackham Alhalan chick that I\'m trying to paint up as a firey minion. It was started some years ago and is pretty rough in spots and probably should have been stripped (see here) , but hey it\'s unfinished and being done for practice and my own games table.

Anyhow, I\'m a bit stuck on how to do the trim on the armor.
Should I leave it black?
Or should I continue on with the gold as it is on the shield and part of her abdomen and chest.
I thought I could get away with the gold and blacklining until I hit her tiara and then I stopped and the foul language began.

Any experienced opinions and suggestion on either the trim or anythings else (especially from any of the \"masters\" ) would be most welcome and very appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Fizl]

Definitely not an old master, but looking at the areas where you have black and gold, I really prefer the gold myself.

The black looks a bit unfinished to me

Shaz

 

[lizcam]

I\'m not anywhere near a master either but I\'d say go for the gold. It looks really good. The black look a bit unfinished.

 

[SaxonAngel]

Thanks! I think I agree with the gold too. It\'s just looking...somehow... wrong. perhaps I need to know how to make it work with the rest of the flames and lighting reflection then. hmmmmm

 

[demonherald]

both The black and Gold would have the light reflection working on them..Maybe that is whats lacking at the moment.Or it could be just the angles that can be seen..
The black would reflect more in the orange /red tones and the gold more yellow/white...doing either on the bits will add interest..
Of course it could always be just that..dammit I hate this piece stage that suddnly comes good after another couple of colours....
Maybe the gold will just add that little extra flair to it...The problem with any Blacklining or similar on a light source model is it tends to interrupt the light scheme and spoil the effect.Even when it is painted properly the black just interrupts the scheme a fair bit..
Hope that makes sense....

 

[No Such Agency]

Wow. Different from your usual stuff to be sure. I like it. As for the above comments, I\'d say \"me too\". The black sooty look should be there, but it needs to be offset by some shiny.

 

[DaN]

I am seriously diggin\' those flames
Although some of the tips are too dark IMO - particularly the one atop her head, but really feelin\' the heat otherwise

I\'m also gonna go with the shiny comments and say some sort of reflective chrome edging, where the bottom edges of the armour is tinted with the orange heat of the flames...

 

[PegaZus]

Aw. I thought it said \"Hot babe diorama\". Oh well.

Go for the gold.

 

[SaxonAngel]

Okay gold. So we know the black lining is a nono and the gold would reflect the flames. But we still want the gold to stand out and not get lost in the flames part,
would a light brown or red lining be a solution to the black lining? I know for a fact the gold trim just \"disappears\" if I try to do it without some dark edge.

hmmmm .... I get cracking on her again with the next 24hrs. In the mean time, any further info would be welcomed.

Thanks folks!

Originally posted by demonherald
Of course it could always be just that..dammit I hate this piece stage that suddnly comes good after another couple of colours....

And you make perfect sense.
Especially this bit. I am damned tired of looking at this, I hope it does improve after a few more colours. I haven\'t spent all that much time painting it (a few hours), but am damned sick of seeing the flippin thing on my desk now for four years lol

 

[lizcam]

As sick as you are of her she\'s going to be stunning when she\'s done.

 

[freakinacage]

Originally posted by Fizl
Definitely not an old master, but looking at the areas where you have black and gold, I really prefer the gold myself.

ditto. good work to, she looks really hot!

 

[mickc22]

how about trying a bright orange glaze on the gold where it catches the fire light

 

[SaxonAngel]

We\'re waaay overdue for photos here.

She\'s been near-done awhiles and been waiting for some photos.
I\'ve been patient long enough! One of my lights is a bit wacky so you\'ll have excuse the change in color and brightness. I\'m not a photoshop expert so I don\'t know how to shift the picture\'s levels to match. *grumble*

Any hoo...
I took the majority of advice offered and am sorta pleased with the result. Some areas (exposed right hand, the round badge on her left shoulder, round thingy on the sword crosspiece, etc) still need some smoothing and straightening. So yup, I know those suck.. But please feel free to point out anything else that can be fixed. I know the gold should probably reflect the red as red, but it would just blend in with the flames too much, so let\'s call that the fantasy element.
Unless it looks like total a$$, and I\'m just blind to it.

Please bash away! I\'m here to learn and hopefully get a bit better.

....

If that\'s at all still possible at my age.lol

 

[freakinacage]

i think she looks great