In need of help and/or advice

[Paintgrot]

I'm an average painter and I want to get better. My stuff on here is usually rated between 4-6 and I'd like to be able to reach the 6-8 range. I've been going to conventions and talking with alot to professional and studio painters. I've put what I've learned into use and now I could really use some advice on it. Here's some of my latest work:

What's good, what's bad, and what would be some good things for me to try?

 

[Mercius]

The first thing to jump out at me isthat it looks like you are applying your paint too thick. Your highlights are also a bit too drastic, there is not much transition between shade and highlight (a problem I tend to have as well, so I know your pain). Other than that I am still too much of a newb to give any other advice, I must say though that I like them a lot (your minis) especially the scarred guy.

Also, your eyes are very well done, you should be very proud of them!

 

[Dragonsreach]

Just from the initial pictures it seems as if you are using a drybrush technique for the main colours.
I'd suggest that this is something that still has its place in your abilities but needs to be used very sparingly.
Careful application of diluted paints is the start to stepping up a level.
I'd suggest that you get hold of minis with skintone to concentrate on mastering the smooth transitions needed. There are several articles in the Articles section of the site which will help you in this.
Oh and don't be afraid to ask tons of questions.

 

[BPI]

Hi Paintgrot Looks like nice 3 stage layering & you want to move on to blending. Perfectly sensible next step up & blending is the word you want to search for, check the Sticky Tips Thread for links too. Slightly thinner paint & blend the transition of colours. I wish it was as easy to do as it is to type

Upping the Gallery score - Simplest advice is attention to detail. Doesn't require a massive leap forward in brush technique, just more time on each mini.

That main chap: The fly buttons on his trousers are the same colour as the cloth. His raised scars are the same colour as his healthy skin (I can't remember if raised go redder or white), as are his nips. Eyebrows? I don't always bother Highlight dots on the metal. Either bright silver or white but something to sell me a glint of metal, on the bulletbelts & perhaps at least the gun sights. Those nice skull kneepads could see a bit of colour attention, they're very similar to the base. That's the main step up from TableTop (5) toward Character figure (7) I reckon

When I vote, the step from 7 to 8 is a big one! Not that I've got there myself Don't worry too much about the scores, you'll be able to see yourself, as you compare your minis first hand, how you're improving.

It's nice neat, appealing painting. Read around the Forum & browse the Gallery... themn show us your next stuff in a WIP thread. Come & join us all :good:

Cheers, B.

PS DR sort of beat me to it

 

[mattrock]

I agree that it appears to be quite a lot of drybrushing. It also appears that the color drybrushed on as a highlight is a HUGE jump from the base color with nothing intermediary.

Instead of highlighting with the drybrush, start by learning to layer. Layering is applying several layers of color on top of one another in small steps up or down the lighting ladder. For instance, on your top guy there, use a flesh color as the base.

When you go to paint your base color, thin it about 1:1 with water. It's okay if you end up having to paint two coats for smooth coverage. Then, get a highlight color. Say, bleached bone, for instance. Mix it 2:1 Flesh/bone and then 1:1 Flesh/bone and then 1:2 flesh/bone. Thin each to 3-5 parts water per 1 part paint. If you want, you can dilute straight bone for your final highlight but use it very sparingly.

These are your successive highlights. Start by painting your original color over the washed base on the largest part of the raised areas. Then do that again with each successive mix on smaller and smaller areas, focusing each highlight towards areas that would receive the most light. If you diluted well, your layers will be partially transparent, so you can paint each one twice, tightening the area painted each time. This will give you somewhere on the order of an 8-9 step transition.

It'll take a little more time to accomplish, but if you do it right, the small steps between colors will give the illusion of blending or gradual transition and eliminate the chalky look your minis have now. Get layering down and then you can actually focus on true blending.

Baby steps.

BTW, I'm diggin' the eyes on the top guy. You did a good job giving him expression through the half-lidded look. Eyes tend to be a tough spot for people and you seem to have a pretty good way with them.

 

[Paintgrot]

I didn't drybrush anything major on the first pic. I think it looks like it due to another problem mentioned... thick paint. My apartment has very little humidity and I use a dry pallet. I've already been looking into wet pallets... and a humidifier.

The flesh was painted with Reaper's Rosy skin, rosy shadow and rosy highlight. I tried a technique someone showed me where I painted a base of rosy skin over the whole area then went and used the rosy shadow in the recessed areas. After that I used a 50/50 mix of the 2 as a transition between the 2. Then a 50/50 of rosy skin and rosy highlight as the 1st highlight of the raised areas, and rosy highlight as a final highlight.

I also used a gore red wash on the recessed areas around the scars. I'll definatly try more transition colors though.

The zombie flesh was actually just rotting flesh highlighted with bleached bone and then given a wash of gore red and a purple. I got the idea from an old GW Nurgle deamon painting example from a white dwarf. Except I used paint washes instead of ink washes.

Thanks for the comments about the eyes. I don't know why but I've almost always been able to do eyes well. It's probably due to the fact that I don't have to layer, shade, or highlight them. Just black and white.

 

[Mercius]

Your highlights are in the right places, if you thin your paints the way mattrock described and add in more layer transitions I think you will see a HUGE leap in your miniature quality. It has taken me a long time to just make myself slow down, think my paints and have a little patience and actually make my layers blend....am I perfect at it, hell no, but I am leaps and bounds above where I was 3 months ago when I returned to the hobby with little more knowledge thant drybrushing and washes.

Also, something else I noticed is your bases are actually rather nice, so good job there!

 

[Einion]

Other than thinning, my main advice would be to slow down - painting too quickly is the surest route to getting less from your paint and brushes where a higher finish is desired. Some people find it useful to get into the mindset, it takes as long as it takes.

If you have a rough idea of the time taken to paint a given type of mini, try initially taking about twice as long, working with thinner paint (and with less paint on the brush) and see how you get on. Then work on your contrast/tonal range and your colour use as the final step.

Einion

 

[Paintgrot]

I've got like a form of ADD when it comes to painting sometimes. I'll work on something for an hour 1 day and the next I might work on something different that caught my attention. I've got a few half finished projects. Other times I'll just get annoyed or not in the mood to paint something and switch to something else. That 1st pic I spent about 4 hours on him continuously, but the 3 zombies took about a week of on and off painting. I was a mass production speed painter back in my GW days, so I've slowed down a bit. I guess I'll try slowing down a bit more.

What about the swords and guns? They were my 1st attempts at NMM. Any ideas on improving them?

 

[jcscull]

I think that Mercius is on point with his comments...
Thin your paints and try to transition your colors more that way they blend better, that is unless you would like to have the harsh color variation...

 

[Thomgirl]

I would recommend (if you haven't checked them out already) going to the Articles section of CMoN and reading the articles on painting written by Automaton. I know of three off the bat, one on using metallic paints and two that cover painting and basing an entire figure. They have helped me tremendously and he gives good pictures describing exactly what he's doing with the paint. Best of luck with your goal! I think you're off to a great start.