Khonner's WIP

BAMO! Nice looking skin tones, Push em and it will be great! I never knew about the wood and leather shields good to know for when I do a shield. Go for freehand and cover the parts your not happy with Battle damage! Shazam! if you did'nt notice Im pumped, got home from work and every one is much better from winters 1st bout of the flu.

Lol @ winter. Was in Australia a couple years back in July. I'm sure it's very different depending on where you are, but I was shocked by how hot it could get it the day compared to how frigid at night. Didn't know how to dress.
 
Khonner, tbh this is exceptionally good. I truly thought that your original pic was just box art, or from the manufacturer. So kudos there. This is a huge jump in skill from you, I think. On the sword, it is some good NMM, but try to vary the darkness on the bottom and the light on the top. For instance, on the bottom darker half, blend it to a lighter shade as you get closer to the hilt. Then on the top, do the opposite. But keep it 80 percent how it is now. Just a small area of light on the bottom and vice versa. Do this and the. We will tackle the helmet a bit more. Overall though, huuuuge progression on this guy. Love, absolutely love the skin.
 

Shades

New member
Nice work! I agree with everyone else -- looks like you're making steady progress. And, no doubt, Bailey is a good guide to follow!
 

Khonner

New member
Some updated pics of the gladiator..





I've just started doing the first layers of the bronze and fixed the skin area under the sword arm. I've also darkened the leather pieces since they were too close to the skin tone. I'm not sure how far to push the bronze, any suggestions? Thanks.
 

Bailey03

Well-known member
I'd push the bronze pretty far. You've got a nice dark base, now concentrate on the edges and upper surfaces for those brighter tones. Leave a lot of that dark bronze on the rest though. It's the contrast that's going to sell the metallic look.

By the way, the lighting is a bit harsh on these latest photos. I know from the last pictures that you'd done some highlights and shadows on your skin but the lights are washing them out. Try using some sort of diffuser over your light. I think even a simple piece of paper or thin piece of cloth. Here's an example I grabbed off MassiveVoodoo. They've got a couple helpful photo tutorials. Just don't get it too close to the light as they get hot!
http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.de/2013/09/miniature-photography-part-2-how-do-i.html
View attachment 28902
http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.com/2009/10/tutorial-overview.html#photography
 

Khonner

New member
Thanks Bailey.. yeah the recent pic was from the cell phone. I will try to get a better pic tomorrow with my light box setup.
 

Khonner

New member
Another update, this time with the uber camera.. I actually learned a few new tricks with it and pretty happy with the results.. Comments welcomed as always..



 

Milosh

New member
I've been watching and I've been liking. I really think you need to try out some better models sir. Your improvement is very good.
 

Zab

New member
Have to agree with Milosh. I think you're skills are being challenged by this sculpt because the crisp details looks great but the areas where the sculpt is rough or soft seems to be fighting your nice blends.
 

Bailey03

Well-known member
Yeah, I like the progress. Are you planning to do anything more with the bronze? I'd suggest hitting it with one more extreme highlight. I usually use the VMA gold, but mixing another brands gold or bronze with some silver (maybe 50/50, you'll have to experiment a bit) should work. Just hit those extreme highlight areas. For example, the center of the top edge on the shin guards, a couple touches on the shield (you can see where the bright spot on the photo for the center region, just emphasize that with a little more highlight. I'd use a little bit on the top edge as well, it needs a little something more), and then I'd do some of the edges on the helmet. You don't need to do it everywhere, just where you think the light would reflect and make the metal the brightest. So just certain edges or even just part of certain edges.

As the others have said, it's a lot nicer to work on higher quality figures. There are plenty of options for fantasy figures but to name a few there's Nocturna Models (lots of neat stuff ranging from 30mm to 70mm full figures and then larger scale busts), the Draconia Line from Ares Mythologic, and the Warlord Saga from Andrea Miniatures (those last two are 54mm). Something to think about.
 

Khonner

New member
Appreciate the feedback.. Thanks for the tips on the models Bailey.. I have made a long list of future minis to paint.. Looks like I have a case of painting ADD as well.. here's another WIP.. Trying something different with the skin, made a black/green color for the shadow and used more rose for the base skin tone. Let me know what you think.. Thanks.



 

Zab

New member
I kind of like the contrast there. Will there be more filter on top of the olive shadows? Cool mini man :)
 

Khonner

New member
I'm not 100% sure yet.. Do you think that a very thin layer of like tanned skin over the olive might pull it together or keep more of a stark contrast? I'm playing with the idea of adding a little more red to the skin. It's my first mini from Red Box, I agree the detail in the sculpt is pretty sharp and there was not much mold lines to clean up. I was pretty happy..
 

ten ball

Active member
A few glazes of the original skin colour would help calm down the greens. Try on one arm first and see how it goes. :)
 
You have the right idea with choosing unique colors here and thinking outside the box, so kudos for that creativity. Just some pointers for technique that I hope you find helpful. When layering anything, be very gradual. Take your time. It looks like you may have just put 1-2 tones down in the crevices of the muscle. It is because of this immediacy of color change that things look rather unclean and , frankly, unreal. I think you have the idea, you just aren't executing it.

So think of it like this. Whether shading or highlighting, everything is a shape within a shape. In this case, it is the shape that the crevices between the muscles form. First, put down your mid tone. You do this just fine. It looks smooth and even. Now, take that mid tone and add just a tiny amount of that green. This will be the biggest shape in the crevices. Every additional shade you have will be darker AND fit inside of this shape. So run your first shade, which again is your mid skin tone with just a touch of green, and run it through the crevices. You don't even have to be all that careful, because the difference between this shade and your mid tone is very small, and so unless looked at very closely, it should be kind of tough to tell the difference. You're not only getting in the cracks here, but also the sides of the downward sloping muscles-that is the parts of the muscle leading into the cracks. Make sure you add a couple layers of this same shade. Now, go darker by just a little bit, and paint INSIDE of the boundary of your last shade. Again, the change in darkness is gradual enough that it blends on it's own almost. Next shade, do a little darker and smaller. Keep doing this until you are basically doing a thin thin line of your darkest green right at the lowest point of the cracks. TA DA! You have a blended gradient of shadow. Congratulations!!! Remember to let the paint dry between layers and to add enough coats per level of shade.

slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Take your time. You are running through minis too fast, and to be frank with you it presents a sloppy appearance in some cases. This is all fine and good if you are planning on painting a 5000 point Warhammer Army. But you're not, damnit. You're a display painter, and we value perfection, cleanliness, and creativity. For us, this is Art, not a game. In my above description, remember that first layer I told you about? The one where it is basically your mid tone with just a touch if green added? Well, in your WIP, that layer looks like a shade3 or shade4. Shade 3 and shade 4 should be small, deep in the cracks.

As Ten Ball says, apply a glaze of the mid tone and it should calm it down a bit. This should fix things, but once this dries, reapply some of that darker green in the depths of those muscle cracks.

Once you do this, repost and we will then talk about highlighting. You can do this, dammit, and I am going to be tough on you until I see the results you are capable of. Don't mean to get all drill sergeant on you, but I don't know another way. You know what to do, because we've all seen you make some big improvements. Let's kick it into high gear though and wow some people around here....
 

Khonner

New member
Was a complete painting fail last night which resulted in a simple green bath for that Red Box warrior guy and his buddy.. We will see if I can get it right the second time around..
 

Zab

New member
There's nothing so bad that it can't be fixed/redone in this hobby of ours. Look at Dave's rebirth :p
 
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