My first mini after 25 years...

[starr974]

View attachment 3405View attachment 3406View attachment 3407hi everybody,

when i was 10 years , i painted many minis, but i just do basic paint.

After i spend many times on your forum, i learn a lot of many techniques; my passion for paint minis come back.
I bought a wolfen mini , i bought model color paint too and some brushes and i start to paint my mini.
here you can find somes photos about but escuse me for the bad quality of pictures.

of course my mini is very ugly for beginning but i took plaisure to paint her and i want continu to buy somes mini and try to upgrade my skill.

for this one , i have many difficult for paint the details (as the belt, the hightlight are very ugly because the paint was thick)
In the soulder, the hightlight are very dusty .

i try to make a gradient (on the back and near the leg) blue to purple but i cant see it on the pictures....maybe its too light.i dont know

i hope that you can help me with your differents comments.

thanks

ps; do you know where can i buy cheaper minis? (i live in France)

 

[cheelfy]

welcome with us, nice to see other French guys around here.
After 25 years, this is a nice mini. Your blue skin isn't bad but it misses highlights and shades to define it better. I also think the the mane could have been painted in another colour, somthing like a bright blue-ish grey would fit better with the rest of the mini I think. If your highlight look dusty on the shoulder, you have to dilute more your paint, it'll also help you blending better. The leather strips could also be shaded once and then highlighted again.
For cheap minis, you can buy Figone, they're really good and not really expensive, you have every kind of minis so you can choose. They also offer many painting possibilities. Here's the link:http://www.figone.fr/

 

[locutus]

welcome back!!

For such a long abscence I think your first mini is really good.

As a suggestion on how to improve this model; perhaps a stronger contrast between the highlight colours.

 

[BPI]

Hi Starr, welcome back to the hobby

Ditch that photoshopped blue & yellow background to your photos. It's making it really hard to see what's going on! Just a blank sheet of paper for a smooth background is fine and a lot easier on the eye, particularly for WIP shots.

The colour difference between your 2nd & 3rd images is vast. Which is closer to real life?

It certainly looks to be a very smooth start, any plans yet for basing him?

Beware cheap minis! They're great for building armies but if you just want to paint, far better to spend the cash on a piece you really like & will enjoy working on. Your best bet being to scout the Forum here, as well as the Gallery, spot a mini you like & then track it down. The UK has a huge number of manufacturers but I suspect others in the Euro zone will be able to better help you find a local(ish) supplier that at least won't involve currency exchange charges.

Keep up the good work

Cheers, B.

 

[starr974]

Thanks for your replay.

cheelfy : thanks for the link , i know Figone, its very good minis. Maybe , when i will paint better i will command some Figone minis^^

locutus : thanks^^

BPI : the picture number 2 is really close than reality. I would like to do a base yes but i dont have a lot of material. and i dont have any idea yet^^
if you have some tips , you re welcome^^ (its a hunter, so maybe i will put him on a rock, and under i can put a lot of bones, or cadaver, but i dont know how to do and with what material ????)

 

[funnymouth]

i think you would benifit greatly from the darklining technique. it would help with those strap-skin transitions.
addionally, the photographs arent helping. i find that simply photographing the minis against a piece of paper (or better yet in a light tent) has a much nicer overall effect. it limits the use of photoediting (no halos etc) and puts the focus where it should be - on the mini. always go with a neutral background such as very light blues, greys or white so that the background doesnt distract from the mini. using bright colors similar to that of the mini is actiually one of the worst things you can do for this reason.

 

[starr974]

i just change the photographs, i put white paper behind. one photo have flash.(the more white)

i dont know if i try to continu to paint the mini or if i dont touch. im afraid to do to much .......
i want try to put hightlight but the result is catastrophique. too shalky.

for the basing, if you have somes tips ^^

thanks for your comments

 

[locutus]

know the feeling; it feels like moving back; to redo a model with the suggestions/comments given.

I always trie to incorperate them into my next project(s).

 

[BPI]

Hi Starr, photos are a lot better like that :good:

It can certainly be scary putting more paint on a mini that's already had a lot of effort put into it, especially when it's already your best work ever! We all bump into that one regularly

Funnymouth mentioned darklining. I second that. Get a dark blue paint/ink/wash. Fairly thin. Paint it into the recesses where the leather straps meet the flesh. Also around the outline of the hair, you've already got some black there which should help to guide you. Same thing with the chain hanging from his back, his belt, etc.

It'll make a huge difference to how he looks & is about as simple as shading gets. A lot easier than trying to blend in highlights on those big muscles anyway

Dot pupils into his eyes. It may take a couple of trys but will give him far more character.

Next step, forgetting about zenithal lighting & all that jazz, is to get the recesses dark & the raised bits light. Just accentuating the sculpt. The front on shot on him, that hand, knuckled on the ground, could do with some shading between the fingers to help me see them.

And on it goes

There's definately a point where trying the next technique is better done on a new mini though (or a stripped one). You'll keep seeing bits & thinking "I could do that better now" but who wants to spend all year painting the same mini! Not I for sure

Basing. Keep it simple & don't make it too big, the mini should be the focus after all (a reasonable beginning point at least, I think). Sand, slate, PVA glue, flock, static grass are standard in everyone's kit I think. Slap them on & make some shapes. Then paint it all. Even unpainted fine sand looks odd & unfinished on a mini base.

Will you be basing him for gaming or display?

Cheers, B.

 

[DunErwit]

Well done for your first mini after such a long time

Apart from that, no further recommendations to add.
Just what BPI said about the pupils: Adding pupils to the eyes - for me - is one of the most important things, I do already in an early stage. Best with an even smaller dot of white within it serving as reflection - and your mini comes alive

 

[starr974]

BPI; Thanks for your precious advices^^ i will try to work more on the shadows (because the lightning are too difficult for me on this minis with this color)
i will try to make a basing too . i go to the forest with week end so i will try to find many things ^^
For the eyes, i want that this wolf is posseded by magic thing. he s not himself, he s controled by a sorcerer^^ its for that i put only white eyes^^

DunErwit: thanks^^ for the eyes , i will try what you said on my next minis^^