My tightest deadline yet :s

M

Mourner

New member
First of all, quiet please, I need to concentrate.....

I've been painting a model for a couple of weeks now, in preparation for a local contest.

But I've realised that i've screwed up so many times that i'd have to strip the model and repaint it entirely to get it the way i want.

So i've decided to start something new :smile-big:

I'm going to paint Azrael's "Watcher in the Dark".
http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA...m1240850_99060101324_DAAzraelmain_873x627.jpg
View attachment 4211
But here's the catch, the contest is on December 4th... just over 2 week from now.
The fastest i've ever painted a "display guality mini" is about 6-8 weeks (if not longer).

So here's where i need you guys (and gals :wink:)
You guys need to keep me motivated, and ofcourse criticise my work and methods.
And in return, I'll go and dig up the charger for my camera and post some WIP-pics.

Tonight, i plan to clean the mini (not much work, almost no moldlines :smile-big:)
Build the base, and prime them both.

So.... wish me luck :smile-big:
And help keep me motivated
 
M

Mourner

New member
Crap....

I need to think about what kind of base i want.... :S

strangly enough o_O.... I'm thinking something industrial.....
 
PegaZus

PegaZus

Stealth Freak
Mourner said:
Crap....

I need to think about what kind of base i want.... :S

strangly enough o_O.... I'm thinking something industrial.....
Click to expand...
Cracked, stained cement, with some rusting iron rods sticking out on one end.

Possibly bloodied rods, as well. Recently bloodied.
 
M

Mourner

New member
well, good news and bad news :p

I've reached my goal :D
the base is build (the putty is drying)
the watcher has been cleaned and primed :p

bad news is, it's taken me longer than i'd hoped (it's 3:20 AM here :p)

next: a good nights sleep, finding that charger and taking pictures

oh, and PegaZus, thanks for the ideas, no rods but 3 levels of concrete and steel :p

now onto the colors...

I was thinking a medium brown for the robe itself, with a red-brown for the hood...
but what to do with that helmet and it's enormous wings.... regular green, or pre-heresy black... and those wings... blue-ish white??

does anyone have any other suggestions?

well, good night for now,
Mourner
 
T

Torn blue sky

New member
When I did it, many moons ago, I just painted it green, The wings I did white with black tips, the actual wing bit (not "feathers") I did a boney colour. Feel free to check out the pic and steal anything you want. It's old, but it'll maybe give you an idea or two,
 
C

Chrome

New member
How about making that helmet horribly battered and worn? A strong green colour for the helmet but one that's flaking terribly and revealing extremely rusted/otherwise oxidised material beneath. Same with the wings, battered, torn and with a sharp white/blue showing through as a hard contrast through the dirt. Making the watcher a rather light "clean" colour could make for a lovely and intense contrast to the whole piece, like an angel carrying the weight of mankind's decay or something...
 
M

Mourner

New member
well, i've managed to take some pic :D

View attachment 4215View attachment 4216View attachment 4217View attachment 4218View attachment 4219

I think I'll go with you guys' ideas, with a really bloody look for the base, a batterd look on the helmet and an almost pristine look on the watcher.

but the next question that rises on my mind, how to roughen up those wings...
I was thinking of painting these a hard, cold, blueish white (and i was kinda planning to include another color for the smaller layer of feathers)
but how do i batter those wings..... any ideas...

another little trick i was thinking about, painting the scarf (i've just realised it's not a hood, but a scarf) and the helmet lenses with a brighter red line, sorta like a spot color, but in a horizontal line...
What do you think, could this work?

well, the putty is still sorta curing, but the watcher itself is dry and the primer went great.
I'll be able to sand the putty on the base, and start painting the watcher tonight :D
 
M

Mourner

New member
well, off to bed...

I've primed the base (and aplied a black wash)

I've started on the watcher... but.......

for some reason, i'm almost always struggling when painting brown.
i can't get a smooth transition.
no two areas are the same color (even when painted at the same time)
and i can never find the right color... so i'm hoping you guys can help me...

I'm looking for a recipe that basicly uses Vomit Brown as a main color (with quite subtle highlights...)
I've once gotten the effect i wanted (i'll post a pic tomorrow), but can't replicate it :s
I've tried a lot, pretty much every brown i have, up to Vomit...
 
M

Mourner

New member
sooo.... new pictures.... mainly to show you guys how much i've screwed up on the robe...

View attachment 4223

actually, that's not as bad as i feared (but still, this took me 3 hours XD)
still no one willing to help me out with a nice recipe?

second, i've washed the base.
View attachment 4224

it's the first layer, just to bring the base color for the flat surfaces down a bit, so i can start painting it concrete.

the lower black part of the base will be sanded smooth and spraypainted black some time in the future..
 
M

Mourner

New member
cassar said:
....remember every night spent awake adds a day to your life.
Click to expand...

LMAO, that was pretty much my motto a couple of years ago.
wake up at 9, go to school, go to work, get home..... paint/relax, go to bed at 4, asleep at 6.

I must admit, the bit i've painted looks a lot better in daylight :D

I guess for now i'll stick to this method, just experimenting a bit with different colors to shade with... (maybe even black..)

i'll try and get some more painting done tonight... but it's friday :p
at the very least, i'll get some painting done tomorrow.

so... i'm still looking for a good way to paint browns...
and a way to paint the scarf a reddish shade of brown....

Greets,
Mourner
 
T

Torn blue sky

New member
As a general rule I tend to add black to the brown I want to get a basey colour, then keep adding the brown up to the colour itself, then use Bleached bone to lighten it to highlight. Simple, but it works for me.
 
M

Mourner

New member
well, i did get some painting in...

I've decided to follow Torn Blue Sky's advice and add some black.. it worked great.

i've integrated it into my style of blending (working back and forth between shadow and highlight)
View attachment 4235View attachment 4231
View attachment 4236

here's a little picture of the brown i managed to get done, i need to bring the color up a bit more, and than start adding bleached bone to get the highlights.

I've also decided to start blocking in the rest of the colors, to avoid having to redo parts later on, as well as to see what the mini is going to look like. I've pretty much decided on all the colors I'm going to use. I'll be doing that first so i can take pictures later today, and give you guys an impression of what i've got planned.

and last night i've decided to expand on one of the gimmick i wanted to add...
I always wanted to have a red "line" runnung over the model, at lens-height with the helmet. nothing really strange, but I want the line to continue all around the model, at about the same height all around.
last night, I've decided to add a second red line, at ankle-height with the watcher.
This places the line just below the hazard-striping i plan on the base, meaning i can continue that line onto the base, without drawing too much attention away from the watcher. I'll use a freehanded design on the robe to get the red-line around the watcher.
the back of the base has a nice flat surface to do a freehand on. at the very least, i'll be continuing that red line here as well, in a simple freehand design. but i'd like it to be a bit more eyecatching than just that.
so I figured i'd blend the cente of this area to somthing like DA-green, with a DA-icon freehanded (grey sword, reddish brown handle, bone wings) on there. ofcourse, i'll also be adding the red design behind the DA-icon.

and i've drybrushed the base... now i'll just have to bring it to it's final color.... and painting the rest
View attachment 4230View attachment 4237
 
M

Mourner

New member
@Torn blue sky: thanks, and again, thanks for the tip :p

I got some more work done yesterday:

I got the concrete up to color, and i've started on the danger striping
View attachment 4246

I;ve also sketched out the freehand on the back, although i'm not at all pleased with the red swirly design i've got now, but that i'll be changed.
I might even change it to something as simple as a straight red line, what do you think?
View attachment 4247

I've also blocked in pretty much all the other colors on the watcher
View attachment 4250View attachment 4251View attachment 4248View attachment 4249
the red scarf will be dulled down with brown and highlighted with (and up to) blood red.
the wings will be highlighted to white, and the helmet will be green, both with lots of damage and dirt...

lets see what i can get done today...

and for some reason, this thread seems to contain a bit too many posts by myself...
does'nt anybody have any encouraging words, or usefull tips??
 
Last edited:
T

Torn blue sky

New member
Encouraging words? Hmnn
YOU CAN DO EET!

The chevrons on the base are looking top, good job there. The design on the base, my first thought was "what's going on here.." then I came round to "Ah I see, that'll look pretty sweet when it's finished!" If I had to change anything, i'd make the red lines a gold colour, for the base, not the robes. Done in a sort of yellowy nmm style it'd looks awesome. Keep the design and work through with it. Tell you the truth, there's a lot of times I look at a bit of freehand i've done and think "Christ, that looks utterly shit..." But persevere with it anyway and it comes out looking half decent! There's always gonna be the "this looks shit" stage in between the concept and polished product ;)
Not sure if you're near done with the watchers robe, little more shading in the deepest recesses and some highlighting would make this thing pop like a fat kid at an all you can eat buffet. Best thing about using black in browns like this, is the transition to dark shadows blends so much better and looks more natural. Another tip for doing this is actually blocking in the purest black bits and blending it back up to the colour it needs to meet. I tend to do this with a lot of things recently, don't know why I didn't do it before! It makes everything so much easier and saves time trying to get the lighting right.
 
M

Mourner

New member
Thanks,

I'm no where near done with the robes, but the base looked so much more enticing the last couple of days XD

as for the freehand, that will definitely stay, and it's just a sketch so far, but i really don't like the swirly red line i've drawn, it just doesn't fit with all the straight lines on the base.
I'm thinking about incorporating a red circle into the DA-icon, slightly smaller than the icon itself, so the icon falls over it. with a red glow going out from the circle, and incorporate the glow effect into the red line as well (yeah, i'm thinking about a straight red line, ending in the red circle)

The red line is a kind of gimmick i'd like to include, the idea is similar to a spot color in a triangle, but in a horizontal line, drawing the attention all around the mini, and accentuating certain height levels.
while i will be bloodying the concrete on the base, it'll be old blood, with a lot of brown mixed in. the same goes for the scarf, brownish red, but with a bright red horizontal line.
there's just one problem, there's a gap on the left rear corner of the helmet, breaking the red line. the problem is that there's a wreath of laurels in the way and i don't really see any way around painting these green... olive green though

any ideas?
 
M

Mourner

New member
My tightest Deadline yet :S, Big update, one week left

Well, i've got a major update for you guys.

That's right, i haven't been sitting on my... wait, yes i have, but that's a good thing.

I've got one week left to finish this mini, and it will be close....

First off, i've been working on the base.
View attachment 4279
I've decided to redo the freehand, it's still a DA icon, but slightly reworked.
After sketching, i blocked in the colors.
View attachment 4280
Next, i sketched in a rough transition between my base (bleached bone) and shade (bestial brown), before smoothing out the transition using a wash (Bestial, black, and lots of water) and the base color (watered down by brushlicking)
View attachment 4281
The final highlights were done in white, and were primarily used to accentuate the shape of the wings.
The sword blade was done the same way, just with codex grey as base, wattered black for shade, fortress grey as highlight and white as extreme highlight.

And that's just the rear of the base, I've also done some work on the other side,
View attachment 4282
I've painted the background on the small DA icon on the wall, I plan on finishing that little icon today.
And i've painted the I-beam on the base, first metallic, followed by several rough washes and stains with Black and Brown. Followed by stippling Bestal brown and Fiery orange to get the rusted look, followed by stippling boltgun metal to bring back a bit of metal.

That means i'm almost done with painting the base, now i'll just have to ruin it :D
I was planning on using blood, I've done some tests, i can get a decent bloody color using watered down Skorched brown to create a puddle, and then blending in straight blood red, ending with a bit of gloss varnish to give the ilusion of still drying blood.

But i was thinking how to apply the blood, i can either make a couple of puddles, but that means i have to achieve a natural shape, otherwise it'll look wrong.
Or i can use streaks and splashes, these are a bit easier to do, but, i'll have to beware of adding to much and over doing it.
Or i can use both, making it look like something was dragged through the puddles of blood.

I'm also thinking about leaving the bit below the base as is. that was not intended, but i quite like the rough look, i'd just have to touch up the inside or something.

So, the base has'nt been the only thing to receive attention.
View attachment 4283View attachment 4284View attachment 4285View attachment 4286
I've done the helmet, attempting to make a number of small rust spots, but i'm not really happy with how it turned out. I'm thinking about painting the helmet pristine instead.
I used Codex grey, with a little spot of fortress grey. With a touch of wattered down orange to get it rusty, using white for the edge, with a layer of scorpion green as hightlight.

View attachment 4287
I've also started on the wings as well, but these need some more work, i want to bring the color up just a but more, showing just a bit more, stonger white.

So, i'll be finishing the painting on the base and hopefully on the wings (or at least get a really good start).

And three questions:
1) what to do about the blood on the base.
2) what do you think about the battle damage on the helmet
3) what about the plastic bit under the base, keep as is, or clean it up

And of course, any other critique or encouragement is welcome.

Greets, Mourner.
 
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