Oberon and musings

[cdukino]

Hi all,

back after a long hiatus form painting I painted this dude. Just a linky for those at work that don't want full frontal naked dude on screen without warning

http://www.coolminiornot.com/344458

I know cmon rating discussions are a can of worms. This is ment as a open disussion for me to learn from and share ideas. NOT an underhanded way to try and up my score. Or flame the cmon rating system. The score is the reason I made this post not the actual point of the post.

That said. I expected it to do a little better. As it is in my low ranges (aka lowest to date) I don't see the figure as painted worse then my old work even if the rating suggest it. that made me wonder as to the why that might be.

Would the same paintjob on an all naked female instead an all naked male have gathered higher ratings? Are there voters that go eek, naked man... get it away from me please ... barf... vote 1, how dare anyone shove male parts on my screen, the horror the horror. (added drama and exaggeration for effect )

Last time I posted was years back. has overall quality risen so that the old 8 has become the new 7? It seems a bit like it as I look at other work and see a lot of work I think deserves higher ratings then they have. And the nines and tens are truely breathtaking often. Aka someone sold their soul to the devil level

And finally. Ok say the 6 something is fair. Not saying it can't be. How can I improve? what would you see changed that it gets better in your eyes?
Did my quality drop? Am I overlooking some flaws?

 

[kingpin]

I think the biggest thing that hurts this figure is the figure itself. It is very static with an awkward pose. I have yet to see a great sculpt depicting Oberon that truly captures the essence of the character. I don't think the nakedness and the male form are offensive but do find it interesting that he appears circumcised.

As an aside a quick search led to the description of the true Oberon as an elf which appears dwarfish in height, though very handsome; it was explained that at his christening, an offended fairy cursed him to the height (an example of the wicked fairy godmother folklore motif), but relented and as compensation gave him great beauty.

That being said your painting is quite good with good blending on the lower arms and legs. Perhaps a little more detail painting on the tattoo to add some interest. Love the little bird.

 

[cdukino]

Thank you for your tips and compliments. I have to admit I too found the figure being circumcised a surprise. It is sculpted that way. I also never really seen him as Oberon (the name Hasslefree gave him) but as a Cernunnos figure. It was fun to read your explanation about the Oberon figure all the same. I didn't know most of that. And I can't help thinking about Giamo Casanunda of Pratchett fame reading it ^^

I rather like the figure, but then again I might be a bit biased as I love Kev White figures and to paint them. And there is a lack of Cernunnos like figures and Satyrs in my opinion. So any of those get a little bonus mark in my book from the get go. I would have preferred a more dynamic pose as well. Maybe a conversion to try and get that if I ever paint him again.

I left the "tattoo" deliberately simple as I ment it to be woad painting, a bit like pict warpainting. But a bit more intricate design might have given it a bit more oomph.

 

[Ritual]

Last time I posted was years back. has overall quality risen so that the old 8 has become the new 7? It seems a bit like it as I look at other work and see a lot of work I think deserves higher ratings then they have. And the nines and tens are truely breathtaking often. Aka someone sold their soul to the devil level

I think you answered your own question there. It takes more to reach high scores today, than back in the days.

 

[freakinacage]

It may be also that the contrast isn't high enough. Personally I love the skin stones but but it's en vogue to really up the contrast nowadays

I love him, there's a great subtlety to him

 

[Dragonsreach]

Simply put "Penis Envy", could be one of the issues, but as Freak has suggested there has been a direction change in painting styles with stronger contrast becoming "the norm"

Anyhow welcome back, any chance we'll see those bright blue eyes of yours at Salute again soon?

 

[cdukino]

Not sure if I will go to Salute again. I would like to though.

 

[Crudelus]

I'm not commenting about the rating system because i think it isn't worth it (no offence intended), just a couple humble suggestions since you asked for:

the figure is pretty good but you need to boost the contrast a lot: especially the back, it has a good sculpt to fo for zenithal lightning.

Also, i think some areas lacks a bit of detail work, for example the fur and the horns.

The base is very nice in my opinion..
cast that bird, because i want it ! O_O

Lawrence

 

[cdukino]

Thanks for the humble suggestions It gets more clear to me that indeed strong contrasts are the rage these days and i always end up with a somewhat more natural style. Another problem for me is that I tend to loose contrast in my pictures as well, especially the top most highlights. Painting is one art, getting a good picture of said paintwork is a whole other art all together. I also painted the antlers like a stag so with the different browns and the stripy look some have. but the picture didn't pick that up well either. On the back picture it's a bit better visible.

Thanks for the bird compliment. I was pretty pleased with the little fellow. I had the bird cast in resin. Did that myself. But I turned out to be allergic to the stuff (the unmixed/non hardened stuff) and after a few weeks recovering from the chemical burn from the fumes (I looked severely sunburned for weeks) I tossed it all out. I only have about 5 copies of the bird. One of which I painted up. I can't for the life of me remember where the original green is (among other small ones).

 

[StillLifeMiniatures]

I love the skin tones and the little bird. The sculpt is awkward but it's not something you can control entirely. My only suggestion is to detail the tattoos more. Maybe add more highlights and shading to them. They look a little lost on a huge canvas of skin. Great job overall though.