Pimp my Tiefling--Reaper: Damien, Hellborn Mage

[MClimbin]

Hey all,
It\'s been a long time since I\'ve posted here. I just finished a mini, and was happy with it, until I saw the photos.

I was one of the lucky ones to take Jeremie Bonamont Teboul\'s class here in the San Francisco Bay Area. After his class, my goals on this mini were to paint as crisply and cleanly as possible, to work on my metallics, and to consider color composition. I think I have improved but still have a long way to go. Let me know what you think--harsh criticisms welcome!

Oh, and the \"dagger\" is a swap-out from the original wand.

Oh, and Oh, this is an awesome mini sculpted by our SF Bay Area local, Derek Schubert.

http://www.coolminiornot.com/198712

 

[Shawn R. L.]

I\'m liking what I see. I do enjoy more the \'classic\' muted colors that you have used. The pic\'s look a bit dark. Might try re shooting them or tuning them up a bit in Photoshop.

 

[MClimbin]

Thanks Shawn! :beer: It was taking so long to get a response, I was starting to think I\'d insulted someone. I know it\'s not that the mini is perfect, especially since its rating is just higher than the dry-brushed wolf that I submitted in 2004.

The fig is dark in general. That is what I was going for, but I think I took it a little too far, and will be going back to highlight certain areas a little more. I *am* still trying to work out my photo setup too.

Thanks again. Us Wine Country dudes have to stick together.

 

[Ritual]

Sometimes a thread sort of slips into the cracks and get unnoticed. It can be a case of lots of other threads getting started or bumped to the top just after you started this one, and all of a sudden it\'s ten posts down the list.

I quite like this one! It\'s a good colour scheme, although, as Shawn pointed out, the photos look a bit too dark. I especially like the eyes. They look very piercing and they really set the mood for the entire figure. The horns could use a bit more highlighting to really bring out their shape.

 

[MClimbin]

Thanks for the comments Ritual. I am definitely planning to go back and apply more highlights, pretty much everywhere, or at least to the places that I want to bring more attention to (face, horns, torso, blade).

Currently this mini is scoring at 6.4, which is where I was scoring years ago (I know, I know, I should not worry too much about the number. But it *does* reflect something). If anyone has a few minutes, could you help me out by pointing out places I could do better? Here are some things that I want to improve on this mini.

I see some places on the back of the cloak that need to be cleaned up.

This was the first time in a long time that I\'ve attempted real metallics. I\'m not entirely happy with them. It\'s hard to get them to be really sharp. Does anyone have any advice to improve the blade here?

I am really working on making my paint jobs look clean and sharp. I have some ideas on how to improve this on this mini, but would like to hear if anyone else has any ideas.

Thanks!

 

[Ritual]

Cleanness and sharpness come from being able to apply controlled highlights (and accompanying shadows, of course) on both large and small surfaces and details so that the shapes of things are clearly defined. This takes brush (and paint) control and good blending skills. It\'s difficult to give better advice than that, really. It takes practice, practice and more practice to get a hang of this.

As for the metals... Paint them as you would paint NMM! Use the same basic methodology. I often find it useful to shade metallics with regular paint, so that you don\'t get any \"real\" light reflections coming from the places that are supposed to be in shadow. A good idea, also, is to get yourself some Metallic Medium from Vallejo Model Color (or if you know of any similar products) and use for the very brightest spots, the same way you\'d use pure white for the brightest spots when doing NMM.

 

[fieldarchy]

Hey Michael,

This piece is neat and cleanly painted.

Overall the piece does not appear to have enough contrast. Too flat still (or maybe it\'s just my computer). I would suggest making the highlights a bit higher especially on his skin.

The metallic blade looks good. Nice shading on it.

It\'s a simple mini but a good mini.

 

[mattsterbenz]

You\'ve got a solid paint job here. I\'d like to see some brighter highlights, as Meg said. Just by doing that I would expect the score to jump up by .5 to 1 point.

Keep it up!

-Matt

 

[MClimbin]

Ritual, Meg and Matt,
Thanks a lot for your comments. Getting feedback like this is the best thing about having an online community.

Seems like the unanimous decision is, \"more highlights!\" Will do. Thanks again!:beer: