real metals and gems

Diamondsetter

Diamondsetter

New member
Hey all,

Ive been off from painting for a while now.....like 5 years. I am a jewelry designer and have gotten back into games and painting (pics forthcoming)

I want some opinions on remodeling armor in real gold,silver,platinum....and gems in real stones ie...amethyst, citrine and other cheap precious gems.

Is that heresy ?

I will be doing at least one piece this way just to post the pics and get feedback.

I know its a very open topic...just want some thoughts from people that paint better than I do.

D
 
R

Ritual

New member
The problem with using real (unpainted) stuff is that of scale. If it\'s not painted it will rely on relfecting light \"for real\" whereas the painted areas will have painted-on shadows and highlights. You\'ll run the risk that the areas with real materials will give a completly different impression of scale than the painted areas.

But, the best way to find out is to try. :)
 
Diamondsetter

Diamondsetter

New member
I should add that my thought for the first figure is to buy 2....then chop them up. One to save the painted parts and one to save the metal parts. I would then mold and cast the metal (armor) in gold and pin them together again.

off the top of my head I will have to line the pieces with black/dark brown to seperate the armor plates. Polished gold at this scale will blend in color way to much....outlining them will keep with a 3d look.

D
 
Dragonsreach

Dragonsreach

Super Moderator
Staff member
Originally posted by Diamondsetter
I would then mold and cast the metal (armor) in gold and pin them together again.
Click to expand...
Well despite the infringing copyright potential I\'m not sure that it will really work to well.
As Ritual has indicated the reflective surfaces will reflect real life environments and not the \"Fantasy/Sci-Fi\" the figures are supposed to be in. I\'ve seen a couple of burnished figures in Armour and they didn\'t look right, so I can\'t really be too hopefull that what you are suggesting will work.
(Unless of course you want to recast a Whole Space Marine Army into Gold for the Sultan of Brunai. )
 
R

Ritual

New member
It might look cool in its own way, but I\'m not sure you can achieve the coherent atmosphere most painters aim for, where the miniature as a whole, including the base and surroundings, have a very solid, \"kept-together\" type of look. The gold parts WILL stand out as being different than the painted parts. As long as you\'re aware of this, it may very well be an interesting thing to try out.
 
Wren

Wren

Member
I\'d be interested in seeing how this turns out, please come back to this thread and let us know if you decide to go ahead and try it.

I don\'t see why it wouldn\'t be accepted at a competition, but if you have a particular one in mind to enter the safest thing to do is probably to ask the person who organizes it.
 
Diamondsetter

Diamondsetter

New member
I have a figure in mind, and it will only be used for my gaming figure. I am going to email the maker and see if they have a problem with it. I have made precious metal pieces for a cartoon company before, and they had good spirits about it. The piece will not be \"molded\" or used to make money in any way.

Thanks for the advice on scale..I totally agree. The real reflections of a larger world will through off the piece. That means for the posted pics i will have to make a mock environment.

again ...this is for fun.....im just exploring the blending of my 2 loves.

D
 
airhead

airhead

Coffin Dodger / Keymaster
I\'ve often thought of using gold leaf or silver leaf on some areas. I still haven\'t given up on the idea.

Recasting? how about plating? Cut up the mini and plate the areas to be gold or silver? Much less damage to the pocketbook. No reason to disqualify it from a comp.

A true recast could be disqualified. It would depend a lot on the judges, which comp you were at, moon phase, tide, etc.
 
Diamondsetter

Diamondsetter

New member
plating is tricky...

My options would be gold plating (yellow)..or rhodium plating (white). The problem is that the solutions are very very expensive, and the metal may not plate well....and will cetainly contaminate my liquid....and again I want the challenge of a blend of custom figure/jewelry. Another option would be having the figure copper plated first (which i can to) then plating in the desired color, then painting the other areas.

not fond of that option

D
 
M

mattrock

New member
This sounds really interesting to me. As others have said, I\'m not sure it\'ll work out just right, but if anyone could pull it off it\'d be a jewelry designer, no?

And as Ritual said, the only way to know for sure is to try! I look forward to pics! :beer:
 
Einion

Einion

New member
Originally posted by Diamondsetter
I want some opinions on remodeling armor in real gold,silver,platinum....and gems in real stones ie...amethyst, citrine and other cheap precious gems.

Is that heresy ?
Click to expand...
Absolutely not!

BTW, any reason not to use cubic zirconia instead? I can\'t imagine you can get cheaper than that.

Einion
 
Diamondsetter

Diamondsetter

New member
Gold sword

Got bored at the bench today so i whipped up a 23mm sword in 14k white/yellow to see how it looked.




Sword001.jpg
 
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