SPG's WIP

[secretpaintgeek]

Hi all,
Thought that it was about time I got a couple of pics up so I can get some feedback on where i am going wrong.

I have never really been into the painting side of things in the past and the extent of my effort was slapping a basic wash and drybrush over a (often pretty scrappy) basecoat, if that. I often played with totally unpainted models as my focus was gaming and not painting. This is pretty much the attitude within my gaming group.

Recently though I have lost interest in the gaming side of things and am starting to want to paint to a higher standard. I have set myself a goal of achieving a 7 on a mini but I'm a long way off that at the moment. I have been experimenting with different techniques and styles over the last couple of weeks and am starting to find my way i think.
This is a wolfguard i painted for my wolves:
View attachment 16903View attachment 16904
As you can no doubt see, the standard is pretty low. So after some reading on the forums here and elsewhere i tried taking a different approach and ended up with something like this:
View attachment 16905
I have to say that I enjoyed the process alot more when painting the Greyseer. I tried to thin my paints alot more and experimented with using glazes a little. I feel I learnt a few lessons in this process that i can use in the future. I found at this point that metallics where a problem for me and i didnt really know how to approach them. This pretty much brings me up to date and so i'll share my latest offering.
View attachment 16907View attachment 16906View attachment 16908View attachment 16909

Was thinking about attempting a OSL effect of the fist but think that may be runninging before I can walk. Also not sure about the hammer, I dont think the colors work but cant seem to come up with a alternative.

I feel i am improving slowly but surely (at least I hope I am) but I also know I am a long way of getting that 7
Any guidance from you guys would be much appreciated as I am sure you will all see mistakes/problems that i would never notice and I'd rather get out of the bad habits i have picked up sooner rather than later.

Sorry for the dodgy pics and hope they are at least good enough to give you the general idea

Secretpaintgeek

 

[10 ball]

You can notice the improvement from the first mini. Focus on getting a really smooth / clean base coat before moving on to washes etc.

 

[secretpaintgeek]

You can notice the improvement from the first mini. Focus on getting a really smooth / clean base coat before moving on to washes etc.

Thanks mate. Its a big boost to hear I am actually making progress. I'll make sure to focus on my basecoats more on the next mini. Struggle a little getting the right consistancy of paint.

 

[SkelettetS]

perfectly smooth and clean base if pretty much a must if you want a good finish regarding the metals, ways to make it more interesting... not that ive painted a lot of gold but i know it can get a neat effect using purple or green colors, you shouldnt be afraid to use different colors than black when shading. "silver" areas looks awesome if you use blue, but you can color match the rest of the mini. bright colors and not earthly ones works best though
try shading with glazes instead of wash! especially on larger areas. indeed more time consuming but the end result is just soooo much better. that said, it require some thinking of light sorce for believable metal.

i dig the rat the most of your lot but then im not into marines the last dudes pose look really akward in the leg area... yeah.. keep it up! practise is the key!

 

[secretpaintgeek]

perfectly smooth and clean base if pretty much a must if you want a good finish regarding the metals, ways to make it more interesting... not that ive painted a lot of gold but i know it can get a neat effect using purple or green colors, you shouldnt be afraid to use different colors than black when shading. "silver" areas looks awesome if you use blue, but you can color match the rest of the mini. bright colors and not earthly ones works best though
try shading with glazes instead of wash! especially on larger areas. indeed more time consuming but the end result is just soooo much better. that said, it require some thinking of light sorce for believable metal.

i dig the rat the most of your lot but then im not into marines the last dudes pose look really akward in the leg area... yeah.. keep it up! practise is the key!

Hi. Thanks for taking the time to comment. I had tried using reds for the shade on the gold dude but didnt really pan out and i think in trying to sort it out i just made things worse. In the future i'll just go back and start again rather than trying to save but I guess its all experience I like the rat too, have to say I am starting to get a dislike for marines also. Gave into a random urge today and brought the GW Vamp/ghoul on zombie dragon. I have seen a few people do minis in a black and white style so maybe i'll try that so colors are not a issue and i can just focus on getting a clear smooth finish? Would anyone recommend this approach?

 

[KruleBear]

The skaven is very nice. The snout looks too realistic . A definate improvement and it will be nice to see your take on the vamp/ghoul.

 

[Metalhead Minis]

I really do see an improvement from the first miniature shown. Keep on thinning your paints, make sure your base coats are smooth and that full coverage is achieved just like 10 ball said. (you will achieve much better results doing multiple thin coats for a basecoat, then to apply the paint thick) =) You are definitely on your way to doing some good painting, just keep practicing and be patient =)

 

[secretpaintgeek]

Didnt have much time last night but started a bit of work on the ghoul rider for the zombie dragon. Will post a few pics asap.
Thanks again for all the comments, really helping motivate me to strive on

 

[secretpaintgeek]

Hi guys, not much of a update but its better than nothing Sorry about the terrible pics (Definatly something i need to work on)

View attachment 17086View attachment 17087

Still needs alot of work. Thinking about ditching the purple but not sure what else to do with the quill type bits. Any suggestions?
At the minute i'm planning on doing the actual Terrorgheist in a pretty muted scheme of mainly black and bone/white but liven it up a little with light glazes of purples/greens/blues to give it a more aged and weathered apperance. With that in mind I think i may need to go back to the ghoul and lower the saturation a little and add more depth to the shadows? I think

 

[TrystanGST]

Hard to advise much with the pic out of focus. If you can get some in focus pics, it'd sure help

 

[Wyrmypops]

Much improvement from figure to figure.

Those metallics, yeah, can be a bugger. They don't behave the same as non-metallics eh.

Inks are a great way to inject a little life into them. A mix of brown and blue ink can provide a lovely effect on grey metals. Various browns are an easy go-to process for yellow metals, but can be nice to add a dot of a something else to them here and there. A dab of green, a smidgeon of red etc.
A trick with metallics is to get the shadows be more non-reflective, have less metallic flecks doing their thing. They can be dulled with inks, though you could start with a non-metallic basecoat. Black for grey and brown for yellow metallics works a treat.
Taking the highlights up to a pure silver can make them more exciting, less flat. A particularly good brand for metallics are Vallejo Model. The Model Air range are runnier, and easier for gradual layering effects of the kind we'd enjoy on our non-metallic areas.

 

[10 ball]

@ Wyrmypops - Good tips for TMM, i really need to practice some of this. I find true metallics messy and a pain on large surfaces.

 

[KruleBear]

For the quill tips perhaps black at the base to purple at the tips with dots of highlight to give a mottled appearance ( think the Predators from the movie). Sprocket has something similar going on the spear tip of his latest WIP entry you may want to check out.

 

[Bailey03]

Hey Secretpaintgeek, I can definitely see an improvement in your work. I really like the skaven. As for the Scibor guy, that much metallic is tough. I've been painting seriously for a while now and metallics are still difficult. At least for me their shine makes it much harder for me to judge my blending and shadow/highlight placement. Instead I'd focus on his red hood and cape. Try to get some nice shadow to highlight variation and blending in there. When it comes to the metals, as others have said, some nice colored glazes and washes can help. I like dark browns for shading golds instead of black. Adding in some purple, red, or green layers can add some visual interest.

The ghoul is looking good. Of course better focus on the pictures would help. One tip I'll give you is to take your shadows a little darker than you think you should and your highlights a little lighter than you think you should. When you're up close and under the work bench lights, everything tends to look more dramatic. But, when you take a step back, it can look rather flat. I find it I push my shadows and highlights a little more than I think I should I'm much happier with the end result.

 

[secretpaintgeek]

Krule: I'll give that a go, like the idea so hopefully i can make it look decent

Bailey: Yeah dude, metallics are tough. tbh i have sorta given up on that mini for a while because it was starting to be a chore to paint rather than fun Sure i'll get back to it in the end.

Been a bit slow on the painting at the min as I have not really been at home much but hoping to get a good few hours in on the weekend. Got a few things I wanna try out after reading some things about color theory so fingers crossed its not all a epic waste of time

 

[secretpaintgeek]

Bailey: Forgot to say I totally agree with pushing the highlights and shades further. I'll try and work on it a bit and get some better pics up. Sometimes you do just have to sit back from a mini for a bit to really 'see' it