Vampire

Manicelf

New member
Hey,
I'm a bit embarrassed to post this in amongst such amazing painting but I'd appreciate any criticism of my vampire. I've been painting about 6 months and this is my best effort to date. Ultimately I'd like to get to where I can paint to a good table top standard. Cheers!View attachment 3657
 

supervike

Super Moderator
Don't be embarrassed at all!! Everyone here started from somewhere, and it seems to me you are pointing in the right direction.

Here are some things I think will help.

Use thinner paint. In spots it looks like your paint is a wee bit thick.

Use less harsh transitions on the flesh. The flesh is the best part of this mini, and usually the focal point (face) of any mini. You'll want to blend in the transitions from a darker tone to the lighter so it's more seamless.

Contrast. Miniatures are tiny things (as we all know) so overexaggerating contrast is sometimes necessary to make details pop. For instance, your reds look good here, but towards the top part, if there were more highlighting, it would help the whole area come alive.

Dark lining...This one is more of a personal preference. Basically a thin darker line anywhere two different materials meet. Ie flesh/cloth cloth/button...face/hair. It does give a bit more of a graphic novel look if over done, but if you can be more subtle with it to great effect. I especially notice the need for this with the fingernails. Currently, it just looks as if the tips are dipped in red. Thin black line would help those areas be defined.

Last of all. Post on this site. Use Works in Progress threads to get these painters to tell you what you are doing is right or wrong.

WELCOME!
 

Mercius

New member
welcome to the forums...good mini also, dont feel bad. I think anything I would say has been said, so welcome!
 

Tinweasel

Member
It's a solid tabletop figure - nothing to be ashamed of. Personslly, I do my basecoating and highlighting (or vice versa) and then work in shading - I think sort of thing might've worked better here on the flesh areas so as to avoid the harsher transitions in from the edges up to the highlights, but whatever. Everybody paints with a different approach.

I can't really add much to what was said, other than thinning your paints is a necessity. Maybe not so much for basecoats (like 1:1) but for highlights and details and such, it's a necessity! (Just make sure you wick off the excess liquid on a paper towel or something if you're going for detailed areas, so as to avoid puddling.)


I also love the look of the skulls and the bone. Shading and color choice is great here, suits the figure perfectly. The reds are good, too (if a little thick), and those are one of the colors to consistently paint well. If anything, you could maybe bump up the highlighting a step or two more, but I'd say (again) it's a solid figure overall.
 

BPI

New member
Welcome ManicElf, it can be intimidating posting for the first time eh? :)

Looks like a steady Gallery 5 heading toward 6 to me. Advice above is all good. I'll just add colour choice into the mix. Black robes are generally highlighted up through greys/white. Grey hair the same. Leaves you with a large area of the mini very close. Try highlighting the black cloth with a Scaly Green/Hawk Turquiose type of shade to give you some room (I think WyrmyPops recommends a paint called Coal Black from some manufacturer or another). Check out pics of the new GW Dark Eldar to see it in use.

Keep practicing!

Cheers, B.
 

crystella333

New member
Welcome ManicElf, it can be intimidating posting for the first time eh? :)

Looks like a steady Gallery 5 heading toward 6 to me. Advice above is all good. I'll just add colour choice into the mix. Black robes are generally highlighted up through greys/white. Grey hair the same. Leaves you with a large area of the mini very close. Try highlighting the black cloth with a Scaly Green/Hawk Turquiose type of shade to give you some room (I think WyrmyPops recommends a paint called Coal Black from some manufacturer or another). Check out pics of the new GW Dark Eldar to see it in use.

Keep practicing!

Cheers, B.

I believe coal black is a P3 paint.
 
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