WIP: Danu Warrior

[Chrispy]

Hey everyone, I\'ve deviated from my normal routine of putting up an image and getting comments on it and as I now have an image host, I can put up this WIP. Some people have said my highlights are chalky and other things I have no idea where they\'re getting it from, so have a look here:

Now fisrt, let me sate the obvious things that are weird here:

Base is not done.
Straps have not been painted, only basecolored,
Blackline will be applied to her right breast to distinguish between skin/cloth,
Eyes have been fixed now,
Image has been compressed by host,
Hair... well, let\'s say that this is a Ebay fig and I was lazy..

Anyways, I\'d like to here what you have to say, hopefully to get a better idea of what is wrong/right here. I think I need to mix more paint sometimes, but for this I wanted something quick and easy to sell for $$.. I have a whole box of figs I\'ve only bought for painting and selling but I really would like to offer a bit of quality.

Thanks!

 

[kevd82]

Well, I have to agree that the skin looks chalky (torso anyway, face looks very good). The final highlights on the cloak look a bit rough/chalky as well - I think its because they look abrupt and dont seem to blend as smoothly as say the larger folds toward the bottom of the base.

 

[Vallan]

Not sure about chalky...

but I think maybe a stripe of white or something in the hair would be cool. Other than that???

:flip::bouncy::flip:

 

[DennisMech]

I think the chalky look is just from the image being compressed. I really like it, there\'s nothing I\'d tell you to do different.

 

[kevd82]

Perhaps chalky is the wrong word, but the lack of smoothness still gives that impression. Granted, it might be from the pic, as I have had some miniatures that I don\'t see that kind of thing on in person but my picture looks that way.

 

[Chrispy]

Thanks everyone so far! I have to say some of my stuff does look different tan what I painted, but sometimes it\'s for the best. On some of my pics, what looks really sloppy in life somehow looks smooth when I photograph it, and some how when I make something smooth, it looks rough... I dunno, maybe evil camera fairies..

 

[wightzombie]

wow that looks great specially the base of her cloak, i cant really comment on too much on details etc cuz the photo is too jarbled, but so far the mini jjust looks awesome.

 

[kittykat23uk]

Chrispy this looks really good so far but I think the axe head needs to be smoother (it may be the pic but looks rough in comparison to the rest). especially try smoothing out the freehand.

Regards

Kat

 

[Chrispy]

Okay, here\'s the changes so far:

Made sure there was no compression this time, fuzziness may result from quick photo taking I did..

I fixed:
The eyes shortly after the first photo,
Gave the cloak a wash of a darker grey to bring it together,
Gave a wash of the basecoat grey to the NMM, then an Azure wash, as it looked too grey for my tastes,
Gave skin a wash of base color,
Painted the straps and tabbard a bit more,
Added a rock from excess GS I had mixed up..

But now my question becomes: Is the skin and cloak too subtle? I usually don\'t put in enough contrast, and that\'s my main problem. I\'m not too worried about the freehand, though as I just need something on that vacant space..

 

[Daan]

Wow, love that. IMHO only the face could do with a bit more contrast around the eyes maybe. Love the skin on the torso. Cloak looks great too.

 

[kevd82]

Hey, much better IMHO. I think maybe the cloak will be a little subtle, but that looks to be more due to the picture. but the roughness I mentioned is gone - very nice Chris!

 

[DennisMech]

cool, you fixed everything all my little complaints. The one thing I think it needs is a little extra spark, I know you mentioned this, but I think doing something a bit more interesting with the hair would be fantastic. A redhead or blond perhaps? or maybe black?

 

[Logansama]

No

I think that\'s just about the effect you should go for.

Not enough painters use subtle styles nowadays.

I\'m not a fan of the female danu warrior mini, but you made it look good.

And remember most of the faults that people pick up on are usually hideen by \"pros\" when they adjust the picture settings. I think this pic looks fine. I\'d like to see it finished off.

 

[Aryanun]

Actually

That\'s a lovely paintjob so far, Chrispy. I like the cloak and the freehand especially.

 

[Trevor]

I\'m not a huge fan of the massive black to white highlight, it has its place, but I\'d like to see more subtle shading and it be recognised that its every bit as good as a major highlight.

Looks like the photgraphy is changing things quite a bit, I can\'t imagine what you describe has changed the cloak and skin tones so much.

The feehand really works for me, I like it lots.

Finally, how did you do the mud effect on the cloak bottom, I\'m trying to find a good way of doing this and I like the effect you have.

 

[Logansama]

The very best way to paint weathering is to paint in the way the actual weathering would take place.

In the case of dirt and dust it would be picked up over time by contact. So that\'s how you need to paint it on. Make sure you use only one colour though and build up the density of the pigment on the surface, dont just drybrush up using lighter shades

 

[Chrispy]

I actually like to think that\'s blood on her cloak from all the people she\'s killed in her other form (which, coincedentally, is not wearing said cloak.. )... the way I did it, though was to water down my red brown and wash it over the basecoat of dark grey. then I just didn\'t paint what I wanted dirty and blended into it a bit and darkened it with a \"pure\" brown. Some places I went back with a small brush and painted on spatters, which I think is more realistic.. I am very tempted to make an article about making things dirty on minis...

 

[SIGIL]

I really dig this one CHrispy. Especially the facial tatoo. I think maybe more tats would be cool but then again there is really not much room on her to do subtle tats.

The dirtiness of the cloak is PERFECT btw.

 

[Chrispy]

Well, I got both done so look for them tomorrow, then I\'ll post the links to them here. I didn\'t like the Spasm too much, and I think it shows because the painiting is a bit more lax than usual, but I had set a deadline for myself.. Did find out that adding more medium is a good thing, as succesive coats blend on easier, thogh and the Windsor and Newtons live up to their names!

 

[G-nome]

A Dirty Article

I would like to vote for an article on making things dirty. Just dabbing brown on the hem of cloaks only goes so far.
A lovely mini too Chrispy, are you doing the other one too? Its very nice to see how the experts do things. Its all very well seeing the finished figure but this WIP stuff is invaluable.