Wood Elf WIP (You asked for it!) New Pics

[kathrynloch]

So...it\'s not my fault if your eyes bleed!

As you can see I\'m having problems with my blends. I\'m going for a winter type theme here. Even though I watered down my paint, it\'s still too thick and rough. I think I\'m holding onto the brush too long, trying to force myself to get it right and the paint is getting tacky - and yes, I\'m using acrylic retarder.

I\'m just starting on my layers for the vines and her hair. The robes are pretty bad but I think that will be a matter of time to improve my blends.

Oh well, I\'ll keep working. :redface:

Cheers,
Kat

 

[Aliengod3]

I think it is coming along nicely. For me, when I paint using a white undercoat, It is hard to get a good sense of how the mini is turning out until all of the white undercoat has been at least base coated. I am so used to black base coats where everything is dark and the painted areas stand out and are easier to critique but white base coats make this difficult.

I think the mini looks great. Keep working with the retarder if you want. You may want to feather the edge of where you lay down the paint so that it blends better. That is one of the benefits of the retarder. Keep up the good work!

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by kathrynloch

Well as always it\'s your choice of mini but its a hard one to turn into a \"silk purse\".
I was not happy with the scupt when I did mine.
I\'d like to suggest that you take the base colour and make a wash, applying it over all the blue cloak.
That may reduce the variation between highlight and base tone.

 

[Ritual]

I\'d suggest you do the colour transitions with more intermediate layers. This will increase the smoothness, but take a bit longer to do. Just add a small amount of the shadow or highlight colour to the base colour and apply a new layer. Repeat this and make subsequent layers smaller. In theory (and in practice) you can get flawless transitions this way.

Be careful when prepping the mini before priming, so that you don\'t miss any mold lines. There\'s a rather distinct one across the flaps of cloth hanging over the out-stretched arm.

 

[kathrynloch]

Thanks guys! You are much kinder than I deserve - thank you! :kiss:

Aliengod - I hear you! I always, always prime my minis black. This is the first time in...forever...that I primed white. For black, I use Armory primer but I really have problems with it in the high humidity down here - it gets furry!

When \"painting\" my model horses, I started using Krylon White primer - I absolutely LOVE that stuff. But my art with the horses is a different medium. I use dry powder pigments and work from light to dark, sealing each layer. Here\'s one I did for my mom\'s b-day:

Hey - it\'s stablemate sized so technically a mini! I primed white then built up the color for the blue roan in layers. The mane, tail, and markings are acrylic paints. The hair detail is black and white colored pencil (that was a nightmare). I wish I could use this pigment process on minis - the depth of color is fantastic.

But anyway - the white primer goes on so much nicer. I\'m going to see if I can get some black Krylon.

Dragonsreach - thank you! I actually got this mini because I liked the \"flow\" of the sculpt but now that I\'m actually working on it....UGH! The vines on her dress have no real depth - they are lifted but instead of having a rise and fall over the body, they stay the same height!

I thought about using a wash too - but I\'ve been trying to develop a technique without them, yet it is a tool in my arsenal so I may try it. Thanks for the advice!


Ritual - yup you\'re exactly right - that\'s what I get for rushing - nasty old mold lines. The layering is something I was working toward before I put the minis down - and I kinda sorta tried it again at one point on this one. I really need to get that \"delicate\" touch back. I\'ll keep working on it! Thank you!

 

[freakinacage]

wow, nice horse. sod the elf, do some more of them!

 

[kathrynloch]

Originally posted by freakinacage
wow, nice horse. sod the elf, do some more of them!

lol! Thanks Freak. I would love to do some more horses. Unfortunately, these are resin models made by private sculptors. Since they don\'t have the large company backing, they do limited runs 100-200. So that makes the price of the resin go through the roof. This little one cost me $75 and I had to go on an eight month waiting list to get it. The larger traditional sizes can cost from $300-$500.

It really makes me appreciate the price of a blister pack.

But it does make me wonder if I can use this method on larger monsters - or on the cloak or something like that.

Thanks again - glad you like the horse.

Cheers,
Kat

 

[Ritual]

Pigment powders can be used for a lot of things. Weathering of metals, dirt stains on clothing, bases and terrain etc.

 

[kathrynloch]

Originally posted by Ritual
Pigment powders can be used for a lot of things. Weathering of metals, dirt stains on clothing, bases and terrain etc.

That\'s what I\'ve been reading. Also, pan pastels or even regular pastels ground into a powder work - but the color isn\'t as rich.

I just wish I could get the layering to work on a mini. But I\'m afraid coat, seal, coat, seal x 30 layers will sorta obscure some detail.

 

[freakinacage]

i\'ve been using pastels for a few of my bases etc. some great effects to be had and lots of fun practicing. use fairly high quality pastels to get the pigment and you should be ok

 

[kathrynloch]

Now here\'s a question for you guys. When using pigments (i\'ve got a crap ton from the model horses) on bases, do you still glue the sand on and primer before everything else?

 

[Donga]

When I put pigments onto bases, models, figures. It is the last thing I do, after paint and varnish (Dull Kote) which acts as a key.

Maybe you should play to your strengths.

http://www.andrea-miniatures.com/market/AspsProductos/Detalle.asp?IdProductoDetalle=260

120mm scale, so quite big and eye friendly. You sound like some one who is used to the larger scale. I\'m getting me one of these soon!

 

[kathrynloch]

Yeah, I found those Andrea minis and I love them! I ordered a couple so we\'ll see how it goes.

I went from minis, to large scale and small scale horses and now back to minis. Talk about a roller coaster.

I\'ll keep trying the small stuff though. I just keep beating it over the head until I get it. :flip:

 

[kathrynloch]

Ok - unfortunately this one has officially kicked my butt. :cussing:

I\'m posting pics only to put myself out of my own misery. lol!

Although I took DR\'s suggestion and tried the wash, and it helped - there\'s just no real hope for her except to put her back in the pile to be stripped down. Oh well, I had to cut my teeth on something.

It\'s not a total loss. I have been working on other things - but I\'ll start a new thread for those.

Thanks to everyone for their help and encouragement!

Cheers,
Kat