Zab's Damn it to hell! WIP

[Chrispy]

Yeah- speaking of tools, my brother.. oh.. wait.. :ahem:
Harbor Freight here in the US has a few sets of picks for under $5, and if you wanna get REAL fancy Ars Dental has the elusive Wax #5 tool Chris Fitzpatrick mentioned in an article waaaay back when that set off a mad scramble for it ever since. But it's just common sense to shop around- the stupid $8 Citadel sculpting tool is pretty much identical to one I got in a harbor freight 6 piece set for $6- except the one end is a bit more circular than the cheap one. Well, live and learn. Still looking good- waiting to see if the flames will be making on light source effects or whatnot. Hope the knight will be stabbing an evil witch/dragon soon!

 

[Canny]

Nice work on the skulls, Im going to pinch that style for the skull on my base. great to see how its all coming along! Im currently working on my house so no playing at the mo.

 

[Zab]

Chrispy! Stop linking stuff like that! I want a whole bunch of stuff from there Canny, I hear you on the house front. Insurance just signed off on the repairs to my basement so Monday I will be starting on the Drywall, doors and painting. The money from insurance will be spent on a tile contractor to do the floors properly. I may be out for a couple of weeks due to house hobby stuff

 

[Zab]

Okay, screw the house - my sanity is just as important! BESIDES!!!! Drywall mud takes time to dry So while I was waiting I got the skulls to the point where I will stop until they are attached to the base and then I will do final tweaks just before I start the OSL from the flames. Is that weird? How many others out there tweak highlights and shadows on their dioramas once assembled, but before finishing and photos?
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Ew, that pink foam plays hell with exposure. I'll have to dig out my grey stuff for photos.
Today things were super slow at work waiting for footage that never came so I got some nice progress done on the knight! The flesh is as far as I want it for now, but I will tweek once the other colors are laid in and I see where he sits on the base. The cloak has only had the base and first shade.
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I sure hope nothing delays my footage tomorrow...:wink:

 

[Demihuman]

then I will do final tweaks just before I start the OSL from the flames. Is that weird? How many others out there tweak highlights and shadows on their dioramas once assembled, but before finishing

I think you can always tweak. But paint the flames first then do the OSL. I think that is easier. You know that spackle is great for making bases! Also if you are using that mesh mud tape, throw it in aplastic bag while you aren't using it. Stays way stickier.

 

[ten ball]

Skulls look great Zab, are you painting the knight in TMM or NMM?

 

[Zab]

Demi, thanks for he tip on the tape. I'm using paper though since its mainly butt joints. Grrr stupid drywall -_- Ten, yeah it'll be NMM. Id' be more comfortable with TMM, but given the cartoon/ anime tone it has to be NMM. Got any goo examples of NMM chainmail. I have found tons for the sword, but chainmail looks super difficult.

 

[ten ball]

Go with this one (the best ive ever seen) lol

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[Zab]

Damn. So much for me mailing it in with excuses of a lack of good reference pics...:doh!:

 

[Zab]

Oh man, so not going to make the deadline for this contest Stupid basement. ~sigh~ I'll still try, but realistically: This one is going end up being just for fun. Maybe better that way as I won't be so scared to try new things and the pressure is off. Here's how the cape went:
Highlights...
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Final shades...
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Very happy with that subtle blend and the pics are decent too - not great, but not awful. Red is hard to photo properly.
Here's the NMM Gold.
Highlights...
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Shades...
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Glints...
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Ugh. Is it me or is there too much dark and too much white and - blech. I kind of hate it right now. Words of wisdom for the NMM gold anyone?
Oh well, NMM Metal on the blade and chainmail is next. If I can get back to it with all this basement crap. Do you have any idea how not fun it is to install doors and door jambs?! RAGE!!!

 

[Demihuman]

For what it's worth I think he looks pretty great right now. The cartoony sculpt lets you off the hook a little and your base grey is really nice. The nmm gold next to the red is hard. I always think ketchup and mustard when I paint red and yellow together. I think less yellow, more warm mid brown-oranges. the pommel looks pretty close but maybe needs some mids that are not yellow. I use this logo for a reference alot:

Cheesy but you get the idea. Notice how much orange is in there

Edit: okay you need a horizon line on the sword guard and maybe on the cloak clasp. Then maybe tone down the white highlights at the top of the guard. also, YOU CAN DO IT!

 

[Zab]

That's it! I lost all my mid tones and went too heavy on the yellow glaze - and yes, I think the light to dark line should be horizontal to the ground not the halfway point of the hilt. Thanks, I couldn't see the forest for the trees.

 

[Zab]

Ironically things continue to be slow at work and at home the basement has been a hideous bitch goddess So most of my painting is happening at work - weird. I took another stab at the NMM Gold and I am much happier with this version. The colors work better but still remain cartoony enough to not look realistic. That is surprisingly hard to do since my eyes want it to look "right"
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Then I blocked in my NMM metal colors very rough...
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Then i blended them. The lighting kinda washes out the brighter side of the blade.
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It it is very bright because I may put in a little purple reflection from the dragon later or from the flames. Not sure yet. i guess that will have to wait until i figure out the exact positioning on the base.
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Then this showed up and i swear I lost several hours looking at pretty new things and getting lost in thought of how to paint said pretty things (dark angel for scale only)
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[Demihuman]

Whoa that skull is cool!

On th knight what do you think about putting a highlight on the bottom of the sword guard and the medallion?

Where do you work that you can paint? Are they hiring?

 

[Canny]

Hey the red on the cloak looks good! I have just found out HOW hard it is to make red look shaded! The skulls look mint!

 

[Zab]

@Demihuman, for the highlight should it be a white glint or just a paler gold? I work in TV and the summer is a very low key time of year. Luckily my bosses like us doing creative things to pass the time while we wait for footage to come in. Wasn't always that way but there was a corporate take over a couple of years back and things got way better and people who actually knew what they were doing and how to inspire creativity got brought in to replace the morons and suddenly it was fun to work in TV again! The fall season will be all work though - still fun, but no more time for painting
@Canny, Thanks! God help me, but it's rare to take a decent pic of red even if you can make it look great. I love how the skulls came out too!

 

[Chrispy]

Interesting, at first the skull looked like the traditional Tibetan embellished ones, then I saw the Celtic knotwork on the bottom near the jawline. And the cyber horse looks like it could be futuristic or steampunk-y. The painting is going swell, too! Hope to see this finished soon!

 

[Demihuman]

I think glinty toward the helmet on the bottom of the guard and center bottom on the edge of the outer and inner concentric rings on the medallion. Here is a little 'shoped picture of what i mean:

ALSO I am by no means an expert at this so maybe one of the gurus will comment.

 

[Zab]

Thanks Demi, that looks good. The inner ring may turn into a green or purple gem - or maybe blue to match the eyes and give it a nice triangle type spot color. Chrispy, you are right i thought it was tiki skull too and now that you point it out it does look a bit celtic. Looks like a good reason to buy another and paint up one of each...uh oh The Lady Inquisitor is shaking her head. What?! No they aren't a bad influence! The tile needs time to set, I can't do any work down there tonight. Say, why don't you go find out what would be a good color of grout to go with that tile! Damn it. Look what she made me type :eyeroll:

 

[Chrispy]

Man, when we tiled and grout-ed the bathroom all the scorpions came out of the walls and crawlspace because of the smell.. It was an interesting few days, to say the least.