monkeyboy30672

The blurriness is due to lack of "depth of field", meaning that the range from near to far of what can be in focus is very shallow. It's probably due to the fact that you don't have enough light, however. What you will usually want to do is set the camera fully to Manual mode, zoom ALL the way in, and then just move the camera as close to the models as you can get with still being about to Auto-focus on them. At that point, move the camera itself back in order to frame your shot better. And remember, the closer the camera, the more light you need. 

For all white or very light-colored models, yes, a neutral background is better. For neutral to dark models, I prefer white. The bouncing of light off the background and "floor" of the photo area helps eliminate some shadows in difficult areas, like around the belt or under the chin.

Hope that helps!

Yeah, one of the best ways to get more light and no glare is to move the lights closer to the model and also to filter them at the same time. If they're ceiling lights, that's much tougher. Maybe go for using a tripod and a much longer (1/4 to 1/2 second) exposures...?

A filter for a bulb could be anything from a professional filter screen to a simple paper towel or cheesecloth. Just anything that lets light through, only not so harshly. A facial tissue works well, too. Just remember... the closer the camera is to the model, the more light you need.

One photo tip... You can never go wrong with more light. Your camera can compensate for more light MUCH easier than compensating for too little light. Multiple light sources, though try to use all the same temperature of light, i.e., all fluorescent light or all incandescent light, etc.

The painting looks GREAT!!

Yeah, I grew up in Greenville, SC, where there are more churches per square mile than people... I spent some fun times in Atlanta, too, where I had to go to get my tattoo after I graduated college, because the government of SC still felt tattooing was "immoral and should be illegal"... Sigh

I would have loved to have seen that ritual in the parking lot!!

If friends of mine in Spain conducted their queimada ritual (with a large, shallow ceramic bowl full of blue-flaming alcohol while chanting an incantation) in an Atlanta parking lot, I'm sure there'd be a righteous drive-by of sorts...

Still, though... I do enjoy the fevered purging with fire that Sonnia has come to spread. Seems my hypocrisy knows no bounds. Heehee! I'd LOVE to work at Wyrd!

hahahaha! I can totally see that dress on her. Did she also have a shockingly interesting hair color? It was always fun to try and guess what color her hair will be when next I saw her.

She is very lovely, yes, and I am sure she took the fan-boyism in good stride. She is very pretty, so I'm sure she gets it all the time, both from fans of her miniature work and just guys in general.

Her brushmistress.com website hasn't been updated in quite a while, so I hope everything's going okay for her. Since I got off of FB about 4 years ago, I haven't had much contact with her at all. We used to chat and talk mini painting rather often. It was mostly me stealing tips from her and drooling over her work... hehe

There's always someone out there making everyone else feel like a chump, lol. Jessica Rich and Ali McVey are two of the prime candidates for me! How Ali does their studio paintjobs in a couple of days while looking after their toddler still baffles me. 

 

Luckily, I've been around the painting block enough times I've managed to meet (and in many cases get to know) the painters I admire. Then I pick their brains like a starving zombie

Have you met Jess? I always used to love seeing her at US Golden Demon competitions when I was photographing them. I miss her a lot, actually. Such a sweetheart. Of all the painters I have met, I use her opinions, tips, and comments about my work the most, though I am light-years from her level of craftsmanship. She really is amazing.

That's great!! Glad Thursdays works well for others, too!

I often get home from work as late as 6:00 or 6:30 (or sometimes 7!), so some Thursdays I won't be able to make it, or not for enough time to get in a game. But Thor's Day is perfect!! I KNOW I can make it down there for a night of gaming THAT night!

Thanks for all your help, Rove!!

Hatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehate

Excellent! I think I have all those colors, or can at least approximate them. Thanks for the tips! After I grab some take out for dinner, I'll be back at the coffee table and settling in for a good night with a brush (quite a few of them, actually). 

Is the Judge's sword all non-metallic...?

Sigh... I really want to hate you, Mako...

Not only STELLAR paintjobs (as per usual), but I LOVE the bases, too!!!

What browns did you use for the Judge's coat??? I want to use that for the masks on my Witchling Stalkers I'm painting up now for a local tournament on 8 June.

Mondays and Thursdays would be best for me, though I obviously can't speak for the rest of the folks. How many do you have coming regularly?

I am totally interested in coming out to the Malifaux gathering on Tuesdays, though I can never make it on that particular night.

I also heard from Pat (who is my next-door neighbor)  that there are whispers of a Malifaux Tournament on the horizon... Any details handy?

Thanks!

Your work is very nice! And I love all the added details in your posts, as well.

To rekindle a thought from earlier about the placement of the hand on the archer's bow... The sculptor actually has it correct. I shoot archery with a guy who uses that particular type of bow, called a Yumi Bow. Japanese, of course, and the top stave is longer than the bottom one. They do shoot, also, off the thumb of the bow hand, rather than Western style (like Robin hood) that places the arrow on top of the fist of the bow hand. I don't shoot a Yumi, but I shoot a Mongolian Horse Bow, and I use a thumb ring to pull back the string (like traditional Japanese archers do). The way the string twists as it is pulled back, the arrow can be fired horizontally like that, because the torque of the string presses the arrow against the bow itself, preventing gravity from making it fall off.

Yeah, I'm an archery nerd. Just thought I'd clarify.

I think HE is more terrified, since his head was cut off!

I have to second that emotion... And third it, really. The OSL is really spot on! The whole model, in general, is very impressive.

Gorgeous work, as always! 

I agree... I'm not a big fan of the new plastic Teddy model, but he's kinda growing on me... not unlike a fungus.

The panda scheme is brilliant! And it really adds a load of character to a slightly disappointing model in my eyes. I love how you've done the fur! Very good shading and highlights on the shallow crevices in the fur. Very difficult to do! And time consuming! Very delicate drybrushing in there.

Albeit, I LOVE the metal Teddy, and it's what really brought me to Pandora's Neverborn in the first place... so I am quite biased against the new plastic one. Objectively, the plastic Teddy is a beautiful model, honestly. I'm just so emotionally attached to the old one. I suppose my expectations were astronomically high. Hehe  It's rare that one really wants a model to be LESS animated.

To me, Teddy should be an actual toy, which is possessed. So it still should look like a toy, but with some nightmarishly freaky differences. The pose and the eyes, mainly (and the tongue), are what I think make the new one look more like an actual creature, rather than a possessed doll. I like the flat-eyed, uncaring, methodical doll look, rather than the hyper-animated, living-cartoon look. But that's just me.

But you've added character to this model that I hadn't seen in the sculpt itself, and it speaks to me a little more now. It whispers in gentle, caressing tones... "Paint me, Red... Paint me... You know you want to..."

Beautiful blending on the Savage Orc! A marked improvement on what is already great talent!

Hey! Fancy seeing you here, stranger!

Wow, your NMM it outstanding!! It is incredibly realistic!

Yeah, Finecast is petty much shite. I've never owned any of it, and I was always scared to even try. I have heard too many horror stories about it. I had heard they were getting better with it, but apparently not.

And I think your concubine model is exemplary, honestly. I like how you toned down the shadowing a bit, and you seem to have brightened the highlights a smidge, too, which is really lovely. It's beautiful work as always, Wings. I'm always happy when you have more models posted!

Ahhhh!! Brilliant! I might have to launch a Campaign of Liberation of my own!

I do have a question, actually... Since the 30mm Ghost Town Base Accessories are becoming more and more scarce as of late, I was thinking of sculpting my own. So what type of white card is that you're using for your wood planks? 

This is a magnificently painted crew, and individually as well!! Cohesive, expertly painted (as we have always expected from you, Viruk), and the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) details really make them shine as a group. Like painters before me have mentioned, the subtle red throughout the crew is cohesive, yet unobtrusive. That can often be difficult to manage! And the more obvious details, like the chaps on Perdita... WELL done!!! The second, lighter tone makes an otherwise normal pair of leather chaps really stand out as something different and add so much to her individual model. Nino's coat, too... the leather is muted, cooler than other leathers in the posse, and it fits his cold, mysterious and intriguing look, which in turn also fits his character. Absolutely stunning, across the board.

This crew was actually the one that originally drew me into the game in 1st edition (partially because Perdita reminds me of my girlfriend... heehee), but when I wanted to pick up this posse, it was not available. I picked up Sonnia's crew instead. Now, looking at Viruk's crew, and reading the rules for them, I am really tempted to go back to my first instincts... After the Neverborn and Sonnia's crew are painted... Sigh.

Wow...! Such a total right-turn from the normal Lilith and brood colors! I love it!!!! I truly agree that the albino effect and the reddish eyes make them all look MUCH creepier and much more menacing. It's like they not only love mayhem and murder, but that they also feel like they have something to prove. Incredibly well done!

Yeah... And I just don't have a dedicated space that would be adverse to the horrors of pigment dust, either. For the time being, on my Guild models I'll try a really soft drybrushing, if possible, and see how that works out. As soon as I get some time to paint, anyway... Maybe Saturday afternoon, if 'm lucky. Damn, I need to look for that Micro pen, too...

Well, next time I'm going through Heathrow, I'll definitely let you know. It's a weird airport... I could have used the company, actually. Especially someone who knows where they hell they are!

Yeah, I just read a tutorial about using pigments in a DRY application here, rather than wetting them with medium and making a paint out of them. Seems like it would be cool! Very messy to use, it seems... they get everywhere, like chalk pastels. I'll need to have my new hobby space before I do it (or set up a small area in the basement just for working with pigments). You don't live where your minis live?? How can you even get out of bed if they're not there to wish you a good morning??? Sacrilege, I say.

Holiday was nice. I go to Spain every year to see very close friends. I actually had my first ever lay-over in Heathrow this past Easter. I should have phoned and had a spot of lunch with you. hehe  And maybe could have seen your models in person!!