misterfinn

Pledging another bushwhacker for 6SS, and might manage to do more. I have several other Tricksy models still in boxes so I'm gonna try a "paint one, build one" approach. Speed is still the primary painting goal.

On 4/26/2019 at 12:39 PM, Diddick said:

A copperish/“orangier” pan would pop more in the figure too.

That's a great idea, thanks! Copper cookware would never have occurred to me. Good chance to break out these awesome Scale 75 copper paints I picked up a couple of months ago...combined with Franchute's idea for brownish "camo", I think the next BW should have a lot more visual interest.

On 4/26/2019 at 1:13 PM, Stranglelove said:

But it’s supposed to be camouflaged! 

Yeah, but it's Gremlin camouflage...maybe it's last year's camo that's all dried out and gross but "ah cain't hunt without mah lucky headdress!"

@NikodemusThat's a nice example of how even a "bog standard" (as you phrased it) freehand, when executed well, can really elevate a model. Kudos. I agree with your assessment of the bird, and 100% understand the allure of the fluorescent paint!

@Stranglelove Don't be too hard on yourself. The eyes are a good size and pointing in the same direction, which is 2/3 of the battle right there. A bit of lining round the outside and you're good to go. Like Nikodemus and Franchute, I paint the eyes first on all of my models. I make the whites as sloppy as I need to, then just overpaint the extra with brown-black and leave a little showing when I do the rest of the face. Also: I like the bit of freehand you've done on her obi. Simple and effective.

@Purple Mist That colorshift paint looks great. I'm wondering how it looks next to standard paint (that cape, for example) on the model when you move the model around. Since the highlights on the cape don't move, is there any kind of weird dissonance between the two materials? Do you find that you have to change your highlighting (more/less contrast, sharper transitions, whatever) to get it to look right? Would love to see that caped model from the back.

@Franchute Dried or autumn colored grass is a great idea, thank you! I’ll give it a go on my next Bushwhacker. 

@Caedrus Great blending job on the torso (possibly the best I’ve seen you do!) and well-executed NMM tank & cuffs.

The flat surfaces of the hand blades don’t look right to me. If you’ve got a highly reflective surface in that shape, I think your highlight/shade will be mostly flat color on upward- and downward-facing smooth surfaces that reflect only sky or only ground rather than perpendicular lines.

Maybe someone with more NMM experience than mine can offer additional perspective/feedback. 

@Caedrus Jumping on the gremlin bandwagon with this little lady for 6 SS:

My goal for this month is to start picking up my painting speed so I can actually get this Mah crew on the table in a reasonable timeframe. More dramatic highlights, less fussy about the blends.

@Franchute Weathering looks great! It's just the right amount of beat-up. That's a nice bright yellow, too - very old-school Orky!

@Athiko My painting soundtrack is mostly extreme metal (black/death/doom/thrash), with occasional forays into 80s goth/industrial. I'll do a podcast now and again but I find it very difficult to split my attention in that way.

@Franchute Bottles are really tricky because they're translucent. If you do the sensible thing and do a green or brown mostly-opaque bottle (as you've done), the big thing that separates it from metal is the reflections. Bottles are hard and reflective but they have depth so they're not fully reflective. Pictures in lieu of 1000 words, glass on the left and chrome on the right:

So, the glass has one hard reflection in the direction of the light source, while the metal reflects everything around it. So decide where your highlight is, paint a hard stripe there, and then make your other highlights/reflections very diffuse. Does that help?

@Burnin' Coal Five miniatures of that quality during a "hectic month"...wow. The majority of your blends are super smooth and the rest have their highlights positioned so well that it doesn't matter. I can't imagine how you produce that many models at that quality level in a limited time. Wish I could watch you paint.  The basing is tasty too.

16 hours ago, Stranglelove said:

Guys, I won "Best Painted" in the Adepticon The Other Side tournament!! 😬💫

Called it! Congratulations - a well-deserved win.

@Caedrus Coming down to the wire per usual. I'll be done by the deadline though!

@Stranglelove That's a sweet-looking crew (or whatever they're called in TOS). I especially like the color work you've done on the monsters. Your leader guy looks comparatively under-highlighted - maybe it's just the picture. Overall though I wouldn't be surprised if you took home some "best painted" awards from your TOS tourneys!

@bedjy WOW. Speechless.

@Kimberly Pretty indeed! The colorshift paint looks spectacular. I'm impressed with your attention to detail on all the pieces.

48 minutes ago, emiba said:

Edit: Aaaand l just realized that Ikyrio is 0 points in M2E... FML. 😝 Maybe I'll have time to paint up a Seishin...

IIRC we decided to let folks pick their edition w/r/t points. I'm using 3e costs for my pledges.

Glad you're (mostly) OK amidst the troubles - hope things improve for you quickly.

At the risk of OT: Is anyone from the challenge going to be at Adepticon this weekend? I'll be there Saturday to check out the dealers' room so I thought it'd be fun to hook up for a refreshing beverage if any of my fellow painters will be around.

Now, back on topic:

@Franchute Any chance we could get another picture of Mouse? This one's a bit out of focus so it's hard to see the detail. Ryle's brushwork is really solid. I like the texture and color you've achieved for his base as well - how'd you do it? I see water effects and tufts and maybe sand in there?

@Nikodemus That's some disturbing texture - I like the fact that you've gone the tarantula/wolf spider route and not the shiny, smooth carapace as sculpted. Nice gap filling on the abdomen too, that must've been a pain.

@Caedrus Love the cloaks. +1 to Franchute's question about airbrush vs. normal brush.

@PetitDalek The model looks good all by itself, but that basing takes it to a new level. Your terrain-making skills are serving you well! I particularly like the color choices on the dress - it looks very natural but I'd never have thought to use the brown and green together in the way you've done it. Kudos.

@Viruk Man, you just don't quit with the beautiful models. Seriously, I have no C&C at all. I do have questions though! I like what you've done with the water bases. Did you freehand the submerged plants onto Cojo's base and then pour the water effect over it, or are they actually modeled? What brand of water effect did you use?

20 hours ago, Diddick said:

The truth is I still struggle when it comes to big surfaces... and i was afraid i'd make the back of the coat too bright, so I rather preferred to keep it darker than it should be

I hear ya. I hate painting big surfaces too, to the degree that I actively avoid playing crews with too many capes and big coats! No Bandits or Oxfordian Mages for me.

@Boomstick Those fireflies are taaaaasty. I'd leave the wing veins yellow. If you want 'em to pop more, I think you should strengthen the orange lining around them. I'd like to see a wee splash of yellow at the top of the right bicep and perhaps a deepening of the downward facing shadows on the skull head dude, but really that's just icing on a nicely executed cake.

@Caedrus Nice definition on those buzzard feathers. Very clean. The base looks comparatively unfinished though - any chance of a final drybrush or two to bring out the texture?

@Chou Very clean work on Santiago there. I dig it.

@prof_bycid I'm into the mottled muddy look. It definitely looks like he just crawled out of a swamp! I think all the color variation is causing the model to lose some definition though, especially in the right arm. The strong blacklining defines the model's various parts (back fin, tail sections, between the toes, etc.) well - it's just the more subtle variations that get lost.

@PetitDalek I envy your terrain-making ability. Looks fantastic.

@Diddick That high-contrast approach is really working for you, especially on the front of the model. I think you could use more color on the back, where the texture is smoother and light will diffuse more across the surfaces of his coat. The back of his shawl mantle thing also looks under-highlighted to me compared to the front, but maybe that's just the photo.

As for me...well, here's my WIP photo.

Yup, that's Miss Deed head-down in a jar of Simple Green following an abysmal skintone start. Been a while since I've needed to do that...her base is fine though, so I'm keeping that safe and dry.

Pledging Miss Deed for March. Photo coming later. 

I thought I'd need to mulligan February but my wrist is healing fast (yay) so I'll pledge Big Jake and see how it goes. Picture coming later when my phone has battery. 🙄

1 hour ago, Athiko said:

Yep I agree, the flames are actually a bit darker than in the picture. I think I'm gonna add some glazes to darken them down a bit more then bring up the highlights to a white

For flames it's important that you highlight "in reverse" to make 'em look right. Flames burn hotter near their source so the highest points of the sculpt will be the darkest. The brighter the crevices, the hotter the flame.

@Caedrus I really like where you’re going with Killjoy. I look forward to seeing how you integrate your brushwork. Also the NMM sketching is a great idea. 

For those who are airbrushing in colder climates (it’s 9 degrees Fahrenheit outside right now): how do you handle venting? 

I love the way you’re working with color. The fades from one tone to another, the contrast shading on the skin...this is tasty stuff! Reminds me a lot of Rackham’s Mid-Nor and Dirz studio models from the Confrontation days. 

11 minutes ago, Franchute said:

To be honest, I first painted the base without these colour glazes, as I usually do, and suddenly thought I could try and add these extra colours ex post. I wasnt really planing to it. The choice of colours was almost random.

Hooray for happy accidents!

12 minutes ago, Franchute said:

I agree with you that the green parts are a bit weird now. Would you completly paint them again in olive? Or just add say a wash? Do you have a specific olive colour in mind from some paint brand?

Nah, I wouldn't completely paint them again. I think layers of color give a lot of depth, especially on things that are old or organic. I actually might start with a translucent wash of something rust-colored and adjust from there with washes/glazes. Do you have unpainted bases that you haven't attached models to yet? You could pick one that has a lot of green bits sculpted in, paint those bits as you've done with the Belle's base, and experiment with different washes on different areas of the base so you can compare...assuming you have the time!

13 hours ago, santaclaws01 said:

No, all that's being asked is some discretion until people that weren't in the closed beta can at least look at it themselves.

^ This. It's a simple matter of consideration for the wider community. Closed beta testers have been grinding on this stuff for months. It's not new and shiny for us anymore, but it was once and we were all excited about delving into it. Remember how cool it was to see the new stuff? Now the forum community at large has the same opportunity. Would it have been as fun if alpha testers jumped in immediately, posting all of the things they liked/hated about alpha? Nope. If a few people (including me) keep their mouths shut for A FEW DAYS, many people have a more enjoyable experience. How is that even an issue that requires discussion? Show some empathy, for crying out loud.