Ten Thunders by Athelu

[athelu]

Hello all:

I just recently got into Malifaux and have started painting my figures.  i have not seen very many Ten Thunders models actually painted, I figured I would share mine.

I welcome any comments or criticism. I am still figuring out my painting technique/style, as well as how to photograph the models.  So far, the photographs are wanting - so feedback there is especially appreciated.

 

[athelu]

I have started with the Shen long box. This was not my first box of Ten Thunders, and only got picked because I had the base colors at hand from another project. I am going with the color scheme from the box art for this crew (and likely the others).

sensei yu

I am actually really disappointed with how desaturated the red looks in these pictures. It is much more vibrant in person. I am wondering if the white background is affecting the brightness.

[athelu]

Shen Long

 

New Picture per feedback on photography:

Original:

 

New Picture per feedback on photography:

Original:

New Picture per feedback on photography:

Original:

Edited August 20, 2016 by athelu
New Picture Vs. Old

[athelu]

Peasants

 

[athelu]

Monks of High River

Interestingly enough, I used the same camera/Light setup on these pictures, but the red is much more vibrant and closer to what is on the models here.

New Picture per feedback on photography:

Original:

New Picture per feedback on photography:

Original:

Edited August 20, 2016 by athelu
New Pics vs. Old

[athelu]

Katanaka Snipers

 

[Argentbadger]

I really like your painting style there, especially the way the block highlighting shows off Sensei Yu's physique.  The real treat is the marvellous tattoo work you've done on him though; truly wonderful.

[athelu]

@Argentbadger- Thanks for the compliments. I did add a more blocky highlight to Sensei Yu - it looks better in person than in the pictures though. I was really unsure on the tattoo. None of the artwork for the shenlong crew really has any detail for the tattoos. I just decided to do a dragon in a kind of traditional Japanese placement. First time I have tried to do a tattoo, or actually stubble on a model before so I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

[Omenbringer]

Let me start with compliments on the paint jobs, these are wonderfully done.

On 8/17/2016 at 8:32 PM, athelu said:

I am actually really disappointed with how desaturated the red looks in these pictures. It is much more vibrant in person. I am wondering if the white background is affecting the brightness.

 

A few tips for that; first move in closer to the model. A tightly framed composition will give the camera's light sensor a better opportunity to guess the right exposure. Second, see if you can work the cameras "Aperture" setting. Manipulating this will do two positive things for you. The best is that it will increase the "depth of field" for the final composition (more in focus from front to back, you can notice this in the profile pic of Shen Long and the third Monk of High River), the other benefit is that it will reduce the amount of light entering the camera. This will allow the colors to better saturate. Lastly, if your camera allows it you can try "Exposure Compensation" to fine tune the final composition. This can usually be done in third or half step values.

From the "blooming" that is occurring I am also wondering if you are using a Light Filter of some sort. To much direct light can cause de-saturation of colors, particularly when the contrast is high (i.e. extremely dark colors next to extremely light colors). You could definitely try a black background for these, though you might then observe de-saturation of the lighter colors. I might suggest a "neutral grey" instead, this should give your cameras light sensor the best opportunity to capture the dark reds and the light skin tones.

The only other minor critic I would offer is in regards to Sensei Yu's tattoo. While I compliment you on the work, it does look wonderful, I might recommend applying a very thin (nearly translucent) flesh colored wash (talking about using an actual flesh paint and not an ink or shade) over it to dull it a bit. There have been a number of really good tutorials on how to do this but I found this one from GCT Studios that is worth a look (definitely a more advanced technique but you don't have to go the whole method to get great results).

Hopefully some of that helps. Again great job on the models.

[athelu]

@Omenbringer - thanks for the feedback. My camera/photo setup is fairly advanced. I use a Nikon D70s camera, currently with a Sigma 18-300 Macro lens. I run it in aperture priority mode, without a flash. I have two Lights that I use - running 5000k daylight CFL bulbs with diffusers. I set the lights to the left and right of the model and slightly above. I was a bit further from the models than what i would have like due to where i was shooting - so there could be a field of depth issue. I was also not using a baffle to keep out side light.  These were shot just against a piece of Bright White photocopy paper. I did post editing, manipulating the Levels and Curves to try to get closer to the actual colors on the model, but was struggling with losing too much contrast.

I appreciate the feedback on the tattoo. I think it is a little heavy, and was thinking of a way to knock it back a little - so this will likely be spot on.

 

[Omenbringer]

That is a nice set up, try switching out the bright white photocopy paper. For those colors Black should work just try to find the matte-est available, spray on a clear matte coat if you need to.

You might also try shifting your lights to a top/ bottom configuration instead of a left/ right top down set up. I use 4 lights in my set up to insure that all parts of the model are illuminated well.

Definitely suggest moving in close, my set up is less than 6" from the model. Might also be worth trying the "Macro" setting instead of Aperture Priority or even full manual control.

[Omenbringer]

Also thought of one other thing you might check, go into the settings and take a look at what type of sensor your light meter is using. Spot metering might be preferable to Matrix metering.

[athelu]

1 hour ago, Omenbringer said:

Also thought of one other thing you might check, go into the settings and take a look at what type of sensor your light meter is using. Spot metering might be preferable to Matrix metering.

I think it is set to pattern. Will try some of your suggestions tonight and see how i fare.

[athelu]

@Omenbringer  I setup Shen Long and the High River monks  again to see what difference it would make.

Changes Made:

• Used a sheet of black construction paper. It is a little shiny, but didn't mess with matte varnishing it.
• Moved camera closer (actually models closer, but same impact)
• Played with F-Stop settings. No magic bullet here - actually liked some of the larger aperture settings more.
• Still went into post-edit for Levels and Curves, but the initial picture were MUCH closer to the models

Have to say, a pretty crazy difference overall for these changes.

[Omenbringer]

That did make a pretty big improvement, a darker back ground should pull the flesh tones down and keep them from blowing out.

I have one more rather unorthodox suggestion you can try as well. Try introducing a warmer color light into your current light setup, something in the 2500-3000k range (typical Incandescent bulb). Having a warmer yellowish or reddish hue light can assist in emphasizing/ complimenting the flesh tones, hopefully keeping them from blowing out.

Spot metering might also achieve this for you.

Last question is what ISO are you shooting at? I would recommend something in the range of 100-200. Higher ISO's can struggle to capture high contrast images such as the ones you are taking.