Monthly painting challenge - January

[Burnin' Coal]

@Franchute looking good

@prof_bycid with some rust and the right buildings around it will work well

@Viruk the basing on your scion really gives it atmosphere 

 

[Piccio]

@Franchute

I started with white, emerald green, primary blue, primary yellow, black, van dyck brown on my palette. Actually I'm working with polycolour maimeri acrylics.

The base colour is a mix of that green, a bit of blue, a bit of brown. I didn't started just with green because it do not cover too much itself and also because in my mind I want a steampunk palette so I'm planning to add a bit of brown in every base paint I'll will use on that model. 

I made about three mixture for the lights, adding yellow and white to the base colour.  I do not simply add white because I want to keep the tone saturate, anyway the maximum light reflexes are in pure white (but I'm still think to filter them with a yellow dilute hand because the picture looks better that in real).

For the darkest places I add brown, blue and also black. Finally I add some dirt, holes and damages to cover shading errors and add more movements at the same time. This step for me is always the most enjoyable one.

 

How place light / shadow?

Keep something like that as reference (google always helps!), the shield in the picture help to understand what the lights do on reflexing surfarces.

 

[misterfinn]

@Piccio NMM looks great. Your color choices aren’t traditional metallic, but it still reads as metal as opposed to some other kind of glossy surface.

@Shock & Awe happy accident! The new texture gives the model a nice Cthulhoid vibe, much creepier than the stock sculpt. It picks up drybrushing well, too. I think your wretches could use some gap filling - that line down the center is a little distracting IMO. 

@Viruk I like the depth and shine you’ve given your base. What technique did you use?

[Amdor]

With half the month gone, it's time for a WIP.

So, apart from the base there's only one layer overall... being sick for a month hasn't done wonders to my painting enthusiasm, but now that I'm (mostly) better, it's time to pep up and get things done.

[Hound Grey]

15 hours ago, Burnin' Coal said:

@Hound Grey I have been staring at the million tiny pieces in The Wild Ones box for over a year now so that's some pretty intense assembly you just put yourself through...breathe out...the wall will soon be behind you...looking forward to seeing them finished👍

Was the worst modelling experience ive ever had.

But almost over XD

[misterfinn]

Some Specialist WIP. All the non-metallic bits except the gauges are finished. I might decide to do some caution striping on the tanks and/or put some color on the hoses for contrast, but I’ll wait until the metals are in first. Not all the blends are as smooth as I’d like. Frankly, though, I’m tired of painting gray and just kind of want to get him done. :-)

Comments, questions, and critiques are welcome. I’m a big believer in constructive criticism.

[Purple Mist]

@Franchute: Here is a WIP of my Sonnia.

For sure a challenging model. I'm curious to see how you'll manage the lantern and the blade flames lighting.

And, what about the base? Is it homemade or from the market?

 

[Purple Mist]

5 hours ago, misterfinn said:

Some Specialist WIP

I like your model.

White dressed models are not a common choice but you are proving that white is a great starting point for minis painting.

[Viruk]

21 hours ago, Franchute said:

@Viruk who would say you have a new born in your family?  I love your work on the scion

 

New baby made me more efficient with my spare time. Generally I spend less time fooling around, browsing youtube etc. and get to painting straight away  Nice start on your Sonnia - I like the way material reflects light.

 @misterfinn - at first I built up a few layers of Vallejo Still Water so that the area was flat. After it dried I highlighted it using dark to vivid bright green closer to the rocks. In the end I added a few spots of pure Amarillo Fluo (Vallejo Game Color) in random places and covered it with another thin layer of Vallejo Still Water for that shine effect. Your Specialist looks very good. At this point it's hard to give any criticism, it all depends on how you paint the weapon, whether you use OSL etc. The white looks nice but a bit too clean IMO. You may consider adding some dirt effect there.

 

 

[Franchute]

27 minutes ago, Purple Mist said:

@Franchute: Here is a WIP of my Sonnia.

For sure a challenging model. I'm curious to see how you'll manage the lantern and the blade flames lighting.

And, what about the base? Is it homemade or from the market?

 

The base is from microart studio. You should have a look. They have several types. All pretty nice.

[Caedrus]

Hello All

Well, halfway through the month means that it's time for a WIP on my pledge.

The vast majority of my Malifaux bases will be cobblestone (I've just bought the GSW roller - love it).

My Neverborn will all feature purple as their unifying colour. In this case, P3's Beaten Purple. The colourscheme will otherwise be close to the boxart.

So, recognising that the Primordial Magic is incorporeal, I decided to let my (questionable) sculpting skills loose, and had the pukesnake undulating through the cobblestones.

The plan is for some magic-vomit-OSL effects. Perhaps even some fluorescent paints. I need some practice with these effects.

Caedrus.

[RustAndTheCity]

Lots of great progress so far everyone! It's nice to see lots of new and old participants.

I'm planning to finish Zipp this month. If I'm lucky I may even finish a friend or two for him.

I'm trying out nonmetallic metal on this new gremlin crew. Anyone here have any great NMM tips?

[Purple Mist]

10 hours ago, Franchute said:

The base is from microart studio. You should have a look. They have several types. All pretty nice.

I agree.

These one are from Microart Studio too:

 

[Joachim]

A short update (ended up not being short at all). I've gotten more time to paint than expected so I'll post a last WIP for the the cyclops and the gorar.

Is this the effect you were referring to @Treehouse when talking about the cyclops skin? I basically have to finish the icy parts as well as the icy runes and the first one will be done. One thing I learned from these models Is that the placement of the pupil does a whole lot for the expression of the model. I first painted a pupil in the centre, but moving it more to one side adds a lot of dynamics imo. This isn't anything I didn't know before, but more something I'm incorporating as my skill is improving. I'll definitely try this more in the future. Painting eyes is imo one of the harder parts of painting miniatures, but add so much to the expression and character of a model.

I'm also pleased with how the transition of color in the skin turned out. Adding the blue closer to the ice, and the tan on his belly and face brings the grey skin to live. I'm eager to field these guys in a game.

 

For the gorar I decided to go for the artwork color scheme. I don't think there's anything wrong with it, though I kinda feel like it is missing something. My other idea was to again use greys and browns, similar to the grootslang I painted earlier which will contrast nicely with the turqoise I'm using throughout my neverborn. And then add some of the same patterns that all of the fae have on their skin in the artwork. On the other hand, the gorar has some nice detail in its face that these colors bring out nicely as well. I'll think about it, but if anyone here has a strong opinion, you're welcome to help me decide.

Here is a picture of the color scheme I'm referring though, which I think would fit the gorar nicely as well.

Edited January 16, 2018 by Joachim

[Kogan Style]

Here is my WIP update, notice only one of the 2 models are included... but there is still the second half of the month right?!  really enjoying this model, and hoping my dirty, grimey cloak is a feel that I can bring to all the models in this crew thanks to the magic of Typhus Corrosion! I can't decide whether to do my bad NMM steel for the blade, or just go metallic. Blue and Purple for the neck tie and waistcoat I think. 

 

[misterfinn]

Wow, lots of traffic in this thread since yesterday. It’s great to see everyone’s progress.

@Purple Mist Thank you for the kind words. I’m afraid he is actually a light warm gray and not white – I blame my photography. :-)

@Viruk I haven’t done much experimentation with Vallejo’s special effect products (or GW either for that matter). Clearly I should give them a closer look.

@Caedrus Thumbs up on the undulating pukesnake! It gets the incorporeal across just fine. Something you might consider for your flaming puke OSL: regular fire is brighter in the middle where it burns the hottest and darker out toward the tips of the flames. I’ve often seen it done the other way around.

@RustAndTheCity The biggest problem I had when learning NMM was contrast. Extreme contrast between dark and light is what makes the shiny effect believable. Piccio’s post at the top of the page demonstrates this - the shiny parts go from dark to light with very little transitional color. The more reflective the surface, the sharper the transition and the brighter the highlight. Aside from that, know where your imaginary light source is so your highlighting is consistent and use plenty of photo reference. I have a whole folder full of pictures of metal objects, from armor to tableware to industrial machinery.

@Joachim Your cyclops skin looks outstanding. Are you finished with the ice? I think it could use a few more stages of highlighting. Right now it looks flat in comparison with the skin. Also I think the gorar color scheme works well as is. That is my strong opinion. ;-)

Keep up the good work, everyone!

[Joachim]

@misterfinn

No, it got some good highlights on the arms and legs. But nothing on the back, just some on the spear. I'm definitely looking for high contrast there, going up to pure white edges and tips, which will fit the icy look.

I'll keep the gorar as he is right now.

Thanks for the feedback.

[Franchute]

Guys remember to declare the soulstone count once models are finished please.

[Purple Mist]

On ‎14‎/‎01‎/‎2018 at 10:49 AM, PetitDalek said:

Here's my first pledge. Coming from boardgames, this is my first time building a mini, so I chose an easy one to practise. It's much harder than I thought, I need to get hang of using the plastic cement without melting the details or leaving gaps. My bottle of Vallejo's liquid putty came in handy. TBC... 

Coming from boardgaming too.

If you are in troubles with plastic glue I suggest you should try to apply it with a small brush.

No need to use putty with small, plastic minis. You can use plastic cement with resin (Revell or TAMYA produce good ones) to fill gapes, always using a small paint brush.

[H4ml3t]

1 hour ago, Purple Mist said:

No need to use putty with small, plastic minis. You can use plastic cement with resin (Revell or TAMYA produce good ones) to fill gapes, always using a small paint brush.

Thanks for this tip! My efforts to fill small gaps with putty have at least a 50% chance of making things worse. Looking forward to trying this new approach. Any tips on treating the brush afterwards so it at least remains usable for glue application?

[Purple Mist]

34 minutes ago, H4ml3t said:

Any tips on treating the brush afterwards so it at least remains usable for glue application?

Best thing is to use an old brush for this duty.  On the other way you can use an organic solvent to try cleaning it, but I do not think to can recover the brush for painting duties.

[Treehouse]

@Joachim:

Yes, pretty close. My idea was bigger patches, but that works well, too.

[Viruk]

On 15.01.2018 at 2:07 AM, Franchute said:

@Viruk who would say you have a new born in your family?  I love your work on the scion

 

New baby made me more efficient with my spare time. Generally I spend less time fooling around, browsing youtube etc. and get to painting straight away  Nice start on your Sonnia - I like the way material reflects light.

Speaking of painting, here are two more models for this month More pics on the blog  http://www.whatthefaux.net/2018/01/witchling-thralls.html They now bring me to a total of 53 soulstones. There will be more - seem to have my painting engine in full swing this month

 

@Joachim - love the color scheme on your Grootslang

@Kogan Style - nice atart on the Stalker, he already looks great.

 

 

 

 

[tjgreenway]

Some beautiful work so far, guys, really inspiring stuff! I won't be able to match any of it, but I have decided to focus on the painting aspect of the hobby much more in 2018 and will be working on my layering through the first few months of the year, having previously made do with a simple base/wash/drybrush - so hopefully when I look back in December, I'll see a marked difference between now and then!

With that in mind, better late than never, here are what I'll be working on for the rest of the month - my first Malifaux miniatures, which will be my first attempt at more than a quick paintjob. I've now started work on my first Desperate Mercenary - after trying him out in a game with the wife tonight I figured he's the most dispensible of the lot, so he's got the honour of being my dummy run Not overly happy with the results so far, but I'll spend a few more hours on him tomorrow night and see if it's worth posting a WIP (I'll probably start a new thread as I'll have a lot to post and be in need of a fair bit of C&C!).

[prof_bycid]

On 1/16/2018 at 10:02 AM, Franchute said:

Guys remember to declare the soulstone count once models are finished please.

Right?