2019 Monthly Painting Challenge - January

[Caedrus]

@Aa7, and anyone else looking for brushes: Rosemary and Co. do a "Workbench Warriors" set for £36 (about $70NZD). Add in a few spare Series 33 Kolinsky Size 0's, and you'd have an excellent set of brushes. I love my W&N's, but Rosemary and Co. do make wonderful brushes for a very competitive price!

[khilin]

Hi! This are my minis for January! 6 minis 2ss each (the 5th mindless zombie, the half zombie, was painted las year!)

Mindless Zombies + Corpse Candles

 

Edited January 29, 2019 by khilin
Added images through imgur

[Stranglelove]

8 hours ago, Nikodemus said:

Really digging your monstrous flesh look.

Got a style in mind? You can base afterwards but I really recommend basing before painting in the future. That or doing the base and mini separately. Having to do basework around a finished paintjob is an unnecessary pain. Doable, but unnecessary.

I'm not much of a photographer but a very simple step-up would be to switch to a less stark background. Your camera software is probably going haywire trying to colour balance with all that white around. I know my eyes are

Yes, everything is over-exposed. I'm just using the iphone software. I'll try a different set-up with the next batch.

I want to do a charred ground effect, as if the Cult scorch the earth when they teleport. I would do basing beforehand but I feel like trying to pin/glue the models afterward would be an even bigger pain. Some of them have just toes touching the ground. 

[Nikodemus]

What I like to do with my sand basing -on which I'd paint the charred effect-, is glue mini to the base first. Then do the pva+sand on the base and around figures' feet. For minis that are tippy toeing (*cough TT ninjas*) I roll up a small ball of greenstuff under their foot to act as additional support. It gets hidden up by the sand and paint. After minis and sand are in place I prime and paint. Base usually gets done early in the paintjob, but that's my personal preference. Adding basing material after the figure means I avoid figures sometimes literally hovering on grains of sand.

[Maxooo]

I found Ulix's GOld piglet 😮

so here's my 3 ss pledge

I never tried such kind of challenge, i'm a real slow painter, and i'm irregular. One month i can paint 5 minis and then not paint for months and months, maybe this will help me.

At least it already worked for this month, i've been lurking on this post for a few weeks, contemplating the idea of joining the challenge and it made me paint that quick and fun piglet. i didn't toutch my brushes for months, now let's this if i can keep this up

[Purple Mist]

13 hours ago, Caedrus said:

Hodgepodge Effigy [4SS], The Judge [8SS], Lady Justice [15SS], and Killjoy [12SS]

Like all of them and cannot decide which one  I prefer

[Purple Mist]

17 hours ago, Stranglelove said:

Still trying to figure out how to take/edit good pictures...

Do not use direct lighting or overlight your minis when taking pics. Filter light by using a paper sheet of a white cloth. If possible built a photobox. Try different camera setting/filter till the time you will get best pics..... or what do you consider the best pics!

[Primate]

This is somewhat cheaty "proof" as I still need to drybrush the base mud white, waiting for it to dry properly atm.

Not especially happy with them but that's because these are the first minis I've really painted, and everyone around here is so great, so it's always going to take practice to make it look as what others are showing. And they're miners, they're allowed to look dirty, which helps with things like wash overuse. Good stuff on this challenge forcing me to do it though, they'd still be unpainted now if it wasn't for it. For next month I'll probably stick to theme and try 3 steamfitters, similar but a bit more colourful. 

[emiba]

I don't have a light box or daylight lamp so what I try to do is take the photo next to a window on a slightly overcast day, or a window that's in the shade and towards the end of the day. The important part is that you want indirect light. Putting the model on a sheet of paper and curving the sheet up against a wall (or bottle or whatever) helps keep your background clean. (If you care about that.)

8 minutes ago, Primate said:

Not especially happy with them but that's because these are the first minis I've really painted, and everyone around here is so great, so it's always going to take practice.

For being your first miniatures, I'd say they're pretty good. As you say, it takes practice. I've been painting on and off since 2001 and I'm still learning. It's all about stepping outside your comfort zone. (And asking for advice...)

[Primate]

Just now, emiba said:

(And asking for advice...)

I'm open to it (though not with a crappy photo like the one I took). For the minute I think I just need a steadier hand, and that'll hopefully come. The main thing that didn't come to me at all despite a couple of tries was edge highlighting. So that and keeping an eye out for drybrushing application circumstances is a thing going forward.

[emiba]

2 hours ago, Primate said:

I'm open to it (though not with a crappy photo like the one I took). For the minute I think I just need a steadier hand, and that'll hopefully come. The main thing that didn't come to me at all despite a couple of tries was edge highlighting. So that and keeping an eye out for drybrushing application circumstances is a thing going forward.

One of the biggest things is to dilute your paints. I like to use a medium (Vallejo glaze medium). So when you do edge highlight you want mostly translucent paints, or it will look chalky and sharp. Also to not keep too much paint in your brush or it'll start to flow into places you don't want it.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you any ratios, because it depends on your paints and medium. (My white require more medium than my browns, my yellow hardly require any.)

[Nikodemus]

8 hours ago, Primate said:

I'm open to it (though not with a crappy photo like the one I took). For the minute I think I just need a steadier hand, and that'll hopefully come. The main thing that didn't come to me at all despite a couple of tries was edge highlighting. So that and keeping an eye out for drybrushing application circumstances is a thing going forward.

It's a cliche, but practice helps. I'm not advising for massive quantity over quality, but early on it's very helpful to just get comfortable with the process of painting a mini start to finish. Your first handful of minis will mainly be you getting comfortable with actually using the brush. Getting all that fine muscle control etc. down.  Improvement comes in small steps. Pay some attention to your paint thinning. It helps with basics and many "advanced" techniques rely on nailing the right paint consistency. You already seem to be eyeing for better highlighting, so that's good.

As for photography, if you can manage to shoot without the flash, please do. Using a flash creates really harsh artificial shadows.

[Diddick]

Not much to add to the painting tips, the more you work on it the more you'll know your tools and your skills and the better results you'll get from them.

And about the pics, those 2 quick videos gave me the ABC on mini photo shooting

Basics of the setup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFN77P-SN60

How to take nice pics with your smartphone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZtE6HWXg0E

My setup is pretty simple:  I use 2 lamps with a white cloth around them to soften the light, and then a black t-shirt lying over my open laptop screen to be the background/base.  Then is just a matter of focus and adjust the brightness.  I never zoom, neither take the pic too close to the mini, I'd rather adjust the size and the desired position in the pic later.

 

here s a pic:

Just do some tests with the camera settings and the bg colors and find the setup that better suits your needs.

Hope this helps.

[Pierzasty]

Oooh, a monthly thread!

I posted in the general thread, but just for the sake of organization:

Sign me up for Tyrant-tier.

I pledge the following models for January:
1 Mechanical Rider
1 Steam Arachnid Swarm
3 Steam Arachnids
1 Scorpius
(yeah I'm totally not knocking off all-metallic models to have an easy month, no way)

That should be over 30 SS for both M2e and M3e. Which are we using for the points costs, btw?

 

Also, here's the "before" photo:

[bedjy]

33 minutes ago, Pierzasty said:

Oooh, a monthly thread!

I posted in the general thread, but just for the sake of organization:

Sign me up for Tyrant-tier.

I pledge the following models for January:
1 Mechanical Rider
1 Steam Arachnid Swarm
3 Steam Arachnids
1 Scorpius
(yeah I'm totally not knocking off all-metallic models to have an easy month, no way)

That should be over 30 SS for both M2e and M3e. Which are we using for the points costs, btw?

 

Also, here's the "before" photo:

And tomorrow will come the "After" photo, with everything painted.

Yes, this man is definitly a Tyrant !!!

[Pierzasty]

31 minutes ago, bedjy said:

And tomorrow will come the "After" photo, with everything painted.

Yes, this man is definitly a Tyrant !!!

Nah, I have to do this today, tomorrow's the Infinity contest

But come on, I'm aiming for a "good tabletop" quality, not contest-level stuff. Also, there are like 7 colors on those models, total. Including the base.

[lusciousmccabe]

17 hours ago, Primate said:

This is somewhat cheaty "proof" as I still need to drybrush the base mud white, waiting for it to dry properly atm.

Not especially happy with them but that's because these are the first minis I've really painted, and everyone around here is so great, so it's always going to take practice to make it look as what others are showing. And they're miners, they're allowed to look dirty, which helps with things like wash overuse. Good stuff on this challenge forcing me to do it though, they'd still be unpainted now if it wasn't for it. For next month I'll probably stick to theme and try 3 steamfitters, similar but a bit more colourful. 

I think they look pretty good, especially the lights on the helmets and the shading on the metal.

Washing can take a bit it of practice to get down. You want to put on enough wash that it settles in the recesses but doesn't flood them or run everywhere. I tend to wash on the heavy side but keep an eye on the mini as the paint settles and soak up any excess pools with a clean brush. Takes a few more minutes, but definitely improves the look.

Another approach is to apply less wash and/or thin it out and build up the contrast in more layers if necessary. It's safer and tidier, but you might paint or glaze on the shadows in the time it takes multiple coats of wash to dry.

It's also really important to be aware of what washes work best for. You want something pretty textured and preferably with lots if small, fairly deep recesses. For that reason I find washing isn't that great a technique on the Wyrd plastics as they're full of shallow, broad details which end up looking more dirty than shaded after washes. You can of course still use them, but it's often better on areas like hair and faces than across the whole mini or large areas of cloth.

Oh, and a really heavy wash after undercoating can be a really good way to pick out details so they're easier to paint, even if you cover over most of that work later.

[Primate]

Thanks, I appreciate the advice. I've been diluting my paints a bunch when doing layers (as per the gw meme), but I found myself wanting to have it thicker when trying to do highlighting work, as I felt it just wasn't coming off the brush properly otherwise. WRT to wash, I was definitely a bit too guilty of putting too much on there. I did one of the starter set minis a few months back, and I just slathered it on him and he ended up looking p bad, so I tried to tone it down a bit with this and just do the sunken bits, but even still I need to be more tidy. My biggest dissapointment were with the faces, I was hoping that the wash would add a bit more definition to the eyes and mouth, but as I said, it mostly just ended up making them look dirty. For now I think I just need to focus on the motor control, going in with a bit more of a plan, and having a better idea with what I'm doing with the paint consistency. I might skip the steamfitters for feb and do some gamin + punk zombies instead, do something a bit more uniform rather than fine-detailed. I know the photo's not great as a said, mostly I was just making sure to post it because I wouldn't have another chance before the end of jan.

[Phinn]

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to finish my pledge (male Cyclops) this month and thus would like to use my first mulligen, @Caedrus.
I hoped that I would be, but... The base and 2/3 of the model are already finished though  I will post some WIP pictures when I get home tomorrow.

• The impact MPC had on me:
  • I didn't switch to another model when I felt frustrated with the state of the Cyclops.
  • I felt motivated to paint more.
• Things I would like to work on:
  • Everyday find half an hour for painting - make painting a (nice) habit

[Nikodemus]

4 minutes ago, Phinn said:

 

• Things I would like to work on:
  • Everyday find half an hour for painting - make painting a (nice) habit

That's the ancient chinese secret to a lot of painting improvement and for simply getting stuff done. I don't necessarily paint every day. But every other day at least. That's a comfortable pace for me.

Today's a day off. But I'm reading some inspirational material for a mini I'm going to start work on tomorrow, so it's still hobby time, right

[Phinn]

18 minutes ago, Nikodemus said:

That's the ancient chinese secret to a lot of painting improvement and for simply getting stuff done.

"Everything sounds trustworthy, if you say it is an ancient Chinese secret."
                                                                     An ancient Chinese secret

[bedjy]

Here we are, end of the month.

Here is my pledge : 

2x Beckoners : 12
Hinamatsu : 9
Alt Montresor (hanging tree on a base) : 9
Banjonista : 5
Piglet : 4
Hanging tree : 5

Total : 44Ss

Bayou bases will be done when I'll have more to do.

[Scatterbrain]

Pic of "tournament quality" Mannequin incoming when I get home from work.

[Maxooo]

@bedjy all i can say is : "Ah ouais ça rigole que dalle!!" 😮

Special mention for that Hinamatsu that is out of this world! and i really love alt Lenny's piglet as well !

can't wait to see what you have in store for us in february

[Chou]

@bedjy I love all your models, but that Hinamatsu really shines!!