Jaslyne Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 (edited) Hey guys, This is my first time posting here, and I wanted to display my minis and hopefully get some tips and tricks. I'm working on my Colette crew and definitely appreciate any feedback or comments! These girls are on magnets (which is why the little circle she's standing on sticks out a bit) so I can move them from the smaller bases to the larger one. This is the first miniature I've ever been able to finish and seal, and it's the first base I've ever made (greenstuffing planks is madness). The pictures bring out little things I'm noticing that bug me now, but at arms distance really couldn't see while painting. As the title suggests I'm going a Moulin Rouge theme, so painting Colette will be the largest project since blacks/whites are hardest for me at this point. I hope you enjoy! Update 6/29: Coryphee Number 2! The two pictured together: Performer and Mannequin! (More pictures starting page 3) Edited July 31, 2011 by Jaslyne Updating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gru6y Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 Hey Jaslyne! Welcome to the forums and Malifaux! I have to admit, a great piece you've got there. The wood planks base was well worth the lost sanity. Also love the colour scheme on the dress and your style. Will definitely be checking this thread out. Good luck with the rest of gals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osoi Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 Hi Jaslyn, welcome. The coryphee looks good, yellow is an absolute pain to paint nicely and yours looks pretty good. Look forward to seeing more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grifter666 Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 Very nice paint job. I like the way the body has a cork/wormwood look to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mydnight Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 Greetings Jaslyn! I love the idea and would love to pass on some helpful hints for you. First, here's a tutorial for wooden planks [ame] [/ame] I have yet to try it out, but I have all the materials I'll need. I'm doing the bases for a friend's Collette set. I have lots of experience painting white and the biggest tip I can give is this: When you want to paint white, paint it off-white and then highlight with white. A softer white would use very light browns/cream colors, layered with increasing amounts of white. For a sharper, brighter, white use grays. A medium gray makes for a good base, followed by a light gray, and highlighted with a white. When choosing your grays make sure to avoid blueish grays as those will give a more "ghostly" feel to the color. For blacks the the trick is to always base with black or a really really dark blue. I usually use black, then dark gray, and medium gray as my base, middle, and highlight. Alternatively you can use black, dark blue, and medium blue, but that tends to be more a hair color. Currently I'm working on my own "Moulin Rouge," except it's just Seamus and his Belles (I hope to have them up later this week!). Hope the advice helps :-) Welcome to the forums and I look forward to seeing more of your work. If that's your first paint job then there is no doubt that you have natural talent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodthornZero Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 I think you did a great job as well. The body looks good with color and little stitches you painted. Really brings out the artificial look. The plank base is great too, I like how you painted in the wood grain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrimsonWraith Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 Looks great! I would rather paint either white or black than yellow, so more power to you! For white, I agree with Mydnight. The off-white gives more of a cream color, while the grey to white is super stark. For black, I only differ a little, in that I generally go from black through dark blue. I go through greys only for a dirtier look. Best of luck, hope to see more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoeRender Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 lookin good so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaslyne Posted June 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 Thank you for all of the kind welcomes and comments! I actually had a lot of fun painting the yellow, the second Coryphee is in blues and purples to compliment the first. @Mydnight I absolutely love how he did those bases. Is styrene something I can usually buy at a craft store or do hardware stores like Home Depot carry it? I think I'll be doing his method for the rest of my girls since with the Coryphees I'm trying to make sure their magnets fit in the bases to be able to switch them around whenever I need to. Thanks so much for the tips on blacks/whites, I'm trying to put good use to it on the shoes of the second girl, and they'll both really come in handy when that's the entire outfit. I love your paint jobs and I can't wait to see your newest one. @Crimson I've noticed with greys it's been more of a cloudy/dirty look, I'll have to give the black to blue shades a try as well and see if I like the effect better. Thanks again and hopefully I'll have more pictures very soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mydnight Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 @Mydnight I absolutely love how he did those bases. Is styrene something I can usually buy at a craft store or do hardware stores like Home Depot carry it? I looked at a few hobby stores, Michael's, and Hobby Lobby. I didn't check hardware stores though. If you have a store that specializes in model trains then they would be likely to have it. A store near my parent's is big on trains, models, RC Cars, and more, and they had a whole big selection. You mentioned that your blacks w/greys came out looking a bit more dirty, do you do layering or drybrushing? Also, have you tried using a thinned out black ink or wash over it? I find that an ink goes a long way to smooth out the roughness I get when I paint (especially if I'm drybrushing). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stern Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 I love yellow on showgirls it just works! Love it! look forwards to seeing more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harbinger Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Is styrene something I can usually buy at a craft store or do hardware stores like Home Depot carry it? sadly you wont have much luck finding "modelers" styrene at Home Depot (or craft stores usually.) You need either a model railroad or online shopping for the most part. The brand names to look for is Plastuct or Evergreen (hehe yeah a plastic company had nerve to use green in their name.) Now.. that being sad... unless you plan to do much work with it then lets head back to Home Depot, Walmart, a Dollar Store, ect to buy a plastic for rent, for sale, or my personal fav "Warning-- I dont call 911" sign. They are a tad thick then commonly used styrene but for a base would be just fine. Best part is you could get a single sign (would do MANY bases) for less then youd spend just to stiff a pack of styrene sheets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaslyne Posted June 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Thank you again for the comments and compliments! You mentioned that your blacks w/greys came out looking a bit more dirty, do you do layering or drybrushing? Also, have you tried using a thinned out black ink or wash over it? I find that an ink goes a long way to smooth out the roughness I get when I paint (especially if I'm drybrushing). I do layering. I tried drybrushing a little bit before but it just doesn't really suit my style of painting. I'll try going over with a thinned out wash. I've never actually been able to use inks, what's the best company for those? Now.. that being sad... unless you plan to do much work with it then lets head back to Home Depot, Walmart, a Dollar Store, ect to buy a plastic for rent, for sale, or my personal fav "Warning-- I dont call 911" sign. They are a tad thick then commonly used styrene but for a base would be just fine. Best part is you could get a single sign (would do MANY bases) for less then youd spend just to stiff a pack of styrene sheets. I like this idea...I'll give the dollar store a shot to see if I can find anything of the like. I know when Hobby Lobby was still Hobby Bench they use to have A LOT in terms of trains, but those stores seem to not exist anymore. I haven't gotten to price styrene, so I'll have to check online for that. Lastly a WIP Picture (with horrible lighting and a camera phone lol)! Enjoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mydnight Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 I'll try going over with a thinned out wash. I've never actually been able to use inks, what's the best company for those? I hear that GW washes are good. I use Vallejo paints, and I really like their inks, specifically black ink and sepia ink (sepia ink is like, my magic wand!). The trick to using any washes or inks from any line is to remember that using a straight ink or wash is going to be very strong and can/will undo any layering. What you'll want to do is thin out the wash depending on how strong you want it to be. I usually use a 50/50 ratio of water to ink. The more you thin out a wash the less impact it will have (obviously). If it's too thin, try adding a little more ink/wash to help bolden it a little, just be careful not to add too much. Sorry if some of this seems redundant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osoi Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 The GW washes are completely different to Vallejo's inks, if you are using inks follow what Mydnight said, with Gw's washes they are spot on right out of the pot and can have multiple coats put over a model. I would suggest grbbing a bit of something to just do a practice with first if you havent used anything like that befoe, it will give you a sense of how it flows and works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kretcher Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 welcome, Nice work there, looking forward to see more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAGabriel Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 Very nice mini, l rather like the effort you put into the yellow and the wood is awsome. But (every mini has a but, mine often more than one): if it isn`t just the cam i think the red could need some more work. On this pic it makes an impression of painted red and washed. It really is one of my problems, too, and many tutorials have been written about it. "Often have i read them and alas to little avail!" Keep on painting happily! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gru6y Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 On the wash-ink front, you can also give Vallejo Glaze Medium a try. It is probably my favourite tool when it comes to painting and greatly helps with shading/highlighting/blending models. It requires some practice and experimentation, but the results are probably worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaslyne Posted June 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 So my second coryphee is done (updated first page). I tried a bit thicker of a "stage" this time in an effort to hide the magnet a little better but overall I think I like the flatter planks more, which is what I'll be going with for their "dance together" base even if you can see the magnet a tad. (Still searching for styrene for the rest of my girls/doves) I love how their colors work together and I'm working on better transitions for blending. Also have been practicing light sourcing which is better seen on the blue one in person. I'm still learning to make my lights brighter and the shades darker so it's more of a contrast. I'm really happy with my second model though. Now to the tough part for me; the skin on the performer. Giving the washes more practice as well, since I enjoy making my own as well as using the pre-mades. I really appreciate all the comments and compliments guys it helps out a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gru6y Posted June 29, 2011 Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 Wow, they indeed look fantastic together I like the flat floor more as well. Also, I really dig the irregular wooden tiles. Very Malifauxy and a bit creepy. Not too sold on the gloss finish, tho, but it might be just photos. Anyhow, congrats on this great looking pair. Looking forward to seeing the Performer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaslyne Posted June 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 Thank you very much Gru6y ^^ Yeah the camera/lighting I was using made it reflect ridiculously bright, it doesn't look that shiny off camera. May try matte spraying it again and seeing if I like that better. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffb007 Posted June 29, 2011 Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 (edited) I think they are looking great! I really agree with you about the camera picking out things you don't spot, I get it all the time. I think part of the trick there is try to resize the actual image to more closely resemble what you would see. I swear by the GW washes, they are fantastic. I used to avoid inks and washes when I first started out, I only had a pot of an old GW brown ink I used for faces. If you want to see the kind of effect you get applying them over a flat colour I did a blog post about painting in progress to try and encourage a gamer from our group to do some painting which is here but the result is below! It's actually a pretty poor photo now I look at it again :stupid: Anyway, keep up the good work, I'm looking forwards to seeing more! Edited June 29, 2011 by jeffb007 link didn't work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaslyne Posted July 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 It's been forever since I updated between switching jobs and running con tables things have been crazy. But I have two new models to present. Please forgive the lighting issues, still doing a lot of experimenting on my camera and don't know how to change numerous settings yet. Unfortunately it died before I really got into it. Never the less! Performer number one! And screwing with gimp lighting settings... For whatever reason the sculpt on her left eye was super wonky, so I painted her winking. This was my first go at skin and taking a lot of tips from the numerous awesome artists on this forum as well as a couple other websites I'm really proud with how she came out. I tried to take pictures of her matching mannequin alone and they all came out too dark. She hasn't been sprayed yet so there's a couple little spots that are still pretty shiny, but here are piccys of them together! I also didn't green stuff the bases this time. I watched the video that was posted to me (thank you thank you <3), went to the dollar store and bought 2 99 cent plastic "YARD SALE" signs as suggested. I cut them into strips and glued them to the second piece and then fit them to the bases. They look awesome on the bases and honestly take me about 45 minutes from start to finish to make so that was REALLY helpful. Anyone doing stages for their performers I highly recommend it. I'm trying to have an overall color scheme so the next performer/mannequin will be brighter to match the second coryphee. I'm glad to have reached the halfway point though, time to start on the other performer! As always comments/compliments/helpful tips highly recommended! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightseer Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 That performer looks great, I really like her face! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffb007 Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 Looking good from what I can see. What sort of camera are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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