Danube Posted May 22, 2012 Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 Hey folks. So I'm relatively new to both mini painting and Malifaux, so in an attempt to improve my skills I thought I'd start a log on here and solicit feedback from the community! This is my Perdita, which represents my first attempt at using blending and layering. Up till now, I've simply been base coating my models and dipping them, so this marks a big step forward for me from a technique perspective. The scheme is heavily influenced by ThePrimalAce's YouTube video, which was in turn influenced by Jens' amazing work on CMON. The nips are kinda pervy, but I thought a see-through blouse would be a good way to work on my layering. Like I said, my goal is to improve my skills, so constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordZombie Posted May 22, 2012 Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 Wow, one of the nicest Perditas I have seen. I really like the denim effect, very nice. THe fan service, also a plus. Going to be a nice looking crew if the others come out like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demonn Agram Posted May 22, 2012 Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 that paintjob you refer to is the one thing that drove me into Malifaux. Yours isn't to shabby neither. I like your layering on the blouse - it is great. what I think you should probably work on is to lessen the contrast in the skin tones. The whole cleveage is shaded (with a wash I guess) in the same tone. It'd look way better if the darker places were only in between the... hmm... upper womanly parts everything else on the cleveage should be a bit lighter - it'd look more natural. other than that, it's a great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danube Posted May 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 LordZombie - Fan service...I had to Google that, and LOL'd when I figured out what it means...My wife thinks my new hobby is already weird enough, but when I spent a few hours diligently working away at 'little toy boobies'.... Demonn Agram - Thanks for the advice! The skin shading can definitely be improved...My original thinking was that I just needed to blend the skin tones out wider to the edges to minimize the size of the lining, but it never occurred to me to use a lighter wash outside of the cleavage. I'll give that a try when I do Lady J! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassylady Posted May 22, 2012 Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 Love the denim!! But if you decide on a see through shirt for Lady J, make sure you watch your "nip" placement. Left one looks a little detached or something. Needs to be centered to her, not her shirt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danube Posted May 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 Malifauxlady - ugh, now that you've pointed that out, the placement is really bothering me. And Lady J will not be wearing a sheer top...one see-through model is kinda pervy, multiples would be out of control! Working on Santiago next....will post pics when he's done. The only other models I've painted are two Dark Eldar Warrior squads and a couple of Skaven clanrat units. I gotta say, I LOVE the low model counts in this game. I'm finding myself wanting to take my time and do my very best with each model, knowing that I don't have another 40 of the same figure to do afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordZombie Posted May 23, 2012 Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 LordZombie - Fan service...I had to Google that, and LOL'd when I figured out what it means...My wife thinks my new hobby is already weird enough, but when I spent a few hours diligently working away at 'little toy boobies'.... Demonn Agram - Thanks for the advice! The skin shading can definitely be improved...My original thinking was that I just needed to blend the skin tones out wider to the edges to minimize the size of the lining, but it never occurred to me to use a lighter wash outside of the cleavage. I'll give that a try when I do Lady J! Yes, when not doing the gamer thing, I am doing the otaku thing. Keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danube Posted May 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2012 (edited) Just finished my Francisco...or at least, I thought I did until I saw looked at the photo. I can see I need to hit the shoulders, face and hat with some extra matt varnish, as there's some nasty glare going on here. For example, what appears to be a white spot over the right eyebrow is actually a light reflection. My brush control is getting better, and I'm getting more comfortable with layering. I really had a hard time with the face, particularly the eyes and the facial hair. I tried to use an off white for the eyes and a dark brown for the pupils, but there isn't a lot of definition there. And zoomed in I can see that the skin is blended into the top part of the mustache near the nose. Overall, I'm pretty happy with my second attempt at layering. Suggestions for ways to improve would really be appreciated! EDIT: I forgot to mention, the bases are from the Trench series by Dragon Forge Design. I am a huge fan of his, and can't recommend them enough! Edited May 28, 2012 by Danube Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossmann321 Posted May 28, 2012 Report Share Posted May 28, 2012 Nice work love the denim effect look forward to seeing more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danube Posted June 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2012 (edited) Here's my completed Santiago. With work and family obligations, I'm currently on a 1 model/week pace, which goes back to what I was saying earlier about my new-found love for skirmish-level gaming! Overall, I'm pretty happy with how he turned out. Although you can't really see it in the pic, they eyes are the closest I've come so far to doing a decent job. This time I did the eyes first and then painted the face around them, which really seemed to help. Speaking of the face, the skin seems to be off on him. I'm not sure what it is...perhaps the paint wasn't thinned enough? But poor Santiago's face seems to be a bit lumpy or something. Next up is Nino, and then I get to really work on my skin tones when I tackle the Executioner model. Thanks to everyone for the advice, compliments and motivation! EDIT: ARGH, just noticed that I forgot to paint his trigger finger on the left hand! I need to start taking these pictures before I varnish my models... .JPG] Edited June 6, 2012 by Danube Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danube Posted February 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 (edited) So work and family pulled me away from my hobby for quite a while, but I have been able to carve some time out recently to get back into painting and playing. Since I've been away for so long, I am basically starting from scratch again. I figured I would start with something easier and concentrate on the basics (i.e. brush control) and start with a couple of Witchling Stalker models. Overall, I am pretty happy with how they turned out. The glowing eyes on the stalker with dual witch blades didn't come out as well as I'd have liked, and I definitely need to hit them with a few more shots of matt varnish. Like I'd said before, I started this log in the hopes of getting feedback from this community, so I would gladly welcome any input that you guys could provide! Edited February 20, 2013 by Danube Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danube Posted February 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 While I'm working on my Guild Austringer, I figured I would post a few pics of my earlier attempts at painting. The first models I painted were some Warhammer Skaven. All I did here was prime, base coat, and stain with Minwax. After that, I painted up some 40K Dark Eldar. I wanted to learn how to use an airbrush, so I figured models with large areas of the same color would be a good starting point to get a basic feel for how the tool works. Once I blocked out the base colors I just stained with varnish again. Coming from larger scale game systems, I just wanted to get my stuff painted as quickly as possible while still looking decent. Once I moved on to Malifaux, I really wanted to slow down and force myself how to paint without relying on Minwax as a crutch. I do have to admit that it can be frustrating at times to spend a long time trying to shade and highlight JUST right and have it turn out worse than if I'd just stained the models...but it is also a lot more satisfying when it is done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpiralngCadavr Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 I like the clean whites and blues you've got on your ortegas, and your skaven theme's pretty nice-- the brown helps make it not feel overly christmasy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viruk Posted February 24, 2013 Report Share Posted February 24, 2013 I really like the way your stalkers turned out. The realistic style you used suits them very well and the dirt on their robes adds nicely to that feel. The skaven look very nice too. Dipping works really well with some colors, especially with greens and browns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIGHTHATER Posted February 24, 2013 Report Share Posted February 24, 2013 Danube, Your work is very impressive, and you got mad skills, but you did asked for critique. You color choices are a little too monotone for my taste. I fell with Perdita you missed the mark by making the shirt and pants so close to the same color. Im a fan of contrast and you malifaux figures are moving away from that too much for me. You missed another shot on Perditas hat by not seperating the detail out. I don't know where I am on the see through shirt yet, but it's different for sure. Your 40k and Skaven models are breathtaking and I fell you should go along with the same color contrast with your malifaux models dark stain as needed and you be "in the zone". This is just my opinion though and you should get more feedback and then put it against the hardest critic...yourself and see where your at. Nighthater Remeber always once you paint a figure its forever... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argentbadger Posted February 24, 2013 Report Share Posted February 24, 2013 I like the colour choice of the Stalkers; it's a good look for the dirty, functional and oppressed minions of the Guild. Nice OSL on the second one's eyes and cowl too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danube Posted February 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 Thanks for the encouraging feedback, everyone. SpiralngCadavr - The Skaven were going to be a Clan Pestilens-themed army with lots of plague monks, which is why I went with lots of green. At some point I planned on doing a 40K Deathwing force, so I wanted to figure out how to work red in there without coming across, as you said, too Christmasy. It took a few tries to get a combination that I was happy with, although sadly, I never finished the Skaven or started the Deathwing! Viruk - I follow your paintlog closely and really appreciate that you take the time to provide your thoughts & encouragement in others' threads. Nighthater - I am trying to capture a dark and dirty style Western style (perhaps not successfully, but that's my goal!) which perhaps is resulting in washed out colors. I need to figure out how to apply richer, more vibrant colors while still capturing that feel... Argentbadger - thanks for the compliment on the glowing eyes, as it is the part I thought I executed the least successfully. I tried to blend the green from the eyes into the cowl more subtly, but I think I could have done a better job. I'm going to put some extra focus on that when I do the 3rd stalker. I haven't made much progress on the Austringer. Once I primed the model I realized I missed a mold line all the way from the one shoulder to the tip of his finger...had to sand it down and re-prime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danube Posted May 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2013 Been a while since I posted...I've been plugging away at painting - only problem is that I keep jumping from one model to the next without finishing. Right now I have 2 Marshals, Lady J, Nino, the Executioner, a Watcher, Sidir and 2 Austringers in various stages of completion! In terms of what I have actually finished, these are the models and the techniques I wanted to try out: First is the test run on a Marshal, where I wanted to give NMM a go. Chains, spurs, gun etc were all painted in this style and came out pretty well, if a little flat. Next is my Guardian. I wanted to take what I did w/ the Marshal and apply it on a larger scale, so the gold was done in NMM. I also wanted to give OSL a real try, and give oil washes a try to make it look extra grimy. I still don't know how to take decent pics, but let me know what you think... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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