Soshi Posted September 2, 2012 Report Share Posted September 2, 2012 Hey all, I'm looking for just some general critique on my painting, in particular tips or maybe directions I might want to consider in moving forwards. I've posted everything through blogger at http://shadowbrand.blogspot.com/ . I apologize in advance for picture quality, and thanks for any comments. -soshi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDL1113 Posted September 2, 2012 Report Share Posted September 2, 2012 take a look at this video-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedarkknight Posted September 2, 2012 Report Share Posted September 2, 2012 Your are definitely off to a decent start. One simple thing I would suggest is washes to bring depth to your models, particularly on the metals. The metal arms on the coryphee looks a little flat, a black or dark brown wash or ink would bring out the detail of the sculpt. And a controlled light wash of a purple color around the lips and eyes of your models would help to bring the detail out in the faces. Over all I like your style, the dress on the one performer really stands out.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mako Posted September 2, 2012 Report Share Posted September 2, 2012 Firstly, let me say well done for coming out and saying you want advice! Best way to get it is to ask for it, but it takes a bit of guts to do it. You've got good brush control, so neatness isn't a problem, which means the next things to work on are shading and highlighting. You can do it quite well, as the leaf skirted showgirl shows, so my advice is to ush the contrast on it a little further. make your higlights a little brighter, and your shadows a bit darker. After that, the next thing is to start picking out the details (as you said, belt buckes and such). Really, it comes down what you think is missing from your painting, and finding ways to improve it. One week it might be colours, then as you get your colour choices sorted, it might be your layers, then after that something else... A an extra tip, I would make sure you have a good quality brush before going down the sizes, I personally use a #1 for the whites of eyes, because it has a really sharp tip. Kolinsky sable are probably the best you'll find, but it's a matter of personal taste in many ways. (and, because I can't help myself, I have some painting guides at the start of my WIP thread that might give you some ideas. They're by no means exhaustive, but they show how I go about things which might give you some ideas you want to try. And now I feel monumentally arrogant and am going to go lie down and be ashamed of myself! *wink*) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osoi Posted September 2, 2012 Report Share Posted September 2, 2012 Definately a good start. Like the other guys have said you have good brush control demontrated and are neat. The main thing I see that is missing is just to pump up the contrast between shadows and highlights. The easiest way to do this to get started is using the GW shades, they will help add depth a lot. after you have shaded everything just go back and add a small highlight where you want as simply as adding some white to your main colour (I have done a few models now where to highlight my base colour all I keep doing is adding white and it works to good effect). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartah Posted September 2, 2012 Report Share Posted September 2, 2012 Okie dokie, first things first, you need to get yourself a lightbox. Even with a camera phone, a lightbox makes all the difference in the world in terms of showing off detail and not having a cluttered look to the pic. That in turn makes it much easier for people to critique your work and give advice. ANYWAY, onto what I see: Lucius Crew: They look rather plain, I don't see many shadows, and the pooches need to be pushed a lot more in terms of shades and highlights. Lucius: You have a super solid paint job going on with him. The brown looks leathery and awesome, but like you said you're a bit uninspired and you'll maybe go back and highlight more. I say that is the direction you want to go. From the looks of it you have a base color and a wash with possibly the base color reapplied. That's way cool for TTQ, but you my friend are better than TTQ, so push yourself a bit more with your highlights. I also hope you work on his legs and feet more, it's way too white. Showgirls: I love where you are going with these ladies and the cool white always looks good with the blue shades. Work on the skin a bit more. If you look at human skin, there are a lot of tonal qualities. I for example have a pinkish quality to my skin, when compared to a friend of mine who has a more yellow cast to her. I think adding a wash and highlighting up a few more times on the skin would make them look a bit more realistic. My only other issue is with the back of Colette's jacket. the transition from blue to white is just a little too stark for my tastes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightshard Posted September 2, 2012 Report Share Posted September 2, 2012 (edited) One tips I can see directly is to clean your models a bit better with knives and sandpaper. A model needs a good foundation for a good paint job. And don't be scared to mix the paints a little when it comes to skin and clothes. or to water down paints to use as washes! Also the paint layers are a bit thick, try to make them a bit thinner by adding a little bit of water in the paint. Edited September 3, 2012 by Nightshard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soshi Posted September 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Hey all, First off, thank you for the feed back! I'm hoping to follow up with a redone Kaeriss (finish highlighting her, etc.) in the next few days. I did watch the Dead Rider video shown etc, and I feel that a lightbox will show that there is quite a bit of contrast on the existing models. However, I am trying to move past drybrushing and find other techniques that would help me paint better (beyond pure attention to detail), and I guess I am not quite satisfied with that. I know it is a vague response and I appreciate what everyone has said so far, but perhaps someone can shed light on this? Thanks in advance, soshi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mako Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Most of the things I could tell you about moving painting forward are contained in the PDFs I have at the start of my WIP thread (link is below). There's a lot of other stuff that people will tell you, all good advice worth listening to, but most of what I can suggest for moving on from drybrushing into layering and such is contained in those. They may help, they may not, but that's why they're there! But really, the keys are to thin your paints, and experiment a lot. You'll make mistakes, but I've lost count of the number of models I've thrown in paint stripper over the years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soshi Posted September 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 Hey all, I know its been a little while but I did want to post a reply. I looked at the tutorials each of you posted (still working through all the PDFs), and as I'm moving I haven't had a lot of time to paint lately. Despite this I did do some aggressive highlighting on Ramos's cloak that I wanted to post. Unfortunately I don't think the picture really captured how bright it is, and my good camera is currently boxed up for moving. anyways, Ramos can be found on my blog Shadowbrand.blogspot.com or directly at, http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jDq7IMu2vzg/UFYwXiXXZPI/AAAAAAAAAQk/nDSDi8z6uOM/s1600/2012-09-16_14-52-53_766.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odin1981 Posted September 19, 2012 Report Share Posted September 19, 2012 Hey question for ya if you don't mind? Could you explain how/what you did to get your skin colour on the showgirls please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osoi Posted September 20, 2012 Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 The cloak looks good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterdita Posted September 20, 2012 Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 I learned A LOT about painting by joining the WAMP forum and becoming part of their community. Lots of friendly and talented folks over there to learn from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soshi Posted September 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2012 Odin, I apologize for the late response, things have been busy. most of my fleshes start with a base pinkish color (dwarf flesh, tanned flesh, whatever), then are inked, re-based, and then have a few layers of pink/"white" flesh (elvish flesh, whatever) maybe 75/25, 50/50/ 25/75 or whatnot, and then finally very light dabs/highlights of pure elf flesh, or the flesh color dujour. This process gets messed with a lot since I'm not always convinced I like it, and frequently gets condensed if I'm feeling lazy. -soshi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odin1981 Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 Thank you much mate. Don't worry about the timing its cool real life is a priority over gaming/hobby stuff. I really liked how the skin color stands out but isn't really dominant on your models. My showgirls are primed and based but sadly I do not feel I am at a comfortable level of skill as a painter to do them justice yet but I will save your advice for later when I can handle them at a decent level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDL1113 Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 Just Make Sure to take Your Time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soshi Posted October 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2012 Taking time, and thinning paints are both clutch, and annoyingly vague skills in painting miniatures. Unfortunately both just take practice. Anyways, after moving this week, I'm starting painting for my journeyman league (4 weeks, 15 pts +5 pts/week) with Ortegas, so hopefully I can apply some of the helpful suggestions here and demo some new models in a consistent fashion. -soshi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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