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SC's new Malifaux painting thread (post-switch to white)


SpiralngCadavr

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KMDL, I started with a black outline with paint thinned with paint retarder and a detail brush (though a very fine-pointed pen would probably have been easier), based on some tattoos I'd found. Dark blue looks more realistic if you're doing areas that are actually supposed to be black, but for just lines it doesn't matter much. Then I painted the details in with more thinned color, a little thinner than a wash (I don't like using premixed washes, since they're harder to control and have a lower viscosity so can run if you're not careful), applied with a detail brush.

 

Finally, the trick to making them look convincing tattoos is to make a really thin wash with the skin midtone, which tones down the contrast, since overly sharp tattoos will just look painted on the surface. Doing this also helps obscure any imperfections.

 

A note on paint retarder- first, it's really cheap in art stores, compared to the expensive bottles you'll get in hobby stores. Second, it thins paint without changing its consistency as much as water, so you can apply less opaque layers without it pooling or beading.

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Posted my Harrowing Harvest entry, and a description of my thought process and rush to complete it in 4 days, here.

For the instant gratification picture crowd, beginning and end pics below, as a sample.

Also, a shout out to everyone who entered or commented- made this way more enjoyable and about a community than most I've been involved in, that have tended to involve weird politicking.

I was planning on doing a competition highlights post later- is anyone opposed to me showing their pics?

sketch.jpg

watermark+final.jpg

 

Only just found my way to this thread.

I have to say, the above is the single most beautiful piece of miniature painting I have ever seen in my life (and I have been in the hobby for almost two decades now). Absolutely stunning. I am slightly confused with the round shadow under what looks like square base of the lantern, but other than this, the style, the technique and the overall feel of the scene is jaw-dropping amazing.

You, good sir, are my hero from now on.

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Well, thanks! Wow.

 

I was really pushing myself to experiment on that one, and, unlike some of them, I guess that one worked :)

 

Regarding the lamp shadow, it was originally going to be a soft/fading circle (which would have been more realistic than a square with the unfocused edge) rather than the harsh light, but, somewhere along the way I changed my mind because I wanted it stark, but I was pretty rushed in the competition (the entire entry was a last-minute decision to even work on: think I had a week on it from start to finish) so by the time I noticed the weirdness, I decided that my time was better spent refining the wall than fixing something that looked nice but was incorrect.

 

...I'll probably eventually resculpt the lamp a little to give it a rounder top/bottom, because I think that a square shadow might be too angular for the composition, and it is a little inconsistency, but for now the not-quite ladies live in my display cabinet...

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I've read about the short deadline and kind of was expecting it to be the reason, thanks for your reply.

I really cannot stress enough how astonished I am by this diorama. I have been looking at it at work, on my mobile while commuting, now back at home.

The way you handle colour is beyond anything I have ever seen in miniature painting.

Respect. Lots of it.

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Gru6y, thanks- I've done a lot of illustration these last few years, and I think it's really improved my color ideas. I do wish I'd taken some color theory in college, though- didn't, back then, because it all felt so overly academic.

 

Boro, thanks on both counts- they're two of my favorite sets :)

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Thanks! Those tattoos were the first time I've felt like I hit the mark on execution and theme- felt like a good solution to making Graves fit in better with a more asian sensibility, but it seems like the details are becoming the centerpiece of the crew.

 

Cactus, thanks, she really inspired me as soon as I saw the stock mini. One of my favorites from any line.

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Your lightning on the models is superb - even breathtaking in that widow weaver scenery.

 

I like your Hungering Darkness - even though I'm not a huge fan of the model. I think you managed to have him not look ridiculous, which is an achievement in itself :P

I'm also quite fond of what you did to the third of the illuminated, the one with the Not-Huggy emerging from his back. Having him levitate gives the whole pose of the mini a new purpose. Great job there.

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Thanks!

 

Yeah, HD is probably wyrd's least successful translations from concept to sculpt other than the original ashes & dust, in my opinion- I really do think the concepts for both are fine, and I've enjoyed working on the Hungering Darkness less goofy-looking. This is the third time I've tried it, and I think my best.

 

On the Illuminated, I think that they'd always been going for the levitating look, but similarly missed the mark just a little- the rod got the point across, but I think they could have gotten something more elegant across, with a basing detail masking it.

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This is exactly what I wanted to do with my Sorrows!  :huh:  I only lack your skills.
I'm more then impressed with what you've done and I can't wait to do some brushwork on mine.

 

Thank  you for the tutorial. I'll definitely check it out since my smoky Tara is next on schedule after I finish Molly and her horror friends.
I have a lot of crews to work on before I get around Pandora, but I'll hopefully improve enough to do something quite similar to this.

I might have written this in your thread before: I think your Mannequin/Widow diorama is one of the best stuff I've seen done to miniatures since I've started playing Confrontation in 2004 (and got interested in making miniatures look nice).

I also envy your Tara crew, one of the most original paintjobs for her I've seen on the forums and AWP.
I hope I'll rival yours in idea if not in execution when I get to finish it in a couple of months (hopefully).

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Thanks, everyone!

Linus- it's not too tricky, and I'd highly recommend playing with the sprues a lot before putting point down on your spiffy LE crews, and the paint retarder I mentioned in the post is definitely the way to go, IMHO. I'd be working with that smoke kit if I hadn't put so much time into the regular one (even though my Tara crew isn't my most elaborate work, it's still my favorite, since it's probably my biggest departure from standard... and I'm a sucker for weird west stuff). Looking forward to seeing what you do with yours!

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