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


SpiralngCadavr

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  • 2 weeks later...

While I've been doing commissions for some time now, Stryker's my first piece for a charity auction, with more of a story to go with it than usual.

stryker.jpg

While I normally don't post minis from other companies here, there were a couple reasons I decided to--

First, it's a charity, so, the more support it can get, the better.

Second, I recently entered him in the Rotten Harvest competition.

I felt like it was in the wrong category, but mostly what it came down to is, like a few pieces I entered in the competition, I took a risk with something a bit outside of my comfort zone, and this one didn't pay off.

I'm still quite happy with how the model came out, though I wish it had placed, so it got it a bit more attention for the charity...

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Another (half) crew, another blog post.

This time, with a question: I'm unsure, about the look of this crew: I chose to do a cleaner well lit look, to emphasize the stark bureaucratic feel, but (again) I'm not sure on this choice.

So, I have a few options (and would be happy with any other suggestions)

-keep them as-is

-do a more subtle version of the yellow-orange light I paint on a lot of my malifaux stuff, and experiment with slightly softer shadows

-do another color of light altogether

Thoughts?

lucius.jpg

guild+lawyer.jpg

scribe+of+the+governor.jpg

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That's actually a good question and one I have hard time answering myself. When I paint my guild crews I try to give them all a more or less cogerent look but also make sure that each one has distinctive features. I use different basing for that (e.g. LJ - graveyard, Lucas - cobblestones, etc.). It's nice as it gives each crew a more unique feel but at the same time it breaks the coherent look among the whole faction. Previously I based all the minis using one common theme but after looking at a few crews on the same type of bases, I decided to switch to unique basing idea. So, long story short - I'd go for different styles among crews even if it means lack of cohesion within the faction.

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So, in the Rotten Harvest, I tried my first Malifaux mini in a new style, with a big ol' arid chunk or dirt and sand, and, as the first completed in the look, I'm looking for improvements before working on the rest of the crew.

First, what I thought worked:

-I liked the base, though don't think it photographed very well

-I liked her coat, though the weathering could have been smoother

-I liked the blue in her metal

What I'm unsure about or thought didn't work:

-I feel like the photography wasn't great and it got kind of muddy, and eventually want to reshoot it because of that, but I'm also ready to try new things. I thought the blue and orange in the eyes completely didn't read

-Did the flame look too weird not being traditional red? Should I have made it purely a single supernatural color? Was it just not saturated enough? (I'm looking for advice to practice on the flame, because I'm not sure what to do and her avatar is nearly ready for paint.)

-not really sure about her skin/hair/leather/pants, they all seemed okay

I'm looking for advice primarily on the latter half (what worked; what didn't, and advice on changes if you have ideas), but if you have thoughts on the former too, then by all means, LMK.

Thanks in advance for any advice...

wirtz-sonnia.jpg

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I think the pic is very bright and it may make the highlights seem very sharp and they appear as if there was little to none smoothness there. At least these were my first impressions when I saw the photo. I'd try shooting in slightly darker conditions.

The energy-to-fire effect on the skull - I'm not sure about it, I think the colors you've used there are a bit too contrastive and you need to look closely to actually be able to notice and appreciate the effort put there. Technically, it looks good but I think the idea of using two very much different colors doesn't work that well here/ Also, with fire I'd try to use less black while applying the final touches, just a little bit on the edges of flames. It's easy to overdo here but you should try to leave a bit more of the previous layers showing. And one more thing - in some shots her hair looks a bit too close in shade to the cuffs.

And that's probably it. Hard to find areas to be 'constructively criticized' on a paintjob that I really like but I tried my best. I just have to add that I'm not a fan of this particular miniature (not that it affects my view on the paintjob, it's actually good enough to let me appreciate it past my dislike for the sculpt ;) ).

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Thanks for the thorough reply!

In order,

the photo was actually too dark, overcompensated with levels, though, I think. It's a very bright model, and the brights got kind of muddied when I brought everything up.

Re: fire, thanks, yeah, think it's overly stylized. Will work on what you were saying, and think I'll stick with traditional rather than the gradient. Either that, or just put more color in, as I think it got desaturated.

Re: Hair, yeah, I noticed that before... bugs me just a little- will need to decide on how much, after working on the rest.

Thanks, re: criticism- there is something a little off about the mini, I think it's her face. I was considering giving her her m2e mask, but decided against it mostly b/c it makes her look just a little too much like she wants to be in the Protomen.

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You're welcome ;) I think you might try painting her hair using browns. You could start with dark brown like Scorched Brown and work it up by adding bestial brown and vermin brown, finishing off with a very light touch of bleached bone. I painted some of my red-haired minis that way and it gives them a nice, realistic and dark feel.

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