quiche Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Love that freehand dragon Is the sculpt going to be a guard captain by chance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praetoriian Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Your painting is brilliant, I really like your crew. I especially like the freehand your working on too, look forward to more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyboy30672 Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 All this and a sculptor, too? You are incredibly talented! I think your sculpting is brilliant!!! One thought, though... when sculpting on top of a fully sculpted model already, will it become to "clunky", adding so many layers of putty to an already proportionate figure...? I am thinking of a child whose mother dresses him in so many layers for the winter weather that the child cannot even put his arms down... Hehe! An exaggeration, but you get the jist. Have you tried using "dollies"? They are wire frameworks for miniatures that sculptors to add flesh to. I know Reaper makes some, but I am sure you could find others or make your own. Might be fun to experiment with, and could be a great learning experience for you. Most of the professional mini sculptors I know use dollies for their work, which is the only reason I know about them. I am a terrible sculptor! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen_tr Posted March 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 @Quiche - He's going to be Lucius in the end - saves us having to decide between buying the old metal model and waiting ages for the new plastic! @Monkeyboy - Thank you! You're totally right, adding too many layers would make him look bulky - on the other hand, there is a balance between trying to sculpt lots of little bits that need to look like they are deeper layers (e.g. the sash around his waist, that will eventually be partly covered by coat), while still getting the folds/creases right... I'm hoping I'll turn out to have walked on the right side of that thin line... I hadn't heard of "dollies" before - I just sort of assumed "real" sculptors made them from scratch... and I never get the proportions right when I try! I will definitely be looking into getting some if I do much more sculpting, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WookieeGunner Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 You might also see them listed as armatures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen_tr Posted March 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Alongside Lucius, I've been painting up Mei Feng's crew. They seem to have gone pretty well, but for some reason they don't quite feel... finished... Any suggestions? Mei Feng: Kang: Emberling: Rail Workers: And some detail of one of the tatoos: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen_tr Posted March 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Hmmm I think that while I might have got the lighting right this time, I'm not quite there with the focus of the camera... Will keep working on that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zFiend Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 They look really good as well. I like the toned down colors you do, I couldn't do colors like that if my life depended on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyboy30672 Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 For focusing, try setting the camera to Macro, zooming in about 2/3 the total way, then physically moving the camera forward or backward, to find the closest place where you can autofocus on the desired spot. That should help. Everything will probably be soft and out of focus, but your desired spot should come out crisp. Use lots of light, too. Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikvar Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 You are doing really good, but I would personally add some more different shades of the colours you use. It seems like you are using only two variants of each colours, while I would personally always use 3 shades of each colour as an absolute minimum- one for the darkest creases, one for the mid tones and one for the Highlights. Afterwards you can use a glaze medium to water down some colours so you can get a smooth transition between the three shades. Later on you can experiment with using colours like violet for shadows, and colours like red, green and pink to make the skin tones more natural... but that might be going a bit to far for now ^^ - Hope my english is understandable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 I hadn't heard of "dollies" before - I just sort of assumed "real" sculptors made them from scratch... and I never get the proportions right when I try! I will definitely be looking into getting some if I do much more sculpting, I think. Depends on the sculptor I think - Kev White of Hasslefree Miniatures sculpts the naked figure first and then dresses them but as far as I'm aware he does that to make it harder on himself. You're miles ahead of me at the sculpting thing though - I don't dare try! The painting looks really good so far too. Pushing the contrast higher will help them look better on the table and might make them feel more finished to you - like Ikvar says try to make sure you shade and highlight each colour and you can work from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen_tr Posted March 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 My boyfriend teases me for being a "colour coward" and being too careful with my colours... I will try to follow your advice Ikvar and Wings, and push the colours a bit further! Thanks. With glazes, I always seem to have trouble getting them the right consistency and applying the right amount. I often end up either with water-marks where the edge of the glazed bit is, or really deep shadows where I wanted a softer effect. Ah well, practice makes perfect, I guess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProximoCoal Posted March 6, 2014 Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 Well I have to tease her about something to do with her painting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings Posted March 6, 2014 Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 Make sure you don't have too much paint on your brush when glazing - wipe some/most of it off on kitchen roll and then it shouldn't pool and create tidemarks. I can't say I'm necessarily good at doing it myself, but it does make a lot of difference! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterDisaster Posted March 6, 2014 Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 More excellent painting. I may have to kidnap you for a month or two so you can work on my crews! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen_tr Posted March 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 Hmmm... being kidnapped sounds like a pretty good excuse for painting instead of working... go for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybarite Posted March 6, 2014 Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 They look great Great rust effect Mei's gauntlets look great like that! But if you want to take it further then maybe you could give them an extra, bright highlight on their cheek bones and noses etc. You could also try and paint thin eyebrows on Mei and Kang. i did that and i felt it gave their faces a bit more character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyboy30672 Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 At this point, after showing mastery like yours, Jen, all the advice we could give is just nit-picking, really!! Ha! One thing I noticed is the eyes on the model. You paint the white and then dot the middle with black, right? Think of it differently... think of it like you would about putting on makeup. What does a woman use to make her eyes "pop" and stand out, even from 50 feet away...? Eyeliner. Try this... Paint the entire eye black first, then dot white on either side of center. Not only will that technique give you whites and pupils, but will also line the eyes to make them stand out more, even when the model is held at arm's length. Like I said, this is just nit-picky stuff... your models are stunning!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen_tr Posted March 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Thanks for the advice monkeyboy! I did at one point try painting eyes like that, but I always felt that the black was too severe, and made my models look like they were wearing make-up... (as an aside, I've only ever agreed to wear make-up when absolutely necessary - e.g. in a show or dance competition where you want to make your eyes visible from a distance) So, I decided that it didn't really work for me on most models. Having said that, I do agree that the eyes on these models don't really "pop", so maybe I could try a similar thing with a dark brown instead - try to have the same overall effect, but without the starkness of the black? I suspect when I get to paint Collette and her crew, however, they will definitely be getting the full make-up treatment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyboy30672 Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Dark brown instead of black! That had never crossed my mind, actually... I would love to see how that works for you! As far as putting makeup on a model, I have tried a few times to add a hint of blush or eyeshadow color to a female model, though it never really works out well for me. (Yeah, I don't wear much makeup, either... Actually, my girlfriend rarely EVER wears makeup, and she is beautiful, regardless.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen_tr Posted March 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Okay, I've done eyebrows and a little more highlight on the cheeks (thanks Sybarite), and darkened around the eyes (thanks Monkeyboy). I've also added a little reddish colour to the lips. I think they look a lot better now. What do you think? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyboy30672 Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Wow!! ALL those things together make a huge difference, in my humble opinion...! Stunning work taken to an even higher level, Jen. VERY well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viruk Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 The all look very nice. The only thing you might consider adding is a light wash of soft brown shade to the white outer layer of the eyeball as it will add a more realistic look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybarite Posted March 8, 2014 Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 That's a really nice improvement in my opinion! i think they look really good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inquisitor Wall Posted March 8, 2014 Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 Excellent look on Mei. The changes to the face really complete the model. I also really like the tiger look to the claws. Great color choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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