First real effort

[NovaPulse]

So I just finished my counts as Mephiston model, and i would like some critiques on the paint job. This is my second painted model. There are a few obvious mistake, paint bleeding onto other parts that I will fix (one example being the boltgun on the backpack exhaust port) Outside of that, I'm looking for advice on making him look better.

Thanks for any and all comments.

[confused_gordy]

Good work.

 

I particularly like his shoulder pad, and good idea for memphy, he seems to fit.

 

Suggestions would be to try and differentiate areas a little more, example being that his cape is exactly the same colour as his red armour where they both make contact, and exactly the same colour as his black armour where they both make contact, this makes the model look a little odd IMO.

 

In order to improve in general, i would suggest getting some washes (these will instantly make a difference, you will be amazed). And really concentrate on getting clean areas of colours (as you said). Once youve gotten more proficient at these you can start doing lots of fun stuff with highlights.

 

Good start tho, and a really cool idea. All the best finishing it off.

[spjaco]

All in all a great start!

[JMcL63]

Your colour choice and eye for detail are both good. You need to work on 2 basic areas:

• Preparing your mini.
  
• Improving your paintwork.
  

Preparing your mini

• I see mould lines (on the backpack nozzles): always remove mould lines. There are various methods:
  

1. Files.
   
   
2. Scraping with craft knife.
   
   
3. Emery boards (this is my preferred method for cleaning plastic minis).
   
   

• Priming: did you prime your mini? It is usually done with spray cans these days. This helps paint stick, and is used to develop your colour scheme. That is to say: people often prime black, and sometimes use the primer coat as deep shading.
  

Painting your mini

• THIN YOUR PAINTS. Sorry for shouting, but learning how to use different consistencies of paint in layers (including with washes) to achieve different effects is probably the single most important technique in miniatures painting. Crucial to begin with is learning how to get the paint to the proper consistency so that 2 thin coats give you a clean, smooth basecoat.
  
• Work from dark to light. You'll always get paint where it shouldn't go, often where you've already painted. It's easier to paint dark over light than vice versa, so if you paint dark colours first, your retouching will be easier, because you'll be covering lighter colours with darker colours.
  
• Learn to paint as neatly as possible using the lines of the figure to guide you.
  

That's the basic advice all beginners need to learn and master. Techniques like shading, highlighting and all the rest will follow on naturally. Hope this helps. ;)

[Rashia the lurker]

I've got a few tips for a newbi ;)

 

1. never leave pure black areas, try to highlight it with some codex grey + chaos black (40/60 mix)

2. use GWs new washes, they are really simple to use, baal red on your red, then just highlight or drybrush the cape and armor with "lighter" colors.. use badab black on the silver areas then highlight (or drybrush, if you want it easy) with some chainmail.

I'd use gryphon sepia, for the face then highlight (or again drybrush) it up with some flesh tones.

[Lord Noble]

JMcL63's post is helpful. Print it, write it down, commit it to memory. There is a learning curve with using thinned paints, but (and I am in NO way mildly proficient at it yet myself) it looks SOOOOO much better. I like your model, but it screams for some blue to me.... Maybe the cape?

 

The thing I like most though is your pics. How did you get such nice clear shots of your mini? Every camera I use, the macro shots I take are (sometimes) blurry or (usually) too dark and all detail is lost... How many lights did you use around the model for taking the pics? It looks like only one light... Thanks in advance...

 

-J

[NovaPulse]

Lord Noble - the shots were taken with a Canon SD1000. Trust me it took me forever to get these shots. Its the digital macro mode on the camera. The light is from the room's overhead. I was trying to use white back drops but found that blue in the GW boxes made teh camera focus better. If I had a camera with manual focus it wouldn't have mattered. To be honest though I think the camera did most of the work. See below on why I'm hesitant to use more blue. But I agree the cape needs something as it just blends in too much. I even tried washing the crap out of it to no avail.

 

JMcL63 - Thank you for your comments. To answer a few, yes I did undercoat the model. I used black, as I want the red to not be as bright as a blood angels red (as he is for BA successor chapter). I was wondering about how to make the red smoother looking, so thank you. Also, I've had people tell to make sure to file down the lines before, I just never did as I'm still waiting on a decent file set to arrive. (order it a month ago)

 

Rashia the lurke - Thank you for the advice on the black areas, I was really wondering what I could do to make them pop more, they look so plan an dull at the moment. Thanks for the advice on the cape as well, It really does need something. Not sure about the gunmetal parts, as I kind of like how shiny they are now. I'll look into it though.

 

confused_gordy - thanks for your advice as well. Thanks for your comments!

 

Thanks to everyone, I'll try to work on all of the advice and update this thread with the results.

[JMcL63]

Also, I've had people tell to make sure to file down the lines before, I just never did as I'm still waiting on a decent file set to arrive. (order it a month ago)

You could pick up a packet of emery boards for a buck or two from a local pharmacist or similar. You can get brown and grey; both are useful for different purposes. I like them because they're easy to cut into different shapes, which means you can have a whole set of 'files' for the different jobs you do. I've been using them myself since I was a teenage tankie. ;)

[Kurgan the Lurker]

The issue with your camera focusing is all the "stuff" in the background. Text, box images and so on all confuse the camera in the end. You need a neutral background.

 

Pillow case, sheets or even a shirt in a khaki, grey or blue can help here.

 

We also have the photography background you can download and use.

 

Proper lighting is also important. Reveal bulbs by GE or daylight bulbs (most lawn and garden deparments should have them) are best in the realm of cheap lighting. Some bendy neck desk lamps with those in them will help. Two at a minimum. You can also get actual photog lights and a light box but those can be expensive unless you are willing to build your own.

[konrad blackheart]

better than my first try it was paint pens galore looke tye dye lol as stated undercoat it if u didnt it makes a world of difference

[GhostLegion]

I have to concur with the comments to far and say this is a good start on the mini....gw continues to improve the quality of sculpts, making them more and more interesting and fun to paint..... Now then, you really should thin your paints...if only to assist with brush control and not losing detail with too much paint.