Almost complete crystal brush entry: Wolf Priest

[Rune Priest]

Hey guys, been a while since i've posted a message to you all. Anyhow, I plan on entering into the crystal brush competition and need all of the comments, critiques, and suggestions I can get. I'll try and keep you up to date on all of my entries as they progress and keep you in the loop. Anyhow, entry #1: Wolf Priest

 

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs886.snc4/71992_450161358643_558573643_5578571_7951527_n.jpg

[Captain Mick]

That looks truely perfect in my eye`s really :jaw: , cant wait to see some more minì`s ^_^ .

[Rune Priest]

thank you man!

 

next up (guarding the specifics of course) but will have something to do with nurgle... it's a damn cool project, so be on the lookout for that in a month or so (probably sooner with WIP pics and so forth)

[Legio Draconis]

Hey there, the paint looks awesome and I have no comments on how you could make it better, but one thing hit me straight away was that he was holding the storm hammer the wrong way around. It may just be the way I am used to seeing hammers, but it just looked wrong to me. Again amazing paint, well done.

[MTMK15]

isn't the hammer on backwards? other than that, awesome model dude

[tiny sam]

here are my suggestion.

 

- the ... don't know how you call this ... Wolf Crux terminatus? on His back pack is pretty mono color the wolf symbol blend to much in the cross I think

 

- also agreed with the reversed Thunder hammer.

 

- might want to had marking on the shoulder plate.

 

 

pretty impressive paint job by the way!

[CainTheHunter]

Sweet! The only thing I might add is touching up the edges of wolf tails and pelt on shoulderpad with grey/white - like with real life wolves.

[Rune Priest]

thanks for the replies guys, just a few quick responses myself:

 

in his hand is a crozius, not a t-hammer. it was originally the t-hammer from the wolves pack, but I sawed off the hammer bit and replaced that half (which was the front) with that wing to make it a wolf-ius if you will.

 

as for the 'up to white' highlighting on the pelt, it's there, but my pics didn't quite capture it (my gold nmm looks a bit darker too as a result) but hey, i don't have a camera myself, so i borrow what i can :huh:

 

also, not sure exactly what you mean, tiny sam, about the icon atop the backpack. i intended it to represent the iron wolf amulet while keeping in line with the gold. there is a strip of cloth tied around a piece of it, if you look closely, so you'll see a bit of a colour breakup there if that works.

 

thanks again guys; i appreciate your input a lot

-RP

[CainTheHunter]

in his hand is a crozius, not a t-hammer. it was originally the t-hammer from the wolves pack, but I sawed off the hammer bit and replaced that half (which was the front) with that wing to make it a wolf-ius if you will.

 

 

Honestly, what pops into mind when I look at him is thunder hammer, not crozius... Even though I am SW player and I now that WP doesn't have access to it.

[Rune Priest]

hm... at this point i can't really do much about the physicality outside of the paintjob... oh well, i'll post up my conversions before painting next time i guess

[Grimtooth]

For a badge of office, the "crozius" seems pretty plain. Using that as a model is fine, but it doesn't lend itself much as far as lethality or any sense of power weapon.

 

Other then that, the rest of the model is really nice and crisp.

[Q0rbin]

I will put some epic sauce on that one. :)

[winterdyne]

First - this is shaping up really nicely - should easily make first cut.

 

From an absolutely brutal in-it-to-win-it competition POV:

The NMM I think needs more contrast - bring it up to sharp white (dots here and there) and deep black just under them.

You'll be up against folk using crushed glass for the snow effect - the white flock won't cut it I think.

The foot position on the base looks a bit unstable - the ground would be displaced by the weight of the marine. Coupled with the above you probably need to rebase, salvaging the helmet etc and just redoing the groundwork.

The design of the crozius may count against you - there's a very plain surface in the forward focus of the figure, and the leading wing just doesn't make visual sense. Two wolf heads may have worked better.

You've got quite plain blending going on the armour - no colour variation across the whole mini. You'll need some very precise weathering work to make this acceptable and interesting enough to look at.

Weathering - you'll want to apply weathering cracks etc to the NMM on the icon on the back, to break up the long simple blend and add detail. Wear and muddying on the boots as well as stuck on ice / snow.

 

Hope this helps! Good luck!

[DV8]

I agree with Winterdyne, and my response too will be in the interest of helping you put forth a much better model:

 

1. The NMM is smoothly executed, great transitions in most of the areas, but as Winterdyne mentioned, you need far more contrast. Take the shadows as dark as you possibly can, and push the highlights up. Don't forget that specular highlight (the white dot) to really make it pop, and you can futher accentuating this by placing your brightest highlights next to your darkest shadows. Take a look at various metallics to research and reference how light behaves on metal. Higher contrast and brighter, sharper specular highlights is more indicative of super-reflective shiny metals, while more gradual contrasts and softer highlights is something more akin to brushed metals (close to what you have).

 

2. Your highlights are everywhere, and inconsistent. The model should tell a story, and a large part of it is indicating what kind of environment the model is currently in (a large part of it is the base, the other is the model itself, and I'll get to this in point 3). A large part of this is zenithal lighting, or having lighting coming from identifiable key areas, and not just "everywhere". As it is your model lacks focus and direction, and looking at it from afar it's just a model with a lot of bright flashy areas.

 

3. The model over-all doesn't seem dynamic and epic enough. By that I mean, what's the story? As far as I can tell, it's a guy on a rock holding a back-wards hammer (the fact that you have to explain it's a crozius and not a hammer should tell you something) with his helmet off. Have a look through the top Golden Demon entries from around the world (France, Spain, UK, Germany, etc.) and see how all the winning models tell a story, or evoke some sort of mood, emotion or feeling. That I cannot connect with your model beyond "it's flashy" tells me you won't make it past first cut.

 

4. On that topic, contrast. Not just darks and lights, but by getting some variety in color in there! Experiment with mixing in greens or purples or blues or reds etc. into the shadows to play up the contrast not just with tone but tint, and to use that to help emphasize the mood and theme!

 

5. Conversion and dynamic model. It's very plain, to be honest. The hollow helmet is a nice touch, but beyond a simple leg reposition, the model is "relatively stock". By that I mean one could achieve relatively the same thing with the stock parts that Games Workshop provides. Don't forget that you are competing in an international competition against the best not just in the hobby, but in the field of miniature painting, for a $10K prize. You should be going all out for this, because I can guarantee you that others will be doing the same, in every aspect (conversion, theme, painting, freehand, etc etc.)

 

EDIT. Know too that I can almost guarantee with that kind of prestige and prize money at stake, many of the top European painters and modellers will be attending (because lets be honest, in broad strokes Europe trumps North American in talent in this department), and will more than likely be entering unique, 100% sculpted models, giving them the one up and a flexibility in the creative aspect alone that a simple stock model generally can't compete with.

 

I know a lot of that seems a little harsh, but I see considerable promise in your talent, and I hope you can take what I've said and put it to good use. I for one am under no illusion I am nowhere capable of winning that top prize, so I won't even bother wasting my time (I have far too many other projects to work on anyways).

 

 

DV8

[Rune Priest]

*GREAT* feedback you two; this is just he kind of thing I'm looking for to improve my skills (skillz).

 

I'll be shooting you two PM's for advice and a look into my next projects for this comp which will hopefully be more apt to win than this guy. Honestly, I just painted this dude up for the fun of it, but after hearing about the comp, I decided I'd enter him. I'll give you guys more info in my PM.

 

Thanks again for the compliments and the critiques; they are invaluable assets in my painting arsenal.