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Ustrello wrote:
That is beautiful model great job . I had a question I follow you on twitter and I didn't see the announcement for the giveaway in the past few months, was it a while ago or recently?

You probably followed right after it was run. You definitely would have seen it. I hope to run another fairly soon.

LutherMax wrote:That is incredible. Such richness of colour, such detail! I would like to see it on a plainer background - the town you've painted is also so richly coloured it fights with the model for attention!

Thanks!

I prefer cinematic and atmospheric backgrounds to the traditional solid curve. Lots to look at is a small price to pay to feel like you are looking at another place, rather than a model in a box. I am still working on it as I used to use a light box and still have to for some things, but it's a fun journey figuring that out.

I adore your work man, absolutely stellar! subscribed!

Thank you! I will have another post late tonight or tomorrow

Hey all!

Here's the second Twitter giveaway model for 2014 - Nagash. The winner said I could paint it however I wanted, even pink! So of course I did.

He was a lot of work but a lot of fun to paint. Continuing the trend of no airbrush work whatsoever, I think if I can do it on this I can do it on anything.


LINK HERE for more images.

.

 JBSchroeds wrote:
Oh, that's very nice. I love that it's not a scheme you ever see. It's very striking and the depth of color is excellent.

I also like that you didn't airbrush it: many of the Nagashes I've seen use airbrushed OSL effects that are very poorly executed.

Thanks!

My only issue with too much airbrush, is that when I look at a model I want to see it and it's character first. With airbrush if it is used too much I just see airbrushing first, not the model.

The threshold is about 25% airbrushing before it is too much and you really don't save any more time if you know what you are doing. It is very good for setting up colors and saving drying time in the beginning.

Another issue, is even when an airbrushed model is absolutely perfect and smooth, you still have to have a lot of paintbrush work for it to not look artificial. The odd thing is REALLY well done mini airbrushing, when done exclusively on a model, actually ends up looking like bad CGI. It has very little character. You have to go back in and add character by hand regardless.

Hand painting has imperfections and its not PERFECT smooth. This is what gives it character. Look at any model Jim Wappel paints and it is done with a fat filbert brush and has imperfections. But they look realistic as all hell, and gorgeous.

 GMMStudios wrote:

My only issue with too much airbrush, is that when I look at a model I want to see it and it's character first. With airbrush if it is used too much I just see airbrushing first, not the model.

The threshold is about 25% airbrushing before it is too much and you really don't save any more time if you know what you are doing. It is very good for setting up colors and saving drying time in the beginning.

Another issue, is even when an airbrushed model is absolutely perfect and smooth, you still have to have a lot of paintbrush work for it to not look artificial. The odd thing is REALLY well done mini airbrushing, when done exclusively on a model, actually ends up looking like bad CGI. It has very little character. You have to go back in and add character by hand regardless.

Hand painting has imperfections and its not PERFECT smooth. This is what gives it character. Look at any model Jim Wappel paints and it is done with a fat filbert brush and has imperfections. But they look realistic as all hell, and gorgeous.

It's refreshing to hear a professional say this. An airbrush is just another tool in the toolbox for painters. But a lot of commission painters use it as their go-to, default, ezmode button, and for those that lean on it too heavily, it really shows. I wouldn't disparage a skilled hand with an airbrush, but there are a lot of guys using airbrushes on EVERYTHING right now, and quite a lot of it looks lazy.

Thats because it is fast. Fast = more dollars per hour. Most of these painters front load their painting. They spend about an hour airbrushing a riptide, then another hour or two doing some stark edge highlighting and really poppy effects. To your average Joe who doesn't paint, until they see enough of these, and enough models side by side, and enough models in hand, will they notice the difference. It's like catchy music. To people who make music, and people who like music, they know the deal. It isn't until people hear it enough they understand it's all front end.

There is a massive influx of commission painters right now. This is (mostly, but not completely) due to the current airbrush wave that is going on with the hobby. As your average customer's palette becomes more refined this will fade. As cliche as it may be, it is a bubble.

I used to be a little bit like this too. While I have never once figured up what I make per hour, or how many hours a project has taken me, I used to be more concerned with cost and time. Anymore I just do what I enjoy and have fun. I do my best, within reason, and the reward is getting very excited about taking pictures and higher demand. Not trying to get every dollar out of every hour now. The past three years my end product has increased so much I do not feel it is tooting my own horn to say it blows away what I was doing in 2011, and what I was doing then is the norm now. Shedding that attitude allowed me to improve like this.

Its only refreshing because I am the only one saying it. I am the only one saying it because my plan involves improving, staying ahead of the curve and always striving to be the best overall package. I am not about getting by.

As a disclaimer this is not to say it is bad painting. That is all subjective and if a person puts their effort into something, then to me it is good. There are always those threads on here even, that you open and the painting is very amateur, but those people try hard, it is their first model, and that to me still makes it a good model in that light. What I am addressing in this post is this concern of painters doing effects to speed up painting that trade substance for speed in the professional setting.

And with that I am off to paint some Death Korps.

Can I just say that not only am I awed by your work, but I share your sentiments about the over use of airbrushing (especially with OSL)

 Dreadclaw69 wrote:
Can I just say that not only am I awed by your work, but I share your sentiments about the over use of airbrushing (especially with OSL)

Well thank you!




"Beep boop I have your back squad. Don't forget to flush"

 GMMStudios wrote:




"Beep boop I have your back squad. Don't forget to flush"

Knight Errant Skidmark of House Commodicus watches vigilantly as the Adeptus Janitorius "scour" their sector for signs of the virulent Nurgle affliction known as Browneye's Surprise!

HA! I need someone more clever like you to write my posts

Nagash looks great man!

Im surprised you went 0 airbrush on it but your reasoning for it makes sense. And I just started to learn to airbrush recently so I am behind the curve lol.

This thread is just amazing image after amazing image. It's been a very long time since I put paint to mini and threads like this are giving me some great inspiration. I'm really looking forward to start on my Circle Orboros now

BTW, that Nagash is all kinds of epic.

Thanks guys!





New set I just finished for you all - Death Korps of Krieg! This is the infantry half, inspired by the army I did way back in 2009 or so. I was really excited to take this on, as it allowed me to revisit that army and scheme and see what I could do with all I had learned since then, and brought my painting level up quite a bit. The main differences you will note are the sharper blue, and the hand blended rather than airbrush tan/orange of the greatcoats. Really proud of how this army turned out, and excited to see the clients response as I am sure he was fully expecting the level of paint from before.
Until next time!

Wow I'm stunned again

Any spesifics regarding the powders and how you used them?

I don't use any weathering powders. It's all blending and shading.

It is always fun to look back and see what you have done, and how far you have come, and what a year it has been around here! I've managed to paint my fair share and see many great projects come through my paint table. It looks equally bright and exciting for 2015. Always grateful to be able to paint every day, and work on these projects you all bring to me. I hope you all have a great New Year, and enjoy the pictures!

wait... you did all this... this YEAR!?

That's correct

That is quite some portfolio

Keep up the awesome work in 2015!!

That's really impressive, I hope one day to be able to paint like you.

LutherMax wrote:That is quite some portfolio

Keep up the awesome work in 2015!!

Flo wrote:That's really impressive, I hope one day to be able to paint like you.

Thank you!

Just keep practicing, all it takes




While I have been painting professionally for many years now, in 2012 I changed everything about how I viewed painting and the services I provide. Realizing this is what I want to do for as long as possible, I stopped caring about time and ultra efficiency and simply focused on doing my best, enjoying painting, and the excitement of finishing my best work.

I love painting. My posts are always short because I would rather be painting than typing. Sometimes the thought enters my mind to do a blog series on how much I enjoy my work and why, but then I end up painting something. This celebratory post will have to do for now. So here's to 2015, and if I am very lucky another one in 365 days.

Safe and happy New Year to all!

I had a question, what grey did you use for the dusk raiders? I am going to be making a small force myself and love the way you painted yours.

 Ustrello wrote:
I had a question, what grey did you use for the dusk raiders? I am going to be making a small force myself and love the way you painted yours.

Its actually a custom mix of black and white. We wanted a pure neutral grey and that is the best option for it. I am actually working on a smaller veteran detachment force for that army right now which will be up early next week. In the middle of doing the grey right now.

If people have questions about paint, I am always more than happy to answer. I custom mix a lot of colors on the fly, so it isn't always an easy or straight answer, but I will try.

 GMMStudios wrote:

 Ustrello wrote:
I had a question, what grey did you use for the dusk raiders? I am going to be making a small force myself and love the way you painted yours.

Its actually a custom mix of black and white. We wanted a pure neutral grey and that is the best option for it. I am actually working on a smaller veteran detachment force for that army right now which will be up early next week. In the middle of doing the grey right now.

If people have questions about paint, I am always more than happy to answer. I custom mix a lot of colors on the fly, so it isn't always an easy or straight answer, but I will try.

Thanks man. I was going to try a skaveblight dinge base but I may try that also.

That will likely work. People get too caught up in using the "right" color when they should just use what looks good to them at the moment.

 GMMStudios wrote:
That will likely work. People get too caught up in using the "right" color when they should just use what looks good to them at the moment.

That is a really good mentality to keep in mind. I decided to go with SB base wash with an agrax or nuln oil then highlight with eshin grey. Thanks for your help!

No problem!