And they had all that tech even then!

funny thing really...sort of stagnation overall like in 40k...

Yeah, I wonder about that. I have seen some 40k-ish things in the "pre-quels" of ep-1/2/3. Mostly 2 and 3

Almost every good setting I know is based on stagnation, decadence and postapocalyptic vibe. At least the most awesome of those.

@Shasolenzabi:
Surprisingly, but I've never heard of the SKIF models before. I'm still is a pretty new to the modeling hobby... The only one Russian major model manufacturer I can recall is "Tehnolog", but I can't say I like their products, though it's of a fairly good quality and can be a decent material for some conversions.

@Chemical Cutthroat:
Yeah, Darth Nihilus. Though he's not even close as charismatic as Revan, he still wears a pretty nice mask:


It's totally true - the silent monolithic grimness of such masks fits perfectly for the bad guys. As for the Count Dooku... Indeed, he is perfect as he is. I like his appearance in the Clone Wars series by Genndy Tartakovsky the most. In fact, I think that's one of the best media product about the Star Wars universe.

Ah, SKIF is based in Ukraine!
http://www.skifmodel.com.ua/company.php?lang=eng

Oh, I see.

ishkatar wrote:Oh, I see.

All of their kits are 1/35 scale Soviet Era and or modernized versions of basic tank models used in Russia as well as the Ukraine.

Alright, thanks for the info.


Anyway, I have a news for you, folks: the guy have found his head:



Now I even more feel this head is not fitting to the concept behind the miniature, so I will make a new one. Something much closer to the design of Sith masks.

this is getting better and better!

Yeah, but that head is still pretty cool. That just means you need to sculpt an NCR ranger for the head.

second the need for the ranger body...

and i was a bit like..."found his head" wtf...? but then realization dawned upon me^^

yeah by all means...make a new one... meaner...more darker and powerful... he needs it!

and do the ranger body...you want to!^^

one thing tho... on the mask...the snout... the lil "Y" shaped structure...that looks strange to me... if it was me i would do something about that...!

Hmmm, the cloak has that almost medeival vibe going with the "dags" there, so I think he screams Mask+Hood.

Thanks for kind comments, guys!

Actually, I do. I do want to sculpt the NCR fella. I just should!

@El Vic:
About the Y shaped thingy... I will add a small disc in the middle... A rivet even
I still want to add few more details on this head.

Like the Nike ads used to say Ish, "Just do it!"

Oh, yes, I will make a new head for this guy to stay inside the concept - the mask with the hood.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
And the NCR ranger, of course.

thanks mate... sometimes it is so hard to say what i see and how i find things... because lets face it, your stuff is so brilliant... saying some critical thoughts sometimes feel like sacrilege...

Yeah it is hard as our skills at shaping the GS is not at that level, but,,,,,we know what we like.

we know what we like.

yep...on the basis of that i only argue at all^^

if i must be better in everything i wanted to criticise about...then you wouldn´t hear zip from me^^

Well, skill is not a perception and vice versa. That's why we are free to speak our mind regardless of our actual skills. Are we?
Oh, I'm such a Captain Obvious sometimes

Anyway, I've noticed a lot of skilled people do lack some adequate critiques sometimes about their product, which leads to lower quality. In fact that's one of the biggest problem of humanity... Along with determination of what the heck the adequate critique is
That's rather a philosophical topic.

Hmmm, I liked FO:NV cover as the NCR Ranger gear reminded me of IG:GC's

Well, it's one of the most awesome gears ever!

Oh yeah.

yep you are right ish...so next time be sure of my harshest responses^^

oh and...:




Automatically Appended Next Post:
oh by the way... i always like this armor from FO2 ...

Combat armor, they have it in FO-3

Wasn't the one on my affection with vaselinum the harshest response?
Oh, El Vic, you scares me!

Vik has that effect on folks

Should we call it "The El Vic Effect"?

Sure why not?

well...the el vik effect...:

commonly known as the butterfly effect... at first it looks like a sunny day... with kittens, and bluetits and stuff...all flowery and green grass...then i hit the crit-o-meter... and then whoooop ... stockmarket crashes all of a sudden, you get cows with two heads... and also...you never find a pair of shoes again that you doens´t have to squeeze into...true story bro!

Personnally, I find that El Vic is one my stongest critics! He really doesn't pull punches when he finds something off. I like that. And yes, it does improve the overall quality.

Always in the back on mind, I am thinking, "Will this please El Vic?" I have completely re-done certain things with that running through my mind before I ever post pictures.

Also, in my mind, El Vic sounds like Colonel Klink from Hogan's Heros....so, that is incentive right there!

ouch...that stung... klink...and me... well maybe the hair we have in common...^^

he talks with a harsh saxon accent... *shudders*

me i am from berlin... we have a way stronger dialect than the more melodic sounding saxons...^^ also i don´t sound by all means like a barking colonel^^

but i do take that compliment very dear, jake^^
*bows humbly*

I just don't know many Germans in Germany anymore! I do love the way the frauleins sound when they speak though! Goosbumps!

Well, in my defence, I hold you "visually" to a higher standard, being the figurehead of the League and all.

close catch on that one jake^^

you think german ladies sound sexy? hmmm... actually for me a slight italian or spanish or for that matter a russian accent is very goosbumpworthy for me^^

^ +1 i melt for the soviet accent

LOL...DG^^...that together with blue or possibly green eyes^^=krypronite^^

Pretty much good looking woman with any foreign (to me) accent will make me week in the knees.

But German just sounds forcefull, and authoritative, and makes me want to do whatever she says!

lol....we have a sexhotline comercial here... late in the night of course...on tv... and it is mostly black and then the woman says after a whiplash cracking...:RUF! MICH! AN!...

which translates in : call me!...but with a very demanding tone^^

I just got shiver up my spine! *sudder* Do it again!

ROFL....

Yep, that's good for me, I have to go home now.

"Honey? Take the kids to Grandma's!"

Later all, I really do have to go. Have a great weekend!

Speaking of Soviet accent:




I'm pretty sure I can do it better, than he do



And speaking of demanding women:

i dunno...but i watched the german and the russian coaching vid...and whenever he starts to talk...better make that try to... in any accent he starts sounding gay... he is not sounding that way when using the mere british accent...strange...

and that was lucy lawless...man... she could use her whip on me any time...^^

Aye, Lucy Lawless is the etalon of demanding women in my mind... She's one of the sexual heroes of my teenagehood - I remember watching Zena on TV nearly every day after school.

As for the accent... Cliche is cliche. E.g. I've never spoken like this, though I definitely have some kind of accent.

looks really awsome

ishkatar wrote:Aye, Lucy Lawless is the etalon of demanding women in my mind... She's one of the sexual heroes of my teenagehood - I remember watching Zena on TV nearly every day after school.

As for the accent... Cliche is cliche. E.g. I've never spoken like this, though I definitely have some kind of accent.

absolutly... melting wouldn´t say the half of it what she coudl/would do to me^^

Ah, Lucy, she even made for a nice touch as a Cylon too!

Yeah, I do happen to sometimes do a cheezy fake accent when doing my Khadrovians, or other silliness which it suits, like old Yakov Smirnov jokes.

lol...that was a good one^^

I strive. of course Ishkatar can help enlighten us more but I have also heard folks from Russia who had nearly nothing in their speech to indicate more than that they were simply not from America.,

I wish to, but, you know, I don't speak in English with Russians that often
Also, most of my friends speaks English much better than I do. At least in terms of pronouncement =/

Yakov Smirnov is a hilarious guy, indeed.

@RW:
Thanks, mate!



PS:
Oh, look, that's my 300th post... Time to yell something with multiple exclamation marks! Ah, whatever...

LOL...oh and here for pure celebrations use... some of my leftover exclamation marks "!!!!!!!" don´t use them up all at once tho...

Well, Mr. El Vic, I just can't miss it:
"Multiple exclamation marks,' he went on, shaking his head, 'are a sure sign of a diseased mind."
(c) Terry Pratchett

And Vik sure loves his exclamation marks in his titles of threads! LOL!.

Linked to that voice coaching, I do have one thing that helps me with working on a "Russian" accent, I have that deep, flat voice already. I did some recording, and did a slight change, some found it creepy to their ears, but I did it for a enviro vid.
Now there is a bit of voice to the handle.

i think i have a slight malfunctioning pheset atm but iirc your voice sounds a bit tweaked... but nevertheless i see, again, that you have a very deep and colorful voice mate...

and i really liked that movie...even tho it was rather full of sad facts... that my kids will one day ahve to tell their kids that there used to be an ocean full of fish...then all gone...that is not how it is supposed to go...

and the naming of planet ocean...sets the perspective a bit clearer...


at ish... hehe... mascerade... i know that^^ and thats exactly why and when i use that kind of puncuation for a reason^^

It was only me tweaking myself just a little, otherwise that was ll me, and no machinery!

well..you actually work atm with your voice... if not i would have recommended that to you^^

Viktor von Domm wrote:well..you actually work atm with your voice... if not i would have recommended that to you^^

Well, I am hoping for an actual paying career for my voice. That was a free donation to the organization.

i was more referring to your current workings...^^ i know that you are interested in enviroment issues...

Ish surely with that much body armour the coat is simply to disguise the armour?

So he is newly 'revealed'.

That suggests his head should be something acceptable to civilians.

Maybe a hat like D the Vampire? Who is awesome.

Or a cyborg skull showing through a wound on his skull? Ie disguise ruined, thus he now bringing out the firepower.

Only other reason i can think for the coat is protect the armour, ie acid rain type atmosphere.

Hey Iskatar, the gas mask is excellent, nice work .

Shas, that's the deep voice indeed. Sounds a bit mechanical, but good nonetheless.
Beautiful movie... And terrible at the same time. The way we treat our planet makes my humanistic nature all tremble and shatter inside me...

This music video comes to my mind:




@El Vic:
This particular quote was from the Eric, but you're right - there's one very similar in the Maskerade. In fact, there are a lot of jokes flowing smoothly through every Pratchett's book. Not that it's something bad...


@Loricatus Aurora:
Yeap, the coat is here mostly for decorational purpose, yet, it's a good protection from scratches, dirt, water and other enviromental hazards, which could lead to paint chipping, rust and other damage.
I like your way of thinking, but his pelerine demands hood from my point of view. Similar to this:



Though I'll keep your suggestions in mind.

@Neil101:
Thanks a lot, mate!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Anyway... Sorry, fellas, no updates yet. I've been pretty busy for the past days and managed to make only a basic shape for the new mask. I hope I will dedicate today's evening to work and will be happy to present some results soon. Stay tuned!

hehe...pratchett is one of the few authors that is capable to carry a running gag through different books of his...^^

seems i have to pay eric a visit soon too^^ long time ago i have read that for the last time...

Yay! At last I've got a supply drop, so the Green is no more! I go Grey!



A Magic Sculp by Wesco - that's my new putty of choice and I have to say I LOVE it! It's really easier to work with, smoother and, well, appeared to be cheaper, than GS from my local store, even though I've payed almost twice the price to get it (20$ for the 0.5Kg of the stuff and monstrous 15$fro shipping... Oh, it's sucks to live at the outskirts of the civilization).
Anyway, whining aside, I've made my very first attempt on sculpting the face:



It turned out better, than I thought... Though, bigger. A 6mm from the chin to the top, to be exact. So, it perfectly suits for 1:34 scale or, in other words - for Inquisitor scale.
Well, the first step has been made.

And, of course, I'm still trying to make a proper head for my Green Guy... I guess, by the time, when I'll be satisfied with the results, I will have a huge pile of different heads in my bitz-box

Meet The ScullFace:


And the face with the awesome mustache-esque hoses:


This last one have a concept and even a full story behind, though I've failed to catch it yet:

i love that mustache one alot, but i feel that the skull face suits the scuplt better

Aye, I have the same feeling. With the hood it will look even better!
But also I love the concept behind the mustaches a lot... What a dilemma!

well what i think would make the 'stache one good for this sculpt is to shave down his mouth area (not the mask!) and resculpt it, because the skin thats showing out is really round, compared to the more rectangular drawing, and the round head makes me see him as a monk too much

recently i have heard lots of good words about the magic sculpey... it is "THE" sculpting material in the inner circle of sculpters...

as for the heads... i fear both are not what i would call a fiting one...

and i find that mustache face highly disturbing...


by the way.... do you recon your green guy is more asiciated to darkness or light? that might be helpfull to know for the headmaking...

the first face looks good...tho i fear for that badass mini you are making it looks too old man like .... it doesn´t emit the energy the body emits... if you know what i mean...

True dat.
It seems, soon I will have more heads in my bitz-box, than there are skulls on the skull throne. Well, back to the drawing board then...

Magic Sculp is a superb stuff!I highly recommend it over the GS if you're going to sculpt anything.

hmmm... soon i need to find a new rescource anyway as my milliput wont hold for long and my GS is almost depleted to the timest amount...


yeah... spent f(E)aces for the "throne"

Well, from my experience, Magic Sculp is slightly handier to work with, than Milliput, but it's not a big difference.

Hah, I wouldn't sit on such a throne.

well i sit on such a throne two or three times a day^^ seems you re in a ste of constipation then? LOL

as for the magic sculp...is it more gummy like GS or more claylike as is milliput?

A little bit. I'd say it's a state of creativity constipation right now I'm suffering from
Well, at least when it comes to head making... These heads be damned!

It's more clay like. Unlike GS you can easily cut it with a modelling knife even while it's still soft. Yet, give it a time to harden a bit and you can shape it at will, very much like GS yet not so disobedient.

hmmm.... well i think it needs to be discoevered and experimented with by me^^

A wise decision in most cases

*sniggers*

Alright, fellas, I have to jump over the head already, if you know, what I mean

Here's the new one:


I'm pretty satisfied with the results. Keep in mind, that there will be a hood, so the final version of the head will look more correct proportionwise.

i think you hit the proverbial nail on the literal head so to speak... that head looks menacing, evil and convincing! yep i think we have a winner...

the eyes in particular have caught my attention...the piercing look...that is what that model needed...!

great work!

Cheers, El Vic!

At the end of the day I decided to sip again from the main source of inspiration of this whole sculpt:


It worked! And now his baldness is slowly getting a hoodie!

ok...main source... after all those designer got paind to come up with a suitable look... we shoould have known better to wander around aimlessly for so long, eh?^^


i think your look is now complete...save for the hood of course^^

Well, any action in this case gives some experience, you know, so, I guess... DING!

lol... yeah...there is a german saying...:

"umwege erhöhen die ortskenntnis..."

which translates loosly into:

"detours raise the knowledge of a place..."

I think I got the meaning. A good one indeed!

which is also quite true...as i have absolulty no orientation skill in RL and have gotten to know my neighberhood by having loots of detours^^ my own saying was that my sense of orientation is so weak i am barley able to find my way down when being tossed out of a plane^^

Literally speaking, In Russia we usually call such orientation skills as "Topographical Cretinism"
It's more of a fun term, then offensive.

nice head choice, works perfectly as my german friend already stated

Wow, the head is perfect! Looks almost inhuman.

Mini is looking great so far

Thanks a lot, guys!

Awesome head! That sounds odd. anyway, looking great!

I can't wait to see with the hood!

Thanks, RSJ!

And a good note is: you don't have to wait at all for the hoodie is on the head at last:


I see a bit of Ezio influence here
Anyway, looks pretty good to me... What do you, guys, think?

By the way, on this pic it's very notable the difference between GS and Magic Sculp surfaces, where one is rough despite my countless attempts to polish it and the other seems to be fairly smooth.

Awesome! It looks great! And very convincing cloth!

And you have convinced me to get the Magic Sculp when I run out of Gray Stuff!

Which is actually in a week or so!

Cheers, mate!

I bought mine on eBay from MOREZMORE for 20$. Seems like a fair price for 0.5 kg, which is a lot, in fact.

That face looks awesome, especially with the hood. He's coming along so nicely. You should be proud, Ishkatar, he looks really good.

Just ordered Magic Sculp!

twenty dollars is rather not a big sum to be paying for this material i say!

the hooded head (sounds fishy^^) looks really good! tho i have to say i am not that sold on the small point on the end of the hood...but that is completley due to personal taste... it is very well sculpted and looks very convincing...so don´t get upset by that opinion of mine^^

@Moltar:
Thank you!
I am proud, indeed, since I couldn't even imagine, that I will be able to sculpt a miniature before I've started this one. Now I want to make more... More... MOAR!!!

@RSJ:
Happy sculpting then! I hope you will love this stuff as much as I do!

@El Vic:
Aye, and additional 15$ for shipping to my city... =/

Oh, the Great Omnipresent One, I'm glad, you like it
Really!
And of course your opinion do not upset me in any case, my friend... Well, almost in any case

hehe^^

so that makes it 35$...hmmm... i think i have to look into that link you provided...

Well, I'm pretty sure shipping to you will be cheaper, or you can even find a local retailer.
In my city noone sells Magic Sculp, so I had to search for other ways... eBay that is.

still looking...^^

I bought mine here.
http://www.kitkraft.biz/product.php?productid=1463&cat=&page=1

It was cheaper, and after Shipping charges, I saved $0.82 over the ebay one!

Not sure what is would be to ship overseas.

sometimes living in europe sure has less benefits...

Sometimes?

Ha ha ha! I kid!

http://www.sylmasta.com/acatalog/Creative_Magic_Sculp.html

http://www.mastercasters.co.uk/17.html

I found a couple of places on your side of the pond that sell it.

Good luck!

cool....thanks jake!

Somehow missed this one so far, but no more! Great sculpting work, I really really dig the overall design of that body armor.
One thing on the sculpting though, the surfaces look quite rough here and there. Are you going to apply a measure of surface smoothening and therefore don't care too much about it now? If not, I'd recommend using a better putty like Procreate for future projects, I've grown very fond of it and it seems like GS is giving you a bit of trouble (not to say the sculpt isn't impressive).

Thanks, Big B! Good to have you here - in my little imaginary world

Indeed, GS is tough material to work with, but fear not! I've already sold my soul to Magic Sculp and all my further projects will be green no more!
I'm going to polish this particular miniature as good as it possible, yet I want to cast it before painting.


Anyway, no updates today, but some of you might heard the news, so stay tuned for incoming pictures spree, since I'm already working on some new miniatures and concepts, though it won't happen soon.

well i am hooked up good with that tag team project of you and storag already! when will you join in on the fun of sculpting?

As far as I'm aware he's already in process

well....pics or it dind´t happen...( i know...such a lame comment...but well...^^what can one doo)

Patience, mon ami!

I'm in process, indeed, but all I've done so far - couple sketches and few dummies for further sculpting. So, there are not much to share yet... =/

d´oh.... we are starving...anything will do atm^^

Alright, I surrender!

For those, who might wonder, a TLDR version:
I and my good friend Storag have decided to start a pretty pretentious project, we've called "Invadorz".
It's a Skirmish Wargame, inspired by Necromunda, X-COM, retro sci-fi and over 9k of other things... And it's built around the absurd idea about Aliens trying to steal our eggs and, of course, humanity needs a good bunch of great heroes, who will stop those pesky thieves from depriving us of the right to eat omelette every morning! EDI (Egg (Earth) Defence Initiative) is the name of those heroes and there is the concept of their basic appearance:




Pardon me the roughness of the sketches - I have a bad habit to draw stuff at work on those small office note papers...
Keep in mind, that weapons are still in development, so these are kinda placeholders. Well, actually the overall appearance is in development yet, but yeah, I guess I'm close

So, here we go!
Any C&C is highly welcome and important for me.
Thanks for stopping by, folks!!

Awesome concepts! They kind of have a retro "Space Ghost" feel to them! A bit cartoony, but awesome! Kind of like the aliens Storag is doing! I love it!

Thanks, mate!
They are supposed to be cartoonish, since so is the overall style of Invadorz

actually i think you nicked those sketches somewhere...... they look really good... very cartoonish but not in a bad way... not at all...

i like the studded/padded look with all those wires/cables and such stuff... both helmet variants look very good... and have even a bit of a cosmonaut look to them... specially the bright streak on top of the helmet...and those big globes also look very good... all in all that is a very cool looking concept...


how do you want to tackle this project now? will you totally sculpt this model too like storag or use bitz of knwon companies...

and if your models will have to work with storags invadorz... which look a bit plump... will yours be a bit in that spirit or will you keep true to a more lanky human looking stature?

and if you want to keep true to the spirit of x-com... one major feature of the games was after the research was done you could use the weapons of the aliens... would you make fitting guns of the invadorz for your EDI`s?


just the first thouhgts i had on the top of my head...

anyways... love your project mate... and i am looking so forward to see more of your stuff.... don´t bottle it up...let it out

Well, it's been a days of browsing through the billions of arts of any kind and a lot of messed paper before I came up with something I actually considered worth sharing

I'm sculpting the miniatures fully by myself, without using any side bitz.
As for proportions, I think I will try to stick with these sketches for now.

The EDI troops will have their own weapons at the beginning, but they will have an opportunity to use Alien technology somehow and even develop some new stuff based on their researches. Yet I'm not sure how we will make it gameplay-wise...

There's a lot of things about this project boiling in my head right now. I hope it will have an actual shape after all.

to have them look more human like will give them a nice contrast to the invadorz...good decision... and going complete sculpt on this one i think you already shoed quite suitable how good your skill are with your latest mini you made... so i will holding my breath for the next updtae...(see? you don´t have too much time...)

nice concept art, they seem perfect for the idea you have in mind

@El Vic:
Aye, but next update won't happen soon - I've broke my glasses and now I have to wear lenses for the next week, but I completely cannot sculpt with this damn things in my eyes! :(

@RW:
Thanks, mate!



Anyway, fellas... May be it's not the news and may be it's offtopic (not exactly, if you take in account my latest updates about all this Alien invasion thingie), but I just couldn't share it (along with my overwhelming happiness on that matter):






Now that's really something to wait for!

cool eyecandy ish! thanks for sharing... i have heard from a german tactical froum i am on that there is brewing something for x-com soonish... but for now i haven´t seen anything really... that is looking very delicious... hopefully not too expensive in price and ressources for my computer... cause this one i really need to have... as i see it it has a totally destroyable engine for terrain... which is in my view essential for a good tactical game... i will really love that game...

and darn... broken glasses that sucks... my wife wears them too and she is very afraid of that happening...with our kids around it is bound to happen tho one of these days...

You're welcome!
I'm a huge fan of X-Com series and I've been dreaming of a proper remake for a long-long time... There were some attempts to reanimate it, but they all failed, unfortunately. Though ALTAR Interactive's UFO: Afterlight appeared to be a pretty nice game, yet not even close to the genious level of the original trilogy.
This one, on the other hand, looks promisingly, so I will keep my fingers crossed.

and it looks like pure win ... the scenes look like a cross of cartoonish and action movie... which i totally like for my strategy games...

i am an old man... so forgive me if i asked already... but ever heard from silent storm? that WWII strategy game with RPG influences is one of my favorites...

Indeed. And the gameplay features looks quite interesting too. I hope it will be a true tactical geme I've been missing for so long.

Yeah, I've heard about Silent Storm, but had no chance to play.

BAM! An unexpected update!
While other things are still in WIP state, here's a little something I want to share with you, my fellow Dakkanauts:



Merida from the Disney's animated film "Brave". I know, it's a bit uncommon for our wargaming kind of stuff, yet I believe it worth sharing.
This is cheap promo figure, which comes with drinks in cinema. I've repainted it for Storag's wife (looks like I'm his painting slave ). Also I had to sculpt her hands anew, since the original quality was rather low.
This miniature is approximately 6 cm tall.

glad to see you're back!
Great work, as always, Ish. The freckles look very good!

Paint, my puppet... Paint! MUHAHAHA!

@MrMerlin:
Cheers, mate!
In fact, I wasn't away... Just tinkering slowly in the depth on my lair, lurking around the Dakka from time to time. Hopefully, I will have something more "our stuff"-related to show soon. Maybe not SO soon, but soon.

@Storag:
Hear and Obey... Oh, wait! I have nothing from you to paint right now, so... You know, get yer butt off and go do something!

now this is what i call a nice lil damsel! very good looking and looks a bit more mature than the actual screen character but that´s only adding to the fame of that model! very good welcome back feature!!!

Knock-knock! Is there anybody? I brought a little something to share with you, my fellas...
Another great conversion from my good friend, Storag, wich I'm happy to torture remorselessly with my brush and passion!

It's a WIP yet, but almost finished.


This piece is one of the earliest Storag's conversions, a good one and very fun to paint. I'm experimenting here with different textures, such as this rag sack or his leather keds and, well, that's quite a challenge...

ha! i never realized until now that this model is based on the gnoblar body...! i will (again( try to remember that till the day i start my own grot rebellion! (ranks are filling in every so slowly^^)

and this is a most welcome re-appeareance! you have been quiet for way too long mate!... how has live treated you?

oh... and of course... that grot looks very good! lots of very good painted details... but indeed...the canvas sponsored by storag paved the way for your high class painting skills

Hey, El Vik! So nice to have a chat with you again, i've missed this quite a bit

Well, life treats me as it usually treats a man... Various stuff is going on, but I guess I was just slightly tired from the hobby - I've been hightly obsessed with it at the beggining and thus got a little overfed, I dare to say...
So, I just put the hobby aside on a dusty shelf for a while and waited patiently for this sparkle to light me up again... And so THE TIME HAS COME! HEAR ME ROAR! Ahem... Where was I again?

So, how the things are going around here?

PS:
As a little hint, I've got those Storag's Orcs on my table waiting for paint to be spilled all around their bulky bodies

oh.....*drools* i think i speak for many... we have waited for way too long for these special orks.... i think we are in for a treat here!!!

and well... live goes as usual...^^and i guess you felt the stereotype at work...:dustance makes the heart grow fonder... eventually the brush calls you...

by the way... when you see your buddy storag again... tell him that he is missed too... (just saying^^)

I believe my job just sucked me dry... On the other side, I believe that's just me whining

Anyway, It's hard to stay away for too long, when you have such a great models on your table. I've got three Orcs ready for some color coverage right know, but they are still lacking backpacks.
Painting is fun, though, but I want to start the modelling again, sculpting at first. Yet have my first dude waiting to be finished along with a bunch of other stuff - I smeared a lot of paper with sketches of this and that... The idea of making my own miniatures is holding me tight,but for some reason I just can't get myself sculpting. That's kinda weird and depressing a bit.

By the way... As I know, Storag is crafting something interesting too... I'll give 'em a poke from you

Now I'll be owning 3 painted mini... one a year... woo hoo! That's the speed!

P.S.
Yo Vik, glad to see you're still here!

Should I bring you a Complaint Book or what? Though you will have to wait a bit before I will *paint* one

storag is a card, eh? he gets his models painted and still complains...the nerve

hello matey mate storag

as for your self made models... wasn´t there an armored dude you wanted to finish some eons ago?

and i still remmeber that 50s model range you talked about???

There are tons of what I want to complete and I will, but after a long brake I need a warm up ) the result is coming along nicely and you'll soon see something fresh
Ish made some nice sketches for the astropunk aliens too so this stuff is definitely on the list.

P.S.

A wild card I'd say

Oh my, I haven't posted anything here in what feels like decades...

I am amazed, Ish. That grot looks just the way one'd imagine a grot to look like, and the detail-work is stunning! Your texture-experiments are working out perfect!

I needed something to inspire me to get back to my Orks (I've shamelessly neglected them lately) and right now I feel like pinting something again! Thanks mate!

at storag....

A wild card I'd say

HA!^^

at mr merlin... man... you are here and it has been what felt like years ago since your last appeareance too!...tststs.... i think we file that under weather related phenomena^^

@El Vic:
Well, Sorag is still an important a regular customer, and the only one as well
As for the armored dude, there was, indeed. There IS, even. Only the hands left, yet I'm not in a mood for sculpting, for the wierd reasons... Well, one day, one day...
And yeah, those retro-esque models are still in plans. I even made some base forms, but nothing interesting to show. Stand by, yo!

@Storag:
A wild card, you say... So, what's your superpower? An ultimate grumpiness?

@Merlin:
Nice to see you around, mate!
I know that feel... I haven't posted here for an uber long time too
Cheers! Those textures are really a pain in you know where to paint on - I had to redo some of 'em several times and still struggling to get the finishing stroke, but more sweat means a better results, so they say...
As for your Orcs - Just do it, man! Greenskins are very fun to paint: rust, dirt, scratches, weird and crazy colours... Checkers! More checkers! Hell yeah! I guess you know

Wow that grot is beautiful, both in the modelling and painting, its still WIP you say?

and the only one as well

is that a hint?

@Bangbangboom:
Thanks, mate!
WIP, yup. Several elements are only basecoated and some details and freehands I planned are missing. But things are getting better!

@El Vic:
May be

An ultimate grumpiness?

Suites me just fine But I believe there is also an extra slow speed power

Wow that grot is beautiful, both in the modelling and painting,

If you liked that one the rest of the bunch are in my thread.

@Storag:
No doubt

-----------------------------

Breaking news, fellas! A bad one and a good one though... So, which one should I start with?
Okey, the good one it is: the Grot Loota is done! Yeap, painted, varnished and ready to rejoice one's eyes.
It turned out not as good as I wanted, but much better, than I've expected, as weird as it may sound... Took quite a long time too, though the amount of "expirience gained" was totally worth it - I dare to say, this paint job is notably of a higher level, than my previous one, which is extremely gratifying! I'm sure you'll like it too.
But it is pictures you're waiting for, no my slobber, so here we move to the bad news:
Yesterday I visited my friend's photostudio to get some good shots of the lil' fella... Alas, a terrible incident occured: one of the studio lamps exploded and set the lightbox on fire. Fear not: the Grot is safe and sound, no one got hurt, but some of the equipment been lost along with my chances to get the pix
Yet I managed to take a few mediocre images, which is still not enough to make a proper collage, but may be to post here as a teaser or something... Should I? You know, it's not my style to share finished work without a decent editing, but I guess I won't be able to take the desired photos until the next week.
So, that's the story, my friends.

ouch.... that sounds quite shocking... you two weren't hurt in that accident? shrapnel and everything?

and well we are an easy going audience... just slide us a pic on a plate under the door and we will devour it anyway (jail pun )

Lucky, we entered right after the big boom, so we wasn't the witnesses of this firework. Still a bit shocking though.

On a bright side, I got a free practical lesson about a macro shooting from a professional teacher. Quite an interesting info, I say, but I understood almost... nothing

Well, I prefer to serve my dishes well done
But I guess I'll post the pics as soon as I'll get back home from the job. Or maybe Storag will do that.

Well, I prefer to serve my dishes well done

see? and this is probably the cause for the deep fried bulp of the photo session ...

i am always thankful for cold fingerfood... a full stomach is always in preferrence^^...

no french dishes are needed... they serve only a quarter of what i would need for a fill up and tho tasty it looks frilly as skimpy underwear

 ishkatar wrote:
Or maybe Storag will do that.

Done and done!

@El Vic:
Ha, good one!
Well, I like things good fried...
But hungry stomach is always an undeniable point, indeed. It seems Storag has nailed it and set the table with some snacks for your pleasure, so enjoy your repast

@Storag:
YOU!... You ninja'd my pics! Looter!

Holy hell! Both the model and the paint job on dat loot grot are amazing!

WOW awsesome work Ish have to say between you and Storag what a team that Grot is a hell of a looker.

I cant believe how much colour you have put onto that little fellow and still made it work, I always go for a muted pallet ( basically black undercoat ) as I am scared by colour but you have excelled.

Every where I look there is something to see and that bear OMG how small is that and you have still managed to capture the character of the face I am bowing down to you sir

As an extra it's a bit like a school reunion here all those old faces you aint see for ages, plus is it just me or do you think Ish and Storag are the same person they both disappear then reappear at the same time I am getting a super hero syndrome here ……...

 lone dirty dog wrote:

As an extra it's a bit like a school reunion here all those old faces you aint see for ages, plus is it just me or do you think Ish and Storag are the same person they both disappear then reappear at the same time I am getting a super hero syndrome here ……...

Hehehehehe, man, sometimes I'm kinda confused myself but It's more of a jekyll and hyde case I think It's just that we are rather close friends. We even work the same job so our "ups" and "downs" are straightly connected. And when one starts popping around with some awesome hobby project the other can hardly resist for long
But we really seem to make a good job together so when we open a studio will merge our threads

 storag wrote:

 lone dirty dog wrote:

As an extra it's a bit like a school reunion here all those old faces you aint see for ages, plus is it just me or do you think Ish and Storag are the same person they both disappear then reappear at the same time I am getting a super hero syndrome here ……...

Hehehehehe, man, sometimes I'm kinda confused myself but It's more of a jekyll and hyde case I think It's just that we are rather close friends. We even work the same job so our "ups" and "downs" are straightly connected. And when one starts popping around with some awesome hobby project the other can hardly resist for long
But we really seem to make a good job together so when we open a studio will merge our threads

Jekyll and hyde which is which LOL

You both seem to be on the same wave length and your talents tie well together, I think it would be a pretty cool partnership does this mean your own line of miniatures going into production ?

Find me intrigued a joined thread now that will be a show stopper, now wheres the updates I want to see that Aztec Marine and the Syndicate miniatures again I am getting withdrawal symptoms

Cheers for the kind words, fellas!
I'm really proud of my work, though not very proud of my speed...
Anyway, da Loota got some additional attention and a few bonus and correcting strokes (those super HD pics be damned!) - too much is never enough, eh? Now gotta make a lightbox and buy a decent camera to deal with this matter once and for all. Quite a problem though...

@LDD:
Well, I've spent a lot of time experimenting with palette - e.g. there're about five layers of different colours under the final one on this red with polka dots sack, and one of which was a linen texture with pink hearts pattern. Same story with some other details... So, yeah, kinda a lot of colours are there!
It's really important to know, what to do, before you're starting doing it

PS:
Somehow I think that all this Jekyll thing - it applies to me...

it´s the first time i read you both work in the same field...
didn´t knew that... ohoh....

Well in that case there is even more paint than I first thought at least we can say your dedicated and this would explain the time issue as well as you paint each mini five times technically

Who are you today then Doc

Dedication... Storag says it's obsession

 ishkatar wrote:
Dedication... Storag says it's obsession

They say its a thin line between genius and insanity

 lone dirty dog wrote:

 ishkatar wrote:
Dedication... Storag says it's obsession

They say its a thin line between genius and insanity

See? That's why the Jekyll/Hyde analogy And it applies to us both I believe.

At last, IT IS DONE!!!

I gladly present to you:


Also, CMoN link for the vote sake

voted

and O Romio, Romio, wherefore art thou Romeo?
(really?)

Cheers!

Well, Romio - it's almost my real name
No kidding.

Hey. I found this blog a while ago and it's nice to see things appearing again.

That is as close to a faultless model I've seen, well it is faultless, I can't see anything that needs changing.

Good job Storag on the build. It looks like a complete model that you could go out and buy.

and Good job Ishkatar on the painting (throughout the blog and on this model).

and that bear is EPIC.

 ishkatar wrote:
Cheers!

Well, Romio - it's almost my real name
No kidding.

lol... poor sod^^

well i shouldn´t talk... i hate my given name... thus i am now viktor^^

I cant get over how much is going on on this little fellow between the 2 of you it looks amazing

Agree with LDD ^

Solid execution all around on both parts.

@Dr H
Thanks! Nice to have you here with us.
Hopefully soon we will have some actual complete models that you could go out and buy

@El Vic:
Well, not that I don't like mine... Not that I like.
My real name sounds like "Roman" with emphasis on "a", but I prefer to use this Romio in most cases on the web for some wierd reasons
Ishkatar sounds better though.

Viktor is a winner. It's a great name all around
And, you know... There's El' Vic!

@LDD:
Cheers, pal!
Will have to add LEDs, moving parts and voice processor on the next one

@Moltar:
Thanks, mate!



I hope you guys also like this comics-esque presentation, inspired by the recent Call of Juarez: Gunslinger playthrough. An awesome game, by the way - I strongly recommend it, if you like some wild-wild gun shooting with a solid and stylish narrative.

@El Vic:
Well, not that I don't like mine... Not that I like.
My real name sounds like "Roman" with emphasis on "a", but I prefer to use this Romio in most cases on the web for some wierd reasons
Ishkatar sounds better though.

Viktor is a winner. It's a great name all around
And, you know... There's El' Vic!

yes... Ishkatar is a very cool name... sounds like millenia of wisdom and one that has seen the beginnings of time...

i think each kid schould one day be able to rename it´self...

and yep... for a given name so to say el´vic is as cool as it gets

@ Vic
Today we had a discussion about the name and logo for our dream team and Ish came up with some awesome ideas, and now I remember the El Vic thing...

Given that Ish, I officially bestow the honorable title of Dr. Namenstein upon thee!

@El Vic:
Well, I believe every man deserves more than just a one name, if you know what I mean.

@Storag:
And I humbly accept it
Though I'm not sure it was I who came up with this brilliant El' Vic thingie...

My misses has several names for me …………….. most of which would be altered due to dakka censorship

So when are we going to see some WIP pics of the upcoming miniature line

No LED'S not a big fan

 lone dirty dog wrote:
So when are we going to see some WIP pics of the upcoming miniature line

We're in process...
Yet, I have a little teaser for you, my friends!
May be you remember that GS caped and hooded fella I've started sculpting so long ago... Well, I'm back on a track and finally started making arms for the guy. The most complicated part of wich is the palm with widespread fingers. It took me several attempts before I got the satisfying result, but looks like this is it:



Of course there will be more details, like a wire, feeding that Ironmanish "pew-pew" device on his palmar aspect, armor plating on the dorsal aspect and may be even more... Hopefully I will finish the hand today, but right now I have to wait for the Magic Sculp to cure. So, stay tuned, folks! We're up and running!

Thats some tricky work I can never get hands open right, it's a complete arse to achieve it and get a convincing look.

But you have pulled it of mate with great success I was going to say very Iron man esque but you bit me to it

gotta agree... that hand looks awesome!...

such "simple" gesture hands is what we modelers and converters yearn for !

Really nice work on the hand, looks perfect.

At last...

Thanks, friends!

@Storag:
Who's saying?


Anyway, as promised I finished the hand today... Almost today. Almost finished
A bit of polishing, may be a few more rivets here and there to complete the image and, oh well, to please the L and we'll be good, but for now here we are:



Looks rather steampankish to me...

Ill take a dozen that has quite a lot of potential for many aspects of gaming, I can see quite a few conversions putting that hand to good use

Yeah, that's a very cool hand. Good job.

Cheers, pals!

For the last few day I did close to nothing, nonetheless I have a little something to show you:



Probably I'll play with the angles and poses a bit more, but you've got the idea.
Keep in mind, that "glaive" is a roughly built placeholder I made just to give you (and myself) the right feel of the way it should be. I'll sculpt the blade with the hand holding it from scratch.

Oh, it's his hand. I saw that a while ago and really like the armour/bionic legs on him.

Also, I'd be interested in seeing how you sculpt the blades.

Pretty interesting figure like the flow and general look, the pose is quite cool and the bionics on the legs are really nicely detailed.

I have to say the front chest armour sections look a little unfitting to the rest of the model though, have you considered more angler armour instead.

Overal love it

@Dr H:
I'll try to document the process then.

@LDD:
Overall the guy isn't as angular as it seems on these pictures - the slightly less angled details here and there are supposed to dilute his cubism and give a more human armour feel rather than a robotic one. At least that was the plan

that gaunlet looks amazing... hopefully you pan on doing a set

Thanks, El Vic!
In fact, I do


And the progress for now... There's none!
Well, not really. There's a bit! Not much though... I've been planning on spending all day sculpting and thus finishing the weapon and the rest of the figure, so we could move onwards to the casting issue, but I've made a terrible mistake: I've bought Shadowrun Returns on Steam. The game sucked me deep...
Anyway, I manage to work a bit on the weapon and here's the piece:



I've rejected the initial idea to make a Glaive in favor of this new awesome cutter - the Chainsaw Naginata!
The blade on the pic is approximately 9 mm long, so it's not as massive as regular GW-ish stuff. It's about the size of SM dagger (twice wider though), which seems quite fitting to me, since it's attached on a long pole.
Of course there will be more polishing and details.

hmmm.... looks good tho i am thinking it is also a bit stumpy looking due to the shortness of the blade...but i think we need to see it in hand of your good looking fighter... than i think i will get another impression

and gaming vs. hobby....*gasp* unheard of...tststs...*switches off to new vegas again...*

Hmm, I finally figured what troubles me in this blade; its body is thinner then the cutting edge because of those bumpers you've sculpted. That makes it look not like a cutting-edge weapon but some mini all terrain vehicle's track.

yup... i think storag is right...

I guess you are right, guys. I gave it a second look and decided to remake the blade a bit, even drawn a sketch of how it suppose to end up:

Breaking news, my friends. Literally...



I dropped it accidentally and two fingers snapped off... in a funny way, I must admit. Though I want to cry anyway for some reason...
I'm still not sure, what will be more pain in the butt - rebuilding the hand anew or trying to fix just the fingers. Quite a problem.

Bad news aside, I've finished the weapon with the right hand, so as soon as I will fix the left one, the fella will be shipped off for casting. Stay tuned, folks!

oh....bugger....

first klaus drops his athena and now your warrior gets knocked over...is there a pattern?...

i cross my finger (d´oh lame pun now that i read it...) for you to fix is good!

tho...i have to admit... it looks very nightcrawler like now... a bit like him giving the devils fork

I just want to scream " YOU ROCK "

But seriously that is a shame but cant you just re stick the fingers back on ?

metal salute!

@weetyskemian44:


@El Vic:
The curse of almost finished project? Oh, I hope not...
Though my disaster isn't as big as one with Athena (now it's my turn for the lame pun ).

@LDD
\m/
A shame, indeed... I can't stick 'em back simply because they lost somewhere in the void of my dusty floor and they are so small I gave up any hope to find 'em!

...But fear not! I managed to resculpt the fingers anew! Yay!

And finished the Chainsaw Naginata:


And for the very first time - the whole guy preassembled!


I guess I'll work a bit on his elbows and here we are...
So in the next few day the fella will be shipped away for the casting! Hooray!

Aside from all this sculpting rumbling, still a lot of things are waiting for my brush and one is getting close to it:


I decided to prime it like a "pro" - black coat under the white, which supposed to help a lot with figuring all this light and shadow thingie, making it more obvious.
And like this was not enough, I'm going to paint this miniature with Tempera.
Will see whereto this way will bring me...

now that fella of looks EVIL!...

and I see you have more of storags "upstanding citizens"

I am getting a Sith meets Iron Man vibe which is friggin awesome I will take one for sure

As for the black-white undercoat does it really help ? and you have to spray the white straight down is that correct ?

@El Vic:
I have a few
Grots included. Slow but purposefully I'll paint 'em all...

@LDD:
It's great that you like it!

Few more days for polishing, about one week for casting... Taking in account the nature of GS, I'm afraid the first copies will be of a very bad quality and I'll have to polish 'em a lot to get a propper master model for further casting. But sooner or later, there will be some and you're the first on the list

AS for the black-white... It does. At least so they say.
"Basically, prime your mini in black and then pick the point of illumination and spray white from that angle. This should create highlights from that point as if the miniature is illuminated from that spot and can create or accentuate highlights and shadows. Ideally, you could then just paint on some basic coats and have instant shading and highlighting from the primer coats underneath."
So you choose the angle of spraying according to the angle of highlight you want to get on your miniature.
I sprayed the Ork from a bit up and front, same for the back and then straight down. Like it's a regular zenithal highlight.

I will happily wait

Yes, I thought that was the process was not sure of the angle the white would be sprayed, but you have cleared that one up for us

Dude looks awesome. Glad you got the fingers fixed. Really nice sculpt from head to toe.

@LDD:
Always happy to help!

@Dr H:
Thanks, mate!


Okey, the news!.. It seems like there is a curse of some kind after all
You see, there appeared to be a very annoying trouble with the white primer on the Ork - for some reason it formed a very rough, sandpaper-like surface. I don't know why and that annoys me even more. Any thoughts?
So now I have to clean the Ork and start it all over again.

But anyway I decided to try out the Tempera before giving the fella an alcohol bath:


There are just two base colours without any shading, washing or highlights.
As you can see, the black-white priming thingie works very well - even with only few roughly applyed layers of basecoat I got the shades, like it's been washed, and some pretty nice popping out highlights.
An awesome way to speed paint some table top quality miniatures! This method with using airbrush should give even better and smoother effect. I should get one...
By the way, do anyone have any tips on that matter? Because I can use a few

apart from sanding certain areas I can´t add anything helpful... well.... you could weather it like blazes... and no help about AB from me... I am still not able to get me a compressor...

Well from what I have heard and experienced this can be due to 2 reasons, one a change in temperature causing a reaction and causing the paint to separate or 2 the orginal mix was wrong and so the paint separates.

On top of those options I have no idea, have you used it before it did this ? If not take it back and get a replacement one, if you have and it has only just turned think of how and where you stored it.

Also have you had it some where an intense change of temp could have occurred ?

I have a tin of black primer that did this crap for miniatures, however if you are doing scenery and want a little texture hey presto

It was a pretty old primer and I've used it for the first time... Yet, I've shaken it a lot and spilled it a bit before priming the Ork. I have a black primer as well, stored exactly at the same place as the white one - it's the same oldness and still in a great condition... But the white is Army Painter and black - Citadel. May be that's the deal. May be something occured while it was in a Hobby store. I'm not sure.
Anyway, the several days of marinating the Ork in alcohol and intense toothbrush rubbing gave no desired results. I'll try to sand it down then.

On a bright side, my custom miniature went off for casting along with some Storag's works. The results should be within a week or slightly later.

hmmm... well better luck next time then...

and I am, eager to see your casted stuff!

Will look forward to the update and just put it down to a bad tin of paint

I have expericed this sandpaper phenomenon ..and it seems that when the humidity changes it happens ..(I live at approximatley 725 meters above sea level in a normally arid environment ) so during the raining season (June thru August) I cannot use spray primers as the humidity is always changing ..(less than 10% then it rains Humidty spike to 90% ..then it drops off again )..if i try to spray prime i get either sandy or a mottled result depending on whether the humidty is going up or down

@Morfydd:
I think you might be right, since I'm living almost on the sea and we have a lot of rains recently.

I think I'll get an Airbrush soon and such a problem won't be a case anymore.


Anyway, the Ork painting is in progress (I'm sorry for the bad pics: I don't have a propper camera right now and I ought to take shots with the phone):

It's almost finished. Most of all I'm proud of the leather and metal effects on the boots and pouches (Err, crappy pics!). The face turned out pretty well too, but two rings in the ear should get a bit more love.
Yet the base is still bothers me: the rusty chemical dump effect I wanted to achieve seems pretty convincing to me, but I think the objects should be painted in other colour to pop up from this overwhelming rustness.
Other than that, there are only hands with the gun left. In theory, there should be a backpack aswell...

Looks great mate and the boots are rather splendid do you use a speckle technique ?

Also love the trousers nice stripes indeed and the earrings need just a little highlight to lift them a bit, as for the floor section have you considered painting the pipe/cable section a green or red paint with a pealing effect.

Cheers, LDD!
I'm not sure what is this speckle technique, mate, but according to the name, it's suppose to be something like poking the surface with the very tip of the brush?
Cause that's what I did
Though it's not a random speckling - I've tried to breathe some sense in my pattern, like trimming the edges, imitating the scratches and so on.
I found such way of highlighting more appealing for the realistic sake and overall much more interesting and good looking.
Too bad the pics quality doesn't portray it well enough, but you've got the idea anyway

I think I will repaint the base entirely, giving it a more dark and ironish look to complement with the overall gloomy and cold Ork style, without such acidy and Nurglish feel
And yes, some chipped paint on the pipe will do. May be with a bit of freehand, like numbers or something...

Anyway, the Ork could step aside a bit, since the casting been done and the results will be in my hands tomorrow! Yay!

I think its called stipple effect not speckle but you got the idea and it looks great, maybe a tutorial on it would be cool
I think the effect works well and gives a depth to the model, plus it is very different to most techniques used so has unique feel to it .

I think darkening the base is the way to go as it will make the Ork jump out more, it blends a little with the base at the moment although I do like the rusty effect.

You getting the new cast soon then hey, cant wait to see how its turned out and will it be getting a lick of paint as well then

P.S. I like the Logo however I keep wanting to go to the cinema now

 lone dirty dog wrote:
P.S. I like the Logo however I keep wanting to go to the cinema now

Then, we should make a movie

@LDD:
A tutorial on it would be cool indeed, though I have no idea how to put it all together in an understandable way... I'm a bad teacher. Ask Storag - he knows
But may be it worth a try...
By the way, I remember, that you was the first on the list...

So...

The casting quality is pretty decent though the master-model was not... Nothing bad, but a bit of roughness and bumpiness here and there. Still much better then failcast
There are twenty copies right now: one model for my painting, one for the new and better master-model and eighteen more are worth selling, I dare to think.
Now we should figure out the price, billing and shipping and here we go, but the OnLine Store won't be up until the first week of October for couple of reasons anyway.
Yet anyone who want to get himself a very first MyWay miniature - just let me or Storag know via PM.

Those look great from here I have seen way worst casts from the so called professionals

As for the movie what kind horror comedy nothing exotic I hope

So what's the price for one of these guys then

Plus a picture tutorial would work with a little info.

Well, as I said before, the casts are pretty good, but my master-model itself was not. Nothing that I can't fix with a good ol' knife and a bit of polishing.
The price is nine euro.

As for the tutorial... I won't be able to make the decent pics due to the lack of a good camera, but I see some other way around. An easy one, I must admit, but...
Here it is: Spots before your eyes – a guide to stippling. It's a good guide to the technic by Sprocket. There are also a lot of other interesting things on his blog - you should check it out!
I also have to add a few words from myself:
First off, every technic starts with an appropriate instrument and you need a really good instrument for this one.
I use Winsor & Newton Series7 size 0 brush - a round "belly" carries a lot of paint providing required longevity, a short hair allows a better control and a very fine tip gives you an exquisite precision. I believe any qualitative Kolinsky Sable brush will do.
Remember: you need a very fine tip, but not a very small brush. The smaller your brush is, the faster your paint dries, and that's not the way to paint such things. That's why you want a proper brush which can retain a stiff and thin tip.
Second - paint dilution. Your paint should be diluted enough for the delicate, but explicit strokes. Too much water will make it flowy and smudgy. Not enough water will make it rough and way too crisp.
I can't give you the exact recipe, since me doing it intuitively always, but 1:1 ratio is the common one. Just try a several ways on the pallette before applying it on the miniature (I use my fingernail to test the stroke usually).
Third - the colouring. I strongly recommend to start with digging through a lot of reference pictures to get the exact idea of what you want - which dot and line should goes where and of which colour.
E.g. you can simply make a tiny line of highlight to imitate the scratch, or you can add another line next to it of a darker-than-underlay colour to give this scratch an effect of deepness. Both ways are good and works for surfaces as well as for the edges.
Adding more layers of highlights and shades will gives a better and more convincing image.
The rest simply comes down to your sence of beauty and your brush controll. A little practice, experimentation and you'll probably will be surprice with the results.
I call it texturing. As you can see, basically it's just a regular freehand. I believe there should be a lot of other guides about how to do the things faster, which can fit better for the tabletop purpose. While the freehanding suppose to give a better outcome, it is still the most time consuming way...
But that's my way of doing it

Oh...that looks cool... I have no use for that beauty other than simply wanting it... So...work out how and how much mister! Also would it be possible to convert him into a tech priest?

Thanks, El Vic!
It's nine euro per piece.
Well, the project started as "The Implacable Skitarii" so with a proper colouring (red robe, basicly) he already can go as a Tech Priest, I believe.
He's only three parts (head-body, weapon-hand and palm-hand), but the material is fairly soft and thus conversion-friendly. The rest is up to you.
Anyway, I will be glad to see various conversion of this fella!

Cheers mate for the link and explanation will come in very handy indeed, not bad price either I will take one how you taking payment Paypal?

I see him as if dearth vader and iron man had a kid this is the bad ass result, I to have no idea what to use it for but it will be used

My pleasure, LDD!
Right now PayPal doesn't allow Russian users to transfer money out of the company, but that's about to change soon, gladly. We can recieve the payments though, but it will be virtual money until the 16th of September. Not a big deal, I guess, but yet...
On the other hand, we can use Weestern Union.
What suits you best.
By the way, I'm still not sure about the shipping price. Should be around 1.5-2 Euro =/

So I can send a payment as a cash form using Paypal then? Sorry i am going dumb at the moment

I don't like using western union transfers as I have heard a lot of bad things, so if I send a cash request to you using Paypal that would work then ?

Sorry to be a pain mate just so I know what I am doing is correct, make sure the postage rate covers your costs other wise you could end up out of pocket.

It's never mind, LDD. I'm kinda dumb with all this too - never tryed to do anything like that before... But oh well... Should get used to it asap. An unhappy customer is not our way
I have to admit, you're a lucky guy, mate - you're going to be our test subject, if you're okay with that
Right now, you only need a person's email to send him a payment. Or a person can request a payment, having your email. With the store up and running the things will be automated and much more convenient, of course.
So, it's only left to figure out the shipment...

Sorry I gather this is just the same as I do normally, you send me your email address and the total including post and packageing then I send a money order to you via Paypal easy.

But you need to work out the postage first then I will be your test rat

Let me know as soon as you do, while your at it let Storag know I am still waiting for him to release the Tau syndicate bits especially the heads

As for Base pricing... The rubric I use for my resin stuff is ML resin x Cost of resin per ML x 10-15 depending.

Hey, everyone!

Here goes a little bit of update - the Ronin, casted and polished:


This one will be the new Master Model for the further casts.
Yet we decided Ronin needs a second weapon option so I'm working on it right now and that's what I've done so far:


It supposed to be some kind of a pew-pew thingie, a plasma of some sort. That's pretty much finished form and only a bit of detail will be added.
I hope you like it

As a side note, here's a little story behind the character:


Also I guess you've seen the other good news on the Storag's thread, if not, you should check it out

Cheers, my fellow dakkanauts!

Glad to see he is ready to ship

I like the new nuclear knuckle duster "PUNCH AND POW " which to have as weapon lay out now I guess I will have to get 2 now

Good news on the website and good luck to you guys not that you will need it with your 2 creations

Aye, that was the idea - a plasma knuckles! PEW-KPOW!
Cheers, LDD!

Wow... That is an amazing idea! If you keep this spirit of inspirational goods then you will have business forever. And I need to talk to my wife about getting two too...it's the only way

Thanks for the inspiration, ish. That ork is gorge!!! I stumbled upon that same technique and used it to paint any organic cloth material on that priest i painted. It really came out how i wanted it and will be using it from now on.. Like you say, its more painting with tiny dots (or how i thought of it, as wet blending with dots) instead of "stippling" per say...I kinda stole it from you i guess...:( well mockery is the best form of flattery they say...and that BASE....yeah man....yeah!!

Bebop

@El Vic:
Thanks, my friend!
Well, getting two is an option, it won't hurt

@Bebop:
Cheers, pal!
I really like the paint job you did on that Priest, robe and face especially.
As for the "painting with dots", you should check the Nakatan's gallery - he use this stuff a lot. And he is really awesome. An incredible source of inspiration!


But on to the news, everyone, shall we?
First off, the complete commercial version of Ronin with all options and stuff:




Yep, he's available for sale, 9 Euro per fella plus shipment price.
Our online store is under construction yet, but should be there soon. If you don't want to wait, just send me a private message

But off with trading, back to the hobby! And here comes the grand finale of this lingering project:


It's still WIP. Some details and polish to be done... And a base, of course.
Bearing in mind, that a project was born with "the implacable skitarii" name, I decided to portray him in a role of an old Tech guard.
So, what do you think?

Great!!!! Nice work Ish

Thanks, Bebop!
Actually, it turned out not the way I wanted, but oh well...
The first version of the armour was all worn iron-esque and looked more grimy. Just for comparison:

hmmmm....both are cool...how do you do that iron look? are you starting with brown then highlighting up mixing in greys/whites? or starting grey and shading down with browns? Im assuming its NMM...

Also...the red silks...highlights with white? what are your mixes? Im trying to learn how to do a high class sheen type fabric like youve done here but my mixes are off...

Thanks!
BB

I've started with the gray basecoat, than a mix of gray with reddish-brown for the gradient to darker areas and with a drop of black for the deepest shades.
For the highlights I've used a mix of gray and white, with a drop of blue for the brightest areas and a mix of white with a tiny bit of blue for the most extrim highlights - just dots mostly.
To be honest, I didn't aimed for NMM, just wanted a cool and grim worn and scratched iron effect, though it ended up pretty much NMMish

As for the fabrics... It's the same idea with warm-cold contrast I've used on the iron armor: darker red for the basecoat (I've used a mix of Scorched Brown with Evil Sunz Scarlet), reddish-brown and a bit of black for the shades, brighter red (Evil Sunz Scarlet in that case) for the lighted areas and a mixes of white with red of various proportions for the highlights, up to a very light pink for the most extrime spots.
The shades are deep and highlights are very bright for the greater contrast, which gives a bit of comics-esque effect.
I have to note, this goes a bit apart with armor, painted in a more realistic manner. And that's why I'm not really fond of my current work =/

thanks! I think my mistake is im going too fast to pink and losing the red base. makes sense. time to get to work. as far what you said about disliking th project, for the very reason i like it alot. the dirty metal vs the rich upper crust robe. two extremes juxtaposed makes them even more extreme. quite fond of it
thanks!

BB

Pink goes only on the very edges. It's important not to overdo, since highlighting gives "the feel" to the colour, e.g. while highlighting red with orange, a few more extra layers could make the impression of the whole object being orange. Well, I guess you know the drill

Probably I'm just too hard on myself... But the fella is almost done nevertheless.
I've got the whole mount of this guys on my table anyway, so can try to paint a new one any moment

Haha. Thanks for being ultra clear though Dunno if you had a chance to see the priest i painted bout 2 months back on my blog. I was trying to recreate a burlap rough cloth look that actually came out better than expected for my first attempt.
Though i understand your being hard on yourself, i too am the same way. Ive hit a wall currently of trying to learn how to paint reflective hard flat colored surfaces, like nmm carapace armor or what have you. Its extremely frustrating when your momentum tanks while trying to learn new techniques...:(

Yeah, I remember that priest - in a white robe, right? A great job you've done on him! Robe turned out very well.

As for NMM... Have you considered trying acrylic based Tempera paints? It's slightly harder to work then regular Acrylic paints, because it dries slower, but on the other hand it gives a great opportunity to mix colours right on the miniature's surface, to gain very smooth gradients. Also it's very opaque, matt and can be easily removed while it's still wet with just a wetted brush if any mistake occured. Personally I find it more handy for NMM paiting.

OK test rat checking in delivery arrived today safe and sound, well packed and quick delivery not long at all.

Contents results Ronin miniature looks fantastic, great detail, clean and crisp casting and great resin quality, overall impressed some larger companies could take a leaf out of this book on all matters.

I would love to post pics but unfortunately cant find the camera or the cable but as soon as I do will post some

On top of this there was a little extra included we all love freebies and this consisted of some of Storags Tau Syndicates pieces.

Included was a head, set of arms and the torso and I can say these look Awesome and the quality is the same as above top notch.

Well, done guys I can see me being a returning customer well done indeed

 ishkatar wrote:
Yeah, I remember that priest - in a white robe, right? A great job you've done on him! Robe turned out very well.

As for NMM... Have you considered trying acrylic based Tempera paints? It's slightly harder to work then regular Acrylic paints, because it dries slower, but on the other hand it gives a great opportunity to mix colours right on the miniature's surface, to gain very smooth gradients. Also it's very opaque, matt and can be easily removed while it's still wet with just a wetted brush if any mistake occured. Personally I find it more handy for NMM paiting.

i havent heard of them. I will try it out. I bought some p3 mixing medium and used it while trying some experimenting. I might have used too much but the paint practically would NOT dry lol. I see it as being useful for wetblending and NOT for basecoats and small detail work. Up until now i havent had much issue with wet blending with water and actually, as stupid as it might sound, ive even used a spray water bottle to keep the mini moist while i work. It works quite nice too as long as you dont use hard water or have some bad stufff in your h20.

am i a jerk for stating that i liked the gold/brass armor section better?...

but it looks spiffy nevertheless^^

@ Vik
Brass is the current one =) Dull metall was the first try. Seen it today. Looks much better. We'll see it finished soon I belive

oh....must´ve overread it somehow then...

(actually i was also confused about the ced cloth as in the all dull version it was quite a different hue...)

@LDD:
I'm glad it turned out well and you're a one happy customer
The extra is a little present for you being our first victim
Sadly legs aren't here there yet, but I believe you will put these bitz to the good use nevertheless. We're eager to see the photos!

@BB:
Well, Tempera is an interesting paint to work with, a bit uncommon after the Acrylics though.
Water spraying on the model sounds like a clever idea actually. I might give it a shot.

@El Vik:
Oh, the Ronin been through alot - somehow it turned to be an ...unlucky painting session. Anyway the final version almost pleases me (I haven't even noticed since when I've become so picky!).
Just have to make some decent photoes, wich is always quite a task

But before this happens, I'll drop a few pics here just for your entertainment
This one is a base for the Ronin. Nothing exquisite, but I kinda like it.


And the other current WIP - Donny. I'm trying to catch his cartoon skin tone, but that's tricky...



Thanks, for stopping by, folks!

Becoming picky is what life makes you while you grow older and more senile...

For the base you don't use any salt technology, right? How on earth can someone paint so convincing random patterns? All those scratches...


Donny...is his skintone in RL as dark as I see it now, or brighter as I recall it from the show?

I have no idea what legs to use with the nits to be honest I want it to show it to its best and to be honest Tau legs pretty much suck

So I think some kind of conversion will be needed but what

That is some seriously creative painting I am with Vik on the scratch effect, is that just a paint stroke and random dotting with a metallic paint ?

You really should do some youtube style videos you know

TMT is looking pretty cool I think the skin tone looks right in the first pic, so I think the darkness might just be a camera trick but looking forward to seeing this progress.

@El Vik:
Getting old is what I'm doing every day!
Yeah, I don't like the gimp with salts and all that kind of stuff - it suppose to make the process easier, but I find it disturbing to salt something which I can not eat. On the other hand, I can eat a model. Will be hard to chew though
I prefer a good ol' brush. Also bought an Airbrush, yet getting used to it... Not very successfully.

Donny skin tone seems to be a bit dull comparing to the one from TV-show. I guess I should make it more contrast and yellowish.

@LDD:
You always can wait until the Synapse bitz will be fully released

There's no metallics. I've used Tempera paints and a bit of washes to make the surface and Citadel Vermin Brown for the rust. And a lot of random gray and white lines and dots all over the place for the scratches. It's recommended to cover your painted surface with varnish first, so you could easily wash off any drip of paint which didn't turned out the way you want it.

You're flattering me (not that it's something I don't like. Actually, I do!), but I don't think I'm ready for youtube for so many reasons...

Aye, photo shooting ain't my strongest side at all
Anyway, Donny's skin looks fairly close to the show, yet require a few more brush strokes here and there

I think with a few highlights the skin tone should be right

These Tempera paints you keep mentioning, well I looked them up and it mentions they are not suited for plastic ?

So do you mix them with something or is there a particular brand for plastic ?



No flattery just want to learn your technique for painting mine sucks so want to achieve a better standard and techniques.

So get over yourself and make some videos mate

How long before the Synapse will be released ?

I use Acrylic based Tempera. After drying it makes a pretty strong layer which is hard to remove even with a toothbrush. Believe me, I've tried
Ofcourse it's not as durable as regular Acrylic Paints, but it's not a big deal under the varnish finish.
In terms of pain job... they are just slightly different. Have its cons, have its pros. More suitable for some things imo.
This type of paint is very popular among old-school historic miniature painters in Russia for some reason (mostly because there wasn't available decent Acrylic paints even befor 2000th, I think).

For example, some miniatures painted with Tempera:

Well, they look amazing so they obviously work and some bloody decent brush work on those minis the material texture achieved is unbelievable.

Do you have a range of Tempera paints you can recommend ? I think these might be worth a try

Amazing indeed. Painted by the fellas from Tatyana Gapchenko's studio. A lot of incredible works are in their gallery.

I'm not sure really... I use Master Class Tempera Paints by the local manufacturer and they looks good to me.

Well the misses I pad ain't liking your link mate so have no idea what those paint are, however will have as each of the net and see what comes up

I believe there are a lot of manufacturers around. Probably some local too. Tampera is a very popular artist's paint. Just make sure it's Polyvinilacetate based (PVA, yup ).
And keep in mind it's a different experience in compare with the common Acrylics:
Requires more patience, because it dries very slow and while it could prolong your work, it is a plus on the other hand - you can mix colours right on the miniature to get very smooth gradients and you barely will need to deep your brush into the pot again and again for the new portion of paint, because of damn Acrylics dried on the palette again Even if Tempera dries out on the palette, you can delute it again with just a water. Yet, wet palette is always much of a help.
Tempera is very opaque and forms a very thin coat - you don't need as much water to delute it, so you can cover the surface with just one layer. The delution rate is a bit lower then for the acrylics, yet it's all up to your practice to find out the right ones.
And again - be careful when painting the next layer: if the Tempera isn't fully dried and your brush is wet enough you can get a mix of your paints accidentally. Usually I cover elements with matt varnish to protect myself from such accidents and mistakes.
Also, Tempera is very matt by itself, but varnish finish still is a must to protect your miniature.

Sounds like a paint I can work with seems to have a slight oils quality due to drying time and blending aspects, also I like the more transparent quality as well which means better blending capability.

I think I will have a look in the art shop in a coupe of weeks time, would go this weekend but have a dam wedding being forced to go to.

Your own? that would take some balls to not attend

Your own? that would take some balls to not attend

Good one Vik!

@LDD:
Blending with Tempera is like blending with any other paint, I believe - just add more water!
A wedding, huh? Well, that's something every man being forced to go to

So... Is it your own?

 Viktor von Domm wrote:
Your own? that would take some balls to not attend

QFT

LOL no not mine some friends of ours you just cant tell some people

That whole add more water thing I just cant get on with, the easier blending was more due to the slower drying time, when I try with Acrylics the dam things dry before I am finished.

What did you expect?

Aye, Acrylics drying time is a bane...
Though nothing unsolvable: to preserve moisture on the palette just use the wet one (a guide to make one.), and to have more work time on the miniature surface mix the paint with drying retarder.
I found the article about the homemade Acrylic retarder - could be useful, yet I haven't tried it out by myself.

E.g my wet palette:

Cheers for that I have the pieces to build a wet pallet also tried the retarder, but still having some issues maybe I am just a crap painter

Some people just can't get retardier , I paint straight from the pot and my models look like they could go back in a pot , I've tried wet pallet too, but with GW paints I just seem to waste more than what I use. A wet pallet might make more sense if I used dropper bottles.

@LDD:
Aye, everything requires a time to get used to... I still can get how to work with this friggin airbrush -.-
Anyway, the modern marken gives us quite a good choice of instruments for your specific needs. I even seen some guides about using Oils!

@Theo:
Hm, may be... I just poke my brush into the pot, then on the wet pallet and smudge it a bit. Sometimes add more water, if needed, but in most cases the pallet's moisture is enough. Works fine for me
Droppers actually gives me less control over the amount of paint - it's fairly easy to drip much more than you need accidently and that's what happens to me ALOT!
When with the pot I can get the exact amount I need like on a very tip or the whole brush...
A matter of preference and habit of course

Well I think in this case its just a matter of perseverance and improvement, all be it a slow progress

I think I need to get my man cave sorted out and spend some real quality time in there.

I am sure you will get there with the airbrush, what is it that you don't get ?

Slow is better than none

The paint flow constantly interrupts, like if nozzle clogged or something... The source of this problem can be either a paint dilution rate/air pressure setting or it's just a specific "illness" of the cheap chinese airbrush I currently use, which I got for the test purpose... Sooner or later I'll figure the things out, but it's a bit disturbing anyway.

By the way, I have an idea for your Ronin conversion to fit your Army:
Drill out his face and place a Grot's one instead.
Replace the weapon in his right hand with a pumpkin grenade.
Some kind of a hover disk will suites well to his pose and will make a nice base too. Probabbly resculpting his flappers will be good for more dynamic feel, like in flight...
Well, and paint him purple-green
I'm pretty sure you've got the idea

The time has come!

Dangerous mercenary and a bounty hunter, Ronin is a grim fella with a grim past, covered in a fog of mistery.
Yet a little is known, but some speaks he's the only one survivor of once powerfull but destroyed order and now he ought to wander all across the galaxy without master and grand purpose.

1/64 scale, 35mm from tip to toe, two magnetized weapon options - melee Plasma-Chainsaw (too much? No way!) Naginata "The Green Reaper" and his pew-pew Plasma Knucklegun "Airkiss" (Too much Plasma is never enough!).
Locked, loaded and ready for action, for a fair price, of course.
The colouring is a nod to the project's working title "The Implacable Skitarii".

Casts are available. PM me if you want one

But onward, to the picture! You can click it to see in Dakka gallery with all this zooming stuff for more precise viewing. Also, I request votes! MOAR VOTES! Thanks



CMoN link for vote sake

So, what do you think, my friends?

I think he looks fantastic, Ishkatar! Painting came along wonderfully. Love the way his armor looks.

freakin awesome dude. Love it. Inspiring!

BB

Nice back story gives the model a little more identity, plus nice paint job that helps sell the model.

I would buy one but I already have

One thing though why have you put it down as 1/64 scale

@Moltar:
Thank you!

@BB:
Cheers, pal!
How's your NMM practicing going?

@LDD:
And I would definitely sell you another one

As for the scale... 35mm in 1/64 will be 2.24m, which is tall. Superhuman tall. And I wanted him to be superhuman tall - somehow this goes nicely with his mysterious story

 lone dirty dog wrote:

One thing though why have you put it down as 1/64 scale

We find it a major flaw when miniature manufacturers don't state the exact scale of their works. It kinda ruins the whole idea of a miniature, when you can't understand what size that thing would be if it to exist in the real world. We don't approve GW and alike policy that spawns constant discussions about Space Marine real size etc. What is now known as 28mm scale is a lousy term that actually says nothing about scale and can vary greatly from mini to mini, but it originates from several scales like 1/58, 1/60 and 1/64. Before starting Ronin and Aztec we made some calculations and figured that 1/64 is a suitable scale for our needs. Donny is also made in it.

I always thought 1/64 scale is railway model size, which is why I questioned it in the first place.

I use 1/50 - 1/56 scale cars with my miniatures as the 1/64 scale look to small in comparison, which was why I was surprised when you put it.

But hey ho it's your company and as long as the models get released call it what you like mate

 lone dirty dog wrote:
But hey ho it's your company and as long as the models get released call it what you like mate

Fair enough
Well, the scale here is just for clarification. After all, the actual size, proportions and overall feel is what really matters.

Totally agree but when you say 1/64 scale I think Preiser figures and Hotwheels cars, it just threw me because they are so much smaller than RPG miniatures.

Brilliant work, very cool model.

Ish, my nmm practicing is zero. I dont have any of the correct supplies here in nyc. Especially paint. Ive been playing a show thats nightly for the last 3 weeks and my pay has been really great so each week i treat myself to some more supplies and soon by mid december ill have an actual painting set up to get down to business with. All of my painting until now has been done in l a except these recent heads. Painting in an uncomfortable setup is the pits and not good physically or mentally so ive decided to get situated first before getting back to brush in hand.

Alright, Donnie is almost finished:


Only a few strokes left just to clean up the fella and there we are.
I'm very proud of this work: it turned out fairly clean and cartoony, as it should be.
The shots of the final version will be as soon as I got (and paint) the display case Storag is working currently on.

Also, I've already got the next project to smudge with my brush and unexpectedly it will be comission for the Brother Vinni's miniatures. I even will get some cash for that! O.o
Not that I want to be a commission painter, but I guess it will be an interesting and useful experience. And some extra cash will never hurt

hey ish... that donnie is one of the few models i´ve showed to my wife... and she liked it... i talked about your shop-thingy... and she asked me...do you want to tell me something? ...well...in good time

oh and congratz for the gig with vinnie... hopefully you don´t have to paint his more degrading stuff... as he has so much cool looking stuff too...

Don looks excellent.
I especially like the shell.

That's some pretty amazing brush work there mate, love the shell and leather work that really has captured the detail.

I have to say your talent continues to impress me and annoy LOL what's the commission job then ?

@El Vik:
One day, my friend, one day
As for the commission, I'm afraid I have to crush your hopes: the stuff I should paint is very degrading in so many ways...

@Dr H:
Cheers, pal!

@LDD:
Thanks, mate!
Well, sometimes my "talent" impress and annoy me too


A commission is one of those special Vinni's figures he is so well known for and something the other parents won't allow their kids to watch at...
To be honest, I regret a bit that I took this job, because it's already a few days since the AC4: Black Flag hit me deck and I just can't stop playing it. It's incredibly awesome game and you know why? Of couse you know! Because Pirates are awesome! Savvy?
Anyway, with a sheer force of will I left me ship and booty and forced myself to paint a bit. Avast ye, the skin was fully painted with an airbrush. Blimey, it turned out better than I've expected!
Aye, here's the pic, me hearties:

poor sod, having to paint (h)armless damsels in distress... and bra less too... ...
so much bare skin...that would bring me to my knees already if i had to paint that mini...(i am no good at skin tones really....)

tho...when all is sad () and done...it is a classic nice color scheme...the boots currently strike me as the best atm ... probably due to another shot via AB? also the corsage looks amazing, the white and purple probably was a tricky job, eh?...

She looks awsome !!

@El Vik:
I guess you'll be surprised to know where her arms are... Or not. She is in distress, indeed.
Aye, paiting skintones is a hard job indeed. The first attempt I failed miserably, that's the second one. With airbrush it turned out not as tricky as I've expected. And fairly quick for this quality.
White is always quite a problem, aye... Though I whould choose compltetely different colour scheme for the skin and overall miniature... But I got strict and detailed task from Vinni what colours I should pour on her. So me no think, me smudge!
The corsage and skirt are just basecoated. The acrylic purple is extreme glossy, that's why it looks this way on the photo =/

@Miss Dee:
Thanks!
Nice to see you on my thread

oh...so you didn´t get any artistic freedom?... now that is something to consider when new jobs arise... hmmm...

Pretty dam sweet you need to give me a break down on how to with the airbrush, that could save some time and real pain if you're willing to share mate.

Love the tights are they staying that colour ? Or are they just a lucky turnout from undercoat and over spray

Either way great work and don't forget to take a break every 2 hours

@El Vik:
Aye, no freedom at all. Something which is not uncommon for Russia at all

@LDD:
Well, I can try... I know it's not very clear picture, but well...


The arrows are suppose to represent the angles of an airbrush flow. As you can see it from the picture, it's all about right angles.
In most cases I've used heavily diluted paint (about 2.5-1, 3-1 water-paint respectively) and fairly low pressure (about 0.8 Bar) so the flow was very thin and light, thus I had to hold airbrush very close to the surface, getting a very small coverage area and better control.
The more pressure will result a wider coverage area because of the longer distance between airbrush and surface - this is useful when spraying from up to down.
Basicly, you'll need 3-4 colours. The default basic tone/mid-tone, the highlight and the shade.
In my case it was a mix of Citadel Vermin Brown with white for the basic/mid-tone, the same mix with much more white and a tiny bit of red for the highlights and Vermin Brown with Citadel Scorched Brown for the shades. I also used a bit of clean Vermin brown to smooth the gradients and some clean Scorched Brown for the deepest shades. Glazing also helps to give the overall tone more sameness.
If it wasn't a commission work with a pretty clear instructions, I would use more gray-bluish tones for the shades, which will result a better contrast and volume, Imo.

Here's a pretty clear video I found on YouTube, which should give you a better understanding than my gimpy explanations, how to do the thing:



Kinda like that...

As for the commission itself, I've finished it and as far as I know by now it should be somewhere in Spain. I've heard there should be a Miniature-related event of some kind, but I don't know the details...
Anyway, the picture (click it to see the bigger picture within Dakka Gallery):


An interesting thing happened to me a few days before the deadline... A terrible disaster occured with the girl: I've covered it with Vallejo Matt Varnish which happened to destroy every highlight on the miniature somehow and made it even more glossy! Imagine that! the fist moment I saw it I wanted to bash my head into the wall!.. Well, I had to redo almost the whole job anew, so I can say this figure was painted twice in a row
I've used this Varnish befor without any such troubles and I have no idea, why this heppened... Just a Murphy's law, I presume.

Oh, and I couldn't resist myself - a shot just for fun sake:




Cheers, fellas!

You beast! As always a gorgeous model ish, great great stuff

Thanks, pal!

I like your NMM experiments, by the way.

lol. That last picture cracks me up.

Good job.

Burn the witch!

Witch looks really good. Excellent skin tones and a fun color palette used on her garments. Her face looks very well done too.

Thanks for the break down got the basic run of it I think reducing the Bar is crucial, and the miniature looks great love the last one LMFAO

I had a similar issue with Vallejo Matt Varnish it seemed to disperse some of the highlights and left a slightly glossy finish

Ahh youre spying. Dont look too close, theres some major errors (and unfinished sloppiness)...but ill get a grasp of it soon enough At least im finally making some positive headway with it instead of just spinning my wheels

@Dr H:
Thanks!
Aye, these two miniatures fits each other perfectly in so many ways

@Moltar:
Cheers, pal!
The credit for the color palette goes to the customer and his instructions, though I couldn't resist to throw a bit of my "author's viewpoint" here and there

@LDD:
You're welcome. I hope it was useful.
Well, that's wierd - the Vallejo Varnish issue... And I can't say it was slightly glossy finish in my case... A supernova shine more like it
I have a theory that it occured due to me using a stiff synthetic brush which manage to physically destroy the very thin upper layers of paint, mixing it with the varnish right on the miniature's surface.
Though the truth remains unknown, I won't use a brush for the varnish application ever. Airbrush and Spray is the way to go.

@BB:
Aye, lurking out there sometimes, watching...
Imo, the Ork's sword looks fairly good already, but I would add a bit more contrast to it, like those extrime pure white highlights, or white with a drop of blue for the very top. NMM is all about contrast.
Well, just my thoughts. I'm not a big fan and master of NMM anyway.


By the way, It appears this Witch is on the Hispania Wargames 2013 event right now with Brother Vinni himself in flesh.

Hey, fellas!

I've picked it up after Storag and here we go:



I've added several details here and there and a metal piece under the floor so the miniatures could be magnetized on (Omnissiah bless the neodymium magnets!).
"The sewers" was covered with both with black and white primers. I kinda like this monochrome effect... Maybe I shouldn't paint it at all?

It's pretty cool but not as cool as if it looked like a comic book ehhhh???!!

Give him time to color and shade the sewer piece

@BB
I spent some time trying to convince him to paint one version in "Walking Dead Assault" style



and since he liked this one we might actually see such paint scheme in the future =)

But this time it'll be colored same way as the mini.

@ Shaslo

 ishkatar wrote:

"The sewers" was covered with both with black and white primers. I kinda like this monochrome effect... Maybe I shouldn't paint it at all?

I think you could do a sincity type look too. Frank Miller. The original TMNT comics from Heavy Metal Mag are like oil paintings. Not sure if thats the exact medium used or not though...Still could be some good source material for a setting

Cheers
BB

I definitely will paint our turtles in an original comic book style some other day, but this piece goes colour

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year, Y'all!

It was an interesting and significant year for me... And the next year will be even more than that!
At last I've started a new project, the one we've (with Storag, ofc) been thinking about for quite a long time: "The Pillagers" is the production title and some of you might know where it came from and where it goes
It suppose to be a whole line of miniatures, squads and heroes, and I hope the project will be interesting enough for you people. Now it's a lot of sculpting to do!
But off with the lyrics, let the pics speak =)



It's a very basic shape yet.
The pose is simple, since this fella is one of a squad of marksmen and I want the whole squad to form a line.
The plan is to make five of those, with different variations for diversity, but similar, as members of one detachment.
Hope you like it so far!

Cheers, everyone! And have a nice holiday!

first...I wish you a happy new year, filled with success! for both of you!

and second...this looks more like a Spanish conquistador for me atm...am I right that this is aimed for your alien and human line? or am I totally in the wrong?

@El Vik:
Thanks, pal!
And you're darn right! Conquistadors are the background for this line. We believe it goes along nicely with the Aztec project, Storag is working on: An ambitious and corrupted Inquisitor meets a violent and embittered Chapter of fanatics - what could possibly go wrong?