Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Deleted old pics on here in place if the finished ones:

It would be better if it wasn't levitating sideways.

Yeah, sorry I'm on my phone so don't know how to fix that, but it's the wrote way up when the picture is opened in a new tab

As a competition model I would like to see a little more contrast in the paint. As well the toenails on this model should be a different shade/color than the skin.

However it still looks pretty good for a WIP.

The toenails are a different colour to the skin, they are iyaden darksun drybrushef over Vallejo's burnt umber. To add contrast I could do a light bright yellow Drybrush but I'm worried that might look a bit cartoonish. Also I could try bleached bone but then it's the same as the horns which isn't what I want. So any suggestions??

Maybe just work some more highlights into the ends of the toenails as in the picture they look lighter than the skin on the body but the same color as the skin on the toes.

Maybe just a 50/50 white/Iyanden darksun about 10% of the toenails at the tip, then just keep working towards the ends cutting in white to taste.

Ok thanks I'll try that. When you said it needs more contrast do you think the skin really would need another highlight layer?

It is hard to tell from a photo but I think it could use a good strong green wash or ink, something to bring it back a little more to 'green' rather than 'yellowish green' and to sink into the pock marks.

It's had a brown wash then a green wash allready. I think I may apply a green wash in the deepest recesses and pock marks but not over the whole model

I've made a few subtle changes to help the mode
Firstly I lightly drybrushed the highest flesh with Kreig Khaki
Secondly I applied in the areas with lots of deep bits or indents I lightly wash with 2:2:1 of Athenian Camoshade, Agrax Earthshade and Water
I washed the toenails in agrax earthshade then re picked out the front bit of the toenails with Iyadden darksun

The model is very well painted on the paint teqnique. However I do feel it is lacking in colour contrast.

Could have just been the lighting the second set looks much better. Still not a lot of painted in light contrast that is ever so popular but very nurgly.

How do I paint in more contrast!!!

I mean, I've highlighted up to Kraig Khaki from a mix of Vallejo olive drab.

I've shades with an agrax earthshade wash and anothonian camp shade and also with a mix of two.

I don't know how to make it better now



I'd like to think it wasnt just the lighting in the second picture because I had done more work at that stage...

Don't let it bother you Olim as it is a "style" and generally one you only see on tabletop game mini's.
But basically it's a style where all shadows start at nearly black, and end at white or very very close to it.

Not my model just nabbed it as a example hopefully that's not breaking any rules...



Notice how anywhere there is light it eventually ends somewhere in near white light, and anywhere the is shadows it eventually ends in near pitch black.

Ok, thanks Wagguy, after a year I'm definitely no where near that Festus mini but I'll just strive to get there one day.

The models actually finished now so thanks for the advice guys, I'll post picks in the showcase forum late tonight.

Varying the skin colour with glazes might help.
Check out my gallery for examples.

No worries Olim I'm not there yet either after 5 years. lol

Just keep pushing yourself in the direction you want to go, and let opinions be opinions. Don't let them discourage you. I recall a warboss model I kitbashed one time with a gigantic powerklaw. Some people though it was awesome, others thought the power klaw was unrealistically big.

Being art never be afraid to break from the norm either. NMM for example was non-existant until someone started doing it. Then suddenly it was like NMM = awesome. Now were back to NMM is still cool but RMM is now awesome.

Looks at lots of picturs and you'll start to notice lots of styles of painting. You have the clean natural style which can look very good but it's not so popular with the 40K tabletop guys. You have artists who do like the Festus model above which also looks very cool. However requires a certain type of color palette, and lighting style. You've got what I call classic Warhammer style which is just almost candy colors with clean crisp line highlights, etc. You then have the dark realistc style popular with Forge World tanks.

I even saw a guy who painted his Tyranids to look cell shaded. Which looked awsome but some peope didn't like the "cartoon" look. Yet he did his own thing and like art it's appreciated by some, and others prefer a different look.

I learned this at a GT years ago while checking out the painting competition entries. Here you had a table of awesome custom work, and various paint styles. Some of the peanut gallery comments were strange.

Paint judges don't start by looking at styles of work. They actually start by being nit picky. That model is standing on the pillar but oh oh his foot it a few microns off the pillar. Someone uses line highlights but uh oh one of the lines isn't straight. Those pustules on the back of his right knee are the same color as the surrounding skin, etc.

IE they look for flaws. I've seen numerous awesome looking models that wouldn't compete in a gold demon for such reasons. Then once they've nit picked all the "mistakes" away they are left with just solid painted models of various styles. Then it pretty much comes down to the hard part of the judges deciding on which they like best.
I've won painting competitions where I was like "Really?" because I saw other models that I liked better than my own. However for some reason the judges swung a different direction.

All the above points are valid but I feel you're up against it right from the start as you don't prepare your models. Flash lines are blatantly there with no effort to clean them off. Sorry to be harsh but you could be the best painter in the world but without prep. your models you ain't winning owt.

Thanks Wagguy again, I agree with what you say and I'll continue to try to improve my own style, I've finished this model now and posted pics in the Showcase

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/509504.page

"Paint judges don't start by looking at styles of work. They actually start by being nit picky. That model is standing on the pillar but oh oh his foot it a few microns off the pillar. Someone uses line highlights but uh oh one of the lines isn't straight. Those pustules on the back of his right knee are the same color as the surrounding skin, etc. "

I so wish you were right there, but with hindsight, in the competition the model I lost to had soooo many major mistakes yet somehow it still won. I don't want to sound like a bad loser but I honestly believe this only happened because his model had patches of washes making it more colourful meaning the tonnes of child - voters would just vote for that.

Very well painted over all I'd say. I do agree that it lacks a bit of depth, but that could also be the photo quality. I would've added puss running from sores and such, and gloss on them and the tongue to make them look wet. Different colors on the nails and teeth would help add a more finished look. Others have said it but it's important enough to restate: for a competition especially, I'd make sure to sand or scrape away all mold lines. It looks like there's a decent one on the tongue. Unfortunately those are pretty tedious. Things like that will kill an awesome paint job. I haven't looked at the finished photos yet, so I'm heading over there now.

I hope mine and other's critiques don't bum you out. You've done a fine job, I hope you do well in the competition, you should be very proud!

Now having looked at the final product, it turned out much better than the original pictures! His skin and sores look great!

Looks good man. I think like waggayguy... I'd go up to a like rotting flesh for highlights. Than like a very small bit 50/50 white rotting.. at the sweet spot so to speak to make the highlgiht pop more. hard to explain .
'

Solid painting. I never liked the model itself but i must say it looks pretty good.
if i had to say id say that its above average, guy's one although very good, i'd still say ur one is more too my taste. matters of opinion right
but keep up man, id like to see the rest of ur army

Thanks Novelist,
I can see why people prefer guys style in some cases due the colourfulness brought to it by the purple washes and strong Drybrush, but shouldn't a competition be less on style (because what a person likes sufferers so subjectively) and more on quality of choses style so I've thoroughly looked at each model and I can safely say the mistakes in te GUO are far fewer and more forgivable than on the Winnjng piece.
I'll show you what I mean in these pics...

It's looking good. Have you thought about adding some dead grass tufts to the base?

Yep metal oxide I have decorated the base beyond these pictures in the finished version which is linked in the original post now.

I think the main problem is that it doesn't have anything to make it 'pop', it's drab and needs something to stand out, especially on the tongue.

Here's the one I painted about 10 years ago, which isn't perfect but that isn't the point.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/howardtreesong/DSCF4429.jpg

I thought the tongue was one of the most dynamic parts :/


Automatically Appended Next Post:
But I do see what you're saying about it being not bright and colourful.

That last picture is really close. If you look at your previus pictures from some place away you can see that it is uses a very sall spectrum of the light to dark shades. It is starting to look better now :-) And you are doing a good job.

Ignore those previous pictures though please because thy were about two hours before the model was finished, I've changed the original pictures to finished one now