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finnan wrote:dunno about perfection, but the additions have lifted a bit, so thank you very much for all the suggestions : )

Glad we could help!

Arakasi wrote:Okay, maybe not perfection (you didn't do all the suggested bone bits) - but it lifts him immensely!

Might this be interpreted as "Rawson's suggestions are perfect?"

finnan wrote:funny how a few little changes can make such a difference, isn't it. Yeah, I didn't do the feet because, let's face it, feet aren't the most important bit of anything really, and there weren't any convenient ridges on the forearms, so rather than risk some wobbly freehand I left it alone.

Yeah, "wobbly" is how I would describe your freehand

no, I wouldn't describe it as wobbly either. Unacceptably wobbly and in places truly shocking, that would be more accurate.
lol
(it bugs me that stuff like the icon on Irillyth's sash was actually pretty easy to do, but a nice, simple straight line like on the Autarch? That had me sweating buckets and cursing like a trooper!)

Rawson wrote:

Arakasi wrote:Okay, maybe not perfection (you didn't do all the suggested bone bits) - but it lifts him immensely!

Might this be interpreted as "Rawson's suggestions are perfect?"

Arakasi wrote:... The wraithbone and blades of of the warlocks add interesting spot colours - which he seems to lack entirely. ... Maybe just the gem settings in wraithbone would be enough?

Maybe, or maybe just better illustrated versions of my own

Arakasi wrote:

Rawson wrote:

Arakasi wrote:Okay, maybe not perfection (you didn't do all the suggested bone bits) - but it lifts him immensely!

Might this be interpreted as "Rawson's suggestions are perfect?"

Arakasi wrote:... The wraithbone and blades of of the warlocks add interesting spot colours - which he seems to lack entirely. ... Maybe just the gem settings in wraithbone would be enough?

Maybe, or maybe just better illustrated versions of my own

Looks amazing. I'd still like to see some bone on the gloves and boots. They would help delineate the dark armour from the dark weapons, and add texture and interest to those areas that otherwise seem flat.

Great work finnan. I agree with Mastiff somewhat that something else may be needed on the armour because dont get me wrong, it looks sublime but it feels as though something is missing? I cant quite get my head around it
Great work though!

just a quick post. I'm still alive, but have had a fairly horrible couple of weeks what with one thing and another. Still painting, but I'm taking a little Golden Demon break and just doing stuff for fun at the moment - started the Wraithlord and WraithWalker that have been on my desk for FAR too long, and am doing them in my craftworld colours, so we'll see how they turn out. Already cocked up one of the heads (three hours of work down the drain), but I blame that mostly on how I've been feeling of late. Photos to come shortly : )

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Looking forward to some progress shots when things die down for you.

okay, modest progress on the Wraithlord and WraithWalker. The plan is to try and keep them at similar stages, so I'll do one leg on one, then the other, an arm on one, then the other and so on. Two legs done so far (well, the base yellow anyway), so highlights to come. As usual, it appears a bit darker in the shots, but they don't have a highlight on the, so they'll brighten up.

Woah, there's a blast from the past. (The past being page 2)

I'm always amazed at what elements of the model you decide to use for the highlight colour. I'd like to quiz your thought process, or is it more of a "what feels right"

For example on the legs of the wraith lord you've gone with the knee and top calf and then the.... heel? How come?

... hopefully that's amazed in a semi-good way? >looks worried< ; )

Thought Process of The Finn:
I wanted them in the craftworld colours, so yellow and black was going to feature heavily, and I wanted a balance and a contrast. In my head, I had a couple of choices: mainly yellow with a little black. Mainly black with a little yellow. Or pretty much half and half.
So far, the emphasis has been on mainly black with little bits of yellow, so I decided to stick with that... nothing to do with the sheer pain of having to highlight that much yellow... ; )

I also wanted to do them in a different configurations from the Wraithseer, just to mix it up. So the 'lord's legs are pretty much the opposite of the 'seer's. That doesn't give too much yellow, so I decided to put a sneaky touch - and to balance it somewhat - by doing the heel yellow too, the issue being that if I hadn't, it'd possibly be a bit too dull and boring down there without it. I know I didn't do that on the 'seer, but I wanted the eye to be led up on him - with the 'lord, I want him really solid and grounded. He's in a classic Megatron pose, and he's actually quite top-heavy when the missile launchers go on, so a little touch of yellow will help to balance him visually.

With the WraithWalker, again, I'm almost going for a direct opposite from the 'seer, especially on the arms. His legs are obviously very different in form, so I'm highlighting that by having them *really* stand out. I'm also planning on doing a couple more stripes than usual on his thighs, because everyone knows things go faster with stripes... ; )

Hope that made sense!

Unofficially unimpressed with Nuln Oil - do not like the way it dries, and it's not very dark. Just ordered several pots of Badab Black from an online store.

How so? I mean is it blotchy and uneven or just poor at covering?

it seems to dry with a slight grainy texture to it, is *slightly* gloss and while it does get into the nooks and crannies, it doesn't do so well on flatter surfaces (which, let's face it, Eldar tend to have a lot of!).
It sounds silly, as this has probably been said in other blogs/sites, but it's a completely different product to the old washes. Badab Black gave nice shadows and good general coverage, and darkened up things a treat. Nuln oil seems to do well in the recesses, but isn't designed for darkening flatter areas. I know I could have done a couple of layers, but Badab gave me the results I wanted in one coat...

both sets of legs done on the 'lord and 'Walker, thigh and torso plates done on the 'lord. Onto the crotch and arms next.

what I've done with my day (with bonus Guardian! [which I've actually been doing for the last couple of days]), as well as a SUPERB afternoon nap.

So jealous of how your colours always look so crisp and natural

Little bits of progress on the 'Walker - most of the yellow done, just got his head to do, and then whatever weapons are going on his shoulder mounts (although I'm kind of tempted to leave off on the weapons so he looks nice and speedy. Thoughts?). I've also started blocking in the grey and doing some detailing. I'm almost out of Badab Black, so I want to wait until the replacements arrive before I do some serious blocking in with the Charadon.

Also the first Guardian is done - who needs a weapons platform when you have this guy? : )

It takes balls to paint black over such beautiful bright blending! Jesus, you never cease to amaze.

lol thank you. I have to confess that I did do some guidelines with pencil first.

still looks amazing

I really wish I ahd something more constructive to say than 'looking good', but it is. The way you shade the oranges and get them looking so crisp is just mind blowing.

D

Nice work Fin... Love those guardians; the blues are cool, the reds fiery and the blacks contrasting but fitting. Excellent work. Like the wraithlords, but I think you need to make the orange darker and I'd like to see more black!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Taking another look... you've got it just perfect!

Wraithlord and WraithWalker: pretty much whatever is white now will be black, and some of the orange too - that was me being over-zealous with the basecoat for the yellow.
The orange darker? Hmmm... hadn't considered that. It's actually darker in the shots than in the flesh, and I haven't put the highlight yellow on yet, so it's going to be lighter in the end.

(the holo-fins on the 'Walker are going to be mostly black - only the tips are going to be yellow)

as ever, thank you very much for the kind words, they let me know that I'm on the right track, and keep me motivated : )

finnan, I remember you telling me just how thin your layers of paint are. May I ask; how do you avoid any water marks occurring between layers? I've been applying the same technique of very, very watery layers of pain however I sometimes find watermarks. Is this due to too much being applied?

Cheers!

That would be my guess, Eiríkr. Keep a bit of paper towel or tissue nearby and after loading your brush, use it to very lightly draw any excess paint away. Learning how to mix your paints to consistency is step one, loading your brush properly is step two.

finnan, I've been following your blog since you started and am so impressed at your work. The vibrant colors and dark tones you use is an excellent example of contrast! I'm looking forward to seeing this project finished and it's inspiration for completing my own armies.

@Eirikr: pretty much what Gavin said. I use a pretty small brush (usually a 000 for general work, 0000 for details), and I certainly don't overload it with paint. When I put a stroke on the mini, if I've got it right, the paint should dry within a second or two of it going on because of the water:paint ratio and because it's such a thin layer. If I have a bit too much on there, I might spread it out more so it's more even (if there's room to do that), or quickly dry my brush and then let the brush suck back up the excess paint.
I think it was on the little demo I did for the swords a few pages back; it took about 30 layers to get the white nice and crisp from the base blue - sounds horrendous, but because the paint dries so fast, it only took about five minutes. Usually I work on a few areas at ones, so I paint area 1, then 2, then 3, and by that time, area 1 is dry and I can go back and add another layer and just cycle around those areas until they're done - it's not as if I'm sitting there waiting for the paint to dry.

@Gavin: thank you : ) Good luck with you army - one day I hope to have a completed army myself! lol

most of the grey blocked in on the 'Walker and a few repairs done where I wasn't quite so steady with the brush!
Now that my supplies of Badab Black have arrived, I can give it a wash later on, and then it'll be lots of yellow highlighting on the 'Lord so I can get him up to the same stage.

Looking really good, look out Golden Demon

these ones are just for fun!
(can you have a squad of Wraithlords...?)