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.

You certainly do deliver Para. Cheers for a lovely model to gawp at. Have voted in gallery for you.

I think you should be commends not just on the high quality of these last 6(? I think) models, but that you are trying hard to develop yourself and are not sitting back content with a "well that was a good one, I'll just do more like that" attitude.

You need to buy a lamp and a daylight bulb to show off these beauties. If you don't I'm finding you and forcing them in to your hands. Student or not, IKEA sell a great lamp for a reasonable amount here

cheers chaps!

@Thraxas: Oh no, it wasn't any actual negativity, I'm still very pleased with the scores they're getting. One score just surprised me a little relative to another (the Howling Griffon is higher in both categories than the Star Phantom, but I was thinking the Phantom was the better of the two! ), but it's nothing I'm worried about! The whole thing is so subjective, and obviously people are better placed to judge my work objectively than I am, so it's all good. Two images holding their place on the front page is something I'm very proud of, as is just getting the 5 votes required in the first place!

Only thing that's bugging me at the moment is how I produce some of the best SM I've done with all kinds of new techniques, a week after finishing a SM army! Why does this always happen?

Ah cool, I read that the wrong way. Personally I never use the front page and do not bother with the Dakka gallery so it is all a bit of a mystery to me.

 TP^DC Deputy Manager wrote:

I think you should be commends not just on the high quality of these last 6(? I think) models, but that you are trying hard to develop yourself and are not sitting back content with a "well that was a good one, I'll just do more like that" attitude.

Yeah, with one-offs like this I am always trying to push myself and learn new stuff. I do tend to get 'comfortable' and repeat the same stuff when I'm working on an army, but for these display pieces, there's no point doing them if I'm not trying to learn something into the bargain! Glad you think it's paying off!

You need to buy a lamp and a daylight bulb to show off these beauties. If you don't I'm finding you and forcing them in to your hands. Student or not, IKEA sell a great lamp for a reasonable amount here

Actually, I'm already using a daylight bulb! Can you tell me what exactly the pics are lacking, maybe it's something I'm doing wrong in the editing phase? I know the White Balance has been off on a couple I've done recently, which I'm trying to work on.

It’s all the practice and experience paying off.

When you are doing a one-off you don’t need to worry about things like constancy and conformity. You can just paint your best.

The skaven really excels in your dark and gritty style.

Fantastic choice and execution for the Skaven Para. Nailed it. Never was any doubt though, as Skaven play to your dark and gritty strengths



Yeah, it almost never fails. Painting a single model at a time really forces you to focus on it, rather than doing an army.

That is an awesome skaven. I'd just talked myself out of picking up a box of IoB for the skaven and now I'm wavering again!

Thanks guys!

 Da Boss wrote:
That is an awesome skaven. I'd just talked myself out of picking up a box of IoB for the skaven and now I'm wavering again!

Honestly, get it while you can! The Elf stuff is all fantastic, the Skaven character models and Rat Ogres are awesome, and Clanrats are... well, Clanrats, but you can never have too many!

What are you using to edit?

It's ultimately down to the overall light levels. Your models are gritty, but the light tends to be too dark so although there is an argument that it can be complimentary, you are sometimes not allowing enough light in to the shot for the details to shine through.

I use Photoshop because I always have and know how to bring exposure levels, white balance, vibrancy blah blah in, but sometimes just a brightness slider in a piece of software is enough, or in camera increase your exposure time, so if you are able to add in an extra +0.5 exposure to your shot, or use shutter priority and go for a 1/125 of a second or slightly longer you may get better results.

I'd angle the lamp at the "forehead" at a 45 degree angle normally (if that makes sense - basically have it above you and behind/to the side pointing at the head of the model) then let the camera flash lighten the mini's front.

If you had two lamps (which I would love but my painting cupboard (don't ask) won't allow space wise) you'd have a lamp over either shoulder and then the flash straight at the mini at it's level.

Use a tripod to prevent shudder. I needed to put my tripod on a wooden board last time because I couldn't find my remote and whenever I used the camera button it cause motion blur

I would love to spend a few hours just playing with camera settings and lighting setups to show you what I would do, because ultimately it is a "mess around and see what works" thing. But these basics are a good way to start. Just remember that I started trading photos 25 years ago and am damn proud of how much I've improved I the last 10 since so really took a full interest in digital photography after getting a Nikon D80 which I still use today. And despite that the first photos of minis that I am proud of taking were last month's scouts when I set a full night aside to take photos. I used:
1) The lamp and bulb Januine recommended
2) The background you inspired me to look to getting (I know I advised you ages ago, but the blue never worked for me and your background was way better!)
3) My Dad's photography teachings
4) My friend's digital photo theory lessons
5) A +8 macro filter I forgot I had
6) SLR
7) Tripod
8) iPhone torch function because the zoom lens was creating a shadow in front of the minis
9) Patience
10) About 80 photos to get the right 10 or so
Just keep playing around. Set a night aside every now and then just taking photos of minis. It's waaaaaay different than taking landscapes and portraits.

That's all I got. Sorry it's long. Hope it was a teeny bit helpful

Yeah, that's handy... Suppose a large part of the issue is that my camera has a battery that lasts about 5 minutes before needing to be plugged in again, which is fine as it can only take 2 pictures on the card anyway before that fills up (camera and card are about 14 years old)! A tripod, lamp and diffuser can only help so much there! I'll be getting a new one soon, though (couple of months at the most), at which point I shall definitely keep working on it.

I'm using Photoscape to edit, Jan recommended it and while I'm still getting my head around it, it's working well thus far. Lots of trial and error, though, not done this kind of thing before. Going back through the blog, I think my pics have come a long way (don't look at the pics in my first few posts, just don't! ), though it is a weakness I do need to keep working on as much as painting.

Oh mate, don't take my suggestions as being insulting of what you are doing. Good lord no!!! You are doing better than some. I've restarted my Gallery voting marathons and some of the stuff is a terrible quality of photo. Your's are in the top 5-10%. I just want you to show off your awesome minis as they deserve. It takes a long time to learn how to do it. You're on the road to success though already. If you can't get the camera issue sorted it doesn't matter, you are still getting very high marks from me in the Gallery

No insult taken, it's all very valuable advice, and while I can't put it into practice with my current equipment, once I get something that isn't a relic from the Dark Age of Technology I most definitely can!

Having a play in the editor at the moment, seeing if I can get this rat looking a little better.

In Photoscape there is a tab/button labeled 'filter'. click the dropdown menu and select 'region(out of focus) - the name is slightly missleading as it has a whole lot more in it - blur etc but also brighten, darken, sharpen etc. play around with the levels, size and feather etc. with it you can brighten or darken specific areas and then feather them to blend into the photo as a whole.. really handy when you want to bring up the light on an otherwise dark area or tone an overexposed area down. hope it helps

Potentially better pic, though it is getting to the point where I' can't actually tell whether it's better or not.


Is that an improvement?

Can't tell. I am not a photo snob (no offense) I just don't visually process detail as well as others I think.

All I can tell is that it looks dark and gritty and awesome in either photo I realize that isn't much help for improving painting technique or photo processing, but it's all I got!

yup, defintely. Look especially at the shield to see the improvement

Much better. There's always a danger of losing the colour quality as you brighten the image, but looks good so far. Have you got a lighter background? A silver/grey etc may help with the figs that are red/brown. Overall though, that second image is a huge step up in quality. Well done

Good to know, I shall keep experimenting and do another round of pics tomorrow so I have something better to work from, rather than trying to polish pics that seem to be worse and worse every time I look at them!

The Skaven looks fantastic mate! Is it for AoS of another system?

With regards to the photos, do you have an iPhone? I take all my pics on an iPhone and edit them mostly through the inbuilt photos app - it's a powerful piece of kit in my opinion and gets better results than my DSLR.

It's for sitting on my shelf mostly, I considered doing up my Skaven when AoS first came out but passed on the idea, I wasn't up for painting an army at the time. I may well do an AoS force at some point, though my current gaming group is All 40k, All The Time (though I am planning to try and sell them on X-wing and Batman) at the moment so that takes precedence on the army-building front. If I do AoS, it'll almost certainly be Undead, but it's not on the radar any time soon.

Hah, I don't actually have a phone at the moment, let alone an iPhone! (yes, you read that right, there is at least one teenager in the Western world that doesn't own a mobile! ) Actually, on the camera front, since a few of you seem to know your stuff when it comes to photography, this is the one I'm looking at getting, it's several steps up from the fossil I'm using but is it good (for the price) in more current terms?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B010C4LDWC/ref=s9_simh_gw_p421_d9_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=desktop-2&pf_rd_r=0EKWSDRH1PKXB053THBC&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=577047927&pf_rd_i=desktop

Seems like a really good piece of kit for the price, compared to the ones I've got used to working with, but I may be missing something as this really isn't my area (as I think we've established after 60 pages of dodgy pics )!

No phone? Amazing, but I applaud you for living without one.

I am no real judge of photography skills and have zero photography knowledge but have always found your photographs great for displaying your miniatures. It is testament to your willingness to improve your skills, just like your painting, that you want better pictures.

Yeah those rats look really good para! I am in the same boat as you, as if you can't tell from all of my questions, photo taking wise as you .

 Ustrello wrote:
Yeah those rats look really good para! I am in the same boat as you, as if you can't tell from all of my questions, photo taking wise as you .

Your photos are good too Ustrello, you need to just concentrate on framing them. Seeing the edge of the paper in the background can be distracting. Try a bigger piece of paper/standing closer/putting multiple models closer together. Also remember if you find a perfect angle for your camera/phone, just spin your mini to see the aspect you want to show off. I also find minis in a straight line doesn't wow me as much as s bunch. Your assault marine would have been cool in a circle as though they were about to face an oncoming horde.

If you want more advice/chat about photos, we can move this to your blog so Para's doesn't get clogged by this convo (sorry Para )

Wow. That Clanrat looks amazing. Limiting your palette like that has really given it a 'realistic' quality, in contrast to the cartoony style that GW usually portrays.

EDC

Cheers! To be honest, the palette limits were something taken from Skaven artwork, which is worlds away from the garish, cartoony paintjobs on GW minis. Stuff like this is just brilliant, though:


Might crack on with the second Clanrat later if I have time.

Aargh, a rat! With a flag? What?

Skaven number 2, the standard bearer.


Same 10 paints used here as on the Champ, a few different effects/textures on the leather rags and wooden flagpole, slightly different skin/fur too but all done using the same colours for consistency. Been meaning to do a patchwork banner for a while now, this seemed as good a mini to try it on as any. Tried brightening up the pics a bit, not sure how successful that's been.

That's all for now, any thoughts welcome! One more rat to go, the drummer. Probably tomorrow evening's project.

I just love this scheme - so effective!

The rats look pretty good, Para! I had always thought I might like to play Skaven if I ever got into WHFB. Of course, that was before Age of Stinkmar was a thing...

Really like the base on the standard, is it just strips of balsa wood?

My favourite bit is the rat atop the standard, just so characterful.

Cheers guys!

@Thraxas: It's actually just a busted up coffee stirrer stick, I tend to horde them pretty obsessively 'just in case' I need them for a scratch-build that will never actually happen,.. I think this is the first time I've actually used one for something other than spreading PVA on a base...

I do like the Lookout Rat, I don't know whether it's obvious, but the Skaven himself is actually painted to be blind, hence the white/bloody eyes, the rat on the other hand has glowing green eyes; he's been at the Warpstone while no one was looking!

@ZS: To be honest, it's only lack of opponents that stop me getting in on AoS. The rules themselves look fun, and suit my 100% casual, 'make it up as you go along' approach to gaming, so really it should be right up my alley! Gotta get that starter at least at some point!