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Hello all, I thought I'd throw my dakka painting challenge mini open for C&C. I didn't get quite as many votes as I would have hoped for, but in the face of that level of competition I'm not at all disapointed, and I had great fun digging out an old model to paint for it. Cheers to grey death for running it, I look forward to the next one!



So, any comments and criticism are greatly recieved, and thanks to anyone who did vote for me!

Well, your technique looks fairly solid.
Your color choices are mostly good, and I liked the addition of the bridge.

That being said, I didn't vote for you.
Here's why:
Gloss coat = Blech. Everything looks shiny. This needed a FLAT matte coat with selective gloss highlighting.
Close up image = TOO close. I shouldn't be able to see each brush stroke (around the lips, for example). I should just see that it's highlighted.
Left side of shield has a mold line. Dude! THAT is my miniature painting pet peeve.
Didn't care for the purple on the skull (not menacing enough) AND the edging was too drastic.
The eyes. Are they painted? They look green.
What's up with that patch of... something... at the front of the bridge? What is it supposed to be?

All those "criticisms" aside, you have a really nice model there... it just didn't get the finishing touches it needed.
If you adjusted the stuff above, you still wouldn't have made top 2 (those guys were just THAT good), but you'd have been a very close 4th or, possibly, eked out into 3rd place. It's THAT good.


For what it's worth.

Eric

Cheers for that mate, I thought a lot of the same things you did actually. I didn't gloss varnish it, it's vallejo matte, how shiny it looks is down to my crap photography, I need to work on that.

I agree on the close-up, it didn't look that bad on my PC, but online, you're damn right. The actual model is under an inch and a half head to foot, so at this size it doesn't fare well.

Didn't notice the mold line till it was online. Rookie error. You'd have to look very closely to see it on the original fig.

The patch of stuff at the front was my rush-job replacement for sand, didn't work when inflated, looks average in person, I won't be using it again.

The eyes are painted, they're just so deep-set on this fig you can't see them on the photos.

I really need work on my photgraphy, I'm going to make a light box I think, and read over some tutorials. The only pic that does any justice to the model, in my eyes, is the one that's meant to show the butterfly, you can see the blending on the robes on that one. The others are junk (not that I'm making excuses...!)

Cheers for the input though, I really do appreciate it, it's been duly noted.

Miniature photography can be a pretty tricky thing to master (I know I haven't even though I've gotten better at it).

We've got some pretty cool articles about it in the articles section if you haven't read 'em, I'd suggest you do.


Basically, with your mini, you appear to be suffering from a couple of things.


1) The direct light on the mini gives the 'shiny' or 'glossy' look which you need to get rid of by getting more indirect light on the model.


2) You really, really, really need to play with the contrast/brightness/color balance of your pictures. If you don't have photoshop yet I suggest figuring out a way to get your hands on a copy. Your contrast is really low and your colors are all really dull so the overall effect is a model that doesn't have any 'pop' to it.

Look at Grey_Death's Commissar. That red practically jumps out at you. Not just because of how bright the color of red is, but also because he's got really good contrast in his color choices and photography.

The Wortsnagga model that won doesn't use any super-bright colors, yet there is definitely great contrast in the model and the picture, and the blue background used really compliments the model's beard and makes the red color on the bolter just 'jump out' at you. This is a really good example of a model that has great contrasting color choices but isn't painted with any super-bright colors.

Compare that with your model, where I don't know for sure if its the photography/color balance or the actual choice of colors used but it takes a few good seconds of staring at the model's face to really be able to start to pick out any details.


Once I started really looking at your pictures I appreciated the painting skill, but the overall presentation of the model and picture absolutely gets lost when put it with the rest of the entrants.

Thanks for that, I'll get myself photoshop for sure, it's useful to know. Grey_death's commissar is a perfect example of how to get it right, and we actually have simillar painting styles, if not results, so I'd really like to be aiming for that. Cheers for the advice.

Nice goblin, I like especially like the base, most painters seem to skip the basing as quick as they can but some work there can lift the mini as can be seen here.

You have some strange color choices, even for a red period goblin including both red and purple on the same fig is too much for me. The painting seems fine though, I assume that the direct light takes some of the shadows and highlights away. As yak said get some indirect light and the pics get better.

Don't let yourself be fooled, Greeby... that Vallejo Matte; Is it the brush on? I don't know if they make a spray on, though I doubt it. that's why I asked.
I just finished painting a Ltd Ed WHF Chaos Sorcerer (the 3 armed one) and, part way through painting, I put a coat of the brush on matte on him to protect him from my grubby hands. This model looks as glossy NOW as some gloss sprays I've used (I haven't given him his final coats yet).

Testors Flat Matte sealer is the best on the market, IMO. It's pricey, considering quantity/price vs. GW, Armory, etc but WELL worth the money.

Eric

Well Vallejo Matte is actually pretty good in giving matte finish. I've used for a couple of years and have had good results even on top of gloss varnish, which I use to protect my gaming pieces before matte sealing.