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.

Just finished up 500pts of my Orks and I'm looking for some ways to improve my painting skills. I'm looking for a balance between speed and quality because with 40 more Boyz to paint, I can't afford to take 2 hours per model.

Any comments, critiques, tips, or techniques will be much appreciated.



The Horde





Da Boss






Da Nob






Da Boy





Da Kopta

u might want to paint ur skin lighter and wash it with thraka green

not bad at all for a new painter. Need some touch ups here and there but overall very nice. I think the skin doesnt look bad but maybe make the boyz a little lighter than the nobz and boss's. Keep it up though

A lighter skin color for the boyz would seperate them from the nobz and other important characters. Otherwise they look fine to me.

As for a balance, washes are almost cheating. You can literally paint them a lighter to medium green, and then simply wash them with thraka wash. If you wanted you can leave it there, as it looks pretty good. But for the nobs/warbosses you could simply re highlight (or the boyz, but I feel ya man, boyz are plenty and take forever to paint) the skin to separate them from the tons of boyz. Looks like you either need to thin your white a bit, or give it a second coat, as it looks light in spots(you can see the under coat)

That being said, overall your force looks good together and on the table for sure. Thats a pretty decent table top quality, keep it up

A couple of ideas:
You may want to paint the skin a lighter color for the less important figures such as you nobs, then put on a green wash to make the muscles stand out more. Also for the guns you may want to drybrush bronze to the tips so it looks like the gun has been used.
Your warboss is looking good but you might want to clean up some of the edges.
Overall it looks really good so far. Keep it up!

Certainly looks a lot better than when I first started!

Please resize those images - they're murderously large! If you upload them to the Dakka gallery it automatically resizes them to a much more manageable size. I highly recommend it.

The biggest suggestion I would give is to add some contrast. Right now you have dark green and black, and that doesn't really visualize well. Get some red in there to draw some more attention. Otherwise not a bad start.

I wish I could say my first paintjobs looked as good as these. Believe me, my first attempt was a marine army... and wow, were they bad!

I agree with Brother SRM regarding adding some contrast. If you do that, you'll be golden.

I agree with the contrast, as they don't really pop. Goffs occasionally use patches of red too, so that fits. Where should I put it on them though?

Thinking of going over the Nobs and Boss with Goblin Green and then a Thraka Wash. Would that fix the skin tone problem?

You may want to shade the black and and the guns but other than that keep up the good work!

I must admit that your force definitely looks better as a group. That being said, your skintone is fine. I think your metallics and whites could use some work. The whites seem to be thick and clumpy. Try thinning them down with a drop of water and use multiple layers. As for the metals, use a black basecoat with a Boltgun metal drybrush. If still to bright then wash with Badab Black.

I can't say it enough, finish yer bases!

yokoyomama wrote:I can't say it enough, finish yer bases!

Sand, Grass or Both? I can't decide...

I'd say they're looking good but could maybe do with some brighter highlights on the skin and other areas, also as said before, the bases do need finishing.

Looks ok. If you are going for goffs you would be better of with checkers then stripes and blotches

Wolf Priest Ranek wrote:Looks ok. If you are going for goffs you would be better of with checkers then stripes and blotches

Yeah, my freehand work leaves something to be desired.