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Over the last 2 years or so of painting, I feel (Apologies - felt) that my technique, and style have improved somewhat. Invariably, whenever I post here on Dakka, people seem to be enthusiastic of my models and I often get complimented on my free-handing. I've always taken this to be a sign of how much my painting is improving and I always seek to further this. However, in the course of photographing my last model, the Company Champion pictured below, I've come to quite the opposite conclusion - I just can't shake the feeling that it's, to be frank, rubbish. Looking at the other model below, a Marine I painted sometime back in 2011/12 from my very first 40K box, I can't help but feel that my progress has been minimal. I'll openly confess that the Marine is appalling, but in my opinion, the Company Champion isn't too far removed - It's lumpy, flat and the details are obscured (Admittedly, the power swoard is my first attempt at one and as such was poor - that will get rectified one day!). Now, I don't mean this thread to be a 'pour sympathy on me' type of thing - rather I want to use this as an opportunity for some very frank (and harsh if needs be) answers. I confess that looking at the real Champion on my desk I thought it looked pretty decent, but looking at the photo (and as such the real detail one must presume) my opinion is reversed! So Dakka, can you see any progress in my work? Or am I simply a victim to poor painting, photography and quite possibly overconfidence? Are there any areas that stand out as worthy of a major re-think. I'm pretty dejected with the whole thing, so any advise would be great. Anyway, here's the two for you to compare, C&C is very much welcome regarding the new Champion (I may even put up some more pictures of him if I can summon up the courage )



The 2nd Company Champion



The Marine I painted way back when.

There are no areas of freehand visible on the first photo, if you could post a view of his shoulder pad (or wherever you've freehanded) that'd be easier to make a comparison on that front. Other than the unseen freehand, however, I think the model in the first photo has a much better paintjob. There is no shine on the model, and the highlights look a lot smoother, also the gold is ten times better than in the picture below. The blending on both the lava and loincloth are good as well.

@Sledgio - Apologies for the lack of freehand pictures- There's a bit on the shield and the shoulder parchment so I'll try to update this tomorrow when I have some light. Really I was referring to compliments about past models (all in my Gallery) on which there is free-hand. My main concern isn't regarding free-hand, I was merely trying to illustrate that people have complimented my minis in the past, and yet lately I feel they're very mediocre. Anyway, many thanks for taking the time to critique my work - much appreciated.

just at a glance, i can see your improvement...
the chest eagle is shaded and highlighted on the Champ, but very flat on the first guy...
same goes for your armor highlights...
they are much more defined on the Champ...

there is definitely plenty of room for improvement...

the wax of the purity seals could be highlighted more, with a blackline seperating the wax from the armor, especially on the shoulder pad...
you could go a little brighter on the parchment, as well...

a little more highlighting on the helmet lenses wouldn't hurt, and smoother blends on the loincloth...

more contrast is the constant refrain when anyone asks about improving their painting...
so yeah, more contrast...

seriously, though, you have improved...

cheers
jah

Cheers Jah - That's actually quite a big help. I'll look into all the areas you've suggested, but the ones that resonate most strongly with me are that of the eyes and the purity seals. It's the little things I guess. Regarding purity seals, I prefer red ones, but I find using Blood Red (Evil Sunz Scarlet now) very hard to use. When I thin it, despite apply numerous layers, I can't a strong enough colour with it - hence it seems, as you say, to have no contrast with the Scab Red (Khorne Red now) underneath. I suppose utilising a wash may help to bring out the contrast there, along with a stronger red highlight. I can't really leave a black line around the seals (unless I apply it over the top of the gold) as I prime Grey. Regarding the eyes, the same problem with Blood Red comes into play - I can't seem to bring out the vivid colour I want, and numerous layers in such a confine tend to get messy. Possibly, I'm just encountering the difficulties of painting red (not having much experience with it)

With the purity seals, try a basecoat of red, wash with Agrax Earthshade or Nuln Oil (which will also give you some definition between the seal and armor, then highlight back to red.

You might trying a difference of colors between the loin cloth and the seals themselves, or if there is more differentiation, it's hard to tell. You could wash the oath papers with sepia instead of brown and the loin clothes with some thinned brown so that the recesses aren't quite as dark.

Otherwise, everything looks neat and clean ... and don't forget to drill those barrels.

sometimes a deeper shade helps where a highlight is difficult...
try a bit of dark green, blue, or purple in your shade for the wax on your purity seals...
for a highlight, you can mix some bone into your red, or a very light (almost white) blue with a spot of red...
i'm liking highlighting my reds with a lilac tone, and then tinting it with a red wash to knock it back...

you can darkline any part of the model at any time in the process...
if you see a lack of "separation" between two parts of the minis, just run some very thin, dark, paint around the spot where they meet...
it can be Umber, if Black seems too strong, or even a deep Blue...

GW's painters have got Space Marine helmet lenses down...
just follow their style...
it looks damn good...

keep striving...

cheers
jah

@Ifurita - The more I look at the loincloth, the more I see how toning down the brown would help. Additionally, trying out a sepia wash sounds like a good idea - I'll be sure to try it out.

@jah-joshua - Once again, cheers for the help mate. I think investing in a new fine detail brush will help doing eyes - mines getting a bit worn now. Regarding the shading, I'd never though to go back over with shading once I'd completed the main coat - I'd always been afraid of messing it up. Seems like I'll just have to grip the bull by the horns and try something new! Many thanks for the advice.