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.

Apologies in advance for the english, as its not my main language. 20 + years of devouring hollywood films and american popculture, doesn't guarantee bulletproof grammar, I am afraid.

For some time now, I've been toying with the idea of starting my own painting studio. I know I've got decent enough skills, but the management, customer dealing, and general logistical side of such an enterprise is currently beyond me. I decided that before I'll even begin thinking about setting up my own studio offering commisions, it would be best to start a painting log, as baby steps. To learn the trade, get critique and suggestions on the paintjobs, and perhaps advertise my works a bit. Get a better feel of whats involved in the buissnes of commision painting.

My current goal is to set aside any display models for my own private collection, and for now focus on pieces meant for Ebay. I would like to try training and dedicate a regular amount of hours per day, so that I can complete several good quality models/units a month. Get a better grip on managing time and learn to paint more effectively.

Here's some of the stuff I've finished over the last couple of months:

Stunning work! Love the battered up Tau suit.

Recently I've been continously working on an "Index Astartes" series, which is meant to be a line of display minis featuring individual Space Marines that showcase various Chapters. So far I've completed two, with many more on the way.










Brother Baradiel - 1st Chapter Adeptus Astartes, 5th company, 3rd tactical squad.

One of the most decorated tactical marines currently serving within the Dark Angels battle companies. Baradiel distinguished service record and unquestionable faith and resolve, have recently garnered him the attention of Chapter veterans. In recent months he felt the higher scrutiny and attention placed upon him by his elders. Baradiel senses doors within his own chapter battle structure opening before him, and recognises the coming opportunity of proving his worth to serve within the Dark Angels inner elite. His masters will not find him wanting.

Notes:
Ceremonial 'Iron Halo' mounted on the backpack - a rare honorific to be seen amongst the rank and file of Adeptus Astartes. Awarded for tactical initiative during the battle of Verenheim Reach.

Personal heraldry on right knee pad. Paint partialy damaged due to battle conditions, but the general pattern still visible. Black and white, checkered field contiguous with three white swords on a red background.

Company marking on left knee pad.

Chapter maxim engraved on the bolter.

Skulls of fallen battle brothers ceremoniously consecrated and attached with spikes to left shoulder guard. A morbid form of remembrace.

If You like it, leave a vote here: http://www.coolminiornot.com/349438?browseid=8296356








"For the ghosts of Sotha!"

Brother Cordiel - Scythes of the Emperor Chapter Adeptus Astartes, 2nd company, 2nd tactical squad.

Pictured above during the assault on the engine deck of "The Gorgon's Eye" - flagship of Rouge Trader Valerian Zeth. Zeth's support of the Nerubian dynasty's forces was instrumental in the succes of their rebelion which swept over all of Toretuga system, their later secession from the Imperium and succesful resistance which lasted for over 30 years. Zeth and the formidable armada that he amounted over his many years as Rouge Trader, has eluded the wrath of Throne's forces time and time again, during the Toretuga campaign. It was only after Scythes of the Emperor 2nd and 3rd companies joined the fighting, did Valerian Zeth finally met his end, as a surgical strike force comprised of three tactical squads of Adeptus Astartes was launched via assault pods againsts Zeth flagship, targeting vital sections of the vessel. Brother Cordiel was part of the squad that stormed the engine deck, effectively crippling the ship in a matter of minutes. The whole operation was a textbook assault with no Astartes casualties, which saw the ship under Imperial control within mere 10 minutes after the first pod pierced the hull. With Variel Zeth executed and his considerable resources handed over to Imperial Inquisition, the Nerubian dynasty's armies were no longer able to maintain an effective resistance against the wrath of Imperial Guard regiments and Adeptus Astartes strike forces amassed against them over the years. The official end of the Toretuga Campaign was marked two years later

Notes:

Bolter with drum feed magazine.

Toretuga campaign badge on right, lower leg armour. Partially obscured by battle damage.


I am quite happy with the way this one turned out. Unfortunately I botched it a little bit at the end by applying a bit too glossy a varnish to the armour, which looks good in-hand as it provides difference in textures, however it reflects too much during photography, which muddles up some of the highlights and makes the armour look just a tad sloppier in the photos than it really is. But overally it came out better then expected. I don't know if it shows in the pictures, but in hand it's a level above the dark angel which came out a bit too busy and messier than I intened when painting that model.


If You like it leave a vote here :
http://www.coolminiornot.com/350445

Here's also a unit I've finished recebtly - a brood of Tyranid Warriors. It's nothing special, certainly not a display unit by any measure. It was supposed to be a tabletop level, speed paint job, so I didn't cared too much about blendings or details, hence the slightly sloppy look of the three. However I did place attention to the colour scheme which was supposed to show a more grounded looking take on the Tyranids. Something a little bit disgusting perhaps and invoking the images of real world chitinous, insectoid little horrors. It took me a week to finish, and I think that overally it's nice compromise between a tabletop gaming unit's speed paintjob and an visually interesting vibe and style. Quite happy with the little buggers. Perhaps I should add a bigger Tyranid to the list of future projects.


The unit is now available for sale: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pro-Painted-.../151238655144?

If You like it, leave a vote on CMON: http://www.coolminiornot.com/351910

Cheers!

Those Nids are looking very nice and the Space Marines are amazing, excellent work all round.

I like those yellow markings on the 'nids, they are something a little bit different.

Makes me sad when you say those Tyranids are supposed to just be a tabletop, speed paint paintjob because they look absolutely fantastic. The yellow freehand on top of his head and shoulder-blades adds so much it's ridiculous.

And your space marines, wow, I usually hate battle damage, I'm not a fan but I really like theirs. The paint scratches on the Dark Angel, the bullet impacts and scratched tactical arrow, damn, it's beautiful!

You paint all that as free-hand, correct? It looks worlds apart from sponging battle damage on a model.

That hellbrute is friggin fantastic. I love the limited color palette and contrast. Great for the organic look.

Thanks for the comments.

 TheDraconicLord wrote:

You paint all that as free-hand, correct? It looks worlds apart from sponging battle damage on a model.

Yes, all the weathering and battle damage is applied with detail brush.


While making the Scythes of the Emperor Marine's base, I took some pictures of the process to make a simple how-to guide. Thought that maybe it can be of use to someone, so I'll leave it here:



The bare resin base. Bought from Micro Arto Studio.



The base was coated with metallic layers. In order to differentiate the look and the texture, I used metallics from different brands: Citadel,
Humbrol and Vallejo True Gold. Acrylic, enamel and alcohol-based respectively. It didn't matter all that much in the end, since the base was later flooded with washes that toned down the natural reflective qualities of each paint, but still I think it was better to use different types of metallics to create some variety in look. The effect is very subtle tough, so it's perectly ok to use just one brand of paint. Some silver scratches were also applied to the golden/brass areas.

The small teal colored blobs on the floor tiles are patches of masking fluid applied randomly by detail brush and sponge. It will later be basecoated and removed to create a scratched paint effect. In addition to masking fluid, I also covered the floor with a coat of Mig Productions Chipping Fluid.



The floor tiles are basecoated. The brass grate-ish thingy is covered with black oil wash.




The masking fluid is removed to create a scratched paint effect. More Mig Chipping Fluid is applied on the floor and then worked with old, stiff brush to damage the paint and produce fine chipping. But that step can be easily omnited if one doesn't have any Chipping Fluid, since the effect is so sublte, that it can either be ignored or replicated by applying metallic paint with detail brush if one has steady enough hand for it. I also painted very small patches of rust using dark brown paint. It was mostly applied in places where I scratched the paint too hard and digged into pure resin.





I wanted to create patches of heavy corrosion around the base. The kind of rust that in addition to discolouring the metals, also produces a heavy, grainy texture. This is where the new Typhus Corrosion technical paint would be ideal for the job, but since I didn't had any, I improvised by applying some Liquid Green Stuff by way of stippling it with old brush to create texture. It was later coloured with dark brown paint to knock-back the green and then drybrushed with Ryza Rust technical paint.



The entire base was given a wash of black oil pant. More Ryza Rust was applied in several places. Instead of drubrushing it, I first layed down several, watered-down washes of Ryza, and then applied small blobs of pure Ryza Rust in random pattern to create difference in rust texture.






The finished product. To get there the entire base was given a wash of Mig Production pigments and Mig Dust Effects. It was a light, general wash to give the base a subtle patina of dust and dry it up a bit (all the previous oil washes, gave the base a slight sheen). Heavier and more concentrated washes of dust were applied in some of the "criss-cross" sections in- between the floor tiles, as well as in few places on the brass grate. Even more Ryza Rust was added here in there using the same method as in previous step. Dirty oil spill was made on the floor around the pipes. It was done simply by painting on a wash of brown and black oil paints. After the wash dried, the oil spill was covered in gloss varnish. Some final pure-silver scratches were applied to the metal surfaces with detail brush, including painting them inside the small patches of metallic scratches on the floor tiles (I made sure those last silver scratches were smaller and finer than the original ones). Finally a spill of some poor, unfortunate bastards blood was splattered on the floor with the new Blood for the Blood God technical paint. I dipped the paintbrush in some BFTBG, held the brush near the base and then blew on it with air from my lungs to create a natural looking splatter (painting those things by hand, usually results in artifical looking pattern). Before You do that, practice on a piece of paper to make sure the splatter size won't be too big.

That's it I guess. Hope it's usefull to someone. If anything is unclear from the descriptions, just ask here.

I's sorry but I would never buy a commission from you. I WANT TO GET TO YOUR LEVEL! :(

All the models are stunning. Your marines a snap shot in time. The detail. The freehand. Everything. Man..... I just don't know what to say. Jealousy doesn't even begin to describe the emotion I feel when I look upon these models.

And you say the Nids are a sloppy tabletop quality. LIES I SAY, LIES!

Amazing paintjobs man! I love how you make them look gritty and worn out, looks very realistic. How are your freehand skills?

So what can we expect to see next? Do you just take random models and paint them up for ebay at the moment? Do you have time to do commisson?

As for the matter of starting a business by painting - its not an easy task. I would see how the market is, if its enough people willing to pay for that sort of work. There is allready alot of small businesses/privat people doing commissons allready.

Very nice and clean paintjob here. Can't say I support gloss varnish though.

Charky wrote:

So what can we expect to see next? Do you just take random models and paint them up for ebay at the moment? Do you have time to do commisson?

Right now I want to concentrate on the Index Astartes line of paintjobs, showcasing marines from different chapters. So expect more figures like the Scythe and the DA.

As for my freehand skills, they are very basic but slowly developing. I've never really 'freehanded' any patterns or symbols on my minis before, but recently I've found myslef doing it quite a lot for all the iconography and ornamentation of my Astartes figures. So hopefully it will get better in time.

Very nice indeed.

Very nice Blog!subscribed!
The da looks great!love the battle damage

Wow! Really stunning work! The Hellbrute is absolutly impressing!

Here's a bit of a quick "salvage" paint job. I started this mini a few months ago, but stopped in the middle of the WIP, as I suddenly got an idea for a different, more ambitious/complicated Night Lord figure. This new version would be something completely different and would have to be built from the ground up, which meant that the NL WIP that I allready had, was shelved and basically useless to me at that point.

But as I've allready laid the foundation of a paintjob, I though it would be a waste for it to just sit on my shelf and collect dust, never to be used again for anything, so I gave it a quick makeover to bring it to a presentable level and sell it on Ebay.

This means that the paintjob is rather unsatisfactory, definitely much more crude than the Scythes of the Emperor Marine, with no detailed weathering, no zenithal lighting and just the most basic edge highligting. Plus, upon closer inspection it's just a tad too sloppy for my taste. I know it's not exactly the best advertisment for this mini, but I really didn't mean for it to be a display miniature, just a quick salvage job to bring the WIP into a presentable look, so that perhaps someone else will find use for it, as I certainly wouldn't have at this point. A better, different Night Lord will be made in the future though. The mini is available for sale here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151246345668?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649


Today I also wanted to post pictures of a brand new Astartes that I've just finished (Howling Griffons), but right after I've sealed the mini with varnish, I went to the bathroom, which created an opportunity for my dog to jump the table and...chew the marine up. No, seriously. Fortunately, he didn't swallow any of it, as that would portend a possibly painful bowel journey. But he did mangle and crush it like a Carnifex, so all in all, I have to start over. Life, eh?

Great looking job. Bronze looks very fine. You have a clean, toyish style I like about GW oficial paintjobs.

This stuff is amazing! Especially the SM work, my jaw was gaping, truly inspirational

My newest model - a Stone-crusher Carnifex painted as a commission for a client's army. He bought my previous Tyranid Warriors and wanted a Carnifex in the same colour scheme.

I have never seen miniatures painted this good. This is absolutely amazing! It's so good It's scary!

My current WIP.



I am happy to say that I've been taking on some commission jobs in the last weeks. It's usually units and monsters for various armies, but since my painting logs deal mostly with diplay pieces rather than gaming stuff, I realised that I don't have many squads and tabletop level units to show to clients, as examples of the level of work they can expect from me. So becouse of this, I've recently been busy painting various squads in different painting levels, as sort of templates and examples of quality for potential clients. I usually divide my work into 3 painting levels - first two are reserved for units and monsters, while the 3rd is for display miniatures only. I didn't have any examples of level 2 squad, so I decided to paint up a small combat unit of Imperial Fists to showcase it. Level 2 featues high quality finish (at least for unit standards) and attention to detail that treats every figure almost like a individual character.

This project started as a simple "example paintjob", but I had a ton of fun kitbashing and customising every Astartes. The squad photo above is a WIP so there's still lots of 'bling' to come for each mini.

Here's the first fully finished member of the squad. I am happy with the way he turned out. I might later revisit the black casing of his boltgun and the leather pouches at his greaves, as I feel the highlights there, have been flooded with too much black glaze, and might use more definition.

The weathering is stunningly impressive. I would kill for a tutorial.

I've never seen so much detail on models...the carnifex with the veins and damage and everything is stunning, truly fantastic!

Another member of the squad is ready for active duty. Meet brother Varen.











Not 100% happy with the base. The sand and pigment work isn't really that convincing. Might revisit later. Plus there are two scratches on the metallic part of boltgun, that turned out way too big and it's bugging me. Will correct later.

The more pieces I paint and photograph, the more I realise that upping my photography mojo (or equipment) should be my top priority right now. The photos came out OK'ish, but I have a feeling the real piece looks just a little bit better in hand. There's something tricky to photographing yellow so that all the highlights and details will be visible and not diffused or blown out, I also have a real trouble photographing metallics. Metal surfaces are generally harder to take pictures of, but recently I've been using a lot of alcohol based and buffable enamel metallic paints, that have a super shiny finish in hand, but somehow turn out very 'flat' and dull on the photos. And since I am no pro, I don't really know how to play around the reflections of light to make them stand out.

My friend studies photography and has access to some really good equippment. I think I'll try hitting him up, after I finish the entire squad, and we'll see if we can improve the results.

Varen looks quite good, like the rest of his brothers. The basing looks good to me, but maybe you're picking up on something in person that I'm not able to perceive from the photos.

Another squad member ready. This time it's Veteran Sergeant Ademar. He might be my favourite of the bunch, for some reason. 3 down, 2 more to go.

Oh wow how do you do your yellow?

Awesome love the gritty realism

Desubot

First I gave the minis a general basecoat of a dark brownish mix (I think it was scorched brown mixed with a little bit black and some orange, the exact proportions arn't really important as long as it's a dark but "warm", brownish/orange colour and not black). And then I gave them a general, zenital highlight using "Yriel Yello" with an airbrush. Had to do it in several passages to get a good covarage, spraying the paint at - more or less - 45 degree angle, so that the dark basecoat would stay visible in the shadows. Then I did specific highlights using airbrush and a yellow + white paint mix, concentrating on specific places taht would catch light, such as the "tips" of the shoulder plates etc. Then I gave the whole armour a general, overall spray of heavily dilluted Yriel Yellow, mixed with some 'Lahmian Medium', as an airbrushed glaze, to bring all of it togheter. Finally I did some edge highlighting with a normal brush, using mixes of yellow + white, finishing with a colour that was almost pure white, applied only to the most raised edges.


But to be honest, if You don't own an airbrush, or don't want to spend all this time and trouble on zenithal, airbrush highlighting, You could just basecoat the entire model in "Yriel Yellow", apply a wash of dark brown into the recesses and then finally edge higlight the model wih standard brush, by mixing yellow with white. The end result will be more or less similar. Especially since the zenithal highlighting I did, turned out really subltle (not really that much vivible in the pics).