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Bloodthirster wrote:Brilliant Dante! Just brilliant! The only thing I will say is that I don't think the silver eagle really works with the white on the helmet. I think the gold on the chest-plate pops a lot more and has that much starker contrast, which in this case is good. looking forward to more soon.

Cheers mate. I did contemplate gold, however it didn't really work. It made him look too high ranking and drew too much focus so silver it was in the end! I actually picture the armour having been a dark green too, white washed over for this winter setting, hence the dark green chips etc, so silver isn't totally out of place. Ultimately, it is better lacking pop as it isn't intended as a focal point.

Q0rbin wrote:Ok, I'll be waiting Dante

Hopefully I don't keep you waiting too long! In the meantime, gather a sharp scalpel, some blister foam and some vallejo liquid latex mask!

Tek wrote:I only just found this blog; Awesome work dude.

I am reading your blog post on skin tone now; I've always been lazy at that ,and I'm now starting to take painting pretty seriously.

Also, Pictionary rules, and I like your Classics Prime and Megatron battle-in-a-box.

Keep up the good work buddy, I'm looking forward to seeing more.

Glad you like it, hopefully there will be more to keep you coming back too!

The pictionary box has actually yet to be removed from the celophane!

Cheers,

Dante

For some reason he's starting to feel like a pilot of some sort. Not sure if it's the pose, or the fatigue/armor colors, or both. Looking forward to seeing the other arm too!

Cheers
Dave

Dave, I know what you mean. It really is the pose and the armor color, with that orange stripe I think. Makes him look less like a hardened shock trooper and more like vehicle crew relaxing after the job is done.

Either way, it's characterful

When the other arm is on that should change, it being a gun and all. To be honest I don't see him like that myself. The only thing that could make him look like that is the chest radio but even then I don't really think he looks like crew.

To each their own interpretation though eh?!

Cheers,

Dante

Quite excellent man. The tutorial is really nice, and timely for me, as I have lately been REALLY focusing on skin tone, going so far as to make a color wheel of available paints to compare to pictures I like.

There is one thing that threw me a little on this fellow, and it took a moment to figure: why are his sleeves rolled up while he is standing in the snow? The cold setting sort of jars with the "getting a little warm for my clothing" expressed.

Still, fantastic painting, and I have bookmarked those tutorials for future use! Had I known you had your own blog, I would have spent a lot more time there instead of HOURS comparing the gradients on some nekkid chick's tit to 20 odd Vallejo paint chips

Dante, I'm starting to think it may be the lighting.

When I first clicked away I started wondering more and more about why I thought he looked like a pilot and I realized it was because I thought he had no (or very little) webbing and kit.

I was about to suggest adding more when I took another look. Of course the guy is loaded with webbing etc *facepalm* I think in the most recent shots the tone of the webbing looks very similar to the tone of the fatigues, something I'm sure that is caused by the lighting issues you mentioned.

Anyway, no need to listen to my ramblings. He's looking great!

Cheers
Dave

Wehrkind wrote:Quite excellent man. The tutorial is really nice, and timely for me, as I have lately been REALLY focusing on skin tone, going so far as to make a color wheel of available paints to compare to pictures I like.

There is one thing that threw me a little on this fellow, and it took a moment to figure: why are his sleeves rolled up while he is standing in the snow? The cold setting sort of jars with the "getting a little warm for my clothing" expressed.

Still, fantastic painting, and I have bookmarked those tutorials for future use! Had I known you had your own blog, I would have spent a lot more time there instead of HOURS comparing the gradients on some nekkid chick's tit to 20 odd Vallejo paint chips

See initially I saw that too, but thought back to when I was in combat and thought.. OO well he looks like he just got out of the stuff hance with the helment kinda in a relax holding, and his adrenaline was up. trust me you won't feel a thing after a firefight.

That armor really does look great... props!

Empchild wrote:See initially I saw that too, but thought back to when I was in combat and thought.. OO well he looks like he just got out of the stuff hance with the helment kinda in a relax holding, and his adrenaline was up. trust me you won't feel a thing after a firefight.

I see what you mean, but note that the sleeve is tucked and rolled, not merely pushed up. That implies time and attention, if only a little, so him stopping to roll it up as he got a little warm seems unlikely. Also, the fabric is very light weight, and the thinness of the roll suggests that there is not much to keep him warm in general. In other words, he is not dressed for the weather he was apparently fighting in. Maybe it is advanced thinsulate or something, but it is a little off putting.

At least to an OCD bastard like me

HAHAHa I just sat and thought about it. This is actually props for dante because really we are trynig to break down the realism of the model!!! Almost putting a story to it if you will.

Yeah, thanks guys, pick it apart for every silly little niggle (there are plenty, I know!)....

I think it's a bit difficult to say the clothing looks too thin, this is 28mm afterall. Making it any thicker would probably have looked more out of place than it currently does as it wouldnt sit right with the balance of the rest of the figure.

I've seen plenty of folks roll up sleeves in snow so I don't think it's too out of kilter, especially when the setting is "after the battle".

Ultimately though, it was done to add a little more variation to the figure. It's difficult painting a camo clad figure, trying to make it look relatively realistic while at the same time stand out. A non-winter setting probably would have made it a lot easier but I quite fancied painting some snow and white armour.

Really appreciate the comments though, it helps build focus on getting everything just right for the next fig, much appreciated guys!

Cheers,

Dante

Yesterday while I was working in the snow I took a layer of and I wasn't working that hard just normal physical labour....

CMDante wrote:Yeah, thanks guys, pick it apart for every silly little niggle (there are plenty, I know!)....

I think it's a bit difficult to say the clothing looks too thin, this is 28mm afterall. Making it any thicker would probably have looked more out of place than it currently does as it wouldnt sit right with the balance of the rest of the figure.

I've seen plenty of folks roll up sleeves in snow so I don't think it's too out of kilter, especially when the setting is "after the battle".

Ultimately though, it was done to add a little more variation to the figure. It's difficult painting a camo clad figure, trying to make it look relatively realistic while at the same time stand out. A non-winter setting probably would have made it a lot easier but I quite fancied painting some snow and white armour.

Really appreciate the comments though, it helps build focus on getting everything just right for the next fig, much appreciated guys!

Cheers,

Dante

Dante I got you coverd you see James(his name) was a special young man. He joined the militaqry to make his papa happy and to see the galaxy when he was only 17 solar years. When he was 18 a tyranid sliced part of his face, and his comrades called him slugger. He became depressed as such and sought comfort in the local brothel, but sadly since he was so ugly the women didnt want him. You see james started to lose his sanity after this and as such began spending all his money on booz and ihlo sticks. He spent so much he sold off his uniform and was reduced to wearing hand me downs as a punishment form the local commissar. James may be cold in both spirit and mind but gosh dang it he's got bawls!

You know, what might be the thing to do (and also moderately insane) would be to add some perspiration to his forehead with dots of gloss varnish. A few beads of sweat and maybe one running down his face would emphasise the "wow, I am overheated" aspect, and nail down the story more. As opposed to having 2 differing visual cues and having to decide which matters more.

A little steam coming off of him would be perfect too

Still, just to remphasise, awesome work.

Wehrkind wrote:You know, what might be the thing to do (and also moderately insane) would be to add some perspiration to his forehead with dots of gloss varnish. A few beads of sweat and maybe one running down his face would emphasise the "wow, I am overheated" aspect, and nail down the story more. As opposed to having 2 differing visual cues and having to decide which matters more.

A little steam coming off of him would be perfect too

Still, just to remphasise, awesome work.

Honestly that would be awsome, but the downside is that can go so horribly wrong as well.

I think that the result would be even more explanation required of what it is than he needs now. The reflection would just look odd and as if varnish was splashed on him by accident rather than painted on IMHO.

Just about finished with the second arm now, hopefully get it done and dusted tonight so pics maybe later.

Cheers,

Dante


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Right, finished at last!






Correct set up for the pics this time too so hopefully they are better than the last lot! The snow even looks better in these pics which makes a change.

Normally I find painting arms quite tedious, but these were actually a lot of fun and really quick (for me!) to do.

I also tend to try to avoid freehand work as much as possible, both for a fear of wrecking the area beneath, and because normally I struggle with it. The freehands here were kept very simple for exactly that reason. I had originally thought about going completely over the top and attempting some kind of extravagant personal heraldry on the left pad to practice, but decided it really didn't fit with the theme or image of the rest of the fig so it got scrapped in the end.

The gun might get some markings added to it at some point, though for now I'm happy enough with him. He was only a test piece after-all so don't want to keep going back and tweaking him too much.

Something Empire related up next I think. Assassins, in particular a remake of Vesperro's vendetta is looking particularly appealing at the moment....

Tutorial on the chipped armour coming soon on my blog (as soon as I finish writing the accompanying text!).

Cheers,

Dante



Automatically Appended Next Post:
How to Paint Chipped Armour Tutorial no up on my blog.

Any comments much appreciated.

Cheers,

Dante

Dante, I hate you and your artistic ability. Really. I do.

And now I'm going to have to steal your chipped armor method for all hundred and something Guardsman I'm doing, and a far more intricate scheme/method will be required for my Kasrkin.

Thanks for setting the bar

PS:
Empire related project? Assassin? Does not compute!
Why not a Middenheim Huntsman or a Reiksguard Champion? Something that could be used for a two part diorama maybe?

Nice tutorial, Dante - might give it a go on the Kasrkin I'm going to be repainting.

The subtle attention to detail is what amazes me, like the red cross on the aid pouch.

*rummages through bits to do the same to all his guardsmen*

It looks great Dante, the white is stark enough not to just look like snow, the weathering brings the story to live, and the face, well that is the emphasis on which the whole ST is built in my opinion, he looks quite arragont with a smug grin on his face.

And on the topic of empire, I've got a feeling that wizards just scream for your talents to be enriched on, how about a one for each college, a whole college of the same wizards, a wizard duel. Oh no look what I've done now, I've inspired myself. That's your fault

Fantastic work on the armour.

Kanluwen wrote:Dante, I hate you and your artistic ability. Really. I do.
PS:
Empire related project? Assassin? Does not compute!
Why not a Middenheim Huntsman or a Reiksguard Champion? Something that could be used for a two part diorama maybe?

Thanks mate.

Why not a huntsman or a Reiksguard champion? Because that's what everyone expects of Empire models! I want to do something unique and memorable because it wasn't the norm. The vendetta have a great little story behind them and have all the opportunities for some extremely characterful stuff while maintaining a bit of free reign in style.

These sort of characters are the ones included all the time in Black Library novels, yet never characterised in figure form as their battlefields are the cities and towns of the Empire, dealing with internal conflicts etc.

Dysartes wrote:Nice tutorial, Dante - might give it a go on the Kasrkin I'm going to be repainting.

Glad you liked it mate, hopefully you'll find it helpful for the Kasrkin!

CrashUSAR wrote:The subtle attention to detail is what amazes me, like the red cross on the aid pouch.

*rummages through bits to do the same to all his guardsmen*

Thanks! The little details are actually great fun and pretty easy to do. The hair on the forearm, the guage on the backpack thing, the medical pouch symbol, all only take a matter of minutes to do (with a steady hand and good eye - and good brush!), yet they are the features that catch peoples eyes and build a story and character into the piece, well worth the effort.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with on your own guardsmen.

Bloodthirster wrote:It looks great Dante, the white is stark enough not to just look like snow, the weathering brings the story to live, and the face, well that is the emphasis on which the whole ST is built in my opinion, he looks quite arragont with a smug grin on his face.

And on the topic of empire, I've got a feeling that wizards just scream for your talents to be enriched on, how about a one for each college, a whole college of the same wizards, a wizard duel. Oh no look what I've done now, I've inspired myself. That's your fault

Hmmm, it's not a bad idea, but again, for the reasons I stated above, I'd like to try something that hasn't really been covered before. Though the Eavy Metal competition is some fantastic inspiration for how the wizard kit can be converted to create some really stunning figures. I say go for it!

Cheers,

Dante

The reason I was meaning "not Vendetta" is they're not really Empire! Dogs of War!

Although, you are really tempting me back into making a Dogs of War modelled Empire army.

dante i love this model the most striking thing about it is the base i love it

True, they're not Empire, but I am thinking more along the lines of Empire styled version.

Heck, maybe I'll even keep them Tilean but at the end of the day, the attire isn't exactly much different!

Dogs of War offer a lot of scope for some really fun conversions, I say whats stopping you!

@ Pete - Cheers mate. To be honest I think the base could be a lot better but glad you think it looks ok.

Cheers,

Dante

What's stopping me is nobody plays Fantasy and I hate working with metal models

If I were to actually get into Fantasy, I've got a cool idea for a lost Asrai colony in Lustria. Swamp Elves, if you will. Having things like Dryads and Treemen made from ferns, Waywatchers attired in Salamander skins, Scouts concealing themselves to the hip in woad and bracken, etc.

Who said anything about metal

Oh and if I know Dante he'll be using some plastic kit we would never of thought of using.

Dogs of War are mostly metal models.

Lovely work on the stormtrooper. Can't wait to see what you'll come up with when you begin work on the Empire/dogs of war model/models.

Kanluwen wrote:Dogs of War are mostly metal models.

I know that, that's why i don't like them. I was meaning that Dante will probally cook some up in plastic.