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I painted this model last Christmas for a female friend of mine, and I still consider it to be one of my best works so far. The red and orange colour scheme was a bit of a challenge, but I think it worked out pretty well in the end (even though the red could have been done better), and the horse also gave me some troubles as I had to figure out how to paint a white horse in a good way.

She absolutely loved the model, and was very happy upon receiving it

I'd love to hear what you guys think though, I'm always looking to improve my skills

First pictures are spoilered because of size:

Anyone? I would really like some feedback on this one...

Nice paintjob, super clean and detailed, with a more realistic color palette. I'm one for slightly more muted realistic tones. My only thing (and this is just me) I think the feathers could use a little bit more pop as well as some of the armor trim and barding. I don't mean hard edging (I hate that actually), but maybe just working in a lighter color on the edges, otherwise great work!

Thank you! I agree on the feathers and the armour trim, they could pop some more; sadly, I didn't have their lighter tones back when I was painting him (I do now, though! ) and adding white to paints to make them lighter never works out for me the way I want it to

It looks good, but it also just looks like base colours + shades.

I would highlight every colour on the model with a lighter shade paint (for example Kislev Flesh on the skin) to make the details pop. I would also consider painting the horse flesh a bit more. The drybrushing has brought out the muscles nicely but looks a bit patchy on the raised surfaces.

Good luck! :-)

Edit: Oh, and I would leave the metals as they are. They look great!

Thanks for the feedback! I did use lighter shades of orange and red on the rider's clothes, but I didn't apply them on the cloth on the horse's back, I thought they looked good with just the base colour and a wash

As for the rest of the colours, flesh colours (especially on faces) are something I'm really struggling with, I tend to mess them up every time I try to do them; I'll definitely try Kislev Flesh next time though

My advice with doing faces is spend a lot of time on them because they are the centre point of Empire models.

The Kislev Flesh wouldn't be applied to just the edges like a normal highlight but instead all of the raised areas leaving just the recesses in the darker flesh, I would then use Ushabti Bone to pick out the end of the nose and cheekbones. I would mix a little red into Bugman's flesh and paint the lower lip. If there is too much contrast on the face you can tone it down with a mix of 50/50 Cadian Fleshtone and Lahmien Medium. Lastly drops of reikland flesh added in the pits of the cheeks can add extra depth! :-) lots of fun to be had with painting faces but it does take patience!

Thanks for the tips! I'll definitely try that technique in the future (now where did I put that non-mounted Empire General...)