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.

Here it is, the final vote of the first year of Painting Challenges! Another cracking month, with entrants doing fantastic work on all minis great and small (and a disproportionate number of Grots and Goblins! ) and now it's time to pick your favourites!

As usual, you can vote for whatever reasons you see fit; the best paintjob, the most fitting entry, the best effort, the most improved painter or just an entry that caught your eye. You can cast as many votes as you like, 3-5 are recommended but you are free to use more or less as needed. Please also do the entrants you vote for a favour in leaving them some comments here or on their own pages, voting in their Dakka galleries on the entries and providing some feedback, it's all very much appreciated and has contributed greatly to the stellar improvement a lot of entrants (myself included, looking back on my first entries! ) have made over the year!

Without further ado, the entries:



Nevelon: Ultramarines Contemptor Dreadnought


djphranq: 'We Got 'Em, Boyz!'


Kustomer D: Mega-Grots and Grot Tank


Zergsmasher: Stormsurge Battlesuit


Ustrello: Dark Mechanicus Dunecrawler


Talys: Imperial Sector Terrain


kb_lock: Trevor (At Last!)


Midget Gems: Blood Angels Sergeant and Gretchin


GulGog TufToof: Grot Artillery



Koreg: Tyranid Ripper Swarms


Guildenstern: CAV Heavy Infantry



Paradigm: Lorgar Aurelian


GiraffeX: Luna



BillyC: Bagpiper Goblin



Moolet: Blood Angels Dreadnought



KINGPIN54: Halfling Adventurer


NidLifeCrisis: Meganobz



Priest Foxley: Mouselings


sockwithaticket: Witchling Stalker


Farseer Anath'lan: Eldar Wraithlord


ScootypuffJunior: First Order TIE Fighter


Ratius: Imperial Ruins


Deadshot: Blood Ravens Contemptor Dreadnought


Nordicus: Slaughterbrute


KingmanHighborn: Vanquisher Squadron


methebest: Russian Transport Vehicles


Jadenim: Inquisitorial Henchmen


Kommissar Kiln: Da Fearsum Five Grots


Iechine: Knight Atrapos


Januine: ServoSkull


Tittlemanscrest: Stormcast Eternal


Keezus: Bakunin Moderators


SlavetoDorkness: Merchant and Robot

That slaugtherbrute.

/thread.

 Wopbopadobop wrote:
That slaugtherbrute.

/thread.

Thank you very much First time entry, so glad to see it can live up to the standard of DakkaDakka!

 Wopbopadobop wrote:
That slaugtherbrute.

/thread.

You're not wrong! Cracking effort!

 Wopbopadobop wrote:
That slaugtherbrute.

/thread.

+1
Just great.

I like the servoskull too, right kind of klangs'n'dongs on it hehe

I’m drawn to the little guys this month. Grots don’t get enough respect, but drew most of my votes. I especially liked the ones taking down Blood Angels, both Midget Gems’ little guy about to spike the TDA sarge, and Moolets’ dread about to be viciously mushroomed about the ankles. Having a little guy working over something big captured the theme on the month very well.

But tons of good entries this month.

Can you note a +1 for Januine?
I slipped on the touchscreen and unchecked my vote.

 Buttery Commissar wrote:
Can you note a +1 for Januine?
I slipped on the touchscreen and unchecked my vote.

Butter fingers?

In case anyone is interested, I am working on a spreadsheet that compares the distribution of votes between small entries and large entries. I'm currently working on box plots to check for outliers (because some of your guys' work is just so good that you might be skewing the data! ) I dunno, maybe I just want to do some objective data analysis. Maybe I'm salty about my grots (lol). But I'm going to put "Size matters not" to the ultimate test... at the 5% significance level, of course.

+For super kewl Stormcast eternal blends.
+For Atrapos, not "Atropos". I know, I know, it's airbrush, it's easy to do, but still cool
+For Lorgar, for having that grimdark tint.

Yeah Nordicus blew it out of the water for best paint job. I want to know how you did the realistic rivers of blood.

Priest Foxley just so badass and cute. Fit the theme oh so well

kb_lock such a cool model and dig the lava effects.

Lechine that is one big and well painted model

Talys, wow what gorgeous building complex

Honorables: Koreg, Moolet, and Midget Gems

So many entries to choose from, impressive on all levels everyone.

Cracking stuff Kustomer D, some really unique pieces there, you seem to be amassing some great work over the months hope you have somewhere to display it
I have to praise Moolet for an brilliant use of a Snotling.
Ustrello, excellent use of tentacles.
Talys so impressive you where able to get that all done and to your normal high standards, I envy the battle board you can make with those buildings.
The eyes look really good on your dread Nevelon

I'm so happy Trevor was finished, the saga of Trevor the Arse defiantly needs to be complied (I've had crazy thoughts and found a few for sale on Ebay but I'm not sure I hate myself that much....)

Para your photos really show off your work, it feels like you've changed something or got a new camera, whatever it is I'm happy to be able to see your work in more detail.

Nordicus and Lechine your paint jobs are fantasy and so smooth, I assume it was an air brush? I almost thought they where concept art drawings.

I'll have to stop now before I mention everyone by name, but a final congrats to those that made it a whole year entering something each month

Thanks the the votes and mentions on a not quite finished model.

 KingmanHighborn wrote:
Yeah Nordicus blew it out of the water for best paint job. I want to know how you did the realistic rivers of blood.

Thanks - It means a lot!

The blood is done in 3 stages really - Hit me up on my plog (link is in my signature) and I'll give you the walkthrough

 Midget Gems wrote:
Nordicus and Lechine your paint jobs are fantasy and so smooth, I assume it was an air brush? I almost thought they where concept art drawings.

Aye, the base colours were done with airbrush, followed by washes and some drybrushing. I can walk you through it if you want to achieve the same!

Now for my votes:

+ Lechine: Goes without saying, but that knight is gorgeous. I tip my hat to you sir/madam/inbetween!
+ Kustomer D: True Ork style. I love it!
+ Talys: Simple and effective scheme for a scenery piece. I bet it looks ace on the tabletop!
+ Jadenim: Such small models and yet you've achieved writing in the books with a realistic feel. Great job!
+ tittlemanscrest: A true display quality model - I would like to pick your brain about some of those techniques. Keep it up!

With the talent displayed here, I cannot wait to participate in the coming months. This is awesome! Great job everyone!

Well, as usual it was tough to decide who to vote for, as all the entries were pretty amazing, perhaps even more so than in previous months. My five votes went to:
Paradigm: Lorgar looks amazing, a paintjob worthy of a Primarch!
Scootypuffjunior: As a fan of Star Wars, I have to say that you absolutely nailed that TIE/fo. Awesome stuff!
KommissarKiln: Those grots, though small, are full of character and look amazing!
lechine: Imperial Knights are awesome models, and you knocked it out of the park with that paintjob!
Tittlemanscrest: I love Stormcast Eternals, and that paintjob is just so lifelike!
Honorable mention to kb_lock for finishing the legendary dragon Trevor. He looks great!

As always, special shout out to Paradigm for running these things and inspiring us all to paint better. I know I say this every month, but I think I've improved a lot due to these challenges encouraging me to push my skills. Here's to another great year of painting and modelling!

Hi, (sorry for the long post)

I was so tempted to vote more than 5 times this month as there are so many cool and beautiful models. I really found it hard to choose and limit the votes.
I already voted yesterday but here are my favourites:

Kustomer D: Those mega grots are fantastic. In some ways, i hate them as they are not mine. Really great work. I think you got the colours working beautifully together off set by the blue tank congrats! I know it’s a painting comp and i try to vote based just on painting but the effort that went into those conversions is immense and you pulled in my first vote.

Talys: The sheer scale of work is immense and all done with the cleanness your painting always shows, it is a real feat you’ve performed. I’ve been doing a lot of scenery lately and for me there is a real temptation to speed things a bit and forego a little detail, you haven’t and that is shown off magnificently in this work.
I’m also a big fan of your Blood Angels too and I can only imagine how a battle over Baal Secundus would look.

Paradigm: As a counter point to the clean lines of Talys marines yours always look the as if they’ve just been napalmed after surviving the impact of a crashed thunderhawk. With Lorgar you’ve kept the beautiful clean lines of the model whilst really adding a layer of grime and wear. The model is really atmospheric and the marble effect is subtle, not over done, and just gorgeous; it really brings the model together. I’m also a big fan of your marines too =)

Nordicus: What can i say, the model has atmosphere, beautiful transitions, great colours. The colours remind me perfectly of the crabs i used to catch in Whitby harbour, spont on. Those eyes provide such a focus to the model. I Love it. I know, I know airbrush is easy etc, but not airbrushing like that. Only down side (sorry!) is that you can see the gap under the arms back spines where the pieces were put together. But that is no comment on the beautiful beautiful paint job =)

Lechine: An airbrush model but my god does it work. It’s simply beautiful and as someone said earlier, it looks like concept art. The grey/orangey red work really well together and the blue OSL is not over done as is so often seen. The whole model just pops. I really love it.

Honorable mentions for nearly getting my vote go to:

Januine: Fantastic work. At first i wasn’t as blown away with it as i usually am when i see you models. But the more i looked the more i saw careful attention to detail and great brush work. On such a small model i find it’s often hard to add much variety to it but i think you’ve hit it spot on. Really nice.

Jadenim: Beautiful grim dark model. Really atmospheric and the writing in that book is really impressive. After attempting script for the first time this month I appreciate what skill goes into that. If you could give me some tips I’d love to hear them =)

Titlemanscrest: Fantastic use of colours. The bright blue with the dull grey/brown/beige tones works so well. The attention to shading on each plate is beautiful. The chips and cracks look great and work so well and show immense brush work skill as well as airbrush work. The base also really brings the model together. My only gripe was with the hammer. I can’t offer how it would be better (and i certainly couldn’t do better) just i think it needed something more. Beautiful model, i only hope i can produce something similar one day.

Midget Gems: I have the same snotling model and almost used him instead! Haha wouldn’t that be funny. Anyhow, great idea (great minds think a like ;-) ). Lovely clean paint job and you captured what i thought the theme was about too. I would love to see a model done of what happened about ½ a second later. Go go snotlings, one day they will rule the galaxy.

Nid life crisis: Those meganobz are gorgeous models to paint (my last months entry) and you’ve really done them justice. Really nice orky feel to them, very stompy, very scary. You’ve really captured the meganob feel. Congrats!

Sockwithaticket: simple clean lines, with great use of colour and contrast. Shading is smooth and beautiful. I really, really like the colours used. Nothing overly fancy but that wouldn’t look right on this model. I really like your work here.

I really really really really wanted to vote for everyone, honestly did. Was horribly tough this go around. I prolly voted too much as it was.

didn't have a chance to take notes, so if I leave your name out it's not because I don't think you did excellent work - everyone did! Just going by memory, the ones that impressed me the most, overall

KustomerD - I just love the way you do orks, there were a lot of beautiful orks this go around but your's just really say ORK to me, plus... TANK!
Ustrello - even though you're a dirty traitor I just love what you've done with that dunecrawler, so much character. It's beautiful.
kb_lock - I simply had to vote for Trev. The trials of Trev simply won me over. Of course it helps that you did an awesome job on him! Except, I have to note, that last pic is blurry
Koreg - I really liked the colours you chose for your tyranid swarm, it really struck me as unique, coupled with a great paint job, yeah you got my vote
BillyC - I thought the character you brought to your little guy was awesome, plus the plaid bag pipe rocked (pun intended) he's a great little guy and an awesome job. He fit our theme just perfectly imo.
sockwithaticket - that stalker is just too perfect. Dang you really really enjoy looking at it, it's beautiful

I'm pretty sure I actually voted for a couple others as well - sorry I forget who :( I kept changing my votes because there are just so many beautiful entries!! Everyone should be really proud of their efforts imo

Thanks for the shout outs everyone, I'm glad my Atrapos is so well received, I had a lot of fun painting the model.


Lots of really great entries, my personal favorite is SlavetoDorkness' Merchant and Robot. Its very simple and effective and tells a story.

Hey guys thanks for the comments on my Sigmarine I appreciate positive and the few critiques (they are truly appreciated because that is what make you better, working on weaknesses). I have been working with wet palette for 2 months now and this is my result. Enough about me. Nordicus that is a stellar paint job on the brute; bloody, yet sophisticated. I feel that even though he can rip your head off he probably dabbles in existential philosophy when he isn't hungry. The Titan is also a really excellent piece, I think people sometimes don't appreciate the difficulty of airbrushing. It does make certain effects easier, sometimes, just as using a paint brush makes some effects easier too. However, it is not as though it is a copout to use one. As a mini painter I believe you should use all the tools at your disposal especially on larger pieces. I had to give it to the tie fighter as well. I think it is underrated and super professional. Thanks again Paradigm for being super awesome and putting on this contest. I don't have a community of painters here so it is nice to get some feedback as well as participate in events for painting.

Crikey, I'm wondering if this got posted somewhere else (as you don't have to be a Dakka member to vote) I've not seen such a large divide on the upper votes to the rest of the group on just day two, before.

Seems pretty clear who the top three or four are gonna be at least.

Well done all! (PS thanks for the votes too )

Thanks for the positive comments guys, glad you like them. They've come out quite nice considering there's not a huge amount of detail to pick out.

For those that asked; the script was done using a fine detail brush (00 I think, not near my desk right now), ever so slightly damp to keep the black paint thin and the point sharp, regularly redipped to keep everything flowing. I then use a very light flicking squiggle, barely touching the surface. Think like trying to tickle someone's ear without them noticing! It can take quite a few passes to get enough on there.

Even then it sometimes goes on too thick, so I use a bit more bone colour to thin the lines back out and break the lines up a bit if they're too long. I also use it to neaten up the margins, so that the text has defined edges.

Finally a liberal sepia wash to age it all up.

Wow guys, thanks a bunch for all the nice comments and all the votes. This will be hard to live up to in the coming months!

I'm really glad you like the model - I can assure you it has ripped apart several landraiders already!

Thank you guys for the kind words. These were fun to build and paint.
There are some amazing minis displayed again. Really good work by everyone.

Looks like I'm an also-ran this month too . Oh well, I've got four votes so far, I'll be okay with that. My painting style, although it looks good to my eyes, is really kind of lazy. Hence the lack of weathering on most of the stuff I paint. And the reason I don't post my stuff in the Showcase section of the forums.

No worries I only got 3. For 3 Vanquishers.

My votes this month go to:

tittlemanscrest: That blue is simply fantastic, and the style suits Stormcast far more than most minis! I was going to comment on the hammer not looking quite as good as the rest of the model, but it's only in the first pic, so I reckon its perhaps the photo that makes it look a little flat.

Kustomer D: Simply chock-full of character and creativity!

Ustrello: One of your best entries/minis! Splendid stuff!

Moolet: A radically different mini to the Orks you entered last month, but no less epic! Fantastic paintwork, and you mentioned trying out a few new techniques; they've certainly paid off!

kb_lock: A fitting end to the Saga of Trevor, you've slain the beast, and what's more, done it with some seriously cool paintwork!

ZergSmasher: A model that big in a month is one thing, but you've also improved a lot over recent months and the Stormsurge definitely shows all that off!

Super stuff from everyone this month, a great end to the first year of challenges!

Ooh, i did not see you can comment here too. I am super stoked i got 3 votes!!! Compared to the other entries i did not think i would get any. Well done to all on awesome paintjobs!

 ZergSmasher wrote:
Looks like I'm an also-ran this month too . Oh well, I've got four votes so far, I'll be okay with that. My painting style, although it looks good to my eyes, is really kind of lazy. Hence the lack of weathering on most of the stuff I paint. And the reason I don't post my stuff in the Showcase section of the forums.

Hey Zerg don't put yourself down you've done some really good stuff, I would say that out of the people I see enter the comp you are defiantly the most improved over the last 12 months. Your not afraid to take on some really big models which is great to see.

One thing that has helped me with my painting is to start thinking about how light hits objects and makes them appear. You need to think about how the object would look in RL then scale it down, so on your stormsurge the edges and more exposed parts would look lighter and therefore stand out more against the normal colour, especially at the top. Its really tricking the eye into seeing what you want it too and drawing the eye to or away from the different areas. (hope that makes sense)

Example

 ZergSmasher wrote:
Looks like I'm an also-ran this month too . Oh well, I've got four votes so far, I'll be okay with that. My painting style, although it looks good to my eyes, is really kind of lazy. Hence the lack of weathering on most of the stuff I paint. And the reason I don't post my stuff in the Showcase section of the forums.

Really, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself, and keep in mind the whole point of painting is to have FUN with it. Contests are just a way for you to improve your skills and showcase something that your proud of. As long as you tried your best and put it all on the line, you really have nothing to be ashamed of. Every miniature painter is a work in progress, and had to come from humble beginnings. Trust me, your work is good and keep it up! Don't be afraid to try new techniques and push yourself.

Thanks guys, I wasn't trying to be whiny or anything, and I'm ashamed of nothing. I'm very proud of my models. I posted that after kind of a bad day at work (long story...). Note to everyone: don't post stuff in ANY forum, DakkaDakka or otherwise, if you're having a bad day. You'll probably regret it later.