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Theophony wrote:Amazing work . He looks just like my fifth grade teacher mr. Morning.

Thank you!
My wife said that he lookls a lot like me with the brown eye....oh well

Stormatious wrote:WOW, thats absolutely incredible, nice!!

Thank you Mate!

Briancj wrote:Verdigris (basically, rusting/oxydizing copper/brass/bronze) is HARD. You've done great work with it!

--Brian

Thanks!
I always wnated to try it, but never had the opportunuity. I had an ink already prepared for it for years and noiw I was finally able to use it

Dr H wrote:Nice progress, Klaus. Looking good.

Thanks

Strohkopf wrote:Fantastic works!

Excuse me, myabe somebody already has asked this question, but what is that white material, and why you mix it and green stuff?

Sorry for the late reply...
Well the white stuff is plastic card (which I usually use to build my tanks and stuff) and I use it for less organic forms with clean lines and sharp angles - I wouldn't be able to sculpt these with GreenStuff - and it's less sticky
Don't hesitate to ask if you want to know more

So, I did some final clean-up and accented some of the lines.


I really like the way he turned out in the end


The images are a bit on the dark side though...





And now he's in good company


Sharing the shelf with the Guardian and Gothica


Thak you for riding with me on this one
Cheers
klaus

And on we go!
A new idea that needs venting...

And if I mess this one up, I'll burn quite some bucks :/
In a phase of overconfidence I odered two Kits from kimeramodels.com
One being ABEL (https://kimeramodels.com/product/abel-phoenix-chosen/)

and the other
ARES ( https://kimeramodels.com/product/ares/ )


Both are 1/24 scale and 75mm tall - they are awesome and superbly sculpted and detailed, but you know me, eh?
So I have the megalomanic idea of a duel scene between the two

This is my first rough sketch, with some initial thoughts scribbled on it


As you can see, the current poses in the kits are nowhere close to my vision


So let the chopping begin!
This is the left arm seperated


for the leg I'll make a backup copy of the knee-armour as I'm afraid it will break when I cut the leg


The other leg is already in a close posture, but the foot needs to be repositioned


I inserted a small splint


and then sculpted the new back of the foot


Well, this is as far as I got on the first day
So, am I insane?
What do you think?
Cheers
Klaus

Stargazer is amazing, stunning work. Really like the piece as a whole.

The new one, well not insane, with your skills and ability you will do an amazing job. I would be locked up, but you no, just sitting back with a cuppa waiting to see the amazing appear before my eyes.

Yes, you are insane, but that's why we follow your thread, so we can watch an expert at work.

I like when you shift gears and do something bland and mundane for a change!

NOT! These are amazing kits- really looking forward to watching the vignette develop.

Hi guys,
sorry for the delay, but today is ging to be a good update
I've been busy

So after the initial left leg, I started work on the right leg


This will be the "jump" position


with GreenStuff


With the basic for the "good guy" in place I started with the bad boy


As the sketch showed I want him to be in a kind of defensive posture


A quick check for the head


Leg and hip area filled with GreenStuff and left (shield) arm attached


With spear arm and head


And a first matching of the two



The rest went rather quickly


It is pretty much the dynamic pose I had in mind


My desk was really a mess


Here I did a first test with the cape - that originally belonged to Abel, but really fits Ares in this pose


A final decission point was on weather to go with horns to the helmet (yes) and maybe exchange the spear for a sword (no)



So I finished the bad boy with horns, cape and spear


and the good guy with a "flaming" sword


And so I conclude the built







So, what do you think?
Cheers
Klaus

Get that statue balanced like that is amazing.

 Briancj wrote:
Get that statue balanced like that is amazing.

Thank you Brian!
Yeah, I was thinking a lot about the balance issue, but luckily it worked out nicely - these models are very light in weight

So, with the built complete, it was time to prime them and clean up the desk



Here you can see the pin that is used to connect the two models


With the diorama depicting the eternal fight between good and bad, light and dark, fire and ice I initially had the idea to use some molten metal armor for the bad guy - the one out of hell
For this I tried some different designs



but so far none was really convincing


Especially for the cape I realized quickly that this would absolutely NOT work


On the legs ... hmm, it COULD work


So I concentrated on the shield for a while



and decided to continue with the legs to see how it would work together


I'm semi-pleased


while Ben totally lacks enthusiasm


and Luna is all but conviced


So what do you think?
Start again?
I'm really not sure....
Klaus

Woah.

That's astounding. The progression makes it all look smooth and effortless. This will be an amazing piece when it is done.

Thank you youwashock!

Well, I was struggling for the last few days, but then last night my Kimera Kolor Set arrived


So I immediately went to try them out


Their pigment level, hue and saturation is simply astonishing!


Blending and glazing takes some getting used to


But it is fun painting with them


And so for the first paint session I'm mighty pleased


What do you think of the change of color scheme?
Cheers
Klaus

I think the darker scheme is better, I feel it it more suitable to the figure.

Is it really strange that I like that blazing rear end shot .

Cool posing, Klaus.

I like the shield bright, but the armour pieces darker. They are kind of more brassy, which suits armour more.
The shield may work in dark too, but maybe a mixture of the two tones will give him some contrast (depending on what you have planned for between the armour), maybe with the chest and shoulders in the lighter tone to match the shield.
I just feel that if he's all one tone it may be too much. But that depends on what else you are doing with his scheme.

You've got the right idea here- consider if you will the various colors of hot metal- it starts at a dark 'cherry' red, then goes to bright red, then straw yellow, then bright yellow, then white. Orange isn't actually often seen, except maybe right between red and yellow (but that's really the Straw yellow part, which is not quite orange, but more of a dull yellow).

Also considering heating patterns- you've got it pretty well done here, but the edges are going to be either the hottest part, if the heat is coming from outside. The hottest bit would be in the middle, if they're in the process of cooling down. If the heat is coming from the body of the demon, maybe the bottom and center of the plates are hottest, and the top edges cooler.

Right now, it's mostly at the Straw Yellow color- I'd say get some more highlights in there, for the greater contrast. I'm sure I don't have to tell you about this, but I've found that contrast is the best way to show something 'glowing'. And just little spots of an ivory white did a lot to make the molten metal in my own Crucible terrain piece pop.

Alternately, you could go with actual MOLTEN metal, with slag islands floating along on it- I think you were starting to do that a little, but you have to think more 'plate tectonics' when doing it- reference is your friend here.

Wow Klaus, definitely liking this one. I can almost see these at gods or titans fighting.

I can't wait to see how it all turns out!

OMG 5 months!
I'm really sorry for the long silence.
I had a pretty bad encounter with a "tennis arm" which incpacipated me for a long time. It still feels bad and I'm often in pain, but by now th evibe is back and I was able to pick up my brushes again.

Since the last update


I did change quite a lot.
I didn't really like the way it had turned out - especially since I couldn't get the "temperature" across. So I repainted the metal armor parts in a kind of burnt-out metal and added the glowing lava feeling to the sections between the armor


From here it was mainly increasing the lava effects


A first posing check with the new color scheme


I also added some glow effects back onto the armor


Still needs plenty of clean-up


But I think the burning feeling is now visible


With the cloak (base color only)


I was afraid I'd had to repaint the shield too, but I think it still fits


Eye to eye


Still a long way to go, but I really like it


What do you think? Is it worth continuing?
Cheers
Klaus

Yes, I'd like to see this finished! Sorry to hear about your injury, don't over-stress things!

--Brian

Definitely worth continuing- rock on!

I was a little iffy in the first pic, the armor and the glow kinda were fighting...and then you added the cloak and sheild and it snapped in to "looking good!" Kinda shocked the second model stays supported, going to be impressive if you keep going, and I hope you do.

WOW!

Those two would be challenging enough without reposing and re purposing. Love the colors on them!

Geez guys!
I'm really sorry for the long absence.
First I was plagued with a tennis arm that took forever to cure and I fell inevitable into a really deep motivation hole.
It took forever to recover and just a few weeks before the Corona outbreak I finally got back to some hobby time - on a side note, since the outbreak and being officially confined to home office by the company I have actually a lot LESS time, sa the wife and cats demand time and attention kinda contiously :-P

I didn't want to post anything unless I was really sure I could keep it up and finish it. So here is now a rather long update with images, but I was able to really finish this piece :-D

So last time I posted the situation looked like this - and many pointing out that it didn't look firy enough and was too yellow.


So I reworked most of the colors and gave him a sword instead of the spear


I also applied some glow effects


I like the blade


Next I worked on the base in an attempt to create some lava landscape


I think I achieved the lava feeling




For the angel I envisioned some white/Ice/cold armor as a contrast to the hot/firy/lava of the hellspawn
Working in sections I started with a light blue, added dark blue shadows and then slowly worked up to almost white


I didn't stricklty follow the light situation, but rahter went from dark to light on all pieces - just with a darker base color in the shadowy sections (if that makes any sense)


Depending on the light the armor looks totally white, or light blue


Next was the underside of the "wings"


While the top side looks much brighter


Slwoly, section by section


Then I added some first OSL effects form the lava base and the hellspawn


Initially it was only the areas facing the base and directly in contact with the hellspawn


Unfortunately I have no images for the last steps...
But here is the finished scene of the Ethernal Struggle












And from a slightly different angle










And the finaly two



So I really wanted to thank you for checking in here and looking for updates, thank you for your support and patience
Thank you for caring and acompanying me on this journey
Please stay safe in these wierd times!
Cheers
Klaus, not Santa

Glad your arm healed up okay.

Gorgeous work as always, loving that sword, beautiful effect.

Good job, Klaus. Always a pleasure to see your work.

Wow, it's been quite a while huh?

Sorry, but I lost my Mojo for a while (again) and did a lot of other stuff.
But thanks to the Massive Voodoo Challenge ( https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOk7jc4WuqHOFzfAAMGSWEysc-d5o-mg6NzgiQxQwICC9oQ7bBTvONnsDYFyPLaMw?key=eDdKZmFkaEFKVmM0TzJiQXZ0T2xhbkhrbENkY2JB ) I did get some stuff done

Here is what I've done for the MV-Challenge:


01 – HELLO SWEETIE
Vladimir’s first assignment after Space Academy took him to the Dietrich Sector where he conducted several free-space experiments far above the Marlene gas giant. But regardless how challenging his experiments were he could only think of his great love – Wilma.
She was his first and last though and he imagined her face wherever he looked – and in his heart she always spoke to him, greeting him in her usual way “Hello Sweetie”.


02 – PLUMMING
While her husband Vladimir was on a space assignment Wilma was drafted for a special experiment in nano exploration. The experiment called for an experimental craft and its crew to be shrunk to nano size and injected into the body of a VIP human. Once in the bloodstream the crew was to find and remove arterial clogging in several spots.
Wilma’s task was to use the special build nano laser and remove the thrombosis in the arteria pulmonalis.


03 – CLOSE ENCOUNTER
In their 50th year of space travel Wilma and Vladimir were assigned to the research vessel Simul Viator to observe the tidal impact of the moon Caracho’s passage in close proximity to the planet Crushemal.
Parking the Simul Viator in a very close orbit Wilma and Vladimir could closely observe the tectonic forces which frequently ripped the upper crust of Caracho apart keeping the surface in a constant turmoil. Their research led to further successful expeditions to Crushemal and Caracho and quite lucrative mining enterprises.


04 – DRAGONS DEN
Having earned their reputation as successful researchers Wilma and Vladimir could cherry pick any assignment or expedition they wanted. And highest on their bucket list was to find the sunken city of Osiris on Kerbal.
After several week of painstaking inspection of the Kerbal jungles they finally stumbled into the remains of an ancient Osiris temple. But just as they were examining the relics and treasures golden eyes and glowing nostrils flared to live!
They stumbled on the dragon Cymoril and her den – and no dragon takes it lightly when its stash is disturbed! The following frantic escape was a close shave and left both wounded and deeply shaken.


05 – STAR PAINTER
Following their narrow escape on Kerbal Vladimir fell into a deep depression. He felt responsible for their almost deadly encounter with Cymoril the dragon and the wounds Wilma and he suffered that day.
To free Vladimir from his stupor Wilma tried many things – most unsuccessful. But one day she dressed up as Vladimirs favorite singer Axl Rose playing November Rain at full power and painting the stars for him and he finally woke.


06 – WHERE ASTRONAUTS ARE BORN
With the song November Rain still blasting in his ears Vladimir finally rose from his depression feeling elated and newborn.
He felt so great he could take on the world … no the universe!
He was ready to rock the universe together with Wilma.


07 – DANGER SURF
Following a long recuperation time on Alto with rather low key expeditions Wilma and Vladimir deiced to have a bit more fun and to check off their bucket list.
So in their 75th year of space travel the next item on Wilma’s list was to surf in the dramatic waves of Northgard. While the waves were quite famous it was quite less known that huge predators roamed the Northgard ocean.
An just was Wilma was surfing one of the best waves she ever experienced a giant Cultösaurus broek the surface attempting to snatch her for a light breakfast.
But Wilma would not have any of it. She out surfed the beast easily and after a prolonged chase the creature broke off the hunt with a frustrated snort.


08 - INTO THE LIGHT
After 150 years of constant space travel, at age 180, Wilma and Vladimir embark on their final journey. Ever since they met at Space Academy they went together on almost all assignments, and now as one nano bot after the other in their body failed and could no longer keep up with the repairs their bodies needed, Wilma and Vladimir became frail and old.
But one small step after the other the two shuffled their way forward, on to their final destination, the last big secret of live.

I hope you like them

Well, and I went a bit deeper into 3D modelling (with 55 it's getting harder to learn something new, but it's still fun)
And so to honor my astronauts I wanted to give Wilma a face, and this is my first serious digital sculpting attempt - I started it in (the free) Sculptris, but after several crashes I leapt deep into my bank account and switched to ZBrush

I hope I can print her soon, but ATM the basement is to cold for printing.

And some of you MAY remember my POLLUX and CASTOR walkers (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/images-32373-39181_Thalos%20Walker.html)


which I really liked, but never completed and then gave away (regrettably)


and so I started to give them a try in ZBrush


Still a long way to go and even more to learn
Cheers and a merry Christmas season
Ho Ho Ho

Wow indeed! Welcome back.

Always great to see your work

Love the Star Painter. Don't know why but I get a Red Dwarf intro vibe as well as feeling like a coyote is about to fly by on rocket powered roller skates .

Nice work on all the projects.

"Wow" kinda sums it up. Welcome back!

Welcome back Klaus- missed seeing you here and gaining inspiration (and sheer Wow! Factor, as others have noted) from your work.

Glad you've got your mojo back- it looks very much like you've put it to very good use.

_Love_ the story arc vignette! If you are still adding episodes, there is always your spacefaring duo coming upon the rift into another world (I believe you titled that one 'The Guardian' when you completed it).

Big or small, can't wait to see what comes next.

Zbrush? ZBRUSH!?

Dude! BLENDER! Free, open-source, does Sculpting, Modeling, Animation, Painting, Drawing, Texturing, Video Editing... You could probably do your _taxes_ in Blender!

Zbrush isn't even supposed to be a sculpting software! It was started as a fancy paint-program system!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I will admit, though, that I'm impressed you managed to get as much detail as you did in your mech. Zbrush is notoriously weird when trying to do multi-part sculpts.

Wow, glad to see so many still visiting here
Feels like coming home

Anvildude wrote:
Zbrush? ZBRUSH!?

Dude! BLENDER! Free, open-source, does Sculpting, Modeling, Animation, Painting, Drawing, Texturing, Video Editing... You could probably do your _taxes_ in Blender!

Zbrush isn't even supposed to be a sculpting software! It was started as a fancy paint-program system!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I will admit, though, that I'm impressed you managed to get as much detail as you did in your mech. Zbrush is notoriously weird when trying to do multi-part sculpts.

I have to admit, I never got the hang of Blender. With ZBrush I had the start with Sculptris (free) and it felt natural to me - almost like real clay sculpting, and so the switch came easy. The hard-surface stuff now is ... different ... but I'm slowly getting a hang of it.

So here's an update with the first armor plates:






Cheers
Klaus