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I agree wholeheartedly with peregrine. One 7 on cmon does not a professional make.

The fact my pics on cmon have steadily risen from high 4's and low 5's, to steady low - mid 6's tells me I'm improving overall, and not just painted one good fig.

If I can get three 7's in a row, THEN, I'll maybe start thinking I'm not too bad, and look at how I can take things up another level. In order to try and push myself to a 7, I'm looking at having to get to grips with osl, nnm, decent freehand, and taking my bases up a couple of notches, all at the same time.

You are making good progress, and I wish you the best of luck in your quest for a 7, but I suspect it'll take a few more models yet.

Ahh ok. Thank you. Once again you are all rite. It's got a 5.1 :(. That's the same as it got before it was finished :(. Well I may have a way to go but I'll get there .

I wouldn't worry too much about ratings dude, it'll come. Just don't get too bogged down with immediate improvement, it takes time.

Yep, think of a challenge, and find a solution. When i think of it, it's exactly how I worked through learning to paint to this point (We're always refining and learning more). Don't worry about getting the entire package flawless at first. Refine and improve the basics first.

I got foundations and basics down; Straight forward blending, understanding paint consistency, making/using washes, pin-stripe & edge highlighting. But there was always those things I dread; teeth, bone, skin, stubble, complex blending, and a long list of other subtle techniques. Problem was, I couldn't avoid them, so one-by-one I was forced to confront each specific situation and work out a method. Once you zero in on a step-by-step method that works for you it takes some practice to get good at it, before you can even get great. But good is much better than many.

Once I have methods for certain 'dread' techniques, I started to see how to use those techniques to solve other methods that intimidated me. Be glad you live in a time of abundant quality washes, for example. I had to discover their magic on my own and mix my own bottles for years.

When you finish a model look at it and see what you did right, ok, and wrong, (be honest with yourself). Then think how you might be able to improve the things that need improving. Confidence will grow much faster as you see your own improvement and as you have those 'ah-ha!' moments when you figure something out. I no longer dread teeth, bone, skin, and the long list of other tings is getting shorter... *Mutters* Still HATE freehand scroll work though...

Just wanted to chime back in here.

TP: Your showing a lot of improvement man! Really glad to see your coming along!
As everyone has pointed out CMoN can be extremely brutal! I paint for a living(Mostly) and I think my highest rating is just below an 8. Don't worry if you score a 5 or 6. That's still a quality TT piece on there!

Keep practicing and it will come!

One thing though, you said earlier that you couldn't afford to buy some cheap models to practice on, and now a couple of pages on you have an airbrush and are thinking of buying a camera?

I suspect he's got a simple 10 quid badger spray gun. Theyre basically just as naff as the gw sprayflamer.

Still, he should still be trying to concentrate on practicing the basics rather than shell out for extra bits. Especially when he's spraying washes.

1: CMoN are brutal, but thats because the models on there really do go above and boyond any form of reality
The standards are insane, but only because the models are just as insane.

2: That swarmlord really is a massive improvement on your other work, that is the sort of work you want to be showing.

3: To boost that 5.1, look more at the model and what you can do with it.
Nids are fairly plain, but there is still a ton you can do to boost that rating.

Feathering - You getting there with it, but the transitions in colour are a bit heavy still.
Try heavily watering down the darker colours and feathering that between the 2.
It will take alot of layers, but it dries quickly and gives a much smoother finish to it.

Basing - I agree with the grass here, it is a bit much.
Most people tend to have small clumps of grass areas as it keeps it looking neat and tidy, rather than a bit crowded.

Add in some effects - The eyes are a nice one to work with on nids and can draw alot of attention, even something as simple as adding a glow to the eyes really makes the head stand out more.

Those bone sabers take up a fair bit of the model, so they draw a ton of attention.
Try adding some form of effect to them so they stand out more.
Even adding a glow effect to the edging or anything will help.

The biggest issue i can see on your work is "paint by numbers syndrome"
You paint the model fine and catch all the detail, but your only seeing the details that are there.
If you want to boost this even more, look for a way of adding in more effects, be it freehand, NMM, source lighting ect.
Anything will help to make a model stand out.
Even simple things like free handing a pattern on cloaks and capes add alot of depth.

Hmm this forum seems to consist of me and a load of mentors lol. I'm not moaning, this thread has become a goldmine of advice and I'm so greatful. The base on the Swarmlord I wanted it to look like a highland medow but I guess it is abit much. I've already alterd the design of my next project, a magnetized Carnifex .

Personaly I really like the heavy static grass, everyone these days seems to be fighting in a dustbowl or a icy tundra.

Now we just need to get TP to start uploading to the Dakka gallery so I can see his images

The few times I catch this thread at home, I can see improvement, but I have no idea what his Swarmlord looks like

Edit: This him?


Looks a lot better than some of your initial offerings. You are improving, and I believe as quicker pace than I ever did, good on ya man!

Tip for basing, or any untested technique or method; test it out! You don't even need a spare base or an extra miniature, just use anything really. Some examples...

Take a strip of rigid board or plastic, glue it up, and base it like a proper miniature. Even add rocks or other common details you plan to add to the base scheme. Then go to town testing processes and techniques and make a mistake on something that does not matter. Static grass is a product that needs a bit of practice to get right, and as mentioned, it's best used in smaller clumps to accent a base. A 'field' of it can be used, but it's a more advanced technique, and something usually done by people doing a more in-depth theme. While you want to do great work, more is not always great. Great is found in the right balance of simple and complex. And as a tip for static grass in general; apply a small blob/smear of glue in a nook-or-cranny, then ease the glued area into a 'fluffed up' pile of Grass. You want the grass loose and fluffy so it attaches in a natural way, and you'll get nice bursts of wild grass. Take care where and how much you place; think like nature, grass and weed find their way into the nooks-and-crannies of rocks. while the glue is still wet you can use a small tool to nudge the grass a bit if you want to shape it, but be careful. You can also gather up little clumps with tweezers and place them, but it's really fiddly work.

Use some primed up plastic sprew to test painting techniques. Feathering is a perfect place for this; not sure of a colour scheme or if you've got the right paint consistency? Test it. With a sprew you have a long regular shape that you can feather up-and-down until you get it right. Trust me, for most techniques there's an 'ah-ha!' moment where you suddenly see what's happening and how you're doing it. Sprew is also a great place to test highlighting; with such a good long corner you can try things out.

And a final tip for a camera (Since I feel I may have opened the can-o-worms on that) is to get a used or refurbished to save cost. I only just stop using my old refurbished $75 Canon that I got years ago. The subject matter is so small that cutting edge resolution is not necessary; troll ebay or factory outlet flyers for something 5-6 mega-pixel with a Macro, Manual Mode, that runs on AA batteries (so you can use rechargeable) and don't buy until you see something you can honestly afford. With such a visual hobby, a modestly good camera is one of those really useful things that is hard to do without, in my opinion. Any Canon PowerShot series that runs on AAs is my preferred brand. Again, personal preference.

 dragqueeninspace wrote:
Personaly I really like the heavy static grass, everyone these days seems to be fighting in a dustbowl or a icy tundra.

Well my fave terrain is Ice and snow and basically a frozen norths scheme but it's not colourful enough for my nids. I my fluff they have there own planet where they farm megafaunas to get there biomatter. Tbh I don't think I've even seen an icy tundra board in rl. I have on the internet but most of the boards I've played on are wastelands, fields/meadows/farms or deserts. But thank you for the compliment. It's nice to know there's someone else out there that likes the meadow/field look .


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 Alfndrate wrote:
Now we just need to get TP to start uploading to the Dakka gallery so I can see his images

The few times I catch this thread at home, I can see improvement, but I have no idea what his Swarmlord looks like

Edit: This him?


Looks a lot better than some of your initial offerings. You are improving, and I believe as quicker pace than I ever did, good on ya man!

Yep, thet's him .

 dragqueeninspace wrote:
Personaly I really like the heavy static grass, everyone these days seems to be fighting in a dustbowl or a icy tundra.

heavy static grass is fine, it just... did not work out on this base. It still needs to be built up properly with the painted sand under it, and made to be somewhat vertical. It looks slapdash on the model.

The ribcage needs work there is no depth in it. Its a HUGE improvement from your other projects. Id touch up the flesh with some highlights and wash to give it depth.

Well Taking everyone advice on the photo's I decided to use it on my finished magnetized Swarmlord/Hive Tyrant/Flyrant and this is what I came up with:







.
So Watcha think? This item is currently on ebay. PM me if interested in the details. Thanks.

Very nice dude. A huge improvement in such a short time

tomcat31 wrote:
Very nice dude. A huge improvement in such a short time

Thank you very much. I like to think of myself as a fast learner .

Looking like a huge improvement, I think the photo colours might be a shade off (assuming the background was white?) I took the liberty of running it through a quick editor to see if this is closer to what it looks like in person? (Hope you arent offended by the attempt to help with picture)



The only thing I could point out is there is a join gap on the front of that gun that stands out a little. Miles better than I could do with tyranids though.

Nice improvement. I would like to see a little more definition on the white flesh parts. When I look at the muscles for example, it's hard to see much different between the tops of the muscles and the areas between them. I think addressing this would result in a very nice figure.

I think you have the detail parts figured out. The skin needs some contrast. An easy method for that is to wash it then highlight using the same color again just over raised details.

When this thread first started I thought for sure it would become some fiasco that ended with you leaving Dakka. I'm glad that is not the case, and that you've applied the criticism you received here to massively improve your painting.

And barrels need to be drilled, 100% of the time.

I'm loving the look of your carapaces actually, with the gloss varnish under the strong light, they almost look like gems.

Only thing I'd say is that the black outline around the green bits on the arm looks a bit cartoonish... perhaps a deep green would work better and look less cell-shaded.

The tongue looks very one-dimensional, perhaps try blending a bit of colour back into the throat, perhaps going into the deep blue from the turquoise?

Have you highlighted the black claws with anything? It could be my eyes but they look plain black. Are they to-do?

And finally, I think the whip needs a bright colour on it. With the beige and the blue, you've got a nice green on one set of arms, and the red on another set, but on the whip its a washed-out version of the carapace colour and it's just not visually interesting. Perhaps do it red, pink or green?

Aside from what everyone else has said, you should apply some very light gray/pure white to the white skin areas, which look a bit flat at the moment! The wings could use some line highlights on the bottom edge of the folds as well - it would add some definition and form.

All in all, however, you're making massive improvements! Your brush control is much better now!

~Tim?

 Some_Call_Me_Tim? wrote:
Aside from what everyone else has said, you should apply some very light gray/pure white to the white skin areas, which look a bit flat at the moment! The wings could use some line highlights on the bottom edge of the folds as well - it would add some definition and form.

All in all, however, you're making massive improvements! Your brush control is much better now!

~Tim?

Thank you. I'll take your advice onto my next project. A magnetized carnifex That I intend to show you all soon enough.

Has anyone recommended a wet palette yet? It would certainly help with blending and feathering!

 Thokt wrote:
Has anyone recommended a wet palette yet? It would certainly help with blending and feathering!

Yes they have and yes I have one and yes I've used it on the Hive Tyrant. Is it not noticeable? Hmm, perhaps I need more practice with it.

The blending is looking better nidpainter, try stepping your game up by getting some of this:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/24547338?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227018217243&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=25410153756&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=50625454476&veh=sem



its at least what I use!

Buddy at game store showed me a chaos dragon chicken thing, that he blended green to blue to purple very very well with the stuff and I was sold!

I actually think you should keep the strong outlines on those details. Not everything has to be perfect realism. Style is a valid reason to keep things like that and I like it.

That tyrant shows some great improvement on your part. The photo is good (though you could always use more lights and better reflectors) and the painting is nice and clean. The green bits look really good.

 Rented Tritium wrote:
Style is a valid reason to keep things like that and I like it.

This. Monkeyh built and painted a fantastically beautiful chaos space marine army. My gods, the titans were amazing. I only held issue with the plasma gun because it looked like ice than it did EMR. There were a few complaints, but he proceeded to ignore everyone's opinion.

And monkeyh has painted some really good stuff.