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Shiny Models are shiny >.<

That warrior is by far the best you've posted so far but if i may apply a little critique.....

You need to put more wash on the bone coloured carapace, thin the wash a little and don't be afraid to apply multiple coats - use it almost as if it were a paint, put more into the recessess.

The drybrushing on the swords looks chalky :S Try using some edge highlighting instead: Wash the basecoat with a much darker colour, then mix white into the basecoat in 50/50 proportions and use just the edge of your brush to paint along the edges of the sword. It's a really easy technique to do and i personally think it would help make the swords stand out a bit more. Often, just using a different technique on differing parts of the model can make the all the difference

 J.Black wrote:
That warrior is by far the best you've posted so far but if i may apply a little critique.....

You need to put more wash on the bone coloured carapace, thin the wash a little and don't be afraid to apply multiple coats - use it almost as if it were a paint, put more into the recessess.

The drybrushing on the swords looks chalky :S Try using some edge highlighting instead: Wash the basecoat with a much darker colour, then mix white into the basecoat in 50/50 proportions and use just the edge of your brush to paint along the edges of the sword. It's a really easy technique to do and i personally think it would help make the swords stand out a bit more. Often, just using a different technique on differing parts of the model can make the all the difference

Ah ha, thank you. That's sound advice. I am already halfway through my prime atm. I'll use that technique with him .


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 Bloodhorror wrote:
Shiny Models are shiny >.<

Err, yes. Well observed *slowly backs away* lol.

I could be wrong, but I think what he was getting at with the shiny comment, is that glossy minis can sometimes look a bit meh. We spend all the time putting highlights and shadows where we want them, then when you make it glossy like that, the real highlights are obvious, and can detract from our man-made ones.

I give my dipped minis a blast of testors dullcote, and they come back to 'normal' I think you'd maybe get away with a glossy carapace, but glossy all over can look a bit much.

Yeah that is what I meant.

Word for Word

gloss can also be used in and of itself as a detail element. If i need something to look like liquid: add gloss.

 Bloodhorror wrote:
Yeah that is what I meant.

Word for Word

Oh right. Sorry I just thought you were being cute lol. Do you have any suggestions as to what I can use to remove the shine on the dipped models?


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 J.Black wrote:
That warrior is by far the best you've posted so far but if i may apply a little critique.....

You need to put more wash on the bone coloured carapace, thin the wash a little and don't be afraid to apply multiple coats - use it almost as if it were a paint, put more into the recessess.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I've just used this technique on my Hive Guard and WOW! It turned out better than I thought it would. Hopefully it'll be finished soon and then I'll be able to show it on here .


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 Jackal wrote:

For a good start, try this:



Just a basic eldar farseer.
Its plastic, so just needs mould lines trimmed and no worry about finecast issues.
Its only £12.
The base is decorated to start with, so its an instant hit for people.

This models gives you the chance to show off a bit, with a glow from the blade lighting up the cloak area.
The cloak can be blended or have freehand work done on it.
There is plenty of detail to really add depth to it.
There are also alot of solid lines to edge highlight.

Overall its a nice model you can use as a showpiece as there are enough elements to it that you can really make it stand out.

Oh, and best of luck aswell, its a long road, but its worth it in the end.

Right well I know it's been a while since you gave me this challenge and you may not even see this post now but I finaly got round to doing it and here is the finished product:





I am very proud of this model. I know the blade needs improvements, I've never been any good at getting the glowing effect and as always anyone's advice will be much appriciated. So Yeh, tell me what you think guys.


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Now just to mix things up abit, here's something I made the other week:

I can't believe nobody's commented on this forum since my last post. It's been a full day :(. I guess people are getting fed up. I hope not.
Anyway here's that hive guard I was talking about. In my opinion it's the best model I've uploaded up to now:








Btw that eldar only got a rating of 5 :(.

Looking good.

Troll hunter anywhere? This is borderline trolling at best.

If this is meant as a serious topic and announcement i can only pile on and say that nearly everything said here (not by TC) is true, borderline devine

That is by far THE best model you've done. it looks great imo.
But why don't you ask a MOD to move this thread to the P&M blog? and i think you should rename the threads name to.

The nid looks great, can not say the same for the seer...

Like the Nid.

Dislike the Farseer.


Not much help I can offer really... but there we go.

Thoroughly impressed by your progress in such a short time

 TyranidPainter wrote:

Right well I know it's been a while since you gave me this challenge and you may not even see this post now but I finaly got round to doing it and here is the finished product:





I am very proud of this model. I know the blade needs improvements, I've never been any good at getting the glowing effect and as always anyone's advice will be much appriciated. So Yeh, tell me what you think guys.

Alright, I am going to try to tackle this one since no one else has. Here we go.
I'm going to start with the bad, yes there is a bit.

1) Unfortunately it looks like you took a step backwards with your paints. It look to me like instead of steadily building up the layers of paint to get even coverage you rushed and used a thick layer. This is the most apparent on the white and the chest.
Remember to thin your paints and build the colour up. On the back of the cape, it looks like you didn't build an even basecoat before moving on. That is why you have the uneven looking red. The gold on the chest still had red bleeding through because the basecoat wasn't applied correctly.
2) Controlling brush strokes. When looking at the close up you can see all the places where your brush applied colour where it shouldn't have.
3) Shading. With this model a simple wash could help bring out the definition of the model. The chest is the main problem. The creases in the sleeve and folds of the robe are the same colour as the rest of the robe. A wash of black into the recess would help bring up your colours.
4) Missed details. This model has so many runes and stones and you just painted them the same colours as the area around them. This would have been a perfect chance to practice your detailing.
5) Colour choice. Eldar are fun models. I'd have added more colours to bring it to life. The hannds could have been a different colour to break up all of the red.

Now onto the good things.

1) It's great to see you put forward the effort to improve and aren't disheartened by criticism.
2) The base looks pretty good. A few touch ups and it's solid.
3) The latest Tyranids look good!

Good luck mate! Keep practicing!
Cheers
Aj

Sorry, irrelivant but I have to ask. Why do you blow us kisses at the end of every post?

Heh.

Guess I can say something about the Seer, little hard to get the details of the model you have a very strong light hitting the model, this causes shadows and glare and take out details, adding a light cloth between the light and the model will correct this, also good if you can get like 2 different light sources to evenly light up the model.

For the cloak it looks like you have a wash just randomly painted across it, the eye will see darker colors as deeper and lighter colors as closer so you’re going to want to have dark red on the bottom, then a layer of normal red covering everything that is not deep in the cloak this can be like 50% of the cloak, and then a lighter red that just runs on the very highest folds and this will be like 10%, and to help blend it all finish with a red wash. If you want it to look GW just add a lot more layers like maybe 6-7, working from dark red through red and into orange

For the face it looks like you added eyes, it’s a helmet it does not have eyes if you’re going for glare mix the white and blue together and add it towards the edge, add white to the very edge and wash blue on it and this will have it go dark to lighter.

For Gems (omg eldar have so many gems) you layer a little different you start with dark on the top (like top in height wise) and work in arcs going towards the bottom of the model with a tiny white on the top to show the light coming in. And finish with a shiny gloss so it does reflect.

PS just from front page to the last page so I have no idea what happened in the middle.

winterdyne wrote:
The 'Ardcoat I've used in the past didn't need watering and dried to a beautiful high gloss finish, and very clear.

Perhaps they've changed the formula, and not for the better...

Try Vallejo's gloss (it's very good), or Klear floor polish (also works very well). With the Klear, you need to clean brushes with a little ammonia solution or windolene type stuff - plain water doesn't quite cut it. I'd recommend using older brushes for that.

Constructively, your basing is letting you down - you're being way too heavy with the static grass. Apply in small clumps over a brown earth base (painted sand) and you'll get a neater result:


Also, pay attention to the rim; make sure your coat there is solid and smooth and even as possible. I get scrappy here in terms of finish sometimes, but aim for a solid colour and it won't draw the eye too much.

What are these models? They look fantastic,

Perry wars of the roses plastic archers. And yes, they're lovely, if a bit fiddly on the assembly/cleanup. And 40 models per box (4 full harness men at arms, 24 archers, 12 bill men) for £20 RRP. Most places still do these for £18 retail.

Thats a fantastic deal for some very nice models.

 TraleC wrote:
Sorry, irrelivant but I have to ask. Why do you blow us kisses at the end of every post?

Heh.

I don't. I used to but then someone told me looked unproffessional so I stopped. I was just being polite though........X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X lol XD.


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BrotherVord wrote:
Thoroughly impressed by your progress in such a short time

Thank you so much .


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BrotherVord wrote:
Thoroughly impressed by your progress in such a short time

Thank you so much .


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I am quite dissheartend by people's comments on the seer. I thought it was very good but I have undersood and taken in what you've all said. To answer a couple of you at the same time, I tried blending on the cloak but I started with middle tone and then added a darker one to the folds and a lighter one to the edge. I guess I should've gone from dark to light. Also I didn't realise you had to go from light to dark on the gems instead of dark to light. That was where I went wrong there, there are a heck of alot of gems on the farseer. Clearly they're well off lol. And the eyes were just supposed to look like a glare on the lenses other than acctual eyes. I'm tempted to buy another one to try again.

Hello tyranidpainter. I could not read 15 pages but all I can say is its good to see your attitude has changed mate. You are def getting better. You can also use like a black cardboard for a backdrop if you cannot get the gradient paper.


Best of luck.

Just gotta convince you to upload it to the dakka gallery so us poor workblocked sods can see your progress

 kronicpsycho wrote:
Hello tyranidpainter. I could not read 15 pages but all I can say is its good to see your attitude has changed mate. You are def getting better. You can also use like a black cardboard for a backdrop if you cannot get the gradient paper.


Best of luck.

Well you can't have read 15 pages as there's only 13 up to now lol. Thank you for the compliment. What is gradient paper though?

i like that tyrant guard. The grey flesh could have been fleshier, but I'm diging the grittier look he's sporting.

 Alfndrate wrote:
Just gotta convince you to upload it to the dakka gallery so us poor workblocked sods can see your progress

Alright sorry. The next time I get on a computer I'll do it.


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 poda_t wrote:
i like that tyrant guard. The grey flesh could have been fleshier, but I'm diging the grittier look he's sporting.

Thank you. I didn't want it to look like flesh or bone. Stone would be better so I'm glad you called it grey.

Don’t be disheartened everyone can be a critic and everyone has their own point of views, and painting style sometimes they match yours sometimes they don't. I have an Eldar army so I have painted lots of gems and lots of cloaks with my fantasy WOC. And honestly there are many ways you can paint a cloak, gems, and faces, pretty much everything. Keep the farseer you have now and test different ways and these are just my thoughts.

1 Layers, Dark red on everything, red on 50% staying away from deep parts, light red on the tips, red wash to help blend.

2. Washes, Red on everything, throw a black wash like ExiledMiniatures said to the deep parts to shade them.

3. Wet blending, dark red on everything while the paint is still wet just start painting more colors over it until you get to the tip using any colors you want. Example dark red into red, into light red, into orange.

4. Pure washes (this can get a little crazy, and take a couple of tries to get something you like) have the cloak a very light color, like white and do reverse layers do the whole cape in a red wash once very lightly, let it dry, then another layer but hitting this time just deeper parts. as multiple layers makes them darker and darker until the very bottom parts have like 3-5 layers and a very dark red. Depending on your wash, if you water them down and how heavy you apply them you can get different affects like a liquid looking cape, gooey looking, and faded looks.

5. Make your own design, have lighting shouting out of it, make a bunch of lines all the way down, draw peacock feather, lots of circles whatever you think is cool/themed, use a very light wash on the deep parts to help pull the distance of the cloak.

6. Google, search other forum posts, check blogs, website, and youtube.

Not sure if your question has been answered but after dipping models spray them with a matte varnish such as testors dullcoat. That should get rid of the shiny.

 TyranidPainter wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:
Just gotta convince you to upload it to the dakka gallery so us poor workblocked sods can see your progress

Alright sorry. The next time I get on a computer I'll do it.

If you're taking your pictures on something like an iPod or an iPhone, you can upload them straight to the Dakka Gallery from there. I do it all the time

 Alfndrate wrote:
Just gotta convince you to upload it to the dakka gallery so us poor workblocked sods can see your progress

Sorted. Go ahead and see them .