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.

http://imgur.com/a/Yk5aD

1) Sorry about the poor photo quality. Photography is not my strongsuit.
2) I like the shading effect of the washes, but am very disappointed by the glossy look they gave in the recesses. Could this be mitigated by some thinned out matt stuff?
3) I will probably choose a more subtle blue next time since they're dirty cultist lowlifes.
4) Anything else you would suggest would be welcome.

yes matt would decrease the gloss. if you wanna get a more fleshy tone id use a red wash on the skin.

 Ineedvc2500 wrote:
yes matt would decrease the gloss. if you wanna get a more fleshy tone id use a red wash on the skin.

Actually, the skin tone came out how I wanted; I didn't think the cultists would have a healthy rosy complexion.

EDIT: Will generic matt from an arts store do the job or will I need to special order some?

generic should work

 themanclaw wrote:

 Ineedvc2500 wrote:
yes matt would decrease the gloss. if you wanna get a more fleshy tone id use a red wash on the skin.

Actually, the skin tone came out how I wanted; I didn't think the cultists would have a healthy rosy complexion.

EDIT: Will generic matt from an arts store do the job or will I need to special order some?

I use Windsor and Newton Matt Varnish and it works really well. Lovely even finish every time, but make sure you shake it before use!

*edit - not sure if it's available in the US.

Looks great mate! Maybe you could make the skin a little lighter to fix the shinyness of the skin? Definitely good enough for the table.

If you used gw paints, the wash is shiny where it has pooled because you didn't shake it enough first. They have a matting agent already, but it reforms like sediment after a while and needs a good 30 second shake to mix back in.

They look good from what I can see, especially after a long break. My only advice would be on the washes, as there are as a few places where it has pooled. If you want to paint loads of them for the tabletop, then no problem. If you want to improve your painting, use an empty brush to draw out pools. Use washes more like glazes, to darken specific areas (like folds in clothing), and then add highlights for a more natural finish.

Hope that's useful, and keep posting pictures

they're lovely especially after so long a break

just to add to what others have said above, matte varnish is a great friend, I use liquitex which is an art brand places like Michael's typically have. For our purposes, small minis, it tends to last a really long time so even tho a big bottle can be a bit expensive it's going to last almost forever.

Re: the colours and washes, aside from what JamesY says the only thing I'd add is if you want 'dirty' colours don't think just using a brown or black wash, think about using some oddball colour, then a dark wash on top. Reason I mention this is this is exactly what I did with some of my clanrats and I really like how it came out. You can always try it first on something, see how you like the look. Or just go straight to a nuln oil or agrax earthshade wash. It was a lot of fun tho, randomly using washes on - for me - bright colours. Purple on orange? Green on yellow? Anyway just a thought

welcome back to minis! hope you're enjoying yourself