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Finished finally - after countless sleepless nights. This is a part of my commission work for D.G. Some of these are include impromptu dioramas - I wasn't commissioned to make proper ones since these are his gaming pieces.
To show that I didn't just shine a spotlight from one angle when taking the photos, I've uploaded some videos as well.
These vids may not be available in some countries because of the copyright issue. If you can't watch them, just go to these links instead
Initially I was interested in object source lighting, then thanks to Hamish Glenn, he introduced me to the term 'Chiaroscuro'. So I did some research and it's exactly the kind of effect I want to achieve.
For me - the main different between chiaroscuro and OSL is that you have the element of light (chiaro) and shadow (scuro). For the implementation of this technique on 25mm minis, I painted the details first, then spray the highlight and shadow in order.
The concept is to use as little color and emphasize on the balancing of the contrast between light and dark while retaining considerable amount of detail. For me, it's against the nature of miniature painting to apply the chiaroscuro technique completely since this is miniature painting and there are details to be painted - so I had to compromise a bit.
I'm still doing more research about this as I see it as a way to develop my artistic identity. At the end of the day, I think everyone wants their works to be unique and different from others.
Hope you guys like it
Cheers Fasai
PS. To see the rest of this commission, please visit my facebook profile. Too many pics to upload here.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2011/04/02 17:07:16
Whilst I've no doubt that there is significant skill involved in producing the miniatures you have...I have to say I'm not a fan.
There's just such a lack of any kind of colour bar the odd splash here or there. Taking the stormbolter-wielding Terminator as an example; he just looks entirely grey except for a tiny bit of red on his gun and shoulderpad. I'm sure that was the overall effect you were going for but...I don't know, it's definitely not my personal cup of tea.
Lycaeus Wrex wrote:Whilst I've no doubt that there is significant skill involved in producing the miniatures you have...I have to say I'm not a fan.
There's just such a lack of any kind of colour bar the odd splash here or there. Taking the stormbolter-wielding Terminator as an example; he just looks entirely grey except for a tiny bit of red on his gun and shoulderpad. I'm sure that was the overall effect you were going for but...I don't know, it's definitely not my personal cup of tea.
L. Wrex
Thanks for the honest opinion, Wrex.
I totally understand your point - I think you have to see them on the board to see the effects.
The lack of colors is deliberate, as I'm not really a big fan of GW style of painting and I'd like to try something new: something more menacing and less cartoon-like.
I'm not sure if you've seen the videos - but I guess it would make more sense if you saw the colors change as the models are turned.
I like. May not be every ones cup of tea, but you did do a excellent job. The first terminator showed has a little too much light on the face(different source maybe?)compared to the rest of his body...or I could be wrong. I have been pondering trying something similar, but am trying to get better on 3d mini's rather than paper.
Ikasarete Iru
Graffiti from Pompeii: VIII.2 (in the basilica); 1882: The one who buggers a fire burns his penis
Xenophanes: "If horses had Gods, they would look like horses!"
2011/04/01 19:00:31
Subject: Re:Chiaroscuro + OSL Space Hulk (Pic heavy)
An outstanding jobe nonetheless! And far better than anything I could do.
I think your Chiaroscuro and OSL effects are phenominal. I'm sure they look great with a dark and gritty space hulk board. However, I just can't imagine that chiaroscuro is a technique that should be used on a gaming miniature that will be picked up and moved around.
Regardless, a great job indeed. And props to you for trying something almost never seen in miniature painting.
The difference between commitment and involvement is like eggs and ham; the ckicken was "involved", the pig was "comitted".
Your talent is obvious and I appreciate the style greatly.
While I think these are incredible art pieces and that they look amazing in the photos, it's not something I would ever want to actually play a game with.
It's really difficult to implement chiaroscuro technique here without compromising some aspects of mini-painting.
For instance, if I added more colors then the light from the source would lose its impact.
I was hoping that by applying techniques from outside the miniature painting world, my works would look different. As a rookie, style identity means a lot to me, so I'll keep on working on this track (unless my customers requested otherwise).
My goal for the next few months or years is to improve my skill on the balancing of the light-dark and midtone. Will have to do a lot more research.
Thanks again for your comments. They are very encouraging and constructive.
I think that for a diorama/small miniature game (i.e. spacehulk) they look great because they fit together and clearly depict a low light situation, how ever I really cant imagine them on a table with lots of flock and trees and such.
~sam~
+ =
Trooper 86. Gamma platoon. squad III. SWO. of the Catachan 222
I think they look brilliant. They really capture what red looks like in the dark. Very thematic and suitable for space hulk models. I would love to have the skills to do something like this.
samius wrote:I think that for a diorama/small miniature game (i.e. spacehulk) they look great because they fit together and clearly depict a low light situation, how ever I really cant
imagine them on a table with lots of flock and trees and such.
Wazzdig Dagga wrote:I think they look brilliant. They really capture what red looks like in the dark. Very thematic and suitable for space hulk models. I would love to have the skills to do something like this.
Thank you
I agree - it'd look weird and out of place. I got a chaos sorcerer model (the faceless one) which the owner asked me to swap his mace for a torch and was planning to do something similar. I think it may be a good idea to reduce dark/light contrast in that case. Otherwise, it'd be like the whole army is in broad daylight and this guy alone is in the darkness, illuminated by his torch. Doesn't make much sense.
Not overly impressed with the end result, but found this process interesting.
I think the pieces lack a bit of interest (having only one direction for light / one light source - it's worth adding others by hand to draw the eye around).
Your lighting pass in particular also is a bit heavy - you lose a lot of definition of the model - you've had to use very heavy underlying edge highlights to get them to show through. I'd be tempted to use a much more subtle effect to keep the models looking a lot more consistent with each other and allow a smoother underlying edge highlighting method.
This said, it's worth bearing in mind this is commission work - and time is money - a pretty quick method shown here that I'll probably adopt at some point or other. :-)
Edit: And am I the only commission guy that drills barrels by default as part of the service? Tut tut.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2011/04/02 09:32:44
Massive amount of skill required to achieve this effect, but thats really only going to be appreciated by people who can understand the effort required to reach this look, to laymans these look almost unpainted.
I actually had to double check if the brood lord was painted, and I am honestly still not sure if it is or is just in extreme lighting on grey plastic, and thats a shame.
I think my mind will be completely changed if I see these in a diorama though, if the scene they are in has the same technique used they will likely look amazing, so please do post it if you do one!
the photography is pretty good, but it's difficult to tell what the actual models look like under naked or nominal lighting conditions!
i'm a big fan of chiaroscuro as an illustrative technique, and knowing how difficult it is, as a painter, to pull off with oils or acrylics, i'm appreciative of the attempt. i'll withhold judgment, however, until I see the models in an unfiltered photo =-)
I really appreciate it that everyone is being honest with their opinions. Will try my best to meet both the artistic and general miniature painting world.
In regards of the photography techniques - I'm still a noob and taking these pics with Canon Powershot sx100, nothing fancy. It's really hard to capture the way these models really look like in real life. That's why I added the videos as well.
nuclealosaur wrote: That's why I added the videos as well.
Cheers
Fasai
sadly i'm in the PRC and don't have ready access to either facebook or youtube =/ and I'm not about to run a VPN on my father in law's computer ^^
Hi - I assume that PRC stands for People's Republic of China. Do you mean they block those sites over there?
That really sucks. I got a friend from Viet Nam and he said they're blocked in Viet Nam as well.
Holy crap the hate in here is ridiculous. Just because he chose an alternative style (FOR A CUSTOMER NO LESS) doesn't mean these aren't amazing miniatures. If you don't like a particular style, keep it to yourself; don't let personal opinion get involved when it comes to judging something based off of skill. Nuclealosaur your painting is fantastic. The blending is absolutely incredible and you completely did the style you were going for justice. When things are in the dark they don't really have a whole lot of color, so naturally a mini painted to look that way wouldn't either. Great stuff all around man.
Attention all space marine bashing neckbeards: Nobody cares what you have to say, so stop trying and go cry yourself to sleep.
2011/04/02 16:39:32
Subject: Re:Chiaroscuro + OSL Space Hulk (Pic heavy)
DODcrazy wrote:Holy crap the hate in here is ridiculous. Just because he chose an alternative style (FOR A CUSTOMER NO LESS) doesn't mean these aren't amazing miniatures. If you don't like a particular style, keep it to yourself; don't let personal opinion get involved when it comes to judging something based off of skill. Nuclealosaur your painting is fantastic. The blending is absolutely incredible and you completely did the style you were going for justice. When things are in the dark they don't really have a whole lot of color, so naturally a mini painted to look that way wouldn't either. Great stuff all around man.
Thank you! I'm glad you liked the minis.
I appreciate your compliment, though at the same time I totally understand why these minis may not suit some people's taste. I'll try my hands on this technique next time I have a chance (and will not forget to drill holes on the guns!) - Thanks again for your constructive criticisms.
At the least, the owner took part in a Space Hulk event held in NZ last Friday and he said the dice gods approved of my minis so I'm totally happy with it.
50 Terminators reportedly joined (and consider we only have 4.4 mil in population, that's quite a lot of termies) and he only suffered 3 casualties throughout the campaign.
I really like this style and will probably try something similar at one point for a diorama I've planned.
I think it would help the overall look of the models a lot if you'd add a second, third or even more light sources.
Granted this will not work for every model and adds a lot of work, but for the termis you could do OSL with the shoulder lamps or eye lenses as a source.
Also in this style I think it's important to try to incorporate that different materials reflect light in a different way. The "tears" for example, in my universe they would be made out of a glass like substance, which's light reflection would give a different effect than the ceramic/metal armour would.
Having said all that I want to close with saying that I think your librarian turned out totally awesome and that he captures the feel of how I interpret 40k perfectly.
Keep up the good work.
2011/04/02 16:58:23
Subject: Re:Chiaroscuro + OSL Space Hulk (Pic heavy)
i do like them however the pics are not the greatest in the vids you can rly c the work done to them good job
Horus was weak. Horus was a fool. He had the whole galaxy within his grasp and he let it slip away
1.5k Grey knights (W/L/D)
1.5k Space Puppies (W/L/D) 4/1/4
2k Space Puppies (W/L/D) 3/2/4
2k (W/L/D) 5/2/2
2k Black Templars (W/L/D) 1/0/1
1k Wood Elves (W/L/D) 0/0/0
1.5k Tomb Kings (W/L/D) 2/0/0
fiddler6291 wrote:I really like this style and will probably try something similar at one point for a diorama I've planned.
I think it would help the overall look of the models a lot if you'd add a second, third or even more light sources.
Granted this will not work for every model and adds a lot of work, but for the termis you could do OSL with the shoulder lamps or eye lenses as a source.
Also in this style I think it's important to try to incorporate that different materials reflect light in a different way. The "tears" for example, in my universe they would be made out of a glass like substance, which's light reflection would give a different effect than the ceramic/metal armour would.
Having said all that I want to close with saying that I think your librarian turned out totally awesome and that he captures the feel of how I interpret 40k perfectly.
Keep up the good work.
Thanks for your suggestions! You're right about the tears gems - I will have to try and see how glass like substance reflect light of different colors.
3000
The difference between commitment and involvement is like eggs and ham; the ckicken was "involved", the pig was "comitted". 
+ 
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(W/L/D) 5/2/2
