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Yeah, I know those are chaos colours, but I loved the look so much I stole them. deal with it also, My first time painting, so critiques are welcome


(why do they look so bad now when shown close-up

The faces could use a small touch up, otherwise they are very good (mind the captains boot!)

juraigamer wrote:The faces could use a small touch up, otherwise they are very good (mind the captains boot!)

god dammit, I just noticed it. It's gonna bug me now, cause I can't get to my paints right now. Thanks for the comment tho

They look pretty good at first glance, but some things may need fixing. First, your gunman needs to have his mold line taken off; a model with mold lines looks much worse than one without. I suggest using an X-acto knife to cut it off without taking too much paint. The gold also looks too....chromey? Im not sure what but I think your Gold needs a wash to make it more realistic. Lastly, I love the skin, but they will look much better with painted eyes. Pretty good so far, just needs more work! How long have you been painting so far btw?

Blitza da warboy wrote:They look pretty good at first glance, but some things may need fixing. First, your gunman needs to have his mold line taken off; a model with mold lines looks much worse than one without. I suggest using an X-acto knife to cut it off without taking too much paint. The gold also looks too....chromey? Im not sure what but I think your Gold needs a wash to make it more realistic. Lastly, I love the skin, but they will look much better with painted eyes. Pretty good so far, just needs more work! How long have you been painting so far btw?

about a month or 2

Alright, this might come off as harsh, but I'm gonna try and help you out here.

First off, you really need to clean those mold lines. The line running all the way up the trooper's boot up to his thigh, the one on his shoulder pad, and I'm sure one or two on the other side of the minis need shaving. Trimming mold lines is something that takes seconds but is crucial for a good looking mini.

Second, you need to thin your paints. Right now they look glopped on and are looking a little chunky. Don't be afraid to do multiple coats of slightly watered down paint - you could even just use a little more water on your brush before painting. The gold looks especially sloppy.

Third, you should look into some shading and/or highlighting. Even if you did apply the paint better, the colors would be very flat. Look into getting some washes. Devlan Mud, for example, is basically talent in a bottle and will help you advance as a painter. A Devlan Mud wash on most of the metal with an Ogryn Flesh wash on the skin will do wonders.

Finally, a pointer on painting with metallics. It might just be the photo, but the trooper's face looks a little shiny, like there's some metallic dust in there. Keep two cups of water when you're painting, and try to make sure your brushes are clean between going from metallic to plain colors. This will really cut down on mistakes in the future, and is as simple as filling a second cup with water.

Apologies again if I came off as harsh; I know you're new at this! I hope I could help

Brother SRM wrote:Alright, this might come off as harsh, but I'm gonna try and help you out here.

First off, you really need to clean those mold lines. The line running all the way up the trooper's boot up to his thigh, the one on his shoulder pad, and I'm sure one or two on the other side of the minis need shaving. Trimming mold lines is something that takes seconds but is crucial for a good looking mini.

Second, you need to thin your paints. Right now they look glopped on and are looking a little chunky. Don't be afraid to do multiple coats of slightly watered down paint - you could even just use a little more water on your brush before painting. The gold looks especially sloppy.

Third, you should look into some shading and/or highlighting. Even if you did apply the paint better, the colors would be very flat. Look into getting some washes. Devlan Mud, for example, is basically talent in a bottle and will help you advance as a painter. A Devlan Mud wash on most of the metal with an Ogryn Flesh wash on the skin will do wonders.

Finally, a pointer on painting with metallics. It might just be the photo, but the trooper's face looks a little shiny, like there's some metallic dust in there. Keep two cups of water when you're painting, and try to make sure your brushes are clean between going from metallic to plain colors. This will really cut down on mistakes in the future, and is as simple as filling a second cup with water.

Apologies again if I came off as harsh; I know you're new at this! I hope I could help

its all good, I can't get better without help, amirite?

srry but doesnt look good at all to me so srry, i will give tips, put like anther layer of red on their so its stronger, the cold needs some more as well

I'd agree with what Brother SRM wrote and also point out that metallics don't tend to look so good when they're painted onto white, which is what I think you did here. If I've primed my model white I tend to paint an undercoat of black before I paint silver, or very dark brown if I'm painting gold.
These do look good for a first go though and you've done well to paint each part neatly, without going "over the lines".
Oh and by the way, you may say that red and gold are chaos colours but they were also the colours worn by The Emperor himself, as well as his personal guard, the Adeptus Custodes:

Jordankeeps wrote:srry but doesnt look good at all to me so srry, i will give tips, put like anther layer of red on their so its stronger, the cold needs some more as well

Yeah, they kinda burn your eyes... WAY to shiny and bright for... well, anybody. Your ability to stay in the lines and paint careful detail is great but the color choice is all off. Water down your paints and pick complimentary colors (even if you don't want to go for "realistic"); lights and darks instead of eye-melting gold/red.

In short:
Painting ability:
Color choice:

...also your profile pic just scarred me for life

lessthan1337 wrote:

Jordankeeps wrote:srry but doesnt look good at all to me so srry, i will give tips, put like anther layer of red on their so its stronger, the cold needs some more as well

Yeah, they kinda burn your eyes... WAY to shiny and bright for... well, anybody. Your ability to stay in the lines and paint careful detail is great but the color choice is all off. Water down your paints and pick complimentary colors (even if you don't want to go for "realistic"); lights and darks instead of eye-melting gold/red.

In short:
Painting ability:
Color choice:

...also your profile pic just scarred me for life

The paint scheme is staying, because I like it, and thats all that matters in my choice of colors. But thank you for the advice

So I have to say, keep the scheme if you like it. You have it right, you're painting for you. I have yellow space marines with blue helmets. I love them but most people haven't. Oh well.

I have to agree with th mold lines. I have a shocking tendency to miss them, then have to file them off after priming. Ugh.

I got a nice little file kit from the Warstore for 8 bucks American. Hobby knife works well too.

I also have to agree with the washes, I feel my painting has gotten exponentially better using washes. I've over done it a few times though. But Badab Black, Gryphonne Sepia or Devlan Mud over the metallics really helps tone them down without taking anything away from the shininess.

Keep it up

-Gorgrimm

I would recomned a wash or a thin layer of paint over the gold and skin. Also i found tin bitz then dry brushing on gold, over white primer looks real nice.

well this the best picture of mine i could find to illustrate it, you could just dry brush a more gold on.

divinebovine wrote:

Blitza da warboy wrote:They look pretty good at first glance, but some things may need fixing. First, your gunman needs to have his mold line taken off; a model with mold lines looks much worse than one without. I suggest using an X-acto knife to cut it off without taking too much paint. The gold also looks too....chromey? Im not sure what but I think your Gold needs a wash to make it more realistic. Lastly, I love the skin, but they will look much better with painted eyes. Pretty good so far, just needs more work! How long have you been painting so far btw?

about a month or 2

Thats actually a hell of a lot better than when I painted. I couldn't even paint real skin! (unless you count chaos black )

Also what crimsonmicc said is pretty good too.