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Made in gb
Fresh-Faced New User





Hi, I am completely new to this and not sure I have any odea what I'm doing however would love to improve, if anyone can give me some decent feedback be as brutal as you like
[Thumb - 20210525_180635.jpg]
Necron

[Thumb - 20210525_174243.jpg]

[Thumb - 20210525_180504.jpg]

[Thumb - 20210525_174303.jpg]

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/05/25 17:18:48


 
   
Made in fi
Buttons Should Be Brass, Not Gold!






If you're new to painting miniatures, I'd say these are looking pretty good. You are doing edge highlights already, and your paint coats dont look overly thick, except for the metals on the Necron warrior which look a little grainy? Metallic paints can come out a little thick and then are hard to thin with water without causing undesired paint separation, so you might want to consider buying some sort of acrylic thinner at some point for thinning metallic paints with. But at this stage cant really give any critique about what specifically to improve, just keep painting more minis and you will progress naturally. You get better at painting by doing it, building experience and muscle memory will still cause considerable improvement at your level, and you should get into more involved things only after having obtained a superb grasp of the basics IMO.

You could also experiment with using some washes to accentuate the shadows and recesses of the miniatures more. You could start by testing some darker shades of colour with contrast paints on top of the basecoats perhaps, before doing the edge highlights, if you find using washes tricky? Washes can be a fun way to add depth to a miniature with minimal effort.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2021/05/25 17:36:31


 
   
Made in gb
Trigger-Happy Baal Predator Pilot




Leeds UK

Looking good so far! I agree some precision washes would improve the look, for example the rear shot of the ultramarine doesn't look like it has any wash between the panel lines. Nuln oil and a quick tidy up with your base colour would do this.

The edge highlights are really good for a beginner, just work on keeping them consistently wide for the most part then your next step is a finer brighter extreme edge highlight.
   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut





Very good for a someone new to the hobby.

Couple of tips based on the style I think you are trying to achieve on the marine:

The gold looks like it’s been painted on top of the blue. Personally I like to base all my metallic parts with a trusted metallic base like lead belcher. I know GW tell you that Balthasar good is a base but I find all their goods to be a bit transparent and don’t work well over strong colours like that blue. Leadbelcher will give you a nice thin solid base colour that your other Metallica will sit on top of nicely.

Or brown is a good base for gold.

Also as Others have stated, use some washes. Again in the case of the marine is have probably washesd it with nuln oil after applying all the blue and before adding other colours. And then wash the gold chest eagle with agrax earth shade.

This is assuming you are using GW colours.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Personally I think the necron looks great. The grainy finish really adds to the ancient feel of the model, if that’s what your going for? There is a name for that painting technique that escapes me. But you have achieved a grim dark style overall.

Are you happy with the greens in the necron? I ask because most people want neon colours but if that’s not what your after then again it looks great.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh and do something with the bases. I didn’t paint my bases for ages and even my wife who has no interest in this hobby said that the models don’t look finished without the bases painted.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2021/05/26 06:42:09


 
   
Made in gb
Fresh-Faced New User





Hi,

Thanks for all the comments.

I think my paint got a bit thick on the space marine and probably removed most of the wash.

I tried to shade using lighter colours and lighter colours on the shoulder pad but it did not look good.

With regards to the necrons, I would rather have a neon glow, i based white first and then did the green but it still looks dull....
   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut





Building up highlights on power armour is quite hard to do, look into zenithal priming as that might help. I wouldn’t worry too much about that right now, I’d work on the basics, getting neater, smooth layers that are the colour you want.

I tried to go straight into eavy metal style (because that’s what you see on the front of the GW boxes and the internet) and it takes a lot of practice.

For neon colours use neon paints. GW do have some colours specific for necron weapons but you can also buy neon paints. I use the ones from green stuff world.

You can also mix some yellow into your green and us it to create some highlights that will give a neon type effect

   
Made in us
Trigger-Happy Baal Predator Pilot





Wisconsin

 tauist wrote:
If you're new to painting miniatures, I'd say these are looking pretty good. You are doing edge highlights already, and your paint coats dont look overly thick, except for the metals on the Necron warrior which look a little grainy? Metallic paints can come out a little thick and then are hard to thin with water without causing undesired paint separation, so you might want to consider buying some sort of acrylic thinner at some point for thinning metallic paints with.


If you're going to use an acrylic thinner, don't use Tamiya thinner with anything other than Tamiya paints. Tamiya acrylics are different form other acrylics as they are alcohol based and not water based. If you're using GW, The Army Painter, Vallejo or any other commonly used acrylic, I'd recommend using some of GW's Lahmian Medium.

   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut





 ShadowsAndDust wrote:
 tauist wrote:
If you're new to painting miniatures, I'd say these are looking pretty good. You are doing edge highlights already, and your paint coats dont look overly thick, except for the metals on the Necron warrior which look a little grainy? Metallic paints can come out a little thick and then are hard to thin with water without causing undesired paint separation, so you might want to consider buying some sort of acrylic thinner at some point for thinning metallic paints with.


If you're going to use an acrylic thinner, don't use Tamiya thinner with anything other than Tamiya paints. Tamiya acrylics are different form other acrylics as they are alcohol based and not water based. If you're using GW, The Army Painter, Vallejo or any other commonly used acrylic, I'd recommend using some of GW's Lahmian Medium.


Or do a bit of research on acrylic flow enhancers and acrylic medium for thinning paints. I know it’s not that thread but GW lahmian medium is good but you can get the same thing from other companies in bigger bottles for the same money or less. I’m not aware the LM is anything different but would love to know if it is??? And because it’s in a GW pot you have to dip a brush in to get the medium out which means you need to have a VERY clean brush. I got a bit of paint in mine and it went a bit brown and so if I added it to a paint I added a bit of brown to the colour.

However there was a thread many months ago where someone explained in detail I can’t remember that water is still the best thing to thin you paint for a layering, because water is the solvent that is making the acrylic medium combined with the pigment in to a liquid.

But there will be different opinions on that so try a few different things and see what you prefer
   
Made in us
Trigger-Happy Baal Predator Pilot





Wisconsin

I just recommend GW's Lahmian medium because it's a really thin paint medium as opposed to The Army Painter's paint medium which is really thick. Those are the only two paint mediums I've used, so my experience is a bit limited.

I do use water and paint palette to thin my paints, including metallics, which works just fine IMHO. I don't get much separation at all.

   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut






Looks good. Look at the belts on the marines and think about whether or not some detail there would add some pop
   
Made in ca
Regular Dakkanaut





Oh Canada!

mrFickle wrote:
I’m not aware the LM is anything different but would love to know if it is???

GW Lahmian Medium is Acrylic Matte Medium + Water + Flow Aid. You can make a comparable mixture easily at home, with the base ingredients and have the ability to adjust it to your personal preferences or the task at hand.

Agree with everything that's already been said - very good results for someone without a lot of experience.

To sell the neon look, more contrast. Highlight up the middle parts to white. Some painting light examples. There's also neon paint on the market, if you really want that 80's day glow effect.

Practice will make the edge highlights thinner and easier. Use the side of your brush, if you aren't already (but the consistency of the lines makes me think you are) and minimal paint loading. Pushing the contrast will make the marine's armour look more realistic - don't be afraid to give the blue some deeper shadows and gentle highlights to show volume, even though it's basically flat.

Ochre is TMM's best friend. I recommend Vallejo's Heavy Opaque line, Heavy Goldbrown (72.151). Fantastic paint, extremely opaque, makes even the poorest coverage TMM gold paint into a star. It'll also cover up even difficult things like bright blue without much fuss. Does double duty as a brown highlight mixing paint and yellow underpaint / shading.

Take a couple of minutes before priming your models / before painting if they've sat around on a shelf for a while to make sure they're free of dust and hairs. There's a few bits that are stuck in your paint layers. While they likely won't show at normal battlefield distance, it's an easy thing to do that will make your paint job look better without much effort. Similarly some of the mould lines are still visible - cleaning them up isn't as fun as painting, but care at this stage shows in the future.

After you've finished a mini, put it on a shelf for at least a day and then come back to it. You'll probably spot some little areas that could use touch-ups, like the edge of the marine's neckguard, or the tips of the aquila. Fresh eyes see new things. Taking pictures helps too!

All in all, the only thing you're lacking is time. Paint more minis, and the refined skills will follow.



   
 
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