Solith's painting log of eternal distractions

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solith
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Re: Solith's painting log

#61 Post by solith »

@Tzineris
Thank you!

@RE.Lee
You're welcome :)

I've already started painting the first 5 Sisters. I really like the models despite how hard they are to rank up and despite the fact that they end up being somewhat unposeable. There's enough variety of poses that it's not really noticeable, but because of the awesome arrows they added the arms and torsos are sets that you can't really change.

Of course, I'm not going to let something like that stop me. I currently have one in a converted pose that I think is kickass. :D (Pics will come later, once the green-stuff has cured)

Here's the thing however. What colour should I paint the bows? I'm thinking red/yellow - firebows basically - unless someone suggests something better?
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Re: Solith's painting log

#62 Post by solith »

A few WiP pictures of Sisters of Averlorn.

Image

I decided to re-pose some out of their standard poses and came up with this:
ImageImage
Drawing her sword from it's back sheath. I'm pleased with this one. :)
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Re: Solith's painting log

#63 Post by Thetosh »

Those cloaks are absolutely amazing, feeling very very envious! And the bronze looks perfect as well, looking forward to seeing more.
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Re: Solith's painting log

#64 Post by tinman »

Looking really good so far! Really like the pose you did...
How much wood can a woodchuck chuck??..
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Re: Solith's painting log

#65 Post by Mandragoran »

that green and silver/bronze are going so good together.. can't wait to see finished sister!
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Re: Solith's painting log

#66 Post by solith »

@Thetosh
Thank you! The cloaks look better now that I've added highlights :D

@tinman.
Thank you! I'm very happy with the pose, unfortunately it won't be that noticeable once the head's in place (with the hair streaming out to hide the hand on the word hilt) and the model's in a unit, but that doesn't matter.

@Mandragoran
Thank you! It's a lucky coincidence that the green and the silver/bronze work so well together. I decided to use this green after testing it on an archer (Glade Guard model) which has almost no metals on it. It was a case of me checking that it worked with the grey and brown I use and going ahead from there.
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Re: Solith's painting log

#67 Post by Mandragoran »

good coincidence than! ;) It's going to look great when u finished the whole army.. Im waiting for new stuff!
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Re: Solith's painting log

#68 Post by Mireadur »

Very nice repositioning yes... Pity i hate those ''sisters'' models with passion..
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Re: Solith's painting log

#69 Post by Aicanor »

Looks really good, and nice conversion! I hope to get some of these girls soon as well. But I'll probably try to mix them up with the SW option or something.
Mireadur wrote:Very nice repositioning yes... Pity i hate those ''sisters'' models with passion..
As shown here there are some conversion posibilities. And a head swap. :lol:
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Re: Solith's painting log

#70 Post by solith »

@Mandragoran
Thank you. Hmm army photos, now there's an idea... Of course I'll have to get more than two units completely finished first :lol: I have far too much with 'just a bit more to do before they're finished'

@Mireadur
Thank you. With a little bit of conversion or better still green-stuffing (flames aren't nearly as hard as they look) you could easily turn Glade Guard into Sisters. They have similar poses, they also have long cloaks and they're great models.

@Aicanor
Thank you.
I think the best models you could make from this kit would be using the Shadow Warrior parts (the heads, weapons and chests) alongside the Sisters' arms. You'd have to use pins/needles or something similar to make the arrows, but you'd end up with the cooler looking Shadow Warriors in the much more appropriate 'archer' poses the Sisters have. Lots of surgery needed for a minor change as the result, but fun to imagine. :D

Painting continues, I'm nearly done with the first five (and I only have six built atm) apart from the bows, which I'm leaving until last because I'll need to see how the colours work with the rest of the model before I'm convinced about firebows.
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Re: Solith's painting log

#71 Post by Aicanor »

Thanks for the tips. I was thinking more of mixing male and female models together for variety. The girl's heads are too uniform with those hair. Or it may be possible to remodel them...
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Re: Solith's painting log

#72 Post by solith »

Funnily enough I was considering using a few of the Shadow Warrior bodies. If anyone asks why I've mixed male bodies with female heads I can point out that not every woman has such a large chest as these, but with an arm or a bow in front of each I doubt I'd notice the difference and I'd be the one making it.
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Re: Solith's painting log

#73 Post by solith »

Partly inspired by onlyonepinman's recent tutorials, I decided to do some progression photos!

Firstly, faces:
ImageImageImageImageImage
ImageImageImageImageImage

I'd normally get the pupils done at step 4 with the rest of the eyes, but for these specific models I want the heads in place first, and that means getting everything else painted first. If a model is shooting a bow and arrow at someone I want them to be looking at their target, so I need to check the direction the eyes should be looking before painting them in.

I enjoy painting faces, ever since I worked out how to do them. I think it helps that I'm short sighted, so I can take off my glasses and hold the model less than 20cm away from my own face for built in zoom function. :D
I don't think there's anything else I paint with so many steps - apart from banners and characters of course. Pretty much everything else is done in 4-5 steps, and I managed 10 on this face alone.

Edit: Paint info, details etc (Converted to current GW paints)

1. Undercoat. Usually I use black, in this case it's Mechanicus Standard Grey but the specific colour of undercoat is unimportant here.
2. Kislev Flesh ~2 coats. At this stage it doesn't have to be perfectly covering so one coat may be enough.
3. Nuln Oil. This adds shading, definition and really helps me to see exactly what's where etc. My brush was too dry at this point, normally it'll look less like a corpse here.
- At this point I'll often do a careful second coat of Nuln Oil around the eyes, which gives enough of a dark line around the eyes to make them stand out without looking like way too much eyeliner. For this example I'm going for the eyeliner look so a stronger black is needed - watered down Abaddon Black.
- Note: you don't have to be too careful at any of the above stages, any mistakes will be covered up later.
4. White Scar. Using your smallest brush, paint the eyes white.
- Not shown: Paint the pupils/iris black. It's best to do a dot in the middle of each eye, but an easier way is to carefully draw a line going down the eye - you'll have to try yourself to see how thick the line should be, but it's easier than doing a dot.
- Touch up any mistakes on the eye and the shadows/lines around the eyes. It doesn't matter if you get black all over the cheeks, but the eyes need to be done here.
5. Kislev Flesh mixed with Abaddon Black (until the colour looks right). This is to cover up any mistakes earlier, define the shape of the black around the eyes and to smoothen out the corpse look after the Nuln Oil.

From this stage on it's effectively just highlighting. The first layers will cover a lot of the face, and the last layers will cover tiny areas. The pictures give a better idea of where I highlight the most and where I leave shading.
6. Kislev Flesh mixed with less Abaddon Black. The first layer of highlighting. Because the entire face is so small (and smooth blending isn't really noticeable) this stage is only really needed on the cheeks.
7. Kislev Flesh. Finally back up to the base colour.
8. Kislev Flesh mixed with White Scar. Highlights: the nose, chin, cheekbones and forehead
9. White Scar. Either use a thinned paint or mix with a bit of Kislev Flesh (pure white is a bit too harsh for a face) for the final highlights. Tips of the cheekbones and the tip of the nose only.
10. Evil Sunz Scarlet, White Scar and Kislev Flesh mixed. Make a more natural pink for the lower lip only. If you use only red and white it's far too garish imo.

Many of my models have far less effort on their faces, with the entire face being done in three tones rather than the 5 here.
Last edited by solith on Thu Jun 13, 2013 9:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Solith's painting log

#74 Post by solith »

Next up, firebows:

ImageImage
ImageImage
ImageImage

Now here's where I need input. Is the bow still too yellow? Does it stand out from the model too much? Should I try any different colours, and if so which? Is the entire concept of giving flaming weapons to a unit that comes form a giant forest a bit ridiculous to begin with?

Please, give me your feedback! :D
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Re: Solith's painting log

#75 Post by Nyeave »

I think the fire bow looks great with your paint scheme (having decided on the same scheme myself did not in any way effect this opinion...). I do however believe its still to yellow.

Appart from that - awesome model!
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Re: Solith's painting log

#76 Post by jinxs »

solith wrote:Next up, firebows:

Now here's where I need input. Is the bow still too yellow? Does it stand out from the model too much? Should I try any different colours, and if so which? Is the entire concept of giving flaming weapons to a unit that comes form a giant forest a bit ridiculous to begin with?

Please, give me your feedback! :D
Good step by step action here, with only paint info missing :P Still great indeed.

But NONSENSE! Fire makes perfect sense.. atleast in some odd way, but hey its fantasy! Bow might be a bit too yellow, maybe adding some orange/red mix and some fine highlights with yellow/white could do the job? Or could some wash do the trick?

Anyhow looking good!
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Re: Solith's painting log

#77 Post by Aicanor »

I think you need to go all the way up to black with the bows to look good. It must be magical fire, burning only enemies of Avelorn. :mrgreen:
Edit: But my alter ego is of quite opposite opinion, he likes it light. :lol:
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Re: Solith's painting log

#78 Post by Thetosh »

I like the natural fire idea, it's one I intend to use on my bows, and they do have the 'flaming attacks' rule :)
However I agree that it looks a bit too yellow. I intend to follow the step-by-step for the phoenix's tail that's been in WD recently.

That is, when I eventually have the money to do my high elves.
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Re: Solith's painting log

#79 Post by Loth_Savage »

I think it needs some black/blue/purple. I think the colors are too close to each other to see any color differences on the bows

Loth
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Re: Solith's painting log

#80 Post by solith »

Wow, thanks for the input everyone! :D

It seems darker/more red is the way to go. I'll paint up a 2nd Sister with darker flames so we can get a good side-by-side comparison.

I find fire quite challenging to paint. I think it's because of two things: going from white/pale yellow all the way through to red in such a small area meaning you have to be extra careful to get the transition between colours looking right, and also because I feel like I'm painting the wrong way round! I'm so used to starting with the darker colours and highlighting up to lighter colours. I can do highlighting that way, I usually start from a black undercoat because I like painting that way. :roll:


I've edited my face-painting-montage post above to add in paint details and a rambling step-by-step guide, just for jinxs :)
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Re: Solith's painting log

#81 Post by solith »

Something crazy has happened, I appear to be able to paint quickly for once. :lol:

More progression photos! Because they're fun. (Starting from the same white, No point in repeating that picture)
ImageImage
ImageImage
ImageImage

Most importantly, the comparison:
Image

I've tipped the arrows of both with white, so the arrow head looks like the hottest part.

I prefer the darker one, so thank you again for that suggestion. The question is: is this right? I should probably do the next one darker still to compare again, but does anyone have suggestions again?
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Re: Solith's painting log

#82 Post by Turion Rilyaloce »

Solith, those DPs are among the finest I've ever seen. From individual skill in the metallics and cloth, to overall model composition with a great choice of color. I'm going to have to copy your technique for the horses, would you mind sharing the paints you used for your favorite horse with the different colored legs?

Also reading your initial post about the hiatus making you a better painter, same thing happened with me. Played and painted terribly when I was in middle school, and stopped for all of high school and university because of a demanding athletics commitment. Then when I finished university I decided to start up again, all of a sudden I could now paint pretty well for some reason...
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Re: Solith's painting log

#83 Post by solith »

High praise, thank you!

For the horse, unfortunately I was mixing paints a lot while painting that, so you'll have to take these with a pinch of salt, however:
- Paints used: Mournfang Brown, Nuln Oil, Skrag Brown, Karak Stone, Ushabti Bone
Image
[Picture re-posted for convenience]

- For the darker part (towards the foot/hoof) start with a base of Mournfang Brown, cover with Nuln Oil.
- Heavy highlight of Mournfang Brown + Skrag Brown mix (go for a colour halfway between the two, or a bit darker)
- Small highlights of a lighter shade. For this you can either go for Skrag Brown on it's own, or mix the above colour with Karak Stone for a less warm highlight. (It's less warm because there ends up being less 'brown' pigment and more black/white pigment, the same way you can dull down a colour's intensity by mixing in grey)

- For the lighter part (The horse's body) start with a 50:50 mix of Skrag Brown + Karak Stone.
- Cover with Karak Stone, leaving shadows/shading.
- Highlight with a 50:50 Karak Stone + Ushabti Bone mix.
Note: If you look at pictures of horses, a lot of the time the natural highlights on the back of the horse run vertically and can go quite far down the hip/leg. It's slightly counter-intuitive compared to how we normally paint (i.e. highlight the raised parts, and as if there was a light above) but imo it looks more natural to follow the real example.

- For the join part inbetween: on actual horses the transition from dark to light can be surprisingly sudden, but I didn't want to have a sudden change. What I ended up doing was having the highlights of one bit carry on to become the overall colour of the next, then the highlights of that carry on to become the overall colour of the next and so on. Luckily there was a lot of muscle definition there so it was fairly easy and worked quite well, I only had to do any work on blending the colours together on the one large 'thigh' muscle.

Hopefully that helps, if I can remember to I'll put up some step by step pictures next time I paint a horse, however I don't have any unpainted atm and no plans to buy any right now so don't hold your breath for that. :lol: The best advice on painting horses I can give though is to do some research: look up pictures, find a colouring you like and go from there. For example, my favourite is something close to a Dun colouring. I didn't even know what a Dun horse was before painting that one.


About the hiatus thing, I mentioned it to my local GW staff dude and he suggested it could either be getting more steady hands as you grow up, or a better appreciation of colours and how they work. It could also be a case of having more patience or simply a desire to be better at it. Whatever the reason, I'm very glad it happened. For me, being somewhat decent the first time I picked up a brush after so long has been a huge help in motivation. :D
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Re: Solith's painting log

#84 Post by solith »

I've done a third firebow. I was trying for darker/more red still, and it is but it's not that much of a difference. I think it's my favourite yet but perhaps that's just my technique for painting fire improving. I seem to spend so much time going back and touching up, or changing the colour of this tiny bit here etc. The finished result is undoubtedly fire at least, so I've managed to avoid creating a mess of red and yellow. :D

Image
Image
The left one is the newest/darkest, the middle one is the 2nd, and the right hand one is the oldest/lightest.
The pictures aren't that stellar I'm afraid, and this is after some editing to try and make them closer to reality. These pictures slightly blend the yellows and reds together, there's a little bit more contrast between them, but this does give you a general idea. Unfortunately the only way I've found to take decent pictures involves using sunlight, and well... see for yourself... :lol:
Image


You may have noticed that they finally have heads! I finished the last of them today. After painting each of my Dragon Prince's horses in different colours, I wasn't about to be outdone when it came to hair, so they all have to be different. Except no black hair, or dark brown, because that would be too easy. Right at the beginning of painting my High Elves I decided that I'd paint them all with pale hair, so everyone has blonde, white, red or pale brown hair. This was partly to fit in with fluff and partly because before this every bit of hair I painted was basically black, and I wanted something more striking.
Image
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Re: Solith's painting log

#85 Post by jinxs »

I really like that darker bow quite abit! I think it works really well. For the images they are still better then MOST of images taken from miniatures :D Maybe a daylight lightbulb could fix your problems and some sort of whitebox to place the models into?

And redhead ftw.
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Re: Solith's painting log

#86 Post by solith »

More Sister reposing. Starting from this:
Image

Three pins and six areas of green-stuffing later she's turned into this:
Image

She's supposed to be kicking someone/something, but she looks more like she's taking a giant step for some reason instead. However, pose the head looking down rather than straight ahead and she becomes this:
Image

Much better! Now she's stomping on something.
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Re: Solith's painting log

#87 Post by solith »

Completely off-topic, but I felt like sharing the reason I've had almost no progress on anything to do with High Elves in nearly two weeks: a canvas painting. :)

Image
It's not original, I'm copying a picture from an e-book cover (Spoilers in the text in the link, you have been warned). I'm less than half done and it feels like it's been a large learning experience for me. I'm happy with the progress even though it's agonisingly slow at times.
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Re: Solith's painting log

#88 Post by Elithmar »

That painting looks great so far. Well done. :) Definitely a lot better than I've ever done or ever will do I should think.

I must admit though, in the first picture of the reposed sister she looks like she's goose stepping! :lol:
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Re: Solith's painting log

#89 Post by solith »

Hah! She really does look like she's goose stepping. (I had to google what that was :lol: ) Especially with the shouting face. She's clearly the sergeant leading in the marching chant... R. Lee Ermey style. :D
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Re: Solith's painting log

#90 Post by Il Maestro »

Lovely log here so far, especially some of those step-by-step tutorials! Fantastic!!

With regards to the goose-stepping model ( :wink: ), I think the effect of kicking might be accentuated a bit more if you were able to lean the upper body back a little bit, to emphasise more the power with which she is kicking forward with her left leg? As she is kicking forward, to balance herself she would naturally lean back a little - I think that's why it looks more like she's stepping, because her centre of balance as it is now would be making her fall further forward, rather than standing strong on her foot...

Did that make ANY sense at all? :?

Great work though, keep it up!
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