Solith's painting log of eternal distractions

Want tips? Have tips? Have pictures even? Well, post them here!

Moderators: The Heralds, The Loremasters

Message
Author
User avatar
Aicanor
Rainbows
Posts: 2900
Joined: Sun Oct 23, 2011 2:15 pm
Location: Tower of Hoeth

Re: Solith's painting log

#31 Post by Aicanor »

Yes, congrats! I hope you have another such project underway. :wink:
solith
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:59 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: Solith's painting log

#32 Post by solith »

@Luna Guardian
Thank you!

@Aicanor
Thank you!
Nothing particularly ongoing atm. I'm taking a break from focused projects like that for the next week. I'll read the new book before deciding what to go for next.
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44644]My painting log[/url]
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=51340]My battle reports[/url]
solith
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:59 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: Solith's painting log

#33 Post by solith »

Alongside the new book (huzzah!) I bought Alarielle today - my first ever finecast mini. It took me most of a day to clean, file, bend and finally green-stuff her into a semblance of how she's supposed to be, and she's still not based. On the good side, I did manage to successfully transform her ridiculous headdress thingy (apart from the heart shaped gem in the middle it looks more fitting for Tomb Kings than High Elves to me) into a rather chunky tiara; much better :)

I'm reasonably certain I'll paint her staff to be wood. The GW colour scheme has it as metal but the idea of the Everqueen, someone whose power comes from nature and life itself, using a metal staff over a wood one seems odd to me. This got me thinking that I could do all of her jewellery as wood and stone only, no metal on her at all. But then I thought that it would also be a bit strange for the mage of life to be carrying around something that is ultimately a part of a dead tree...

Decisions decisions...
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44644]My painting log[/url]
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=51340]My battle reports[/url]
User avatar
Aicanor
Rainbows
Posts: 2900
Joined: Sun Oct 23, 2011 2:15 pm
Location: Tower of Hoeth

Re: Solith's painting log

#34 Post by Aicanor »

So she can be made to look good? Pics! :wink: Everqueen is not really a squeamish "peace and love" girl. She understands the life and death cycle of nature. And you can always greenstuff a few leaves to make the dead wood alive. :D Looking forward to see how your "project Everqueen" goes.
solith
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:59 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: Solith's painting log

#35 Post by solith »

Here you go, staff arm currently unattached: (Apologies for the terrible photos)
ImageImage

To give a brief walkthrough:
- I chopped off the top part of the headdress, trimmed the shape down to match the heart.
- I took a curved file to the back of the heart to give it a more elegant look without taking too much off and weakening the model too much.
- I carefully took off the cheek guards, then used files/a knife to slowly shape her cheeks.

I think it's a big improvement atm. However her neck is really thin which makes her jawline (which is all ready small imo) look huge. Tomorrow I may try to slightly bulk out her neck below the ears, but I don't think it'll be noticeable once she's painted so I'll probably leave it as is.


Thanks for the ideas about her and the cycle of life and death. It makes things clearer in my head :)
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44644]My painting log[/url]
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=51340]My battle reports[/url]
solith
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:59 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: Solith's painting log

#36 Post by solith »

So, this is me trying to take better photos :roll: :

My Prince/BSB:
ImageImage
The first picture kind of shows the changed breastplate. I took most of the details off the curving dragons, leaving only the main curve. Appropriately enough this ended up leaving a heart shape in the middle, perfect for an Averlorn (Averlornian? Averlorni?) Prince!

Image
I re-posed the BSB arm so it now fits onto the Prince's body. Now I'm free to build the foot Noble/BSB around it.

Up next will be Alarielle, when she's done.
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44644]My painting log[/url]
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=51340]My battle reports[/url]
solith
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:59 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: Solith's painting log

#37 Post by solith »

Image
(Her eyes are actually painted, too many shadows to see)

This gives a much better idea of what she looks like without the silly headdress. Give her a different colour scheme and she'd really look like a vampire character. :lol:
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44644]My painting log[/url]
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=51340]My battle reports[/url]
User avatar
Aicanor
Rainbows
Posts: 2900
Joined: Sun Oct 23, 2011 2:15 pm
Location: Tower of Hoeth

Re: Solith's painting log

#38 Post by Aicanor »

Hehe, not bad. Thanks for posting the pics! I would probably cut off the collar too if I ever get hands on this figure. But I am starting to think perhaps it would be easier to kitbash my very own version. :shock:
solith
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:59 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: Solith's painting log

#39 Post by solith »

I did really think about taking the collar off actually, but doing that would mean re-building the back of the head - including hair. Doable certainly, but getting it right? Not as easy :D

She's reasonably similar to one of the Wood Elf casters so that might be a good place to start. I like that one so I think I'm going to get it at some point for another mage.
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44644]My painting log[/url]
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=51340]My battle reports[/url]
solith
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:59 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: Solith's painting log

#40 Post by solith »

Okay, I need some advice Ulthuan :)

I'm giving Alarielle a wooden staff, I'm decided on that. The overall colour of the staff isn't going to change. The question is, do I keep the wooden grain lines?

Image

The bottom 3/4 of the staff currently have the wood grain added, the top 1/4 does not. Should I continue with the wood grain or repaint the staff back to the smoother look? Does the top or the bottom of the staff look better?


In other news, I picked up some dragon princes yesterday, and I've got some Shield of Saphery counters in the works.
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44644]My painting log[/url]
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=51340]My battle reports[/url]
User avatar
Galharen
Master of Brushes
Posts: 1280
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 5:41 pm
Location: Poznan/Hannover

Re: Solith's painting log

#41 Post by Galharen »

wood grains look fine, however I'd change the color of top part of staff.
Maybe some glowing effect of just simply gold?

If you want to have all wooden staff, then paint the grains easily, they look cool :)
Shannar, Sealord
Very Helpful Elf
Posts: 4031
Joined: Sun Jun 06, 2004 2:10 am
Location: Patroling the Sea Lanes

Re: Solith's painting log

#42 Post by Shannar, Sealord »

Aicanor wrote:Hehe, not bad. Thanks for posting the pics! I would probably cut off the collar too if I ever get hands on this figure. But I am starting to think perhaps it would be easier to kitbash my very own version. :shock:
I'm sticking with my old metal one. I like some of the ideas on the new one, but the execution was awful.

Seeing the progress on that one I do think she'd make a better vampire than everqueen.
User avatar
Aicanor
Rainbows
Posts: 2900
Joined: Sun Oct 23, 2011 2:15 pm
Location: Tower of Hoeth

Re: Solith's painting log

#43 Post by Aicanor »

I might as well model mine from plastic DE sorceress. :lol:
Wood grain looks great, I agree the top of the staff could have some kind of glowing effect.
But what strikes me most is how big that staff is, she could as well use a young oak for a staff. :shock: Still a great improvement over the original look. I like how you painted her. Much, much better.
Bestial_Broccoli
Posts: 96
Joined: Sun Mar 10, 2013 1:22 pm

Re: Solith's painting log

#44 Post by Bestial_Broccoli »

I like what you have done - without this headdress she actually looks decent. Tell me, did you have to cut it or is it separate and you just can opt not to glue it?
solith
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:59 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: Solith's painting log

#45 Post by solith »

A big thank you for all the advice and encouragement :D

Interesting ideas on making the staff glow. I think I'll come back to that later when I have a better idea of the rest of the model. I'll need to figure out a good way to make it work too, hmm....

I certainly don't blame anyone for wanting to use a different model for Alarielle, this one's nice (imo) but misses the mark on many levels.

@Bestial_Broccoli: The front half of her head is one separate piece - so the face, the headdress and a bit of her hair. So yes I had to cut it off, but it was very easy to get access the parts I wanted to cut. It was only fiddly because I was working on such a small piece but there were no actual problems with it. If you can find an alternate head of the right size (her face is on the small side) I doubt it would be too hard to use that instead - you might have to use a tiny bit of green stuff to make her hair fit or to join the jaw to the neck properly, but those are tiny features people generally wouldn't notice.
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44644]My painting log[/url]
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=51340]My battle reports[/url]
User avatar
Aicanor
Rainbows
Posts: 2900
Joined: Sun Oct 23, 2011 2:15 pm
Location: Tower of Hoeth

Re: Solith's painting log

#46 Post by Aicanor »

I can't understand why they made plastic kit for Loremaster but not for our presumably most iconic character? It would be so much better just for it.
solith
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:59 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: Solith's painting log

#47 Post by solith »

I don't understand it either, plastic is just so much better to work with.


Update time! I now have one complete dragon prince:
ImageImage
He's the musician but it felt odd with the model not having a shield so I hung it behind him.

Something strange has happened to my main brush:
Image
A few cracks have appeared on the wooden handle section, and this brush is only a few months old. It took me a while to work out what must have happened: the wood has soaked up so much water from me washing the brush (for the record, I never leave the brush soaking) that it's soaked into the wood and expanded it.

Edit: huge pictures are huge, resizing smaller... ... and done.
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44644]My painting log[/url]
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=51340]My battle reports[/url]
User avatar
Nyeave
Posts: 607
Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2012 1:10 pm

Re: Solith's painting log

#48 Post by Nyeave »

He's the musician but it felt odd with the model not having a shield so I hung it behind him.
I did the exact same thing and thought it looked great. I gave him the champions sword as well though as the thought of wielding a lance while attempting to play music felt a little wrong to me :P

Your DP looks great btw – god I love those models.
Visit my plog at [url]http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=43542[/url]
Mireadur
Posts: 1553
Joined: Tue Jan 20, 2009 4:37 pm
Location: Huelva. Spain

Re: Solith's painting log

#49 Post by Mireadur »

That DP looks really really nice, Any chance of bigger pics and with more light??

Nïce to see that alarielle can be assembled without the mask. However the face is strange! Did you have to cut the mask from the face to separate them?

Nice unit fillers and reaper magician too..
Gilcris
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed May 09, 2012 6:12 pm

Re: Solith's painting log

#50 Post by Gilcris »

Very nice work on the ancient-looking armor (suits a long-lived race) and I love that shade of green. =D>
solith
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:59 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: Solith's painting log

#51 Post by solith »

@Nyeave
Thank you.
I like the horses a lot more in person than just from pictures. Despite all being in a similar pose they have more life in them than the riders. :lol:

@Mireadur
Thank you.
Better pics will come with the rest of the unit. Yes I had to cut the mask from Alarielle's face. It wasn't particularly hard because the face (with the mask attached) was one separate piece, so it was really easy to access the mask from any angle to cut away at it. The challenging part was that I had to shape her jawline and cheekbones myself, but even then I thought that if I went too far I could always add greenstuff to bulk them out a little.

@Gilcris
Thank you. :)
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44644]My painting log[/url]
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=51340]My battle reports[/url]
solith
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:59 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: Solith's painting log

#52 Post by solith »

Update time!

I'm a terribly slow painter, so I've only managed to finish a 2nd Dragon Prince. The remaining three are WiP, with the metals and shields done but not much else.

Image
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44644]My painting log[/url]
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=51340]My battle reports[/url]
User avatar
tinman
Posts: 885
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2010 1:51 pm

Re: Solith's painting log

#53 Post by tinman »

better pictures!! These guys look great! Really like the armor, man it looks ancient. These guys are bad ass!!
How much wood can a woodchuck chuck??..
solith
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:59 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: Solith's painting log

#54 Post by solith »

Thank you!
There is something implacable about the Dragon Prince models. (It's their horses really) They couldn't possibly be anything other than heavy cavalry. :D
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44644]My painting log[/url]
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=51340]My battle reports[/url]
solith
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:59 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: Solith's painting log

#55 Post by solith »

Something small: Shield of Saphery tokens. Coins with icons from spearmen shields.

Image
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44644]My painting log[/url]
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=51340]My battle reports[/url]
solith
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:59 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: Solith's painting log

#56 Post by solith »

Dragon Princes! I've been listening to the Wheel of Time audio-books while painting these which has just been awesome. It turns painting into a form of meditation even more than it usually is. :)

Image
I finally finished my Dragon Princes. I'm really pleased with how these turned out. At first I was concerned with just how much of the models were metal, that the overall effect would just be a bronze and silver monstrosity, but with lots of little details in non metals really helps to balance them out.

Image
To add to my already slow painting speed, of course I decided that it would be better to give them different coloured horses, suggesting that they choose their horses for performance as a priority rather than making sure they all match colours and ending up with sub-par mounts. I realised afterwards that people as long-lived as elves would have been able to breed their horses to combine the colours they want with the performance they want, but still it helps to add individualism. If that wasn't enough, I ended up mixing colours together for most of the horses, and adding different coloured legs to some. Because taking the simpler option is out of the question. :roll:

Image
I really like how the shields turned out. The uniform colour scheme across the individual designs looks great when they're together. The one in the middle of this picture can work for either a regular Dragon Prince or as the champion. He has the most flashy shield, the most flashy horse and he's the only one with his hair showing. It's not so clear in this picture but he has somewhat red hair.

Image
My favourite face. There are too many shadows in the picture I know, but you can still see how grim he looks. I had great fun painting the bags under his eyes, and he really has this 'unblinking stare' look now. :D

Image
A clearer shot of the bases. I like them but I'm concerned they might look too patchy. On the other hand, if it was too evenly scattered I think they'd just look messy.

Image
Here's a shot of my favourite horse. I'm really happy with how the dark leg ended up. The transition from dark to light is smooth enough without it taking me ages to blend it together and the highlights on both sides work well imo. Keen eyes will notice that the horse is the exact same colour as the lance. :lol:


I bought some Sisters of Averlorn today, so no doubt I'll get them completed long before my Everqueen model...
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44644]My painting log[/url]
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=51340]My battle reports[/url]
User avatar
RE.Lee
Posts: 2618
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 9:22 pm
Location: Warsaw, Poland

Re: Solith's painting log

#57 Post by RE.Lee »

Love the dragon princes! The amount of metal on the seems just fine. I'm tempted to add some more metal parts to mine, but unfortunately a couple of them are already painted and I'm afraid new ones wouldn't match...

Whats the formula for the shields, BTW? (The turquoise bits, in particular)
cheers, Lee

Elven Field Surgeon, Department of Intensive Care, Resuscitation and Necromancy
solith
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:59 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: Solith's painting log

#58 Post by solith »

Thank you!
You could always have a few different colour schemes for your units. These Dragon Princes come from [region] of Caledor and these come from [different region] of Caledor etc.

The shields follow the same colouring as everything else, and many are old (sometimes ancient) pots. But with updated versions:
- Turquoise/green : Kalabite Green -> Sybarite Green -> Sybarite Green/White mix (50:50) -> pure White
- Grey : Mechanicus Standard Grey -> Dawnstone -> Administatum Grey -> pure White
- Bronze : Hashut Copper -> Nuln Oil (all over, and as heavy a coat as you can without it puddling) -> Leadbelcher
- Silver : Ledbelcher -> Nuln Oil (recesses only) -> Leadbelcher (to tidy up)
- Blue (gems) : Kantor Blue -> Altdorf Guard Blue -> Lothern Blue -> White (for the dot at the top)

For the turquoise/green colour, I nearly went for a full on turquoise - based around Sotek Green with shades and highlights - but I decided that I wanted something more green than blue. Also on the test model I did it ended up looking too similar to the grey somehow, I think they were both equally cold, both equally light/dark or something.
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44644]My painting log[/url]
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=51340]My battle reports[/url]
User avatar
Tzineris
Posts: 367
Joined: Tue Mar 19, 2013 9:58 am
Location: Greece

Re: Solith's painting log

#59 Post by Tzineris »

Beautiful clean and clear paintjob! I like the scheme very much! =D>
My High elven painting project http:[url]http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44391[/url]
User avatar
RE.Lee
Posts: 2618
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 9:22 pm
Location: Warsaw, Poland

Re: Solith's painting log

#60 Post by RE.Lee »

Thanks for the tips, I'll give the technique a try!
cheers, Lee

Elven Field Surgeon, Department of Intensive Care, Resuscitation and Necromancy
Post Reply