hydrilisk0's Models

[hydrilisk0]

Hey guys.
I'm not a terrific painter by any stretch of the imagination. After seeing some of the fantastic models here, the objective is to get some tips on how I can improve my painting. Here is some pictures of the models I have painted recently.


RnF Swordmasters


Bladelord


Standard Bearer and Musician


Teclis

Thanks,
Todrak

[Swordmaster of Hoeth]

Greetings!

Looking at your pictures it seems to me that the paint might be a little too thick. Do you dilute it? just adding some water and mixing it on a palette would improve it. It might mean that you need to put two layers than one sometimes but it is good too as in the future you will probably add many layers anyway to obtain smoother transition between colours. I also recommend using wet palette for mixing or diluting paints. If you want I can provide a link to an example how to make one.

I also noticed that gold is not clear enough. What colour did you use? In any case metallic paints might not cover the surface as nicely as matt colours. You simply need to put more layers but be careful not to make them too thick.

Red on black is a little problematic. What you may try is to paint the area of a gem you want to paint red with white first. Then paint red. Thanks to that your gems will look brighter and red covers white better.

The best advice I can give is, however, to keep painting

Hope that helps!

[hydrilisk0]

No I dont dilute. How much water should I put in?
I use shining gold. The pictures are a tad grainy but the gold doesnt seem to come out to well anyways. I will try, thanks
I was going to paint mecharite red on first, then put blood red on top. Would that work? Or is white a better option?
Thanks for the feedback. I'm desperate to develop my painting skills.

My white never seems to come out clearly. Have you any tips for that?

Thanks again,
Todrak

[Macharius]

You'll want to put in just enough water to thin your paint without turning it into colored water. Do a google (or even better, youtube) search for wet palette demonstration, as it will help tremendously.

You'd probably also find it useful to check the Island of Blood section for painting the High Elves on the GW site for step-by-step pics and explanations.

[Swordmaster of Hoeth]

For the purpose of simple area covering so that you obtain nice uniform colour you don't need much water. The idea is that you do not use the paint straight from the pot. Instead take some paint from the pot (I use old bigger brush to do it) and put a big drop on your palette. Wet pelette is good because it also keeps your paint from drying. Then add a drop of water and mix a little as long as your amount of paint is uniform again. Sometimes, when the paint is more diluted (or when you use washes) you might take a little too much on your brush so be careful not to put paint where you don't want it to flow. In general diluted paint will cover area better and even when you paint the same surface several times you will obtain smoother effect and uniform cover. just give it a try and see how it works for you.

It is not mendatory to use a white colours for your gems. I simply found it useful for me. By all means try any ideas you think might work, as painting is also about finding your own methods. If you have time paint one gem the way you want and the other with another technique and pick the one you like better. Speaking of white it is obviously a little difficult to get a clear end effect when you paint on black. What I do is to paint the area I want white with grey colour first and then paint with white. I do that so I can leave some areas grey and create a little highlight. In your case you can try it with clothes and leave some part of them grey as it will create a delicate shadow (with some light gray). If I want pure white I simply paint more layers and I think that with diluted paints they will cover areas better. Just be prepared to paint some places a few times to get a uniform colour. Unfortunately colours like white, yellow or red require some extra work.

Shining gold is a nice colour but I found this one in particular a little more difficult to work with. I simply paint more layers of it than with other colours (even mithril silver seems to cover area quicker).

I think at this stage you are close to obtain nice and uniform colours so just focus on it first and try to be as neat as possible. You can correct things later anyway but it pays off to be carefull from the beginning. As soon as you are happy with applying paints to your models you can start learning new techniques and push your skills to next level.

Oh! One more thing. I think it would improve the effect you obtain if you put some attention to bases. Static grass alone is, in my opinion, a little messy. I suggest you glue some sand first, let it dry. Apply some washes to it, let it dry again and then add some static grass here and there. It will take not that much time but will create a nicer effect.

[hydrilisk0]

Thanks a lot for the advice .
I'll be sure to try some out. I've been having a quick read through the How to Paint Citadel Models book which has some very nice techniques. I think I have been a tad impatient with my painting, where i have not bothered to build up layers and have instead applied flat paint which just doesnt cut it. Im hoping some wash can rescue the models that I have painted like this.

Cheers,
Todrak

[Andrew_uk]

for someone who says he's not a great painter those are extremely good! What would improve your models tremendously is to shade and highlight... easiest way to shade is just to either wash or paint with a slightly darker shade and water it down and just hit the darkest areas, then go back to the basecoat colour and try to smooth over the line where they meet... highlights just layer a couple of lighter shades over the top of what you have done working into the extremes where light would catch it and lightening those areas

[tinman]

Your models are really quite good. Just follow the advice given, make a few little tweeks here and there and your aces. I'm can't add any thing else.

[hydrilisk0]

Thanks for the feedback.
Working on an LSG unit. Nothing special atm... I just want a finished unit on the table at least. Once I finish it I will start really working on improving my technique.

[tinman]

Thanks for the feedback.
Working on an LSG unit. Nothing special atm... I just want a finished unit on the table at least. Once I finish it I will start really working on improving my technique.

I'm so damn slow, I wished I had a finished unit too. But I think on the core units is where to practice. Get them fundamentally right, then you take what you learned and apply it to the heros and lords. They cost to much to practice on...

[hydrilisk0]

Yeah, that was my plan. Im jsut working on the IoB LSG unit so it isnt nearly as much of an expense. They wont come out looking great, but I hope they will at least be good enough to put on a table .
I feel alright putting my SMs that i have painted on. Not so much Teclis. I wish I had waited until I was better before I had painted him to be honest.

[Macharius]

I feel alright putting my SMs that i have painted on. Not so much Teclis. I wish I had waited until I was better before I had painted him to be honest.

You can always strip the paint and do Teclis over again when you feel you've improved enough to want to do so: this is extremely easy with the metal models, and the reason I'm using Caradryan as my test figure. Just submerse in Simple Green (an eco-friendly multipurpose cleaning agent available at Home Depot, etc) for 24 hours and the paint will slough off without any difficulty at all. It will take your basing off, to, but by the time you get to that point you'll probably want to be rebasing your army anyways. You can do it with plastics to, but it's way more of a pain in the neck and if left in the stuff for too long can start to corrode the plastic and wear away model details.

Otherwise, I agree with tinman that you have a good basic technique and brush control. If anything, it looks like you have more patience for it than myself - I get antsy and try to go faster and that's when all the mistakes creep in lol

[Bolt Thrower]

I think watering down the paint alone is going to make all the difference for you (it was the first thing I learned as well when starting to paint). It's obvious you have a good grasp of colors and control, so making the paint more smooth on the model is going to give it a much more natural feel. I usually use the non-brush side of the brush and put some paint on a tile and then do the same from a cup of water and mix it around on the tile going for a milk-like consistency (about 1 part paint to 1 part water).

Add some washes to the armour and the plumes before a final highlight of paint and you'll be golden!

[Trag Sifarin]

I agree with the need to water down your paints. I suggest using Flow-Aid instead of water. Just be carefull because you need much less of this stuff then water. Also make sure you read the bottle because you need to water it down like 10-1. Here is a link to see what it is http://www.dickblick.com/products/liqui ... -additive/

[tinman]

I agree with the need to water down your paints. I suggest using Flow-Aid instead of water. Just be carefull because you need much less of this stuff then water. Also make sure you read the bottle because you need to water it down like 10-1. Here is a link to see what it is http://www.dickblick.com/products/liqui ... -additive/

Does this stuff slow the drying time? I find sometimes that my paint drys very fast, even when watered down. I forgot I have the Liquitex Slow Dry, but have never used it. Have you?

[hydrilisk0]

Hi guys.
I have been trying out diluting my paints more and trying to get into the habit of layering.

Here is a shot of the bolt thrower I have started.


There is a definate improvement in the smoothness of the paint which I am happy with.
I have the base colour for the parts I have painted bleach bone as bestial brown. Its hard to see from the photo, but the parts I intend to paint gold have been based with scorched brown. I am still not getting a completely uniform layer of paint (there are still pieces on the bleached bone which are darker than others). Is there anything esle I can do to improve this?

EDIT
Done a bit more work on the blot thrower. Heres the pics.





Apologies for the lighting. I only have a desk lamp and the camera's flash .

[Bolt Thrower]

I can definitely see that the paint is laying more smoothly for you. As for the eveness of the coloration, I find that often you have to put several layers on to get nice, even coverage. This is especially true when doing larger flat areas like that of the bolt thrower curved part. It's probably best to lay down a layer and let it dry before laying down another. Repeat as needed. This is another reason to keep the paint thinned as it will be smoother, but needs more layers.

I like your color choice on the RBT!

[squalie]

Actually, looking at the pictures you can paint quite well. Following the diluted advice is going to change your world. Good luck and keep going!

[hydrilisk0]

Started on a crew member. Still WIP, but nearly done. Just got some finishing touches to do.
I think I have went a bit thick on him again. I based the robes with Astronomican grey first and the white seems to have come out better than usual, so I am pleased with that. Also, the bolts and helmet were based with grey too, so the silver came out nice and bright which I am happy with.





So I still need to work on dilution of my paints.

[Bolt Thrower]

Looking good so far. I use astronomican grey as a foundation for white as well. I put that on first, then leave it in the recesses and do 50/50 mix of astronomican and skull white on the second layer. Then finally I use pure skull white on just the most raised parts of the model. It's simple and comes out with a pretty clean looking white.

[hydrilisk0]

Cool, I'll give that a try.
I've been using the foundation white paint. Im wondering if the paint will come out less grainy if I used the normal skull white?