BattleTech - The Board Game of Armored Combat
BattleTech Miniatures and Terrain => BattleTech Miniatures => Topic started by: GunjiNoKanrei on 23 September 2013, 09:51:46
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On CSO we have been talking about tutorials recently and one idea was to make it a bit more interactive. Born was the idea of the paint-along. So without further ado ... welcome to the first CSO paint-along!
In this thread I will post step-by-step pictures of how I paint a Mjolnir BattleMech in the colors of the Republic Standing Guard. But instead of just posting a long tutorial on CSO at once (which I will do after the paint-along) I want you to join in. I invite you to grab a miniature and a brush and follow the steps, post pictures of your miniatures and get feedback as we go along.
You don't have to paint a Mjolnir and you don't have to use the Republic Standing Guard scheme, but it will of course be the best comparison. The Mjolnir is a fantastic sculpt in my opinion, it is relatively new and is relevant to the current timeline. The scheme of the Republic Standing Guard is simple and with a military green being the dominant color it is very flexible as there are a plethora of "green" units out there.
Before we start I must admit I "cheated" a bit. At first the idea was to make this a "live" paint-along with me posting steps as I continue painting the miniature. But I was very unsure if my way of painting makes for a good step-by-step as my process is usually pretty chaotic jumping from color to color all across the miniature. Knowing I had to structure my process I started to work on the Mjolnir to see if this works. Then I decided to postpone the start of the paint-along until after the Iron Painter deadline, but of course I continued painting in the meantime. Long story short, the Mjolnir is finished, but I have approximately a hundred in progress pictures which I can release one step at a time. And no worries, you will get the unfiltered truth including all the mistakes ...
Here is a small teaser what to expect:
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/01-Teaser.jpg)
After each step I will give you a couple of days to catch up, post pictures of your work and for me to comment on the pictures. And of course to answer questions. So feel free to fire away anytime.
I want to point out though that the paint-along (obviously) shows my way of painting which may or may not work for you. Some steps will also likely go beyond what some are willing to do, but I will try to point out "jump off" points or shortcuts where appropriate. For example you can easily omit the weathering or throttle back on the overall contrast.
Especially when it comes to technique and ways of doing things miniature painting is very individual. What works for me doesn't necessarily work for you, may even be needlessly complicated to you. But knowing different techniques and different methods to reach a goal can only add to your toolbox. In the end it is all about tweaking different techniques to fit your own style and your own ways of painting.
But enough disclaimer now ... let's get this thing started ... here are the first two steps:
Step 1: Mjolnir assembled, cleaned, based and ready for priming.
Preparation for me means removing all mold lines and imperfections with an x-acto knife and files, completely assemble the miniature and attach it to the fully built base (if I can avoid it I never paint my miniatures in pieces or not-based). On very rough surface I also use very fine wet-and-dry sandpaper to smooth everything out. The Mjolnir is standing on a plastic base and the terrain was built using Miliput, fine sand/gravel and small pieces of slate.
Before painting I also glue the miniature to a handle (usually a small wooden cube or old paint pot). I strongly advice not to handle the miniature while painting. Handling the miniature while painting can easily flake of paint and the grease from your skin can have many negative side effects as well (like paint not sticking to the now greasy surface). Chose a handle you can, well, handle comfortably and you will see it even makes reaching some spots easier.
The one thing I didn't like about the miniature was the stance. I wanted it to have a little more movement. The best way would have been to remove the integrated base completely, but I took the lazy route: separate the legs, bend legs into desired shape and build up the base to resemble a small hill to hide the rest of the integrated base.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-01.1.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-01.2.jpg)
Step 2: Priming miniatures is usually a two step process. First I prime the miniature in black. Using black spray (I use GW Chaos Black spray ... yes, it is expensive, but it I never had problems with it, I can get it locally and since I paint single miniatures most of the time a can lasts a long time for me) and after the spray is dry watered down black paint to get to all the spots the spray didn't reach. This is actually a very important step for me as it means exploring the miniature with a brush for the first time. At this point I can find small mold lines or imperfections I missed during clean up, but also develop ideas how to paint details and generally get to know the lines of the miniature. The second step when priming is a light dusting with white spray (again GW). I don't want coverage, just a light dusting (and yes, I was a bit heavy on the white here...). Why do I do this? Well, I could write something about complex light theories and how this helps to establish lights and shadows even before painting, but the truth is I simply like the "feel" of it. I usually paint over more or less opaque basecoats and rarely use the primer color to my full advantage. But the white dusting makes for a rougher surface than a single primer color (but be careful - if you can feel the roughness or see what looks like small grains something went wrong and you better start again) and I like the way this surface takes paint.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-02.1.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-02.2.jpg)
And that's it for now. I hope some of you are interested in joining this CSO paint-along. I will wait a few days to gauge interest and for you to join in and catch up before I post the next steps where the actual painting starts :)
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To make the thread a bit more usable/readable here are direct links to posts of interest:
- Thoughts about priming:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,33513.msg782467.html#msg782467
- Core color selection:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,33513.msg782486.html#msg782486
- Thinning paints / brushes / Step 3 (basecolors) / Step 4 (filter/wash):
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,33513.msg782708.html#msg782708
- More thoughts about priming:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,33513.msg785609.html#msg785609
- Shading and highlighting techniques / Step 5 (shading the red I) / Step 6 (shading the red II):
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,33513.msg786661.html#msg786661
- Highlighting techniques / Step 7 (highlighting the red I) / Step 8 (highlighting the red II) / Step 9 (highlighting the red III) / Step 10 (grey parts and cockpit):
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,33513.msg789952.html#msg789952
- Step 11 (shading the green) / Shading video / Step 12 (highlighting the green I) / Step 13 (highlighting the green II):
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,33513.msg793984.html#msg793984
- Thoughts about metallics / Step 14 (metallics and decals):
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,33513.msg797856.html#msg797856
- Step 15 (laser lenses / chipping and scratches):
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,33513.msg800566.html#msg800566
- Step 16 (markings and numbers) / Step 17 (finish the shading and highlighting / chipping revisited) / Step 18 (warning stripes) / Step 19 (rust / dirt washes):
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,33513.msg804737.html#msg804737
- Step 20 (base) / Step 21 (pigments):
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,33513.msg809645.html#msg809645
Milestones collage:
Link to the most current final milestone collage. (http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/milestones5.jpg)
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I love this idea. I won't be able to paint along because I have no spare minis left, but it is definitely something I am going to follow.
Thanks for doing this!
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Like the idea and will look forward to how this pans out.
Love the movement you have added with the pose.
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I'm very interested in this format, I'm watching this topic.
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OMG, awesome idea! I'm so in. Will pick a mech this afternoon and get started tonight. O0
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This awesome. I just finished building a marauder that I am going to prime tonight to paint along :).
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Glad to see this come to light Gunji. One problem though, all I see is little red x's. :(
-Gunz
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This is a brilliant plan.
I wish I had the time to participate but the next two weeks are gonna be nuts.
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Awesome! Does this mean I need to get one of these going since I volunteered to go second? :D
(once you finish up of course!)
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I’m at work right now, so I cannot read the whole thing (I can only bounce in, check a few things and go), but just a thought (sorry if it’s already mentioned)…what about doing small videos on panel highlighting, or washing, etc. Steps that a lot of us take for granted, that people who are trying to build their skills would benefit from.
It’s also nice to see per Savage’s post that this will not be the only one. I’m looking forward to seeing techniques from several of my favorite CSO people on here…
Thanks to the CSO team for coming up with this & getting it to go live!
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Im particularly interested in how you weather......great idea and thanks for the work on your part :)
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Glad to see this is generating some interest :)
@Todd: I have checked on three different devices and can see the pictures without problems. Maybe a firewall at work blocking them?
Is anyone else having problems with the pictures?
@Dragon41673: videos are a good idea and I have actually played around with this. The results are so and so as I haven't found an ideal setup yet (the wife's look when she saw me filming myself while painting ... priceless). Maybe I can edit them into something useful. Maybe I will revisit the idea when I can find the time. We'll see.
@Ross: Start the brainstorming ;)
@SteelWarrior: If the weathering is the most interesting part for you might also want to check out this article on CSO: http://www.camospecs.com/Article.asp?FictionID=56
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Never had that problem before from my work comoputer. Weird. Anyway, I look forward to checking it out when I get home. O0
-Gunz
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I checked out the weathering tutorial a few months ago, was very insightful. For me i find the more examples and displays of a technique i can see, the more confident i am when i give it a shot!
Ill be watching ;)
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@Ross: Start the brainstorming ;)
*cough*DonegalGuards*cough*
Sorry... had something in my throat! ;)
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::)
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Okay Gunji I like the idea and will do this with you, but with a Thanatos.
After washing the mini, I filed each of the hex base sides with a large flat file so as to remove the mold lines.
Then the main body was epoxied into the hex base and let dry. The epoxy I use is the one squeeze self mixing in the "syringe" 5 minute setting kind that you can get a Wal Mart.
Once the epoxy was cured, I then removed the mold lines on the mini. There were quite a few to remove, especially the legs, across the top of the torso and each of the arms.
The original artwork for the Thanatos has one medium pulse laser sticking out of each left and right torso, but for some reason, the mini didn't have them. So I drilled out some holes in each of the torso's per the artwork and added steel rods that I flattened the ends with and glued (super glue gel) them in place.
I also drilled out the missile tubes in the right arm and both barrels for the left arm.
With a jeweler's saw, I then cut the right arm off from the shoulder as I didn't like the downward angle of the right arm weapon. I drilled out a hole into the right shoulder and did a dry fit with the pin to check that the angle was level. It was. I then eyeballed where the right shoulder should be repined to the torso and drilled another hole accordingly. Another dry fitting between the right shoulder, the pin in the right shoulder and the right torso was then done. Once completed, I then pinned the right arm (the pin used can be seen in one of the pictures below) into the torso with super glue gel.
I like my mechs with weapons up and aiming. Even the left arm and torso weapons are aiming forward.
The modifications to the Thanatos are mine alone and are outside of the purpose of Gunji's "Follow along guide". I put the information above for what I did in case anyone else would like to do the same mods to the mini. For those just getting into mech painting and doing Gunji's "Follow along guide", do not feel compelled to do what I did.
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The Thanatos primed with Howard Hues white primer that was watered down just a little before applying.
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Okay Gunji I like the idea and will do this with you, but with a Thanatos.
I'd recommend you add jumpjets on the back. ;) current mini is lacking all five of them.
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Just a thought but, a paint list would be nice to have in advance in case we need to pick up a couple of different or specific colors.
Don't have a Mo'Jo on hand but I may be able to dig up another Republic unit to follow along with.
Interested though I think I may pass on the dusting-white primer phase. I could see myself screwing up a good base-primer coat with it.
Thanks!
Mike
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It's interesting to see people get similar effects in a different way. I've taken to priming my minis grey and then applying a black wash before I paint, which works out about the same as your black prim and white dusting.
I also attach my minis to paint pots, but I use Blu-Tak rather than glue.
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Ok, I didn't have a Mjolnir, so I decided on an Enforcer III. Similar humanoid shape, with similar shoulder armor, but sadly lacking the awesome hammer.
I'm not fond of the stance of the EIII, so after removing the mold lines I started chopping. My goal was to have him torso-twisting to the left and bringing that left arm weapon into firing position. I also wanted him to look as though he was making a quick change of direction, by freeing that left lower leg and reattaching as though it's kicked up and he's changing direction of run towards the target on his left. Here he is after jeweler's saw:
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20130924_000117_zpsd4113c1b.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20130924_000117_zpsd4113c1b.jpg.html)
First, I did some filing on the knee joint to clean it up and make it ready to be seen from a different angle. Then drilled holes for pins in the knee ball and the corresponding position in the upper leg. I glued this together, but got the angle wrong at first (to my eye). In order to give the impression of changing direction, I felt the leg needed to be angled so that the foot was behind the torso and not lined up with the original facing. Broke it loose and repositioned/re-glued.
Next I drilled holed for the torso mounting and glued the torso back to the legs. After this I removed some extra material from where the arm was originally connected to the torso. After dry-fitting the left arm in place, I was satisfied with the position and glued it in place. Since I felt like the arm wouldn't normally experience much stress, I took my chances and didn't pin this bit.
I was pleased with how it turned out, but when it's on the table I'll have to make it clear which hex is the "front". The right leg and hips are still pointing forward, but the focus of the mech is clearly to the left and when the basing is finished it should also be evident that the new direction of travel is left as well:
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20130924_082832_zps31d87af3.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20130924_082832_zps31d87af3.jpg.html)
Bleh, that's a terrible pic. Tonight, I'll do the basing and then prime it.
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Tag
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Thanks for doing this... I've been waiting for you to do a complete tutorial ever since that Cicada in your weathering tutorial...
Of course you decide to do it when I'm swamped with school and have no time to paint... :(
Do you mind answering questions about this... Oh, I don't know... Maybe during the summer?
Caz
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Glad to see so many participants :)
I will wait another day for everyone interested to catch up and post the next step(s) tomorrow. If this is too soon, just tell me. I guess finding the best speed to advance is something we have to figure out on the fly.
@Force of Nature: Thanks for the write-up. Very nice modification.
If I may ask, why do you prime with a brush? The results I was getting from brush-on primer were always, well, not so good. Judging by your pictures it looks like your primer is a bit uneven, with thicker paint build-up in corners and around ridges. But pictures can have a tendency to exaggerate things like that.
Also, do you plan on building and priming the base later?
@The Wayfarer: It is not a good base-primer coat unless you give it the white dusting ... 8) Seriously though, looking forward to your participation.
Regarding a color list, my plan was to mention colors as I use them. I also wanted to suggest similar colors or alternatives as I am pretty sure not everyone will have the exact colors I have used. I don't think having the exact same colors is a must. But if it helps, I can post a colorlist when I am home from work later today.
@serrate: Very nice mod. The repose adds a lot of dynamism to the Enforcer. It might be a bit more difficult to paint due to the many panel lines, but should work nicely nonetheless.
@Cazaril: Ask questions when you have the time, even if it means during summer ... ;)
I also attach my minis to paint pots, but I use Blu-Tak rather than glue.
Ok, to clarify, I use something similar to blu-tak. Maybe my wording there wasn't the best ... ;)
::)
So ... are you in? ^-^
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Just finsihed up the last of my 'required' pieces so I will be jumping in on this as well. I have an Argus primed and ready that I have been meaning to get to for some time. The plan is to make a Gunji-clone. :D
-Gunz
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I'm in awe to see this tutorial here! Many thanks and good luck!
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@Force of Nature: Thanks for the write-up. Very nice modification.
If I may ask, why do you prime with a brush? The results I was getting from brush-on primer were always, well, not so good. Judging by your pictures it looks like your primer is a bit uneven, with thicker paint build-up in corners and around ridges. But pictures can have a tendency to exaggerate things like that.
Also, do you plan on building and priming the base later?
I primed with a brush as that is what I have available to prime with. I have not had bad experiences with brush on primers, but I have had bad experiences with spray primers though. As for the base and priming it, I will do that last as that is the easy part for me.
I appreciate your time in doing this tutorial Gunji and look forward to the next step(s).
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Marauder assembled and Primed. I am very excited to participate with this! Weather Cooperated with me so I could prime today.
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Wow. That basecoat thing is spectacular. :)
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Ok neither having a Mjolnir nor being interested in that particular camo, but very interested in understanding how you do your awesome paintjobs. ;)
I am the only one on board who is already totally puzzled by "dusting" a mini ? Would like to give it a try and started yesterday. But either i have a black or a White mini afterwards. :D
Also the tip with Grey primer and black wash sounds good - if not i'm lacking any Grey primer.
That Project and all the great comments are very helpful i think. Will follow this closely. ;)
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Ok neither having a Mjolnir nor being interested in that particular camo, but very interested in understanding how you do your awesome paintjobs. ;)
I am the only one on board who is already totally puzzled by "dusting" a mini ? Would like to give it a try and started yesterday. But either i have a black or a White mini afterwards. :D
Also the tip with Grey primer and black wash sounds good - if not i'm lacking any Grey primer.
That Project and all the great comments are very helpful i think. Will follow this closely. ;)
Dusting is when you give the mini a short burst of primer. So you get a light spray "dusted" effect.
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Ok neither having a Mjolnir nor being interested in that particular camo, but very interested in understanding how you do your awesome paintjobs. ;)
Well, as you can see you could easily use another mini. And about the camo ... you like FWL, don't you? Fusiliers of Oriente, Oriente Hussars and Orloff Grenadiers make heavy use of dark green ... ;)
I am the only one on board who is already totally puzzled by "dusting" a mini ? Would like to give it a try and started yesterday. But either i have a black or a White mini afterwards. :D
When you spray the mini, do you start spraying already in line with the miniature? If so, stop doing that. Easy to get way too much paint on the mini. Start spraying next to the miniature, then move the can across the miniature while spraying. Do this relatively quickly and repeat until satisfied. Also don't use long bursts, just short controlled bursts.
Now if you do this with a black miniature and white primer ... not spraying the miniature full on ... instant 'dusted' miniature.
Sounds more complicated than it actually is. Trust me ;)
Maybe the amazing *cough cough* scribble I have attached will help.
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The subject of color list was brought up. Before I give you a list of colors I have used I want to stress that it is not important to have the exact same colors. Similar colors should work just fine. I wanted to suggest alternative colors, but realized this quickly clutters the list. If you'd like to have me suggest alternatives for any of the colors just tell me and I will gladly do so. Of course all of those alternative colors have different nuances, but even using the very same colors I have used you shouldn't expect to get a 100% match.
People will have different preferences. As with techniques some colors (brands) 'work' for them, other don't. For example I avoid Vallejo Game Colors like the plague and am not very happy with the new GW paints, but love the old ones. Take the colors (brands) you are comfortable with.
Colors I have used (not comprehensive at this point):
Basecolors:
- Vallejo Model Color Reflective Green (basecolor for the green parts)
- Reaper Master Series Mahogany Brown (basecolor for the red parts) - for shading/highlighting I will also make heavy use of GW Scab Red as basecolor for mixes
- GW Boltgun Metal (basecolor for the metal parts like the hammer) - the old GW metallics are hands down the best metallic paints in my opinion, followed by Vallejo Model Air
- Vallejo Panzer Aces Dark Rubber (basecolor for the dark grey parts like the fingers) - definitely the least important of the basecolors.
Shading Colors:
- Vallejo Panzer Aces Periscopes (used all over the miniature) - best shading color ever!
- Black - my personal preference is Reaper Master Series black as it is very flat, but of course any black will do
Highlight Colors:
- Vallejo Model Air Interior Yellow (used sparingly on the green parts)
- Vallejo Model Color Pale Sand (used on both the red and green parts)
- Vallejo Model Color Ivory (used for final highlights)
- White - I don't really have a preference here, currently I use Vallejo Model Color White
That should do it for now. But no worries, there will be more colors ;) And I may have forgotten a shading or highlight color, but the once mentioned are the "core colors" so to speak.
Again, just post if you'd like me to suggest alternatives for any of the colors. It is not necessary for you to buy all of those paints if you don't have them readily available.
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Thanks Gunji - sounds good. Will give an old Orion a try on that. ;)
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Looks good. I got my Talon ready to go. Looking forward to the next step
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Enforcer III primed and "dusted"
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20130925_090357_zpsa6b5442d.jpeg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20130925_090357_zpsa6b5442d.jpeg.html)
Edit: Meant to add a little more detail. I prime with Liquitex Gesso Black. I used to spray prime, but I've found that the Gesso is just much tougher. Of course, I learned awhile back that touching the mini at all will cause paint/primer to wear off (especially on edges and pointy bits), so attaching the mini to something definitely helps me not rub paint off as well.
Gave it a quick dusting with white primer this morning. Just cheap Krylon stuff that I've had for awhile so I hope it comes out ok when dry.
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I hope everyone has had enough time to prepare and prime a miniature and is ready to slap some paint on it. Not everyone has posted a picture yet, so if the next step is too soon, please speak up so I can give everyone enough time to catch up. As mentioned earlier I guess we have to find out on the fly what the best speed will be :)
Before we get to the basecolors I want to say a word or two about thinning paints. Always thin your paints. There are a few exceptions, but almost always I thin my paints at least a little. To thin my paints I use distilled water almost exclusively. Distilled water because tap water can contain chalk and other stuff which can have a undesired effects on your paints.
Now you probably want to know, how much I thin my paints ... honestly, I can't give you exact formulas. I thin my paints differently for different applications (basecoat, shading, wash, ...) and always until I feel it is right. Sometimes I use drops of water from a dropper bottle, sometimes I just pick up some water with a brush (yes, this can even be my painting water at times). When I started painting I used think in exact ratios, but to tell the truth it was liberating to stop thinking about painting as if it was a rocket science. Same with mixing paint, but more on that during later stages. The amount of water to thin paint to behave like you want it to can actually vary from color to color even when from the same brand. A pigment rich color might have to be thinned more to be applied as a wash than a color with less pigments. And to make it even more complicated there isn't only "not thin enough", there is also "too thin". So in the end it does all come down to experience, experimenting and practice.
I know this doesn't help much, so I will try to give approximations when possible. But don't take those approximations (or observations in some cases) as exact ratios.
Acrylic paint gets more transparent the more you thin it. This characteristic will come in very hand in later steps and we will rely on it heavily. But we want a more or less opaque basecoat to work from so I don't thin the basecolors that much. I'd say not thinner than 50/50 paint water.
Maybe now is also a good time to loose a word or two about brushes. Brush size doesn't matter. It is all about the tip. You can paint the finest detail with a size 1 or 2 brush when the tip is perfect. A too small brush (smaller than 0 or 000) can actually cause more problems than it is worth. The tip won't be finer than of a good size 0, but the body will hold much less paint, meaning you have to pick up paint much more often (which you don't want when painting a freehand for example) or in the worst cause even mean the paint dries on the brush before hitting the miniature.
Sable brushes hold the best tips. I have never had any luck with nylon brushes as they don't hold the tip well and usually end up with a bendy tip sooner rather than later. My preferred brushes are from Da Vinci (I think it is series 10, but I will have to look this up when I am home). They are expensive, but they last a long time even when you don't treat them well (which I don't ...).
I usually use brushes size 1 and 0. Sometimes I use a size 2 or even a flat brush to apply a basecoat and in very rare cases I use a 000. The Mjolnir was completely painted with brushes size 1 and 0.
But let's get to the miniature ...
First we take a look at the description for the Republic Standing Guards scheme as per Field Manual 3085:
"The basic color scheme of militia units is olive drab with maroon highlights on prominent areas of the unit."
Step 3: With this in mind my basecolors are:
- Vallejo Model Color Reflective Green for the green parts - a nice olive green, not too dark, but not exactly bright and vibrant either.
- Reaper Master Series Mahogany Brown for the maroon parts - if you google for maroon you get a wide range from bright to dark red-brown, but a relatively dark reddish-brown seems to dominate. Mahogany Brown is a very rich color, maybe a bit on the brown side, but we can adjust that later.
- GW Boltgun Metal for all metallic parts - hammer, elbow joints, "disks" on the outside of the knees, laser barrels on the right and arm and torso and the jumpjet exhaust ports.
- Vallejo Panzer Aces Dark Rubber for fingers and the "vents" on the wings (head) - not part of the scheme description, but adding little things like this adds interest and detail to a miniature. I also often do this on joints where there seems to be some sort of (rubber) cover instead of bare metallics.
As mentioned above I thinned the basecolor not more than 50/50. I applied each color in maybe 2-3 thin layers.
When working with thinned paints it easy to pick up too much paint which then will flow freely on the miniature. To counter this I usually lightly drag my brush across a tissue (paper towel) after picking up paint and before hitting the miniature.
The coverage of the basecolors is not quite, but almost, opaque and relatively even. You don't have to be super neat at this stage.
Some areas were painted black (cockpit, bars at the cockpit, "disks" on the outside of the hips). These areas will get some special treatment during later stages (warning stripes and canopy). Also, while I had black on the palette I painted the borders of the base with it. This is of course purely optional at this stage, but I like to frame the miniature.
It might be of note that I painted the metallics over the light primer too. Often you hear that metallics cover better on dark/black surface. While there is some truth in that, I find that 2-3- thin coats over a light primer cover equally well, or at least well enough. I did paint the metallics first though as they can be very messy. I highly recommend using a dedicated set of brushes only for metallics. Nothing can be more frustrating than getting a smear of metallic pigments on the miniature with the last glaze you apply. And there will be metallic pigments left in your brush, even if you clean it thoroughly. Also change your painting water after using metallics before using another color or you will get metallic pigments all over the miniature. Better yet, use an extra cup of water only for metallics (I don't, but really should ...).
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-03.1.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-03.2.jpg)
At this stage the miniature looks like a piece of poo and it will continue to do so for quite some time ... to tell the truth this is the part about painting miniatures I hate most: starting a new miniature and literally fighting through the first painting stages. I do have many miniatures in one of the early stages sitting in my cabinet of shame ... :-[
Anyway ... I wasn't quite happy with the green color so I decided to tweak the color a bit.
Step 4: Mixing Reflective Green with a dab of black I prepared a wash for the green parts. For a wash I thin the paint quite a lot so it has a very watery consistency. Applying a wash often means more or less flooding the miniature with paint, allowing the paint to flow into recesses and the like. I didn't do that in this case. You can almost say, I only glazed the dark green on. To have control over a wash it is very important not to have too much paint on the brush. So after unloading the brush on a paper towel I applied the paint in controlled strokes, painting from light to dark, literally pushing the paint into the recesses. I completely covered all green areas that way. Looking at the pictures you can see that I only got a bit of definition, but that the green has been darkened very evenly. Goal achieved.
This step is optional. Had I chosen a darker green as a basecolor I probably wouldn't have done this. The only purpose was to tweak the green.
At this stage I also washed the metallics with black (watered down black paint). Here I just slopped the paint on, not caring about neatness, even application or pooling. Looks quite messy, but it is easy to clean this up later.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-04.1.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-04.2.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-04.3.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-04.4.jpg)
Phew, this post got much longer than I planned and we still haven't done much painting ... sorry and sorry for the wall of text (I still feel, I forgot many things...). But I think it is important to get the basics down and to give you insights into what I am doing and why so you understand how I do things.
Now I am looking forward to your basecoated miniatures and questions should you have any :)
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Vallejo Panzer Aces Periscopes
I want to bring this up as I am sure others out there have the same question. Is this a medium you use when you shade. Do you add other colors to it. You said you use it all over the minature.
-Gunz
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I want to bring this up as I am sure others out there have the same question. Is this a medium you use when you shade. Do you add other colors to it. You said you use it all over the minature.Zu
-Gunz
Periscopes is a regular color from the Panzer Aces line, a unsaturated dark blue similar to Vallejo Model Color Dark Sea Blue. I use it in mixes and neat to shade pretty much everything.
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So after day one of actual painting I am behind where I want to be. I spent about an hour painting and got the cockpit, the sides of the base black, 95% of the metallics are covered with there coats of paint and the red base is about 45% done. I am finding working with thinned paint more difficult than unthinned paint right now.
I will post a picture tomorrow as I have to upload it to my computer to edit.
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I am a little confused by what you did Gunji.
The scheme is for olive and red, yet you started out with olive and then darkened it with a dark wash. Are we to give the olive green coat a dark wash also even when it says that it is optional? If we don't do the dark wash, our results are going to be different than yours.
By darkening the green with the wash, are you no longer painting the canon colors for the unit? Dark green is not olive after all.
Should we have just started with a dark green instead as you suggested?
I have painted with olive green but have not done the wash yet. If I don't do the wash, my results are going to be skewed from yours from the beginning of this tutorial.
Thoughts?
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I am a little confused by what you did Gunji.
The scheme is for olive and red, yet you started out with olive and then darkened it with a dark wash. Are we to give the olive green coat a dark wash also even when it says that it is optional? If we don't do the dark wash, our results are going to be different than yours.
By darkening the green with the wash, are you no longer painting the canon colors for the unit? Dark green is not olive after all.
Should we have just started with a dark green instead as you suggested?
I have painted with olive green but have not done the wash yet. If I don't do the wash, my results are going to be skewed from yours from the beginning of this tutorial.
Thoughts?
The wash adds depth. I cant speak for gunji but youll likely layer another coat of olive over top of it, leaving some of the darkness behind. More than likely this mini is not even half way done :p.
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@Spaceman: If you never worked with thinned paint it does take some getting used, but it is well worth the effort. That being said, how much did you thin your paints and what exactly do you find difficult? If the coverage is not good (you only get an opaque basecoat after many many layers) try thinning the paint less. If the paints freely runs off your brush, pools everywhere and the coverage is very uneven, try unloading your brush on a (paper) towel or pick up less paint.
@Force of Nature: Don't overthink it ;) Do a google search for olive green (https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&hl=de&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1600&bih=1137&q=olive+green&oq=olive+green&gs_l=img.3..0l2j0i24l4.3367.5173.0.6308.11.9.0.2.2.0.123.633.7j2.9.0....0...1ac.1.27.img..1.10.514.OoLCX0tGjq0) and look at painted examples on CSO (http://www.camospecs.com/Unit.asp?ID=1038). You will find a huge varity of olive greens. Who is to say what THE (canon) olive green looks like? Is my Reflective Green (with or without a dark wash) the one true olive green? Or the green wackrabbit used? That's one of the nice things about the canon schemes. They don't give exact values, but just a name for a color which can be interpreted by the artist.
I darkened the green for two reasons: first, it was a bit too bright (or rather too intense/saturated) for my liking after seeing it on the miniature, second I already wanted to add at least a bit of definition to the miniature. This step is optional because it won't really be noticeable once the miniature is finished. We haven't started shading and highlighting the miniature yet, a lot is yet to come. It is also optional because you don't necessarily have to agree with my thinking the basecolor is too bright once applied to the miniature. Also your basecolor may already be darker than mine, because you have chosen another color or painted over a black primer (which I know you didn't, I'm just generally speaking). (And after shading we will come back with the base Reflective Green when we start highlighting.)
Your results will be different from mine. Even if you use the exact same colors I have used. But they will never be sk(r)ewed. Color mixes will vary from painter to painter, application will vary from painter to painter, where you start and stop a brushstroke varies from painter to painter.
If you follow my steps you will at least get a close approximation of my final result. I think the important part is not get an exact match in hue and color value, but to understand the technique how to get a certain result or effect.
After you post your next pictures I won't point out that your green isn't an olive unless it looks really off to me. I will be looking at paint application, coverage, evenness and during later stages contrast, placement of shades and lights, ...
My biggest problem before starting this paint-along was the fact that my painting is very intuitive, maybe even chaotic. I had to tweak my usual method of operation a lot to get everything down to individual steps and structure the process in a way that is (hopefully) easy to follow. Most of the time when painting I jump all over the miniature, working a bit here, a bit there. This dark wash was certainly one of those intuitive steps where I just felt it would be a good idea, a spur of the moment decision. Bear with me and trust me when I say that there won't be many of those optional steps coming up (unless you choose to omit the weathering for example). So I hope future steps will be less confusing.
I hope this helps :-\
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I am a little confused by what you did Gunji.
The scheme is for olive and red, yet you started out with olive and then darkened it with a dark wash. Are we to give the olive green coat a dark wash also even when it says that it is optional? If we don't do the dark wash, our results are going to be different than yours.
By darkening the green with the wash, are you no longer painting the canon colors for the unit? Dark green is not olive after all.
Should we have just started with a dark green instead as you suggested?
I have painted with olive green but have not done the wash yet. If I don't do the wash, my results are going to be skewed from yours from the beginning of this tutorial.
Thoughts?
I have a lance of Republic Standing Guard I have been working on. The wash is optional, but recommended.
It does a number of things. First, as stated, it brings depth to the green. The wash goes to the lower areas,
darkening them, while leaving the raised areas lighter. It also flows into the panel lines, bringing them out,
making them much darker, and easier to find for when you begin the highlighting process.
It is my opinion that the four skills that any painter should have are: Washing, Drybrushing, mixing, and
brush control. If you can master the first three skills, and are decent with the fourth, there is little you
can't do. Also...OK, Gunji..thank you for this..while I won't be putting mini pics up, I will be watching this.
And look forward to your next one of these.
(NOTE: I would like to see your "live tutorial" with how you normally paint...)
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I have a lance of Republic Standing Guard I have been working on. The wash is optional, but recommended.
It does a number of things. First, as stated, it brings depth to the green. The wash goes to the lower areas,
darkening them, while leaving the raised areas lighter. It also flows into the panel lines, bringing them out,
making them much darker, and easier to find for when you begin the highlighting process.
I'd like to jump in here to point out that I used the dark wash on the green areas more as a glaze than a wash (as stated above in the description of the step). StCptMara is describing what a wash 'normally' does - flow into recesses to bring out panel lines and the like. This is NOT what I did here. I never had that much paint on the brush that it could flow around on the miniature. Yes, I achieved a bit of definition, but that was more to please my eye than for anything else. The actual shading (adding depth) will come later. The main purpose was to evenly tint the green color and darken it. As stated above.
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@Spaceman: If you never worked with thinned paint it does take some getting used, but it is well worth the effort. That being said, how much did you thin your paints and what exactly do you find difficult? If the coverage is not good (you only get an opaque basecoat after many many layers) try thinning the paint less. If the paints freely runs off your brush, pools everywhere and the coverage is very uneven, try unloading your brush on a (paper) towel or pick up less paint.
@Gunji I want to say 50/50 paint water mix but it feels more watery then that. It goes on either almost like a wash or if I use a paper towel to soak some off it paint hardly shows up and I have to paint over an area several times to get paint of the brush. I don't know if I am describing it correctly but I will try to take a picture for you later. Thanks for doing this!
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At this stage the miniature looks like a piece of poo and it will continue to do so for quite some time ... to tell the truth this is the part about painting miniatures I hate most: starting a new miniature and literally fighting through the first painting stages. I do have many miniatures in one of the early stages sitting in my cabinet of shame ... :-[
Can I just say that this paragraph right here is immensely valuable to see, especially coming from you Gunji. I've got so many mechs in that "cabinet of shame", for essentially the same reason. I finish basecoating and they just look terrible. That's one of the reasons I enjoy the Iron Painter contest so much, as it forces me to push through that stage. I'm glad to see that it's not just me or my technique that is at fault, but rather that generally minis just look like crap until you start to move beyond basecoat. Thanks!
Alright, speaking of basecoat. I used Vallejo Model Color Reflective Green (Hobby Lobby had it in stock!) for the green, GW Boltgun Metal for joints and barrels, Reaper Carnage Red, and a basic Ceramcoat Black for base, cockpit, and rear of the left arm barrel.
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20130926_002610_zps6e8c4214.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20130926_002610_zps6e8c4214.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20130926_002620_zps364a863b.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20130926_002620_zps364a863b.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20130926_002630_zpsf776891d.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20130926_002630_zpsf776891d.jpg.html)
I was tempted here to simply pull out my usual washes (GW Baal red for the highlights, Thraka green for the green, and Tamiya Smoke for the metallics), BUT this is about learning to paint Gunji-style! ;)
So I mixed a drop of the black, green, and about 4x as much water to make a wash. It was mostly black, so I have to admit this part scared me. I was worried that I was about to muddy up the whole mini and make it much darker. It did seem though that there couldn't possibly be much pigment actually setting on the mini, because the wash was very watery, so I started applying it to all the green areas first. Then I went back back and applied it a little heavier to the metallics. I didn't wash the red areas at all. I took the pictures this morning so everything had time to dry:
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20130926_082111_zpsbdb687de.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20130926_082111_zpsbdb687de.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20130926_082128_zps3a13db62.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20130926_082128_zps3a13db62.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20130926_082140_zps15efbbf0.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20130926_082140_zps15efbbf0.jpg.html)
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@Spaceman: Yes, a picture would be good. But just from the sound of it I'd say try thinning a little less and see what happens. Which colors did you use btw?
@serrate: Looks good as far as I can see, I'd say you are well on your way to Gunji-style ... I wouldn't mind some bigger pictures though ;)
Your maroon looks very red, but this is not a problem. Just something for me to keep in mind.
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@serrate: Looks good as far as I can see, I'd say you are well on your way to Gunji-style ... I wouldn't mind some bigger pictures though ;)
Your maroon looks very red, but this is not a problem. Just something for me to keep in mind.
Ok, I modified my pics so I'm zoomed in closer to the mini.
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Ok, while i'm totally behind (mini is just primed black and will be dusted now #P ) your explanations are very useful. I'm looking forward to follow this guide and see what it does.
I always envy your calm when i see you painting. Other than you i like to apply the base coat and make the first steps to bring out the camo. But i hate to go in detail as i miss the needed patience for that. Also the reason i mostly paint with less thinned colors ... and lastly tend to drybrush and wash. But i'm so happy to go with you step by step on this project.
Pictures will follow as soon as there is something to show. ;)
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@Gunji I want to say 50/50 paint water mix but it feels more watery then that. It goes on either almost like a wash or if I use a paper towel to soak some off it paint hardly shows up and I have to paint over an area several times to get paint of the brush. I don't know if I am describing it correctly but I will try to take a picture for you later. Thanks for doing this!
One of the most liberating pieces of advice I ever got from a pro painter was to play around with glazes. Tint a color towards another hue. Darken it. Lighten it. It's amazing how many times you can go back and forth, playing with colors until you find something you like. Painting should be fun experimentation. :D
I am sad that I will be away from my paints all next week, so I can't jump in. I might come back later in the fall and try out "Gunji-Style" on my own time.
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Gunji Do you ever have an instance where you mist a light spray of black over white primer? I realize that it wouldn't do any good when it came to darkening the recesses, but maybe to help with understanding the lighting of the mini. Thanks!
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@serrate: Yes, much better. Still looking good, nothing to add from my side at this point. Or wait, the more I look at ypur pictures the more I think your metallics could use another black wash or two. We will tackle the metallics later, but here the wash is actually the first shading. Don't be afraid to go dark (and flat) in the shadows.
You could also try to find one or two good spots for warning stripes and paint them black. But this can also be done later when we get to details such as this.
@Lbcwanabe: No, never done that. But if you want to understand the lighting of the mini or even use the primer as a pre-shade white dusting over black is the way to go in my opinion. This way recesses are dark, raised areas are light as this is where most of the "dust" from the white spray collects. Misting black over white would give you a negative image as you have light recesses and the raised areas in black.
I always envy your calm when i see you painting.
You should see me in a painting frenzy during detail work. Nothing calm there ... ;)
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This is where I got to last night. Going to try to finish the red up and move to green. I went with Scab Red as I don't have any reddish browns on hand. I am going to play with thinning paint more.
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Well as I was painting my marauder the left arm fell off. So I have to repair that before continuing. I did find it eaiser to paint with thinned paints today. I had to have the right mix of paint an water. I think yesterday my paints were to watery.
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Well as I was painting my marauder the left arm fell off. So I have to repair that before continuing. I did find it eaiser to paint with thinned paints today. I had to have the right mix of paint an water. I think yesterday my paints were to watery.
Always pin.
Also great work guys!
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Ok Mike, so the Argus I was planning to do is needed elsewhere so i'm going with a Hell's Horses Alpha Keshik Urbanmech IIC.
Black Primer with White Dusting. I've used this technique in the past to mixed effects. I'm hoping you make a beliver out of me. ;)
(http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg122/Mastergunz/Hells%20Horses%20Hunchback%20IIC/0926132124_zps7306ad34.jpg) (http://s247.photobucket.com/user/Mastergunz/media/Hells%20Horses%20Hunchback%20IIC/0926132124_zps7306ad34.jpg.html)
Used a 50/50 mix of Army Painter Matte Black (my new favorite Black!) and P3 Bastion Grey for my base. Paneled in Reaper Carnage Red and GW Boltgun Metal followed by a target wash with GW Devlin Mud. The Red still wasn't quite dark enough to work up a good contrast so I gave the whole thing a Black Wash. Black based schemes have always been my Achilles Heel as far as getting the right contrast with the highlights and not looking 'overdone' so here is hoping I can learn some magic from you. O0
(http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg122/Mastergunz/0926132316_zps56ca4559.jpg) (http://s247.photobucket.com/user/Mastergunz/media/0926132316_zps56ca4559.jpg.html)
-Gunz
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Well as I was painting my marauder the left arm fell off. So I have to repair that before continuing. I did find it eaiser to paint with thinned paints today. I had to have the right mix of paint an water. I think yesterday my paints were to watery.
First time I thinned my paints i HATED it. went back to straight out of the bottle for the next mini i did. Once they were both painted up it was obvious thinning was the way to go. Since then I CANT stand painting out of the pot. Its insane and takes twice as long and gives horrible results :)
Your minis are easily 50%+ better just by thinning.
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@spaceman: sounds like you are getting the hang of it :) Keep at it and you will get more comfortable with thinned paints. The red (Scab Red is fine btw) looks solid so far. You may want to touch up a few parts to get a more even coverage (see attachment). Getting down an even basecoat is important for the next steps as this is probably the most opaque layer of paint we will apply.
No worries about the damaged arm (TheDean's suggestions is a good one though), I will still wait a day or two before posting the next steps so everyone can catch up.
@Todd: Nice "Hunchback" ;) A different scheme is a challenge, but I think I am up to it. Black is indeed a difficult color to work with, but also a very interesting one as you can easily achieved a dull or a shiny finish depending on how you highlight.
It wasn't necessary to already darken the panel lines on the red parts. We will get to it when we do the shading, but it doesn't hurt either.
Ok, as mentioned I still want to wait a day or two before posting the next steps, giving everyone time to catch up. By the way, the next steps will tackle the red parts, first going through the shading stages, then introducing highlights.
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Really appreciate this,thanks for your time and dedication.
I have a question btw about the use of ******.I learned from some painters to mix some of it in the first coat.What do you think about?Is still worth the use while primering the mini in this way instead of a signle sprayed white coat..
In any case what your thoughts about the ****** in general?
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****** is a medium that extends the drying time of acrylic paint. I have never mixed it in my basecoat and honestly I don't see the point. Working over more or less opaque basecoats with thin paints, washes and glazes I want my basecoat to dry fast.
While I have experimented with ****** once or twice I never found it very useful. Maybe if you work wet-in-wet a lot, but even then (distilled) water is all you need in my opinion. I am not a big fan of adding a medium of any sorts to the paint. There are exceptions, but there are very very few.
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I've used ****** a bit several years ago when I was painting Warmachine troop selections or large units like warbeasts or warjacks and it was somewhat useful. I've found while using P3 and Reaper colors that for single BattleTech miniatures I don't really need it. I used it mainly to keep my paint palette active as I still thinned the paint so it tried relatively quickly on the miniature. I've stopped using it and just use water exclusively.
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@Todd: Nice "Hunchback" ;) A different scheme is a challenge, but I think I am up to it. Black is indeed a difficult color to work with, but also a very interesting one as you can easily achieved a dull or a shiny finish depending on how you highlight.
It wasn't necessary to already darken the panel lines on the red parts. We will get to it when we do the shading, but it doesn't hurt either.
Lol, sorry. It was very late when I posted that. Urbanmech IIC obviously. :D As for the overall wash it is just something I do to get a feel for how shadows will play naturally on the miniature.
-Gunz
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As I don't have the time/space at this time to actually paint along with you, could this thread be pinned?
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As I don't have the time/space at this time to actually paint along with you, could this thread be pinned?
That's beyond my power, but maybe a Mod can help :)
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This paint along is a great idea and thanks for your time to help us all improve. I think I have an Ocelot that I will try to join in with. I was going to work on getting it caught up last night but I got stuck in a 4 1/2 hour traffic jam last night. >:( But I hope to have time this weekend. Thanks again!
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Ok, as mentioned I still want to wait a day or two before posting the next steps, giving everyone time to catch up. By the way, the next steps will tackle the red parts, first going through the shading stages, then introducing highlights.
Whoa! A day or two? It's taking me a little longer to get my Gunji-style on. Below is what I have so far.
So I've decided to upstage you all by doing two miniatures. The Battlemaster is the new plastic mold that I got at GenCon this year. The Treb is from one of the two starter sets I have. Its Republican Guard so someone has got to have an old Trebuchet laying around right? I don't like to paint the starter set plastics but I have a ton of them and hate to seem them unpainted. When they're done they look okay. On this one I did beef-up the LRM 15 on the left arm with some green-stuff. To make it look a bit taller and to "scale" I mount it into a hill of putty. The Battlemaster has a few arm tweeks.
I'm not sold on the "dusting" but did it anyway. With my camera they look pretty white but really are not. Probably the flash effect. I was real conservative with the dusting and it ended up a little bit heavier on the top of the miniature compared to the legs.
(http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a579/1he_Wayfarer/Primed_zps3872c2cd.jpg) (http://s1284.photobucket.com/user/1he_Wayfarer/media/Primed_zps3872c2cd.jpg.html)
For the painting, I'm using a Folk Art Black Cherry for the Mahoganey color, it was the closest thing I could find. I generally don't care for the cheaper craft shop paints (some people swear by them) but this one actually went on nice. For the green I'm using GW new Deathworld Forest which seems to be a little too light. I will probably give it a solid treatment with GW Athonian Camashade which is blackish-green wash when I get home Saturday, unless I'm advised otherwise. I have started to paint some of the gun barrels with GW Boltgun Metal. Looking at the pic, I find Boltgun goes on a little to bright for a base color. I have a jar premixed of 50/50 black and Boltgun Metal that I will use to base those parts.
(http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a579/1he_Wayfarer/0926132228_zps8fc4a85b.jpg) (http://s1284.photobucket.com/user/1he_Wayfarer/media/0926132228_zps8fc4a85b.jpg.html)
So I'm a little behind on the small painting details but hopefully will be caught up by Sunday or Monday.
Mike
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That's beyond my power, but maybe a Mod can help :)
done and done
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Mini is primed and dusted, starting with metallic and olive now. Hope to get along with you in time. ;)
Ah yes pictures are done for the steps and will be shared when the basecoat is done. Soooo happy on that paint-along. O0
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Wayfarer seems like you didn't shaked well the white primer can,the effect looks too grany imo.It suggested to make the can even a bit warm(I heard some people they put the can under running hot water),but for example I left the can today exposed to the sun light for 20 minutes and make it a bit warm and than shake it very well for 3 or 4 minutes or more.
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Wayfarer seems like you didn't shaked well the white primer can,the effect looks too grany imo.
It does look grainy, I agree. They aren't though. My flash was on. It enhanced the dusting effect. They're smooth and don't feel grainy at all. That being said, I don't think I'll bother with "dusting" again.
I'm no good with a camera. Sorry.
Mike
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Not much time right now (kids have a tendency to really eat up a lot of time during the weekends ;) ), so just a short note that I will give you a few thoughts about the primer later today. But, Wayfarer, what I am seeing looks good so far.
Boltgun Metal is already a very dark metallic and we will take the shadows down to almost black so I don't think a darker base color is necessary. But in the end go for what you like best.
I don't like to start metallics with a darker color than Boltgun Metal, because metallics look best when you not only keep in mind a dark/light contrast, but also flat/shiny. With a Boltgun base I can still shade with opaque colors quite a bit. On small surfaces like the actuators and joints this is not very important, but for larger metallic surfaces like the hammer or a whole Mech done in a metallic scheme this can really make a difference.
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Ok i switched to an Atlas II as testbed. Thinking that Oriente is using more green than olive and i wanted to be in line with your idea ... at least a little bit. This AtlasII will not only have SLDF Standard olive, but will have some reddish brown highlights. Maybe the first step from SLDF Standard to Wolf Alpha. ;)
First time playing around with dusting it was fine for me to have different grades of dusting on the miniature. So maybe i will see also a difference in the end product. Hope that gives me more Feeling of how dusting works.
(http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x120/Wolf-Pack/Battletech/Atlas_Step1_zpsfb909114.jpg) (http://s182.photobucket.com/user/Wolf-Pack/media/Battletech/Atlas_Step1_zpsfb909114.jpg.html)
Normally i glue the whole mini before priming and painting. But that arms are too huge and it would be very difficult to paint below them, so this is the first time i paint a mech in parts.
Then i applied the base colors and did the first wash on the metall and dark grey parts and also followed your option to darken the olive parts a bit.
(http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x120/Wolf-Pack/Battletech/Atlas_Step2_zps3d937c62.jpg) (http://s182.photobucket.com/user/Wolf-Pack/media/Battletech/Atlas_Step2_zps3d937c62.jpg.html)
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My next unit is the 4th Marik Protectors. they have a silver base color. would you still recomend the white primer dusting??. my plan was to keep it black like the back of a mirror.???? ???
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I always prime this way, no matter which scheme. I would do it for Com Guards as well as Death Commandos and anything in between. This Avatar (http://www.darklined.com/assets/gallery/avatar/avatar-tamarcavaliers-01.jpg) for example was done with a Boltgun Metal base over 'dusted primer'.
I do realize however that this method of priming is not for everyone. It is more complicated and takes longer than just black, white, grey, ... and not every painting style gains advantages from this method of priming. If you are painting a whole unit in a metallic scheme and aiming for speed (and primarily the gaming table in mind) go for black.
Ok, maybe a few more thoughts on this 'dusted' 2-color priming. I used to be firmly in the black primer camp, and after reading about the technique the first time and trying it out I didn't like it. Over time my painting style changed, I developed new ways of doing things and dare think I got better at painting. When I tried this 2-color priming again out of curiosity, I was surprised how well it worked for how I was painting then. I was sold and never looked back.
Every method of single color priming (black, white and grey being the most common) has its pros and cons and the primer color can directly influence your end result. In a way this two color priming combines the advantages of black and white primer and you get some sort of 'lightmap' right from the start (you can even take it so far as to introduce a lightsource by only spraying the white from one direction). It is equally easy to create deep, rich shadows and bright, intense highlights. And, this is really the most important aspect for me, the white dusting gives the mini some 'teeth' without being grainy which really helps when working with thin (or very thin) paint.
It is not the holy grail of priming, it just happens to have many many advantages for certain ways of painting, for certain methods and techniques, including mine.
@The Wayfarer: adding to my earlier thoughts, your basecoats look good and my hat is off to you for painting 2 miniatures.
I would have been a bit more liberal with the white primer, but that is my preference (see above). If you can avoid it, don't use the flash when taking pictures. It will just wash out colors and overexpose everything.
Interested in hearing your thoughts on the 'dusting' and why you won't use it again. Just curious, that's all.
And no worries, it will probably be Monday until I find the time to post the next steps, so enough time to get everything done.
@Wotan: looking good so far. Solid basecoats, ready for the next steps. Cavalry Brown would have been one of my suggested alternatives for the Mahogany, good choice ;)
Here too I would have been a bit more liberal with the white primer. Will be interesting to see if you notice any differences between the different grades of dusting. Keep us posted.
Not just for you, but I highly recommend using some kind of handle for the miniature while painting. You could even attach the arms to cocktail sticks so you don't have to handle them while painting. Handling the miniature while painting can easily rub off paint and get grease from your skin on the mini, which can have all kinds of unwanted effects on the paint.
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Took me a while to get the old paint off of my Talon. I also had to modify the scheme a bit and when I saw the pics saw some needed touches I need to do. Still have to do the gunmetal for joints, actuators and the such. I do like the way the colors came off. The front pic came out horrid. I did not download it until after I painted it though.
(http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag42/johndhallum/TalonDusted_zps54cab9b1.jpg) (http://s1298.photobucket.com/user/johndhallum/media/TalonDusted_zps54cab9b1.jpg.html)
(http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag42/johndhallum/TalonPhase2_zps850a86df.jpg) (http://s1298.photobucket.com/user/johndhallum/media/TalonPhase2_zps850a86df.jpg.html)
Like I said i spotted some of the errors after seeing the pics. Should have the finished phase 2 in a day or so.
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@Ace_Crew135: Coverage of your basecolors looks good. As for mistakes, if you correct the paint bleeds you should be good to go. Definition between colors will come when we do the shading and when we darkline.
You primer does look to be a bit heavy though, the white came out very grainy/spotty/thick. Next time you may want to shake the can better and play around with the distance between miniature and can a bit. My guess right now is you didn't shake enough.
I will post the next steps later today. We will shade the red parts next.
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I know I don't have time to participate, because I barely have time to keep up with the thread... Having said that, I finally found time to read through most of this and have a question.
Priming in black and then dusting in white is completely foreign to me (as I prime exclusively in white). I read where you said that this method has something to do with light theory and taking advantage of the primer helps with the mini... Therefore, Should we dust with the white primer at a slightly downward angle, so that the areas that receive little/no light would not get coated? Or does it not matter?
Caz
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Priming in black and then dusting in white is completely foreign to me (as I prime exclusively in white). I read where you said that this method has something to do with light theory and taking advantage of the primer helps with the mini... Therefore, Should we dust with the white primer at a slightly downward angle, so that the areas that receive little/no light would not get coated? Or does it not matter?
Priming this way can help if you want to introduce a lightsource. If you want to do this (which I usually don't) then, yes, you spray the white from the angle you want the lightsource to come from, e.g. from above. To fully take advantage of this you would ideally not work from an opaque basecoat (like I prefer), but with thin colors where the primer shines through an acts as some sort of pre-shade.
I use the black primer with white dusting because:
In a way this two color priming combines the advantages of black and white primer and you get some sort of 'lightmap' right from the start (you can even take it so far as to introduce a lightsource by only spraying the white from one direction). It is equally easy to create deep, rich shadows and bright, intense highlights. And, this is really the most important aspect for me, the white dusting gives the mini some 'teeth' without being grainy which really helps when working with thin (or very thin) paint.
It is not the holy grail of priming, it just happens to have many many advantages for certain ways of painting, for certain methods and techniques, including mine.
By lightmap I mean not literally a lightsource sketched on the miniature, but more a well defined miniature with light and dark pre-shaded in a global way. But getting rid of all possible theory, I do this simply because I like how this way of priming 'feels', how it takes paint and how it works for me and my way of painting. I am more comfortable painting a miniature primed this way than one primed in black or white (or any other single color for that matter).
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@ GunjiNoKanrei
Can your black with white dust prime work for say purple for a FWL mech? I have no interest in a Republic paint scheme, but I could use a painted FWL mechs.
Also if you would help suggest. When painted a good stock of FWL mechs where the main color is purple is it better to paint the primary color by hand first such as using a purple spray or apply it with brush and pot. With this in mind is it also good to add a secondary purple color above the first color?
Sorry if the second question is confusing somewhat, but perhaps you can help hammer some sense past the OCD in me which usually halts my painting endeavors.
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@hive_angel: Sure. This two-color priming thing is not so much about schemes where it works or doesn't, but more about technique. As mentioned above I prime everything this way, regardless of scheme.
As for your second question, if you paint a large batch of miniature you could probably use a purple spray to save some time. I have never done it, so I can't really speak for or against this approach. But, yes, a spray to get an even, solid basecoat would most likely work. For a speed painting approach the two-color primer is probably a bit over the top though and might slow you down.
I am not sure what you mean by secondary purple though. Do you mean a lighter purple as a highlight? Now you are entering terrain where spray cans reach their limits (apart from color selection) and you are probably looking at an airbrush. As a rule of thumb we want a solid basecolor and shades and highlights to add contrast.
Does this help?
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Next we will start shading the miniature to add some depth. Usually at this stage I would start jumping all over the miniature, working on the green, working on the red, painting the cockpit when I feel like it, ... But as I mentioned earlier this approach doesn't translate well into a step-by-step. To structure everything a bit we will concentrate on the red (maroon) parts first.
For shading I thin my paint down to an almost wash like consistency, working with thin paint to slowly build up color and intensity. I usually use (a combination of) two techniques: shading with glazes/controlled washes ('pushing' paint) and feathering.
- Glazes/controlled washes: the paint is really thin and transparent, I don't have much paint on the brush (unload on a paper towel before hitting the miniature!), paint with the side of the brush rather then the tip, start the brushstroke where you want the least paint to be and end it where you want the most paint to be. We are painting from light to dark, literally pushing the paint into the shadows. This techniques is some sort of layering technique, building up smooth gradients by layering transparent layers of paint on top of each other (letting every layer dry before painting the next). The thinner the paint is, the longer it takes, but the smoother the result will be.
- Feathering: for this technique the paint is not quite as thin as for the previous technique and you need a second brush. Here I put down some paint in the shadow area and then quickly use the second (damp) brush to blur the edge of the still wet paint, feathering the paint to create a smooth gradient.
Most of the time I use a combination of both techniques, pushing paint into the shadows and feathering the edges when necessary. A method I developed over time and by now is really hard to describe and intuitive for me (as is when to 'feather' and when not). I realize this may sound strange/more complicated than it actually is and have tried to film myself while painting the green. The results where not very good as I haven't found a setup which let me comfortably work on the miniature while showing what I do. I am still trying to get something useful out of the few minutes I have and will post the video not when we get to the green as I initially planned, but as soon as possible.
The shading techniques described above work best for miniatures which aren't covered with small panel and a plethora of panel lines. Looking at your miniature choices I see some minis with a huge amount of small panel and many panel lines (Enforcer III, I am looking at you). For the Enforcer III I would do a few things differently: the first shades would probably be applied as a targeted wash to certain areas (very controlled and local, pushing paint into the panel lines), then use the feathering technique to get some global light to dark gradient (not individually on each panel). I'd also darkline the panel lines a couple of times (whenever I have a dark color on the palette or feel like it ... sorry for being vague again :-[). Here are a few pictures of miniatures (or rather areas) I have painted using this approach. The arm of the Blade probably shows it best, with the global dark-light gradient supplemented by individual work on each panel. I have also started to work on an Enforcer III only to take another shot at doing some video of what I am doing. It will take a couple of days (and the scheme is different), but I will hopefully have something to better show what I mean.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/shading.jpg)
When highlighting I follow a similar approach.
- Glazes: same as above, but this time pulling the paint from dark to light.
- Feathering: works here too, but I use it less frequently.
- Edge highlights: another technique I use for the final lights are edge highlights where I only paint sharp edges and the most prominent parts in a very light color to really push the contrast and make the mini stand out. For this the paint is slightly less thinned than for the other techniques, but still enough so it easily flows off the brush. The easiest and most controlled way is to apply the paint using the side of the brush rather than the tip whenever possible.
When highlighting, especially when doing the edge highlights, I don't treat every panel and edge the same. While I don't truly follow a fixed lightsource approach (one of my bigger flaws, I very roughly use a 'light from above' approach, but some more focus definitely couldn't hurt...) I try to pay more attention to the torso/head area than to the legs and feet.
Step 5: Let's start shading the red. I use a mix of Vallejo Panzer Aces Periscopes (a dark and unsaturated blue) and a dab Games Workshop Scab Red to slowly build up the first shadow using both thin glazes and feathering. You can see how the color starts to become more and more opaque after the first few layers (of the same mix).
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-05.1.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-05.2.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-05.3.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-05.4.jpg)
Step 6: I continue to shade the miniature using neat Periscopes and finally Periscopes with just a dab of black. I haven't snapped pictures of every step, but the next set shows where I stopped shading - for now. For now, because I don't consider the deepest shadows dark enough yet and we will come back to them later (after painting on scratches and the like). Transitions aren't really smooth yet and the miniature still looks like poo, but we are getting there. Trust me ... ;)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-06.1.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-06.2.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-06.3.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-06.4.jpg)
I thought about posting the red highlighting as well, but maybe it is a better idea to wait and see how the shading works for you. Or maybe give me a short feedback if you'd like to see the highlights now or want to finish shading your miniatures (and get feedback) first. Thanks :)
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I agree for waiting until the shading is done. Not too much new things at once. I still struggle to understand what i just read. ;)
That said, i will not go for red Highlight Color on my Atlas, but will tend to a more Brown Color. What do you advise to use for shadowing. You see i started with cavalry Brown. Initially i had something like this in mind for the Brown:
http://www.camospecs.com/Miniature.asp?ID=2124
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The shading techniques described above work best for miniatures which aren't covered with small panel and a plethora of panel lines. Looking at your miniature choices I see some minis with a huge amount of small panel and many panel lines (Enforcer III, I am looking at you). For the Enforcer III I would do a few things differently: the first shades would probably be applied as a targeted wash to certain areas (very controlled and local, pushing paint into the panel lines), then use the feathering technique to get some global light to dark gradient (not individually on each panel). I'd also darkline the panel lines a couple of times (whenever I have a dark color on the palette or feel like it ... sorry for being vague again :-[). Here are a few pictures of miniatures (or rather areas) I have painted using this approach. The arm of the Blade probably shows it best, with the global dark-light gradient supplemented by individual work on each panel. I have also started to work on an Enforcer III only to take another shot at doing some video of what I am doing. It will take a couple of days (and the scheme is different), but I will hopefully have something to better show what I mean.
You didn't put a link to the Blade, but I found it at darklined.com. I can see what you did there on the left arm, with some panel shading, but also a global gradient. I'll try it. I'm still trying to track down Periscopes in this area, but failing that, I may have to go with something else.
Are you using this blue, because it's just best practice to not use black as much as possible? Does this provide more depth to the shading?
<snip>
...While I don't truly follow a fixed lightsource approach (one of my bigger flaws, I very roughly use a 'light from above' approach, but some more focus definitely couldn't hurt...) I try to pay more attention to the torso/head area than to the legs and feet.
<snip>
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-06.1.jpg)
It looks like you're using a light-source from the right side (artist's perspective), because on both shoulders the shading goes from light (right) to dark (left). Is this intentional, or is this because you're focusing on an overhead light-source and the left arm is shaded the same as the right because it's raised to swing the hammer (therefore the highest is lightest, and the lowest part of the panel is darkened)?
I'm also surprised how dark these panels are at this point. I guess the next step will really push color and warmth back into them. I'm not questioning whether or not it works, your results speak for themselves; but this is an area where my current technique is vastly different, so I look forward to following this process all the way through.
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Just a lurker, but if i might suggest, to put same angle pictures one beside other for easier comparison between steps. Dont know if this forum enables
such options. Great tread and effort, thumbs up..
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I agree for waiting until the shading is done. Not too much new things at once. I still struggle to understand what i just read. ;)
That said, i will not go for red Highlight Color on my Atlas, but will tend to a more Brown Color. What do you advise to use for shadowing. You see i started with cavalry Brown. Initially i had something like this in mind for the Brown:
http://www.camospecs.com/Miniature.asp?ID=2124
Cavalry Brown would have been my recommendation as a substitute for the RMS Mahogany I used, so you should be able to achieve a similar result than me ;) But ok, to achieve a brown similar to the CSO mini Cavalry Brown may be a bit too red. You might try to mix in some green to tone down the red. But you could also use the the same (or similar blue) I have used here (this it what I would do), but your end result will not be as warm as the CSO mini. To stay with a warm brown, use a dark brown (maybe Vallejo Model Color German Camo Black Brown) for shading.
You didn't put a link to the Blade, but I found it at darklined.com. I can see what you did there on the left arm, with some panel shading, but also a global gradient. I'll try it. I'm still trying to track down Periscopes in this area, but failing that, I may have to go with something else.
Thanks for catching this, forgot to insert the collage I prepared. Fixed.
An alternative to Periscopes (and second best shading color ever) would be Vallejo Model Color Dark Sea Blue. Maybe that's easier for you to get hold of.
Are you using this blue, because it's just best practice to not use black as much as possible? Does this provide more depth to the shading?
Periscopes is my favorite shading color (atm) for just about everything. Seems I'm in a blue phase ;) Shading with blue (or a complementary color ... green would be a good choice for the maroon as well and would create a much different effect) creates a richness in color you can't achieve just using black. This is an approach more often seen on fantasy miniatures, but I think it adds a lot of interest to otherwise plain colors. And I really like to mix technique from fantasy/sci-fi painting and modelling.
Using the blue also gives me the chance to crate another contrast than just dark/light. I have used colors with at least a touch of yellow in them for the highlighting, creating a very subtle cold/warm contrast which helps the eye to perceive more depth. At least that's the theory ... ;)
It looks like you're using a light-source from the right side (artist's perspective), because on both shoulders the shading goes from light (right) to dark (left). Is this intentional, or is this because you're focusing on an overhead light-source and the left arm is shaded the same as the right because it's raised to swing the hammer (therefore the highest is lightest, and the lowest part of the panel is darkened)?
The later, but only very very roughly. What I am actually doing here is taking a page out of NMM theory, where (simplified) light areas meet dark areas on edges. My aim here is to create a 'dramatic' effect that looks cool (the one rule that trumps everything - the rule of cool 8) ). This is something you can also study on many of Psycho's miniatures btw.
I'm also surprised how dark these panels are at this point. I guess the next step will really push color and warmth back into them. I'm not questioning whether or not it works, your results speak for themselves; but this is an area where my current technique is vastly different, so I look forward to following this process all the way through.
Thanks. And glad you are along for the ride.
@Boldrick: Good idea. I'll look into it.
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First stage 'shadows' and highlights. Much more time consuming than my normal method but the results are certainly becoming noticeable. O0
(http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg122/Mastergunz/1001130028_zpse5f7739f.jpg) (http://s247.photobucket.com/user/Mastergunz/media/1001130028_zpse5f7739f.jpg.html)
-Gunz
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Alrighty, turns out nobody around here had the Periscopes, so I opted for Ceramcoat Midnight Blue. At first I didn't have it watered down enough, so the top of the left shoulder (which is where I started) really has too much coverage. I tried to bring some red back into it a few times, but then decided to let it be until we get to the highlighting stage.
Personally, I'd like to go ahead and see the highlighting, because it feels like it would be done almost simultaneously with the shading, moving back and forth between the two as necessary. Just my feeling though, I'm happy to do whatever.
Anyway, here's the Enforcer with about 4-5 coats of shading midnight blue + dark cherry red, 2 coats neat midnight blue, and 2 coats midnight blue + Reaper Gray Liner (one of my favorites when I don't need a pure black).
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20131001_083205_zps93ffcdfc.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20131001_083205_zps93ffcdfc.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20131001_083214_zps16ed599b.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20131001_083214_zps16ed599b.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20131001_083251_zpse477a663.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20131001_083251_zpse477a663.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20131001_083311_zps2c6cfa22.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20131001_083311_zps2c6cfa22.jpg.html)
In my next pics, I'm going to drop the mini down and further away from the lamp. In person, I think the colors all look very similar to yours, but mine is getting washed out with too much light.
Let me know what changes it could still use for the shading step.
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Looking good so far serrate! O0
-Gunz
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Cavalry Brown would have been my recommendation as a substitute for the RMS Mahogany I used, so you should be able to achieve a similar result than me ;) But ok, to achieve a brown similar to the CSO mini Cavalry Brown may be a bit too red. You might try to mix in some green to tone down the red. But you could also use the the same (or similar blue) I have used here (this it what I would do), but your end result will not be as warm as the CSO mini. To stay with a warm brown, use a dark brown (maybe Vallejo Model Color German Camo Black Brown) for shading.
Not sure about your hint for green. Shading with deep blue will result in a cold dark area. When i mix my base Brown with dark green ... i have no idea what result i should expect. :D
That said my darkest blue is the Imperial Blue from Vallejo Game Color. But i assume you use a darker tone, right ?
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I just saw this awesome thread, way to go everyone :)
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I also attach my minis to paint pots, but I use Blu-Tak rather than glue.
May sound odd, but I use Silly Putty. :)
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May sound odd, but I use Silly Putty. :)
Not at all. I use museum putty which is basically the same thing.
-Gunz
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Some Feedback ...
@Todd: Looking good so far. The spots on the UrbanMech you have chosen for the red are not the easiest to paint as they are rather small and thin, but the shading certainly shows.
You said you started the highlights. Please explain to me what you did. Did you just bring back the basecolor or already start lightening the red. Just so I know where you are at to keep it in mind.
Overall I'd say your shadows could be even darker, especially on the legs. Also when it comes to highlights I wouldn't have "framed" the panels on the legs for example, but rather introduced a top to bottom gradient. I am interested in hearing your thought process here.
@serrate: Judging by the pictures I can find online Ceramcoat Midnight Blue looks to be just the right hue. Don't worry about too much coverage, we can easily take care of this during the next steps. Regarding the highlights, your feeling is not wrong. It can be a constant moving back and forth (and often is when I paint) until you are satisfied with the result. That is one of the advantages of using thin, translucent layers of paint and can make for very smooth results. For the paint-along I tried to be more structured and limit the back and forth, but we will revisit (and refine) both shades and lights during later stages.
Looking at your shading it seems you spent some time working on each panel individually. This does work of course, but may drive you nuts when we tackle the green parts (that Enforcer mini truly is one of the more over-the-top minis when it comes to panel lines). An alternative would have been to work more globally. Shade the side of a shoulder from top to bottom with the effect, that the top panel would have little to no blue and the bottom panel would almost be completely blue. Getting back definition would then fall to the highlights completely. Let's take another look at the arm of the Blade I referenced earlier:
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/blade-left-arm.jpg)
No need to change anything right now (except maybe give the shadows on the rear left shoulder another pass), but maybe you give this approach a try when we paint the green parts.
@Wotan: Imperial Blue is dark enough (actually I think it is even darker than the Periscopes I use), it is just more saturated. You can use it and get a more vibrant result (nothing wrong with that) or mix in a bit of grey or brown to "muddy" the color.
Tomorrow is a holiday here in Germany and I won't be near a computer for most of the day. So I will probably post the next steps (highlighting the red) on Friday, hopefully giving everyone enough time to catch up.
I do have another question for all of you though - are the pictures I post sufficient? Side by side pictures have been suggested and I will look into it. Anything else? Would close-ups help? Thanks for your feedback :)
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I think I'm more frustrated with my inability to take a good picture than the shading. Besides the areas where I can still see the dusting primer, the shading looks a little blue to me in the photos. I used watered down GW Enchanted Blue. Maybe it was too bright. Should I repaint the red and start with a darker blue? What should I do with the nubbies on the shoulder pads?
(http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a579/1he_Wayfarer/DSCF0016_zpsc52cc4d3.jpg) (http://s1284.photobucket.com/user/1he_Wayfarer/media/DSCF0016_zpsc52cc4d3.jpg.html)
Thanks in advance!
Mike
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@The Wayfarer: That looks pretty good actually, no need to be frustrated (the picture is fine too). Enchanted Blue is a much more saturated blue than the one I have used. It does look a little too blue however and you want to change that to push the contrast. Even though you now have a nice gradient from red to blue, the shadows should be darker, less saturated. Try mixing the blue either with black or with a dark, but warm, brown (e.g. Scorched Brown or Dark Flesh from the old GW range) and glaze the blue parts with this mix (heavily thinned paint, not much paint on the brush, painting from the red to the blue). This should tone down the blue and darken the shadows. Also make sure the panel lines get darkened by this new mix (I'd take a brush with a good tip and paint this mix directly into the panel lines). For the nubs, paint the strongest (darkest) shadows on the undersides (where the least light from above falls), the upper sides get the least shading.
Did you switch to the darker metallic mix you mentioned earlier btw? I like the parts you have picked out with it.
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Looking at your shading it seems you spent some time working on each panel individually. This does work of course, but may drive you nuts when we tackle the green parts (that Enforcer mini truly is one of the more over-the-top minis when it comes to panel lines).
I did spend most of my time working on each panel individually. I developed a pattern where I started on the top of the left shoulder, moved around the sides from front to back, then moved to the right shoulder back and around ending up on top. Then the waist and finally the knees. It wasn't bad, but yea this mini has a LOT of panels so I can see where doing this with the green would be a pain.
An alternative would have been to work more globally. Shade the side of a shoulder from top to bottom with the effect, that the top panel would have little to no blue and the bottom panel would almost be completely blue. Getting back definition would then fall to the highlights completely. Let's take another look at the arm of the Blade I referenced earlier:
I tried this, in my own way, for a couple coats but didn't really know what I was doing. I think the issue is that I was looking at the example of the Blade, and in that case, the highlighting is already completed as well as the shading. For some reason, I just failed to recognize that the Blade pic was NOT a work-in-progress.
No need to change anything right now (except maybe give the shadows on the rear left shoulder another pass), but maybe you give this approach a try when we paint the green parts.
The rear left shoulder doesn't have dark enough shading, correct? Will do.
Ok, so on the green, I'm going to try the global shading effect. I took a look at a couple of my pics this morning, and decided I needed to pick a common light-source direction. I figured above right (artist's view) matched the red highlights most closely. Then I opened up Gimp, chose the airbrush (and, by the way, have never done this before so it's crude at best), smallest brush size and set the opacity to 50% (should've gone even more transparent I think). Here's what I came up with:
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20131001_083205_blueairbrush_zps1f2a54a7.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20131001_083205_blueairbrush_zps1f2a54a7.jpg.html)
I'm thinking this is an approximation of what the green will look like when it gets shaded.
I do have another question for all of you though - are the pictures I post sufficient? Side by side pictures have been suggested and I will look into it. Anything else? Would close-ups help? Thanks for your feedback :)
I'm fine with the pics, but side-by-side could be useful too. The pics, as they are, are already close enough imo. I told my wife this morning that I sure am enjoying my free painting class! O0
@The Wayfarer: I like that, especially on the legs!
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Thanks Mike, its always a challenge 'stepping out of your comfort zone' to learn a new way of doing things and I think I subconciously fell back on what I know. For the reds it was just the 'first stage' highlights of bringing the red back to it's original color. I mixed in P3 Bloodstone (almost a mahogany red-brown) mixed with Reaper Carnage Red for the for the shadows then did the bold highlight of just Carnage Red. I originally did treat the red panels on the legs as a 'band' instead of individual panels but it just didn't "feel" right looking at the red on the rest of the minaiture. I'll build up more contrast from there. I normally would add a yellow or orange depending on the warmth I wanted, unless you have another suggestion. For the black shadows im using pure Army Painter Matte Black though I suppose another layer or 2 wouldn't hurt seeing as there is nothing to add to make it darker than black, lol (though I suspect it's my lighting/camera phone hiding the true color depth #P). Time permitting I may set up my photo box and take some adjusted shots for comparison.
-Gunz
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GunjiNoKanrei
Have a beer for me. havent been to a real Octoberfest since 93 >:D O0
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Did you switch to the darker metallic mix you mentioned earlier btw? I like the parts you have picked out with it.
No. Trying to follow your instructions as close as possible. Used Boltgun metal then a black wash over it like you recommended.
Second attempt below. Used GW Regal Blue mixed with a dash of GW Scab Red with a couple of brushfulls of water. Looks less blue. I'm a little more please with the results. And I'm still using my camera flash otherwise the pics are way too dark. May still need to work on some of the shading especially on the right shoulder.
And the pictures you have been posting are fine.
(http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a579/1he_Wayfarer/DSCF0020_zps9d9673e7.jpg) (http://s1284.photobucket.com/user/1he_Wayfarer/media/DSCF0020_zps9d9673e7.jpg.html)
(http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a579/1he_Wayfarer/DSCF0019_zps1c56232f.jpg) (http://s1284.photobucket.com/user/1he_Wayfarer/media/DSCF0019_zps1c56232f.jpg.html)
(http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a579/1he_Wayfarer/DSCF0009_zps5c4c5629.jpg) (http://s1284.photobucket.com/user/1he_Wayfarer/media/DSCF0009_zps5c4c5629.jpg.html)
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@serrate:
The rear left shoulder doesn't have dark enough shading, correct? Will do.
Yes.
Ok, so on the green, I'm going to try the global shading effect. I took a look at a couple of my pics this morning, and decided I needed to pick a common light-source direction. I figured above right (artist's view) matched the red highlights most closely. Then I opened up Gimp, chose the airbrush (and, by the way, have never done this before so it's crude at best), smallest brush size and set the opacity to 50% (should've gone even more transparent I think). Here's what I came up with:
I'm thinking this is an approximation of what the green will look like when it gets shaded.
That's a great map you have made there and comes close to what we will be trying to achieve.
I told my wife this morning that I sure am enjoying my free painting class! O0
Thanks! :)
@Todd:
Thanks Mike, its always a challenge 'stepping out of your comfort zone' to learn a new way of doing things and I think I subconciously fell back on what I know. For the reds it was just the 'first stage' highlights of bringing the red back to it's original color. I mixed in P3 Bloodstone (almost a mahogany red-brown) mixed with Reaper Carnage Red for the for the shadows then did the bold highlight of just Carnage Red. I originally did treat the red panels on the legs as a 'band' instead of individual panels but it just didn't "feel" right looking at the red on the rest of the minaiture. I'll build up more contrast from there. I normally would add a yellow or orange depending on the warmth I wanted, unless you have another suggestion. For the black shadows im using pure Army Painter Matte Black though I suppose another layer or 2 wouldn't hurt seeing as there is nothing to add to make it darker than black, lol (though I suspect it's my lighting/camera phone hiding the true color depth #P). Time permitting I may set up my photo box and take some adjusted shots for comparison.
-Gunz
Thanks for your thoughts. I am glad to hear, I am not the only one who just 'feels' that something isn't right or looks good. One of the most difficult things to explain when it comes to painting ;)
And I know what you mean by 'stepping out of your comfort zone'. For me the whole thread is just that ... trying to structure my painting into (easy to follow?) steps is not easy when often I do things just because it feels like the right thing to do ;) And while I thought my painting on the Mjolnir was relatively straight forward and nothing out of the ordinary it probably turned out to be more complex than I anticipated. Anyway I am just glad so many are along for the ride and are not scared off by my ramblings ... ;)
For the Maroon parts my suggested highlight would Vallejo Pale Sand, a warm-ish off-white. You have more of a red, a tricky color to highlight. Have you ever tried adding a fleshtone for highlights? It is a bit like a blend of yellow/orange and white, retaining some warmth, but also pushing the contrast. Even when using a lot of orange and/or yellow to highlight red I recommend at least a very fine edge highlight with some white(ish) color added to push the contrast.
Also I didn't realize you already started the black (as we haven't started the green yet). You are correct of course, that there is nothing darker than black, so my suggestion may sound odd, but try glazing the black parts with a very dark blue (pushing the paint into the shadows). Just enough to get a small sheen of color since you obviously don't want it to look blue. This adds depth to the color as the cold blue is perceived as 'distant' by the eye. A cold purple might work too (and tie the shadows nicely to the red).
@The Wayfarer:
This looks better, great work so far. Try to get more of the shading color into the panel lines to define them. Our aim for the shading stage is not only to establish shadows, but also to define the panel lines. They don't have to be black/your-darkest-color-of-choice, but definition should become evident at this stage. That being said it is possible that your panel lines are just being washed out by the flash. I don't want to digress into miniature photography, but if you have easy access to a tripod and it is no hassle to use, try using it to snap the pictures. You don't need the flash as you can use longer exposure times without getting shaky pictures. If you don't have the chance to do this, don't worry, the pictures with the flash will be fine for this paint-along :)
GunjiNoKanrei
Have a beer for me. havent been to a real Octoberfest since 93 >:D O0
Cheers! Although I am far away from (any) Oktoberfest (and liking it that way) something can be done about that beer ;)
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I'll have to jump into this. I've got a short battalion of Capellans to paint, and I've decided to do a mock 'multi-cam' scheme using 4 colors. My real concern is getting shading to work without messing up the multicam too much.
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I'll have to jump into this. I've got a short battalion of Capellans to paint, and I've decided to do a mock 'multi-cam' scheme using 4 colors. My real concern is getting shading to work without messing up the multicam too much.
Camo can be a bit tricky, but using the transparency of the paint this works just fine. What I usually do when painting camo is, apply the pattern, shade globally (same or at least similar shade for all colors/patches), then highlight all colors/patches individually. Due to the transparency of the paint you can easily decide how much to darken the camo and how intense the shadow should be. Sure, you may lose some definition/separation in the deepest shadows (but you decide to which extend), but for some patches this is wanted and on others you can easily get back definition with the highlights.
Post a picture after painting the camo colors and I gladly give my input regarding shading color(s) and application.
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I'm still playing catchup but I have the primjng done and am working on the hands, guns, etc right now. For the trim color, I have the WarMachine Sanguine Base which is fairly maroon. But so far, the colors I have seen so far are pretty red. Should I pick more of an actual red , or will this pusjing/shading technique work ok with a more mariin shade?
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@Maddog3025: Sanguine Base is a very good substitute for my original color Mahogany Brown. Mahogany Brown is a maoonish color as well. A bit more on the brown side even than Sanguine Base. Shading with blue should also work nicely as Sanguine Base already has some blue in it.
The shading techniques (can) work with any color.
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To everyone who is still catching up, please don't feel rushed by me posting the next steps. Take your time, go through the steps at your own speed. Even after the last step has been posted, I will still be here to see you through and answer questions.
With that being said I want to proceed to the next steps: highlighting the red parts and first details.
Here is what I posted earlier about highlighting:
When highlighting I follow a similar approach (referencing shading techniques from previous post).
- Glazes: same as above, but this time pulling the paint from dark to light.
- Feathering: works here too, but I use it less frequently.
- Edge highlights: another technique I use for the final lights are edge highlights where I only paint sharp edges and the most prominent parts in a very light color to really push the contrast and make the mini stand out. For this the paint is slightly less thinned than for the other techniques, but still enough so it easily flows off the brush. The easiest and most controlled way is to apply the paint using the side of the brush rather than the tip whenever possible.
When highlighting, especially when doing the edge highlights, I don't treat every panel and edge the same. While I don't truly follow a fixed lightsource approach (one of my bigger flaws, I very roughly use a 'light from above' approach, but some more focus definitely couldn't hurt...) I try to pay more attention to the torso/head area than to the legs and feet.
Not much to add really. Except maybe to stress the importance of thinning paints. With the highlights we more than before start to work with the transparency of the paint, especially during the first highlighting stages. We will paint over large parts of the shadows again, but we do not want an opaque coat of paint over them.
Step 7: With the dark shadows we have introduced quite a lot of blue/black to areas which are maroon as per the scheme description. Time to get some of the redness back. To start the highlighting process, well, what we really do first is to reestablish the basecolor, the middle tone. Using Reaper Master Series Mahogany Brown (with a dab of GW Scab Red) I painted from the shadows to the lights. I used this mix for a couple of layers, making sure that the previous layer is dry before painting the next (to speed up the drying time I often blow on the miniature - feels strange at first, but the effect is very interesting as you can literally see paint dry). During the highlighting stages make sure that no paint gets into the panel lines.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-07.1.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-07.2.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-07.3.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-07.4.jpg)
Step 8: I didn't snap pictures of each mix I used for highlighting, but after using neat Scab Red (pictured above) I started to add Vallejo Model Color Pale Sand to really brighten the mix. I also started to concentrate on the sharp edges and corners.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-08.1.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-08.2.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-08.3.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-08.4.jpg)
Step 9: Continuing to add Pale Sand I painted only the most prominent edges and corners (and often only partly) with this mix. For these bright (edge) highlights my paint is not as thin as for previous steps. I am looking for coverage with paint that still flows easily off the brush. Here I applied the paint with the side of the brush, not the tip (whenever possible). With this step the highlighting was finished for the moment.
At this point I wasn't very happy with the Mjolnir and I was very close to giving it the Acetone treatment. The highlights on the maroon were not as soft and smooth as I intended (very obvious for example on the outsides of the lower legs where I covered too much surface with a too bright mix) them to be and the effect on the shoulders looked better in my head than on the miniature. The left shoulder (on the miniature) was giving me a particular hard time as the edges were not very sharp. Something I missed during preparation. In the end I decided to go ahead and paint the green, hoping this would help me see the maroon in a new light. This proved to be the right decision as I was likely thrown off by just one part having such a strong contrast compared to the rest of the miniature. So if you experience a similar feeling, fight through it ;)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-09.1.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-09.2.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-09.3.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-09.4.jpg)
Step 10: As a bonus I want to throw in another step which is just painting some details before we tackle the green parts. During this step I did two things: paint the grey areas and paint the cockpit.
For the grey areas I started by bringing back Vallejo Panzer Aces Dark Rubber, the basecolor (looking back at the first steps I fear I forgot to mention that not only the metallics, but also the grey areas got a simple black wash ... so if you haven't done that so far, do it now). For the highlights I just added more and more white to the basecolor. As we are only painting very small areas at this stage (vents, the fingers, ...) I didn't thin my paints down as much as for the red highlights. I'd say my paint was not thinner than the consistency of milk, rather thicker. Building a smooth gradient is not that important on those tiny areas, the overall effect is more important. If the result looks too rough, you can glaze the grey areas with the basecolor or black to smooth everything out (a glaze is paint thinned to a wash-like consistency, but applied in a very thin, controlled and even layer across the whole surface - the goal is not to darken recesses as with a wash, but to lightly tint the whole surface area).
The cockpit on the Mjolnir doesn't have enough surface for any fancy effects so I painted the cockpit quick and simple like having some sort of inner glow. Starting with a very dark blue (you guessed it - Periscopes), I added more and more Reaper Master Series Ultramarine Blue and finally white. The highlights were painted towards the upper and middle parts of the windscreen. Even though it is just a small cockpit, I tried to get a smooth gradient and often used glazes of Ultramarine Blue and Periscopes to smooth out transitions between highlights.
It would be easy to cover a couple of pages with various cockpit painting techniques, but I fear this is out of scope for this paint-along. There is a good article on CSO about the popular 'jeweling technique' (http://www.camospecs.com/Article.asp?FictionID=19), but there are other ways as well. I actually thought about doing a tutorial just about the different ways of painting cockpits and sometime I will get around to doing it. For now I have attached a few close-ups of cockpits painted not with the jeweling technique for your inspiration (see end of post). If anyone would like some advice on the cockpit of your chosen miniature, just speak up :)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-10.1.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-10.2.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-10.3.jpg)
I hope this gives everyone something to do over the weekend :)
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Ok just to understand correctly. You started the Highlights with a mix of your base Mahagoni color and a bit of red. In the next step you say you only used red then ... does that mean in the step before you used even more red for each layer ? Until you reach the red Color ? :D
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Well, in German I'd say Jein ;) I started the steps by bringing back the base color (with a touch of red). The next step was indeed neat Scab Red. Such a color jump is not possible with every color, but with low pigment paints like GW this can work nicely. It is important to understand that I don't' just paint one layer with any mix, but many layers. Working with the transparency of thinned acrylic paint and overlapping layers I don't build up an intense color in one pass, but slowly.
With the Pale Sand color my color jumps are smaller as it can get chalky otherwise.
A nice effect of painting this way is that exact mixes are not that important. For example I didn't finish the highlighting stage in one painting session. During the next painting session I mixed the color new by eyeballing it rather than following a recipe.
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im doing this as well. Working on an OOP Bandersnatch . Will get the initial pics up tomorrow. I was outof black primer so i went and got some this morning. When ig et them up feel free to comment on the dusting technique.
Skumm
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One thing I love about this thread is that more people can keep jumping in. O0
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I was mixing Scab Red with Bleach Bone. Not sure I like the results. Sorry for the poor pic. No flash this time.
(http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a579/1he_Wayfarer/DSCF0021_zps689f8ba3.jpg) (http://s1284.photobucket.com/user/1he_Wayfarer/media/DSCF0021_zps689f8ba3.jpg.html)
Mike
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Mine looked ok after adding back a few layers of red. Then I started adding Iraqi Sand (Vallejo) and it just went downhill. I may post pics in the morning, but I'm thinking I'm going to go back to red layers and cancel out those highlights and try again.
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Judging by the few reactions so far, the highlighting stage, or the results, don't seem to be to everyone's liking. Please tell me, why you have doubts or are not satisfied with the results and do post pictures. I do realize my way of painting may be completely different from how you have been working. I am not trying to make you paint like me, but trying to be open to new techniques (which all of you are!!!) and ultimately (hopefully) find things to take away when this paint-along is finished to incorporate into your own painting. Working with "my" techniques - which may seem alien to you - don't expect "perfect" results on the first try. Working with thinned paints, new techniques, ... this takes some getting used to.
Also having only such small parts of the miniature at an advanced stage can throw off your perception. It sure threw me off and as I have written above, I almost stripped the miniature after the red highlights. Trust me, it will look better, more complete, once we have tackled the green parts and have them in a similar state. Besides I do have a few more tricks up my sleeves for example to smooth out transitions ... so even if you think, all is lost, it is not ;)
@The Wayfarer: What I can see looks quite good. Granted the pic is blurry, but you do have a distinct dark to light gradient and it looks like you managed to darken the panel lines very well. Could you post pictures showing different angles? I'd like to see the sides of the shoulder baffles and the work you did on the legs. Please also post a pic with flash for comparison. I can't say anything about how smooth your gradient is with the blurriness and it is also hard to judge your placement of the highlights with just one angle. More pictures are needed ;)
And most important - what throws you off about the results? Why are you not sure you like them?
@Serrate: By all means, please post pictures. Even if you decide to redo the red. But I don't think it has to come to this.
Why do you feel it all went downhill?
I must admit I feel rather bad, because I didn't really think about the choice of miniature or handed out more thoughts on choice of miniature. After seeing the first pictures of your Enforcer III I dug out the one I had in blister and started working on it a little. The techniques I used on the Mjolnir do work, but they need some adapting because of the many small panel lines. It is more difficult to build up gradients, contrasts will be sharper - less smooth - due to the small areas, especially when highlighting you have to be careful not to thin down your paints too much and not to cover too much of a small panel. I will try to give more thoughts on such things during the next stages. Thanks for hanging in there :)
@skumm: Welcome aboard :) Looking forward to your pictures.
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Sorry I haven't been posting. I have been busy I am going to try to catch up this week.
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@Serrate: By all means, please post pictures. Even if you decide to redo the red. But I don't think it has to come to this.
Why do you feel it all went downhill?
I must admit I feel rather bad, because I didn't really think about the choice of miniature or handed out more thoughts on choice of miniature. After seeing the first pictures of your Enforcer III I dug out the one I had in blister and started working on it a little. The techniques I used on the Mjolnir do work, but they need some adapting because of the many small panel lines. It is more difficult to build up gradients, contrasts will be sharper - less smooth - due to the small areas, especially when highlighting you have to be careful not to thin down your paints too much and not to cover too much of a small panel. I will try to give more thoughts on such things during the next stages. Thanks for hanging in there :)
Ok, so the issues I ran into:
(1) After adding more paint to make it lighter, I didn't at first add enough water to keep it very wash-like. This issue showed up mostly on the left shoulder, which was always my starting point.
(2) It seems that the Vallejo Iraqi Sand pigments were heavier than the Ceramcoat Black Cherry pigments. After I added Iraqi Sand to my paint, it started off well, but eventually I noticed that I wasn't getting much contrast out of it any more (I think this can be seen most obviously on the third pic of the highlighting stage below, which shows the right shoulder). I didn't realize at first that I just needed to remix my paint, and after doing so, I started picking up the lighter colored pigments again.
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So the first stage seemed to go fairly well. I had switched over to Ceramcoat Black Cherry, since it seemed closer to the maroon that is required than my Vallejo Carnage Red. It does seem to contain a little blue in it. I went over all the panels working from dark to light.
Question 1: When you say to paint "from the shadows to the lights", is that the direction of painting the entire panel, OR do you start your stroke where the shadows mostly end and work towards the panel edge from there?
Question 2: For this stage, and the following stages, except for the last highlighting, do you keep your paint at the consistency of a wash?
Question 3: As you change the color of the paint you're working with, do you simply add the new color to the well you're currently using (as I did), or do you transfer some of that to a new well and add paint to it (thereby keeping the original mix available)?
I was somewhat pleased with the results after 2 coats, it seemed to really bring the red back, except on those panels I had already coated too darkly with shadows. Btw, before doing this, I did do 2 more rounds of shadowing on the rear panels of the right shoulder (using my new Periscopes!).
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20131007_225711_zps7f043dd2.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20131007_225711_zps7f043dd2.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20131007_225701_zps75359eca.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20131007_225701_zps75359eca.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20131007_225726_zpsf7dd9f2d.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20131007_225726_zpsf7dd9f2d.jpg.html)
And then I added Iraqi Sand to my mix. At first I didn't have the consistency right, so I fixed that. But it just seems that if I didn't keep this mix very specifically where I wanted it, it shaded the entire panel in a way that didn't look good. I tried to focus on the edges, but often ended up with those very noticeable "highlight" edge-lining effect that doesn't look too great. About halfway through, this was where my lighter pigment began to fall out of solution, so there's some inconsistency as well.
I felt like another round of this was just going to make it worse, especially on such small panels, so I moved on to the final highlight (hitting the edges). Mixed results on that too. I wish I had known what a difference all these tiny panels were going to make, lol (you DID warn me). I'm looking forward to truly adopting a global shading/highlighting technique on the green portions. Hopefully it helps.
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20131008_082650_zps11efbed4.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20131008_082650_zps11efbed4.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20131008_082704_zps78498528.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20131008_082704_zps78498528.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20131008_082715_zpsacbcd22d.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20131008_082715_zpsacbcd22d.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20131008_082734_zps79a97bde.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20131008_082734_zps79a97bde.jpg.html)
So.... poo. What now? :))
Edit: Lol, just realized I totally forgot about step 10. Will try to get to it tonight.
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Hope these pictures are a little better.
I'm having difficulty with this Scab Red (a color I have) and Sand highlight. When I mix these together I get a pink or salmon color. What am I missing? What you see here I just highlighted with straight Kommando Khaki. The closest I can get to the Sand you used. And it looks harsh. The paint job is already starting to look a little to fushcia to me.
(http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a579/1he_Wayfarer/DSCF0027_zpsb749c3f3.jpg) (http://s1284.photobucket.com/user/1he_Wayfarer/media/DSCF0027_zpsb749c3f3.jpg.html)
(http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a579/1he_Wayfarer/DSCF0023_zps0e5611d7.jpg) (http://s1284.photobucket.com/user/1he_Wayfarer/media/DSCF0023_zps0e5611d7.jpg.html)
Mike
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@serrate:
Ok, so the issues I ran into:
(1) After adding more paint to make it lighter, I didn't at first add enough water to keep it very wash-like. This issue showed up mostly on the left shoulder, which was always my starting point.
(2) It seems that the Vallejo Iraqi Sand pigments were heavier than the Ceramcoat Black Cherry pigments. After I added Iraqi Sand to my paint, it started off well, but eventually I noticed that I wasn't getting much contrast out of it any more (I think this can be seen most obviously on the third pic of the highlighting stage below, which shows the right shoulder). I didn't realize at first that I just needed to remix my paint, and after doing so, I started picking up the lighter colored pigments again.
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Those Vallejo Model Color paints separate quite easily. Some more than others and some of the lighter colors are the worst. The only option is to stir the paint from time to time. At least that's what I do.
So the first stage seemed to go fairly well. I had switched over to Ceramcoat Black Cherry, since it seemed closer to the maroon that is required than my Vallejo Carnage Red. It does seem to contain a little blue in it. I went over all the panels working from dark to light.
Question 1: When you say to paint "from the shadows to the lights", is that the direction of painting the entire panel, OR do you start your stroke where the shadows mostly end and work towards the panel edge from there?
Should have mentioned this, sorry. The lighter the color gets the less of a panel/area I cover. Same with the shading - the darker the color gets, the less ground I cover (when pushing the paint).
I think some of the problems you had are a result of you covering too much of the panel with a light mix. This makes the color jumps too big and the light pigments really stand out, leaving an almost chalky finish.
Question 2: For this stage, and the following stages, except for the last highlighting, do you keep your paint at the consistency of a wash?
Well, that depends. Rule of thumb, the bigger the area/panel the thinner your color can be. So for all those small panel you have on the Enforcer I would work with slightly thicker paint, because you simply don't have the room to build up a smooth gradient with thin layers (or doing it will drive you crazy as it takes ages).
Question 3: As you change the color of the paint you're working with, do you simply add the new color to the well you're currently using (as I did), or do you transfer some of that to a new well and add paint to it (thereby keeping the original mix available)?
If I was using a wet palette (which I always want to give another shot) I would try to keep all mixes available. But as it is I just add color to the one mix I have, knowing that I can always recreate at least a close enough approximation should I need it. Sometimes when painting small areas (laser lenses, some cockpits, warning stripes, ...) I just put down the main colors and some water down on my palette and mix almost every brushload on the fly.
I was somewhat pleased with the results after 2 coats, it seemed to really bring the red back, except on those panels I had already coated too darkly with shadows. Btw, before doing this, I did do 2 more rounds of shadowing on the rear panels of the right shoulder (using my new Periscopes!).
(Yay!)
And then I added Iraqi Sand to my mix. At first I didn't have the consistency right, so I fixed that. But it just seems that if I didn't keep this mix very specifically where I wanted it, it shaded the entire panel in a way that didn't look good. I tried to focus on the edges, but often ended up with those very noticeable "highlight" edge-lining effect that doesn't look too great. About halfway through, this was where my lighter pigment began to fall out of solution, so there's some inconsistency as well.
Two things come to my mind - you covered too much of the area with the light mix, you probably had too much paint on the brush (for the small panels you are working on). Working with the slightly thicker paint should help with the small panels you are facing. On the Mjolnir I had three or four mixes for the highlights - basecolor (+ a dab of Scab Red), neat Scab Red, Scab Red + Pale Sand, previous mix + more Pale Sand. My paint and layers are thin, so I can build up the intensity slowly, I had just four mixes, but each mix was applied in many many layers before I felt it was time to go lighter. Again, with the small panel you have, building up the highlights this way is maybe not the best option. So, slightly thicker paint, applied in less layers.
I felt like another round of this was just going to make it worse, especially on such small panels, so I moved on to the final highlight (hitting the edges). Mixed results on that too. I wish I had known what a difference all these tiny panels were going to make, lol (you DID warn me). I'm looking forward to truly adopting a global shading/highlighting technique on the green portions. Hopefully it helps.
So.... poo. What now? :))
Ok, the bad news is, even with a more global approach on the green you have to hit all the edges with a highlight or two ;) But more on that in due time ...
For now, definitely not poo. Despite what you think, you are on the right track. What you want to do now is tone down the highlights and the chalkiness a bit and bring back the midtones. Take your basecolor, thin it down to a wash-like consistency and apply it as a glaze. A glaze is something like a thin, even, transparent filter layer applied to the whole panel/area with equal intensity, smoothing transitions and pulling everything together. Make sure there is not too much paint on the brush. If it pools, it is too much paint. Paint from light to dark and evenly cover the whole panel. This is something I did to the maroon areas at a later stage as well.
@The Wayfarer:
Hope these pictures are a little better.
I'm having difficulty with this Scab Red (a color I have) and Sand highlight. When I mix these together I get a pink or salmon color. What am I missing? What you see here I just highlighted with straight Kommando Khaki. The closest I can get to the Sand you used. And it looks harsh. The paint job is already starting to look a little to fushcia to me.
Mike
Thanks, Mike. The pictures are much better. I still think it looks very good, but I see what you mean. I think you probably covered too much of the area with a light mix. As already mentioned above to serrate, the lighter the mix, the less area you want to cover so the result doesn't get too bright and is dominated by a lighter color. Overall I think your highlight color is spot on though and really makes those edges stand out. In my opinion contrast is one of the most important aspects when painting miniatures.
If I still had Bleached Bone and Kommando Khaki I would have probably taken one or the other for the highlights. But I would use them neat only for the last edge highlights and only in selected areas.
Ok, what you could do is the same thing I suggested to serrate. Apply a glaze to tint the maroon areas and to bring back some of the midtones. This also tones down the highlights and smoothes out the perceived harshness. If it looks too fuchsia/salmon/pink to you try glazing with a brown. If you have it, try GW Dark Flesh. Alternatively Scorched Brown might do the trick.
Let me know if it works for you :)
Wayfarer and serrate, after the glaze I suggest you let me know what you think and step away from the miniature for a night and look at it with fresh eyes the next morning. I often do this when I am not happy with my results (which happens a lot). You could also start on the grey areas and the cockpit to distract your minds from the red. We can still tweak the maroon later if desired. But finishinh other parts and eventually moving on to the green areas might change your perception of the maroon. It worked for me ;)
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Hey Gunji, thanks for all the help and comments! Been a busy week so far, so haven't been able to work on it yet, but I will soon.
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Hey Gunji, thanks for all the help and comments! Been a busy week so far, so haven't been able to work on it yet, but I will soon.
My blood red vallejo game color had the same issue your having. Remove the top and put the handle of a crappy brush into the pot and stir. Ill bet a lance of mechs theirs sludge at the bottom. If there is stir it up and use the handle to press down and break it up (think mash potatoes). After you have it mostly back to a liquid form throw in a piece of metal blister or a stainless steal ball bearing or something else with weight. Screw cap back on and shake the crap out of it. You should hear it bouncing around and be able to feel the paint swishing, if not the sludge at it.
After that my bloody red was cured and all my worries vanished :p
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How about a quick roll call to see where everyone is at. Please raise your hands and give me a status.
I realize some of you are busy, some may have dropped out and none have posted pictures with cockpit and grey areas completed yet. I'd still like to move forwards and post the green shading and highlighting steps later today to keep the thread moving.
Hang in there everyone. We are almost done with the boring stuff and are close to the most fun parts - weathering and details :)
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I'm in, just been a very busy week. However, I will get to do some painting today, and I'll post the pics by tonight.
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I'm still actively watching with great interest, I'm learning so much from the helpful feedback offered by all the participants, thank you posting this paint along. I will start posting here with pics once i can jump in.
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I'm still in it though I had to stop and finish a comission piece first. I will finish second stage highlights and cockpit/laser jeweling and post pics this weekend.
-Gunz
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Next up we will tackle the green, meaning shades and highlights up to about 90% final. Basically it is more of the same and we will use the same techniques (and mostly even the same shadow and highlight colors) we used for the red areas.
There isn't much to add that hasn't been said, so maybe I won't throw a wall of text at you this time, just a wall of pictures ... ;) Of course if anything is unclear, you have questions or like me to go into further detail, just tell me.
@serrate: I suggest you try to ignore the tiny panels for this step and instead look at it from a global point of view, shading across panels in a similar way you mapped out. You should however pay attention to panel lines and make sure they are dark(er) after the shading stage. When using the feathering technique some of the darker paint will accumulate in the panel lines, but I also suggest hitting those panel lines with a fine tipped brush and some thinned paint (that sounds more difficult than it actually is and we can do some cleanup - if necessary - during the highlight stage).
@Todd: Did you try to shade your black areas with dark blue as suggested? How did it work out?
Step 11: I didn't snap pictures of each individual shading stage and mix, but it was relatively straight forward with only two mixes. First I used neat Vallejo Panzer Aces Periscopes for a couple of layers and then a mix of Periscopes and a dab of black to really push the contrast. After the shading the whole miniature is pretty dark, but we will touch this up in the next step. Also the contrast is not quite as high as it is for the red parts - the green already was a rather dark color to begin with and it is much closer to blue on the color wheel than the maroon.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-11.1.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-11.2.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-11.3.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-11.4.jpg)
I have filmed myself while doing some of the shading work. Well, filmed myself is an exaggeration as the results are rather poor and I first didn't want to show this. But I know from first hand experience that reading about something and actually seeing it done (in moving pictures) is a huge difference. Sure, the quality of the video is so-and-so, the colors and contrast don't show up well, the camera positioning is sub-optimal for the viewer while still making it more than difficult for me to see and paint around it, but it should at least give you an idea of what I am doing. I am shading the left leg of the Mjolnir, not from the beginning though, but somewhere in the middle of the process (the last stages using neat Periscopes).
Note: the video is without sound (well, there is that random tune I picked from the YouTube Video Editor which I hope is unobtrusive enough and then there is me stirring the paint water ...) as I am painting in the bedroom and while filming this my wife and youngest son were sleeping lightly just around the corner ... And I just don't have the time or the means to do a voice over. I may add some comments when I can find the time though ... in the meantime feel free to ask anything you'd like to know more about.
Shading the Mjolnir (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6CjojGnJ6c)
Step 12: Highlighting the green is next. The first thing I did was to bring back some of the basecolor, painting thin layers of Vallejo Game Color Reflective Green from light to dark (not covering all of the shadows). After a few layers of Reflective Green I added just a dab of Vallejo Model Air JS Interior Yellow to brighten the color a bit. The yellow is not very noticeable, but just adds a touch of warmth to the midtones, before pushing the contrast with cold(er) highlight colors.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-12.1.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-12.2.jpg)
Step 13: Adding Vallejo Model Color Light Sand to the mix makes things interesting now. Those Vallejo warm-ish off-white color like Sand or Ivory are very heavy on pigment and can easily dominate a mix. With just a bit of the Light Sand added the highlights really begin to show and add a lot of contrast. The lighter my highlight color gets, the less of the area I covered. I also tried to give the upper torso and head area stronger highlights (to make them a focal point) than the arms and especially the legs. For the extremities I quickly concentrated those bright highlights only on sharp edges and prominent corners. At that point I stopped the highlights for now, but we will revisit all lights and shadows later ;)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-13.1.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-13.2.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-13.3.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-13.4.jpg)
Phew, finally the Mjolnir is starting to at least resemble something like a painted miniature and we are almost ready for the weathering. But before we get to this we will add decals and paint the metallics in the next steps.
Regarding side-by-side pictures - I have made a collage showing all of the "milestone steps" so far (just a link as the collage is huge). (http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/milestones1.jpg)
1. primed mini
2. basecolors
3. metallics washed (+ green shaded)
4. shading the red
5. highlighting the red
6. cockpit + grey areas
7. shading the green
8. highlighting the green
We have already come quite a way and the best is yet to come :) As already mentioned, metallics and decals will be next.
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(http://@Todd: Did you try to shade your black areas with dark blue as suggested? How did it work out?)
Not yet, but that is next on the 'to do'. I recieved a comission last monday and it was a scheme I have been wanting to do for a while. Finished it last night so i'm back in the game. O0
-Gunz
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Wayfarer and serrate, after the glaze I suggest you let me know what you think and step away from the miniature for a night and look at it with fresh eyes the next morning. I often do this when I am not happy with my results (which happens a lot). You could also start on the grey areas and the cockpit to distract your minds from the red. We can still tweak the maroon later if desired. But finishinh other parts and eventually moving on to the green areas might change your perception of the maroon. It worked for me ;)
Yup, glazed the maroon parts, and I like it better. Probably needs another round of highlighting still. Also did the cockpit.
Originally, the only black part on the mini was the back of the left arm barrel. There was an area on the back of each ankle where I thought black would work, so I did those and then highlighted each of the black areas.
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20131011_224026_zps24d6e5c1.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20131011_224026_zps24d6e5c1.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20131011_224040_zpscdf6e98c.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20131011_224040_zpscdf6e98c.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20131011_224122_zps8cb89e36.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20131011_224122_zps8cb89e36.jpg.html)
On to step 11...
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Just out of interest Gunji, how long would you spend painting a mech?
I reckon I spend 3+ hours on a mech but I tend to do things slowly.
Battledamage tends to let me down. Look forward to reading those steps.
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Updated pics. Got a new phone last weekend with, i'm sad to say, a better camera than my digital one I use for shooting mini's. #P
Still need some cleanup and final touches but I think its starting to 'feel' like the scheme I set out to do.
(http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg122/Mastergunz/Snapbucket/FE7F6B66_zps430a1a83.jpg) (http://s247.photobucket.com/user/Mastergunz/media/Snapbucket/FE7F6B66_zps430a1a83.jpg.html)
-Gunz
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@serrate: Yes, much better. When you get to the highlights on the green, try to keep the highlights with a lot of off-white concentrated to the very edges of the panel. That's probably another reason why you weren't happy with the red and perceived the intense highlights as harsh (one example would be the middle panel in the lower row on the Mech's right shoulder).
@Todd: Looking good so far. I like the smooth gradient on the black torso panel.
Personally I would try to push the contrast on the black some more, especially on the upper legs and the torso area (maybe the red as well in the torso area), painting some sharp(er) edge highlights.
Two things throw me off a little (attention, nit picking ahead ...) - the jeweling on the cockpit and on the small laser. I have said that I only roughly follow a fixed light source approach, but I at least try to create a harmonic impression/lighting situation (whether or not this succeeds is another story ...). Looking at your jeweling I admit not being able to "read" it as the light (indicated by the white dot) seems to be coming from somewhere else for every surface. This can be difficult to achieve on Mechs with many windscreens, but an easy way out would be to paint all the windows in an "U" shape. On the small laser it is not so much the direction of the lighsource that is throwing me off, but the fact that the laser doesn't seem to have a barrel. I get that impression because you jeweled the whole front. Why not leave a black border around the jeweling effect to indicate the barrel? Just a suggestion and - as mentioned - nit picking ;) Looking at the UrbanMech IIc in my cabinet, the miniature has a drilled out barrel. Did you file it flat? Just curious.
@Soutek: Even though I have gotten faster over time I can easily top your 3 hours. I'd say on average I spend somewhere between 8-12 hours on a Mech. I have pushed out faster pieces, but usually I don't feel very good about them and the joy over completing a mini quickly gives way to thoughts about what else I could have done. If I paint for a convention or competition the time spent can easily double, triple, ... there is no limit. For me painting is the most important aspect of the miniature hobby, that's why I'm in it. I don't play the game so I don't paint for the table or with the goal to finish a force to play with, but just to have the miniatures (collect dust) in my display cabinet ;)
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Step 11: First used neat Periscopes for a couple layers, and then added black (actually Reaper Grey Liner) and did a couple more. I tried to ignore panel lines for the most part, although I was careful to line them a couple times. I felt good about it, really seemed like the global shading was working well.
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/greenshading1_zpsd1a0be27.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/greenshading1_zpsd1a0be27.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/greenshading2_zps2e0af18c.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/greenshading2_zps2e0af18c.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/greenshading3_zps65be4cbc.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/greenshading3_zps65be4cbc.jpg.html)
Step 12: So, first used neat Reflective Green for a couple layers, and then moved to highlights. For highlights, I had to look up that light sand color. I had a Ceramcoat Mellow Yellow that seemed closest, although I also mixed in some Vallejo Buff.
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/greenhigh1_zps7d018fb8.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/greenhigh1_zps7d018fb8.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/greenhigh2_zpsd126d8eb.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/greenhigh2_zpsd126d8eb.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/greenhigh3_zpsed9f3cad.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/greenhigh3_zpsed9f3cad.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/greenhigh4_zps9cd3349b.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/greenhigh4_zps9cd3349b.jpg.html)
Looking at the pics, there doesn't seem to be much difference, so many I need to do more highlighting before moving on to step 13.
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Thats really coming along serrate! O0
Mike, I think the main problem is my painting lights are overpowering the grey highlights on the black and the orange highlights on the red. When viewed in 'normal' light it has a good deal of contrasts (honestly, a lot more than I am normally comfortable with, lol). As for the jeweling, I have always filed laser bearrels down to jewel them. I'll take your advice and painta border to give the barrel look. The cockpit I totally agree with you. Even when I finished it late last night I couldn't help but feel it had a 'derpy' look to it. Like the Urbie fell off the shortbus/dropship. ;D I'll black them back out and do the 'U' shaped jeweling.
-Gunz
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I am still interested in particpating but work and life keep interfering. I want to catch up this week/weekend.
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Ok, so some more progress made. Still need to do some clean up on the flames, etc...add decals and finish the base but getting close.
[Nathan Explosion] THUNDER...HORSE! [Nathan Explosion] >:D
(http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg122/Mastergunz/Snapbucket/40B87E84-orig_zps848026ad.jpg) (http://s247.photobucket.com/user/Mastergunz/media/Snapbucket/40B87E84-orig_zps848026ad.jpg.html)
(http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg122/Mastergunz/Snapbucket/2AF9A756-orig_zps03afb057.jpg) (http://s247.photobucket.com/user/Mastergunz/media/Snapbucket/2AF9A756-orig_zps03afb057.jpg.html)
(http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg122/Mastergunz/Snapbucket/c3eff648-d27b-4a08-874d-2a86f2b6d93f_zps18575d17.jpg) (http://s247.photobucket.com/user/Mastergunz/media/Snapbucket/c3eff648-d27b-4a08-874d-2a86f2b6d93f_zps18575d17.jpg.html)
-Gunz
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@serrate: The Enforcer is coming along very nicely! Buff is a good substitute for the Light Sand. It is a bit darker and not quite, but almost as if you mix the Light Sand and the Interior Yellow I have used.
I agree with your assessment of the highlights, another highlight or two wouldn't hurt (think edge highlights, not necessarily whole areas). With the highlights you have to balance the shading. The lighter the color gets the more you should concentrate on the less shaded areas. Some of the darkest panel/areas only receive a small edge highlight (but not with the brightest/lightest color). In the end you build up a gradient from dark to light which is broken up by some many panels which will be accentuated according to their position in the gradient ( @p? <- how I feel reading the sentence again ... hope it makes sense ...).
I would also suggest intensifying some of the shadows a little using a black/blue mix. Right now the blue looks a bit overpowering in some places (too intense blue, e.g. on the front torso). Nothing wrong with the intensity and it might also be exaggerated by your painting light, but to my eye something darker, less intense, is missing. Carefully going in there again with a black/blue to create some (small) darker shadows could help.
But this is really nit-picking. Overall you seem to have picked up the basics of the technique very well. Choice of colors, contrast, ... in the end those things don't only come down to practice, but also to personal preferences.
One suggestion - I somehow missed this so far, but I would suggest to paint the underside of the foot with metallics. I doubt this area would see any paint if it was a real Mech ;)
@Todd: The UrbanMech IIc is coming along nicely as well. The jeweling looks much better now in my opinion (arguably you forgot one windscreen though ;) ). But more important - how do you like it?
I see what you mean by the lights swallowing the highlights, but I'd still say push those highlights a little. Just very small and fine edge highlights on very few selected edges and corners. For the corners take a brush with only a little (thinned) paint and just dab the corners. Instant definition and 'pop'.
Did you use a gold metallic for the flames. Interesting (you are doing HH Alpha Keshik, right?). Looking forward to see how they turn out when finished.
And nice work on the warning stripes. I suggest some highlights to the yellow and black stripes and some shading with a reddish brown. At least that's what is coming up for the Mjolnir in one of the next steps.
Very interesting to have someone paint along with a completely different scheme. Definitely adds some variety O0
@spaceman (and everyone else who is catching up): No rush. I know that 'real life' has the habit of getting in the way. I'd just like to know who is still active :)
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Yes, CHH Alpha. I agree, the jeweling this way looks 100% better and as for the 'rear' viewscreen. Well, I don't like the idea of piloting an Urbie (IIC or otherwise) and having ferroglass at the back of my head, lol. The flames were done with a mixture of GW Dwarf Bronze and Army painter yellow. Added a bit of white to the mix for the 'hotter' area's. Glad to hear you are about to do the hazard striping example as I was wondering how you got the depth on it. O0
-Gunz
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How about a quick roll call to see where everyone is at. Please raise your hands and give me a status.
I realize some of you are busy, some may have dropped out and none have posted pictures with cockpit and grey areas completed yet. I'd still like to move forwards and post the green shading and highlighting steps later today to keep the thread moving.
Hang in there everyone. We are almost done with the boring stuff and are close to the most fun parts - weathering and details :)
basing and wash on green complete. I need to get pics up.
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How about a quick roll call to see where everyone is at. Please raise your hands and give me a status.
I realize some of you are busy, some may have dropped out and none have posted pictures with cockpit and grey areas completed yet. I'd still like to move forwards and post the green shading and highlighting steps later today to keep the thread moving.
Hang in there everyone. We are almost done with the boring stuff and are close to the most fun parts - weathering and details :)
Had some very busy days and could not decide which Colors i want to use for the red/brown Highlights. But now i hope to come back to the Project. Will do Pictures after each step and hope to Close the gap once more. ;)
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Still active. Working a ton this past week. Should be able to catch up Thursday or Friday. Will post pics then.
Mike
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need a vallejo game color substitute for periscopes and sand. I dont live near a hobby shop but i have the full game color line plus some panzer aces stuff. but not periscopes or sand yer using
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need a vallejo game color substitute for periscopes and sand. I dont live near a hobby shop but i have the full game color line plus some panzer aces stuff. but not periscopes or sand yer using
Try Bonewhite as substitute for the Sand. For the green areas add a touch of Pale Yellow before adding Bonewhite. Periscopes will be a bit more tricky as the GC blues are all more saturated. Looking at the color chart I'd say try Stormy Blue, maybe add a dab of Dark Fleshtone to desaturate the blue a little.
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I'm back on my brushes and still stucked at step 3,but I'm still following,so go on.I have to ask please if anybody here have a table of reference of the compared colors of various brand?I have one but is really outdated and missing Reaper company.
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It's good to see/hear/read that so many of you are still participating :) Thanks for that.
Considering that so many are still catching up I will only post a small step today: decals and metallics.
Metallics can be quite involved, but as far as I know none of you is painting a Mech with a hand-held weapon or otherwise large metallic surface. So I think the next step will be relatively quick and easy for everyone. But to make the paint-along complete I will give you my approach to metallics in general and how I painted the joints and such (for you to follow along) and the hammer.
One of the most important aspects in miniature painting in my opinion is contrast. There are different types of contrast with the simplest being light and dark - a contrast we are using all over the miniature to give it definition and depth. For metallics I don't just want to look at a light-dark contrast, but also at a shiny-flat contrast.
If you look at metallics in real life you will often notice that the lightest parts, where the light is reflected most, really sparkle and shine while the shadows don't reflect the light and are dull and flat in comparison. We can easily simulate this effect on a miniature. To do this I shade my metallics with non-metallic paints only - no inks or anything glossy, just regular paint. On metallics I want a lot of control when painting the shadows so I mostly use glazes to gradually tint the surface, pushing dark pigments into the shadows. The more layers you build up the more shine you take out of the shadows. Midtones and highlights are then done with metallic paint, working up to silver for hot-spots.
During this step I have also applied the decals. Why the decals already? Well, to paint over them of course ;) Seriously. By painting over the decals I don't necessarily mean tracing the decal with brush and paint, but painting shadow and highlight layers over the decal when we revisit them. The result is a decal that looks and feels much more integrated, much more part of the miniature instead of a piece of paper that was tucked on. If you don't feel comfortable working with thin, translucent paint (yet) and are worried about painting over the decal, I suggest skipping the decals for now and apply them later, closer to the finish.
Step 14:
Not much to say about the decals ... two Republic of the Sphere decals applied, one to the front, one to the back. I don't use decals for numbers and warning stripes. Those will be painted on during a later step.
The metallics (all the metallics) were shaded first with a dark brown, then with black. On the joints and barrels I was a bit more sloppy than on the hammer. In the darkest shadows I used pure black paint. For the hammer I wanted something a little more elaborate, more eye catching. I thought long and hard about adding some kind of glow effect, but in the end I felt 'power' weapons were out of place in the BT universe. Rust and heavy weathering would have been another option, but again it didn't really feel appropriate. So in the end I simply settled on adding some color to the shadows to create visual diversity and interest. I just glazed the shadows with Vallejo Panzer Aces Periscopes a couple of times to give them a blue sheen. Quick and simple, but eye-catching when you hold the miniature in hand. Using the same blue I have used for most of the other shadows also nicely ties the hammer in with the rest of the Mech.
Midtones and highlights (on all metallics) were very straight-forward. Start by bringing back the basecolor (GW Boltgun Metal) and then gradually add Games Workshop Mithril Silver (or any other bright silver of your choice) until using neat silver for selected hot spots. I should probably note that I don't thin metallics as hevailly as non-metallic paints for the simple reason that it is very easy to 'overthin' them. The metallic pigments are bigger than non-metallic pigments and separate from the binder quite easily.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-14.1.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-14.2.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-14.3.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-14.4.jpg)
Here is also an update on the milestones collage, now including the metallics and decals step. (http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/milestones2.jpg)
That's it for today. Next up will be the first weathering steps - dents and scratches :)
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Ok, so other projects have come up and I needed to get this one off the paint table so I went ahead and finished it after applying your suggestions Mike.
Clan Hell's Horses Alpha Keshik Urbie IIC >:D
(http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg122/Mastergunz/Hells%20Horses/MastergunzCHHAKUrbiefront_zps7db8f00f.jpg) (http://s247.photobucket.com/user/Mastergunz/media/Hells%20Horses/MastergunzCHHAKUrbiefront_zps7db8f00f.jpg.html)
(http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg122/Mastergunz/Hells%20Horses/MastergunzCHHAKUrbiefront2_zps5c08d86e.jpg) (http://s247.photobucket.com/user/Mastergunz/media/Hells%20Horses/MastergunzCHHAKUrbiefront2_zps5c08d86e.jpg.html)
(http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg122/Mastergunz/Hells%20Horses/MastergunzCHHAKUrbieside_zps0015adcc.jpg) (http://s247.photobucket.com/user/Mastergunz/media/Hells%20Horses/MastergunzCHHAKUrbieside_zps0015adcc.jpg.html)
(http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg122/Mastergunz/Hells%20Horses/MastergunzCHHAKUrbieback_zps6933329d.jpg) (http://s247.photobucket.com/user/Mastergunz/media/Hells%20Horses/MastergunzCHHAKUrbieback_zps6933329d.jpg.html)
Now I just need to work on a better lighting setup. :P
-Gunz
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Cell phone pick below. Will try to update with better pics tomorrow. Have decals. Will apply soon.
(http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a579/1he_Wayfarer/1019132204_zps122fbc76.jpg) (http://s1284.photobucket.com/user/1he_Wayfarer/media/1019132204_zps122fbc76.jpg.html)
Mike
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I have a question: is Vallejo Panzers Aces Periscopes a blu color?
That's mean that you shade the green with blu? ???
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I have a question: is Vallejo Panzers Aces Periscopes a blu color?
That's mean that you shade the green with blu? ???
Yes, Periscopes is a unsaturated dark blue. It is my prefred shading color not just for green, but also for red (used here as well), brown, ... well, pretty much everything I want to shade with a cold color.
(http://media.slavetopainting.com/images/products/panzer-aces-periscopes-17ml-6274-large.jpg)
Shading and highlighting with a different shade of a given basecolor or by simply adding black/white may be the most straight forward way, but definitely not the only one. And in many cases not necessarily the best/most realistic one (whatever that means). Just study shadows and lights on real life objects. You will never encounter a pure black, there will always be hints of colors in there.
Also perception of colors comes into play. Cold (e.g. with blue) are perceived as 'distant', which in theory we can use to further enhance the contrast on our miniatures (shade with a cold color, highlight with a warm color - blue and yellow are prime examples for this, but I didn't fully implement this on the Mjolnir as I quickly use a relatively cold highlight color).
Shading with complementary colors also gives great results with a lot of contrast (e.g. shade red with dark green).
@Todd and The Wayfarer:
Both minis look good at first glance. I will comment in detail as soon as possible ... the little one is waking up from his nap so I have to run ...
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Yes, Periscopes is a unsaturated dark blue. It is my prefred shading color not just for green, but also for red (used here as well), brown, ... well, pretty much everything I want to shade with a cold color.
Is this Vallejo Periscopes comparable with a GW Regal Blue.
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Gunz, nice work! You actually made that little Urbie look mean. Very nice flames. O0
I agree with your assessment of the highlights, another highlight or two wouldn't hurt (think edge highlights, not necessarily whole areas). With the highlights you have to balance the shading. The lighter the color gets the more you should concentrate on the less shaded areas. Some of the darkest panel/areas only receive a small edge highlight (but not with the brightest/lightest color). In the end you build up a gradient from dark to light which is broken up by some many panels which will be accentuated according to their position in the gradient ( @p? <- how I feel reading the sentence again ... hope it makes sense ...).
I would also suggest intensifying some of the shadows a little using a black/blue mix. Right now the blue looks a bit overpowering in some places (too intense blue, e.g. on the front torso). Nothing wrong with the intensity and it might also be exaggerated by your painting light, but to my eye something darker, less intense, is missing. Carefully going in there again with a black/blue to create some (small) darker shadows could help.
But this is really nit-picking. Overall you seem to have picked up the basics of the technique very well. Choice of colors, contrast, ... in the end those things don't only come down to practice, but also to personal preferences.
One suggestion - I somehow missed this so far, but I would suggest to paint the underside of the foot with metallics. I doubt this area would see any paint if it was a real Mech ;)
Yep, that all made sense. I think the blue was exaggerated a bit when I used a specific auto edit setting in GIMP. However, I did go back in and add darker shadows to the deepest points. Used a little Periscopes with even more black. Horrible pics to follow, somewhat blurry/grainy:
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/DarkerShade1_zps2e06b69c.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/DarkerShade1_zps2e06b69c.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/DarkerShade2_zpse43519ad.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/DarkerShade2_zpse43519ad.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/DarkerShade3_zps9b78d4ff.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/DarkerShade3_zps9b78d4ff.jpg.html)
Ok, then I started working on step 13. Started working progressively lighter highlights towards the brightest points of each global panel. Finally finishing up with 2 or 3 rounds of smaller and smaller sections of brighter edge highlights:
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/13-1_zps808a6931.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/13-1_zps808a6931.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/13-2_zps62e088d9.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/13-2_zps62e088d9.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/13-3_zps31a6d283.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/13-3_zps31a6d283.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/13-4_zps9c336410.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/13-4_zps9c336410.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/13-5_zps1afaa6f4.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/13-5_zps1afaa6f4.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/13-6_zps079532df.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/13-6_zps079532df.jpg.html)
Possibly I need to add some appropriate highlights on darker panels (not as bright of course), to get that effect you mentioned above. However, I really like where it was at, so I thought I'd check in first.
The underside of the mech's foot has only a base-coat at this time. It will be finished with a mixture of mud, dirt, turf. My personal feeling is that anything weighing 50 tons moving at high speed is going to have a significant amount of local terrain attached to contact surfaces at all times. :)
I've started on step 14, however I don't have RotS decals, and I don't feel confident trying to freehand such a detailed emblem on a mech with no large panels to paint on. Metallics have been shaded and will get highlights today.
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Gunz, nice work! You actually made that little Urbie look mean. Very nice flames. O0
Thanks Serrate, I certainly learned a lot during this. My girlfriend calls it the 'angry little R2D2' (love her SO much for that comment ;D). Your Enforcer III is really coming along as well. Looking over your most recent pics i'm really getting the sense of the 'global' shading and am wanting to give that technique a shot soon. May just have to pick up a bottle of Periscopes after seeing what you guys are doing with it.
-Gunz
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I'm sorry I've missed most of this fine thread, but I'll read along for the rest of it. Lots of good insights in the interactions I see regarding palette/color management.
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That reminds me, Gunji, would you consider editing your first post to include links to important portions of the walk-through? Something like this:
1) Additional info on dusting/priming: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,33513.msg782467.html#msg782467
2) Color palette: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,33513.msg782486.html#msg782486
3) Thinning paints, base-coat, initial wash: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,33513.msg782708.html#msg782708
4) Shading red: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,33513.msg786661.html#msg786661
5) Highlighting red, cockpit, gray areas: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,33513.msg789952.html#msg789952
et cetera
Just an idea to help people find important info quicker in this growing thread.
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All right, now it is me who has some catching up to do ...
Is this Vallejo Periscopes comparable with a GW Regal Blue.
Regal Blue is more saturated, more intense than Periscopes. So if you are ok with a more vibrant blue in the shadows, use it neat. Otherwise add a dab of grey or brown to muddy the color and kill the intensity.
@Todd: Sad to see you drop out, but, hey, it is you missing the most fun parts ;) Seriously though, the UrbanMech turned out very nice. The base could use a little more color though and arguably some weathering is missing ;)
Hope you still read along and chime in from time to time.
@The Wayfarer: Very nice. You are definitely on the right track. I think you could be a bit more daring with the lights and shadows - darker shading (especially on the lower torso, upper legs region) and more and brighter highlights (especially around the upper torso/head region and the arms). The red/maroon seems to have more contrast than the green.
A lot of it could be the picture so I am looking forward to new ones :)
@serrate: Are the pictures a little overexposed? At least on my screen they look very bright. But regardless, the Enforcer is coming along *very* nicely. The global light effect can be seen clearly, as can be the different approach between green and red. Your pictures nicely show how the highlighting steps clean up any mess the shading left.
Yes, add some appropriate lights to the darkest panel, but you can also do this during later stages. If you incorporate some of the techniques from this paint-along into your regular bag-of-tricks you will see that with experience and practice your results will get smoother and neater.
You are well on your way to create a miniature that easily puts my Mjolnir to shame :) Well done so far.
Good idea with the links in the first post. Actually I initially wanted to do something like this, but completely forgot about it ... :-[ Will get to it asap (probably Wednesday).
Ok, I think if no one objects I will put up the next steps on Wednesday.
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@Todd: Sad to see you drop out, but, hey, it is you missing the most fun parts Seriously though, the UrbanMech turned out very nice. The base could use a little more color though and arguably some weathering is missing
Hope you still read along and chime in from time to time.
Oh don't think i'm dropping out. Im going to continue to follow along just incorporate the next steps into the piece I am currently working on. Thanks to this thread I am feeling more comfortable with 'daring' highlights than I have been in the past and am happy to say it's taking over my old style I think. Please continue, i'll be right here. O0
-Gunz
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Been following this and it has been very useful. Never would have thought of using blue to shadow red. Great paint along Gunj.
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@serrate: Are the pictures a little overexposed? At least on my screen they look very bright. But regardless, the Enforcer is coming along *very* nicely. The global light effect can be seen clearly, as can be the different approach between green and red. Your pictures nicely show how the highlighting steps clean up any mess the shading left.
Yes, add some appropriate lights to the darkest panel, but you can also do this during later stages. If you incorporate some of the techniques from this paint-along into your regular bag-of-tricks you will see that with experience and practice your results will get smoother and neater.
You are well on your way to create a miniature that easily puts my Mjolnir to shame :) Well done so far.
Good idea with the links in the first post. Actually I initially wanted to do something like this, but completely forgot about it ... :-[ Will get to it asap (probably Wednesday).
Ok, I think if no one objects I will put up the next steps on Wednesday.
Glad you like it! The pictures might be a little over exposed. I'll try to take the next set during the day so I can get some natural light on it. I was able to take what I've learned so far and apply this method to another miniature today. Already had base coat done this weekend, and this evening I made it through all the red, cockpit, and green up to final highlighting stage. Really moved fast on it, and I'm looking forward to having it caught up to the Enforcer by tomorrow. What a difference it makes to not have so many tiny panels!
Do you have any advice on how to best shade/highlight curved panels? I feel like I struggle to accurately depict natural light reflection on a curved surface.
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Here is my current progress. I am thinking of repainting the green with a darker color as it was a lighter shade than I was expecting. Even after washing the green and silver I think the green is not the right tone.
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More daring. Copied. Will try it soon. The decals too.
(http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a579/1he_Wayfarer/DSCF0033_zpsab1b2ee2.jpg) (http://s1284.photobucket.com/user/1he_Wayfarer/media/DSCF0033_zpsab1b2ee2.jpg.html)
(http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a579/1he_Wayfarer/DSCF0032_zpsb46427c7.jpg) (http://s1284.photobucket.com/user/1he_Wayfarer/media/DSCF0032_zpsb46427c7.jpg.html)
(http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a579/1he_Wayfarer/DSCF0030_zps6a2362f6.jpg) (http://s1284.photobucket.com/user/1he_Wayfarer/media/DSCF0030_zps6a2362f6.jpg.html)
Mike
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What a difference it makes to not have so many tiny panels!
Amazing, isn't it ;)
Do you have any advice on how to best shade/highlight curved panels? I feel like I struggle to accurately depict natural light reflection on a curved surface.
Which miniature are you working on?
If in doubt don't dwell on the theory too much. Try out what you feel is right/looks good.
@Spaceman:
Which steps did you complete so far? And which green did you use? It looks to be a much richer green than the usual olive green. But before you repaint everything you could try to tweak the color somewhat if you are unhappy about it. Mix the green with brown and use this for shading. Also for the highlights add an unsaturated yellow or ocher. This should give you more on an olive green.
On the other hand if you decide to roll with this richer green you can just go ahead and follow the steps. Shading with black and blue works here as well.
The green looks a bit blotchy in places (the legs for example). Is this a result of the wash? You stated you washed the green. If this is the case then you probably have too much paint on your brush and I recommend to unload the brush on a paper towel or similar before hitting the miniature. If you still get pooling of the paint, try to push the paint more into the shadows. Don't stop your brushstroke in the middle of a panel.
Also, if you already applied a wash to the metallics, do it again. It might the flash, but I'd say the metallic panels need more definition. Make those panel lines really come out.
Looking forward to your next steps :)
@The Wayfarer:
Looking at the new pictures I'd say you are good with the highlights (for now), but you need stronger shadows. I took the liberty to take one of your pictures and tried to crudely outline where I would add (stronger) shadows. I have exaggerated the shadows and the blue isn't quite the same as Persicopes, but I hope you get the idea.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/wayfarer-shading.jpg)
Also try to bring out the panel lines more consistently. I am sure some is washed out because of the flash, but some panel lines are noticeably darker than the other or more evenly dark than others. You can use your darkest shading color for panel lines all over the miniature.
Keep it up, the BattleMaster is coming along nicely :)
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Time for the next steps - the first stage of weathering and chipping :)
If you haven't read my article about weathering on CSO (http://www.camospecs.com/Article.asp?FictionID=56), please do it now. The next step on the Mjolnir combines several steps from the in-depth weathering tutorial.
The weathering steps are optional. If you prefer a 'clean' miniature don't do them. It is also up to you, how heavily you want to weather the miniature. From my own experience I suggest to follow a 'less-is-more' approach, especially with the chipping and scratches.
And a special note for Serrate and the panel monster Enforcer III ;) The Enforcer already is a busy miniature. With lots of chipping effects it can easily get too busy. I'd probably only use the brush to paint chips in a controlled way or be very careful with a sponge. Control really is the key here.
As for the others, 'sponge' away ;)
Step 15:
Finally my favorite part - weathering and details.
The first thing I did here was to paint the laser lenses. You often see a jeweling effect painted on those lasers, but this is not really my effect of choice. The jeweling effect aims to simulate light hitting a jewel or a lens. But with laser lenses (in my opinion) sitting inside the barrel (there are exceptions, e.g. the Cephalus D I recently painted which had a nicely sculpted lens sitting outside the barrel), light is not likely to hit them. Instead I imagine them to be lit from within. Such an effect is very easy to do - just paint the inside of the barrel in a color of your choice (here I took a bright red), then highlight in a few steps up to a white dot placed in the center. Quick and easy.
With the lenses out of the way it is time for the chipping. I will go through these steps rather quickly with few explanations, but a lot of detail information can be found in the CSO article mentioned above. Here is what I did:
- use a piece of blister sponge to dab a very dark brown, almost black paint on the mini to create random paint chips
- refine those random chips with a brush - connect some, create new chips, ... the brush gives a lot of control to enhance (or tone down) some of the randomness from the sponge application. Notice how I concentrated the chips on the lower legs (where natural wear and tear would occur) and a few selected areas on the arms and torso (where I imagined the Mech being hit by weapons fire). I also used the chance to cover up some of the rougher blends and areas I had problems with (I mentioned the iffy left shoulder earlier)
- add some depth to the larger chips with a rusty brown
- highlight selected chips with a light color close to the final highlight color (Vallejo Model Color Ivory + a dab of Reflective Green)
- use the highlight color to paint on some superficial scratches (yes, I painted some of those over the decal on the left leg)
The CSO article explains each of those steps (and more - but stop, don't to anything further than the chips and scratches yet) in detail and also has some close-up pictures of the Cicada I have used there (click on the pictures to get them full size). But if there is interest I can add some close-up pictures of the Mjolnir at this stage to help with the weathering.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-15.1.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-15.2.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-15.3.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-15.4.jpg)
Does look ok-ish, it can still be much better though. This was just the first stage of chips and scratches. During subsequent steps we will tone them down, highlight some again and add much more depth to the weathering overall, creating a feel of a surface covered in layers of weathering with both old and new paint chips, dents and scratches. When shading and highlighting the red and green I mentioned that we will come back for the final shadows and highlights later. With the chips painted on, we are almost ready to do this.
A less involved way would have been to highlight the chips according to their position, using a less bright highlight for chips in the shadows. This is less work, but the results also aren't as good in my opinion.
I want to leave you with an update of the milestone collage, now with the first stage of the chipping. (http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/milestones3.jpg) The next steps will be to add some markings and then revisit the shadows and lights.
If you have any questions - either about what I have written here or about the weathering tutorial - fire away. Otherwise have fun with the chipping and hang in there ... the last step will be number 21, so we are getting closer :)
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I've held off continuing my project, as I ordered the paints as you are using. they arrived so I will be back on this maybe tonight. I'm at the red shading stage still. I need to get better lights in my light box for the photo-fu.
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Gunji, sorry about the long delay. I've been working up the nerve to get started on this. Also, just had my parents from across the country arrive to visit today. Since we gave them our room for the next few days, and that's where my desk is, it's unlikely I'll be able to catch up until Friday. Just wanted to say something since this thread's been pretty quiet since Step 15 was posted. :)
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Thanks for the note. I was beginning to think I had scared everyone away ... ;)
I can understand that covering the painstakingly build up shading and highlighting with little black/brown dots can be a daunting task and maybe that's what keeping some of of you away from the brushes. I said the weathering steps are optional, so tomorrow I will post the remaining weathering steps and get to a stage where everyone can pick up the brushes again. This will also take us within viewing distance of the finishing line. I can imagine after such a long paint-along finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel might be a motivator for some.
If real life (or waiting for paint) is keeping you from continuing, no worries. I will still be here, even after I have posted the last step. Just continue at your own pace and post your progress here.
If you have doubts or are unsure how to proceed, just post here and I will try my best to help.
Unless there are objections I will post the last steps of the dents and scratches - including finishing the lights and shadows for everyone - tomorrow.
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I have been watching this tread very closely. I have a miniature primed, just need to sit down and get to it. Thank you for sharing your process and techniques. I have applied it to a unit I am currently playing with and I have liked the results so far.
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A very useful tutorial just real life it keeps me far from brushes and certainly as soon as I get the chance I will return to comb through.
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Time to continue on those chips and scratches. Well, almost ;)
The next step is actually to add some markings to the miniature: numbers and a few white stripes. The white stripes are not mentioned in the scheme description, but they will be few and small. I see them as company markings or just as artistic liberty (which to a certain degree is perfectly fine even within the realms of canon). After the markings it is time to finish the shades and highlights, followed by the warning stripes and weathering details.
This post contains 4 steps: markings, highlights and shadows, warning stripes, final weathering (rust and dirt)
4 steps might sound like a lot and very daunting, but it is not. All of those steps only add small effects to the miniature, giving it life and depth. Another reason why I post all of those steps is that we are at a stage where my own painting is extremely chaotic and in something like a finishing frenzy. In other words I only managed to order them for this paint-along. Usually I just jump all over the miniature adding effects as I see fit and as inspiration strikes me. So close to the finish I also spent a lot of time just looking at the miniature ( @p? I know, I know, ...). If you look at the pictures of the next steps you might see very small changes in other areas as well. Things like redrawing a panel line or a panel line there, working on a shadow, touching up a highlight, ... things like this just happen (while looking at the miniature or as spur-of-the-moment decisions). Just trust your feelings and if you think the panel line has to be darker, but Gunji hasn't written anything about it, forget what I have written and just do it ;)
If you skipped the weathering part, steps 17 (highlights and shadows) and 18 (warning stripes) are your jumping in points.
Step 16:
Let me start by apologizing for the lousy pictures. They were just quickly done with my mobile. The step had to be done pretty fast ...
Adding stripes and numbers ... both are freehanded and - using two different methods - made to look as if they are partially rubbed off. For a heavily weathered miniature this is more realistic. Otherwise those element could easily feel like an afterthought and not really a part of the miniature.
Method 1 (used on the numbers): Paint the numbers with an off-white (Vallejo Panzer Aces Stencil in my case), correct - if necessary - with the basecolor green (or red), highlight the numbers with white. To weather the number use a small piece of a sponge (blister packaging foam is perfect, never throw this away, one of the most versatile tools ever), dip into the basecolor green (or red), dab on a paper towel to take most of the paint off and then lightly dab the numbers with it. Very much like the first step of the chipping, maybe with an even lighter touch though.
Method 2 (used on the stripes): Again use a sponge, but this time not to dab on paint, but to dab on liquid mask. Do this before painting the stripes. After the liquid mask is dry (only takes a couple of minutes) paint the stripe with an off-white and highlight with white. When the paint is dry gently rub off the liquid mask, revealing the paint underneath.
Recommendation: Don't buy a bottle of liquid mask only for this paint-along.
I realize not everyone has liquid mask. That's why I used both methods. The stripes can easily be done the same way the numbers were done. If you don't have liquid mask, only buy it if you are certain you will use the technique in the future. Otherwise just use method 1.
The pictures show method 2 in detail, the numbers had already been finished at this point (using method 1): sponged on liquid mask in three spots, painting the stripes with off-white and highlighted with white, the result after the fluid has been rubbed off.
The best method to rub off the masking fluid in my opinion is using a toothpick or cotton bud where the tip is covered in a thick, dry layer of masking fluid. Alternatively a (soft!) eraser also should do the trick. Just be gentle, otherwise you might accidentally rub off the underlying paint as well.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-16.1.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-16.2.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-16.3.jpg)
Step 17:
Time to finish the shading and highlighting as well as the scratches and dents. The chipping we did in step 15 looks very artificial and painted on at this stage. To change this and make everything look more integrated we paint the final shades and highlights over the chips and scratches. Thanks to the translucency of the paint we will not fully cover the work we have done so far, but fade the chips, making them more subtle. For the shades I once again used Vallejo Panzer Aces Periscopes, either neat or mixed with black, in some spots even pure black, applied mainly using the feathering technique. For the highlights I just brought back some of the midtones using a few thin glazes of the basecolor, pulling the pigments to the lightspots and then concentrated on selected edge highlights. For those edge highlights I go all the way up to Vallejo Model Color Ivory, a color very close to white. Those final highlights are only carefully applied on the sharpest edges and brightest hotspots. Just gently tap the corner you want to highlight with the side of your brush. The paint is thin, but not as thin as for previous applications, I'd say 1:1 paint:water at most.
After finishing the shades and highlights I revisited some of those chips and scratches, touching up the black and the highlight. I didn't touch up all the scratches as this would nullify the effect we are going for. What we have now are chips and scratches with a lot of depth - some look like very recent additions, while others look like they have been on the Mech for quite some time. Well worth the effort in my opinion.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-17.1.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-17.2.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-17.3.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-17.4.jpg)
Step 18:
This is a very quick and easy step. Remember the black areas we left in step 3? Time to do something about them and paint some warning stripes there. Paint those areas black again if necessary and add the yellow stripes. A yellow with good coverage certainly helps (GW Foundation Ianyden Darksun or Tausept Ochre are my colors of choice here), but is not a must. Correct with black and make sure the stripes are (roughly) the same width and (roughly) parallel. Then highlight the stripes in a few steps by adding more and more of a light color to the basecolors (white, off-white, ivory, ... whatever happens to be on your palette or happens to be the first color you grab).
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-18.1.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-18.2.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-18.3.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-18.4.jpg)
Step 19:
During this step I will work with rusty browns. First to shade the warning stripes (I really like how reddish brown shades yellow) and then to add some rust or dirt streaks to selected parts of the miniature. Maybe you will now point out that Mechs do not rust, but there are some examples in stories where Mechs actually do that. Or if you don't want to call it rust, just call it dirt and use the same colors on your base (more on that later). And if that's not your thing either, just skip the rust/dirt streaks ;)
To shade the warning stripes I simply used a dark-ish red/brown (GW Dark Flesh in my case, but any red/brown will do), pushing the pigments into the shadows, slowly building up the colors. This is a relatively controlled process.
For the rust/dirt streaks allow me to quote my weathering article from CSO:
Something else I did at this stage was to add a few dirt or rust streaks running down from some of the larger (or rather deeper) chips. Those streaks are a two-step process:
1. take a rusty red or orange brown and thin it down a lot. Now apply the paint in a very controlled way creating a rather broad streak running downwards.
2. Take a dark red or dark brown color and create a much finer streak inside the first. This becomes easier with a bit of practice.
You could even add a third step and paint an even finer (and smaller) streak with black.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-19.1.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-19.2.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-19.3.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-19.4.jpg)
Phew, that almost concludes the painting of the miniature. The remaining steps will be all about the base and one final weathering detail.
You can find the updated milestones collage here. (http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/milestones4.jpg)
Looking forward to your progress and questions should you have any :).
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Finally got around to adding the proposed index to the first post.
To put the ball firmly into your court I will post the final steps tomorrow or on Thursday.
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Sehr hübsch! I look forward to messing with this as soon as I begin working on painting miniatures again. ;D
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Time for the finishing steps and final touch-ups.
The biggest thing left to do is painting the base. To finish off the base I will use pigments and I will also use the same pigments as the last weathering step on the miniature. Using the same pigments (or washes/colors) on the base as well as the miniature ties everything together and creates an harmonic overall impression.
I also want to emphasize this again:
... we are at a stage where my own painting is extremely chaotic and in something like a finishing frenzy. In other words I only managed to order them for this paint-along. Usually I just jump all over the miniature adding effects as I see fit and as inspiration strikes me. So close to the finish I also spent a lot of time just looking at the miniature ( @p? I know, I know, ...). If you look at the pictures of the next steps you might see very small changes in other areas as well. Things like redrawing a panel line or a panel line there, working on a shadow, touching up a highlight, ... things like this just happen (while looking at the miniature or as spur-of-the-moment decisions). Just trust your feelings and if you think the panel line has to be darker, but Gunji hasn't written anything about it, forget what I have written and just do it ;)
There really is no method to this madness. Just follow your intuition and everything will fall into place for you.
Step 20:
Painting the base is a messy affair ... Using greens, browns and blues I wetblend the colors on the base to create an interesting ground effect. Well, wetblending is really stretching it ... the first step is just to slop on the diluted paint and let the paints mix on the base.
As you can see, there is a small pool on the base. This is where I concentrated the blue paints, because I wanted to add a water effect there.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-20.1.jpg)
Next I painted the rocks and stones in a neutral grey.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-20.2.jpg)
After the paint had mostly dried I intensified the blue in the pool by putting down dots of paint and feathering the edges. I also started to gently drybrush the base with beige and off-white colors.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-20.3.jpg)
With the base mostly painted it was time to add the water effect. Since this is just a small pool, more of a puddle really, a complicated and sophisticated two-component water effect is certainly overkill. There are easier ways, for example:
- gloss varnish: good to create a wet effect, but since we have a shallow pool, we also have to build up some volume
- wood glue: dries transparent, but is dull. With some gloss or ink on top a good solution
- water effects like Vallejo Still Water: easy to use, but shrinks a lot. Many layers are needed
I started with Vallejo Still Water (with a bit of blue ink added). The image shows the base after pouring in the still water for the first time.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-20.4.jpg)
The next image shows the pool after maybe 3 or 4 applications of still water. Between applications I often paint the surface of the dried layer with transparent paints such as inks to tint the 'water' and to create a bigger variety in shades and sheen. Greens, blues and browns come in handy here.
Still not enough volume though and you can clearly see how the still water literally wraps around the small rocks after shrinking.
At this point I also applied some tufts of grass to the base. Tufts are very easy to use, just fix them in place with a drop of superglue or wood glue. They also come in a variety of colors and lengths. That being said, I usually don't like how static grass or tufts look out-of-the-box. I always try to integrate them into the base and add some variety with just a few simple steps.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-20.5.jpg)
The first step, shown in the next picture, is to give the tufts a wash with a color (or a similar color) used on the base. just thin down a drop of paint a lot and put a brushload on the tuft. Just make sure whatever glue you used is dry before applying the wash. If anything spills on the base, just soak it up with a damp brush or gently feather it. After the wash is dry ...
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-20.6.jpg)
... just drybrush the tufts with one or two white/off-white/light-(green/blue/red) colors. Very easy to do and in my opinion well worth the effort. The picture doesn't show this very well, but most tufts now have strands in different colors. Similar, but still different enough to add interest.
You might also notice the milky hue of the pool. I got tired of slowly building up the effect using layer after layer of still water and just put down a few drops of wood glue. Wood glue dries transparent, so no worries. After the glue was dry I added one final layer of still water on top to get the wet look back.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-20.7.jpg)
Step 21:
Almost there, only one (optional) step left: Pigments. To further enhace the base I stippled on different green, brown and blue pigments to get a dusty finish and to add an even greater variety of colors. I also stippled some pigments on the lower legs of the Mjolnir. Less is more in this case, but the nice thing about pigments is that you can always erase what you have done with a damp brush.
To learn more about pigments, their various applications and how to fix them (for gaming minis) I recommend Psycho's article on CSO (http://www.camospecs.com/Article.asp?FictionID=59).
And I almost forgot the very last (mandatory) step: paint the border of the base solid black. In my opinion one of the worst things you can do is leave the border of the base a sloppy mess. The miniature is like a picture and needs a nice frame.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-21.1.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-21.2.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-21.3.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/Mjolnir-step-21.4.jpg)
To come full circle I'd like to finish with a few thoughts about varnishing miniatures. If you are going to game with your miniatures and as a result they get handled a lot, varnish is essential to prevent paint from rubbing off and protect your minis. However if your miniatures are just sitting in your display cabinet (like mine usually do), don't varnish them. It is an unnecessary step which can in the worst case destroy your work and in the best case still alters the perception of what you have painted. I never varnish pure display miniatures or competition entries.
Here is the link to the final milestones collage, giving you all major steps in one huge image. (http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/milestones5.jpg)
Since the Mjolnir hasn't been published on CSO yet (hopefully sometime next week) this is one of the rare occasions a mini premiers elsewhere ... here is a preview of the final pictures of the Mjolnir for CSO and my personal webpage:
(http://www.camospecs.com/images/schemes/68_mjolnir-rots-republicstandingguard-gunji-01.jpg)
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/gallery/mjolnir/mjolnir-web-001.jpg)
(sorry for the blueish tint, but I am still trying to figure out how to get good pictures with a black background :-\ )
All right, I hope some of you are still hanging in there. I'd really like to see your next batch of pictures :) Even though the Mjolnir is finished now, this thread isn't and I am not going anywhere ... in fact I have two tasks/requests for you:
1. Finish your minis and continue posting pictures :)
2. I would be grateful for any kind of feedback on the paint-along format and this paint-along in particular. What is good? What can be improved? Any additional questions/requests/comments?
Doing this has been, and still is, a lot of fun! Thanks for your time!
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Steps 14 & 15 done. Will post some pics tomorrow. On step 14 I didn't have any Republic decals, but I did add one warning decal under the jump jet on the back.
Step 15 I kept the chips mostly limited to the feet, with some on the lower right leg and a few on the large laser barrel on the left arm. I threw in a few scratches as well, just to try it out, but I'm not sure I really pulled it off. I added a couple intersecting scratches on the autocannon barrel, trying to make it look like impact damage, but again I'm not sure how successful it was. I'll take a set of pics now, and then move on to 16.
Edit: Ok, for step 16 I painted on a number, then slightly weathered it. Adding stripes on this mech just didn't seem like it would really add much, and had the potential to obscure some highlights that I was already happy with, so I skipped that. A couple stripes will work on the other mech I'm doing though, so I'll add it there.
Could you clarify something on step 17? Are you adding more shading and highlights to the entire mech at this point, or just to panels where you've added damage? It sounds like you're doing the entire mech. How many more layers of each are you doing? Also, if you're layering on more pure base-color, and pulling that towards the lighter edges, isn't this knocking down some of the lighter highlights you've already built up? Or is that just my brain still rebelling against just how transparent these layers should be?
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Sure, I'll try to clarify Step 17. Emphasize is on try ;)
I do indeed go over the whole miniature with the shadows and highlights, or at least where I think it is appropriate. However I can't tell you how many layers I did, because I never count them ... I just continue until satisfied. I'd say I do more shading than highlighting though, but when feathering the shadow color I often feather it over the whole panel (in the video for example, you can see that I put down some shading color below the knee, switch to a damp brush and feather the color over the whole leg - the video doesn't show this very well, but the effect is very very subtle on the lighter parts). After that the basecolor (again where I feel it is necessary) acts mainly as a filter, tinting the area towards a warmer green again, softening out transition and knocking back some of the chalkiness which may occur when highlighting with white-ish colors. Yes, this probably knocks down some of the highlights I did previously, but again the effect is very very subtle. My paint is really thin when working with the basecolor again (I wouldn't say colored water, but close). And I still do the edge highlights anyway.
This may seem like an unnecessary back and forth, but I have two aims here: 1. fade the chips and scratches 2. get the contrast to a point I am happy with while smoothing out the blending as much as possible.
If you are happy with your result for the most part, or don't really want to fade the chips and scratches too much dial back on this step. Less is more. Just finalize the deepest shadows, add a few well placed hotspots and call it a day. I guess this is probably one of the best examples why I say my painting is very intuitive. But it is also an important step for the 'many layers' effect I want to create with the weathering.
I hope this helps? :-\
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That does help. I'll work on it this evening.
Ok, just one set of pics below. I didn't bother with a pic of the decal on the back, I'll catch it next time. For step 15, you can see the various chips on the feet, and some on the lower right leg & left arm laser barrel. I also have 2 impact marks on the RA gun barrel, which I think looked better before I re-tinted silver over them. They really stood out more at first, and I wasn't sure if it was too much, but I think they looked better before I 'fixed' them.
Scratches can be seen in the middle of the torso, left leg near the knee, another on top of the LA barrel, and the RA shoulder.
The number '14' was painted on the RL thigh (ceramcoat antique white, highlighted with white), and then weathered with base color.
Also still need to finish the laser barrel glow.
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20131107_230116Final_zpsa0e51a15.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20131107_230116Final_zpsa0e51a15.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20131107_230032final_zps91c20154.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20131107_230032final_zps91c20154.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/20131107_230054Final_zps67b550b2.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/20131107_230054Final_zps67b550b2.jpg.html)
Things I'd like to add or fix:
1) The scratches/impacts on the RA. I think these should be relined so they stand out more. I basically used an asterisk pattern. Any suggestions?
2) Chips: Did I cover too much of the black (Vallejo German Camo Black Brown) with the rust (Ceramcoat Brown Iron Oxide). Should I add another rust highlight with more red? It seems pretty flat, but perhaps step 17 is what resolves that.
3) Chips #2: I'd like to add a bright silver as a highlight to a few spots, especially where those chips overlap a corner. This might also give them the effect of more recent damage. Thoughts?
4) Rear jump jet exhaust: According to the record sheet, the mech has 2 JJ's in each leg, and 1 on the torso. While I'm unsure of what exactly is modeled as JJ's on the legs, the rear torso JJ is very obvious and I think the paint underneath it should show weathering, perhaps scorching or at least some soot. I could do this with a very light targeted black drybrush, but I wanted to see if you had a better suggestion.
5) RA gun barrel. Being an autocannon, I can imagine this barrel should show signs of extreme heat exposure. I've got a plan to do this with a succession of targeted washes, but I thought I'd see what method you would use.
6) Actuators/joints: These just seem too bright. I think I need to do something to give them a more oily metal look. Maybe a brown wash, or a light layer of Tamiya Smoke.
Sorry for all the questions, but I figured I might as well ask while I'm doing the weathering since it's all relevant.
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Thanks for sharing the pictures, good to see your progress :) Looks very nice so far.
Sorry for all the questions, but I figured I might as well ask while I'm doing the weathering since it's all relevant.
No need to apologize. Ask as many questions as you like ;)
Due to that strange thing called real life time I don't have much time this weekend (family obligations) and I don't want to answer your questions in passing. I will try to get to them with the necessary attention tomorrow evening or on Sunday.
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Enforcer is coming along nicely
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Yup, the enforcer is top notch! :)
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Getting back into the swing of things after an eventful weekend. Sorry for the delay...
I also have 2 impact marks on the RA gun barrel, which I think looked better before I re-tinted silver over them. They really stood out more at first, and I wasn't sure if it was too much, but I think they looked better before I 'fixed' them.
I must admit I hadn't anticipated someone trying the chipping on metallics :-[ It works a little different there, at least that's my observation. Painting over the chips with a metallic paint, no matter how thin, is probably not going to work as the metallic pigments might ruin any illusion of depth we are trying to create. Also the highlights under the chips should be done with a very bright metallic paint as should be scratches. Overall my opinion is that chips and scratches on metallic surface are more successful in darkly shaded areas, because I think they profit from the flat/shiny contrast there.
1) The scratches/impacts on the RA. I think these should be relined so they stand out more. I basically used an asterisk pattern. Any suggestions?
Yes, I agree. Re-highlight with a bright silver. An asterisk pattern is a good choice in my opinion. Your points may be a bit long though. I would try an asterisk with uneven points, some small, some long. That being said, I never had much success with painted impact craters, I never liked the look. I am not sure if I just haven't found the right method or if the shape is too complicated for the technique or if I just don't like the look of impact craters ;) What works quite well with this technique is a 'line' of successive small weapon impacts e.g. from a machine gun.
2) Chips: Did I cover too much of the black (Vallejo German Camo Black Brown) with the rust (Ceramcoat Brown Iron Oxide). Should I add another rust highlight with more red? It seems pretty flat, but perhaps step 17 is what resolves that.
Your pictures are rather small to judge this detail, but from what I can see in the third pictures I'd say yes, you did cover too much of the first chipping color. At least for the way you painted/shaped the chips. I think your chips are too big. In my opinion smaller chips or at least also smaller chips look more 'realistic' and closer to scale (even though the whole technique with the highlights is stretching the scale issue a bit ...) than only a few big ones. What I mean is that you need some very small chips surrounding the big ones. Or you can even try to break up the bigger chips with the basecolor or by painting a few 'fake' highlights inside them.
Here is a picture showing close-ups where you can see a mix of big and small chips. The detail of the Cephalus imho shows that you don't need many chips, but mixing size and shape adds a lot to the effect.
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/chips.jpg)
3) Chips #2: I'd like to add a bright silver as a highlight to a few spots, especially where those chips overlap a corner. This might also give them the effect of more recent damage. Thoughts?
Try it out, see what happens. My limited experiments with chipping and using metallic paints were not to my liking, but this doesn't mean it can't look good. Maybe this is a step to developing your own method and adds a whole new dimension to the effect :)
4) Rear jump jet exhaust: According to the record sheet, the mech has 2 JJ's in each leg, and 1 on the torso. While I'm unsure of what exactly is modeled as JJ's on the legs, the rear torso JJ is very obvious and I think the paint underneath it should show weathering, perhaps scorching or at least some soot. I could do this with a very light targeted black drybrush, but I wanted to see if you had a better suggestion.
Yes, a targeted, careful drybrush should do the trick. My only concern would be that the result looks too flat. Maybe a *very* light drybrush with a metallic paint or light grey after the black would look good.
Alternatively you could try more of a stippling technique. Something completely different would be pigments. Black or dark metallic pigments stippled or rubbed on.
5) RA gun barrel. Being an autocannon, I can imagine this barrel should show signs of extreme heat exposure. I've got a plan to do this with a succession of targeted washes, but I thought I'd see what method you would use.
You could probably try a similar technique as for the jump jet exhaust. I'd probably take the targeted washes route though which you could combine it with my suggestions regarding your question 6.
6) Actuators/joints: These just seem too bright. I think I need to do something to give them a more oily metal look. Maybe a brown wash, or a light layer of Tamiya Smoke.
Hmm, I'd say you either didn't shade enough or applied too strong highlights. Tamiya Smoke is a grey color, isn't it? It might work, but I'd be worried about the shine those Tamyia clear colors have.
I would shade the metallics again. Build up flat shadows with black and brown colors, building up the intensity with successive washes. This way you can nicely control how wide and bright your highlights are. Treat bright metallics just as you would bright highlight color. I'd use a bright silver only for selected hotspots.
Here is a quick sketch what I would try to do with washes - not pretty, but it might give you an idea:
(http://www.darklined.com/assets/tmp/mjolnir-paint-along/serrate-metallics.jpg)
Sorry for all the questions, but I figured I might as well ask while I'm doing the weathering since it's all relevant.
Again, no need to apologize. The more questions the better ;)
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That Enforcer looks great man! Well done!
-Gunz
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Sorry its been so long since my last post. Been busy. Thanks for the shading tips Gunji. Appreciate the detail you provided in more than a few previous posts. Unless Gunji recommends a few things I'm feeling I'm done. The cockpit needs a bit more work along with the PPC barrel (which I like to leave black) but otherwise I'm ready to move to a batch of Wolves I'm been trying to finish up.
I really liked the paint along and would like to see more of them. I learned a lot about transparency. Although I had begun to use this technique a tad before the paint-along, it really helped me get a better handle on it, especially with using contrasting colors.
My main suggestion to improve the process is to give a months notice of the mini to be painted and a list of the paints to be used. I would have gladly picked up Pericsopes and a few of the other colors used in advance to make sure I was getting more similar results.
Oh. I would also like to see what you CSO guys use for the photography. What lighting, what camera, what camera settings, etc. This has been the most frustrating aspect to me. I have a feeling I'm plagued with poor lighting, a poor camera and a total lack of any ability to take a decent picture of a miniature. That is, see below.
Thanks again!
(http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a579/1he_Wayfarer/1109132154_zps50799039.jpg) (http://s1284.photobucket.com/user/1he_Wayfarer/media/1109132154_zps50799039.jpg.html)
Mike
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@The Wayfarer: Really nice work! O0
@Gunji: Thanks! I'll be moving forward on this one tomorrow night. In the meantime, I used these techniques on a completely different mech, and color-scheme, and it's really starting to come together.
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All things considered i think your battlemaster came out nicely, its not a perfect follow along with the steps in here but the fact you embrassed some new techniques and stepped out of your comfort zone and took it to a higher level was awesome to watch. I think if you touched up the cockpit a bit to make it cleaner and pop out more youd have an awesome looking mini. Hats off to Gunji and everyone who took part, hopefully i can jump in on savages paint along and go rogue and do the wolves using his grey tips :p
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Sorry its been so long since my last post. Been busy. Thanks for the shading tips Gunji. Appreciate the detail you provided in more than a few previous posts. Unless Gunji recommends a few things I'm feeling I'm done. The cockpit needs a bit more work along with the PPC barrel (which I like to leave black) but otherwise I'm ready to move to a batch of Wolves I'm been trying to finish up.
I am glad and excited you saw the project through. I really like your BattleMaster :) I do have a few suggestions, but the most important part is that you are happy.
I'd re-line some of those panel lines and give the grey areas another black wash to add more definition and get clean(er) separations between different colored areas. I'd also work on the base a little more. Nothing difficult or time consuming, but just a few washes of green and brown to add some variety and maybe a patch or two of static grass to break up the empty space and add interest.
I assume you went light on the weathering on purpose? What you have done on the CT looks very good. If you want to give it another shot (on the BattleMaster or on another mini) I suggest to also add some chips around the feet as this is where arguably the most wear and tear occurs.
Again, very nice work - inspired by the paint-along, but with your own touch :)
I really liked the paint along and would like to see more of them. I learned a lot about transparency. Although I had begun to use this technique a tad before the paint-along, it really helped me get a better handle on it, especially with using contrasting colors.
Glad you could take something away from the paint-along. As you get more comfortable with the technique you will notice that your application gets much smoother.
Contrasting or complimentary colors often get overlooked or only used as an accent color, but using them for shades and lights can produce very interesting results.
My main suggestion to improve the process is to give a months notice of the mini to be painted and a list of the paints to be used. I would have gladly picked up Pericsopes and a few of the other colors used in advance to make sure I was getting more similar results.
Yes, you definitely have a point there. i will take this to heart if I get the chance to do another paint-along. I guess SavageCoyote is off to a better start here ;)
Oh. I would also like to see what you CSO guys use for the photography. What lighting, what camera, what camera settings, etc. This has been the most frustrating aspect to me. I have a feeling I'm plagued with poor lighting, a poor camera and a total lack of any ability to take a decent picture of a miniature. That is, see below.
The next time I photograph a mini I can snap a few pictures of my setup and post them along with camera settings. No problem.
Thanks again!
Thank you for following the paint-along and your feedback :)
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Gunji,
Any idea when you will be posting this to CSO for the paint along part? I wanted to join in as I have a Republic of the Sphere Republic Standing Guard unit I want to paint up...but I've been sidelined by a herniated disc...so it's going to be some time before I get to this. So I figured I would just book mark the CSO post (unless you think this will be more detailed...which it just might be), and print out the steps to save for later.
Thanks & awesome job!!!
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Gunji,
Any idea when you will be posting this to CSO for the paint along part? I wanted to join in as I have a Republic of the Sphere Republic Standing Guard unit I want to paint up...but I've been sidelined by a herniated disc...so it's going to be some time before I get to this. So I figured I would just book mark the CSO post (unless you think this will be more detailed...which it just might be), and print out the steps to save for later.
I will definitely collect the info and steps from here and make it an article for CSO. The best ETA I can give you right now is 'before 2013 is over' though :-\
Thanks & awesome job!!!
Thanks!
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I will definitely collect the info and steps from here and make it an article for CSO. The best ETA I can give you right now is 'before 2013 is over' though :-\
Thanks!
Plenty of time...I don't think I'll be back to painting until early January if the shots in my spine work. If I have to have surgery...then it's February at least!
Thanks Gunji!
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All done I think, just need to take some pics, and apply any improvements that you suggest. Comments below:
I must admit I hadn't anticipated someone trying the chipping on metallics :-[ It works a little different there, at least that's my observation. Painting over the chips with a metallic paint, no matter how thin, is probably not going to work as the metallic pigments might ruin any illusion of depth we are trying to create. Also the highlights under the chips should be done with a very bright metallic paint as should be scratches. Overall my opinion is that chips and scratches on metallic surface are more successful in darkly shaded areas, because I think they profit from the flat/shiny contrast there.
Alright, on the AC barrel, I covered back over the asterisk marks and tried a new technique (for me) of representing extremely overheated metal. I like how it turned out, so I'm not going to pursue adding more damage to it. Used a successive series of washes, and then added a highlight line of silver, and finally a thin line of pearl metallic.
On the other hand, I added damage to the metallic surfaces of the other (LA, LT) barrels and followed your suggestions, highlighting the chips with silver.
What I mean is that you need some very small chips surrounding the big ones. Or you can even try to break up the bigger chips with the basecolor or by painting a few 'fake' highlights inside them.
I made another attempt with the sponge technique, and I think it improved things a bit. It added some smaller damage, although it definitely looks better on the lighter areas. I also painted some basecolor back into some of the larger chips to break them up a little.
3) Chips #2: I'd like to add a bright silver as a highlight to a few spots, especially where those chips overlap a corner. This might also give them the effect of more recent damage. Thoughts?
Try it out, see what happens. My limited experiments with chipping and using metallic paints were not to my liking, but this doesn't mean it can't look good. Maybe this is a step to developing your own method and adds a whole new dimension to the effect :)
Ok, I tried this, but it was on such small surfaces and corners that it's very difficult to even see. Regardless, I know it's there, and that's good enough. :)
4) Rear jump jet exhaust: According to the record sheet, the mech has 2 JJ's in each leg, and 1 on the torso. While I'm unsure of what exactly is modeled as JJ's on the legs, the rear torso JJ is very obvious and I think the paint underneath it should show weathering, perhaps scorching or at least some soot. I could do this with a very light targeted black drybrush, but I wanted to see if you had a better suggestion.
Yes, a targeted, careful drybrush should do the trick. My only concern would be that the result looks too flat. Maybe a *very* light drybrush with a metallic paint or light grey after the black would look good.
Alternatively you could try more of a stippling technique. Something completely different would be pigments. Black or dark metallic pigments stippled or rubbed on.
So, the issue with this, is that the main JJ is in the middle of the back, and he's been modified to be torso-twisting. Clearly, he could apply JJ's while twisting in either direction, and to represent that I would've had to add this weathering to the entire back half of the mech, possibly even the upper legs. I was unwilling to commit to what would essentially be covering a lot of paint I was happy with, with black dry-brush. Instead, I just applied a minimum of a dry-brush to the part of his back directly underneath the JJ, which had the added benefit of adding some weathering to the warning decal. I included a very light metallic element to this dry-brush as well. It's subtle, and likely to only be seen when the mini is held in the hand. If you think I should add more of this, let me know.
6) Actuators/joints: These just seem too bright. I think I need to do something to give them a more oily metal look. Maybe a brown wash, or a light layer of Tamiya Smoke.
Hmm, I'd say you either didn't shade enough or applied too strong highlights. Tamiya Smoke is a grey color, isn't it? It might work, but I'd be worried about the shine those Tamyia clear colors have.
I would shade the metallics again. Build up flat shadows with black and brown colors, building up the intensity with successive washes. This way you can nicely control how wide and bright your highlights are. Treat bright metallics just as you would bright highlight color. I'd use a bright silver only for selected hotspots.
I worked on deepening the shadows, and also applied a Nuln Oil wash that really knocked down those highlights. The highlights still show up, it's just not as bright, but let me know what you think.
Step 17: After reworking some of the weathering, I moved on to this step. Made absolutely certain my paint was thin and transparent and reglazed areas where I had applied weathering (scratches or chips). I used a Ceramcoat Antique White for final hotspots, and then took another look at all the chips, and added a bit of touch-up here and there.
Step 18: Skipped this step on this mech. I only had one potential black area, the rear of the LA barrel, but I was happy with the look it had, so I left it. I'm willing to go back and add this though if you think it needs it.
Step 19: I applied the rust technique to a couple small areas around the feet, and down the inside of the right lower leg area. These are very hard to spot. I also used this on both sides of the LA barrel to greater effect. I'm interested to see if you think I overdid, or under-did, this.
Step 20: I don't have a large collection of different pigments, so I mainly worked with washes and drybrushing. Worked over the rocks with various shades of gray, and the ground with earthy colors. I kept the colors within the skid trench a little darker and more wet-looking. Tufts were added, and painted with quite a bit of yellow color to knock down the bright green some. A little green flock to a couple areas was added as well. Grass and mud added to the raised left foot. The tufts seemed pretty tall, so I trimmed them down some.
I had a shallow depression that could potentially hold water, but I have no water effects. Started by painting in some blue and green washes. Then I covered that with a couple layers of white glue. Unfortunately that shrank a lot, so I didn't end up with the volume I wanted. I washed it a couple more times, and finished it off with some gloss varnish. Not too thrilled with it, but not sure if I should keep working on it.
Step 21: I've only got one pigment (Secret Weapon Pigments' Terracotta Earth), so I applied it sparingly to the earth portions of the base, and around the feet as well. Pigments need to be moved to the top of my 'Tools to add' list.
Alright, I'm adding some pics below, but these are just quick pics I took while much was still WiP. I'm hoping to provide better quality pics by tomorrow, but it might have to wait until Sunday.
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/am1_zpsd1710fa2.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/am1_zpsd1710fa2.jpg.html)(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/am2_zps2041bda8.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/am2_zps2041bda8.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/am3_zps0cb292bc.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/am3_zps0cb292bc.jpg.html)(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/am4_zps903837a5.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/am4_zps903837a5.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/am5_zps0f6e3453.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/am5_zps0f6e3453.jpg.html)(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/am6_zps97373d2d.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/am6_zps97373d2d.jpg.html)
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Alrighty, completed pics:
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/Final1_zpsa1dcc12a.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/Final1_zpsa1dcc12a.jpg.html)(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/Final2_zps06c245bb.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/Final2_zps06c245bb.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/Final3_zpsceb0eed1.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/Final3_zpsceb0eed1.jpg.html)(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/Final4_zps750a204b.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/Final4_zps750a204b.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/Final5_zpsbc20f406.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/Final5_zpsbc20f406.jpg.html)(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/Final6_zps385752de.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/Final6_zps385752de.jpg.html)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/Serrate_photos/Final7_zps7805fdfc.jpg) (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Serrate_photos/media/Final7_zps7805fdfc.jpg.html)
Gunji, thanks for doing this. I really learned a lot and enjoyed practicing some new techniques.
edit: Sorry about the yellow'ish pics. I was trying to get better photos using my camera instead of my cell, but it still needs a lot of work. I don't have time this morning, but I'll work these pics over in Gimp some more this afternoon and try to improve them. Or possibly just re-shoot entirely.
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Very well done. I think in my opinion, I'd prefer a little tweaking away from the yellow cast of the images, but you may simply prefer a "sunset" appearance. Regardless, you've made a very beautiful model.
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Sorry for the very slow reply. Busy times at the moment ...
Thanks for seeing this through. The Enforcer III looks great in my opinion.
Alright, on the AC barrel, I covered back over the asterisk marks and tried a new technique (for me) of representing extremely overheated metal. I like how it turned out, so I'm not going to pursue adding more damage to it. Used a successive series of washes, and then added a highlight line of silver, and finally a thin line of pearl metallic.
Yes, this does look very good. Personally I would have kept the heat marks smaller and closer to the end of the barrel. But that's just my preference ;)
On the other hand, I added damage to the metallic surfaces of the other (LA, LT) barrels and followed your suggestions, highlighting the chips with silver.
I made another attempt with the sponge technique, and I think it improved things a bit. It added some smaller damage, although it definitely looks better on the lighter areas. I also painted some basecolor back into some of the larger chips to break them up a little.
Ok, I tried this, but it was on such small surfaces and corners that it's very difficult to even see. Regardless, I know it's there, and that's good enough. :)
The chipping is difficult to see in the pictures, but as far as I can tell you have the basics down. The chips around the feet (and on the LA) look a little flat. Judging by the pictures I think you used too much light brown inside the chips. When adding brown (rust) to the chips a light touch is necessary. You are not necessarily looking for coverage, but just a hint of color. Yes, this is nit-picking and yes, the chips are very small, but with a little practice this is easy and (relatively) fast to do, even if you have to go a little back and forth between colors (e.g. bring back some of the black/first chipping color when the rust or the highlight gets too big).
So, the issue with this, is that the main JJ is in the middle of the back, and he's been modified to be torso-twisting. Clearly, he could apply JJ's while twisting in either direction, and to represent that I would've had to add this weathering to the entire back half of the mech, possibly even the upper legs. I was unwilling to commit to what would essentially be covering a lot of paint I was happy with, with black dry-brush. Instead, I just applied a minimum of a dry-brush to the part of his back directly underneath the JJ, which had the added benefit of adding some weathering to the warning decal. I included a very light metallic element to this dry-brush as well. It's subtle, and likely to only be seen when the mini is held in the hand. If you think I should add more of this, let me know.
I agree with your less-is-more approach. Weathering effects of all kind can easily be overdone and just look messy. Sure, a good technique is important, but knowing when to stop is equally important.
I worked on deepening the shadows, and also applied a Nuln Oil wash that really knocked down those highlights. The highlights still show up, it's just not as bright, but let me know what you think.
Well done. You could try to paint a few, very small hotspots with a bright silver, but metallics are always difficult to judge on pictures. If you are happy with the shadows and the lights (and I'd say you should be), stop here and don't do anything else.
Step 19: I applied the rust technique to a couple small areas around the feet, and down the inside of the right lower leg area. These are very hard to spot. I also used this on both sides of the LA barrel to greater effect. I'm interested to see if you think I overdid, or under-did, this.
See my comment above. So I think you overdid it. At least directly inside the chips.
Step 20: I don't have a large collection of different pigments, so I mainly worked with washes and drybrushing. Worked over the rocks with various shades of gray, and the ground with earthy colors. I kept the colors within the skid trench a little darker and more wet-looking. Tufts were added, and painted with quite a bit of yellow color to knock down the bright green some. A little green flock to a couple areas was added as well. Grass and mud added to the raised left foot. The tufts seemed pretty tall, so I trimmed them down some.
I had a shallow depression that could potentially hold water, but I have no water effects. Started by painting in some blue and green washes. Then I covered that with a couple layers of white glue. Unfortunately that shrank a lot, so I didn't end up with the volume I wanted. I washed it a couple more times, and finished it off with some gloss varnish. Not too thrilled with it, but not sure if I should keep working on it.
Hmm, hard to see in the pictures. If you think you can fill the groove with one or two more applications of white glue I'd say go for it. But white glus (and Vallejo water effects) will always have some shrinkage. In my experience water effects is much worse though.
Again sorry for my late reply to your finished Mech. Glad to hear you liked the paint-along though :) Thanks for hanging in there :)
Anything I could or should do different if I get the chance for another paint-along? Anything I can improve?
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Oh. I would also like to see what you CSO guys use for the photography. What lighting, what camera, what camera settings, etc. This has been the most frustrating aspect to me. I have a feeling I'm plagued with poor lighting, a poor camera and a total lack of any ability to take a decent picture of a miniature. That is, see below.
So, better late than never ... attached is a picture of my current photo setup. When not taking pictures for CSO I simply replace the terrain board with a printed background of my choice (grey, black, white, gradient, ...). I use three lamps with daylight bulbs, two at an angle from the front/sides and one from above (this is my painting lamp). To diffuse the light I wrap white sandwich or baking paper around the lamps. Diffusing the lights helps to avoid glare spots.
My camera settings depend on the background, but some settings I rarely change are:
- white balance set to daylight
- aperture f/13
- ISO 100 (as low as possible)
- timer set to a two second delay
Exposure depends on the background, but I usually go for +-0, except when using a black background (here I am still experimenting, but have had the best results so far with -2). I don't use macro mode/objective. Shutterspeed is calculated by the camera according to the setting (exposure), but it often lands around 1/6s (a tripod is a must).
Hope that helps :)
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The chipping is difficult to see in the pictures, but as far as I can tell you have the basics down. The chips around the feet (and on the LA) look a little flat. Judging by the pictures I think you used too much light brown inside the chips. When adding brown (rust) to the chips a light touch is necessary. You are not necessarily looking for coverage, but just a hint of color. Yes, this is nit-picking and yes, the chips are very small, but with a little practice this is easy and (relatively) fast to do, even if you have to go a little back and forth between colors (e.g. bring back some of the black/first chipping color when the rust or the highlight gets too big).
See my comment above. So I think you overdid it. At least directly inside the chips.
Hmm, hard to see in the pictures. If you think you can fill the groove with one or two more applications of white glue I'd say go for it. But white glus (and Vallejo water effects) will always have some shrinkage. In my experience water effects is much worse though.
Still working on this Gunji. I've added more glue to the pool, and even expanded it slightly to include a runoff over a low spot, as if it were a natural spring.
On the rust, do you think it was overdone in all places, or where it was the heaviest on the LA barrel?
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I just wanted to say that I have really gotten a lot out of this format, especially from Serrate's questions and answers. Seeing the scheme evolve with so many photos really helped me understand.
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Considering this is a long over due update of my republic marauder here we go. I decided to go back over the green parts with more of an olive drab green like I should have done in the first place. next is to rewash the newly painted green sections. I think this new green looks better than the previous on I had.
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Sorry, I totally missed that there a new replies to this thread. Either the "notify of new replies" didn't work, got stuck in my spam folder or I simply missed it ... :(
Anyway ...
On the rust, do you think it was overdone in all places, or where it was the heaviest on the LA barrel?
LA barrel and the feet. Judging by the pictures those are the places that jump out to me.
Considering this is a long over due update of my republic marauder here we go. I decided to go back over the green parts with more of an olive drab green like I should have done in the first place. next is to rewash the newly painted green sections. I think this new green looks better than the previous on I had.
Glad to see you are still hanging in there :) I agree, the new green looks like a better fit for the Republic Standing Guard. Looking forward to your next steps and I promise a more timely reply ... ;)
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(http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a579/1he_Wayfarer/DSCF0030_zpsa5a7f737.jpg) (http://s1284.photobucket.com/user/1he_Wayfarer/media/DSCF0030_zpsa5a7f737.jpg.html)
I know the base is a little sparse but I'm happy with the results.
Mike
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I know the base is a little sparse but I'm happy with the results.
Mike
As you should be, looks good. O0
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(http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a579/1he_Wayfarer/DSCF0030_zpsa5a7f737.jpg) (http://s1284.photobucket.com/user/1he_Wayfarer/media/DSCF0030_zpsa5a7f737.jpg.html)
I know the base is a little sparse but I'm happy with the results.
Mike
Looks good man
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Wayfarer, that really looks excellent!
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Agreed, looks very very nice! The contrast on the shoulders between light and shadow is very well done. O0
-Gunz
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Mike, thanks for the updated picture. The BattleMaster looks great and your pictures are much better too!
Apart from the base you could improve the overall contrast. Notice how the red parts seem to have much more contrast than the green parts. Some darker shading and stronger highlights on the green parts would even this out and create a more consistent picture. This is minor though and truly nit-picking. It is also something I am often struggling with myself. But maybe something to keep in mind the next time.
Thanks for following :)
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Ok, it's a long time back. But finally i managed to come back to this great project. Finished up the Atlas II until step 14 i think. Overall i'm happy with the result so far.
I will not go for much weathering because on the mostly small Panels of this mech i think it will become more difficult. Will test that on another mech first before i ruin this one.
So i have to go for the final shadowing and highlighting. Including the decals. But ^-^
When i paint over decals in the past the Color always flows under the decals. At least when i try thiny layers. Maybe i haven't seen an Explanation here or it is not mentioned yet. What do i wrong ?
Now as you have pointed out the missing shadows on decals and going so far with that mech while learning so much ... i can't leave them now as they are. >:(
Sorry for the bad Pictures. I hope the Progress can be seen.
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Seems like you guys obtained improvement. O0
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I think that looks amazing dude....
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Hey Wotan, thanks for hanging in there :) I will reply at length tomorrow, but the kids refuse to sleep thanks to the thunderstorm raging outside. No time for an in depth reply, but I like what I am seeing.
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Ok, finally ... I really like the work you have done so far on the Atlas. While I am not very good at painting highlights as if the light comes from a fixed lightsource and don't focus on this as much as I probably should, I think your highlighting would benefit a lot if you shaped the highlights a bit. Your highlights are very strong all around panels and surface. Give them some direction by highlighting panels that are oriented towards the ground less than panels oriented to the sky. You do this in some spots, but not consequent enough. This is most obvious on the back of the lower legs. Also the front torso stands out to me.
As I said, I don't follow those principles 100% accurately myself, but I do always try to "shape" my highlights. Stronger highlights on upper panels, stronger highlights on the torso, stronger highlights the closer you get to the head. Small things like this help the overall appearance a lot.
Your technique looks good. Areas you could work on is smoother transitions (some of the blue shadows are relatively harsh) and maybe finer highlights (there a very few spots where your brush control slipped, resulting in a very broad or wobbly highlight). Both of those things get better with practice and become easier the more used you get to painting with very thin paint. So this is really nit-picking from me at this point ;)
I can't really offer you a solution for your problem with paint running under decals as I have never experienced this myself. Here is how I apply decals: I don't prepare the surface where the decal goes in any way, just soak the decal in water and place it with the help of a brush. When I am happy with the placement and orientation I carefully remove excess water with a clean brush and liberally apply some decal softening solution (I use Mr Mark Softer). I make sure the softer is completely dry before continuing to paint. Applying decals often is my last step before calling it a day.
Regarding your problem three things come to my mind: is the decal still wet? did the decal set completely? just how much paint/fluid do you have on the brush when painting?
Thanks for still following! I am already looking forward to your next steps :)
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One problem I have had before is when trying to do even simple light-source highlighting, is that I'll keep doing small corrective tweaks and before I know it I've overdone it and the highlights look garish and messy like a model with way too much makeup.
1. Is there a reasonably objective way to stop yourself from doing that?
2. Would it be better sometimes (especially if your skill isn't up to the task yet) to let the good job stand and not try for perfection?
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One problem I have had before is when trying to do even simple light-source highlighting, is that I'll keep doing small corrective tweaks and before I know it I've overdone it and the highlights look garish and messy like a model with way too much makeup.
1. Is there a reasonably objective way to stop yourself from doing that?
Hmm, that's a tough one. What I find very helpful is to closely inspect my painting all the time. Look at the miniature under different lights (painting light, daylight, ambient light, ...). I also find it very helpful to look at the results of last nights paint session with fresh eyes the next morning. More than once this made me repaint or tweak areas I thought were finished.
If you really reach this point where you feel highlights are overdone you can easily tone them done again. Hit the area with a controlled wash or some glazes of a mid-tone.
2. Would it be better sometimes (especially if your skill isn't up to the task yet) to let the good job stand and not try for perfection?
What is this perfection you speak of? Seriously though, yes, stop when you are happy with the result. There is no "correct stage" you have to achieve. Honestly, I don't have a single miniature where I don't think "man, I could/should have done so much more". Sometimes you just have to stop and move on.
Nothing wrong with stopping when you have reached a stage you are happy with. But, keep in mind what you would have liked to try. Write it down. And come back to it on later miniatures. The only way to improve is to push past your comfort zone.
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I know that it've been a rime since Gunji created the post but i want to try it.
First, I have to say that I don't touch a brush since two or three years ago. And I have only painted about 20 minis so this years have rusty my skills..
Although, I'll do my best.
I'm going to paint to minis at a time, one for god and davion and the other for boom. At this point I prefer notto show the scheme or the mini, but some pics will be on the road.
Regards.
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What is this perfection you speak of? Seriously though, yes, stop when you are happy with the result. There is no "correct stage" you have to achieve. Honestly, I don't have a single miniature where I don't think "man, I could/should have done so much more". Sometimes you just have to stop and move on.
There is a fine line between trying to do the best mini possible, and being obsessive. Don't cross that line.
Know when to say "Frack it! That's Good enough!" That was a very hard lesson to learn on my part, and,
I suspect, for many of us who are trying to improve our paint-craft.
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There is a fine line between trying to do the best mini possible, and being obsessive. Don't cross that line.
Know when to say "Frack it! That's Good enough!" That was a very hard lesson to learn on my part, and,
I suspect, for many of us who are trying to improve our paint-craft.
This is so true, and excellent advice. There is a fine line between striving to make regular progress, and becoming so self-critical that nothing is ever "finished". It's an easy line to cross.
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Good to see that the thread is still useful for some :)
At this point I prefer notto show the scheme or the mini, but some pics will be on the road.
If you have questions or are looking for feedback, but don't want to show the pictures here, feel free to drop me a PM anytime.
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Here's my WiP.
I chose a no-canon sceme with multi colored parts just to make exercises with this technic:
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8736/16347514044_bbf0e94296_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/qUzhoq)WIPPING 003 (https://flic.kr/p/qUzhoq) by agen2 (https://www.flickr.com/people/54723874@N02/), on Flickr
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I think you are off to a very good start. I like your choice of color. Thumbs up for shading with purple :)
One suggestion I have would be regarding the way you have shaded the front of the cockpit. It looks like you have shaded with purple towards the middle along the entire length. You can create a more dramatic effect and direct the eye to the cockpit by shading from dark (top) to light (bottom) along the length. I have attached a quick mockup to show what I mean.
Looking forward to the next steps!
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I think you are off to a very good start. I like your choice of color. Thumbs up for shading with purple :)
One suggestion I have would be regarding the way you have shaded the front of the cockpit. It looks like you have shaded with purple towards the middle along the entire length. You can create a more dramatic effect and direct the eye to the cockpit by shading from dark (top) to light (bottom) along the length. I have attached a quick mockup to show what I mean.
Looking forward to the next steps!
Are you talking about the cockpit or the flesh/purple spots?
I thought to make smaller portions to paint x learn well this technique,i feel more confident,but at the same time you've got to memorize lot's of small portions. ;D
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I am talking about the "bridge" between the cockpit screens.
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Well thanks Gunji... let's make practice now.
I have some question about the pigments.I just picked up a good range of color and read the useful tutorial on camospecs from Psicho but maybe for a language barrier or I missed something,but still I haven't any idea about the right ratio for dilution.
Are you going to mix it with water,or seems like Psicho used alcool.I think the ratio it will change if used for terrain or used for aging.I thought to send you a PM for this answers,but I think we can throw in the discussion other people as well.
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Well, Psycho differentiates between dry and wet applications in his article. I didn't re-read everything in detail, but for the wet applications he moistens the surface with a little rubbing alcohol and then applies the pigments with a dry brush or he picks up pigments with an alcohol moistened brush and then uses another alcohol moistened brush to move the pigments around, creating streaks. For the dry application just pick up some pigments with a dry brush and stipple them on. Less is more in my experience. But the good thing about pigments is that you can easily remove (most of) them again using a moist brush.
Actually mixing the pigments with water (or alcohol) is another option. As with the paint, the less you dilute, the more intense the 'paint' will be. Also, the pigments will always leave a texture.
On the Mjolnir (almost always really) I applied pigments dry by stippling them on with a short haired stiff brush. For gaming minis the pigments then can be fixed with a drop of alcohol or pigment fixer (and varnish). This is not necessary for miniature just sitting in the display cabinet.
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Just finishes following along with this tutorial, but in a wolverine zeta galaxy scheme. Thanks for the hard work Gunji; here is my end result. (https://i.imgur.com/IERatPl.jpg)