A couple of WIP's (Warning nipple alert!)

[Genryu]

Heya folks! As the weekend is now upon us, and I have a little free time, I thought I would get some pictures taken of a few minis I am currently working on, the CMON Barbarian King, and the Vandorendra Demon by Reaper.

One thing that always caused me problems were fleshtones, and so its somthing I have been trying to practice these last few days. Due to the lack of armour (and ahem ..cloths) these two seemed like nice models to practice on, especially with all the muscle definition sculpted into them. They are still very much in the early stages, lots of work left to do but any suggestions would be nice.

The lighting isn't great as the photos were at night time and with just the one lamp, but you get a rough idea.

Click to see full-sized image
Click to see full-sized image

[Genryu]

Spent a few hours painting this evening, so just a small update (and slightly larger picture this time):

Click to see full-sized image

I still havent decided what type of base to use, I only have it on that horrible square thing temporarily whilst I paint. I'm thinking maybe a jungle themed base would suite the mini? I have some old aquarium plants, that could be converted into some nice jungle plants with a little work.

I'm also undecided as to whether I should try adding some tattoos, maybe some tribal style ones, I'm just a bit daunted by free hand.

Not sure when I'll have time to update again, but I'll try and get some more painting done midweek.

[arctica]

It's coming along well, personally i think some of the scales could be a bit brighter in areas to accentuate a shiny body and really give it a glossy look via painted effects. It's looking cool, i read in games forces mag the other day Ana's advice on freehands, to practice them on paper first and get a good concept or idea before applying on the model, so perhaps it would be worth practicing it in that manner.

[mahon]

Heh, Arctica, so you have read the article

Genryu, Arctica is right - a little practice on paper wouldn't be a bad idea. If anything goes wrong it's easier to throw the paper to trash than to paint the failed freehand over with yet one more layer of paint on the miniature. Otherwise you may easily build up a thick layer of paint which will ruin the smoothness of your paintjob.
If you have access to a printer you might print a WIP photo of your miniature and sketch some ideas on it so you can know what's going to look good on the mini and what not. I think the mini doesn't need any tattoo, because IMO some stronger lighting and shading would easily make it very interesting even without any tattoos. But if you want to do it just for the sake of it - go for it! Practice is always a good thing!

Defnitely add more contrast on the blades. They need it badly, but I assume that's because they're still a WIP.

Are you going to add some nuances of color to the skin?

[Genryu]

i read in games forces mag the other day Ana's advice on freehands, to practice them on paper first and get a good concept or idea before applying on the model

If you have access to a printer you might print a WIP photo of your miniature and sketch some ideas on it so you can know what's going to look good on the mini and what not

Practicing on paper is sound advice, and I like the printer idea, I may have to try that at some point.

i think some of the scales could be a bit brighter in areas to accentuate a shiny body and really give it a glossy look via painted effects.

I'm not really happy with the tail my self, so I'm planning on touching it up a little before I finish.

Defnitely add more contrast on the blades. They need it badly, but I assume that's because they're still a WIP.

haha yeah still WIP, they are actually just base coated black at the moment, I think because I only used one lamp to take the picture, and it was night time they may have come across as being highlighted when in actual fact they are not.

Are you going to add some nuances of color to the skin?

I was originally planning on a very subtle, green tint to the skin, but ended up changing my mind. What would you suggest?

[mahon]

Yeah, green tint sounds right. Just don't simply make the skin green but add nuances like it's described in Morsi's tutorial. You read it, didn't you?

[LittleDave]

Looking good; Nice and clean so far.

Whatever you decide for the skin will enhance the piece a bit, whether that be subtle color tints or tattoos. It looks fine as is, however it could use a little something to make it more eye catching.

[Genryu]

like it's described in Morsi's tutorial. You read it, didn't you?

I cant say I'm familiar with Morsi.

I just did a quick search, is this what you mean? It seems to fit the bill.

https://www.chestofcolors.com/cofc-postn ... =28&page=1

[mahon]

this is exactly what I meant! gives some idea about using nuances on surfaces which are usually painted in one color + shading/highlighting.

[Genryu]

I've not had chance to update in a while, been busy with work, but I have some free time on my hands now. Nothing major to report progress wise (Barbarian is Butchered, and the Snake lady is on hold for a while).

I was pretty inspired by the article recommended by Mahon, and decided to experiment a little on the Barbarian Mini (As it was the least painted of the two), unfortunately the results were less than impressive, I went a little overboard (Think The Blue Man Group), and so its now sat in a jar of Fairy Power Spray waiting to be stripped.

I did a little more on the Vandorendra Demon, put some work into the weapons (Pretty poor job I'll admit), I think I'm going to have to attempt some NMM one day in the near future. I also painted a few gems for the first time, a pretty common and basic technique but I like the results. Finally I started work on a base (I probabally should have waited until painting was done, but fancied doing somthing else). I think I'm going to put it on hold for a while, I dont feel confident messing around with the skin at the moment (Though I have some Necromunda Scavvies sat on my shelf that would make great practice for the technique).

Click to see full-sized image