I still want to improve my painting.

[sea.man]

It is so hard to write something after a comment like p1per wrote but still I would like to give you a tip (?)
Are you willing to make finish something more for GD? If yes, I would recommend some less popular categories, you have skills and at least first cut is possible in those. Now you are aiming for the thoughest one - single fantasy... It is a lovely painted miniature and you surelly would win many contest, but GD is a though one A unit painted like this would make bigger impresion.
I just want to say and encourage you to spend some more time and try to make more entires, because you really can come back home with something!

[Demi_morgana]

great job if you ask me...

[Muskie]

These are really good. Most people suck compared to you. If you want to win the Golden Demon that is a different kettle of fish to just painting better. To win the Golden Demon you gotta think like a marketer. Your model needs to inspire and sell more models.

1) Paint the latest greatest GW model. Something flashly like a special character or a general.
2) Avoid other heavyweight painters who are entering a particular category.
3) Some Games Days are supposedly easier to win, it was definitely easier to win back in the day, again don't try to win every category on your first try.
4) You probably need to convert the model, even do some custom green stuff work.
5) You need free hand. Maybe in the olden days it was possible to win a Golden Demon without it, but now-a-days some custom free hand work is almost a must.
6) Practice on models you care less about, even pieces of models. If you need to work on faces say, get a whole tactical squad or whatever of Imperial Guard and just paint their faces.

Lastly and this isn't going to help you win a Golden Demon but I think you need to develop your own style. Some painters I recognize there work because they are really good at some things, or they favour certain colors or even ranges of models. Once you've mastered most of the basic techniques, you either have to try something really audacious or you have combine the techniques you know and can do well in a creative way.

Don't be afraid to break the rules. Everyone has seen an Ultramarine, less have seen a well painted Novamarine or some other more obscure chapter. If you're trying to sell your models on say eBay, I've been told you need to stick with the big chapters, popular armies, etc. But if you want to stand out on the Internet or at con, paint something a bit differently, don't just try to copy the 'Eavy Metal paint job.

[Maru]

hard yo add somthing to the above posts but :
Guts end such things - when you are done with painting - cover al slimy / glosy things with Gloss Varnish - this incese the effect

[huitzilopochtli]

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

@p1per
Your nit-picking is much appreciated and I agree with most of your comments. I won't be changing this model - if I kept fixing my so-called finished pieces I'd never paint anything new - but I'll try to apply everything you've mentioned to my next mini.
I will continue to work on my NMM smoothness and, yes, the bottom, bright line should have been omitted.
I see the armour on the arm could have used more shading on the inside, too. But what colour variation would you suggest to make the green more interesting?
Yes, the bone spikes don't look so good. They were an oversight. Next model will appear in WIP thread, hopefully that will catch carelessness like that.
I had much less rust on the axe to begin with, but I felt it ruined the NMM effect I was trying to achieve. Adding more seemed to fix that problem. I will have to work more on rusty NMM.
Some bruises around the stomach may have been nice. Again, something that could have been caught in the WIP thread. Next time.

@sea.man
Thanks for the encouragement! I intend to enter three categories if I can: 40k single, fantasy single and a unit or squad category. I agree that I could improve my chances of taking something home by going for less popular categories (which is partly why I intend on entering a squad) but I am a very slow painter and I don't know if I could manage more than one such entry. Also, I think I'll learn and improve more by going for the tougher categories. In the long run I'd rather get more experience than scrape a finalist pin. That said, I get the impression that duel is a "softer" category and am considering an entry for it. Would you recommend it?

@Demi_morgana
Thanks for the complement!

@Muskie
Thanks for the advice. I think I will have difficulty in applying all of it, though. Particularly numbers 1 and 4, as I often find that models that have been around for a few years grow on me so I prefer them, and I can't convert squat. It is something I will have to try to work on. Number 6 could also be a problem. As I said I'm a very slow painter and I don't know if I'd have time to practice painting bits as well as whole models.
Regarding developing my own style, i still think I'm mastering the basics so I'll have to get back to you on that.

@Maru
I did consider it but wasn't convinced it was something I wanted on the model. I'll give it a go on the next one (with guts and such), though.

[p1per]

For the color variation you could try to get some blue into the shadows (u could use Dark Sea Blue from Vallejo for that purpose since it's a very nice color and often used when shading) or some brown/yellow-ish tint into the midtones/highlights.

To give you some examples:

Bogusz Stupnicki's (bohun) Nurgle Dreadnought:
http://www.coolminiornot.com/242059

Ben Komets' Plaguenaught:
http://www.coolminiornot.com/271152

or check out Solmar's WIP thread here on CofC - he also did a great job on his Dreadnought's armor.

[sea.man]

That said, I get the impression that duel is a "softer" category and am considering an entry for it. Would you recommend it?

I also think it is "softer" - you have time - sure go for it! In this category imagination and scene dynamics are important factors!

[Muskie]

Here is good advice in English from an Italian who has actually won two Slayer Swords. He seems a bit anti-free hand but acknowledges it is a factor in winning Games Day painting competitions. He also alludes to what I said about 'corporate' considerations Games Workshop has in choosing a winner.

If you want the fresh blood look, an easy way to achieve it is with Tamiya Red Clear, a technique I got off of a Khorne guy on the Bolter and Chainsword forum. He wrote a tutorial. It is part of my collection of tutorials.

Back to not painting and trying to you know turn my life around...

[mahon]

read the interview with Matteo today in the morning and already mentioned his opinion on freehands in the Polish section of the forum (regarding Przemo's freehand on a shield).

[sea.man]

did you improve you single fantasy entry?