3-D lightning?

[strewart]

I\'m looking to make some 3d lightning effects and have no idea how I might go about it, has anyone done it or know how it might be done? By 3d I mean like lightning coming out the end of a staff and probably onto another surface. I had my first attempt painting 2d lightning for a custom Slann palanquin, which I think turned out ok, but the 3d stuff is for a different model, here is the slann base:

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc80/strewart/Lizardmen/slannpalanquin.jpg

Any ideas/suggestions much appreciated.

 

[Gilvan Blight]

Best chance for good info is to search the forum for OSL. Object Source Lighting is what this technique is usually referred to.

Actually I have a bit of time:

Here\'s an article:
http://www.coolminiornot.com/go.php/go/articlephp/aid/328?

Here\'s a thread:
http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/viewthread.php?tid=31989

There are lots more. The Search button is your friend.

 

[freakinacage]

do you mean the actual forks? i would try thin wire. i can think of a few but my SEARCHING DOESNT WORK!!

 

[strewart]

Yeah I am talking about the actual forks. I thought I might be able to use wires as you suggest, however I have no idea how I would paint them up, since they are round rather than flat they can\'t really be highlighted or anything.

Thanks for the OSL link, that might be a bit beyond my painting skills but I will read it and see if I can practice on a couple of models.

 

[Gilvan Blight]

Gilvan: reading comprehension level -1

I read 3D Lighting. Missed an N.

Sorry about that.

Puts his tail between his legs and skulks off.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by strewart
Yeah I am talking about the actual forks. I thought I might be able to use wires as you suggest, however I have no idea how I would paint them up, since they are round rather than flat they can\'t really be highlighted or anything.

Graduate them from a mid bright blue VMC Andrea Blue at the point of origin through to White at the end point.
Its an \"acceptable artificiallity\" used in painting models.

 

[JesterzUSMC]

If the thinnest wire is too much, I\'d suggest paper. Or thin plastic sheet...usually the thinnest plastic is clear, like in an Essay Cover.
Might try that...then you can paint AND bend, even add OSL...LOL.lol

 

[strewart]

Hmm wondering how I would get paper or plastic to stay sturdy and hard rather then just flopping or \'melting\' in the case of paper? Maybe wrap some paper around the thin wire to give it a bit more texture?

I have tried doing a bit of a google search and looking through CMON galleries, does anyone know where I might find a few examples of 3d lightning to draw inspiration from? I have seen plenty of fire made of of greenstuff but that is a bit thicker and has a bit more shape to it.

Thanks for the replies so far.

 

[mickc22]

this might be helpful, it\'s Prophets\' take on what I think you\'re after

http://www.coolminiornot.com/25383

I think the pics on his website might be a bit clearer

 

[strewart]

Originally posted by mickc22
this might be helpful, it\'s Prophets\' take on what I think you\'re after

http://www.coolminiornot.com/25383

I think the pics on his website might be a bit clearer

Yeah that is exactly the kind of effect I am looking for, and you are right the pictures on his site are better than on cmon. I will aim to make my lightning a bit more blue though.

Now that I have something to compare to, I have tried a dry run and started gluing some parts. What I am doing is a skink priest on engine of the gods (stegadon) sacrificing a skink. The skink is providing energy through the sacrificial blade (right hand) to the staff (left hand) and that energy is flowing through the staff to the engine to provide a lightning or lore of heavens effect. Now that I try it out as a dty and part glue run though, the staff appears to touch the engine, I might not need the 3d wire even though I found some great 5 twined thin wire, he touches straight to the engine so I may be able to paint the electricity straight on like I did the Slann Palanquin. I want to use the wire a bit, but I\'m not sure where I will put it now. Maybe out the top of the engine?

Anyway, I like to procrastinate so it may be a while plus I am doing honours this year so pretty busy at uni but I will sure to post pics at various stages.

 

[Shawn R. L.]

Originally posted by strewart
Hmm wondering how I would get paper or plastic to stay sturdy and hard rather then just flopping or \'melting\' in the case of paper?

How about using the wrapper from the top of a wine bottle. It\'s like thick aluminium foil. It used to be lead so beware.

 

[Harpo]

Fuse wire is fairly fine, it gets thicker as you increase the Amp rating.

When I was painting Imperial Guard ages ago I used to make antennae by heating and stretching the sprue plastic. You can get some really thin sections that way. You also can get tapered ends, and you have a limited time where the sprue is soft and you can bend it to shape.

I wonder if dental floss or dental tape with some PVA on it would work? You might need to make the lightning arcs in a frame (like a sprue), let them dry and then glue them in place.

 

[green stuff]

For what it\'s worth, I did this a while back :

http://www.coolminiornot.com/164975

With WIP shots here :

http://greenstuff.free.fr/img/WyrdGames/Diorama1/

With hindsight, I would have used thinner wire.

 

[strewart]

Well, since this thread has been added to the sticky thread I guess I better post my test lightning. This wire is part of some christmas decoration, and I found it hard to get paint to stick (didn\'t do an undercoat though) and hard to take pictures. The above examples are great, the following is just what I did quickly, the blending isn\'t even very good. Regal Blue > enchanted blue > ice blue > asurman blue wash.

It looks like after this thread I may not need 3d lightning on the model I want it for, since his staff touches the engine, but I will bookmark it for possible future applications, and still consider trying 3D lightning around him a bit if this gets a good response.

Here is the pic:

 

[Trevor]

I didn\'t do lightning exactly, but a magic effect, this was wire dipped in superglue then sand.

magic spray

You could try sawdust as well and cover less of the wire, just to give it a bit of jaggedness and alow some shading and highlighting.

 

[BPI]

Hi all, first time post etc. will actually post pics at some point I hope.
I was thinking about this last night & my suggestion is to not bother with the actual modelled lightning, instead represent it with the light. If the bolt is coming down vertically to the sacrificial subject in the centre of the howdah then he\'ll be white on top with deep shadows beneath. The sacrificers front will be washed out. The big metal gyroscope at the back could reflect the actual shape of the bolt with the jaggedy bits & sparkly tendrils. Although you don\'t have a physical representation of the lightning bolt everything on the model suggests that it IS there. I\'m not convinced that I could remotely pull this off convincingly but as I rarely finish a 25mm human figure let alone a dinosaur with multiple characters hanging off it I suspect you have a more ambitious attitude than me!
Sound possible?
Cheers, B.

 

[strewart]

That is certainly an interesting idea, BPI, from my imagination I think it would look a tough strange without anything physical there that was meant to be letting the light out. It would also be very very hard to paint it well.

@Trevor, I like that effect! Great idea and very well painted, I might experiment with that.

My project had a bit of a set back since I have been sick lately and the priest found himself in front of a heater for too long when I was trying to dry his wash (cold weather makes paint dry sloooow) so I have to make a new priest and convert it again.

 

[demonherald]

very very tin wire .. Fuse wire is great or better still get some of the steel wire that is used by jewellery and bead craf folk.. very thine but has pretty darn good strength..

The trick with lightning and where most folk fall flat is that the bends and kinks are very angular and sharp .. hold the wire in straght edged pliers and bend tight against the flat side to get the angular edges.. Rather than twisting the wire together to make the multiple strands make a hole in the origin point and fil with GS and then add a drop of glue to the wire and secure in the GS while it\'s still wet.. it\'s damn fiddly .....
with the size of the wires you are talking then a little artistic license as Dragonsreach suggests regards the colouring would be ok but for me with lightning the whole fork is one light source so is a fairly uniform bright point and it is our eye struggling to keep up with the speed of the reaction that perceives any colour change .. make sense.?? so try it just white and go from there..