First CMON submission

[gsr15]

Hi all, just got my first CMON submission posted: http://coolminiornot.com/254409

This is the first of a series of practice figures I'm working on to try and learn new techniques and improve my skills after an ~15 year break from the hobby. Got the entire Dungeonquest:Heroes pack (12 figs.) to work through...this is the Ninja, Tori-Jima.

Thanks for looking, tips/comments/scathing criticism and mud-slinging welcomed

 

[TheDrescher]

Welcome to the party! The figure looks very nice. For constructive criticism I'd say now that you've got good basic color and shading work in, you can go in and hit some spots with a bit more highlighting. Perhaps some high points to show off the braids of the rope, the strapping on the sheath, and the grip of the sword. I look forward to seeing more!

 

[MRickwood]

Welcome back! He is looking good... See it is like riding a bike... mostly =o)

 

[freakinacage]

a good clean mini

 

[Mercius]

I would increase the contrast on all the highlights, also the metals look a bit grainy compared to the rest of the mini, so make sure you are thinning those just like you would any other paints. Also a dark brown wash on the ropes would add a lot of definition also.

 

[supervike]

I agree, the paint looks a bit thick in spots...

A very solid mini! Not a fan of the lettering on the base though.

 

[gsr15]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I definitely had trouble highlighting the clothing...black is tough. I also think I probably effectively painted the figure a good dozen times considering how many times I went over things, so that might explain some of the appearance. I'm watering down the paint but maybe I need to thin it more. I definitely need to work on the metallics, I've been reading up on the forums/articles about how to do TMM properly, so that's definitely an area I want to learn/improve. Luckily (?) one of my upcoming practice figures is nothing but armor.

Thanks again for the feedback!

 

[Mercius]

Tim (Tidoco2222) does some of my favorite metallics on miniatures, you should look up some of his older articles to get a good base on how he does things. Also, the dvd set by Jeremie Bonamant Teboul from Kraken minis is a great dvd, and has a great tutorial on how he does metallic painting, pair that with all the other fantastic tutorials on the dvds and they are well worth the price of admission.

 

[Tommie Soule]

nice mini i agree the writing has gotta go and also the top of the base needs 'theme' of some kind.
a good base makes or breaks a mini.

keep em commin.

 

[gsr15]

Hi again, so this is actually the first figure I painted after my long break from the hobby, just wanted to fix the eyes before putting it up (they were quite googly after my first attempt) and I just didn't get around to it until today. This is effectively #2 from the 12 figure Dungeonquest:Heroes package, the Barbarian Prince Sigfried Goldenhair (and boy did I get lucky to have picked blond hair, I didn't know the origin of the figures when I first started painting them) Finally, before anyone says anything, I'm in the process of getting some basic basing materials together so I will be putting him onto another base...eventually

Here's the gallery link:http://coolminiornot.com/256778

As usual, comments/critique are appreciated...I've refined my technique a tiny bit since I first 'finished' this one, but I have another mostly flesh figure coming up so I can use the tips!

 

[supervike]

I really dig the blonde hair! Well done on that.

I think a technique you may want to think about is 'dark lining'. Basically a very thin dark line dividing any two different areas. For instance, between the fur of the boot, and the leg....between the cape and the back...etc. It really helps in giving definition.

About the googly eyes. Eyes are tough, and they just take lots of practice. You did a good job on these, but they are just a bit large, and give the whole thing an anime' look. Check out the tutorials on painting eyes, but the technique I like to use is simply:

Paint the eye, and a tiny bit of the socket with a black stripe, then leaving just a bit of the black as an outline, paint the eye with an off white color. Don't be afraid to redo it, as long as your paint is thin enough, you can do it a few times without ill effects. Then finally, paint a vertical stripe for the iris/pupil. I use black, but if you can get away with color, more power to you! You can then tidy up any area with your flesh color.

Some people paint the eyes first....I think I may try that.

 

[TheDrescher]

Googly eyes aside, the one thing I would do is what Vike suggested: put some contrast between the skin/boots/furry he-man underwear. The colors are similar enough that it starts looking a bit flat. I'd do some lining as Vike suggested or use a color that isn't so close to the skin tone you used. Look forward to seeing the results!