Help!

[copperchange]

I know why my Chameleons got a fairly low score, but I thought that my Chaos Demon would get a little higher than it got. Can anyone tell me why I am getting lower scores? Advice and specifics are appreciated. I\'m so very willing to learn how to make my mini\'s better.

Here he is. Chaos Champion

 

[sg2009]

imo there isnt enough contrast between light and dark i think you need to go darker in the shadows, also there is a bad shine on the mini so a spray of dullcote or matt varnish would sort that out and i some places on the mini the painting is a tad messy i would say mainly the chest area but apart from that i would say thats it.

o one more thing take a pic of just the sorceror on and then a separate one for the familiar that way the pics will be focused better and i think that would improve your score

but at the end of the day you shouldnt care about your score its more about the comments imo a lot of photos can be deceptive because 9 times out of 10 the mini will look a lot better irl than in the photos unless your one of them who is amazing at photography lol

hope my feedback helped

 

[ScottRadom]

Welcome to the boards!

I\'m saying this as a guy who is interested in giving you the same aid I got when I started here, and still get from the great members of the board. You\'re doing a good thing asking for help. Take this as you like it, but please know I am trying to be fair and that can sometimes seem harsh. This is how I see it....

The good is that it looks like you\'ve got color in all the right places without any \"coloring outside the lines\" styly painting.

The bad, the paint is way too thick. It should be diluted at leasta little to start and as you get more comfortable working with thinner paint always try and dilute it a little more. It\'ll take more time per mini but you won\'t be sorry.

If you brows the gallery and set the search fliter for 7 or higher you\'ll see every model likely has then same blended style of painting. I mean it\'ll go from a dark to a light color with some transition where as on your model it looks like it goes right from yellow-orange-blue wihtout the smoothness the higher scoring models around here get.

Truthfully I reccomend starting at the begining. In the articles section there are tons of great step by steps on some mini\'s. find one to your liking and study it, then try and emulate it on your next fig.

The best thing you could\'ve done is post, just as you have. The scores often feel harsh around here, at first most definately, but truthfully I think they\'re often pretty accurate.

Good luck, and please don\'t be discouraged. Getting better takes practice, patience, and practice. Enjoy the process as much as the satisfaction of having a model completed!

 

[GreenOne]

Yeah, shine hurts the most imo, especially if the paints are thick-ish, shynyness exacerbates the problem.
Also the blue robe color isn\'t solid, looks patchy, then again, thin paints and smooth layers are needed.
Fix this and you should be on your way

 

[copperchange]

Excellent information

So I am hearing that the paint is not thinned enough, which I think might be helped by using a white primer instead of black; that it\'s too shiny, not enough contrast between high and low lights and that it\'s not quite smooth enough. The thinned paint and smooth look I think will have to come with practice, but I am unsure how to make it less shiny. I was using the testors brushon dullcote as the sealer. Might I be applying it incorrectly?

 

[ScottRadom]

couldn\'t tell you about the brush on dullcote, I use the spray and like the results.

in terms of primer, white or black won\'t make a difference. Of course if you\'re using light colors like on your tzeentchy dude then white is prob the way to go.

 

[GreenOne]

Shine can also comes from the lighting used for the picture, if the light is too harsh or if a flash is used.
Primer isn\'t gonna make the paint thinner... maybe clarify the term for you, thickness doesn\'t come from application, paint needs to be diluted with water, at least 1-1 for basecoat, and much more for highlights and shading.

 

[DIablofollower]

Another reason you are getting a shine is you may be applying the dull coat too thick. I am not sure if the same can be said for the brush on but I know that if the spray on goes on too thick it will produce the shine.

 

[obsidianpainting]

I would suggest diluting your paint as well. start with a 1:1 consistency (water : paint) for the basecoat and then play around with it for highlights and shades. For multi-layering start with your darkest colour and work up to highlights. i would also reccomend maybe getting an instructional dvd. Where about do you live? maybe you can also get someone to help you along.

A good dvd is the Jeremie bonamont teboul one. its pretty awesome! will make your minis pretty amazing!

Cheers, and good luck with upcoming minis, hope to see more! Gary.

 

[daGoz]

As to shine, I discovered about 25 years ago that if your Dullcote is not extremely well mixed, it dries shiny. If the dulling agent has settled to the bottom in a hard layer, just shaking the bottle will not do it, you have to get a stick or wire and really stir all the dulling stuff off the bottom, then really shake it for a while. There are few things funnier looking than a shiny Grant tank.
Chris

 

[Dragonsreach]

There are a number of things which seem to suggest themselves to me;
First a question; Do you prime with Brush on White Primer?
As that is what the look of the \"Hooked\" icon on the belt suggests. I\'ve never been totally happy with the finish that primer produces and I\'m wondering if that is part of the issue with shiney paints.

As to the mini itself, its not an easy mini to paint as it\'s deceptive, looking smooth(ish) yet requiring lots of attention to the detail of the feathers and the clothing folds. What is holding you back from scoring higher (and I wouldn\'t worry too much about that at the moment) is that the shadow tones are missing in the folds of the clothing especially in the blue inner robe.
Working thinned glazes into the creases builds up the tonality and increases the appearence of depth.
In addition and as a balance to this you need to ease up the highlights as well making the top area of the leg and the tops of the creases lighter in tone.
As for the Red cloak the red itself looks very even and could do (as with the blue inner cloth) with increased shadow tonality. Adding glazes of Purple into the creases will help pull this together without over working the red/blue contrast.
Finally the rear of the cloak I can see that there is a merging of colurs between the red and blue as a dark purple, but that needs to work into the creases more and allow the red to fade away on the tops of the folds. Not an easy proposition to carry out I\'m afraid to tell you and one that does require practise.
However do not be discouraged and look, as has been suggested, at the higher scoring figures to try to see what is achieved.
Ask as many questions about how differing techniques are achieved in these forums, we ALL learn from someone asking questions that we hadn\'t thought about.

 

[copperchange]

Thank you

I used a spray on black primer, but I find it takes a lot of thinned coats to cover the black up. I\'ll take a look at some of the mini painting lessons, and I will try to incorporate all the wonderful ideas in my future minis. I\'ll also check that dullcote to make sure it\'s mixed right and try not to put too much on. You all are such a great group of people, I appreciate all of the suggestions and comments. :bouncy:

 

[freakinacage]

everything i was gonna say has been said, except (i think), paint the rocks on the base too

 

[hestan101]

as has been said, the paintings good, its neat, but its a thick. for me, the main problem is that the orange and blue dont sit well toghether. the orange is very glaring, and the blue dos not contemplate this well. the colours blare out demanding to be seen, and people dont like that when they take a first look at a mini. light colours are good, but just in my personal aopinion paler ones are better. i knw this can seem like a lot at first but evrbody on here\'s still learning, even the best

 

[Bigdennis52]

I think everyone else mentioned the things I was going to state when I first looked at your mini

IMO, I would try to thin down your paint, and do multiple layers and it should appear crisper. It really reminds me of when I first started painting. Just add some clean water to the paint before you put it on your mini.

 

[starchaser1]

i think you are off to a good start you have the hand and the eye to be good .
the next step is the old saying practice makes perfect as long as you start to thin your paints a aply multiple coats you will start to improve, keep going and never give up

 

[Kester]

Originally posted by copperchange
I used a spray on black primer, but I find it takes a lot of thinned coats to cover the black up.

I have just switched to using grey spray primer and that has really made life a lot easier and painting a lot quicker! What the others said, thin your paints, apply in layers. Try using either a white or grey primer, it will require fewer layers to get an even basecoat. Have you tried the Citadel washes? They are great for adding shade with a minimum of fuss. Welcome to the boards!

Kes

 

[Joek]

A quick word on the primer - the \'less is more\' quote is very relevant when it comes to priming I find. You don\'t need to completely have the figure completely black/white - even if bits of metal show through, there\'s usually enough primer on to take the paint. You definitely don\'t want to over-do it - that leads to all sorts of terrible messy stuff (it\'s happened to me on many occasions).

The only other thing I\'d mention is not leaving the base in its natural form - it always tends to work better if you paint up the sand and drybrush up to highlight. It always makes the figure sit that little bit better in the surroundings.