Ogre... grr....

[karpouzian]

Well, I think I'm getting a little better at blending, but here goes nothing... Again, suggestions, questions, comments, thoughts are appreciated! Sorry the face isn't in focus. I think I may try building a lightbox, too...

View attachment 16549View attachment 16550

Now that I'm looking at the photo, I will remove the static grass from his crotch and the back of his foot... And I think I see a strand in his armpit I'll take care of, too... The hair was done using reaper's red-head triad, and I'm not thrilled with the results... I based it in the darkest, added the mids, and then kind of didn't know where to go with the highlights...

 

[Elric2k]

i love reaper's red head triad, you just have to mix it properly for the correct results I think. For instance for the 1st mix of the shadow to base color, i go 25% shade, 75% base (so 3 drops base 1 drop shade for instance). From there i add one more drop of shade to the mix to bring it 50/50, etc. I do the same with the highlight, my point being, the hurdle with the triads is understanding how to mix them to get progressive shades/highlights. The skin is looking decent, though i would be careful with your wash (at least it looks like the skin was washed) You have created shades in acouple spots none should exist (the figs left peck/bicep area).

As far as starting at the darkest, as a beginner painter, that might be the hardest thing to do. Getting even/clean coverage of your basecoat and highlights over such a dark basecoat can prove difficult/aggravating. Next time try using the midtone and basecoating in that, then add a drop of shadow and let loose in the shadow areas. Then restart with a couple drops of basecoat and one of your highlight color and work in smaller "highlight" areas.

 

[jcichon]

Well first impressions are you need to thin your paint for your base coat. Way to thick. Try to stay away from washes unless you are just aiming for tabletop quality. I'll agree with Elric's post about the triads. I dont use them as I prefer to mix my own colors for highs and shadows. Just keep painting and practicing. You'll only get better with practice!

 

[TrystanGST]

definitely thinner paints. You shouldn't be able to see separation between colors.

 

[karpouzian]

Ok, for Vallejo/reaper-type paints, what kind of ratio am I looking for - for thinning? And what do people think about using a 'gunk mix' for thinning paints like x parts future floor wax to x parts water?

 

[Kretcher]

Mixing rate realy depends on the type of colur you are using, I for example use acryllics mostly Vallejo, Vallejo model air or reaper master paint series with some p3 and GW in there also. I atleast use one to two parts of water with one part of colour it is diffrent from every colour bottle I have. Also I can use up to 10 parts of water to one part of colour depending on what I want to achive. I would try out on one figure and see how it feels for you. Also remember to remove most of the colour from the brush so that it is not overloaded with paint, i usually have a soft tissue papper that i let the brush unload the paint in 2 to 3 strokes before I apply it to the figure. it should just be a thin layer on the figure, when dried you apply on more layer until you have the coverage that you want.

ofcourse some of the thinking above is just valid if you want to spend more time to paint you figure, it depends what level you want to achive. I am currently looking in to refine my skills and for me it takes time and patience to reach to the next level.

in regards to basecoating I usually have a llighter base coat then the midtone that I want to achive and then I personaly uses glazing to add midtone and shadows (glasing is many parts water an little bit of colour and takes many many many layers to reach any result. and then I finish up with some smaller higlights in certain areas. not so many since i started with a lighter basecoate color. The reson behind this is that most times it is easier to get a good result for me to go from light to dark instead of trying to go from midtone to lighter result (I sometimes get a chalky result when doing this.)

But as suggested above try to remove your usage of washes and add shadows with another technique and see how it feels.


/Kretcher

 

[RuneBrush]

Quite simply there isn't an "ideal" amount of water to add to paint. As you can imagine each manufacturers paints behave differently. The age of the paint and colour can also have an effect too. As time goes on, you'll be able to work out what is right for you and your paint. I'm also of the school that your first base colour should cover smoothly but in two or three layers - you're after smoothness & coverage and that needs a thicker paint than your top layers.

First off the mini you've picked will be very unforgiving due to the size and amount of flesh visible, more so than an armoured/clothed mini of the same size. Personally your base coat looks OK, but the wash and highlighting let's it down. Skin is a texture/effect that really needs to be shaded with paint rather than an all over wash. You can define really deep shadows using a thinned wash but only applied where you want the shadow rather than all over. Sadly there is a train of thought now where you can go base coat > wash > highlight in three easy steps but this is a very limited technique and will only achieve limited results.

Try as Kretcher has suggested with painting shadows if you have another mini or are going to strip this one back.

You don't need to use a 'gunk mix' for thinning either, but if you're in a hard water area, I would recommend to use distilled water/RO water for thinning your paints.

 

[Niranth]

In my last mini, I primed white and started painting in the deepest shadows with a very thin paint, switching to the midtone, each time covering a little bit larger area. The highlights were areas where the midtone was just a layer or two thick. I suffer from nerve damage, so my brush control is very poor and this technique was very forgiving.

By thin paint, it was 1:6 (tanned flesh), 1:7 (reds), 1:8 (blues), and 1:10 (browns) the "thinner" was 20:1 distilled water to Liquidtex flow-improver. The hard part was to remember to unload the brush.