Quiarcus's WiP

[BloodASmedium]

if your facing humidity use drying retarddent it basically makes acrylics oils and will stay wet longer also Raphael Kaerell synthetic brushes are good for blending the reservoir holds more paint that's diluted per strand of the brush also aiding in keeping wet paint wet longer. I use 2 @ 3 sizes for two brush blending it hasn't failed me yet bud.

 

[Teronus]

Wet pallet and wet paper towel for your brushes when you take excess paint off.

 

[Quiarcus]

The Brown (White) Dwarf

Thanks for the comments and advice everyone, it really is appreciated! I had ten minutes before work this morning so made a start introducing some different shades into the coat and hat using some light brown/greens (Vallejo Hemp) on the highlights and some more brown/reds (Mahogany and Burnt Umber) in the shadows. I've made a couple of quick (albeit messy) passes to get an idea and see how it affected things; although the change isn't dramatic at the moment, I believe that it is making a difference so I apply a few more passes when I get back home tonight (time allowing).

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(Looking at the pictures I can see that in a few places the highlight has gone on a bit thick - most notably the collar and lapel.)

TenBall: That goblin is amazing, many thanks for posting it here. I remember seeing it before and thinking the coat really sold the miniature, but must confess I had completely forgotten about it until now!

BloodASmedium: Yeah, I really need to get some decent brushes. I've generally used just cheap ones from the local art store and they tend to split/curl within a few months of use (sometimes a few days) but it can be a bit difficult to track down quality brushes here in Beijing - most are national brands or Japanese and Korean imports that I have little experience with, or else disappear when you want to find them again. Even Taobao can turn up a blank. Raphael Kaerell has turned up a few hits so I'll look into picking up a couple when the missus allows.

Teronus: Reading back through the comments I noticed that my reply to your initial post may have come across as a little sarcastic or snide - that wasn't the intent and I do hope no offense was taken as it certainly was not intended. As for the wet palette: I've heard and seen people talk about them before and have to admit that laziness has prevented me from investigating further. From my basic understanding it's a dish of shallow water with paper and then something like baking paper layered on top? If so I may try and cobble one together tonight - or is the construction more complex than that?

Thanks again for the comments everyone; I must say it's refreshing trying to actually improve my understanding of painting again - it's been a long time since I've had the inclination to develop my skills so it's great to have such helpful advice coming in! As for colour theory: does anyone have any good book suggestions for this topic? It's something that I would like to learn more about but I far prefer reading traditional mediums than the internet - I find that I retain information from a book far better than I do from a website (bizarrely).

 

[BloodASmedium]

Look many times texting and things like that can leave one guessing that remarks were something other than intended even I ,and I carefully reread things, have been guilty of sounding harsh..but we all have a passion and we are all mates were all friendly and no one ever takes things wrong especially teronus (if you didn't know jocelynn goyette is a golden demon slayer sword winner) he hates when I bring it up but I feel it necessary.we are all friends and are here for you to help increase our skillset and paint a better model.this is the purpose of the forums.it's a plethora of talented chaps giving advice on the only thing that matters after family.miniature painting.

 

[Teronus]

No worry man, Yeah when I get a min I will show you how i do my pallet, don't worry with 10 ball and BAM your in good hands, your skills with rocket jump!

Oh and nice improvement with the colors! Don't worry coming back fixing things that's what miniature painting is all about LOL

 

[BloodASmedium]

Get yourself to invest in a book called color theory by Betty Edwards you'll start to think about what colors work best for the model as well as your shades and highlights.for example I used to paint orks (green) with a darker green then highlight lighter green etc..now when and after reading Mrs Edwards book you start to think about color interaction which is just as important as the techniques of blending .now I'll use ,for greens, to shade reds and burgundy as red is the complementary color of green after that is applied in the shadows it makes your green stand out more and delivers more colors to the eye as compliments mean all 3 primaries are included..from there you can play with warm and cool complimentary colors and highlight with analogous colors like beige for warm highlights and let's say a space wolves grey for cool highights.this makes a more aesthetically pleasing model to the eye.get the book learn the Def like compliments ,analogous,primary secondary,tertiary how to saturate and desaturate colors and learn how your intensity of color affects the finished product..when I paint now I really pick colors "on the fly" and rarely use recipes I just pay much attn to color theory and it helps so so much...get ready to level up your painting g by using your right brain and think in terms not of recipes but of color...you'll see how this starts to help.

 

[Quiarcus]

While I have people's ears, a quick question about brushes: does anyone have experience with Rosemary & Co art brushes? I've found a place that sells them in a variety of sizes (unlike the Raphael Kaerell brushes, that I only found as a size 2) but I don't want to get them if people know them to be junk.

 

[oistene]

BAM, is this the one? http://www.amazon.com/Color-Betty-Edwards-Course-Mastering/dp/1585422193/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

 

[BloodASmedium]

I Def never used em haven't heard of them either I'll tell you what though although Raphael I use a 2 to absorb and load the diluted paint and dab it on and the size 3 I use to feather the dab...but it's Def can also be done with 2 size 2 brushes...if you can get em grab em if a carpenter has a bad hammer it can only accomplish bad things I cannot tell you how amazing the Raphael are the paint goes exactly where you want it. I'm sending you some photos of the blending results I get with them.

 

[BloodASmedium]

yes this is the

Book..it's worth it's weight in diamonds oistene

 

[BloodASmedium]

here's an early blending of my librarian

.these synthetics as I mention they have a body of hair strands that ar thicker so they hold wet paint wet longer perfect for blending.I so them strictly for that and use Windsor and newton size 2 for detail work and eyeballs ,edge highlighting etc.2 diff brushes for two different technical aspects....but I totally concur having hour 12 color color wheel on you desk and cannot emphasize enough that we need to think in terms of color and theory a d Betty Edwards book is the bible of miniature painting.I've read it front to back and have partake in the exercises she brings us through and since then I'm aware how important color choice is and it's as important if not more than the techniques themselves.look at the difference EpicMiniArt s ork wip has shaped up by using color theory look at his page how it looked before and after I cannot emphasize enough m8ty.

 

[Teronus]

Don't use Rosemary brushes, they lose their point like there's not tomorrow, I use W&N series 7 and Raphael 8404. my rosemary brushes I torture them in my thinner and metallic paints

 

[BloodASmedium]

You see ter knows this kinda thing..great feedback jocelynn..

 

[Quiarcus]

Thanks again BAM and Ter, good thing I didn't order those brushes. Had a look on Taobao (a giant shopping website a bit like Amazon Marketplace) and managed to find some Winsor & Newton Series 7, but they appear to have a little bit of a markup on them with regards cost. Cheapest I found was RMB330 (£35, $53) for a number 3; not sure I can persuade the better half of the need for that (probably be cheaper to order direct from the UK)! Did a quick search for Raphael 8404 and they seem to be in a more acceptable price range (RMB140, £15, $22, for a number 3), still expensive but more likely to pass the test.
Also found that book that you mentioned BAM, will definitely pick that up as soon as I can.

Other than that, didn't get a chance to paint yesterday, hopefully I can get some time in today, even if it's only a little bit.

 

[Teronus]

Yeah those are expensive, you need to shop a bit, there's a store in th US dickblick.com I think I get them cheap, but there's was a weird law and they could ship outside the USA, then it was not then i don't know you will have to check 50 pounds for a brush don't do that ! 15 is more reasonable. Make sure you get some tutorial on how to clean and care for your brushes if you want to keep them for a long time, I know mine are to be cleaned due but felt like in trance since the summer LOL

 

[Quiarcus]

The Brown (White) Dwarf

Managed to grab a couple of minutes before heading off for work this morning and made another pass at the highlights. Mixed some Vallejo Hemp with a tiny drop of Vallejo Game Color Elf Flesh and made another pass on some parts of the highlights. I used a 0/1 Vallejo Kolinsky Sable brush that I found whilst re-organising my cave (haven't a clue when I got it or where from) and it allowed me to make some finer additions to the layers. I also noticed while using it that the paint stayed useable far longer than on my other brushes, though sadly it does appear to have a slight split to it. I'll run it through a thorough clean and use some brush restorer and see if that helps it any. I tried to tidy the highlights up a bit using a very thin mix of the Hemp/Elf Flesh mix, but sadly it doesn't show up that well on the photos (I really need to get my DSLR working again) - I notice that the phone camera is applying some sort of filter to the shot after it's taken that is really messing with the look of the model. It's not super smooth in real life, but neither is it as blotchy as the pictures seem to show.

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(Just looking at the pictures, I think I need to break up the highlight lines around the collar and hem of the coat - they look a little too uniform to my eye. Also, would working some warm dark green/greys into the shadows help any - i'm thinking into the darkest shadows underneath the arm where there wouldn't be quite so much light hitting?)

Also worked a little bit of Vallejo Armour Brown (a dark, red brown that is a little less saturated than mahogany) into some of the shadows and into the mid tones. Personally I'm liking the direction it's headed in but may move onto another part of the model for a little bit to give a change of pace and help balance things out - maybe the beard or the metals.

On the brush front, I'm still looking - managed to find some Escoba and DaVinci brushes as well as the aforementioned Raphael 8404's: anyone know if those are any good? I looked into dickblick.com, and though they do ship internationally it would appear that the Kolinsky import ban has affected them and they have few kolinsky sable brushes available at the moment, though it certainly was eye opening as to the markup Winsor & Newton brushes receive here in China.

As always, I'm immensely grateful to all the help and suggestions received to date; BAM, that Librarian is awesome by the way.

 

[BloodASmedium]

Thanks so much Q I'm telling your colors your using are very nice as for tidiness yeah your right you could break em up with some weathering I would suggest to you bits of beige and a black brown both highlighted on the bottom to show depth use a sponge that comes with the blister packs snip off an corner and that should be dipped into the colors I've recommended then stipple or dab it on the palette to test the pattern..then when you like it go for it it will add some texture on the cloak as dirt grime and weathering and will break it up as you suggested.this can be done throughout and not just on the collar really gives the realism of depth.but again your the artist any other way you see fit will work.these are just ideas.

 

[BloodASmedium]

I Def feel though that the coat is very well painted and your change from black to this was a great idea as a painter.down the line well help you achieve black colors and whites.right now I'm in love with the coloring you've achieved on the overcoat.10 ball gave a great idea with the stark contrasts it makes the coat appear very rugged.

 

[Quiarcus]

The Brown (White) Dwarf

Got a little bit more done today, not much as most of the day was spent assembling/disassembling furniture for my offspring's room. Regardless, managed to get the gems on his beard done, as well as his beard (though the phone camera seems incapable of handling the contrast has reduced it to a washed out mess...yay!). The gems actually look a little bit better in real life, a little bit smoother though there are a few errant brush strokes. Hopefully I'll be able to get some better pictures tomorrow as my camera should be fixed by then. I also made a start on the metals and the stake.

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BAM: Thanks for the kind words and for the suggestions. I will try the sponge approach, but I'm going to varnish it first so that I can more readily correct any mistakes I make - never tried to sponge anything before.

Hopefully I'll be able to make a start on the base and accompanying model tomorrow. Not sure what colour to do the handle on his hammer though - any thoughts?

 

[EpicMiniArt]

BAM is an amazing teacher if you are willing to pay heed to his advise. His knowledge is second to none but as BAM rightly pointed how it doesn't matter how good your technique is if you do not have a sound knowledge of colour theory then it will show in the models you paint. I have made amazing progress with BAMs advise and already got the book that BAM has advised. I still need to invest in some synthetic brushes though as BAM has advised that they do hold more water which makes blending a lot easier.

And your Dwarf looks pretty nifty, can't wait to see the finished result.

David