OK in response to your questions I'll answer the easy one first..... Yes, your photo quality isn't helping.
As to the rest well here goes and please accept that I mean these as Constructive Criticisms:-
While you have thinned your paint down to work towards a smoother appearance unfortunatley you've fallen into the trap of letting the paint go blotchy which with a red colour over a black base does show, especially on the helmet.
In regard to the metallic paints these look thick in relation to the flat colours and without a strong separation (sometimes called Black or Darklining). I'd suggest that for the moment you work on doing the metallic colours first, (drybrushing isn't a crime by the way:bashful
and then work the darker main colour carefully around the metals.
For most of the colours I see in the photos there doesn't seem to be a clear or pronounced highlight so the red does look somewhat flat and one dimensional. Adding a lighter colour to your main colour will give you a highlight which imitates the reflectivity of real life. For Red rather than add White, which will make it go pink, try Dwarf Flesh added in small amounts as this will lighten the colour without making it look weak.
Additionally the Shadows need as much care and attention. There's a current thread
http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums...-shading-technique-Example-of-problem-within.
in which several people are discussing this issue.
Well these are just thing to think on for the moment, but please continue to use the forums for help and suggestions.
