Can you guys offer me a suggestion on how to better get commentary or suggestions on how I can improve my painting. I\'ve got no problem with someone rating something I submitted a 2-3(Case in Point but i would really appreciate suggestions. I realize my stuff isn\'t on par with the usual postings here but if I were happy with the product i put out I honestly wouldn\'t be posting them up here.
Why rate poorly without commenting?
- Thread starter ducoin
- Start date
Gilvan Blight
New member
The best way to get suggestions is here on the forum and not on the ratings pages. Post your work in the Discuss submissions folder and ask for help, that should get a better responce then just the ratings page.
Theomar Pius
New member
Alos try commenting on other peoples pics, it goes a long way towards posting goodwill.
The main problem I am seeing with your stuff is the fact that it is low contrast. A case in point is the red cloak on the Ral Partha mini (I love that mini, I have a copy of him somewhere in my pile 
) You need to go darker with the shades and lighter with the highlights.
The colors are also very muted. This in and of itself isn\'t a bad thing, but if you use muted colors you\'re going to tend towards lower scores, particularly if there isn\'t much contrast.
) You need to go darker with the shades and lighter with the highlights. The colors are also very muted. This in and of itself isn\'t a bad thing, but if you use muted colors you\'re going to tend towards lower scores, particularly if there isn\'t much contrast.
Spacemunkie
New member
I think you partly answered your own question. If something is very good, or very bad it becomes difficult. There\'s also the weight of submissions - it\'s impossible to comment on everything!
Your best bet is definitely to post here on the DS forum or WIP forum and ask for help. Reading other people\'s DS and WIP threads is also useful I find. Loads of interesting and useful advice to be picked up from other posters.
Highbulp Billy
New member
Yep, you\'ve made the first important step by posting here on the DS forum and as others have said, use the WIP forum too to get advice as you work. I\'ve found that it\'s true that if you comment on other\'swork they\'ll often come back and comment on yours too (so be careful what you say )
Don\'t feel that you can\'t comment just because you feel someone os a better painter than you. You can still have an opinion on what you see even if it\'s not something you could technicly do better yourself. Just say what you think when you look at the mini - are the colours a good combination? Do some parts look stronger than others? Does the mini spring to life or is there something holding it back? Not all comments have to include solutions and everyone is entitled to an opinion.
Now regarding your anti-paladin, I really like him - you\'ll score relatively low though because he\'s not based (always a pet peeve). The armour and sword are very nicely done but just a little more work needed on the cloak I think to bring it up a notch.
)Don\'t feel that you can\'t comment just because you feel someone os a better painter than you. You can still have an opinion on what you see even if it\'s not something you could technicly do better yourself. Just say what you think when you look at the mini - are the colours a good combination? Do some parts look stronger than others? Does the mini spring to life or is there something holding it back? Not all comments have to include solutions and everyone is entitled to an opinion.
Now regarding your anti-paladin, I really like him - you\'ll score relatively low though because he\'s not based (always a pet peeve). The armour and sword are very nicely done but just a little more work needed on the cloak I think to bring it up a notch.
thanks guys. I understand what you guys are saying. On the suggestions on the mini. I\'m using the reaper masterwork paints and for some reason the colors seem to come out muted pretty conistantly. Maybe I\'m not putting enough layers? I tend to thin my paints pretty thin maybe i\'m just being too impatient. The cloak had more contrast but i was actually worried it was too much so i came back with a lighter red over the whole cloak. Apparently a mistake.
I think it\'s been hit on the head with the contrast... your painting is very clean which is a good starting point for sure.
Perhaps introduce some gold/copper/brass in with the steel armour, maybe one or two plates and maybe mount him on a scenic base?
Regarding the comments, you are a pretty good painter when you consider the vast number in the world. I used to think my opinions weren\'t valid but at the end of the day you\'re just giving a fair opinion of what you like, dislike and would like to see.
You don\'t have to be a great film director to have an opinion on a movie - don\'t worry about being one of the greatest painters to comment.
Perhaps introduce some gold/copper/brass in with the steel armour, maybe one or two plates and maybe mount him on a scenic base?
Regarding the comments, you are a pretty good painter when you consider the vast number in the world. I used to think my opinions weren\'t valid but at the end of the day you\'re just giving a fair opinion of what you like, dislike and would like to see.
You don\'t have to be a great film director to have an opinion on a movie - don\'t worry about being one of the greatest painters to comment.
@squidders
Thanks. yeah I guess I need to pick up some things for doing that. I was thinking it would be difficult to do much since the minis I paint are almost exclusivly done for the gaming table, but I\'ve been browsing the site quite a bit lately and have some pretty decently done ones that would fit nicely in a 1\"x1\" square.
Thanks. yeah I guess I need to pick up some things for doing that. I was thinking it would be difficult to do much since the minis I paint are almost exclusivly done for the gaming table, but I\'ve been browsing the site quite a bit lately and have some pretty decently done ones that would fit nicely in a 1\"x1\" square.
Wren
New member
There\'s a few things that might be worth noting about the voting. First, it really is Cool MINI or Not, for most voters it\'s not just about the painting level. Sculpts from the more popular manufacturers (Games Workshop) and new and different sculpts (usually small boutique companies) will tend to get higher scores than older sculpts or others people don\'t find \'special\' in some way. Ral Partha, Reaper and other role-playing oriented minis often score lower.
There are a few things many voters will mark down for. No basing or just a basic built-in integral base is one of them. A lot of voters expect to see nicely based minis on standard round or square bases. Other things people will mark down for are failing to retitle the submission so it comes up \"Another Mini\" and a few other things, but you aren\'t doing any of those so I wouldn\'t worry about it. Interestingly I think most voters try as hard as possible to look past photo issues and give things the benefit of the doubt. Your photos aren\'t bad, but adding a light or two to get rid of the harsh shadows couldn\'t hurt.
I think your painting is pretty solid. I took a look at the orc in your gallery also, and really like him. I think the anti-paladin suffers a bit from being kinda blah (just cloak, armour and skulls), where the orc has a bit more going on with a bit more detail on the sculpt and the way you added rust to the blade and such. He also has the benefit of the colour contrast between the green skin and red cloth.
When people mention contrast, it might help to remember that there\'s different kinds. I think most people are talking about the depth of shadows and lightness of highlights in this case. (And while it\'s really hard to do when painting and I understand why you pulled it back, it\'s almost impossible to have too much contrast. Paint something to the point where you think it\'s way too much, come back here and post again and see if anyone else says it\'s too much. They probably won\'t.)
But it\'s also helpful to have other kinds of contrast. There\'s colour contrast like red clothes/green skin on your orc. You can add a bit of that to the other fig by using a touch of red paint/ink in the shadowing of the armour. Painting different areas darker or lighter also helps bring stuff out on a mini and give it more punch. In the rear view of the orc his pouch is much lighter than the other colours on the mini which helps it stand out. If you used that same colour on the leather under his helm it would draw attention up to his face and keep the viewer\'s eye moving.
Also note that I\'m not suggesting you start painting GW minis on big exciting bases and so on, I\'m just saying a lot of voters score higher if you do that, so if you choose not to keep in mind that a lower score isn\'t necessarily all about the painting. I think if your orc were GW and had a proper base he\'d be scoring in the 7s.
There are a few things many voters will mark down for. No basing or just a basic built-in integral base is one of them. A lot of voters expect to see nicely based minis on standard round or square bases. Other things people will mark down for are failing to retitle the submission so it comes up \"Another Mini\" and a few other things, but you aren\'t doing any of those so I wouldn\'t worry about it. Interestingly I think most voters try as hard as possible to look past photo issues and give things the benefit of the doubt. Your photos aren\'t bad, but adding a light or two to get rid of the harsh shadows couldn\'t hurt.
I think your painting is pretty solid. I took a look at the orc in your gallery also, and really like him. I think the anti-paladin suffers a bit from being kinda blah (just cloak, armour and skulls), where the orc has a bit more going on with a bit more detail on the sculpt and the way you added rust to the blade and such. He also has the benefit of the colour contrast between the green skin and red cloth.
When people mention contrast, it might help to remember that there\'s different kinds. I think most people are talking about the depth of shadows and lightness of highlights in this case. (And while it\'s really hard to do when painting and I understand why you pulled it back, it\'s almost impossible to have too much contrast. Paint something to the point where you think it\'s way too much, come back here and post again and see if anyone else says it\'s too much. They probably won\'t.)
But it\'s also helpful to have other kinds of contrast. There\'s colour contrast like red clothes/green skin on your orc. You can add a bit of that to the other fig by using a touch of red paint/ink in the shadowing of the armour. Painting different areas darker or lighter also helps bring stuff out on a mini and give it more punch. In the rear view of the orc his pouch is much lighter than the other colours on the mini which helps it stand out. If you used that same colour on the leather under his helm it would draw attention up to his face and keep the viewer\'s eye moving.
Also note that I\'m not suggesting you start painting GW minis on big exciting bases and so on, I\'m just saying a lot of voters score higher if you do that, so if you choose not to keep in mind that a lower score isn\'t necessarily all about the painting. I think if your orc were GW and had a proper base he\'d be scoring in the 7s.
thanks again to everyone for the comments. I don\'t think I\'ll change this particular mini as the person i painted it for seems to like it the way it is, but this definitely gives me good direction for future submissions.
P.S. I\'m amazed at how willing everyone ended up being to offer advice. I\'ve been a a member of the site for a while now. I just didn\'t submit anything or post on the forum. I\'m very used to other forums where Newbs tend to get beat down pretty hard when asking questions. CMON definitely seems to have more of a community feel to it.
P.S. I\'m amazed at how willing everyone ended up being to offer advice. I\'ve been a a member of the site for a while now. I just didn\'t submit anything or post on the forum. I\'m very used to other forums where Newbs tend to get beat down pretty hard when asking questions. CMON definitely seems to have more of a community feel to it.
Dragonsreach
Super Moderator
Yeah we have no Real Lives.
lizcam
New member
best place to get constructive comments is in the wip section as you paint. Not only will people point out things that don\'t work you may find them asking you how you did something that worked well. Not only that but if you show that you really are willing to learn more often than not you will get a pm from someone who may just end up being a mentor. That happened to me and Tracey was a huge help. By the time you can post something here you already think it\'s done so any suggestions are good but may not help as you work on the next one.
You stuff isn\'t bad at all. Remember, photos are a big part of cmon weither we like it or not. You can only vote on what you see.
You stuff isn\'t bad at all. Remember, photos are a big part of cmon weither we like it or not. You can only vote on what you see.
