MagiusDel

This is rather an interesting discussion, I think. While there really aren't any formalized Schools for painting miniatures - which is to say a collection of similar Styles and the techniques used to give a particular result - there are certainly many styles that we can look at. Each painter develops their own style as they learn, generally starting with a simple single layer of whatever mid tone they're going for and slopping it around to cover the miniature and evolving from there. While part of defining your style involves learning new and more advanced techniques, a lot of it also involves learning what colors you like best and learning how to support and use those colors and tones to the greatest effect. Any Style can work, and work well, with the proper experience. Generally, you can tell someone who chooses to do something for stylistic reasons - a miniature that uses a single base color would have a larger range of shades to account for the lack of basic contrast. Likewise, a style focused on visible shade lines (such as a Cell Shading-inspired style) would likely have a higher contrast between the various shades to make the shadow and highlight stand out more. It's more about making the style work than what the style is that determines how good it is. Finally, we all go through our own journey in terms of the style we use. I started with a straight black primer with lots of drybrushing to bring out the details. I have since moved to Zenothil shading utilizing a wash-based wet blending technique over most of the figure.

Kerbal Mech Program?

GURPS is definitely an interesting system, in my opinion. It's one of the few that I've seen that really scales complexity well. At its core, GURPS can be run with just Skills and Attributes, which are generally easy to understand once you grasp how to buy Skills (essentially, first rank costs 1 point and starts you at Attribute - X, rank 2 costs 2 points, and rank 3+ costs 4 points, with each additional rank increasing the score by 1). After that, it's 3d6 roll under, roll to Hit, opponent rolls to Dodge, Block, or Parry, on a success roll for damage. Damage is reduced by Armor, and if you take enough damage, you have to start rolling to stay conscious. And... that's generally the basics for the whole system. All in all, I would rate that part, difficulty wise, on par with DnD 3E. Of course, if you're looking at GURPS, you're probably not going to stop just there, and that's where things are going to get... complicated. Great system, but it can definitely be a rick to learn. As for the overall topic, I like 5e the best right now (having mostly burned myself out on the 3.X paradigm after many, many games of it, but definitely feel it needs at least one players options book to fill in some of the concepts that really aren't all that well represented yet (though, the Race/Class/Archetype/Background system works quite well for this purpose). I just feel that there needs to just be a few in each category (particularly the Archetypes and Backgrounds) to really make the system shine.

I've done more work on the figure, and here's the (nearly) finished version of it. I have a few bits of touch up left to do on it, but that can wait for the Show Off thread.

Thought I'd go ahead and share the latest from my painting desk. Working on the Incredible Hulk miniature from Knight Models: Yeah, he's nearly done and will likely be finished up quite easily during my next painting session, but I'm definitely quite happy with how it's progressing. Just need to paint the shirt, the chunk of wall, and the ground/base - but I have his opponent lined up to paint in the Hulkbuster Armor. And then I'll need to come up with a ruleset to play them with... The most interesting part about this model is a new technique that I heard about combining super glue and baking soda to fill in gaps which I've found works extremely well. Certainly easier to work with than Greenstuff or Liquid Greenstuff, but still not a perfect solution.

If you don't want to go with OSL on it, you could paint the spell effect white then apply a wash or glaze over that for the base color, then highlight from there. This will give that part a more ethereal look compared to the rest of the miniature, and should help it stand out a bit more.

Given the description and price point, I fully expect these to be collectible sets. 150 figures in a set, $3-$4 per pack, for 2-4 figures per pack, this being Wizkids... There's really not a lot to indicate this won't be collectible. I would love to be wrong, but it's not looking likely. That said, cutting out the pre-painting side should make the models look significantly better, and they do tend to have some pretty decent sculpts - but this could all be countered by applying the primer with wanton abandon, so we could just see things stay on par with their other products.

Having used a lot of drybrushing in my time, and getting a really solid idea of when to use it and what it's good for, this isn't a bad video. However, there's a lot to cover regarding it, and I feel you've only lightly brushed the surface. First off, the 'dusty' look that you can get from drybrushing is often a result of an uneven primer or base coat, or simply from not drybrushing for long enough. What do I mean by that last part? Well, you generally want to hit a specific location at least 100 times while drybrushing, which will significantly even out the transition between the lower layer and the current layer. Now, there are also issues with drybrushing that you did not touch on, the biggest one being that if you haven't fully mastered it yet, it is really easy to get the color where you don't want it to go. This generally isn't an issue when you're dealing with a large area, but it can make for a lot of touch up on a smaller figure or one with a lot of small details mixed throughout.

I'm going to go with a bit of a different tack on this. I think the gold can work if you paint the wood behind her in dark, warm colors and focus on lighter, cooler colors for her. I'd crank up the paleness of the skin and add in a bit of a bluish tinge to it, with a bright white for the character's trim, and then use a dark mahogany for the main hull of the boat, a deep red for the background on the scrollwork, and a yellowish brown for the ropes. The anchor would be a rusted silver, bridging the two parts together, and the bracers can do the same, transitioning from golden shadows up to silvery highlights. This will help give more contrast to the character portion of the figure, which can certainly help make it look good.

Is it bad that hearing that explanation kinda makes me want to grab a pack of these and model/paint them up with numbered sports jerseys?

Hi, all. It's been a while since I've posted anything online (though I've definitely been painting stuff up), but I'm rather proud of how this guy turned out, so I thought I'd share. This is the Devil Dog figure from Corvus Belli's Infinity - USAriadna Army Pack. I'm not entirely happy with how the gun came out, but I think the rest of it is rather solid: As always, let me know what you all think. Magius out.

Hello, all. I recently got in a 3d printer, and decided that I'd play around with it to see what I could print. After a lot of heartache trying to get a small print to work, I switched over to something on the other end of the scale - and I have to say, I'm quite pleased with how it came out! A small bust of Groot, painted up to look nice. Took about 17 hours to print, then another hour to paint (haven't sealed it up yet). So, enjoy - and C&C always welcome.

It is now time for the penultimate post on this project. I have nearly everything done, save for some final touch ups and sealing the product, and I couldn't be happier with the results: Feedback appreciated, and I'll likely finish up the last few touches over the weekend - after showing it off at a variety of gaming locales.

Another night, and more progress made on the diorama. I'm really drawing in on the close, now - the initial paint job is on, now I need to add some touch up work, weathering, static grass, highlights from the Dragon's impending fire breath and the heroes' previously set campfire, and we'll be good to go! Ok, that's actually a pretty decent list of stuff yet to do... Until next time - and I'm really looking forward to getting the finishing touches on this thing!

They are, yes. Which makes painting some of them up a real pain - but I feel that gluing them in first helps tie them in with the rest of the build, so I'm willing to put up with the extra pain of having to work around the rest of the model (though I really didn't expect to be working on a 23" monstrosity when I glued them on...). I'm now done with the heroes, though (outside of some touchup later on), and next step is to try to get the buildings painted up. Speaking of painted...: The last of the heroes to be painted, the Rogue is no stranger to danger, as much as she may wish otherwise. And, is it obvious yet that I don't like limiting my palette more than I need to?