mattmcl

Things have really changed here in the past year. This is fantastic.

Aha! I was wondering how you got so good with kids... but you've corrupted them already! That's pretty good work for 9.

I haven't seen your work in a while. You got really good!

I'm working on this mini, and need a reference to look at for the water. Does anyone have links to something? Thanks. Clarissa

Looks like you have really good brush control and patience. The leather straps on the one with the green cloak are really clean. If you can do that, you can do dark lining. Basically, mix up a very dark brown, almost black, and outline the areas where the leather sits over the clothing. You don't have to do much more than a very fine line, and fine as you can. It's easy to overdo it, so just do a bit at a time. This will make your details really pop, and you already have the skills to do it. And as the others have said, darker shadows and brighter highlights, and work on smooth blending.

Yeah, I've noticed a lot of high end painters moving towards the bigger stuff. If it's happening here, there's a good chance it's a bigger trend on the other side of the pond.

I have to echo this concern. I expect that a competition held AT your facility would require painters to use your minis. I can't think of any other manufacturer that does this. You have a great opportunity to take pics of some amazing work and publish them (there should be a release for this on the entry form, if it's not there already- I don't remember) to show off your minis. I certainly have not felt constrained by this limitation in the past. Otherwise, I'm all for the changes.

Well, you WERE armed... I was a fine art major and had loads of good classes. History of photography, color theory, figure drawing, oil painting, watercolors... I could keep going. My last two years of school were nothing but art classes, most of them upper level. Too bad I had to graduate.

The whole thing started when Kris said that those in the master's category could enter the historical category one year. Typically master's folks could only enter the master's category. This sparked an ongoing discussion, well really a debate, about what could be entered into the historical category. Kinda had to be there.

Can I enter a Napoleonic penguin in the historical category?

Ping Lili, I think she mentioned something about the books last time I saw her. And yeah, somebody HAS to translate that book. Either that or I have to learn French.

Ditto on the shadows.

I think you were starting to get it with that NMM wip. The only thing you're missing is contrast. If you made those shadows black, and did the same blending, you'd have it. I suggest NMM only because grays eliminate color from the mix, so you only focus on blending tones. I'm a big fan of the Miniature Mentor videos, www.miniaturementor.com. The "Complete Guide" one is really good.

Yes, it's possible, but your brushes in particular will fight you. No, you will not have to relearn with new materials- in fact, you'll find it much easier. Switching paints might take a little getting used to, but not much. I think the fairy with the acorn shows a good start at blending, and going from red to blue is pretty difficult. This is going to sound counterintuitive, but have you tried NMM? For me, that's when blending really clicked. Find a figure wearing plate mail. Pick one part, like a shoulder. Mix up six shades, going from black to white in as smooth a progression as you can. Paint the entire shoulder black. Now go to your next shade, and paint over 90% of the shoulder. Then go to the next shade up, and do 80% of the shoulder. Continue until you get to white. This should give you a decent progression of dark to light. Now you just go back and smooth out the lines. Make sure your paint is thinned well. Just focus on that one shoulder. Don't even plan to finish the mini, just use it for practice. Take the pressure off. Now, I have trouble with GW paints. I find it hard to get them just the right consistency, but you can do it. If you can learn how to blend with GW paints and synthetic brushes, you'll be a pro when you upgrade. Also, is there anyone near you who can show you?