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Whizard Hlavaz

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Posts posted by Whizard Hlavaz

    03398: Liriel Silverlocks

    in Reaper General & Faq's

    Posted

    So in This Thread, I asked for thoughts on which miniature would make a good Kvothe from The Name of the Wind.

     

    In looking through the Online Store, I came across 3398: Liriel Silverlocks. And I kind of like her for the part.

     

    03398_w_1.jpg

     

    Now, I know she's a she. So, my question to those who have seen her in hand is: how 'female' is this character? Are her breasts prominent behind the musical instrument? Or were I to file the ears away, would she pass as a young man? Teenage boy?

     

    Thanks for any insight.

     

    -D. ::D:

    DHL02499: Tomb Wraith

    in Show Off: Painting

    Posted

    Welcome back from the clutches of WoW! ::P:

     

    .....

     

    I've painted a few glow effects from flat objects (runes, glowing eyes), and I generally find it best to make a jump down in value at the edge of the glowing object to its surroundings, and then darken outward from there. Don't go dark around the glow and then lighten outward. ( -- as you & Jenova have already figured out/discussed)

     

    Thanks, Derek. Good to be free of the Warcrack. :lol:

     

    No, a black coak wasn't my intent. Not even a grey. I wanted a neutral with some traces brown, maybe purple, maybe some yellow. Volcano brown has a bit of purple shade to it to my eye, so I went with that. Highlighted with some Vallejo Dark Flesh.

     

    Anyhow... the sigil... If you happen to have an example of a glow you've done, I'd love to see, please. So long as you have the pic handy. Don't take a special shot on my account. So to be clear about how you would paint a glowing object -- are you saying the edges of the object itself would darken a tad? That's what I'm seeing in the Cry Havoc.

     

    Next, would you leave any of the surrounding material DIRECTLY NEXT TO THE GLOWING OBJECT unlit? Then darken from a light to fade away there out? I've actually been obsessing since 'abandoning' the piece and would like to try again. Any more advice you could spare would be appreciated.

     

    Thanks. ::):

     

    And thanks, Haldir. ::P:

    DHL02499: Tomb Wraith

    in Show Off: Painting

    Posted

    Ohhh, not bad! I really like what you've done with the cloak. Great color. I agree that it could use a little more shading in the deepest parts.

     

    The rune looks really nice, but not really glowing. I guess it's the absence of light right next to the rune that throws off the glow effect a little.

     

    Hey, Inge. Thanks. ::): Yeah, rune = fail, but I'll try again sometime. This was really just a "get my feet under me" piece with the intent to try to get my blends smooth across large surfaces.

     

    The NMM is gorgeous. What did you use for the gold?

     

    Thanks. I had a great teacher. :;):

     

    The gold was undercoated in Reaper Walnut (old Reaper Pro). Next, a bit of Vallejo Ochre Yellow to base. This was shaded by my cloak's base, which was a blend of equal parts Reaper Master Weathered Blue and Volcano Brown. Highlight back up with Ochre Yellow glazes. Touch of white added to Ochre Yellow. Then white to top off the tips. I skipped using any kind of lemon yellow or yellow so as to keep the gold "aged" and antiqued. Unlike the cold, bright steel blade, I didn't want shiny gold. I wanted it warmer, earthier.

     

     

    Got bigger pics?

     

    Um, yeah. If you really want to see the hideousness up close and personal. Here you go:

     

    post-638-1249605545_thumb.jpg

     

    post-638-1249605556_thumb.jpg

     

    Now, go paint another one! ::P:

     

    Yes, ma'am!!! ::D: Working on it!

     

    JW -- Thanks, man. Glad to be back. And thanks for the kind words. Sigil is total odd. Oh, well. I'll see if I can get a scan of the photo example I eventually found in the Cry Havoc supplement.

     

    As to the weathering, you can see *some* in the blow-up photos. I got bored and didn't care to do too much finish work once the sigil failed. So, some quick scratches to dust up the weave of the cloth here and there.... then done. But I take your point. :;):

     

    Thanks, all. ::P:

    Sandor Clegane "The Hound"

    in Show Off: Painting

    Posted

    Wizard Hlavaz: Your comment means a lot to me. I enjoy every mini you post. I'm hoping to be able to get to not only your standard of painting but also Megs and Dereks. Awesome work from all of you.

     

    Ah, well. You're far too kind, at least in my case, Tom. :blush:

     

    I will say, going back to Sandor here, I think you did a really super job on the cloth of the tabard in particular. Red is a hard color to paint well, and there's a lot of it on this fig. You totally hit it. That and the skin struck me right away as well done. Coupled with the grim armor and the great rust/dirt, the piece really comes together. Being a fan of the series, I said to myself "Yeah, that's The Hound. Totally." You really captured his character, IMO.

     

    That said... If I'd change anything, I'd have you revisit the back of the shield. It detracts from the rest of the composition to me, if only because I said to myself "is that supposed to be wood? Wicker? Scratches?"

     

    Otherwise, as I say, I really like this piece. I opened it and said "oh, yeah. The Hound, for sure."

     

    Nice job. ::):

    DHL02499: Tomb Wraith

    in Show Off: Painting

    Posted

    Thanks, everybody. You're very kind. ::P:

     

    Momma -- to your point, the sigil doesn't work for me, either. It just doesn't live up to what I envisioned (which is why I'm a constipated writer...) and as the piece was 'practice', I abandoned it.

     

    That said, it's been irking me, so I've been digging through reference materials and lo and behold -- I found an example of exactly what I was trying for in an old Rackham Cry Havoc supplement. Turns out, I was on the right track with the trompe l'oeil rune I'd painted. My failure came in trying to illuminate the sides and immediately exterior edges. Maybe some day I'll fix it. In any event, I'll definitely give it a go on another model.

     

    Andy -- I'd thought about green stuff at one point, but as the the robes were already painted and I'm pretty rough handed when working with green stuff, I went with 'abandon'. But definitely a good idea. And thanks for the detailed advice. And thanks. Nice to be back. I've missed painting. Forgot how fulfilling it is.

     

    Finally, Bigs -- LOL! Your assumption would have been spot on a few weeks ago. :lol: I haven't logged on for a while now, and it feels great. Didn't even know the content patch hit until my guild captain called me up to try to entice me back. Don't think I'm interested ATM, though. I've been able to get a lot of other things done now that I'm not playing WoW.

     

    Anyhow, thanks all. More to come, I'm pleased to say.

     

    -Whiz. ::):

    DHL02499: Tomb Wraith

    in Show Off: Painting

    Posted

    *Stretch* *Yawn*

     

    "Huh? Oh, yeah... I been painting... Kind of."

     

    Long time, kids. Long time. Stay away from WoW. S.T.A.Y. A.W.A.Y.

     

    So... got out the desk. Got out the brushes. Found a primed mini and said "WTH." I'll paint this. And now... sorry to say... You have to endure the results.

     

    Mainly, I wanted to get my feet back under me with a little blending practice. Large robes are good for that. Then I thought I'd get creative. Yikes. No dice.

     

    So the idea here is the sigil is supposed to be casting a sorcerous glow, as though the wraith has swept his cloak aside to reveal a rune of dark power upon the moment of his assault.

     

    Glow effect, good. Rune, bad. I can't draw. Bottom line. And while I tried to render it using a trompe l'oeil effect -- as though carving a rune into a sword -- the glow from within kept messing me up. And I gave up after a few attempts of completely repainting it. Hate it, but whatever. It's a practice piece. The rest isn't bad.

     

    That said... all you masters... how would you render a sigil as though it's shredding the fabric of the cloth to reveal a bright (albeit dark) power from within? I'd like to get this eventually. Think it could be fun. I tried stipling. I tried cutting in edges. Each failed me. It probably just comes back to the fact that I can't draw. Just the same, what do you think? Can you hit it? If so... tell me. I'd love to try again....

     

    Just not on this fig. It is abandoned. JW knows what I'm saying. :;):

     

    Anyhow, enjoy!

     

    post-638-1249433748_thumb.jpg

     

    -D. ::D:

    • Like 1

    constructive critcism please

    in Show Off: Painting

    Posted

    I think you have a good eye for contrast, and that's important for properly painting miniatures. Contrast allows the eye to better discern detail, which is the whole point of putting shade and highlights on a 3-D figure -- rendering definition and detail. So you're good to go there. Keep pushing your contrasts (ie: the shadows on your skin are nice and crisp. They draw the shape of the figure nicely.) And as Midnight Lurker said -- try a bit of darklining. Generally speaking -- a good rule of thumb would be to place a line where one material type meets the next (ie: between skin and cloth, cloth and leather, one metal meets another (gold hilt meets steel sword, silver filigree meets plate), etc.)

     

    Beyond that -- listen to the above posters and work on your paint consistency. Try to work with a consistency akin to 1-2% milk for your highlighting, whole milk for base coats. Get that paint F-L-U-I-D. That should be your KEY focus for your next few figures.

     

    Because if you get your consistency right and your layers smooth, you clearly have the eye and the hand to render some really beautiful figures.

     

    Keep at it. Great work. ::):

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