Angel of Radiance

[Froggy the Great]

This was one of my first experiments with gold non-metallic metals, and I don't like how it came out, though the rest of the model came out just fine. Any help with the gold NMM anyone cares to offer would be appreciated.

 

I attended a Feis (Irish dance competition) a friend of mine competed in this weekend, and learned of the existence of "sock glue". This I conjecture is how the angel forestalls the inevitable and embarrassing airborne wardrobe malfunction.

 

[Jabberwocky]

While not an expert by any means and would defer to those who really know what they are doing , but I gave gold NMM a go recently and used earth brown for the deepest shading and linen white for the highest highlights. IMHO pushing both edges of the spectrum would help it pop a bit more. I would use the Linen White on the edging of the shield (really just where two edges meet at the corners and at the bend of the top part of the crossguard part of the handle.

[Angorak]

I would also say that taking it all the way to a spot highlight of white is what's needed. I use a titanium white .

[gowestover]

I've been frustrated with my recent first attempts at NMM Gold also. I agree with Jabberwocky, however, that pushing both ends of the spectrum would help a lot.

[anvil]

I hear that transitions from dark to light on metallics should be very "fast", that is, not as spread out as they would be on cloth or skin, it's the abrupt changes that make it look like metal, or so I hear. (from the guy who has only tried NMM once)

[LunchBox]

Yes...transitions from dark to light need to be rather fast in places. The way you know a metallic object is in fact metallic, is because your brain interprets the transitions and knows how fast metal reflects and transitions. Spend a little time searching the internet for NMM articles and don't be afraid to try it, and screw it up. I learned NMM that way. The other thing that will help, is understanding directional lighting. NMM is a somewhat advanced technique...not to say it's a difficult technique, but it involves presenting a clear light source to the model to effectively pull it off. This was my biggest hold up when I was learning. You might even dig through CMON, and narrow your search criteria to models with a score of 8 to 10. You'll notice that most of those minis present a clear directional lighting.

 

I'll be working on my 40K single entry in the coming weeks, and I may even use it to do a NMM tutorial, if Reaperites want to see it.

[Jabberwocky]

I'll be working on my 40K single entry in the coming weeks, and I may even use it to do a NMM tutorial, if Reaperites want to see it.

 

YES!

[Ler]

You're braver than I, and while I like the appearence of some NMM, I'd prefer to stick with metallics myself. I think it looks pretty good though, and well worth working on. I can't really offer any critique on technique though as I have not attempted NMM myself. I think NMM is still worth persuing though, even if it only aids in perfecting other painting skills.

 

Still, it's a real nice looking mini. =P

[LordColdsteal]

excellent job there man. I can really seen the improvement to your painting style over the past few years... wonderful job.

Like the colors and tones.

[LunchBox]

You're braver than I, and while I like the appearence of some NMM, I'd prefer to stick with metallics myself. I think it looks pretty good though, and well worth working on. I can't really offer any critique on technique though as I have not attempted NMM myself. I think NMM is still worth persuing though, even if it only aids in perfecting other painting skills.

Still, it's a real nice looking mini. =P

 

 

I think that's really key. While learning NMM, I discovered that it must be directionally accurate to look right...and that led me into a better understanding of how light affects objects, and light sourcing as it relates to miniature painting. You have to "untrain your brain" a bit to see what's actually there, instead of what your brain is telling you is there.