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Monique De Noir


mattmcl
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Solid work, and ambitious. I could tell who painted the other Masters entries, but I didn't realize that you had entered.

 

The NMM gold and steel and the front side of the armor are especially strong.

The brilliant magenta/purple brings out the dead greenish tinge in her skin well, too.

 

Some suggestions:

 

. Be more consistent with contrast on glossy objects. Some of your areas lack the darkest darks or the highest highlights. The back side of the armor doesn't look as convincing as the front, because the lower values aren't there. Oddly -- maybe it's just the photo? -- the plate on her upper right arm seems to have those darks, but the rest of the right arm and right shoulder don't and therefore look flat. The darkest value should be just below where the surface is at 90 degrees to your light source (namely vertical, if the light is directly above). On the other end of contrast, the shield (blue portion) and the hair need higher highlights. Even if you are simulating a leather or cloth shield-covering, it is smoother and should have higher highlights than the tabard has; if the blue is simulating enamelled steel, then the contrast should be much higher than that of the blue tabard. And her hair, though strictly (un-)dead matter, is sculpted like that of a shampoo-commercial model and should have more sheen.

 

. Add freehand to the shield and tabard. These areas look unfinished in comparison to the fine scale of the armor. Freehand in silver, gold, and/or magenta would add interest to the composition and would integrate these large fields of blue with the other colors of the model.

 

. Spend a lot more time on the base, both in concept and execution. Adding height is fine -- just not like this. This base hurts the figure. A base should be subordinate to a model but still part of the composition. The brown earth, clumps of yellow-green (unpainted?) foliage, and plain grey sarcophagus belong on a generic terrain board or model-train layout, not this specific figure. Short of using a completely different base, try tingeing the colors toward blue or purple (esp. in any shadows), adding reflections of the brown/green/grey into the lower surfaces of the glossy armor and the NMM, and varying the distribution of the foliage (to avoid that distinct artificial ring around the edge). The lid is very detailed, and I realize that it must have been too daunting to sculpt a whole box to match, but the plain ashlar masonry doesn't work. You could strike a balance by using ashlar fields with more ornate trim (cannibalize some extra lids that you buy as bits, or find something by another manufacturer, or sculpt the trim yourself), and/or devise a clever way to avoid showing the whole box in the first place. Maybe you tilt the box and half-bury it in the ground, or you cover it with vines or rubble or other bits. Lastly, the sarcophagus should be brighter on some faces than on others, lighted in a way consistent with what you simulated in your NMM.

 

Derek

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Very solid piece! I like how striking and vibrant the colors are- as well as the smooth transitions. I feel that there could be more contrast in some places, but then again, most of us have that problem too. The hair is flat, but that's nitpicking. And maybe a shot of dullcote for the glossy bits. On CMON I'd give this high 7's. Great job.

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Thanks for all the kind words, and thanks for the wonderful crit, Derek (not sarcastic at all, I really like that kind of feedback). You actually hit all the points Anne made as well.

 

Oddly, it's hitting low 7's on CMON, but I don't put a lot of stock into that either.

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Thanks for all the kind words, and thanks for the wonderful crit, Derek (not sarcastic at all, I really like that kind of feedback). You actually hit all the points Anne made as well.

 

You are welcome, Matt. I was concerned that it would come off harsh, but I'm glad that you appreciated it. What you're doing now is very good and I look forward to seeing what you do on future figures!

 

Derek

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