Some minis

[Alex3]

I started painting reaper minis a few months ago for D&D reasons, and I thought maybe I should post some I did here and you guys might be able to give me tips? I'll post them in the order I did them. (Ignore the little white flecks, they've got a few chips from being in a box but now I have the reaper carrying case and I'm going to touch them up, but I thought I'd get feedback before going back to fix things!) Sorry for the bad photos, too, my camera's pretty bad.

 

My first two were from the l2paint kit!

Then a ninja,

 

A darksword mini (thanks cutebutpsycho)

 

It's supposed to be an angel but I made it into an Erinyes... I need to make the base look like clouds, not sure how to do that!

 

Kind of an easy one, but I want to add barding to him.

 

First one I did basing on, looks like she's on a lawn.

 

Just a gnome.. more terrible basing.

 

This one's hard to see, sorry.

 

The most recent one.

 

 

So I guess I'm just looking for any overall critique you can give, try not to be too harsh T_T I'm pretty bad, but I did just buy two more of the l2paint kits.

[dargrin]

Over all not bad at all.

 

First thing I would ask are you priming your minis before you paint them? The reason why I ask (you can see this on the bear fur) seems to be chipping to easily. If you are I would suggest a second coat on that. You should be able to handle the figs without this happening.

 

Second thing I would focus on is bring down shadows and bring up your highlights. I see that you are doing so on some of the figs but not all. By doing this it will make the color pop. Keeping your base coat smooth and consistent is key here.

 

I look forward to seeing more of your work.

[anvil]

A simple method for filling in the empty space in those square bases is white glue (elmer's) mixed with sand (smaller grains are better, but larger ones have their uses) from nearly any source (driveway, yard, beach, hobby shop, etc.). More advanced (and expensive) would be a putty of some sort, green stuff, sculpey, plumbers epoxy. This would allow for sculpting of unusual shapes in the base to suit whatever mood you were going for in the figure. Skulls for evil dudes, food for halflings, gems for dwarves, pansies for elves, and so on. Somewhere on this board is an excellent tutorial on using cork for bases to make them look like stone.

You are off to an excellent start, keep up the good work, practice, practice, practice, ask questions, and welcome to the board.

[cutebutpsycho]

the mini that's not reaper is Darksword.

[mattmcl]

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.

[Amalor Myrnnyx]

Welcome to the board.

 

My suggestion would be to invest in some inks. For starting out, a lot of shading can be done quickly and simply with a 20% solution of ink miked with Future (Lysol) floor wax. It also works very well for feathers, scales, and fur. A light drybrush over that (once ink is dry) can really make things come to life.

 

Keep 'em coming.

[daywalker]

Welcome

 

I have learned alot from the folks here, and let me say you are off to a fine start . I would invest in the How to Paint Skin tones ( I think it is Kit 3)

I really like the 4th and 5th pictures, the female spell caster's energy wave looks really cool and the angel is very clean and well done an ink was would add good depth to her.

 

All in all great minis.

[joshuaslater]

Off to a good start, you are. Look at models in the showoff section by the people who blow your mind with their painting, and then, ask questions. People are helpful around here.

[Alex3]

Thanks for all the responses!

 

For the first few I used the brush on primer but then I got the spray on type, so the cracking and chipping off isn't happening as much (and I'm taking better care of them...)

 

I have the how to paint skin tones and how to paint armour kits now, so I'll try the lining and more shading.

 

I mixed some sand and elmers glue for the last one, the elf with blue hair. It worked really well for filling out the base, so I think after I do some re-painting I'll go ahead and do that to all of them and then add some grass and rocks.

 

 

Thanks guys! I've got a bunch of new minis coming in for a new campaign (now I'm stuck doing one for each person's character haha) so I'll fix up these and post back, I want to be a lot better before I paint the new ones!

[zaphod]

Looking pretty good for starters!!! The biggest thing to work on is brush control. The rest will come with practice.

 

BTW, welcome to the world of source lighting :D Good go at it with the sorceress girl :)

[Alex3]

Thanks, I'm going to make it more obvious when I go back to fix it up. I sort of did it on her hair but I think maybe more would be better...

[bikerdrew]

Welcome to the board, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

 

Nice and precise brush work - a very good start.

 

I use a two part putty called 'Miliput' for filling in bases - I'm not sure you can get that in the USA. A small Dremel like multi-tool could be useful for removing the 'Broccoli' base before you putty it in to or on to a new base.

 

Ink washes can tend to be a bit glossy, so you might be happier with a wash of thinned paint.

 

Spray primer is good - so is a varnish sealer when the figure is finished.

 

Work on those highlights and the figures will start to really zing.

 

I look forward to seeing how you improve over time.

[Jay]

For the first few I used the brush on primer but then I got the spray on type, so the cracking and chipping off isn't happening as much (and I'm taking better care of them...)

 

A shot of Testor's "Dull Cote" after you finish painting them will help keep them in good shape even if you handle/drop them.

If you expect hard wear spray on a glossy finish first then put on a dull finish coat.

 

Your paints look good. I'd try to add more depth by using inks or learning to paint highlights and shadows next.

[psyberwolfe1]

Looking good so far. The OSL (object source lighting) has a great start.

 

First I can see why you are having the chipping problems. You should handle your figures as little as posible while painting. I would mount them to a handle of some sort. I use old paint bottles turned upside down and then either use CA glue to secure them to the handle or Plasti Tak (the later is what I use on the majority of my figures.) Second get a good paint on primer or spray on primer. This Craft article should help you know what you need.

 

Good Luck and welcome to the boards!

[Alex3]

I'm just posting a new batch of photos here, rather than making a new thread.

 

I touched up some, added/fixed bases, and there are a few new ones. All comments/critique/tips are welcome!

 

Also the pictures should be slightly better quality this time around. I made a nice little lightbox out of mats and paper, I got a tripod and I used photoshop to clean them up a little. They're still somewhat blurry in parts and you can't see colour/details as well as in real life, but it should be good enough.

 

 

Better view of some bases. :)

 

Sorry for the massive post, maybe I should spread them out a bit more from now on.. sorry! :) I do have a few more I need to photo, I'll post them next time :D

 

Thanks for looking!